Before Rebell even picked up the pen, several cheques with the Emperor’s signature were placed on the table.
Rebell quietly scanned the amount written on the paper and signed without hesitation. His brow faintly trembled, but Claudius didn’t notice. The contract proceeded swiftly.
“I would appreciate it if you could come here as soon as possible. We need to discuss upcoming matters.”
“Understood.”
As soon as the signal to leave was given, Rebell got up and exited the room. After his departure, Calum spoke.
“There will be a lot of opposition from the Imperial Guards and even within the Palace, given that they are mercenaries from the North…”
“Who inside the Palace?”
His question carried an air of certainty, reflecting his confidence that there were no forces within the Palace that would dare oppose the Emperor.
Most of the royal family had perished under the Empress Dowager’s scrutiny. After the previous Emperor’s death, she purged those who pressured Claudius and aspired for his throne.
She didn’t hesitate to secretly poison or assassinate any royal members who she deemed a threat to Claudius’s power. Calum still remembered her imposing yet chillingly cold presence.
“The Queen wouldn’t be interested in such matters, and the Empress Dowager… Surely our late Empress wouldn’t conspire with these foreigners.”
A beautiful doll, void of emotion. Claudius looked at the extinguished ashes in the fireplace.
A dead fire would not reignite. No matter how much one fans or stirs, it’s impossible without a new spark.
“I keep getting hung up on that man.”
“Why?”
“They say you can know a person’s life by looking into their eyes… That man has seen the end of life.”
“I like that look in his eyes. He seems like he would never let go once he bites.”
A loy
As soon as Linet entered, she started nagging Elide with concern. It was a habit that needed to be discarded, but nothing else woke him up like strong tea in the early morning. Elide awkwardly put down his teacup.
“First, have this.”
“Thanks, Linet.”
Bite-sized bread and neatly cut sandwiches were on a silver platter. Elide slowly chewed them and began reading the newspaper again. Linet glanced at the headline and quietly added her comment.
“Today, everyone is talking about this. The mercenary band coming to the palace, they are the ones who confronted the Imperial Guards at the bar. Remember?”
“Of course. It’s almost the first time such a thing has happened. Thanks to them, the scandal caused by the Imperial Guards has been buried.”
“I hoped this would have crushed their arrogance… The Imperial Guards think they got their positions solely because they’re superior. Getting in on family names, slipping some money under the table. I even heard there are people who take exams for them. Really.”
“Surely not.”
“It’s true. That’s the rumor spreading around the Academy.”
Linet’s voice grew quieter, cautious of being overheard.
There were rumors of some deal between the Military Academy and the Imperial Guards. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
If there’s demand, supply naturally follows. Brokers connecting nobles and proxy test-takers had emerged. Elide looked down at the newspaper and muttered to himself.
“More things to worry about.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. Anyway, living with them in the palace, it’s going to get busy. More things to take care of.”
“We belong to the Empress’s palace, so unless it’s urgent, we won’t be called.”
Linet shrugged. They would probably be busy cleaning and preparing spaces for the new arrivals for a few days.
The presence of more men in the palace didn’t concern them much. They were likely to be stationed far from the Empress’s palace, and encounters would be rare.
Elide folded the newspaper and put it on the desk. The nagging discomfort in his stomach had subsided a bit. He had to remain as composed as possible.
Once the mercenaries enter the royal palace, the plans he had long set in motion might start to move, even if just slightly.
Elide, ensuring Linet couldn’t see, forced his trembling hand to relax under the desk. He decided to think about what would happen next after their arrival.
In the vast plains, nameless weeds swayed like waves in the wind.
Some called these plants dancing skirts of people, while others said they were filled with the spirits of those who starved to death in famine years.
Crossing the dense grasslands, the Ricus Mountains appeared.
The foothills of the mountains were modest, at least by the mercenaries’ standards. The desolate castle in the mountains, shunned by all, stood solemnly in its place.
The fact that the mercenary band was stationed near this abandoned castle was known to anyone living nearby.
As one approached the chilly and barren mountains, the air became colder and drier against the skin.
Four horses, slowing down from the plains, could be seen. Just a bit further, and they would reach the castle where the mercenaries resided.
Rebell looked at the castle in the distance. To an outsider, it might seem a place where ghosts could spring forth.
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.”
