The officer almost dropped his gun. Was he hallucinating from the alcohol, or had he truly gone mad?
But it was clear. The woman in front of him was daring him to shoot if he could handle the consequences, her head thrust forward towards the gun’s muzzle.
Her eyes, glimpsed through the hat, sparkled with intensity. The officer, too shaky even to stand properly, was overwhelmed.
The crowd encircling them was equally perplexed, not knowing how to react.
The mercenaries found themselves in a tricky situation. A wrong move, and the woman confronting the Imperial Guard might get hurt.
‘As long as it’s just an injury…’
The worst-case scenario would be a hostage situation. Edy, able to move only his eyes, scanned the surroundings. He was ready to draw his weapon at a moment’s notice.
Then, Edy’s gaze caught a familiar face.
Surely, it was the handsome man he had met here before. Was his name Allen?
Allen also caught Edy’s eye. An unusual reunion in such a tense moment. It was a welcome sight, but the situation didn’t allow for overt greetings.
Edy noticed a plate in Allen’s hand. Perhaps they were thinking alike. Their eyes met, and a plan formed in their minds.
Now was the perfect opportunity, with the mysterious woman in the hat buying them time.
“What will you do?”
Eliade stood still, her forehead pressed against the gun’s muzzle. Seizing the moment of the officer’s hesitation, someone shouted.
“Now!”
A white object arced towards the officer’s hand holding the gun. Simultaneously, Eliade was pushed aside.
Expecting to tumble to the ground, she was surprised to be caught, avoiding a harsh impact.
Just in case her face was revealed, Eliade pressed her hat’s brim down further.
With a dull thud, the gun fell to the floor. The officer clutched his hand and collapsed, while Edy seized the moment.
“Got you, you scoundrel!”
Quickly subdued, the officer struggled briefly but soon calmed down.
Given the situation with the gun, the officers began to cautiously rise, assisting their fallen comrades.
Eliade realized she was being held by someone. Judging by the smaller stature, a woman? She peeked from under her hat.
“Are you alright? Any injuries?”
The man holding her had a strange aura. At first glance, he seemed like a girl, but was unmistakably male. His common brown hair contrasted with his strikingly familiar green eyes.
As Eliade collected her thoughts, Lynett approached with a near-tearful expression.
“Lady…”
“I’m fine. And thank you for your help. If it’s not too much trouble, may I know your name?”
“Allen. Everyone here calls me that.”
Allen winked slyly at Eliade before standing up. He had come to enjoy the festival but ended up in this chaos. If things had gone slightly differently, someone might have been seriously hurt. He sighed lightly.
“Hey you, you’re quite skilled, aren’t you?”
Edy approached Allen, holding the white plate. It was the same plate Allen had held minutes ago.
“Wow… Survived through all this mess. Maybe we should switch to these at home. Manager, where did you get these plates?”
“I don’t know. But is everyone else alright?”
“Seems like it.”
“Thanks for the plate, Manager.”
Edy handed the unbroken plate back to the manager. His polite demeanor was a stark contrast to his earlier ferociousness in subduing the officers.
The manager watched, chuckling, as Edy and Allen interacted.
“You two seem to get along quite well. A match made in heaven.”
“No way.”
Edy and Allen glared at the manager, denying his suggestion. They had only met for the second time since their last encounter. Although their thoughts might have aligned briefly, it was far from a destined connection.
“You’re quick-witted, which could be useful, but joining a mercenary group… You look too delicate, like a well-bred young master.”
“What! And you think you’re in good shape?”
“Why are we talking about bodies here? Makes me feel inferior. Don’t you think I want to grow as tall as our captain?”
The two, despite being praised for their compatibility, immediately started bickering.
Meanwhile, people around began cleaning up, picking up chairs and tables and sweeping the floor. The commotion that had filled the tavern was gradually subsiding.
“Lynett, let’s go back.”
“Lady…”
Lynett’s voice trembled, whether from anger or worry for Eliade. She held Eliade’s hands firmly, speaking not as a maid but as a long-time friend.
“Please… never risk your life like that again.”
As Lynett finished, she hung her head, and tears started to drop onto Eliade’s hands.
“Sorry… I was thoughtless.”
“If I lose you, I’ll truly be alone.”
Eliade gently wrapped her arms around Lynett’s shoulders. A soft fabric touched Lynett’s cheek – Eliade’s thin scarf, always worn to hide a scar on her neck. Lynett was always filled with guilt at the sight of that scar.
“Let’s leave before the royal guards catch us.”
People started crowding into the tavern, probably having heard about the disturbance. It was a good cover for them to slip away unnoticed.
Eliade and Lynett, holding hands, made their way out of the tavern.
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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