Don't Be Kind Rashly (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8
Lu, who had suddenly and unexpectedly become a diplomat, had something more urgent to do first—not assessing the political situation of the Persesta Empire, stealing intelligence, or befriending influential politicians. It was setting up housekeeping in a three-story mansion with her three dependents.
How long would they stay here? Assuming nothing went wrong, maybe about three years would suffice. Of course, if her head got chopped off before then, that assumption would be meaningless.
“We’ll use the first floor as an office, and we need to get money here right away. Did they finalize the exchange rate agreement?”
Aldwin shook his head at Lu’s question.
“No way.”
“I thought so too. At least they could’ve passed along the terms of the agreement—I know absolutely nothing right now.”
“You heard it yourself when we had our audience with His Imperial Majesty. That’s all there was: ‘A Kalreta Empire diplomat is going to Persesta. A Persesta diplomat is also going to Kalreta.’ End of story.”
Lu stopped walking abruptly and stared at Aldwin.
“Considering we’ve been fighting each other bloodily for hundreds of years, even this much is impressive.”
Though, in truth, it had probably been one side aggressively invading while the other just suffered the blows.
“Right. Truly impressive. Incredibly so. What can we do? Someone had to come here and get ground to dust, and since I was chosen, I’ll just have to be the one.”
Grumbling about her rotten luck, Lu stepped inside. A surprisingly spacious foyer greeted her, along with a grand staircase and a long, straight hallway. Sunlight poured in brightly, making everything cheerful.
“Cleaner than I expected?”
“Tell me about it. I thought they’d give us some truly awful place.”
“We should first confirm whether this is owned or rented.”
If it was rented from the Persesta Empire, they’d have to be prepared to get kicked out once the lease ended.
There was no shortage of things to worry about. She spotted Lady Eliza Barcova walking toward her from the end of the eastern corridor.
“Here are some miscellaneous documents you need to look over.”
“Thanks, Lady Barcova. This was the most urgent.”
“That way is the kitchen and dining room.”
Eliza Barcova pointed behind her. Let’s see. Lu had decided to tour the entire mansion today.
“How about this? Not bad, huh?”
It was a light green kitchen, with pretty patterned tiles covering half the walls. Wooden cabinets were neatly fitted together, and in the center stood a wide, large countertop.
Surprisingly, it was already piled high with milk, eggs, various vegetables and fruits, and meat. Martin stood nearby, looking extremely perplexed as he stared at a strange, enormous piece of furniture mounted against the wall.
“You already bought the ingredients?”
“Yes, please don’t worry. I’ll prepare a proper meal shortly.”
Truly, a servant from the imperial palace was exceptional in his own way.
“If anything’s uncomfortable or needed, tell Lady Barcova right away. Since we need to adapt here, we should use everything generously.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The kitchen was spacious, and the dining room was large enough to host banquets for distinguished guests.
Quite satisfactory indeed. Lu returned to the hallway with Aldwin and Eliza.
“I need to check the perimeter security. The second floor has half office space and half private living quarters, and the third floor is entirely bedrooms and bathrooms. You should each pick your rooms as you like.”
Eliza’s words were concise and to the point, without any unnecessary fluff.
“Alright. What should I do?”
When Aldwin nodded and asked, Lu replied.
“We need to hire people.”
“People?”
“Yeah. It’s too much for Martin to manage everything alone. We’ll need a gardener, and since cooking involves what goes into our mouths, it’s best if Martin handles it. We also need another maid for odd jobs and a laundress.”
Persesta certainly wouldn’t help with this. They were essentially foreigners who’d just moved in—everything was up to them.
“So you discuss with Lady Barcova and, together with Martin, hire some staff.”
Having dumped the most troublesome task onto Aldwin, Lu climbed the stairs. It was quite a fine mansion—perfect for hosting parties with high-ranking officials. Truly fitting for a diplomat’s residence.
Climbing the ivory-colored staircase revealed a wide corridor adorned with green plants here and there. Further inside stood a thick door, beyond which lay her future office.
“Wow.”
This is even better than I imagined. An ivory sofa, a fireplace, bookshelves, and a large ivory desk awaited her.
Who on earth chose and arranged this furniture? It was so neat yet dignified—it pleased Lu immensely.
It had been far too long since she’d used an office like this. The desk, made of some unknown wood, felt exquisite to the touch. Lu ran her hand across it, then set down the documents Eliza had given her.
‘I’ll work so hard that rumors will spread that the Persesta Emperor is utterly useless in bed.’
The perfectly composed face she’d encountered in the palace had indeed belonged to Hayden. He’d personally driven the nail into her lingering doubts, leaving no room for uncertainty.
