Oops! The Black Lotus Can’t Be a Female Supporting Character

CHAPTER 43 PART2

Concubine Cui let out a soft, melancholy sigh and explained in a low voice, “Normally, family matters should be kept private. I hope you won’t speak of this to anyone else. Second Young Miss has always been proud and high-spirited. Now that she has secured a good marriage and is listed under the Marchioness’s name, she doesn’t wish to have much contact with me.”

“I’m just a concubine, after all—I can’t be seen getting in the Marchioness’s way, can I? I shouldn’t be the one stepping forward, wouldn’t you agree?”

As she spoke, she pulled out a silver note worth a hundred taels from her sleeve and slipped it into Physician Han’s hand with a warm smile. Her gaze briefly flicked to the small carved seal at his waist.

Ah, she thought, that’s high-quality Qingtian stone—translucent and luminous. Ordinary physicians could never afford something like that.

Her smile deepened, a subtle confidence appearing in her expression.

“This…” Physician Han looked conflicted.

Concubine Cui, calm and composed, added a second silver note.

It’s not that I’m afraid you’ll be greedy—it’s that I’m afraid you won’t be.

At last, Physician Han hesitated only a moment longer before finally picking up the porcelain jar. Swallowing hard, he said, “Concubine… about this ointment…”

“Don’t worry,” she replied smoothly. “She’s my own flesh and blood—I would never harm her.”

As she spoke, she generously added a third silver note to the pile.

Physician Han’s eyes lit up. He quickly pocketed the notes and declared righteously, “Concubine, your love and care for Second Young Miss is truly admirable. You can leave this matter to me.”

Just then, the voice of Haitang, breathless and urgent, rang out from the front hall. “The medicine is ready!”

Shi momo lifted the door curtain, allowing Haitang to enter the west room.

“I’ve prepared a basin of cool water as instructed,” Haitang said quickly. “It’s boiled water that’s been left to cool.”

“What should we do next, Physician?”

With Haitang urging him on, Physician Han turned and headed toward the east room. At a subtle nod from Concubine Cui, Shi momo silently followed behind.

As they walked, Physician Han gave Haitang instructions. “First, use the cool water to gently clean the blood from your young lady’s face and clear the wound. The medicine I prescribed needs to be ground into powder and made into a paste—apply it once a day.”

“I also have an ointment here. This should be used once per night.”

“Use the paste during the day and the ointment at night.”

They stepped into the east room, one after the other.

Shi momo walked softly to the edge of the curtain and leaned in to listen. On the other side, she heard the nervous voice of Xiao Yanfei.

“Physician Han… are you sure there won’t be a scar on my face?”

“Don’t worry, Young Miss,” he said confidently. “The wound isn’t deep. As long as you apply this scar ointment daily, there won’t be a single mark left.”

Shi momo cautiously lifted the edge of the curtain and peeked toward the luohan bed. She saw Haitang carefully open the porcelain jar and, with a clean brush, gently dab some ointment onto the bloody cut on Xiao Yanfei’s cheek.

Her movements were tender, precise, and cautious.

It’s done!

Shi momo smiled with satisfaction and let out a quiet breath of relief.

She lowered the curtain with care and returned to report to Concubine Cui, her steps light and brisk.

Behind her, the east room fell completely silent.

The previously chaotic Moonrise Courtyard gradually settled back into calm.

The maids and older servants went about their duties in an orderly fashion. Birds fluttered through the courtyard from time to time, their wings rustling the treetops and shaking loose a few scattered leaves.

Rustle, rustle…

After a while, Zhiqiu—dressed in a jade-green robe—entered the east wing again. She walked directly up to Xiao Yanfei and gave a cheerful curtsey.

“Miss, Concubine Cui and Shi momo have already left.”

Her voice was clear and lively, like a magpie’s call. Her smile was radiant, dimples blooming in her cheeks. She looked completely different from the panicked girl in the training grounds earlier—now lively and full of spirit.

Xiao Yanfei nodded in silence and smiled faintly.

Her eyes, dark and bright, glimmered like the morning star at dawn, filled with subtle anticipation.

“Miss, please don’t move,” Haitang said nervously as she wrung out a damp cloth and gently began wiping the blood and ointment from Yanfei’s face.

Bit by bit, she carefully cleaned every trace until the smooth, porcelain-like skin beneath was revealed—flawless and radiant.

There wasn’t a single mark on her face.

With her lips slightly pursed, two delicate dimples appeared in her snowy cheeks like pressed blossoms on jade.

Yanfei casually dabbed at her face with a clean handkerchief and turned to Physician Han. “Physician Han, tell me—what’s wrong with that scar ointment?”

Physician Han was from Wancao Hall, and Gu Feichi had already told her the place was his private establishment. All the physicians and workers there were trustworthy—his people. The property deed for Wancao Hall was still tucked away in the small lacquered box Gu Feichi had given her.

Physician Han held the small porcelain jar Concubine Cui had given him. He dipped a small medicine spoon into the yellowish-green ointment, inspecting it carefully. After taking a closer look and a cautious sniff, his snow-white brows furrowed deeply.

“There’s lye mixed into this ointment,” he said grimly. “It would cause the wound to fester and rot—expanding the injury and worsening it by the day. What started as a superficial cut would become inflamed, ulcerated, and hard to heal. It could even destroy the flesh underneath.”

“If it got bad enough… it might ruin half her face.”

He let out a soft sigh.

For a young woman in the prime of her life, disfigurement was almost as devastating as death.

Truly vicious… the heart of a woman can be cruel indeed.

A chill ran down Physician Han’s spine.

