“What are you doing!”
Rasilia pushed Lescar away.
Thrown off balance, Lescar wore a deeply aggrieved expression.
“You were the one who hugged me first.”
“What? What did you say?”
“I mean it. You were the one who grabbed my arm first.”
He then extended both arms, making excuses for the hug. Lescar had no choice but to embrace Rasilia in return.
Rasilia stared at him with a displeased face, emphasizing twice that he had no choice.
“Why did you come to my room in the first place? I told you we wouldn’t see each other for a while.”
Like someone struggling to answer, Lescar momentarily averted his eyes.
“That’s because… you were asleep.”
“What does that mean?”
“So, strictly speaking, I didn’t go against your wishes. We both agreed to avoid seeing each other. But I’m the only one seeing you, so…”
“This is a play on words, Your Highness.”
“……”
Lescar pursed his lips, signifying he had nothing more to say.
Rasilia pulled up the blanket and pointed to the bedroom door.
“Please leave. I’m sick. I don’t want to pass it on to you.”
“Don’t worry about that. I don’t catch colds.”
“I don’t know that.”
“I’ve never caught one.”
“I can’t trust that. Please leave.”
“You can trust me. I’ve never caught one, and even if I did, it’s fine.”
“I’m not fine.”
Rasilia pointed to the door again.
“Leave. I want to rest comfortably.”
“……You said you were okay with it first.”
“Leave.”
“……”
Reluctantly, Lescar got up.
“Can I ask you one thing before I go?”
Even after standing, he couldn’t easily let go of his lingering feelings.
“It would be better if you just left.”
And Rasilia found this uncomfortable. It became even harder to face the Emperor after dreaming about demons.
It evoked emotions and sensations she didn’t want to feel.
“You’re still mad.”
She decided to pretend. If that would help her avoid him.
“Yes.”
“……Then so be it.”
The Emperor strangely slackened his shoulders and turned his back. His exquisite attire was noticeably wrinkled on one side. This was because he had been lying on his side, tightly hugging himself.
“I hope your anger dissipates soon.”
“I doubt it will.”
Rasilia’s cold words made Lescar’s shoulders sag even more.
“I’ll go then. Hope you get better soon.”
“……”
She deliberately didn’t answer.
…Thud.
The slow sound of the door pained her.
(This is a time separator.)
“How could you when you’re feeling unwell…”
The next day, her cough worsened. Every word spoken made her throat so sore that she had to continuously drink tea with honey. As a result, she felt so full that her appetite vanished.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t postpone her meeting with the Countess Pashard.
Actually, Countess Pashard had to wait for three hours in the receiving room of the imperial harem because Rasilia couldn’t stop coughing.
Sitting on a backless chair in the receiving room was inherently uncomfortable.
When Rasilia finally appeared after three hours of waiting, Countess Pashard was more than just fatigued.
“…What did you summon me for?”
Countess Pashard glanced sideways, checking Rasilia’s mood.
In fact, Countess Pashard hadn’t intended to make such a big deal.
She knew the Empress’s secret. However, that secret had already disappeared. On the day the Empress fell into the canal, as Countess Pashard changed her clothes, she clearly saw the mark revive.
The one who escalated things was her impatient husband.
After hearing that his wife had been expelled from the circle of palace ladies, he rashly stormed into the imperial palace.
Yet the Empress was nowhere to be found, and the Emperor had no interest in the Empress’s secret. Instead, he found the Count impudent for mentioning the secret and ordered the guards to throw him out.
Not only was their pride wounded, the damage was enormous. Count and Countess Pashard had been intoxicated with the power play afforded by their position as the number one lady of the imperial harem. It was unthinkable to surrender that overnight.
In the meantime, he had moved quickly in the temple. He went round in circles, but he was clearly interested in the Empress’s secret. The Duke sent a prompt response that he would visit the temple tomorrow.
It was too late by the time the Duchess informed that she had no more secrets with the Empress.
The couple racked their brains in concern.
However, no matter how much they thought, the only way to go back to being the first consort was to hold the Empress’s secret as a threat.
So they decided to take a risk. If they pretended to collaborate with the temple, the vulnerable Empress would surely surrender first.
The Empress seemed completely unaware that her mark had returned. So, the plan would succeed.
Due to some accident, the journey to the temple was delayed, but it could actually be a good thing.
The Empress would become even more impatient.
Calling them to the palace today was evidence of that.
Swoosh!
The Duchess hid her mouth with her feather fan.
Today was a battle she was going to win, but she couldn’t show her smiling face just yet.
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.”