What on earth was the Emperor thinking, coming in person just to see who’d been appointed as Kalreta’s ambassador? Kalreta hadn’t even realized the Emperor himself had come, and Lu had been completely fooled.
Those who deceive deserve a heavy blow. She’d endured enough—this was absolutely unforgivable.
‘Kill both Emperors.’
Perfect. That suited her mood exactly. Later, when her anger cooled, she might settle for merely humiliating them, but right now Lu’s fury was great enough to willingly commit treason. And anger made for excellent motivation when working.
It didn’t take long to familiarize herself with the miscellaneous documents and commit them to memory.
In fact, it took longer to remove all the hairpins the maids had hastily stuck into her hair back in Katat before departure.
“Ugh.”
Several strands of hair came out, and she pulled out more than twenty hairpins. After changing clothes, Lu reluctantly took another look around her second-floor room.
Like the office, the spacious room was filled with cozy trinkets and cream-colored furniture.
She’d also checked the document stating that the consulate was leased annually by the Persesta Empire to the Kalreta Empire, but it didn’t mention who had decorated the interior.
Whoever it was, she genuinely wanted to know. They clearly had exceptional taste.
“Ah, now I feel ready to move around.”
And what excellent sense—there was even a full-length mirror tucked into a corner of the lady’s bedroom.
Having shed her cumbersome formal attire, Lu stepped outside. To understand what kind of nation Persesta was, she couldn’t stay cooped up in her room.
She needed to go out, collide with the world, and feel it with her own body. Standing at the back gate instead of the front, Lu furrowed her brow deeply.
“Ugh, I don’t want to go out…”
The problem was that for the past four years, she’d done nothing but hide, avoiding people’s eyes. Now, stepping out into the bright sunlight onto a neatly kept street and walking among countless strangers felt utterly tiresome.
But no—she still had the grand ambition of personally severing both Emperors’ heads. She had to go.
“Hello?”
As she fiddled pointlessly with the back gate, opening and closing it, a greeting came from somewhere.
Lu turned her head to the left. A man leaning against the adjoining mansion’s wall next door waved at her.
He seemed about the same height as Aldwin but wasn’t overly burly.
He appeared to keep himself in regular training; his skin was clear and flawless, and his eyes were gentle. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties—perhaps even the same age as Lu.
“Hello.”
Lu returned the greeting for now. A neighbor?
“Newly moved in? I live right next door.”
“Yes, we just moved in today. I hope we get along well.”
“Ah, you’re from Kalreta. I’ve heard hammering and sawing for the past few days.”
News of the Kalreta consulate being established here must have already spread through the neighborhood.
“I’m sorry if we were noisy. I’d like to repay your kindness, but we’ve only just arrived and are still overwhelmed.”
“No, it wasn’t noisy at all. It’s fine. Um… is this your first time in Persesta, coming from the Kalreta Empire?”
The man, seemingly flustered, shook his head and then asked after a moment’s thought.
“Yes.”
“Have you exchanged currency yet?”
“Is there a place to exchange money?”
Her eyes widened as she asked, and the man’s eyes widened just as much as he replied.
“You’ll need to go to the bank. You really don’t know anything, do you? Gold should work roughly fine. I came here from Nirva next door five years ago. This is the Nirva consulate.”
Nirva? She’d never heard of such a country, but Lu nodded as she followed the man’s pointing finger to the flag hanging on the house to the left. So that must be Nirva’s national flag.
“Oh, I see.”
“The building to your right is the Soldenstain consulate. This whole street is the diplomats’ quarter.”
All of these were countries she’d never heard of.
“It must feel unfamiliar, coming from beyond the Wall. You’ll have many places to visit today.”
The man gave a wry, understanding smile. Lu quickly turned her head left and right.
Left was Nirva, right was Soldenstain. Fine. First things first—she needed to buy a map. Clearly, beyond the Wall lay many nations besides the Persesta Empire.
“Thank you for the information. May I ask your name?”
“Oh.”
The man pulled a small wallet from his inner pocket, then took something out of it and handed it to her.
“The bank is at the end of this street. Conveniently close. Have a good trip.”
The business card he offered had a thin black border, with the consulate’s address and name printed inside.
Felix Keika, Ambassador of Nirva.
The moment Lu looked up, the Nirva ambassador closed the Nirva consulate’s back gate and went inside. Were young diplomats the norm here? Lu hurriedly glanced down at the card and headed back into the mansion.
She’d need to get her own business cards printed—something neat and pretty, if possible.
“Ugh, seriously, so much to do. Aldwin!”
The ambassador had to go out.
About an hour and a half later, Lu and Aldwin slumped onto a bench outside the bank, utterly exhausted.
“Lu, don’t come to the bank again… If word gets out that the Kalreta Empire’s ambassador personally came and received such treatment, His Imperial Majesty will be furious.”
