Before I knew it, the sun had set and the sky was covered in blue. I didn’t realize time had passed so quickly.
Hertian had left, and I, following the butler’s instructions, moved to my father’s office instead of my room.
I was certain that the two of them would have liked Hertian.
But then,
“I cannot approve this marriage.”
Suddenly, what is this all about?
My father had changed his words. His expression had completely changed.
“You suddenly oppose the marriage?”
The buoyant feeling that had been floating up till now had plummeted to the bottom.
“I thought it over. It seems like a hasty decision.”
I rushed to the desk where my father was sitting in an instant.
My father, without looking into my eyes, put the proposal letter back in the drawer.
“You said you would approve just a while ago. You should have said so when the duke was here!”
I rudely raised my voice in front of my parents.
“Please tell me something. There must be a reason why you suddenly changed your mind.”
There must be a reason, and they’re hiding it from me.
“Father!”
I continued to press my tightlipped father.
“Are you really not going to say anything? How am I supposed to accept that you’re calling off the marriage without any explanation?”
My father, with a serious face, put his hand on his forehead.
“Actually….”
My father couldn’t continue his words. His face looked complicated.
“Actually?”
My father, who had been licking his lips, bit his tongue and closed his mouth again. It seemed he would never tell me.
“Was there something happening while I was not here?”
This time, I turned my gaze to my mother sitting by the window. As soon as my eyes met hers, she quickly turned her head away.
“Why are you doing this? Is marriage a joke? And the other party is the duke!”
It would be good if they could tell me the reason clearly, but both of them seemed unwilling to say anything.
“I can’t accept this. No matter what you say, mom and dad, I will marry the duke.”
Hertian and I have already agreed to pick a date that we like.
Unless a disaster happens, the marriage will be maintained as it is.
I alternately looked at my mother and father with icy eyes.
‘You really won’t tell me?’
Neither my father nor my mother could easily start a conversation.
I turned to leave the office, laying out one by one the reasons why I had to marry Hertian.
But still, they had no answer.
Should we talk about this again tomorrow?
“The duke will be a perfect husband. He’s exactly the husband I’ve been hoping for.”
It was just when I was about to leave after adding that.
“How can you be sure of that?”
Finally, my father took the bait.
“As I said before, he’s polite and in war, he always comes back victorious. He’ll protect me no matter what happens.”
“How do you know if he only led his knights to command?”
I shook my head once at the negative words.
“He did his best as a commander. Plus, he is the most handsome in the empire.”
“Don’t judge by his looks. A man is supposed to have a big body, um….”
My father stopped speaking and coughed. He seemed to be trying to say something embarrassing.
“He’ll have a strong waist, too. You know how much he rides a horse while scouring the battlefield.”
“Cough, cough. That’s not what I was trying to say.”
“Not only that, but the duke has a smooth and tall nose.”
I continued to speak without a second of hesitation.
“What does the nose have to do with it?”
“They say a man should have a high and tall nose to do well at night.”
This was something I knew from a physiognomist on the TV in the hospital before I possessed the book.
“Who said that? Was it Cassian?”
“No. The young ones were talking about it amongst themselves.”
And in the academy, the topic of noses often came up amongst friends.
At this story, coughing broke out here and there.
“Father. I’ve grown up too. I’ve known everything since I was in the academy. I see everything.”
I was brazen.
“Even our compatibility with the Duke will be good…”
“No!”
Before my words could fully end, my father shouted at the top of his lungs. I was momentarily surprised by the unexpected loudness of my typically composed father.
“It’s not the Duke. It’s not!”
He abruptly stood up from his seat and began to pace back and forth. Seeing my father turn red, akin to a ripe apple, I expressed my confusion.
“Why do you refuse it so much?”
“That is… the Duke, no, that guy!”
As my father, who seemed to be emitting steam from his forehead, was about to explain the reason, my mother rushed in and intervened.
“Anette, return to your room for now.”
“I need to hear the reason. What is it about the Duke, father?”
However, my mother spoke firmly with furrowed brows, her voice betraying an attempt to hide something.
“Aren’t you going to listen to your mother? Go back quickly. I’ll explain it later.”
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]The office that Anette left was engulfed in a heated atmosphere.
A man, who was hiding his body on the large couch, stood up, and only when he opened the window did the stagnant air start to circulate.
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.”
