Chapter 58: The Stepsister’s Disfigured Face

Young Master Li frowned as he looked at Liu Lanzhi’s face. “What happened to your face?” he asked in confusion.

Liu Lanzhi quickly covered her face with her hands and lowered her head, explaining, “It must have been an insect bite. It’s nothing serious.”

Young Master Li scoffed coldly, his expression full of disgust. “How revolting.”

With that, he stood up, flicked his sleeve, and said in a chilly tone, “Liu Lanzhi, I don’t care what methods you use. You have three days to fulfill your promise. If you fail, you’d better watch out!”

Liu Lanzhi clutched her face and bowed repeatedly. “Husband, don’t worry. Just wait—soon, you’ll have your concubine.”

Young Master Li cast her a disdainful glance before striding away, his pace so swift it was as if he couldn’t bear to stay another moment.

Liu Lanzhi lifted her head slightly, watching his retreating figure with gritted teeth. Her heart burned with hatred. “Du Wanchun, this is all because of you! If not for you, I wouldn’t have been humiliated like this.”

She spat out her words venomously while furiously scratching at her face.

Before long, she suddenly noticed that her fingertips were covered in fresh, crimson blood.

“Ah! My hands!” she gasped, staring in shock at her bloodstained fingers.

Just then, a young maid happened to walk past the room.

She peeked inside and was instantly horrified by what she saw. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she shrieked, “Young Madam! Your face!”

“My face?” Liu Lanzhi still felt no pain, but she quickly reached up to touch her face. It was damp and uneven with deep grooves and pits.

She looked down at her hands again and saw that her palms were soaked in blood.

“My face?!” Liu Lanzhi cried out in horror and rushed to the mirror.

Under the dim light of the bronze mirror, she finally saw the full extent of the damage—her face was now a grotesque mess of crisscrossing wounds.

Each wound was raw and oozing, making her reflection utterly terrifying.

“How… how did my face become like this?” Liu Lanzhi stared at herself in utter disbelief.

The young maid beside her was so horrified that she was left speechless, her eyes wide with shock.

Liu Lanzhi’s body trembled with panic as she turned to the maid, shouting frantically, “Quick! Go call the doctor!”

“Y-yes… right away…” The maid snapped out of her daze, spun around, and sprinted off as fast as she could.

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Inside the Li residence, most of the older servants, including the senior maids and stewards, never truly regarded Liu Lanzhi as their mistress. Only this newly arrived young maid treated her with a bit of respect.

However, Liu Lanzhi had a notoriously bad temper. Since she didn’t dare to lash out at Magistrate Li or Madam Li, she vented her anger on the young maid instead.

The maid had long harbored resentment toward her. So today, upon seeing Liu Lanzhi’s face so horrifically disfigured, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of schadenfreude. On her way to summon the doctor, she eagerly spread the news throughout the household.

Before the doctor even arrived, word had already traveled across the entire residence—everyone now knew that the Young Madam’s face had rotted away. A crowd of maids and senior servants gathered outside her courtyard, waiting to mock her misfortune.

Before long, the household doctor arrived. As soon as he laid eyes on Liu Lanzhi’s face, he was so startled that he instinctively stepped back. “Young Madam, what ointment did you apply? Or did you eat something you shouldn’t have?”

Liu Lanzhi thought for a moment, then took out the ointment she had used earlier and handed it to the doctor. “Doctor, take a look. Could this be the cause?”

The doctor sniffed the ointment carefully before replying, “This ointment itself doesn’t seem to have any issues. It’s more likely that you consumed something that triggered this reaction. I’ll prescribe some medicine for you. If it helps, that’s good. But if it doesn’t…”

Liu Lanzhi’s panic intensified. “If it doesn’t, then what?” she asked anxiously.

The doctor let out a heavy sigh. “Then I’m afraid your face may never heal.”

Liu Lanzhi collapsed to the ground, clutching her still-itching face as she burst into wailing sobs.

After writing the prescription, the doctor slung his medicine box over his shoulder and left.

Outside, the gathered maids and older servants whispered among themselves.

“If her face is really ruined, I bet the Young Master will divorce her.”

“That’s right. What kind of noble family would keep a hideous Young Madam?”

“Honestly, it would be for the best. She’s never been kind to us anyway.”

Their voices weren’t particularly loud, but Liu Lanzhi heard every word. The thought of being cast aside by Young Master Li made her heart sink even deeper into despair.

And yet, despite everything, she still hadn’t given up on her plan to bring Du Wanchun into the Li residence.

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