Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Work Preparation

After Lu Yu fell asleep, she changed into men's clothing and quietly left.

When she arrived at the red-light district, her mother had already prepared everything and was waiting for her. She then had someone lead her to a room.

"Everything has been prepared for you. Please take a look and see if there's anything missing. As for the young lady, there's a portrait of her in the room."

Ji Meiqing nodded, pulling her hat up slightly before closing it after entering the room. Just as her mother had said, everything was there, arranged according to her previous instructions.

"Open all the portraits. Is the artist here?"

Mom nodded quickly, "We've arrived, just waiting for your instructions."

"That's good." She sat down in the chair, looking at the girl in the painting. Suddenly, she remembered that the emperor had also chosen his concubines by looking at paintings. Fearing that the painting was exaggerated, she asked, "Is there any fabrication in this painting? For example, if a girl has some flaws, have you covered them up?"

Mom's face stiffened, and she gave a dry laugh: "No...no."

"Really not?" Ji Meiqing asked suspiciously, still somewhat incredulous at the mother's expression. So she analyzed the pros and cons and looked at the mother again: "I don't know if there's any cheating involved, I only know that we will indeed beautify the figures we paint this time. But we still have to retain seven parts of the original. If you deceive me, then your business will be ruined."

"Yes, yes... Young Master is right." The mother accepted the statement with a guilty look on her face. As for whether or not to change it, that was up to them.

Ji Meiqing was too lazy to argue with her anymore. Pointing to the girl in the painting, she asked, "Are they free now? If they are, they can come over. If they are not, they can come over when they are free."

"...Yes." Her mother quickly went out to call for someone, while Ji Meiqing continued to look at the people in the painting and waited for them to come over.

Before long, the air was filled with the sounds of birdsong; it seemed quite a few people had arrived. Ji Meiqing sat there with her legs crossed, drinking tea. As they all came in, they rushed towards her.

The pleasures of the bedroom weren't so pleasant after all. My nose was filled with a cheap floral scent, and looking at my makeup... I looked like I was going to perform in a play.

Ji Meiqing was very unhappy.

"Take off your makeup." Her first command startled those around her, who were unsure of what she was about to do.

Seeing the girls who remained silent, Ji Meiqing looked directly at her mother and asked, "During this time, apart from not touching them, can I make all the decisions about them?"

In order to get rich, the mother gritted her teeth and nodded.

"Very well, now get rid of all your makeup!"

One or two of those opera-style makeup looks are enough. Too many would be overwhelming.

After the girls returned after removing their makeup, Ji Meiqing began to give instructions again, "Those who can draw, come out; those who can sing, go to the other side... the rest who think they are very pretty, stay here; those who think they are both talented and pretty, come directly to me."

The girls quickly lined up, standing in a straight line in front of Ji Meiqing.

"Do you all think you're quite good-looking?" Ji Meiqing asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't have a folding fan in her hand; if she did, she would have lifted one of their chins, making the gesture even more graceful and charming.

"You all look just like opera singers. Are you here to serve people or to perform in operas?"

“Isn’t it all the same…we all serve people…” A soft voice came from the crowd, and Ji Meiqing looked over directly.

"You've got some nerve, come out here!"

With a loud roar, she displayed her lifelong authority. She finally understood why men liked to come to places like this; it was the only place where they could showcase their confidence and satisfy all their desires.

The girl who had just argued stepped forward, her head held low. Ji Meiqing held her chin up and looked at her for a while before saying, "Come here."

"Huh?" The girl was a little confused, but she still followed.

Ji Meiqing led her to the side and had her sit down. Fortunately, there were some cosmetics in the room, so Ji Meiqing fiddled with them for a bit and applied a full-on makeup look for her, following her usual light makeup style.

However, since there were still some things they didn't quite understand, Ji Meiqing later directly guided them on how to do makeup.

"Just stick a flower decoration on your forehead, and that will do," she said.

The girl actually took a flower ornament from the cabinet and stuck it on her forehead. Ji Meiqing looked at it for a while, then lowered her gaze.

The clothes weren't exactly proper clothes, but they were either bodycon or hip-hugging.

"When do you think a woman is most beautiful?" she suddenly asked this seemingly random question, leaving those around her puzzled.

Ji Meiqing continued, "Do you know what it means to come out of the bath? That look that seems to turn around but isn't quite, sexy and alluring, yet also carrying a hint of anticipation. Do you understand?"

She was stunned by the question and couldn't keep up with Ji Meiqing's train of thought at all.

"Now, go to the bath and take off your clothes. Put on a thin gauze."

"Huh?" She was stunned and couldn't believe that she would encounter such a thing right away. So she looked at her mother, who then turned to ask Ji Meiqing.

"Should we follow suit?"

"Of course, if we don't follow... what are you planning to do?"

It wasn't that kind of thing... The girl breathed a sigh of relief and then led her small group to the bathhouse. There weren't many people there. She took off her clothes and, at Ji Meiqing's request, stood at the edge of the pool wearing only a thin veil, as if she had just finished bathing.

The artist was ready, and after looking at the girl posing in front of him, he immediately asked Ji Meiqing a few questions before starting.

The painting process was lengthy, but the girl persevered. Ji Meiqing carefully examined the figures on the scroll.

"No watercolors, give me something realistic. Everything around it needs to stand out, to serve as a backdrop."

Once the approximate shape was drawn, Ji Meiqing had the screen moved over. The screen depicted a conversation in light colors, and she stood in front of it, glancing sideways with a half-smile.

All the hairpins on her head had been removed, leaving only heavy makeup on her face.

After the painting was finished, Ji Meiqing had the scroll put away.

"After you finish drawing everyone, please polish it up. Otherwise, it will be too monotonous and not very attractive."

"What is retouching?" the painter asked softly. For a moment, the entire bathroom fell silent, and Ji Meiqing stared at her intently.

"Miss, are you joking?"

"I……"

"Take a look and touch up any areas that need fixing. Also, color the whole painting a light pink to create a warm and comfortable feel; that's the kind of feeling I want. After you finish painting, do a full overlay on the large canvas." She finished in one breath, without even taking a breath, and then asked, "Did you understand?"