Chapter 720: Chapter 720: Unprecedentedly Ruthless Upon his reminder, Leng Yu Yan recalled that Leng Jiajia had once said, “Later, I was forcefully fed a sedative, and while groggy, I heard someone saying they could take her away. Lai Manting said after the success of the plan, she would pay a high reward.” At that time, the traveling doctor wearing a mask had been dealt with. Could it be that there were others behind the doctor? However, this person was truly bold, to be able to carry out a face-swapping technique in this era. At this moment, Lai Manting suddenly let out a cold laugh, “Why go through all this trouble? Mi Xinmei is already dead, and isn’t it quite nice to have her face on my head? Why can’t you all accept that?” Mi Xinrong had not rested well for several days, and since last night he had been searching tirelessly until this moment without rest. Upon hearing such vile words from Lai Manting, he, desperately in need of rest and already extremely irritable, raised a dagger and stabbed another cut into her other shoulder. At this moment, he wished he could flay Lai Manting alive. Although his body was exhausted, his mind was exceptionally clear. Until he found his sister, Lai Manting needed to take good care of his sister’s face. Soon after, Mo Chen, Ruofeng, and Gao Yuan brought back a wooden box. Everyone came closer to look and saw a disfigured woman curled up inside the box, her fingernails dug into the crevice of the box. Mo Chen said, “We heard from the common folk that a box containing a woman was abandoned by the roadside, so we hurried to see and found a woman with a rotting face. It seems that the face originally belonged to Lai Manting, so we brought the box back.” Ruofeng added, “This box was discarded on a path with the lid open, as if deliberately left to attract attention.” ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽 Gao Yuan spoke with shame, “It appears that this is the true Mi Xinmei; there’s indeed a large bloodstain over her heart, suggesting that’s where the fatal wound is.” Mo Chen continued, “Before this, we discovered a courtyard with two wooden plank beds and a dried pool of blood on the ground.” Ruofeng also mentioned, “According to the local residents nearby, they had heard piercing screams coming from that courtyard.” Mi Xinrong clenched his fists, teeth biting into the knuckles of his fingers, as he looked at Mi Xinmei in the box, unable to hold back his tears. Leng Yu Yan calmly ordered Miao Zhu, “Help me bind the sleeves.” Her sleeves were too large, and she needed them tied up to facilitate the examination of Mi Xinmei’s condition. Miao Zhu fetched sleeve ties from the horse carriage and carefully tied them for her Commandery Princess. Leng Yu Yan then instructed Chun Liu, “Gloves.” Lai Manting’s face was too disgusting; she would not want to touch it if it weren’t already on Mi Xinmei’s head. Chun Liu acknowledged the request, fetched the gloves, and helped her Pavilion Master put them on meticulously. Seeing this, Lai Manting, enduring the severe pain in her shoulders, sneered, “What is the high and mighty Crown Princess Consort doing looking ? Tsk, tsk, tsk, how laughable!” Leng Yu Yan, with a serious expression, walked to the side of the box and bent down to check the pulse on Mi Xinmei’s neck. After a moment, she said, “Mo Chen Ruofeng, carry the box and the person to that small courtyard you mentioned.” Mi Xinrong, supporting the box, cried even louder, “Sister, how could you just leave ? Big brother asked the Crown Princess Consort to help swap back your face, okay?” Chun Liu scolded, “Stop crying! The Crown Princess Consort said there’s a person in the box, a person, not a corpse. What do you mean ‘left’?” Mi Xinrong, not daring to believe his own ears, asked, “What?” Leng Yu Yan glanced at him and gestured for Mo Chen and Ruofeng to move faster. Mo Chen pushed aside Mi Xinrong’s arm, which was supporting the box, and together with Ruofeng, they carried the box away. Leng Yuqing swept a glance over the stunned Mi Xinrong, then turned to Gao Yuan, “Take the poisonous woman to the small courtyard as well.” Only then did Mi Xinrong fully comprehend, crying out, “My