Jiang Yifan turned his face aside and studied Ye Xinyan for a moment before earnestly asking, "Ah Yan, you never really used makeup before. I noticed yesterday that your look was exceptionally beautiful. Today you are also wearing makeup, aren’t you? How did you do it? Why do I feel like your entire aura is different from yesterday? You look much more elegant and dignified."
He was genuinely curious about how Ye Xinyan achieved this transformation. It was clearly the same face, yet her aura was strikingly different, and her beauty seemed to have increased.
Ye Xinyan felt smug inside. In her previous life, many women couldn’t even leave the house without makeup. Although she wasn’t obsessed with it, her company didn’t allow them to go to work unadorned.
Her makeup skills weren’t the best, but her understanding of different makeup styles was far superior to these ancient women who only knew how to apply powder on their faces.
She gave him a playful glare and said with a hint of pride, "Now you’re asking seriously; what were you saying earlier?"
"Hmm, yes, Ah Yan is right. You have to consider the occasion when you speak." Ah Yan was shy; it seemed those words could only be said at certain times. At those times, Ah Yan actually liked hearing them.
Ye Xinyan felt helpless. She’d known this guy for some years now, yet she’d never seen his true nature?
It seemed her eyesight was really a problem. In her previous life, her nearsighted eyes could be corrected with glasses, but here there was no cure.
Jiang Yifan did not wait for Ye Xinyan to answer, but instead shifted positions, tilted his head slightly, and looked at her with delight, saying, "So, were you really just too lazy to compete with those women? As long as you wanted, just by relying on looks and attire, you could radiate gentleness and elegance, easily outshining those self-proclaimed virtuous and talented young ladies."
Even though Ye Xinyan knew these were words blurted out in a moment of daze, she still felt pleased hearing them.
She replied modestly, "It’s just using some techniques in women’s dressing up. It’s not as serious as you say."
Yet Jiang Yifan was blatantly proud, "How can it not be serious? Those women, claiming to be the first, second, or whatever ranked talented lady in the capital, or the nth beauty of the capital, come out in full dress only to pale in comparison to just a fraction of my wife’s charm. Don’t you think they would feel ashamed? How could they have the courage to talk behind your back?"
As he spoke, he hugged Ye Xinyan without any decorum, laughing, and whispered in her ear, "Ah Yan, don’t you think I married a treasure? I originally thought I married a capable woman, but I didn’t expect her to be both talented and beautiful."
Jiu Yue, carrying a food box, had already set one foot inside when she saw this scene, her face immediately turned red, and quickly retracted her foot.
Hearing this, Jiu Zhen naively asked, "Jiu Yue, why are you backing out? It’s freezing, the food needs to be brought inside quickly or it will cool down outside."
Song Ping’s wife, who caught up from behind, immediately understood the situation and hurried forward, giving Jiu Zhen a slap on the back.
All the rules she had previously told them seemed to have gone right over their heads.
She glared at Jiu Yue, who shrank back a little and raised her voice, saying, "Master, young madam, should we serve the meal now?"
Ye Xinyan happened to be facing the door, having caught a glimpse of Jiu Yue’s shadow flashing by, and saw her retreat. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly pushed Jiang Yifan away and glared at him.
Jiang Yifan was also a little embarrassed, retreated to the other side of the couch table, and shouted loudly, "Bring it in."
The two maids entered with Song Ping’s wife, and Jiang Yifan watched them place the porridge and dishes from the food box onto the table one by one, seemingly inadvertently saying in a slightly cold tone, "After setting the table, take them back out."
Seeing Jiang Yifan’s unsmiling face, Song Ping’s wife immediately knelt down and said, "Master, young madam, it’s all my fault. It was my lack of discipline that caused the offense to you both. I will go down and properly instruct them."
After Song Ping’s wife led the two maids out, Ye Xinyan noticed Jiang Yifan still sulking. While serving him porridge in a bowl, she explained, "You know I was previously unaware of these manners, and they didn’t pay attention to such details when coming and going. Don’t mind it, I’ll keep them in check in the future."
She paused and added regretfully, "Well, it’s also my fault for neglecting, who knew they would happen to encounter such a situation." What kind of matter was this, it was like having not an ounce of privacy.
Jiang Yifan chuckled, and reaching across the table, brushed Ye Xinyan’s cheek, saying, "What’s there to regret? It can be slowly rectified. It’s nothing really, I just worry that if we’re talking about something important in the future, and they overhear, it wouldn’t be good."
Ye Xinyan nodded, some things were indeed not suitable for the maids to know. If any important matters were overheard by them, for the greater good, people like Jiang Yifan might have to silence them or send them far away until Jinrong’s matters were resolved.
Ye Xinyan, feeling relieved, patted her chest and said, "Luckily, we weren’t saying anything critical at that moment; otherwise, I would have been startled by that maid Jiu Yue."
Jiang Yifan’s lips curved upwards as he chuckled softly, "Who says we weren’t talking about something important? I just suddenly thought that I didn’t know Ah Yan had such skills before. If I’d known, I would have chosen two clever and capable women to send to the Crown Prince’s side, and I wouldn’t have had to struggle so much to uncover the gaps in the Ministry of Revenue’s accounts over these years."
The Crown Prince’s reputation for extravagance and indulgence wasn’t for nothing. Not only did he like to show off, but he also had a penchant for beauties, especially those with distinctive looks.
It was said that the concubines at the Crown Prince’s Mansion varied in their charms. He didn’t care about status; widows and abandoned wives were no problem as long as they were top-tier and exceptional-looking, that was enough to win the Crown Prince’s favor.
Jiang Yifan actually felt a sense of regret, saying wistfully, "Mr. Hu had thought about this approach before, but we just couldn’t find suitable people. Women who are both breathtakingly beautiful and smart as well as reliable to work for the Sixth Master... sigh, if only I’d known earlier about Ah Yan’s unique skills, it would’ve been much easier to implement this plan. At least the range for our search could have been much wider."
Ye Xinyan rolled her eyes at him, "What are you thinking? Makeup is just a little embellishment on a person’s original appearance; it’s not a complete makeover. Besides, if there are other ways, don’t harm decent girls. They have parents and only live one life; why send them off to be mistreated?"
Jiang Yifan automatically ignored the latter part of Ye Xinyan’s words. He knew that in the era Ye Xinyan grew up in, women’s dignity was highly valued; they could read and stand on their own after adulthood.
But in this era, women’s roles were restricted. For many girls from poor families, even if they were beautiful, without special opportunities, they would still lead lives of poverty.
However, being trained for a special purpose at least meant they could have food and clothing, and very likely, secure a prosperous and stable future. This was the chance that many sought desperately.