Empress’ Game: Make-up Master Chapter 9 - Daily bullying achievement

Wu Sheyue did not know how she slept that night. She only felt as if she had barely closed her eyes for a few minutes before Ning’er woke her.

Ning’er pounded on the door with urgent slaps and called,

“Miss, let’s get up. If someone comes soon and sees Miss is not keeping vigil in the mourning hall… they’ll make trouble again.”

“Oh,”

Wu Sheyue answered. Right. This Third Miss had been punished to stand vigil in the mourning hall. Yesterday, after washing up, she had simply gone to sleep, and Ning’er had not come to call her.

Wu Sheyue first put the makeup box back in its original place, then got up and opened the door.

“M-M-Miss!”

The instant the door opened, Ning’er nearly spilled the wash water on her.

“What?”

Why was she wailing like a ghost so early in the morning?

Ning’er’s hands trembled as she held the basin, and she was so frightened she could barely speak.

“Your face, your face! The birthmark!”

“Oh, right. I washed it off.”

Wu Sheyue remembered that matter and took the basin from Ning’er, carrying it into the room.

“Find me a mirror.”

Ning’er’s attention was completely fixed on the first half of that sentence.

“You said… washed it off?”

“Mm. I bathed last night, and it seemed to wash off.”

“Miss, you… you really are…”

Ning’er had only just accepted that Miss was no longer foolish and had been so happy she did not know what to do. Now her face was also…

Wu Sheyue felt Ning’er did not have any other problems, except that she loved making a fuss over nothing. Wu Sheyue was washing her face when someone outside shouted,

“Eh? Where are the people in this courtyard?”

Wu Sheyue did not see it, but behind her, Ning’er’s face went pale in an instant. “

It’s… it’s Nanny Jin!”

“Who is Nanny Jin?”

Before Wu Sheyue could finish asking, Ning’er had already run out first.

Wu Sheyue turned back and continued washing her face, but she could hear the voices outside
clearly.

Standing in the courtyard was an old woman whose clothing and bearing looked wealthy and dignified. If someone did not know better, they would think she was the matriarch of some household, not merely a nanny. Because no one had come to receive her, the old woman’s face was solemn, and her entire body gave off an imposing air.

Ning’er tremblingly went forward.

“Nanny Jin, what wind has blown you here?”

Nanny Jin was Eldest Miss’s wet nurse. Normally, the people from the first branch disdained even paying attention to concubine-born children like them. Ning’er could not figure out why Nanny Jin had suddenly come to their door. And Third Miss had only just recovered, so she did not know whether this was good or bad. Her heart became even more worried.

With a stern face, Nanny Jin asked,

“Is Third Miss all right now?”

“Mm… ah! Yes. Third Miss only woke up yesterday afternoon and has been groggy. This
morning, this servant asked Miss to wash her face and clear her head so she could go kneel in
the mourning hall and keep vigil.”

“Heh. Is that so?”

Nanny Jin glanced at Yin Qiuming’s room.

“Well, last night, someone passed by the West Courtyard and said they heard Third Miss crying and shouting in the room. Ah, the news reached Eldest Miss’s ears, so first thing this morning, she told this old servant to come have a look. Is Third Miss grieving so hard that she’s finally reacted, or is her body unwell?”

“Nanny, could that person have misheard? Last night… no one cried or shouted.”

“Whether anyone cried is not important.”

Nanny Jin spoke with pointed meaning.

“Fourth Miss has come over quite a few times these past two days too, hasn’t she?”

The topic changed so abruptly that sweat began to form on Ning’er’s forehead.

“This servant isn’t sure. The Chancellor would not allow anyone to keep Third Miss company, so… so this
servant spent most of the time working in the kitchen.”

“It’s fine if you don’t know now. You can know in the future.”

Nanny Jin suddenly smiled.

“It must be hard on you, following such a master. Work well. If there is a vacancy elsewhere, this
nanny will remember you.”

“Ah…”

Ning’er was stunned. Was Nanny Jin telling her to spy on Third Miss?

Nanny Jin glanced at the mourning hall.

“All right. Three days of a mourning hall is enough. Take it down. If the body isn’t buried soon, it will rot. How unlucky.”

Ning’er had wanted to say that a mourning hall should be kept for seven days, but after thinking, she knew that even if she said it, she could not change anything. The words turned in her mouth.

“Yes. This servant understands.”

Watching Nanny Jin leave the courtyard, Ning’er’s heart was filled with grievances. Today was the day monthly allowances were handed out. Yet Nanny Jin had come and not mentioned a single word of it. Sigh. How long had it been since she had received her monthly allowance? She had watched the older maids in other courtyards receive theirs several times already…

When Ning’er turned around, she saw Wu Sheyue leaning against the doorframe and staring at her, which scared her into trembling.

“M-Miss, Nanny Jin came to-”

“I know. Where is the wooden comb?”

“This servant will get it right away!”

Third Miss had become beautiful, but why was her expression always so cold that it frightened people?

Inside the room, Wu Sheyue combed her hair using the reflection in the water basin. As a makeup artist, she could create all kinds of ancient-style looks offhand. Ning’er’s hands were folded awkwardly, and she did not know where to put them. In the past, she had always combed Wu Sheyue’s hair.

Wu Sheyue used a wooden hairpin to secure a small bun and asked,

“Who is Nanny Jin?”

“Eh?”

Miss’s temperament and appearance had both improved, so why had her memory not
improved too?

“Nanny Jin is Eldest Miss’s wet nurse. The people of the first branch are all arrogant. We rarely see them, so Miss must have forgotten.”

(To be continued)