sister is still alive!” Without waiting for Gao Yuan to act, Mi Xinrong grabbed the knot in the ropes on Lai Manting’s body and pulled her along, following Mo Chen and the others. Having arrived in the room originally used for the face-swapping procedure, Leng Yu Yan commanded the attendants to place Lai Manting and Mi Xinmei on wooden plank beds separately. Unlike before when it was Mi Xinmei who had been bound, this time it was Lai Manting restrained on the wooden plank bed. Chun Liu and Miao Zhu opened the medical kit and meticulously began sterilizing the tools Leng Yu Yan required for the surgery. “Leng Yu Yan, who do you think you are, thinking you can just swap faces as you please?” Lai Manting shouted, completely disregarding the pain in her body and on her face. Leng Yu Yan leaned in to look at her, “Or perhaps, you could inform this palace who performed the face-swapping for you?” Lai Manting: “Heh, I won’t say. Have the guts to let me go, and then I’ll talk!” Leng Yu Yan shook her head, ignoring her challenge, and calmly instructed Miao Zhu, “Administer two pills to Xinmei, one being the Life-saving Pill you mentioned, and the other an anesthetic.” Miao Zhu sighed, “Crown Princess Consort, is it truly necessary to waste a Life-saving Pill?” “Xinmei is in such a state; could we possibly stand by and watch her die?” Leng Yu Yan pointed with her chin towards Mi Xinmei, lying straight on the wooden plank bed. Miao Zhu continued, “But she repaid kindness with enmity, her thoughts are too malicious!” Leng Yu Yan calmly spoke again, “I have never performed a face-swapping surgery before; today presents an opportunity. As for other matters, we’ll talk about them later.” Hearing this, Lai Manting sneered, “Leng Yu Yan, do you think face-swapping is a child’s play? I’ve heard you have some medical skill, heh, does a bit of medical skill justify such arrogance?” Upon hearing this, Miao Zhu promptly took out two pills and inserted them, one after the other, into Mi Xinmei’s mouth. Lai Manting struggled, “She’s lying there so still; nearly dead, why does she get the anesthetic and not me?” Leng Yu Yan silently lifted the surgical scalpel, slightly lowered her head, and began to cut the skin on Lai Manting’s face. Quite a distance from the two wooden plank beds sat two individuals. One was Ye Yiheng, and the other Leng Yuqing. One was languid and easygoing, the other with brows tightly furrowed. Leng Yuqing had never witnessed his sister possess such skill and seeing her resolutely cut faces, he found her to be exceedingly ruthless. Although “ruthless”, as he watched her, he felt nothing but fondness. True to the title of Princess Zhenbei, as his own sister, she indeed should possess such boldness! But that knife seemed too small… Even though the knife was small, almost like a tool for picking teeth, the way she handled it made him feel a chill run down his spine, as he felt an inexplicable pride in his sister’s imposing demeanor. Lai Manting screamed in horror, “Leng Yu Yan, how could you cut …” Her voice abruptly stopped. Partly because of the intense pain, as Leng Yu Yan did not follow the original incisions made by Ghost Face but rather cut a circle around the join on the outside, savagely cutting through Lai Manting’s own flesh. And partly because Leng Yu Yan’s movements were very swift, even faster than Ghost Face. The whole piece of facial skin was cut and pried open by Leng Yu Yan, leaving her unable to speak. Even in extreme pain, with her face skinned, Lai Manting’s eyes were still wide open. And in no time at all, she fainted. Before losing consciousness, she saw Leng Yu Yan tear off the circle of her flesh from Mi Xinmei’s face… Compared to the people from the Eastern Palace who remained relatively composed, Gao Yuan and Mi Xinrong were shocked, their eyes wide. The two watched without blinking as Leng Yu Yan carefully lifted the rotting skin on Mi Xinmei’s face and then placed the healthy skin back on. With anxiety, Mi Xinrong asked, “Crown Princess Consort, Xinmei will survive, right? If the facial skin is placed back onto the face, will it adhere well? In the future, will Xinmei still be able to speak and eat?”