Having shaken off the clingy little dumpling in an almost hasty retreat, Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan were filled with a complex mix of guilt, reluctance, and excitement at the prospect of freedom.
But they all knew that the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released.
In order not to let their heart-wrenching farewell go to waste, the two did not delay and immediately returned to the secret chamber of Kunning Palace to begin the final and most crucial step in their "skipping work" plan—changing their appearance.
Inside the secret room, the candlelight was turned up even brighter.
Lin Wanwan took a deep breath and opened the mysterious "disguise box" again.
This time, Xiao Che was no longer just a curious bystander like before; he was about to become the first "victim" of his empress's "divine skills."
"Your Majesty, please sit down." Lin Wanwan pointed to the stool in front of the bronze mirror, her face showing the excitement of a professional makeup artist about to "show off her skills."
Looking at the bottles and jars she took out of the box, as well as the row of brushes of different lengths and colors, Xiao Che felt that his face was about to suffer a great deal, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Wanwan," he sat down, looking at his incomparably handsome face in the mirror, and asked somewhat uncertainly, "Is your... technique reliable? Will there be... any side effects?"
"Your Majesty, rest assured," Lin Wanwan replied without looking up as she adjusted the potion in her hand, "Anything I make is guaranteed to be of the highest quality. I guarantee that you will seamlessly transition from being the emperor to an ordinary mortal, without any future troubles."
That's what he said, but when Xiao Che looked at the bowl of yellowish-brown medicine in her hand that smelled strange, he couldn't help but swallow.
As an emperor, he was pampered and his skin was better maintained than that of many concubines in the harem. He felt a great aversion to being treated with this potion of unknown origin.
This is the "image baggage" of emperors.
Lin Wanwan clearly sensed his resistance. She put down the medicine bowl and looked at him with amusement: "Your Majesty, our disguise this time when we left the palace was that of a wealthy merchant couple from Jiangnan. With your delicate skin and elegant appearance, once you leave the capital, within three miles, your face will practically scream 'I'm a fat sheep, come and rob me!' Do you want your 'stunning good looks,' or our 'life and fortune'?"
Xiao Che can still answer this easy question.
He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and looked like he was bravely going to his execution: "Come on!"
Lin Wanwan chuckled softly, ceasing her teasing. She picked up a cotton cloth, dipped it in the special medicine, and began to gently wipe his face.
The medicine felt slightly cool to the touch and had a faint herbal scent. As Lin Wanwan moved, Xiao Che felt his cheeks, forehead, and neck being carefully wiped.
When he opened his eyes again, the fair and jade-like face in the mirror had disappeared, replaced by an ordinary face that was slightly sallow and had a rough texture.
"This..." Xiao Che touched his face in shock. The texture of his skin hadn't changed, but the color had definitely darkened by several shades.
"Don't rush, this is just the first step."
Lin Wanwan took out something resembling an eyebrow pencil and skillfully thickened Xiao Che's originally sword-like eyebrows, making the ends of his eyebrows more blunt. Instantly, she reduced his natural sharpness by seven or eight parts.
Next, she took out a small "prop" made of a gelatinous substance with a few sparse whiskers on it, carefully compared the position, and then carefully stuck it on Xiao Che's chin.
A tiny, insignificant mustache miraculously transformed his entire demeanor.
The emperor, who once reigned supreme, now looked more like an ordinary merchant with a substantial fortune, a touch of shrewdness, but not much of an air of nobility.
All the modifications were finally completed.
Lin Wanwan took a step back, admiring her "masterpiece" with satisfaction.
Xiao Che stared blankly at the "rough man" in the mirror, speechless for a long time.
His stunning good looks... his handsome face... just like that, gone?
He touched the prickly mustache on his chin with a look of disgust, then looked at his sallow face, and a surge of indescribable grief and indignation welled up in his heart.
Lin Wanwan saw that above his head, a cartoon version of him was hugging a small mirror, crying his heart out. The mirror reflected his original handsome face, with a line of large characters next to it: "[My magnificent beauty! .gif]".
"Alright, Your Majesty, it's my turn now." Lin Wanwan ignored the emperor, who was still "grieving," and sat down in front of the mirror.
Disguising yourself is much simpler than disguising Xiao Che.
She also used a chemical to make her skin appear sallow, and then used a special paint pen to dot several inconspicuous freckles of varying shades on her cheeks and the sides of her nose.
In an instant, the once radiant and beautiful face of the empress, which exuded the majesty of the nation, became ordinary, even bearing a hint of malnutrition and haggardness.
Then, she loosened her hair and casually tied her long, black, and shiny hair into a simple woman's hairstyle, inserting a wooden hairpin.
Finally, she changed out of her gorgeous palace dress and put on a set of coarse linen clothes that had been prepared beforehand and were slightly faded from washing.
When she stood up again, her entire demeanor was completely different from before.
The once noble, elegant, and peerless Empress has now completely transformed into an ordinary, plain woman with a sallow complexion and thin skin, yet still gentle eyes – “Lady Lin”.
She turned around and smiled at Xiao Che, who was still getting used to his "new face": "Your Majesty, what do you think?"
Xiao Che turned around upon hearing the sound.
When he saw Lin Wanwan, who had become "ugly," he didn't show the slightest disgust as he would have when he looked down on himself. Instead, he was stunned, and his deep eyes suddenly burst forth with an incredibly bright light.
He carefully examined the "Lady Lin" in front of him from head to toe.
She was no longer the high and mighty empress who needed his protection, nor the radiant queen who inspired countless admirers. Now, stripped of her finery, dressed simply in plain clothes, she resembled an inconspicuous wildflower blooming on a country road, yet possessed an unprecedented, vibrant, and genuine beauty.
This kind of beauty is no longer out of reach, but rather a gentle and simple beauty that is within reach and belongs only to him.
Xiao Che's heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.
He felt that Wanwan looked even better like this than when she wore the phoenix robe.
"Ahem," Xiao Che cleared his throat, concealing the amazement in his eyes. He walked up to Lin Wanwan, raised his hand, touched the realistic-looking mustache on his chin, and then turned to look at the few playful freckles on Lin Wanwan's cheeks.
Suddenly, he smiled.
That smile was no longer the majestic smile of an emperor, but the heartfelt, slightly silly and smug smile of an ordinary man looking at his wife.
Lin Wanwan was a little confused by his laughter: "Your Majesty, what are you laughing at?"
Xiao Che didn't answer, but simply reached out and gently flicked her nose. Then, he leaned close to her ear and whispered smugly in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Very good."
"Um?"
"Now, finally no one will be competing with me for my wife."
Lin Wanwan: "..."
She looked up and clearly saw that above her "rough" husband's head floated a cartoon figure with a similar mustache and a smug expression, hands on hips, laughing arrogantly, accompanied by a line of glittering text—
【Great! Now no one will be competing with me for my wife.jpg】
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