News had spread that a young Duke and Duchess were coming to the imperial palace.
Serdis, leisurely sitting in the palace’s tea room, had just been informed of this. A smile curved his red lips upon hearing the pleasant news.
“I’ll see Anette’s face soon.”
Knowing this, he had bought a gift in advance, a Certia flower that Anette loved. He’d obtained this information from Edward Bayern, the only man Anette had ever dated.
He pondered how well a man he’d barely conversed with could know her. It was somewhat creepy. All things considered, he was glad to have got rid of him, as he couldn’t bear to see him slobber over Anette like a dog.
“I hope this flower arrives before it wilts.”
Murmuring, he looked at the pink flower in the vase. Across from him, a woman with hair identical to the flower rose from her seat. Serdis kept his eyes on the flower as he asked her,
“Leaving?”
“I’ve completed my task.”
“It’s a pity. I couldn’t even buy a gift for my cousin, whom I haven’t seen in a while.”
Liri snorted, “As if,” to Serdis’s tone that lacked any real regret.
“I’ve done what I came to do.”
Liri had stayed in the imperial palace following Serdis ever since she arrived in the capital. That had been her sole purpose for coming. Now that her mission was complete, she had to leave before Hertian and Anette arrived.
“Going to the Astere Ducal House? Or the North?”
“To the Ducal House. My stepsister seems to have taken an undue interest in me; she might get suspicious if I don’t go there.”
“Anette is detailoriented, yes. It’s good that families help each other. I look forward to hearing more good news.”
Mechanically smiling, Serdis waved his hand. Liri had observed and reported all of Anette’s activities in the capital. The reason was simple.
“I am on Hertian’s side, not yours. I sided with him, not to help you.”
She had grown exceedingly tired of seeing Anette by Hertian’s side.
Last time, she had rejected Serdis’s proposal because it felt unsettling. But since the quarrel with Anette on her birthday, Liri had been keen to get rid of her.
She didn’t want much. Just to turn back time before Anette arrived, when she could freely do what she wanted in the spacious castle.
‘This is strictly for Hertian too.’
She consoled herself, and headed back to the capital. She had directly gone to Serdis, who greeted her warmly and willingly informed her of his plan.
As expected, Serdis had dirty methods in mind.
‘This is why I hated Serdis.’
Unlike Hertian, who was transparent, Serdis was rotten to the core. Because he had no qualms about revealing his true self to her, a family member, she had avoided him.
However, they shared the same objective. She decided to join hands with him just this once.
“I’ll take responsibility and return Anette to where she belongs.”
“Are you sure this will work? My stepsister is strange. She’s been here a short time and has already started a business, making tens of millions. She won’t be easy to fool.”
“It’ll be different this time. I’ve found a capable partner.”
“Who is it?”
As Liri looked skeptical, Serdis slung his arm around her shoulders. A strong scent of citrus perfume filled the air, making Liri cover her nose. He leaned close and whispered,
“It’s someone you know very well.”
(This is a time separator.)
The capital was sunny. It was a fine day to stir up some action in the imperial palace.
“I will guide you.”
The royal servants naturally guided our carriage upon seeing it, a good distance away from the main palace where the Emperor resided. Finally, as we passed through a small, wooded grove, the palace revealed itself.
Hidden away in a corner within the imperial grounds, the palace resembled a secret tower from a fairy tale. What caused a frown was its neglected state: moss covered its ivory walls.
“Seems they went all out on hospitality.”
I wasn’t expecting lavish treatment, but I hadn’t expected such blatant neglect either. I looked away from the small palace and caught Hertian’s gaze.
Inside the carriage, his complexion had been dark. Now he stared at the palace with eyes full of suppressed emotions. The thought occurred to me that assigning us to this seemingly forgotten palace might carry some underlying message.
“Is this the palace where Hertian used to live?”
A place soaked in his painful past.
“Did they assign Hertian back to it on purpose?”
His answer was exactly what I’d expected.
“Yes. It’s a place with a few shabby pieces of furniture.”
Yet his voice was surprisingly indifferent.
Could he really be indifferent?
Absolutely not. This was where Hertian’s mother had been killed, after all.
I knew that, and yet I had invited him to this palace. A silent reminder that he wasn’t welcome; his only place here was a palace of death.
“This is too cruel.”
The neglected palace seemed to reflect young Hertian, and that made me angry and sad.
“Nothing special, really. It’s much larger and more expansive than our mansion. It’s the fault of those who can’t manage such a fine estate.”
I shrugged at Hertian’s gaze and added in a joking tone.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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