Haitang and Dingxiang gasped, eyes wide with disbelief.

Concubine Cui was her biological mother—how could she be so cruel to her own daughter?

“Thank you, Physician Han,” Xiao Yanfei said calmly, the corner of her lips lifting ever so slightly.

Out of everyone present, she remained the most composed.

Back when she had deliberately provoked Xiao Luanfei, she already suspected retaliation would follow.

It would either come in the form of silencing Nanny Liao—or through an attack on her directly.

The first option was unlikely—she had ruled that out early on.

Judging from Nanny Liao’s attitude, she clearly bore a striking resemblance to someone from the Yin family. And with members of the Yin family about to arrive in the capital, even if Xiao Luanfei were ruthless enough, she should know that getting rid of Nanny Liao wouldn’t solve the problem.

That meant the only target left—was her.

If her face was destroyed, then no matter how much she resembled someone, no one would ever recognize her.

Xiao Yanfei gently rubbed her chin, her eyes narrowing in thought. Then she instructed Haitang, “Wrap my face in gauze and dab on some cinnabar to fake the blood. Don’t let anything slip.”

She wrinkled her nose in distaste, feeling as though her face still carried the stench of pig’s blood.

“I’ve got cinnabar right here,” Zhiqiu said cheerfully, already prepared. She pulled out a small box with a bright smile.

Haitang mixed the cinnabar with water, dabbed it onto a strip of gauze, and carefully wrapped it around Yanfei’s right cheek in tight, clean layers.

“Second Miss,” said Physician Han, setting the small porcelain jar aside and giving her a respectful bow, “the Angong Niuhuang pills have been prepared. The aged rhino horn was rare, and we failed a few times during the process, so we were only able to produce three.”

“The young master came by Wancao Hall earlier this morning to pick them up…”

Xiao Yanfei nodded slightly.

She had already asked Gu Feichi to deliver the Angong Niuhuang pills to the Yin family as soon as they were ready.

She had done everything she could. Now, all that was left was to do her part—and leave the rest to fate.

“Zhiqiu, see Physician Han out.”

Zhiqiu lifted his medicine case and personally walked him all the way to the western side gate of the marquis’s estate.

“Physician Han, please return in three days for a follow-up. We’re counting on you to take care of our young lady’s injury!”

So she said. But when the first watch of the night passed, the lights in Moonrise Courtyard, which had been extinguished, suddenly lit up again.

Physician Han was hastily summoned back by an elderly maid. He stayed until the second watch before finally leaving.

Naturally, such a commotion couldn’t be hidden from the rest of the household. By the next morning, rumors had already swept through the entire marquis residence:

Second Miss’s face was ruined.

She had been known as a rare beauty, peerless in grace—just recently betrothed to the heir of the Duke of Wei by imperial decree. Yet mere days later, her face was disfigured beyond recognition.

They said the wound festered and turned septic, even scaring the physician out of his wits.

They said Second Miss couldn’t handle the shock and smashed all the teacups and dishes in her room.

They said she had sent people rushing to every major clinic in the capital for medicine, and had locked herself inside, sobbing uncontrollably.

These rumors, of course, reached Xiao Luanfei as well.

“Is it true?” she asked, sitting up abruptly from the beauty couch where she had been lounging languidly.

“It is,” Shuxiang, her head maid, nodded slightly. “At first, Second Miss was only cut by a bowstring—just a minor gash—and the physician prescribed her a remedy.”

“But… perhaps she panicked and used the wrong medicine. Last night, the wound became inflamed. They had to call the physician back in. It’s said the injury’s gotten much worse—already festering and decaying…”

Xiao Luanfei’s lips curled into a satisfied smile, her eyes shimmering with pleasure.

This was the best news she’d heard in days.

As expected, Concubine Cui hadn’t held back.

Xiao Luanfei curled her lips into a half-smile, then stood up and smoothed out her gown, her voice laced with false warmth. “As the elder sister, I really should visit my poor little sister and see how she’s doing.”

Once she made up her mind, she acted immediately.

But the moment she stepped into Moonrise Courtyard, she was stopped under the eaves—she didn’t even make it past the threshold of the main hall.

“Eldest Miss, our young lady doesn’t wish to see anyone right now,” Haitang said with a troubled look, curtsying politely. “Please return, Eldest Miss.”

Xiao Luanfei stood gracefully beneath the corridor, her posture as upright and elegant as a pine tree. Her tone was gentle, concerned. “I heard Second Sister injured her face. I’m terribly worried about her. Please—just let me go in and check on her.”

“Eldest Miss…” Haitang forced a smile. “Please don’t make things difficult for me. Our young lady… Eldest Miss!”

Before she could finish, Xiao Luanfei had already stepped over the threshold, brushing past Haitang and striding toward the eastern wing without waiting for permission.

Haitang tried to stop her, but Luanfei shoved her aside and practically rushed into the room, calling out sweetly, “Second Sister!”

As she burst in, she saw Xiao Yanfei quickly pull on a veiled hat. The sheer green gauze fell around her face, completely obscuring it from view.

But just before the veil dropped, Xiao Luanfei had caught a glimpse—Yanfei’s right cheek was wrapped tightly in gauze, layer upon layer, and bright red blood had already soaked through in a striking patch of crimson.

Blood.

Perfect.

Xiao Luanfei stared at the veiled figure before her, her eyes glowing with unrestrained delight. The heavy weight pressing on her chest these past few days vanished all at once.

It was like clouds parting to reveal the moon—refreshing and exhilarating.

Now, even if Xiao Yanfei looked exactly like that grandmother from the Yin family, no one would ever recognize her.

***