Chapter One, the peach blossoms blaze anew

Now, Zi Shan stepped forward to persuade Miss Liu to wash her face. She merely reached out to dip her fingertips into the basin, tested the water temperature, and immediately frowned, withdrawing her hand.

Awu lightly teased a bit with her fingertips, her index finger and thumb kneading the powder apart. The powder was of good quality, but it did not adhere well to the skin. From a distance, it looked acceptable, but up close, it was evident that the powder was falling off. Awu had seen Miss Rong Wu, who certainly did not use such powder.

Thus, Awu is no longer Awu, but has become the Sixth Young Lady of the Rong Mansion, known by her formal name Rong Xuan and her courtesy name Wuyou.

Awu gazed at a purple garment adorned with dark gold embroidery of entwined chrysanthemum patterns and edged with golden chrysanthemum leaves, feeling a sense of familiarity. After lowering her gaze for a moment, she recalled that on the day Fifth Miss visited her, she had worn a similar coat. Another piece was a green collar embroidered with purple plum blossoms, which was also a style that Fifth Miss had worn before.

Zishan returned the basin, turned her back and exchanged a glance with Ziyan, and the two of them walked out together. Upon reaching the wall, Zishan could no longer contain her anger and said: "Miss, what is the meaning of this? If you have any dissatisfaction, you can express it openly. Why go through such trouble to torment others?"

Bring another basin of cold water, and find a sky-blue porcelain basin to hold it. This hot water needs to be even hotter. In the future, we will carry water into the house to mix it this way; otherwise, we do not know how much dust we have picked up along the way. Moreover, the cold water for washing the face is the most important; from now on, we will use the water from the well in the east courtyard. How can the water from the well in the west courtyard, used for washing clothes and vegetables, be suitable for washing the face

Awu sniffed and asked, "Where did you get this powder?"

Ah Wu never expected that he would actually come back to life by borrowing the body of the sixth young lady from the Rong family of the Duke of An's estate.

At the moment when the purple fan and purple inkstone were discussing trivial matters outside, Ah Wu in the room was still combing her hair, gazing at herself in the mirror, unable to take her eyes off her reflection. She truly could not understand how someone could be born with such beauty. Even though she was merely a little girl of six or seven years, the features of her face already hinted at the extraordinary beauty she would possess in the future.

Ah Wu gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Although she was only six or seven years old, the future beauty that would captivate the world could not be concealed even by her youthful face. It seemed that when she grew up, her looks would rival even those of Gu Xihui. Ah Wu could not understand how someone so remarkable seemed to be unheard of in the entire capital.

Just because of that face, even though she was the esteemed Princess Kangning, personally conferred by the emperor's uncle, and her fame was widespread, she could not compare to her second cousin, who merely had a pretty face. No matter how hard she tried or how well-behaved she was, everyone still preferred her second cousin—Gu Xihui, one of the two beauties of the capital.

Zi Yan pressed her hand to signal Zi Shan to be quieter

It is just like the Sixth Young Lady, who used to be the softest and kindest person. Whenever a maid threw a small tantrum, she not only did not blame them but instead would lower herself and apologize to the maid first. According to what Zishan just said, had it been before her illness, the Sixth Young Lady would have definitely come to apologize and hurriedly washed her face, never allowing Zishan to fetch water so many times.

Once the matter was settled, Ziyan fetched the powdered jade hairpin flower.

"I obtained this from Fifth Miss yesterday; I heard from the sound of the qin that it was newly made this year." For this box of powder, Purple Ink had to rely on a significant favor, simply because Sixth Miss disliked the powder in her own room, which was purchased from outside and mixed with lead powder

If one were to ask how Awu knows all this, it is entirely dependent on the fact that the patterns and rules of the prominent families in the capital are generally similar, and something happened. Two wells, each with its own responsibilities. It is likely that the Duke of Anguo's residence is no exception

As for this Sixth Young Lady, Awu is truly unfamiliar with her; in the last life, she was practically a figure he had never even heard of. Through piecing together information, he learned that she is the legitimate daughter of the third master Rong, a son of the Duke of Anguo, who has two sons and one daughter, with Rong Wuyou being the youngest. However, Awu is quite familiar with the Fifth Young Lady mentioned by Zishan, the talented young woman Rong Wan who has risen to prominence in the capital; she is indeed the other half of the renowned pair of beauties in the capital, alongside Gu Xihui.

