Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 2
“An envoy delegation?”
It was Hyacinth. This was definitely Hyacinth’s letter! La Til’s heart pounded with anticipation. But soon, anxiety overwhelmed her excitement. What if it was a farewell letter?
La Til swallowed hard and tore open the envelope. Taking out the letter felt unbearably slow—as if the words might vanish before her eyes.
She bit down on her tingling tongue and began reading the letter.
“What does it say?”
More time passed than expected. Unable to contain her curiosity, the nanny asked impatiently.
“Is it an excuse?”
“No.”
“No?”
The nanny’s eyes widened in anger, but La Til showed no emotion—only silently staring at the paper. Then, with a sigh, she ripped it into shreds.
“Your Highness?”
“He wants me to come to Carissen.”
“What?”
“He says he can’t explain everything in the letter.”
“What nonsense is this? Did he injure his arm or something? Is he so badly hurt he can’t write more than a few words? Even if his arm’s broken, there are plenty who could write for him!”
Hearing the nanny’s irritated outburst, La Til burst into laughter—but it quickly faded until it stopped entirely. Seeing La Til’s expression turn completely blank, the nanny grew even more worried.
“You’re not going to write back?”
“I don’t know. I’m still thinking. It’s a hard decision.”
La Til finally made up her mind three hours later.
[This is the timeline separator]“Father, I’ll go to Carissen.”
During dinner,
the Emperor’s eyes widened in shock when La Til abruptly declared this with unusual seriousness mid-meal.
“Go where?”
“I’m going to Carissen.”
Her tone was almost a notification rather than a request. Flustered, the Emperor turned to the Chief Attendant.
But even the Chief Attendant had no idea what La Til was thinking. Shrugging helplessly with a “I don’t know either” look, the Emperor calmly asked his daughter,
“Why suddenly go to Carissen?”
“…”
La Til hesitated. It wasn’t easy to admit she was going because of a man. If Hyacinth were single, she could easily say so—but hadn’t his marriage envoy delegation just visited earlier that day?
“Are you going to see Hyacinth?”
Unexpectedly, the Emperor asked first—in a somber voice.
Does Father already know about my relationship with Hyacinth? La Til stared at him in surprise.
Their eyes met, and the Emperor gave a bitter smile.
“Hyacinth is a fine young man. But it seems he’s not the right match for you.”
He already knew.
“Father…”
“If it’s a doomed connection, there’s no need to cling to it.”
“But I…”
“Frankly, I think it’s for the best.”
The Emperor set down his teacup, stood up, and walked over to La Til. Then he opened his arms and hugged his daughter tightly.
“If you married him, you’d have to go far away to a foreign land. I want my daughter to stay by my side for a long time—to live where I can see you, where my power and influence reach, and to be loved without hardship.”
“I…”
“Don’t even say you’d marry Hyacinth as a mere concubine.”
La Til shook her head firmly at her father’s blunt words.
“I never even thought about that.”
“Good.”
“But I’m still going to Carissen.”
The Emperor frowned slightly and looked at his daughter’s resolute face. La Til’s jaw was set firmly—she’d clearly already made up her mind.
“La Til, my daughter—why go seek out a man who’s choosing another woman over you? If you’re going just to curse him out, I’ll let you go.”
“I just want to ask him why.”
“Will it really matter?”
“It’ll ease my heart—more than it is now.”
La Til’s tightly pressed lips showed stubborn determination. The Emperor clicked his tongue—he knew well that when his daughter wore that expression, no one could sway her.
“Who did she inherit such stubbornness from…?”
He ruffled La Til’s hair firmly, then walked back to his seat. But his next words were firm.
“You cannot go as a private individual.”
He’d seemed willing to let her go—so why this? La Til groaned in frustration.
“Father!”
But immediately came the twist.
“I’ll let you go if you meet two conditions.”
“Tell me! I’ll fulfill them both.”
La Til stared wide-eyed at her father. No matter what conditions he set, she was determined to go to Carissen at any cost.
