Sassy Beauty Episode 3 Recap
> Sassy Beauty Recap
Si Yan found herself at the Beekeeping Site, a surprisingly shabby place within the grand East Mansion. After completing a quick game that rewarded her with a swarm of bees, she met Matron Liao. Matron Liao explained the importance of beeswax, a crucial ingredient for various cosmetics including eyebrow pencils, and strictly warned Si Yan against letting bees enter Prince Yi’s private garden, a place rich in rare flowers.
Si Yan was then tasked with opening a beehive, a prospect she initially balked at until she realized it was a necessary step to acquire beeswax, required for her mission to create eyebrow pencils. She grumbled, lamenting that this diversion from her goal would prevent her from becoming the Head Matron of the Palace Makeup Service. Later, Si Yan spotted Prince Yi reading by the river.
Still annoyed by him, she tried to get her bees to sting him, but to her exasperation, the bees seemed charmed by his good looks and ignored her command. Meanwhile, Prince Yi overheard his mother and a servant in the ancestral hall. His mother reminisced about his deceased brother, Prince Teng, whom she still held in the highest regard, expressing her hope that Prince Yi would marry Miss Min to secure his position.
She acknowledged that Prince Yi carried heavy burdens but kept them to himself. Troubled by this, Prince Yi sought solace in drink with his attendant. His attendant confessed to orchestrating the incident where Si Yan stopped Prince Yi’s carriage, admitting he did so to prevent Prince Yi from doing something he didn’t wish to do. Prince Yi, however, stated that as the sole surviving son, he must assume his brother's responsibilities.
He intended to marry Miss Min out of duty and respect, not love, to honor both her and his mother, believing he did not deserve happiness. That evening, Prince Yi visited the Cloud Brothel during a flower queen selection. He paid a hefty sum for a dancer named Yuege's handkerchief, only to be told by the proprietor that Yuege had vanished the previous night, leaving only the handkerchief. Prince Yi ordered his subordinates to investigate its origins.
An old matron later identified the handkerchief as an old design specifically distributed to Palace Makeup Service maids years ago, personally chosen by Prince Yi's mother. Elsewhere, Tong Rui, revealed to be the true Miss Min, continued to observe the mansion. She visited a jewelry store, delving into the mystery of the White Jade Boxes, a betrothal gift exchanged between her family and the city lord two decades prior.
The set originally comprised nine makeup boxes, but one—a rosewood powder box—went missing after Prince Teng’s death in battle when his camp suspiciously caught fire. She suspected the current replacement was fake and puzzled over why the least valuable box was the one stolen. She cautioned her attendant against prying into her personal quest. Back at the Beekeeping Site, Si Yan complained to Mark (her system) about her endless maid duties.
Matron Liao, in a surprising gesture of kindness, offered her a cleansing lotion for her skin. Si Yan continued to vent her frustration, learning from Matron Liao that genuine eyebrow pencils, called Luozi Dai, originated from Persia, and their recipe was a closely guarded secret of foreigners. This sparked a memory in Si Yan of a secret recipe book, "The Secret to Eyebrows," given to her previously.
Consulting it, she discovered that a vital ingredient, indigo flowers, grew in Prince Yi's private garden. Determined, Si Yan engineered a diversion, scattering fake money and releasing bees to draw away the guards, then stealthily entered Prince Yi's private garden. She located a blue flower and began to pluck it, only to be confronted by Prince Yi. In her attempt to escape, she accidentally ripped his clothes, revealing a rash on his body.
Si Yan quickly tried to talk her way out, suggesting that their clandestine meeting would invite scandalous rumors and that he should allow her to take a few flowers to avoid further gossip. Just then, Director Hua arrived, ready to reprimand Si Yan. In a final act of defiance, Si Yan commanded her bees to sting Director Hua, leaving him with a swollen forehead.
Enraged, Director Hua, already facing a shortage of eyebrow pencils in the mansion, vowed revenge on Si Yan as she was forcibly removed from the mansion. Later, a despondent Si Yan stood alone in the rain, lamenting her misfortune. Mark appeared, informing her that her mission failure rate had reached a critical point. He explained that time was irreversible within the game, but she could return to the main menu and choose a new mission.
Si Yan, recalling her father’s disapproval of her beauty blogger career and her own defiant past, decided against giving up. She affirmed that makeup was not merely a choice for her but a way to assert her existence, and she would persevere until the very end. Prince Yi, visiting his deceased brother's memorial tablet, pledged to emulate Prince Teng and live a life worthy of his memory. That night, Si Yan crept back into Prince Yi’s garden.
To her surprise, it was unguarded, allowing her to easily collect the indigo flowers. Unbeknownst to her, Prince Yi was observing from a distance, confirming that her only interest was the flowers. As she made her hasty exit, she accidentally dropped her hairpin. After several attempts, Si Yan finally succeeded in crafting the perfect Luozi Dai. Mark then helped her apply it to her eyebrows with precision.
She playfully suggested that applying it to herself would be more convincing proof of its quality and asked him to be gentle. Shortly after, Director Hua, his eyebrows still noticeably swollen, encountered Si Yan. She was momentarily startled by his appearance before noticing his reaction to her perfectly applied eyebrows. Si Yan, having successfully made the Luozi Dai, was preparing to bribe Director Hua when she encountered the Ninth Young Master, Qi Guanbao, and instantly developed a crush on him.