Awu sat in front of the dressing mirror, carefully and affectionately combing her long, glossy black hair

Zi Yan followed the instructions, but felt increasingly puzzled. The rose dew from the Dashi, which had only been given one bottle to the Sixth Miss, was something she had always been reluctant to use. How could it be that today it was actually used in the face wash

In her previous life, she was of the utmost nobility, with her mother being the current Grand Princess and the emperor being her maternal uncle, who had always cherished her. Unfortunately, her fate was frail and her blessings shallow; she had been weak and sickly since childhood, with tonics flowing into her body like water, yet to no avail

Ah, wait a moment, you have tried so many times and the young lady is still not satisfied. You might as well not be lazy and bring the kettle here, then mix the water inside the room to save you from running around again, " Zi Yan hurriedly chased after Zi Shan and said.

Zi Shan attended to A Wu by placing a piece of white cotton cloth at her chest and neatly arranging her cuffs. Nearby, two young maidservants held a handkerchief and a rinsing basin. A Wu then lowered her head and bent down, first using hot water to wash her face with a soap-like substance, followed by a cool water rinse, which concluded her cleansing ritual

Zi Yan quickly lowered her head and bent down, "This servant knows her mistake and will fetch water for the young lady right away"

According to Awu's nature, these individuals should have been punished long ago, and she swiftly dismissed a few of them, replacing them with new ones. However, in recent days, Awu has vaguely realized that her previous incarnation was an extremely weak and easily bullied do-gooder. If Awu were to act recklessly, it is likely that within a few days, a Taoist would come to her door to exorcise evil spirits.

"Do not let the maid in Miss Wu's room use her own powder to deceive you." Awu disdainfully flicked the powder off her fingertips, "I am still young and do not need powder." Awu happily looked at her own face, which truly embodied the beauty that "disdains the color tainted by grease and powder"

"Where have you been? There's no one to attend to me even when I want a drink of water," complained Awu

Zi Yan exclaimed, "Oh dear, how are you speaking with such a tone? Although our Third Master is a son of a concubine, the Sixth Young Lady is still the apple of the eyes of both the Third Master and the Third Madam. While our Madam may not be able to manage others, everyone in this household is still under her control. I see that this time the Sixth Young Lady has recovered from her illness, and her demeanor has changed as well. You can no longer serve her in the same careless manner as before"

Upon hearing this, Zi Shan felt somewhat embarrassed and said, "I will go fetch some water."

After returning with water from the purple fan, Awu leisurely said: "Drop a few drops of the rose essence that the lady sent into the hot water, and take the bath bean surface out."

As expected by Awu, the Duke of Anguo's residence indeed has two wells. The water from the western courtyard is used for washing clothes and vegetables, while the water from the eastern courtyard is used for brewing tea

Who in this house does not know that since the Sixth Young Lady recovered from her illness the day before yesterday, she has developed a peculiar habit of sitting in front of the dressing mirror day after day, lost in thought? The old lady, feeling sorry for her frail health, has exempted her from the morning and evening rituals for these days, allowing her to sit in front of the mirror for an entire day if she wishes. Although she still does not speak much as before, Ziyan, who attends to her closely, can still sense the difference.

A bad premonition rose in Awu's heart. Although they were sisters, they were not identical twins; it was unreasonable to wear matching dresses. It was unclear whether the sixth young lady from her previous life was truly foolish or feigned ignorance. With her appearance, was there any need to imitate that mediocre talented girl, Rong Wu, in every aspect?