Exchanging Kalreta Empire gold coins—never before seen here, especially from a nation they’d been at war with for centuries—into Persesta Empire currency was no ordinary task.
The bank manager had immediately rushed out, eyes bulging, and started slashing the exchange rate for Kalreta coins. Lu and Aldwin ended up deciding to convert the gold ingots they’d brought instead of the coins.
Even then, they’d endured contemptuous stares the entire time, as if they were filthy sewer rats, with the staff doubting the purity of their gold ingots. The nerve of them—after all, it was they who’d done the invading.
“We can’t help it. We’ll just have to steel ourselves. Everyone here will see us as enemies.”
And the diplomat Persesta sent to Kalreta was probably facing the same situation.
“Are you alright?”
Aldwin, whose face had flushed crimson from the unprecedented rudeness, was surprised to see Lu lying back against the bench with an unexpectedly calm expression.
“I’ve been treated like this for over four years. I’m used to it.”
She stood up, wondering what those black posts sticking out between the carriage road and the pedestrian walkway could possibly be.
“At least we now know gold is accepted here—that’s something.”
She was accustomed to being stared at with wide-eyed suspicion, and she knew well that even from such gazes, she had to extract what she needed. Perhaps this was precisely why Emperor Carlos of Kalreta had sent her.
“Right. We got two pouches of coins—that’s fortunate.”
Aldwin was optimistic. But in Lu’s view, they could have gotten four pouches if the bank manager hadn’t stubbornly slashed the rate.
Well, she was used to such things by now. She smiled wearily. She’d have to squeeze exchange rate negotiations into her schedule—currently so empty it was practically blank.
She felt a surge of irritation at the thought that this much should’ve been handled in advance, but given Persesta’s indifferent response and how Emperor Carlos of Kalreta had abruptly appointed her as ambassador, the situation was painfully obvious.
Lu was just a puppet sitting quietly to hold a seat, and Persesta merely went through the motions without any real intention of engaging with Kalreta. Sigh—she was bound to get pushed around from all sides.
Somehow, she’d push and shove her way through until the job was done. If no one expected anything of her, that was all the better.
“Shall we buy something delicious with this?”
“Sure. I saw a shop over there where people were buying things to take away. Let’s go.”
Sure enough, there was a shop with a line stretching all the way out the door.
People were either happily carrying away items wrapped in colorful paper or unwrapping and eating them right there—it clearly wasn’t just an ordinary tasty shop.
Not wanting to deal with crowds any longer, Lu sent Aldwin in to wait in line while she waited outside.
A delighted little girl came out, dusting white powder from her lips as she popped dessert into her mouth.
Was it really that good? Watching the girl’s blue ribbon flutter as she passed by, Lu noticed a newsstand at the end.
“Welcome!”
The newsstand selling newspapers and magazines was densely packed with papers, each bearing different names.
“Mister, are all these new issues?”
“Of course they’re new! Did you just come up from the countryside?”
The vendor treated her like a country bumpkin. She couldn’t blame him.
Until now, she’d only ever seen two kinds of newspapers. One was the official government gazette, and the other merely copied news from the gazette while endlessly praising the Emperor. Here, however, newspapers and magazines were incredibly diverse.
“The Thieves’ Nation, Finally Subdued by Diplomacy!”
“Cunning Carlos Retreats at His Majesty’s Masterstroke…”
“Should ‘so-called’ Persesta, the ‘self-proclaimed’ Empire, truly establish relations with the ‘alleged’ Empire?”
The headlines, printed in large, bold letters, were blatantly aggressive and provocative to anyone who read them.
“Whoa, wow…”
Without even realizing it, Lu began grabbing every newspaper featuring prominent articles about the Kalreta Empire. Buy them. Buy them all. Just buy them.
“That’s a very tabloid-heavy selection.”
At first, Lu ignored the comment and picked up another paper that criticized the Kalreta Empire somewhat more politely.
“That one’s from a somewhat reputable publisher.”
Ignoring that too, Lu this time picked up a paper that dared to criticize the Persesta Emperor for losing his mind by establishing diplomatic ties with Kalreta. This one especially pleased her.
“That paper is far too biased toward the nobility and never takes my side.”
Was he speaking to her? Lu finally looked up.
Among the crowd simply handing over coins and taking one newspaper each, the man who’d been enthusiastically giving her unsolicited advice grinned.
The more Lu’s face twisted in irritation, the more brightly his face shone with delight.
It was the Persesta Emperor himself, who just hours earlier had casually handed her the permit in the palace.
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
I’m not sure where Lu gets the patience to deal with Hayden. He’s like a bulldozer. He seems convinced he’s helping her yet he doesn’t consider her opinions throughout it all.