Fei Li felt overwhelmed just looking at the haul Song Lin had brought over. It was absurd the amount of jewellery and accessories laid out. Glimmering gold, glittering gems, dangling pearls, each more precious and elaborate than the last. And that was only the start, the array of painstakingly embroidered robes and sashes filled a wall with every colour imaginable.
It didn’t stop there either. He sat in the centre of the room, dressed in plain black inner robes and beside him was a table filled with makeup and hair tools. He didn’t yet regret his decision, but…
“He wouldn’t pass for a woman, no matter how hard you tried. Even if we ignore his height, his shoulders are too broad and his jawline is too strong. But you should still do his makeup more feminine. If I’ve learned anything from Mei Mei, it’s easier to be underestimated and wrongly assumed to be harmless if your features look more feminine.” Lu Qinyi spoke to Song Lin as he snooped through the various outfits hung up. He ran the delicate fabrics through his fingers before sliding down to pull up one of the sleeves for a closer look at the patterns along the cuff.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. General Fei, close your eyes.”
Fei Li closed his eyes and allowed Song Lin to apply powder to his face. He had spent much time under the warm sun of the North, and so he naturally had a warmer complexion. The powder brought his skin tone back to the paler complexion that was considered preferable by the current beauty standard. But it irritated his nose. He tried hard to hold it in, but in the end he couldn’t keep himself from sneezing as he breathed in the loose particles.
“Are you selecting an outfit for him? You have good taste. How surprising. Have you seen many courtesans?” Song Lin commented.
Fei Li ended up opening his eyes again to see Lu Qinyi carrying over a deep red robe. He brought it up to rest against Fei Li’s shoulder so he could assess how it looked.
“I have a good taste in general, but yes, I’ve seen some. Men and women.” He gave a disgusted look at the way Song Lin gazed at him. “It wasn’t for me. I was a general. The times I had to drag my soldiers from a brothel after giving them a night off weren’t few.”
Fei Li was also a general, but he had never bothered with that. He ruled quite strictly, but also quite loosely. So long as his men were where they were meant to be when they were meant to be there, and didn’t cause any damage, he paid no mind to whatever else they did. He had also never stepped foot into a brothel, so the most he had seen of courtesans were when nobles had offered them to him to try and ingratiate themselves. It had become quietly known that Fei Li had been with women and men alike, so male courtesans had also been offered. But Fei Li didn’t even glance at them, so he didn’t really know enough to be able to comment on how he was to be dressed.
Lu Qinyi turned away to put the red robes aside.
“Why not the red? He looked quite striking, particularly with hair as dark as his. And red is always a passionate colour.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ktja’r fzjmais kts cba. Snfc atbeut la ibbxr ubbv bc tlw, la’r abb jaafcalbc vgjklcu. Pa’r yfra obg er ab yf jr lcmbcrqlmeber jr qbrrlyif.” Oe Hlcsl vgfk bea j qfjmt mbibegfv gbyf jcv tfiv la eq. Lf vgjuufv tlr olcufgr jibcu atf ojyglm jr tf lcrqfmafv la, rffwlcuis rjalrolfv. “Ktlr bcf.”
“General Fei, I need you to close your eyes.” Song Lin said as she held an ornate golden jar filled with red rouge. She scraped a small amount onto her finger tip and rubbed it against her thumb to lighten the colour. Once Fei Li closed his eyes again, she brushed it lightly at the outer corners of his eyelids to give them a pink colour. She did the same along the tops of his cheek bones before picking up a paint brush to blend the edges. Her eyes never seemed to have lifted from her work of art, yet somehow she must have glanced at some point as she commented, “That one is quite a suitable choice then. It’s a softer colour and the patterns are subtle. It won’t leave a large impression.”
“Yes, but it’s not like we can make him too forgettable either. Otherwise we might be turned away too quickly. He has to draw enough attention, but no more than that.”
“The right choice of accessories will give you the effect you wish for. I have a few beautiful hair accessories that should do the trick without being too much. General Fei, part your lips. Just slightly. So… Have you put any thought into who will tend to Fei Li’s looks when the time comes to dress up again? Will you need another to travel with you?”
Fei Li opened his eyes again and once more obeyed. Lu Qinyi stood beside him with a slight thoughtful tilt to his head. He stared at Fei Li while Song Ling applied a red tint to his lips using a small brush.
“No, I can do it. There is nothing you’ve done so far that I would be unable to do. And choose whatever hairstyle you wish. I will be able to replicate that too.” Lu Qinyi replied. He then lifted a hand to brush a lock of Fei Li’s hair away from his ear. “Do you have any earrings here?”
Song Lin waved her hand in a direction before resting her hand delicately at her cheek while she examined her work. She seemed satisfied and placed the brush down to begin on Fei Li’s hair.
