Since her identity was that of a complete foodie with no knowledge in any scholarly arts, she decided she might as well play the part of a silly and chubby person for the rest of her life.
The next day, it drizzled, making things a bit cold. It was only natural for someone of her constitution to dislike heat, but she was also very sensitive to the cold.
Because she had been informed that Mrs. Yuan Wen would be visiting today, she took special care to dress up a bit. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novelFirｅ.net
However, she didn’t dress up to look better, but instead to appear weak and sickly.
Since everyone in the Cining Palace was either loyal to the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, Mrs. Yuan Wen couldn’t bribe anyone. So, she just played dumb, acting as if she knew nothing.
Today, she applied minimal makeup. Having a big face meant using more cosmetics, and after undergoing the "Wash Essence and Marrow," her skin quality was exceptionally good; there’s a saying that a fatty has potential, and it was not meant as an insult.
Because when she looked in the mirror, Tangyuan thought that the original host had very pretty facial features, and if she could slim down, she would definitely be a great beauty.
Unfortunately, there was too much excess flesh, squishing the facial contours into a lump, losing all sense of proportion and naturally no longer looking appealing.
Her eyes were not small, but they were swollen, which made them look somewhat frightening.
She made herself up to look very natural, with a sickly demeanor, appearing listless, but since she was going to see her mother, she deliberately put on an expectant expression.
As soon as Mrs. Yuan Wen arrived, she hugged her and cried, but when Tangyuan caught a glimpse of her from the corner of her eye, she clearly saw not a single tear, and she even felt her disgust towards her. Even during the hug, the touch was just a light brush, a realization that cast a heavy shadow in Tangyuan’s gaze.
Tangyuan noticed that while holding her hand, Mrs. Yuan Wen attempted several times to take her pulse, a discovery that made her heart skip a beat, inexplicably causing her unease.
Could it be that the last time Yuan Shoucheng came to take her pulse, he detected the changes in her body after the "Wash Essence and Marrow" treatment? So he sent Mrs. Yuan Wen to probe for the truth?
Mrs. Yuan Wen came from an aristocratic medical family, her father being an Imperial Physician, and even served at the Imperial Hospital with Tangyuan’s grandfather; they had a good relationship. Naturally, it seemed quite logical for her to marry Yuan Shoucheng and for her to know medicine.
With this in mind, Tangyuan skillfully avoided having her pulse taken and even naively invited Mrs. Yuan Wen to tour her palace. She went so far as to share her intentions to cook and farm, which indeed surprised Mrs. Yuan Wen.
"Cook? You can’t even squat down in the kitchen, how are you going to cook? Farm? Are you joking with me? With your constitution, you get winded just walking a few steps, and you want to farm?"
Tangyuan kept a silly smile, leaning affectionately against Mrs. Wen, and upon feeling her stiffness, her smile grew even more harmless.
"Mother, I don’t have much to do in the palace. I can’t engage in the Four Arts, so taking up these rough tasks is a way to get some exercise. It’s better than just lying around all the time, right?"
Mrs. Wen frowned slightly but decided not to continue on this topic. Instead, she subtly asked, "How has your appetite been recently?"
"It’s pretty good," Tangyuan replied before slumping her shoulders in dejection, "Mother, am I really so useless? I want to lose weight, I want to control my appetite, but I just can’t. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night craving dessert. If I eat too much, I have stomach acid and then I can’t sleep all night. Mother, why do I have to be ? Do I have some illness? Otherwise, why doesn’t anyone else eat as much as I do?"
Mrs. Wen’s heart tightened at this, her face remained composed, but a flicker of panic crossed the depths of her eyes—