Zi Shan's heart skipped a beat, thinking that the Sixth Young Lady was truly remarkable. With the same well water, just a single touch from her, how could she discern that it was the water from the Xihe *Tushu* Academy

The purple fan shook off the hand of the purple inkstone and curled her lips towards the east wing where Miss Liu lived, "Does she think of herself as someone of great importance? Just because she has recovered from an illness, does she want to compare herself to Miss Wu? She doesn't consider that Miss Wu is the legitimate daughter of the master from the main house, and also a renowned talented woman in our capital. Even Miss Wu is not as picky as she is."

Awu lightly stirred the water with her fingertips and frowned, saying: "This is the well water from the western courtyard. If you continue to serve your master with such duplicity, it would be better for you to return to your mother sooner rather than later, to avoid making a grave mistake that could implicate your entire family in the future"

If it were not for this face, she would rather die again than be reborn into such a family, such a lowly status

Zi Yan did not find it amusing at all, "You, you just know how to be stubborn. If it were in the past, you would dare to say such things directly to the young lady, so why today do you instead drag me out to whisper about it?"

"It was this servant's folly that caused the mistake, and I shall fetch it again right away." Zi Shan no longer dared to act in contradiction to her words, and hurriedly went to fetch water again

When Ziyan entered the room, Awu finally came to her senses and recalled the unruly behavior of the maidservants in this house. Although they were the daughters of a concubine, they were still legitimate members of the Anguo Gongfu. It was hard to understand how Rong Wuyou could have thought it acceptable for these maidservants to be so coarse and foolish. It was ironic that she was named Wuyou, as Awu believed a name like Duoyou would have been more fitting.

This time, Zi Shan brought a copper kettle into the room, filled it with water from the pastel butterfly and peony porcelain basin. A Wu tested it and sighed helplessly, realizing that a maid from a humble household indeed lacked a bit of cleverness; if you do not make it clear, she would not understand even after three to five days.

Zi Yan anxiously gestured for Zi Shan to be quiet.

Just as Zifan, who had just come in after washing her face, raised her eyebrows and asked Ziyan, who was attending to her in the room: "Still combing? I've already splashed water three times here."

However, it is said that Awu cannot truly distinguish between the water from the East Courtyard and the water from the West Courtyard; she merely seized upon the arrogance of the purple fan and played a trick on her.

Zi Shan patiently went to fetch a basin of cool water, feeling frustrated in her heart, and specifically drew from the well in the western courtyard. After much effort, she finally selected a porcelain basin adorned with a sky-blue relief of a single white plum blossom to hold the water.

At that moment, Awu got up to inspect Liu Gu Niang's wardrobe. There were not many clothes, mostly half-worn everyday skirts, and there were very few garments suitable for receiving guests.

Zi Yan was secretly annoyed with herself for forgetting this matter. After the Sixth Young Lady recovered from her illness, she no longer allowed the little maid to enter the room freely. Inside, all the service was provided by Zi Yan and Zi Shan.

In the past, Awu and Gu Xihui both admired the foremost talent of the capital, the second son of Tang Jinshan, the Grand Scholar of the Wen Yuan Pavilion and the Prince of the current dynasty. It was not at first sight that the great talent, Tang, chose the empty-headed Gu Xihui.

Only now did Zi Shan understand that despite having tried so many times, she had never truly grasped her master's intentions

In the end, she, who was honored as Princess of Conning, could not marry due to her frail health, and few showed interest in her; she managed to hold on until her twenties before passing away

"Bring the mint water," Awu added, no longer pursuing the previous faults. This Ziyan is an understanding person, just in need of some discipline. Awu thought that if he really could not be driven away, he would have to make do and adjust himself. If he truly is a rotten wood that cannot be carved, then he would think of another way to get rid of him.

As for her appearance, although it is not bad, it cannot withstand the toll of years of illness. No matter how good the shampoo or how vibrant the rouge, it cannot remedy the sparse hair and the yellowing skin.

Zi Shan scoffed lightly, dismissing the matter. "What different ways of doing things? Isn’t it just trying to imitate Miss Wu’s style? It’s laughable, completely like Dong Shi trying to imitate someone. What was it again? I forgot. How did Young Master Lun describe Miss Liu last time?" Zi Shan curled her lips in a mocking smile