As there was still a short time before the Garden Party began, Consort Gina and her maids went to pass the time at the gazebo in the garden. Rainbow carp splashed in the lake, and the few remaining autumns leafs dyed in red scattered through the air.
"All this was thanks to you," Consort Gina told Yen. Though there was enough sunlight, the winds were cold and harsh. Normally, they would be shivering in the cold, but because of the underwear with the pocket warmers, no one suffered to that extent. Even Imperial Princess Wuying, whom everyone had been worried about, was curled up into a ball inside the basket. There were heated stones fitted neatly to not burn her; the little princess will not have to suffer from the cold
"As you can get low-temperature burns, when you remove the Imperial Princess' heated stone, please wrap it with a cloth when you replace it. Also, please take note of any stinging in the mouth if you overeat of the candy." Yen said as she replaced the heated stone inside the handbasket. The imperial princess' diapers and change of clothes were also inside. The brazier to warm the heated stones were already requested and brought in by a eunuch.
"I understand. That said," the consort leaked out an impish giggle. The other maids were also smiling wryly. "You are my maid after all," she pointed at the jade necklace.
"That is certainly true." Yen decided to capture the moment of those words. Consort Gina and she follow maids' eyes hurt, as they continued to gaze strongly at her. Yen hated being noticed and looked at this way. Being Beautiful isn't always the best Afterall.
When Ren walked in Yen had her back turned to him as she was still tending to the little princess trying to make her as comfortable as possible. He greeted the consort before walking over to Yen but paused when he saw her face.
Standing there with expressionlessly, looking up at him with a disrespectful face, was an unfamiliar maid. Whose beauty certainly surpassed his and Consort Gina
"Pleasant day to you, Ren-sama," Yen said to the stunned pervert, who is silently staring at her nearly unable to say a word. He the same reaction as the maids when they removed her "Fake" birth-mark
"Are you wearing make-up?" Ren finally asked.
"No, I'm not." She wasn't wearing any make-up aside from the makeup on her lips and the corner of her eyes.
"Your Birth-mark is erased," Ren said.
"Indeed, because they erased them," Yen said as she pointed slightly to the maids who are still half-dazed.
"You erased it with make-up, didn't you?" he pressed.
"I erased it when I removed the make-up."
"What you said is strange. There's a contradiction," he said.
"No. There is no such thing," she said. Make-up isn't just used to beautify. There were also cases where middle-aged women specifically used make-up to make themselves look unattractive. The product made of dried clay and mixed with dye, Yen applied around every day. Just to make her look ugly enough or unnoticeable.
"Why would you do that kind of make-up? Is there any meaning to it?"
Enough though it was a simple question, it irritated her everyone is still staring at her in a daze. How could there not be any meaning to making myself look ugly, especially around this era?
"Yes. It is, so I won't be taken into the back alleys." The pleasure district – being what it is – had those who hungered for women. Most of those guys don't have money, are violent, and mental illnesses were common among them. Of course, she would want to excuse herself from that, even though she could protect herself from them
The flabbergasted Ren, for some reason, timidly asked her. "Have you ever been taken?"
"They tried." So, he could understand what she said, and she glared at him with narrowed eyes even though she killed them, all fifty of them. It was such a hassle to clean up too. And can you also imagine what the town would think if she was caught? They wouldn't believe that she killed fifty people. So, when she was kidnapped in public, she didn't do a thing in fear of a manhunt for her.
Have you ever been chased by the FBI or CIA, it's not fun.
"I'm sorry."
"Why? It's not as if you kidnapped me, yourself"
"The management wasn't thorough," he said.
"There isn't much distinction between selling someone as kidnappers and selling someone to reduce the number of mouths to feed. It's all the same," she told him. The former was criminal, and the latter was legal. Even a kidnapper couldn't be punished if the person they bought didn't know that distinction. Right now, the reason to her using this sort of make-up in the inner palace was the same as her hiding her ability to write.
"Ahh. I'm sorry." He said again, and then he quickly stuck something on her head
"That hurts," she said.
"Does it? Have this." He wasn't smiling his usual saccharine smile. His face was also mixed with embarrassment and gloominess. When she felt her head, she felt something cold and metallic in her hair even though she wasn't wearing anything. "Well then, I'll see you at the assembly place." Ren turned his back and left the gazebo just like that. Stuck in her hair was a man's silver kanzashi.
"Ahh, how nice," Yao said. She thought to give it to Yao who looked like she wanted it, but the other two had the same expressions, so she had no choice but to draw in her hands.
Hong made a wry smile.
"Aw, you broke the promise so quickly." Consort Gina looked peevish. She took the kanzashi from
Yen's hand and neatly fastened it in her tied-up hair. "It looks like you're not just my maid now."
For good or evil, Yen was especially estranged from the talk of the upper echelons of the Imperial Court. She didn't know the significance it represented.