Fei Li could only sit still quietly while being treated like a doll by the two experts in the room. And the only thing he could look at from his position was Lu Qinyi.
Lu Qinyi seemed deep in thought as he examined the earrings laid out in rows on the table before he finally picked one up. He returned to Fei Li and held it up to the side that was pierced, yet had remained bare for some time now. It was a beautiful and intricately detailed gold earring, set with a vibrant ruby red gem. It had dangling gold accents, delicate gold chains and tiny red beads that were more typical of courtesan fashion. It was much more flashy than his and Lu Qinyi’s tastes, if the last earring Lu Qinyi had given him was anything to go by. But still, Lu Qinyi hummed softly in approval as he casually dropped the earring into Fei Li’s lap. “Red looks good on you.”
…Fei Li wasn’t sure how to feel about that, nor how to respond to the unexpected compliment. But Lu Qinyi had only been making a passing comment and had already lost interest as he strolled off somewhere out of his line of sight.
It took some time for Song Lin to complete the complicated hairstyle, with half of Fei Li’s hair up in a style of twists, loops and decorative braids. The rest swept along his shoulders and exposed neck. The robes he had changed into had a wider neckline, exposing more of his collarbone and the beginning of his shoulders. It also came together much lower than his usual clothes, revealing a peek of his chest as well.
When Fei Li looked at himself in the mirror, he was quite surprised by the appearance reflected back. Fei Li had plain features and simple looks. He wasn’t remarkable like Lu Qinyi was, but neither was he bad to look at. His looks were mostly un-noteworthy. Although the way he had been dressed and the makeup he had been given purposefully deducted away from his masculine features, he instead had an air of muted beauty. It wasn’t particularly memorable, but it was easy on the eyes.
“It’s good.” Fei Li said after a while.
Song Lin was smiling proudly as she flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Of course it is.”
Lu Qinyi didn’t say anything as he popped another toasted seed into his mouth. He had returned not long ago with snacks he had gotten from who-knows-where.
“Then let’s begin your lesson on mannerisms, shall we? Or you’ll never be able to pass for a true courtesan, no matter how prettily we dress you,” Song Lin announced eagerly.
Fei Li frowned a little. He had known about needing to look the part, but no one had ever mentioned needing to act the part.
—
“Dainty hands, General Fei, dainty hands! Eyes downcast, always. You want to seem shy or obedient since it would be too hard for you to be flirty. You want to entice. Shoulders relaxed, don’t be so tense. You need to show off your collarbones. Imagine a sweeping line from your neck to your shoulder. You want to keep that open, it has to be inviting!”
Fei Li’s lips twitched as he felt his patience finally running thin. It wasn’t the acting and posture lesson wearing it out however.
“Fine. But I don’t see what need there is for him to be here.” Fei Li gave a pointed look to Lu Qinyi, who was lounging around and eating snacks. He seemed like he was enjoying an entertaining show, all while doing absolutely nothing of value.
Even when Fei Li tried to remain focused, he could feel Lu Qinyi’s gaze following his every movement, and it was becoming impossible for him to simply ignore.
Lu Qinyi gave an obnoxious grin as he propped his head on his hand. “Of course I do. How else will I know if you’re doing it right in the future? So focus. If you get something wrong when we are doing this for real, I’ll have no choice but to pinch you for every single time you get it wrong~” Lu Qinyi said in a falsely sweet tone.
Fei Li’s patience was going to snap. He glared at him but Lu Qinyi only seemed more amused, as if he were having a brilliant time. “There has never been a single time I have ever incorrectly performed something I have learnt. I would be learning much faster if you were not here.”
Lu Qinyi’s smile said he already knew both these things. He tossed a nut into the air and caught it in his mouth before chewing it loudly. Lu Qinyi really had no intention of leaving.
“You can’t glare. And look down. Fan posture, General Fei! What is your hand doing?” Song Lin scolded and Fei Li quickly softened the grip that had unconsciously tightened with irritation. Fei Li sincerely regretted this decision.
Author’s Notes:
Oops… I promised 3 chapters, wrote them and had them sitting there completely reviewed and awaiting editing… and never did. Unfortunately life unexpectedly got a bit rough. Sometimes life gives you lemons, and sometimes it minces your lemons :’)
I’m really very sorry guys.
Please enjoy Fei Li being babygirled as compensation. Sometimes you want to take your strong and respectable general and put him at the mercy of one dangerous Song-Lu combo. Editor Rae-san and I have taken to joking about FL being the babygirl and Lu Qinyi being the wifey, it was some meme we saw. Technically they’re switches, they both are the babygirl and the wifey, but he’s babygirl today alright guys? And for the foreseeable future. Ah poor FL, the evil things I do to him. Or rather, that LQ does to him. :3 I love my life, I get to mess with these two little gays as much as I want.
I hope everyone is having a better time and enjoys the long awaited 3 chapters of chaos~
