Claudius looked at Selina, who wore a face of injustice, with an indifferent gaze.

“I am aware of it.”

His reply was plain and unadorned, without a trace of deceit. At his straightforward affirmation, Selina stammered, lost for words.

“You promised to make sure that the Empress’s influence couldn’t reach the Empress’s Palace. Then why…”

“Empress. It’s true that the Empress had recommended her for the position, but now she belongs to no one.”

Strictly speaking, it was Claudius who had appointed her as the chief maid, so she was closer to being one of the Emperor’s people.

Claudius put down his documents and looked at Selina. His gaze, firmer than ever, made Selina feel small and she ended up staring at the carpet beneath her.

“A fallen noble, but with outstanding personal abilities. I brought her in. She has been in the imperial household for a long time, so there are many things you, as Empress, can learn from her.”

Was everything he whispered sweetly in her ear all lies? She had ascended to the position of Empress, but nothing was truly for Selina.

Seeing Selina’s hardened expression, Claudius let out a chuckle. Selina, unable to grasp the Emperor’s intentions, hesitantly looked around, not daring to approach him first.

“Your Majesty?”

“But now, that chief maid is under the Empress’s Palace. Which means…”

Claudius flicked his finger at Selina. It was a quite rude gesture, but Selina, as if under a spell, approached the Emperor.

“It means that the Empress can do as she pleases.”

Claudius easily caught Selina’s petite hand in his. A small power handed to her by the Emperor himself.

There was an unspoken message that he would be watching how she handles it, but Selina was oblivious. A small tyrant gleamed within her, drawing its sword.

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

Illyriad had a habit when she was anxious: she would pick at the cuticles of her opposite hand. Often, this habit would lead to bleeding and wounds, causing her maids, including Linette, to panic and intervene.

But today, even Linette couldn’t bring herself to stop her.

As the doctor’s bag opened and closed, Illyriad’s eyes flickered nervously. Her body was tensely rigid.

Regardless of whether her health was poor or not, it was a concern. But being healthy was also a problem. Illyriad dreaded what awaited her after the medical examination. The approach of the doctor felt like a harbinger of doom.

Once the results of Illyriad’s examination reached Claudius, the chief maid of the Emperor’s Palace would soon come calling.

With a set date for their union.

“Empress, your health has improved since last time. However, your body is still too weak for bearing a royal heir.”

It was a relief, in a way. Illyriad exhaled a faint sigh upon hearing the doctor’s verdict.

For years, the Empress had not conceived a child. Nobles opposed to her had murmured that she must be frigid or have some physical ailment.

The nobles allied with the Emperor had repeatedly suggested that she be deposed if she couldn’t bear an heir, but Claudius consistently dismissed these suggestions.

“Those wicked traitors run in your veins. You should be deposed along with them!”

“The primary virtue of an Empress is to continue the royal lineage. If there is something wrong with the Empress, it is only right to bring in an Empress to succeed her.”

But Claudius ignored all these opinions, keeping only Illyriad by his side.

Until Selina appeared.

The nobles, especially those in Claudius’ faction, including Duke Diobe, were all waiting for news of Selina’s pregnancy. She was so favored and never far from his side; surely, it wouldn’t be long before she bore a royal heir.
Someone commented on their situation. Is bearing a child so easy?

And that passing remark was correct. Strangely, there was no news from Selina. There were no signs or responses from Selina’s body, and Claudius didn’t seem overly concerned either.

Illyriad, on the contrary, hoped that Selina would become pregnant first. If the focus shifted from the Empress, it would be much easier to move in secrecy.

Noticing the faint relief on the Empress’s face, the doctor waited silently for her response. Illyriad moistened her dry lips and slowly spoke.

“I do not wish to force it this time.”

“But, Your Majesty, you have postponed the union before,” the doctor reminded.

“Last month, I had continuous bleeding…”

“It’s due to accumulated fatigue. You must take proper rest, especially during your rest periods.”

Dr. Letitia’s voice was dripping with concern. Considering age, Illyriad would almost be like her older niece. Compared to Letitia, who was just reaching middle age, Illyriad was significantly younger.

The day Illyriad shut herself off after losing her family in a few days, Letitia, summoned by Claudius’s order, was shocked at the sight of the Empress. Illyriad’s frail body and the cloudy look in her empty eyes reflected a broken spirit.

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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