clergé

Chapitre 33

She clenched her fist silently.

—I want to be her.

—I must become her.

Half-faced beauty

Practice makes perfect, and the painful lessons of history tell us never to easily trust others.

Pang Wan gazed at her reflection in the mirror, tears streaming down her face.

—The left half of her face still showed a pretty young girl with delicate features; the right half of her face, although the facial features remained the same, had been covered with something, and the skin looked like it had been soaked in water for too long and wrinkled, layer upon layer, making her look like a haggard old woman.

"Why are you crying? You look quite beautiful." He Qinglu said with a smile from behind her.

"You... what do you mean by this?" Pang Wan trembled, running her fingertip along the wrinkles—so realistic! Could it be that she soaked her skin in a chemical solution to make it swell?

"Don't you want a lot of people to like you?" He Qinglu leaned close to her ear, his eyes filled with a strange light. "Look, look at the left half, young men like it; look at the right half, older men like it—tsk tsk, I've thought of everything."

"You, you're taking revenge for personal reasons..." Pang Wan was so angry she couldn't even speak. Looking at her disfigured face in the mirror, she felt an overwhelming sense of defeat and rage. "I'll kill you!" She flipped over and pressed herself against He Qinglu's body, her golden whip coiling around his neck like a water snake. "Liar!" she bared her teeth at him, her face flushed with annoyance.

He Qinglu remained motionless, only glancing at her with a somewhat infatuated look, before gently wiping away the tears on her cheek with his hand.

"The real face is definitely better," he stated quietly. "Whether it's the traces of tears or the lines on the face when speaking, it all looks much more natural." It seems his skills still have room for improvement.

"You masked madman! Hurry up and fix the right half of my face!" Pang Wan was furious. With a lash of his whip, a red welt appeared on He Qinglu's neck.

"Are you sure you want to fix it?" He was a little out of breath, his brows furrowed as he glared at her. "This glue is a secret recipe, specially made to memorize a person's contours and skin texture. If you take it off now, how am I supposed to do your facials in the future?"

Pang Wan stopped crying and loosened her grip: "You...you didn't say that before..."

"Why should I tell you?" He Qinglu's expression was extremely impatient. "If you don't want to apply it, then forget it." He made a move to wipe off the layer of glue.

"No, no, no!" Pang Wan quickly reached out to stop her. "I'll put it on! I'll put it on! I'll put it on, okay?"

Seeing her terrified expression, He Qinglu felt a sense of satisfaction and turned her head away to hide the upturned corners of her mouth.

"...But how much longer do we need to apply this glue?" Pang Wan hesitated, looking at him from under her eyelashes, her big eyes blinking pitifully.

"For a full thirty-six hours, remember not to wash your face. Three days later, I will remove it for you and then replace it on the other side," He Qinglu commanded from above.

Pang Wan touched his wrinkled right cheek, and was about to ask why the glue was only applied to half of his face at a time, when the maid A Xiang's voice came from the doorway: "Young master, hot water has been brought to you."

Pang Wan subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound, and her gaze met Ah Xiang's.

"Oh dear!" Ah Xiang's face paled, and she knocked over the copper basin in her hand. She stumbled and ran back, crying, "My God! I've seen a ghost in broad daylight!"

Seeing the figure running wildly down the corridor, He Qinglu burst into laughter, her whole being radiant.

Pang Wan watched this scene, her body swaying precariously—she already knew the answer.

"You're so petty..."

She gave He Qinglu a mournful look, silently holding back her tears.

The servants of the He family noticed that a young nanny with only half a pretty face had suddenly appeared in the mansion these past few days.

Her pretty half-face was so playful, appearing on the left one moment and the right the next, making one wonder if their memory was playing tricks on them—yesterday she was eighty years old, and today she's sixteen.

The eldest young master of the He family doted on this young nanny, insisting on having her accompany him at meals for several days in a row. And this nanny was indeed very capable; as soon as she sat down at the table, the young master would be in a great mood and would even eat an extra bowl of rice.

Occasionally, they could even hear the nanny scolding the young master: "...You're so naughty..."

The old woman's voice was soft and melodious, like a young girl scolding her younger brother, her grumbling filled with helplessness and disappointment. The young master, usually aloof, noble, and unsmiling, responded to the old woman's accusations with a tolerant and continuous smile.

This young nanny had another peculiar trait: she loved looking in the mirror, even now, in her rather...peculiar state. Every day, she would twist and turn in front of the mirror, sometimes practicing her serpentine movements, sometimes feigning innocence and purity. Coupled with her peculiar face, she startled several maids who brought her meals, causing them to drop their plates.

When this strange incident was reported to the young master, he burst into laughter again.

"Ugly people always cause trouble." He unusually offered this comforting remark, though it's unclear who he was speaking to.

Three days later, a stunningly beautiful woman arrived at the He residence.

She was a mature woman as beautiful as a peony, every smile and gesture of hers was full of captivating charm.

"You're that little girl who wanted to learn the art of seduction?"

A slender finger adorned with nail polish lifted the young nanny's chin, releasing a fragrant aroma. The beauty was enveloped in a light mist, as if she were not of this world.

Pang Wan looked up at the stunning beauty, and when their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat—her beauty was so captivating that it made one's breath catch in their throat and dare not look directly at her.

"Did the young master do this?" She gently brushed away the wrinkles on the left side of her face with her jade-like fingers, her phoenix eyes half-closed. "Such a beautiful face has been ruined like this. Tsk tsk, you must have offended him very badly."

Pang Wan felt as if he had finally found a kindred spirit, and almost wanted to hug this beauty and weep bitterly as he recounted He Qinglu's crimes.

However, after glancing at the expressionless Jin Dilu behind the beauty, she could only swallow hard and nod awkwardly.

"What's your name?" The beautiful woman withdrew her finger and smiled sweetly at her.

This smile made Pang Wan feel dazed again. This beauty exuded a casual and lazy charm, without any affectation.

“My name is Wanwan.” Pang Wan stared at her intently and answered obediently.

The beauty nodded and patted the other half of her face, which was intact: "My name is Jin Buyao. I was sent by the young master to teach you the art of seduction."

Pang Wan was taken aback. She remembered He Qinglu saying that the teacher was a nanny, so how could she be so young and beautiful?

"What, are you curious about this name?" The beauty fluttered her eyelashes and leaned closer to her, her red lips parting to reveal pearly teeth. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Of all the beauties in the world, I can't find one, but you can grant me a golden hairpin'?"