When Li Lianying finished her "business", the leader of the group of ladies brought some beautiful silk clothes and began to help her change. Li Lianying remained quiet and still as if she was a doll with which the ladies were playing dress-up.
Her long white nightgown was taken off and replaced with a new, clean chemise. The leader then placed a V-shaped structure made of silk around her waist and chest. Li Lianying recognized the legendary stays, the ancestor of corsets. Several layers of petticoats were then stacked around her hips.
Finally dressed, she was taken to another room. There, about fifty people had been waiting for her. Men, women, there were all sorts of people! Li Lianying was told to sit down, and the people who had been waiting for her started speaking to her in turn. She had no idea what to answer, she was completely confused and lost, and kept repeating "I'll think about it, I'll answer you next time". Meanwhile, a man, whom Li Lianying believed was her official hairdresser, started brushing her hair. Her hair was… incredibly greasy. It felt as if she had not washed it for months. However, her body was quite clean and was obviously well washed. Li Lianying was absolutely confused. Why would her body be clean, yet her hair be so disgusting?
The hairdresser brushed, brushed and brushed, while Li Lianying felt her greasiest strands of hair detach from her scalp and fall all over her shoulders. After half an hour, the hairdresser finally stopped abusing her scalp. A huge ball of strawberry blonde hair was stuck on the brush. The hairdresser quickly curled her hair and tied it up, and Li Lianying was just starting to enjoy herself when she was suddenly stunned by an explosion of white powder that was being poured on her head. That's when she figured out that the hairdresser was adding flour to her hair! Flour! Food! The stuff people put in their bread! Why was her hair being treated like food?? The hairdresser finished his hairy cake by adding some flowers and ribbons.
Finally came the makeup. A lady carried a tray covered with small bowls of powder and cream. The makeup artist covered Li Lianying's face, neck and shoulders with a thick coat of white paint. The paint was sticky and slimy. Then, she covered her lips and cheeks with a layer of red paste. Li Lianying's face was itchy, her cheeks and lips felt like they were burning. It was like some sort of allergic reaction. Finally, the makeup artist took out pieces of black fabric that she rolled into a ball with her fingers, and sticked them on Li Lianying's pasty white face.
It was only when Li Lianying's face looked like a clown's that the makeup artist finally stopped and let her go. Li Lianying felt like she was going to faint at any moment. She was dizzy because of the foul smell emanating from the people around her, and also because her skin felt like it was on fire, constricted by a layer of hardening white plaster.
She spent the rest of the morning sitting stiffly, feeling her face stiffening under the mask of sticky plaster, her back and waist trapped in a pair of stiff stays. However, despite the stiffness of her face, Li Lianying had to utter words over and over again, greeting everyone who stood before her, and she felt like she was a talking plaster statue, an automaton doomed to speak. Around noon, when she was starting to feel terribly hungry, this circus show finally stopped. The talking clown statue that she had become was finally released from this madness. She followed the leader of the group of women and entered the antechamber of her apartment. There, her meal was served on a beautiful table covered with silverware.
Hah! Finally ! She had more privacy now! Li Lianying looked around the room, there was only the leader and two other ladies. Servants would come in from time to time to do table service, but they were so silent that they seemed almost invisible. Now that Li Lianying had time to breathe, she noticed the inconsistencies in her situation. She had spent at least three hours doing her "Levée" (rising from bed) ceremony, including makeup and hair styling. A normal dream wouldn't have been so slow. Many incredible events would have quickly followed one after another. But if it wasn't a dream, was she delusional? Has she gone mad?
She sighed and asked the leader : "Ma'am, what are my plans for this afternoon?"
"Your Royal Highness, your afternoon is entirely free. You can spend it as you see fit until 7 in the evening. At 7, you will have to participate in the King's 'Coucher' (going to bed) ceremony. You can meet the crown prince there."
Li Lianying sighed again. She still had to participate in a few formal events, so she couldn't get rid of the layer of plaster sticking against her face!
After her meal, she took leave of the ladies and walked alone in the halls of the palace. She greeted several guards and ladies and left the building. Her eyes were blessed by the sight of vast formal gardens. Her feet stepped on gravel as fine as sand and her gaze was lost in the immensity of the garden before her. People who saw her curtsied silently, their pink and yellow clothes standing out against the white and green nature surrounding them. Li Lianying arrived in a square that was adorned with a magnificent fountain. While approaching, Li Lianying noticed that the fountain was decorated with a large golden statue of a handsome, naked and muscular man, holding a lyre in his hand and his hair adorned with a laurel wreath. Li Lianying recognized the Greek god Apollo, the deity who symbolized the king of France Louis 14th. Sounds of footsteps alerted her and she turned to see a young woman in a pretty aquamarine-colored dress, her platinum blonde hair covered in tiny flowers. Her face was young and plump, but she wore a thick layer of make-up ; her cheeks and lips were red as blood, unlike the other ladies who wore rosier makeup.
"Your Royal Highness," said the stranger while curtsying.
"My lady," Li Lianying replied, not knowing how to call her. She looked at the bar above the young woman's head, and saw with surprise that the bar was at +6. Finally a positive level of loyalty! This woman is therefore an ally! For once, Li Lianying no longer felt alone in unfamiliar and hostile territory.
Thrilled, Li Lianying gave her a big smile. The stranger's eyes lit up, and she gave her a dazzling smile too.
The two young women walked for a long time among the bushes. Li Lianying took the opportunity to ask discreet questions in order to know where she was, and at what time period was her dream.
"My lady, what do you think of this palace?" Li Lianying hoped that the stranger would mention the name of this place in her answer.
"Versailles is absolutely beautiful! However, it is often too crowded."
Li Lianying almost choked in surprise. So she was in the famous Palace of Versailles! This time period was therefore either that of Louis 14th, or that of Louis 15th. Or even the time of Louis 16th! However... The women were not wearing tall wigs here, their hair was instead braided or curled, then tied or pressed against their head in a very austere style. Hence, it had to be during Louis 14th or Louis 15th reign! Li Lianying looked around to get a better view of the surrounding landscape. Indeed, it was indeed Versailles! After the shock of her arrival here, she now recognized the "Bosquets" of the gardens of Versailles. And a little further, she recognized the rectangular and austere shape of the classical architectural facades of the palace.
Curious to see what the Trianon estate looked like before Marie-Antoinette's modifications, Li Lianying suggested that her new friend accompany her to the Trianon gardens. The young woman accepted with pleasure, and together, they walked towards the immensity of greenery that was the Trianon.