Metamorphosis of an Ugly Girl – Part One

Qingqing weakly shook her head, interrupting her meaningless speculation. Recalling the events of last night, after drinking, she seemed to have said a lot of nonsense, but now she couldn’t remember a word… Later, it seemed someone had… kissed her?! Qingqing suddenly felt a pang of pity for the Ghost Doctor; his hopes were even more fragile than hers. After the Ghost Doctor left, the three of them sat in Yafu’s palace, chatting about trivial and meaningless things. The scene was quite amusing; when Qingqing was with Yuzhen at the Lin family, they were never this close. Even though Yuzhen often visited the Lin residence, the three of them had never gathered like this before. Gradually, Yafu seemed to lose her energy and occasionally furrowed her brows. Yuzhen finally sensed something was off and asked with concern if she wasn’t feeling well. Yafu replied, “It seems so.” Yuzhen then became alarmed: “How can you say ‘seems like’ with such matters?” She quickly ordered Xiaotang to fetch the Ghost Doctor back. Xiaotang, not daring to delay, hurried out with urgent steps. Soon, the Ghost Doctor returned in haste. He pondered for a while with three fingers on Yafu’s pulse and then asked, “Your Majesty, is the person who has been delivering your meals reliable?” Upon hearing this, Yafu’s face turned ashen: “It’s a newly appointed servant, is there a problem?” The Ghost Doctor said, “Your Majesty, could you show me today’s meal?” Yafu’s expression grew more anxious; Xiaotang understood and quickly brought over a soup bowl: “Fortunately, this was personally instructed by His Majesty for Your Majesty to drink, otherwise, it would have all been cleared away.” The Ghost Doctor nodded, tested it with a silver needle, and took a small sip. His expression grew increasingly grave: “Your Majesty, it would be best to summon His Majesty.” Hearing this, Yafu realized the gravity of the situation; her voice trembled with a hint of tears as she shouted, “Hurry and fetch His Majesty!” Qingqing quickly went over with Yuzhen to comfort her by holding her hand, but Yafu, in no mood for pretense, pushed their hands away in frustration. Yuzhen didn’t mind, and while Qingqing’s face showed concern, she hid a smirk in her heart, suddenly finding the situation rather dull. It was all under control, and there wasn’t much thrill in it. Li Qin arrived in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, which made Qingqing find the whole ordeal even more amusing—they were all good actors. When Yafu saw Li Qin, she didn’t bother with formalities and urged the Ghost Doctor to explain the situation.