“Not at all. I stayed up all night writing, and it was both educational and enjoyable.”
“The Queen of Khan seems diligent and cultured.”
Rose giggled behind her hand.
“I’m grateful for this honorable opportunity. It’s encouragement for a newly crowned queen, isn’t it?”
“Well, more than encouragement…”
Parnes paused, gazing through the window at distant hills, then continued after a moment.
“I wanted to know more about you.”
“Me?”
Rose’s face flushed with confusion. She glanced around, trying to comprehend his words.
‘Is he showing interest in me?’
She was breathless. She had vowed lifelong devotion to Chalen, yet now the emperor of a great nation seemed openly interested. Had his previous attention to Kasalyn been a strategy to approach her?
‘Maybe he first impressed my maid, making it easier to naturally get closer to me.’
“I was curious. What kind of person you are, what lies beneath. It seemed necessary to understand.”
“Nature…?”
To Rose’s puzzled query, Parnes replied with an enigmatic, gentle smile and walked past her.
“I look forward to a splendid reading.”
Distinguished guests from various countries, high-ranking nobles of the capital, and court officials had gathered in one place.
As Kasalyn entered the hall where the reading ceremony was being held, she was guided to her designated seat by the knights. She quickly scanned the room.
Rose was standing in the center of the hall, preparing for her reading. Chalen sat in the front row, beaming proudly at her.
“The Emperor arrives,” announced Duke Ludwik, prompting the gathered nobility to offer their greetings.
“I thank you all for attending. It’s a joy to arrange such an event on this grand festival day.”
“We share the same sentiment, Your Majesty.”
As Parnes took his seat, his eyes searched for someone.
From a distance, Kasalyn had been observing him, and their eyes met.
“Let’s begin without delay. Queen Liche, are you ready?”
“Yes, I am prepared.”
As Rose confidently ascended the platform, Parnes slightly lifted his lips, but it was far from a smile. It was more akin to a sinister sneer.
“Now, I shall begin the reading.”
Rose’s somewhat immature voice filled the hall as she confidently read her script.
Halfway through, Parnes suddenly tapped the table, signaling her to stop. Rose, who had been focused solely on reading the script, realized that the nobility was stirring uneasily.
“Is there a problem…?”
“Hearing your claims of history repeating, I have a question. Queen of Khan, how do you view the recent issue of strange birds raiding the farms, disrupting food supplies? I believe there was a similar incident about 50 years ago.”
Caught off guard by the Emperor’s unexpected question, Rose, visibly flustered, sought help from Chalen.
Realizing something was amiss with her reading, Chalen tried to answer before the nobles grew more suspicious.
“It seems the situation abroad has been exaggerated. Compared to 50 years ago, the actual damage is…”
“Sorry, but I wish to hear from the Queen of Khan herself. She is the focus of today’s event.”
Chalen hesitated, then fell silent. It was clear that it was inappropriate for him to answer on behalf of Rose when the Emperor had directly addressed her.
In the tense silence, the guests awaited the Queen’s response. Rose, looking on the verge of tears, nervously twitched her fists and lips.
Her desperate gaze finally settled on Kasalyn.
‘Help me, sister. What’s happening?’
But there was nothing Kasalyn could do. The Emperor had just firmly stated he wanted the Queen’s own answer.
Moreover, the situation wasn’t as dire as Rose thought. The script she had mindlessly read, if further explained, could have smoothly continued without any misunderstanding.
Kasalyn had warned her. She couldn’t guarantee a perfect script and advised Rose to review it thoroughly. Yet, it seemed Rose hadn’t even done that.
Judging by her expression, she hadn’t contemplated the content while reading it either.
Kasalyn coldly ignored Rose’s desperate gaze, tuning into the conversations of the nobles seated in front, behind, and beside her.
“Why can’t she answer? It doesn’t seem like a difficult question.”
“Indeed. And isn’t there something odd about the text? It’s logically sound, but feels like it’s missing some basis…”
As Rose’s silence unusually prolonged, the guests began to murmur among themselves.
Chalen shut his eyes in embarrassment.
Parnes, who had been casually observing the scene, finally spoke up when Rose’s face turned beet red with shame.
“Dear Queen of Khan, just out of curiosity, did you really write that text yourself?”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
