Chapter 346 Trouble
Upon hearing this, Old Master Fu coughed twice before solemnly saying, "Today, the King of Northern Frontier ascended the throne, made the eldest daughter of the Meng family his empress, and changed the country's name to Zhaoming. The capital has never been so lively, so I spent a lot of time finding out about it."
"Besides the six bodies the authorities found in the well, they are still investigating the cause of death of the four maids and have already exhumed their bodies for autopsies. It shouldn't be long before the authorities guess that we used the maids' faces. When they use the maids' portraits to search, the princess and I will be doomed."
"So fast?" Princess Qiongxiao stood up, nervously twisting the handkerchief in her hand. "It's all my fault for being so greedy for the gentle embrace of the Princess's mansion. I didn't think of escaping until the Northern King breached the capital. I didn't clean up the corpses and bloodstains in the mansion, which is why I left such a huge disaster."
Of the six corpses in the well, besides Zheng Qingshan, the other five were people she disliked or was tired of in the manor. Although Old Master Fu's skills were unparalleled, he still needed to practice and consolidate them from time to time to avoid any mishaps when truly needed.
Those she disliked became the targets of Fu Lao's practice on how to change skins.
She was the sole mistress of Princess Qiongxiao's household, so the deaths of a few unimportant male concubines or servants over the years were not a big deal. These people had no relatives or friends, so she didn't even need to explain herself to anyone.
While Wen Zhiming was winning battle after battle, and the former emperor was only focused on finding hostages, Princess Qiongxiao knew that the capital was about to change.
With the death of the former emperor, she would no longer be the pampered Princess Qiongxiao, and her grudges with the royal family would be settled. It was time for her to start a new life.
So about a month ago, she began preparing for the face-changing procedure. Her targets were the young, pretty, and helpless maids in her own household.
Guan Yi'an's experience of facial injury taught her that human skin is easily damaged, so she needs to prepare several in advance.
And so, apart from Han Cui, the other four maids died one after another in Old Master Fu's dark basement, leaving behind four fine faces.
With a new face, Princess Qiongxiao was not in a hurry to put it on. She began to dislike the skin on other parts of her body. No matter how well she took care of her body, she was already over forty years old and could not compare to the firm and smooth skin of a twenty-year-old girl.
Fu Lao had only ever had her face replaced, and had no experience replacing other parts of the body's skin. However, Princess Qiongxiao had given her an order, so she had to try. She cut off the rest of the skin from the four maids, but found that the four maids' figures were slightly different from Princess Qiongxiao's, making it impossible to achieve a perfect fit and deceive the eye.
Before Master Fu could succeed, the King of the Northern Frontier stormed into the palace. Princess Qiongxiao was worried that the new emperor would ruin her plan to be reborn, so she had no choice but to escape through the secret passage of the princess's residence with Master Fu and Han Cui.
To her surprise, the day after she left, Meng Lingge personally went to Princess Qiongxiao's residence and unexpectedly discovered a secret hidden in Old Master Fu's courtyard.
The case attracted a thorough investigation by the authorities, and she, Han Cui, and Old Master Fu all became targets of the search by the soldiers. With no other choice, she had to accept Old Master Fu's face transplant.
She wore the face of Hanlu, and was the most beautiful of the four maids.
Han Yan, the least attractive of the four maids, was given to Master Fu.
Because Han Cui refused to change her face, she and Old Master Fu temporarily imprisoned her in an empty room in the courtyard.
Princess Qiongxiao was utterly devastated that the new face she had painstakingly acquired was still being searched by the authorities.
Fu Lao said, "It's no use regretting it now. The most urgent thing is for the princess and me to find a safer way out. As for Han Cui, if she doesn't cooperate, we'll have to give her up."
Old Master Fu disliked Han Yan's face very much. It was too young and didn't match the skin of the rest of her body at all. Every time she went out, she had to cover herself up completely, only showing her face. Even so, when people heard her voice, they still treated her like a monster.
She's too old.
Even if she were to have a suitable young person's skin replaced, her body would never be as agile and strong as a young person's. Her voice would also lack the clear and melodious quality of a young woman's.
Taking this opportunity, she wanted to find a face that was only twenty or thirty years younger than her actual age to replace her own.
Princess Qiongxiao's eyes were as deep as a still pool.
"Go to the East Market first thing tomorrow morning and buy two female slaves. Buy one as you need, and the other with a face similar to mine, who must be young and beautiful. As for Han Cui, don't even think about her for now."
Old Fu chuckled hoarsely twice, like a rusty door hinge suddenly turning.
“This old servant has long noticed that the princess treats that little girl Han Cui differently. She previously said she would take a well-behaved and diligent maid with her to take care of you. But since the other four maids died, Han Cui has become estranged from you and refuses to change her ways. She's been kept locked up all day, so she can't take care of you, and you're the one who has to take care of her. If this continues, she'll not only be a burden, but also a huge problem…”
Princess Qiongxiao felt irritated by what she heard.
She truly hadn't expected that Wen Zhiming would capture the palace so quickly after entering the capital, causing her to flee in a hurry and allowing Han Cui to witness that horrific scene. Now, no matter how she coaxed and cajoled, Han Cui refused to change her face.
She closed her eyes and insisted, "With your time, you should think about how to replace the rest of my skin with youthful and vibrant ones. You don't need to worry about anything else. Whether Han Cui is a burden or a nuisance, I can take care of her for the rest of my life."
Old Fu was slightly taken aback, his cloudy old eyes darted around, and he sighed softly.
"It seems this old servant underestimated how much the princess values Han Cui. I previously suggested drugging Han Cui and replacing her face while she was unconscious, so she would have no choice but to accept it when she woke up. But the princess couldn't bring herself to do it. Now, I have a way to replace the princess's entire skin, so there's no need to mention it again..."
She seemed hesitant to speak, which made Princess Qiongxiao frown slightly.
"Just tell me what you want to do. Why leave things half-said? What does this method have to do with Han Cui?"
Although her skin wasn't youthful or delicate, it was still usable. However, having already experienced both great fortune and hardship in the first half of her life, she wanted to be reborn and find a handsome and talented man to dote on her for life, to experience the joy of being loved.
This skin has been used for over forty years now. In a few more years, it will definitely be old and unrecognizable. When that time comes, how can her groom still love a woman with rosy cheeks and an almond-shaped face but a body with loose, old skin?
If we wait until then to make the change, firstly, we don't know if Old Master Fu will live that long, and secondly, with so many people around, there's a high risk of something going wrong.
Therefore, this matter must be settled before finding a suitable husband.
Old Fu glanced at the door that was closed to Han Cui and said in a sinister tone, "The skin of the four maids before was somewhat different from the princess's figure, but Han Cui was the closest to the princess's figure. Not only were her waist and chest and arms similar in size, but even the length of her fingers and toes were almost identical."
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