Otherworldly Merchant

“This sort of sentimental man is really rare,” said the red-haired girl. “Although he knew they wouldn’t be together, he still kept loving her…”

“Indeed, a man like him is rare nowadays…”

“If I were Yang Guifei, I would have run away with Li Bai.”

“That Emperor Xuanzong was nothing compared to Li Bai. In the end, he even sentenced Yang Guifei to death! What a filthy animal he was!”

The girls sighed with emotion and complained over this injustice. Li Mazi also stated that he was way more manly than Emperor Xuanzong.

I kept silent and tried to find a solution.

There were two ways to send Li Bai off. The first way was to vanquish his soul, while the second to solve his grudge.

I opted for the second way.

To solve Li Bai’s grudge, we had to fulfill his last wish by letting him see his beloved one.

However, it wasn’t a practical option to summon Yang Guifei. In the end, I decided to dress someone like Yang Guifei with the help of makeup.

I went to the study room and took Li Bai’s drawing of the woman. I held it in my hands and studied it carefully.

Li Mazi approached me. “What are you doing?”

“Tonight, we need to perform another play.”

“A play?” Li Mazi smiled. “Well, we don’t lack actresses here.”

I sighed, “But the performance tonight won’t be the same. It’s important and there could be some bed-play…”

“Bed-play?” Li Mazi opened his eyes wide and staggered behind me like a duck. “Not bad. I’m looking forward to it.”

I shot him a glance. “Stop causing trouble.”

Then, I went over to the ladies, who were still chatting amongst themselves.

Mrs. Qi immediately asked me, “Do you have a solution to make the resentful Li Bai leave my husband alone?”

“Li Bai doesn’t want to leave because he has a knot in his heart that hasn’t been untied yet. As soon as his wish is fulfilled, he will leave.”

Mrs. Qi rubbed her forehead. “He wants to see Yang Guifei, but how can we find her?”

“We don’t actually need to find the real one. As long as that woman looks similar to her and has some talent, we can fool him. He’s not Li Bai in his full form. He’s just a wisp of Li Bai’s resentful soul without a clear conscience. We just need to make that woman look similar to Yang Guifei.”

"All right,” said Mrs. Qi. “Yin Xinyue performed really well last night. We just need to dress her like Yang Guifei tonight. It will work, I suppose.”

I waved my hands. “We can’t do that. I suspect that Li Bai wants to have an intimate relationship with Yang Guifei. What to do if Mr. Qi really makes a move?”

When I said that, people looked at each other.

The red-haired girl said, “That shouldn’t be the case, right? I can tell Li Bai was a righteous man. I don’t think he would do that kind of pervy act.”

I gave her a bitter smile. “I guess you don’t have much contact with men. Appetite and lust are only natural for us. Although he acts righteous in front of the woman he loves, he must have some lust.”

The girl with long hair nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. I totally agree.”

“How about I do it instead?” said Mrs. Qi. “We're a married couple, so I don’t mind.”

I nodded. “That’s exactly what I meant.”

“But I have never learned how to act. What if I blow it? Will he kill me?”

“Although you haven’t learned acting, we have a bunch of professional actresses here. Let them teach you.”

The young ladies nodded in agreement.

Yin Xinyue said, “If you don’t want to make any mistakes, we have to start from your clothing and etiquette. Still, there were many rules in the palace during the Tang dynasty, and I’m afraid we can’t get it done in one day.”

I said, “We are left with no other choice. Mrs. Qi, you have to try your best…”

Mrs. Qi nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll do my best.”

Yin Xinyue was professionally trained, and she could be deemed an expert in this field. She explained how, while walking, one had to stroll with small steps. While talking, they had to choose nice and elegant words with a soft tone. While eating, they had to be careful not to show their teeth or clank their chopsticks.

Just practicing how to walk properly had worn out Mrs. Qi. However, when she looked at her husband’s weakened appearance, she gritted her teeth and continued.

She also seized the time to learn some ancient poems, especially the ones Li Bai had written to Yang Guifei.

Although she hadn’t picked up a book in years, Mrs. Qi used to be a university student. After a little review, she remembered most of the poems.

They had a simple meal and didn’t even take a lunch break. They just focused on their training.

The other girls didn’t stay idle, either. They went back to their company to prepare the costumes and cosmetics. After noontime, they arrived with a big box of makeup tools.

“How long will it take to apply the makeup?” I asked.

“I need at least two hours,” answered the red-haired lady.

I thought that Mrs. Qi had practiced enough, so I asked her to stop and let the red-haired girl apply the makeup and do her hair.

One of the young ladies was a professional makeup artist, so she was in charge of most of Mrs. Qi’s makeup.

Mrs. Qi had an oval face, while Yang Guifei had a round face. Also, their facial features weren’t really similar. I wondered if they could really make it work.

But after they were finished, I was completely convinced by their techniques.

The old Mrs. Qi was gone, and the woman standing in front of us was the noble, graceful, and lavish Yang Guifei.

Her oval face looked rounder, which made me wondered what kind of technique they had used to achieve this.

She wore a pair of contact lenses. Her nose looked higher, and her red, succulent lips outlined her white teeth. Her hair was put up into an elegant bun, and she wore an imperial robe that was popular in the Tang dynasty.

She was now completely different from the previous vulgar-looking Mrs. Qi.

I was shocked. Had modern makeup techniques reached such an awesome level already?

I turned to check Li Mazi. The man had dropped his jaw and was drooling. If I didn’t remind him, I guessed he would have a nosebleed.

Mrs. Qi looked at me and said in a soft voice, “Your Majesty, your servant can’t do that!”

Her petite body, with her shy appearance, was a delightful torment to a man’s desire.

Yin Xinyue pinched me hard. I returned to my senses and smiled. “You guys are awesome. You’ve aced it!”

The red-haired girl wore a proud face. “That’s a given. If you want, we can turn you into Empress Zhao Feiyan.”

Li Mazi couldn’t help but laugh. “Have makeup techniques become so powerful that they can even change someone’s gender now?”

I was satisfied with their work, and I felt that everything would go well tonight.

It was around twilight, so we used the same method as yesterday to feed Mr. Qi. After eating, Mr. Qi fell asleep again.

I also checked the livor mortis on Mr. Qi’s neck. Most of it was gone and Mr. Qi looked better.

I concluded that Mr. Qi’s conditions looked bad the previous days because he hadn’t eaten anything for quite a long time.

Next was a long wait.

Mrs. Qi, now dressed as Yang Guifei, sat in a dignified manner and recited from an ancient book of poems in a soft voice. She had the right style and right look at this moment. Even I was charmed by her elegance and mistook her for the real Yang Guifei.

We then hid in the kitchen and quietly watched.

Around midnight, Mr. Qi stood up from his bed. At first, he absentmindedly looked around. Then, he headed to the bathroom.

But when he passed by Mrs. Qi, he looked at her in astonishment.

However, he was stunned for just a while. He didn’t linger and walked to the bathroom to take a bath and change himself.

Mrs. Qi threw me a questioning glance. I knew she was asking for help. That guy actually failed to recognize Yang Guifei!