The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

“Then what can I do?” Duan Chenghong sighed, scratching his temple hairs that had long turned gray and white, and said helplessly, “Wan Guifei[1] brought her here, and then urged His Majesty to let Lan’er go to Ningguta. Such an obvious intention, are we going to pretend to be confused? Forget it, let her go.”

“Wan Guifei is…to ensure that Lan’er marries the deposed prince, and let this girl blatantly watch over her.” Mrs. Duan took a deep breath, “She is going to completely tie our Duan family to the ruined prince’s broken ship, never to recover for the rest of our lives!”

“It’s good that you know,” Duan Chenghong said wearily. “Now, we can only follow Wan Guifei’s wishes so that we can, at least, save the lives of the rest of the family.”

Duan Furen bursted into tears again, sobbing and twisting her handkerchief. It was another sleepless night.

The next day.

Ah Chou got up before dawn and as usual, chopped firewood and boiled water for cooking. After working for an hour, her waist began to ache even after resting all night. With her height, she had to bend down when doing these chores. This always made her body sore which then kept her from getting enough sleep. Last night, the cramps were so frequent that she gritted her teeth most of the night. At this time, she was slumped.

Bringing the prepared meals into the main hall, Ah Chou set up the food. But when she was about to leave, Duan Chenghong stopped her.

“Master, did you call me?” Ah Chou looked at Duan Chenghong and felt very apprehensive. Since he brought her back from the Yanxi Palace, he had never given her a good face. Ah Chou knew that he hated her, and she also knew what’s best for her. So she never dared to stay in the main hall, and asked anxiously, “Master, what are your orders?”

Duan Chenghong looked at Ah Chou whose face was almost lowered to the ground, and kept staring at her for a long time. It was not until Ah Chou’s neck was sore that she heard Duan Chenghong say, “Tomorrow, you and the Young Miss will leave the capital.”

“Ah?” Ah Chou was taken aback. She knew Duan Rulan was going to get married and leave for Ningguta early in the morning, but she never thought that this matter would have anything to do with herself. Not caring whether Duan Chenghong would hate her even more, she raised her head to look at him, “Master… What do you mean?

Duan Chenghong’s face was initially calm, but when Ah Chou looked up, disgust and coldness arose. “Why? Do you feel wronged that we make such an ugly girl like you be the Young Lady’s dowry maid?”

Yes, Ah Chou was ugly as her name suggested[2]. It’s not that she was born ugly, but last year, there was a fire in the palace, and she was licked by the flames while fighting the fire. The dark red scar was not large, but it stretched from her right wrist to her neck. Even her chin had a scar the size of a fingernail. This was how Ah Chou got such a name.

“No, no, no grievance…” Ah Chou hurriedly waved her hands and then shook her head, “But…”

“Enough, enough!” Duan Chenghong didn’t want to talk to her anymore. While waving his hand to drive Ah Chou out, he paused and frowned again when he saw her white coarse linen robe. “Go to the housekeeper and ask for some decent clothes. You don’t have to do rough work today, go and serve in the lady’s room.”

“Yes, this servant obeys.” Ah Chou bit the bullet and agreed. Her death contract was in Duan Chenghong’s hands, so naturally, what he said goes. How could she have any say in the matter?

It’s just Ningguta…

Ah Chou frowned and went to look for the housekeeper. While staring at the green grass sprouts emerging from the cracks in the stone bricks, she thought about the rumors she heard from the people in the palace.

TL Note:

[1] 万贵妃 Wan Guifei – I’m not sure if this is a typo, but the author wrote 万 Wàn, not 赵 Zhào like in Chapter 1.

[2] 丑 chǒu – ugly