The Ugly Empress by Yun Guo Shi Fei / 丑娘娘 by 云过是非

Chapter 8 - Applying Medicine

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When Teng Yun received the invitation for a meal, he was informed that Xue Junliang had ordered delicious dishes to be prepared, and was now waiting for the Empress.

Xiu Yao had insisted he had to be dressed to the ninth, his hair styled with the newest hairdo. The original Empress' figure was actually very beautiful; her jet-black hair was thick as cloud, soft and smooth as silk; her waist was slender and graceful. Only her face looked terrible.

If seen from behind alone, she could provoke the onlookers into daydreams.

Teng Yun's head, ears, and waist were decorated with jewels so lavishly he actually didn't dare move. He was afraid if he moved too much, the jewels would all fall off, but Xiu Yao on the other hand, was proud of her mistress' beauty.

When Teng Yun arrived at the entrance to Xue Junliang's residence, Xiu Yao wasn't allowed to follow him inside. Only Xue Junliang's personal servants were allowed to enter, and among the most trusted ones was Jiang Yu.

Old Jiang Yu had been by Xue Junliang's side since he was still a prince, had been watching him grew up until now. He had experienced many tastes of life.

Jiang Yu was the one to escort the Empress to enter, and inside, Xue Junliang sat waiting.

Xue Junliang saw the empress coming from afar. At this distance, he couldn't see the face, but he found the figure was very pleasing to the eyes and he couldn't help but smile.

Actually, the original Ugly Empress was not born ugly. Only a handful of informed people knew that when the empress was married, Xue Junliang had to put on a big show of wealth. He'd needed to borrow soldiers, so it was necessary to impress Feng Wang's sister.

After the wedding, Xue Junliang was very busy since it was the first years of him sitting on the throne. After all, the Inner Palace had three thousand beauties, so he soon forgot even his own empress. Feng Wang also didn't seem to care too much about his sister, so Xue Junliang thought the sister had been used only for diplomacy's sake. As a result, he just ignored the empress altogether.

A year later, it was circulated among the people of Inner Palace that the Empress actually had ugly face. Everyone talked about it until eventually Xue Junlaing heard about it.

He never wonder why, after not seeing her for a year, the empress was only now be known as ugly. For Xue Junliang, in the Imperial Harem, it was common that the wives would be fighting over him. And because Feng Wang didn't seem to care for his estranged sister, it was inevitable people would start bullying the empress.

Xue Junliang had also thought that the Ugly Empress was weak. Women always loved their appearance so much, and yet the Empress was tricked by others until her face became ugly but never said anything.

Right now, Xue Junliang felt that he had mistaken. This Empress never said anything not because she was weak, but because she was forbearing.

When he came inside, Teng Yun gitted his teeth and knelt down for Xue Junliang. It was necessary as he was now living under this man's roof. Not showing respect equaled inviting death.

Xue Junliang looked especially friendly today, he even raised Teng Yun from his kneeling position. When Xue Junliang's hands touched his, Teng Yun shuddered and almost broke his submissive acting. This man was still Teng Yun's long-standing enemy, his lifetime foe.

Xue Junliang helped Teng Yun to sit next to him, then personally served him the dishes. The scene made the maidservants waiting on them started to think, though they'd heard Xue Wang was going to take a new wife, Xue Wang still favored the Empress. Seemed like the new wife's status wasn't anything special, just another average woman.