Chapter 628 The True Colors Are Revealed
Guo's appearance aged day by day.
To avoid being discovered by Prince An, she deliberately avoided seeing him.
The maidservant outside advised, "Madam, if you don't go soon, Prince An might favor other women."
Guo locked herself in her room and refused to see anyone. In her eyes, it was better not to see Prince An until her death than to reveal her true colors in front of him, so that she could leave a beautiful image in his heart.
She sternly rebuked the maid, "Tell the prince I'm sick and I'm not going!"
The maidservant didn't dare say anything more and hurriedly left.
A few days later, the maid came again to deliver a message, "Madam, Prince An is hosting a banquet at the manor today and would like to invite you to attend."
Without a second thought, Guo was about to refuse.
The maid interrupted her, saying, "Madam, Master said that the King is coming to the mansion today, and you must go."
People generally say that Princess An is as beautiful as a fairy, a rare sight in the world.
The king came to see her, and Prince An naturally wouldn't allow her to hide inside and not come out.
Left with no other choice, Guo took out some herbs to dye all her hair black, and then used a thick layer of lead powder to cover her face.
After her careful dressing up, she looked much like normal again.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Guo suddenly regained her confidence. She put on a bright orange dress, adorned with a red hairpin and a gold hairpin, and led by a group of maids to the garden where the banquet was being held.
When King An saw her coming, he prepared to go forward to greet her, but after taking two steps, he was suddenly stopped by the king beside him.
"Don't rush to see your wife yet. It's been a long time since my son and I sat down for a drink together. Come on, have a drink."
The old king raised his wine cup to toast King An.
King An felt embarrassed to refuse, so he could only drink with the old king first.
Guo sat down not far from the two of them.
She was surrounded by several high-ranking officials and their female relatives.
The ladies had long heard of Princess An's beauty, and today, upon their visit, they all wished to befriend her.
However, when they saw Princess An approaching from afar, they all showed surprise.
The woman whose face was painted pale, like a dead person, was actually from the Prince An's mansion.
"I've heard that Princess An is as beautiful as a fairy, but looking at her like this, she's not even as beautiful as an ordinary woman."
"That's right. I think those people are just exaggerating. She's just a young woman with some looks, but the rumors have made her out to be a celestial being."
"Haha, I think it's Prince An's eyes that are not working properly."
Their voices were not loud, and they were drowned out by the music.
Guo noticed nothing amiss and was even preparing to get up and flirt with the old king.
She had just stood up when someone suddenly said, "Everyone says that Princess An is exceptionally beautiful, and is also proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Why don't we have the Princess perform a dance for us?"
"That's right, the King is also here today, so we can all witness Princess An's unparalleled beauty together."
"Yes, yes, I've heard that as long as one can see the princess's face, one would die without regret."
Upon hearing this, Guo lowered her head and buried her face in the dim light.
Prince An looked up at her and could only see her graceful figure. For a moment, he did not realize that something was wrong with her appearance.
He said with a smile, "Madam, why don't you dance a song?"
Guo loved it when people complimented her looks, and now that she had the chance to show off, she was naturally happy to do so.
She rose and bowed, saying, "Then I shall make a fool of myself."
Prince An squinted, his face full of doting smiles.
He felt very proud to have such a beautiful woman in his household.
As Guo slowly walked forward, lanterns were lit, enveloping her in a bright and dazzling light.
Everyone was blinded by the light.
The music began to play softly.
Guo danced gracefully; she had learned this dance for the magistrate, and now it was proving useful.
Halfway through the dance, a sudden clap of thunder flashed across the sky, followed by a cold wind.
The wind blew out half of the lanterns, and everyone gradually saw Guo Shi dancing.
Everyone was terrified by Guo's deathly pale face.
Even Prince An rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Is this Princess An? I don't think she's particularly beautiful, just a bit fair-skinned."
I don't know who had the audacity to say that.
The old king frowned, his face full of disappointment.
Prince An's face was somewhat unpleasant. He looked at Madam Guo in disbelief, unable to believe his eyes. He immediately looked around, thinking that he must have made a mistake.
That was not the imperial concubine he had favored for so long.
"Your Highness, have you hidden the Princess Consort?"
"Yes, it must be hidden."
Prince An looked around but still couldn't see Guo Shi. Gradually, he noticed that the woman dancing in front of him had the same figure as Guo Shi, and even her clothes were the same as Guo Shi's.
He gradually realized that the woman in front of him, whose face was as pale as a female ghost, was his favorite concubine.
Prince An's hands trembled involuntarily.
Suddenly, a few raindrops appeared on the ground.
Suddenly, a torrential downpour began when no one was paying attention.
Before Guo could react, she was soaked by the torrential rain.
The rain washed away not only the herbal dye from her hair, but also the lead powder from her face.
It clearly revealed her aged appearance.
Gradually, Guo found that her legs and feet were not as flexible as usual, and she fell to the ground, unable to dance anymore.
Everyone turned to look at her.
There sat an old woman with a full head of white hair on the ground. Her face was full of wrinkles, her cheeks were sunken, her eyes were lifeless, her eyelids were folded together, and only half of her eyeballs could be seen.
Someone covered their mouth and screamed, "Ah! A ghost! Ah!"
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