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Looking up and smiling at Lin Yuan, Lin Jiaxin put down the chisel in his hand, and with a wave of his other hand, he laughed, "Isn’t it your little sister who insisted that I carve a few small boxes for her? She even drew up the plans herself."

Xiao Linshuang’s?

Lin Yuan curiously picked up the drawing on the table and looked it over. Ignoring the quality of the drawing and the lines for the moment, it was the small round boxes depicted that felt strikingly familiar to her.

Picking up a small box that was already carved, Lin Yuan opened and closed the lid a couple of times before wrinkling her little nose and muttering, "Why does this look so much like a container for rouge and face powder?"

"Ha-ha, because that’s exactly what it’s for!"

Lin Jiaxin couldn’t help but smile at his eldest daughter, "Your sister said the boxes she bought for her rouge were too ugly, and wanted me to make some pretty ones for her. And so, she brought me the designs. Tsk tsk, that little girl—I’m not one to talk, but does her drawing really look better than those you can buy in the market? "

Thinking of Xiao Linshuang’s serious little demeanor when she had come to him, Lin Jiaxin couldn’t hide his smile. Each of his daughters was more promising than the last, and even the littlest knew how to fancy up!

While fiddling with the small box in her hand, Lin Yuan suddenly remembered the herbs Xiao Linshuang and Lao Fan had been secretly working with in their room these past few days.

Could it be that these two were making rouge and face powder?

It seemed they were planning to break into the world of cosmetics!

Lin Yuan was never particularly interested in rouge and face powder, so she didn’t press the matter. She wrapped up the mirror frames that Lin Jiaxin had finished making with great care, and then moved them with Shui Xian to the horse carriage outside.

Yin Xing stayed behind at Yi Ran Residence to teach the young ladies about poise, and Lin Yuan didn’t trust anyone else with the mirror frames, so she decided to take them herself.

In addition to the mirror frames, she also took a good supply of Xuan paper from Lin Jiaxin, as well as some homemade charcoal pencils she used for drawing.

When she had finished everything and returned to the cellar in He family village, Xia Zheng was already there waiting outside the cellar entrance with two men.

Without Lin Yuan’s permission, he hadn’t let the two men in, even though they were both Hidden Guards of the Xia Family Army; they were, after all, under orders from Xia Yuan and Xia Zhen, and differed from Lin Yi, so Xia Zheng still didn’t quite trust them.

Lin Yuan knew Xia Zheng’s intentions clearly, like looking into a mirror. She first let Lin Yi take the Hidden Guards to the horse carriage to move the mirror frames, and then took the large roll of Xuan paper from Shui Xian.

Xia Zheng casually took the Xuan paper, and as they conversed, they moved into the cellar.

"There are more than these two who have mastered Glazed Cutting Technology, but these two are the most skilled. Our mirrors are too precious; I don’t want our efforts to be for naught."

It would be such a waste if problems in cutting spoiled the large piece of mirror.

Lin Yuan understood very clearly. As she spoke, she wasn’t idle; with a bucket of water available in the cellar, she soaked a cloth and then wiped the mirror’s surface evenly.

Xia Zheng was both curious and puzzled—the mirror already looked impeccably clean; why wipe it?

While he pondered, Lin Yuan’s next move surprised him even more.

She took the Xuan paper from his hand, and while the water spots on the mirror had not yet dried, she carefully laid the paper over it.

Although thin, the Xuan paper was not transparent and stuck firmly to the mirror when wet, effectively obscuring the mirror which normally would have reflected a clear image.

Realizing this, Xia Zheng couldn’t remain clueless. So that was Lin Yuan’s method of covering the reflective surface; by doing this, even if someone saw it, they wouldn’t know what lay beneath the paper.

He had been considering how to ensure the two Hidden Guards kept their mouths shut about today’s business, but now he laughed at himself shaking his head—why go to the trouble of threatening the Hidden Guards? Wouldn’t it be easier just to prevent them from seeing the mirror’s true nature?

In addition to covering the front of the mirror with Xuan paper, the back also required attention.

Lin Yuan had previously asked Butler Zhou to prepare some pigments used by craftsmen to color furniture.

While these pigments weren’t as sturdy as paint, they wouldn’t fade immediately.

Applying these pigments to the surface of the mercury, no one would be able to discern what substance was painted on to create the mirror’s reflection.

And so, the secret of how the mirror formed images would remain unknown to anyone else.