Chengliang listened to her words while still holding his cup to his lips. Bai Lian spoke in a measured way, as if organizing her thoughts.
“As you said……. Perhaps there’s no need for this anymore. Maybe it would be okay to hold just an ordinary banquet. But, I…… don’t have the talent for that kind of thing…….”
What is an ordinary banquet? Bai Lian had never relaxed at anyone else’s banquet. She had never appeared disheveled from drinking. She had never made a mistake.
Bai Lian always had to be perfect. She was once the successor from a collateral branch, then a family head, and then a subject under scrutiny from all sides. She had lived for decades without a single flaw.
So now, she doesn’t remember how to act without perfection.
“……Any thoughts on learning to do so from now on?”
Thoughts of being imperfect, of relaxing a bit, of living comfortably? No one doubts you anymore. Everyone will bow and submit to you.
Bai Lian quietly smiled. Chengliang had said only half of what he wanted, but Bai Lian understood everything he didn’t say out loud. Their time together allowed her to do so.
“Your Majesty.”
“I’m listening.”
“I can learn the methods. But actually doing it is another matter. ……I can’t stop this.”
“I see.”
Chengliang let out a sigh, tinged with disappointment yet still gentle.
“Then there’s no helping it.”
He looked at Bai Lian with a soft gaze that matched his soft voice.
“I’ll have to keep attending these joyless banquets, then.”
Chengliang wished Bai Lian could live a more comfortable life, now that she had everyone’s recognition and a stable position.
But if she can’t, or won’t, then he must help her carry this heavy, difficult life. To ensure that no one dares to oppose Bai Lian again.
“Your grace covers heaven and earth.”
The Empire’s first Grand Marshal, Bai Lian, bowed deeply, her face adorned with a gentle smile.
“Your Highness, the preparations are complete. Would you like to see?”
I opened my eyes, letting go of the faint remnants of a dream.
Why is it that only pleasant memories surface in dreams? Times that will never return.
“Let’s have a look.”
Suppressing the desire to indulge in sentimentality, I rubbed my eyes with my short arms.
Normally, Tula would have rushed over, her face flushed with concern, asking if I was okay. But today, she stood three steps away, stiff and formal, addressing me properly as ‘Your Highness.’
Good, Tula’s preparation is perfect.
I checked both the party area and the kitchen. Everything from the lined-up servants to the tablecloths, the flowers in the vases, the tea leaves, and the teapots.
Considering that I even checked the tea leaves for impurities, it was an excessively meticulous inspection.
After all the checks, I looked at the clock. 3:20 PM. There were 40 minutes left until the tea party, as written on the invitations.
Time to change clothes. By the time I’m done, and after a final check, the guests should start arriving. I turned to Tula and extended my hands.
“We should go change.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I will assist you.”
Tula picked me up, her face devoid of any smile.
The attendees of the tea party were all remarkable. Starting with Randolph, the Duke who organized this tea party, Melchizedek, and including a lady from a duke’s family, the grandson of a border count, the brother of the northern duke, and so on.
Originally, Ella, a maid, would never have had the chance to even glimpse such high nobility from a distance. However, Ella did not feel nervous. There was not enough self left in her to feel nervous.
“His Excellency Duke Randolph has arrived.”
“Lady Martina of the Duchy has arrived.”
“The young Lord of the Argon Marquisate has arrived.”
Her voice was neither too frivolous nor too grave. She avoided direct eye contact with the esteemed guests. She kept her back straight and only moved her wrists.
Just as she had been drilled exhaustively over the week, Ella mechanically moved and checked off the guest list.
Even after all the names on the list had entered and the drawing-room door had closed, Ella’s back remained rigid.
The children who entered the drawing-room paid no attention to the tapestries or ceiling frescoes.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t appreciate beauty; it was about establishing dominance. If they openly admired what Blanche had prepared, it would mean acknowledging her competence.
“Welcome, everyone.”
Unlike Ella, who was checking the list, Blanche greeted each of them, making eye contact.
Blanche’s attire was far from the latest fashion, but the details were intricate.
Frilly sleeves covering up to her wrists, buttons filled up to her neck, and a lace-trimmed headdress. It was an outfit that would have been a mess within five minutes on a regular child, but Blanche sat perfectly, without a single crease, as if she were a doll.
If there had been adults who had raised children, they might have felt a chill from Blanche’s too-perfect appearance. But here, there were only children aged five to seven.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