But the Emperor’s mischievous smile revealed a request La Til hadn’t expected.
“First, when you see Hyacinth, stomp hard on his foot. If he asks why, tell him I told you to!”
La Til’s eyes widened, but she quickly laughed and shouted, “Yes!”
“And the second condition?”
“Go as the head envoy of the wedding delegation.”
“But that!”
“I won’t allow a private visit—it would make my daughter look foolish. Go as the official wedding envoy and show that scoundrel your dignity. You must make it clear: ‘I don’t care about someone like you!’”
The Emperor snorted and grumbled that if he’d known this would happen, he never would’ve allowed Hyacinth’s studies abroad—then turned to the Chief Attendant.
“Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, I share Your Majesty’s sentiments exactly.”
The Chief Attendant replied with a gentle smile. La Til stood silently, glancing between her father and the attendant, then sighed deeply.
“Fine. I’ll do it your way.”
[This is the timeline separator]For the next three weeks, La Til, as head of the wedding congratulatory delegation, gave numerous instructions.
“My fiancé is marrying another woman… Why am I preparing all this with my own hands?”
It wasn’t easy, of course. While working, anger often flared inside her. Every time she saw the gifts prepared for Hyacinth, she wanted to throw them to the floor and stomp on them.
She nearly smashed in half the wooden gift symbolizing a harmonious marriage—harmony be damned.
But La Til successfully suppressed all those impulses.
“Stay calm. I’m not going as Hyacinth’s envoy—I’m representing the empire, sending formal congratulations to another nation’s representative. Acting out would only bring momentary satisfaction, and later cost me even more to clean up.”
From afar, the Emperor watched with quiet pride as La Til calmly directed affairs.
“I still hope La Til won’t marry far away, even if she does wed someday.”
“Yes. I hope she continues learning at Your Majesty’s side and grows into a pillar of the Tariyum Empire.”
But not everyone admired La Til’s composure.
“This is too cruel, Father! Sending my sister to her former fiancé’s wedding!”
Crown Prince Lean, who also knew about his sister’s relationship with Hyacinth, protested repeatedly to his father against appointing La Til as the wedding envoy. But his objections didn’t last long.
“If it can’t come to be, it’s better she sees it with her own eyes once and for all. She’s loved him for years, pining so deeply that she went faithfully to the temple for two straight years, praying for his safety. She needs to see a clear end to it.”
Finally, the day came for the wedding delegation to depart for Carissen.
La Til mounted her white steed and gripped the reins tightly. Having loved physical activity since childhood and trained in various martial arts, she was an expert horsewoman.
The delegation gazed up proudly at the princess’s majestic figure atop her grand white horse.
“I’ll be back.”
After bidding farewell to her family, La Til signaled the group to set off.
Over the long fifteen-day journey, the party traveled smoothly. Their large procession deterred bandits and thieves, and thanks to the excellent logistics planning by capable officials, they never had to camp overnight.
The group swiftly and peacefully advanced toward Carissen.
[This is the timeline separator]When they finally arrived at Carissen’s capital, La Til felt overwhelming sorrow. She’d always known she’d come here someday—but never like this.
She’d imagined arriving in Carissen’s capital as Hyacinth’s bride—riding in a golden carriage amidst a grand wedding procession, greeted by the cheers of Carissen’s citizens.
“Hyacinth…”
But everything had changed. She had indeed come with a wedding delegation—but not for her own wedding. She was here to congratulate someone else.
The carriage was filled not with gifts her father had prepared for her, but with presents La Til herself had carefully chosen for Hyacinth’s bride-to-be.
Heartbroken, La Til clenched the reins tightly and ground her teeth.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
The Captain of the Knights, assigned to guard the procession, asked with concern—but La Til had no strength to reply.
She knew if she spoke now, curses would surely spill out. The knight, raised like a delicate greenhouse flower, wouldn’t be able to handle it.
After standing still for a long moment, La Til exhaled deeply, lightly slapped both cheeks with her palms, and gave the order.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Of course, she wasn’t fine at all. At the palace, as Tariyum’s envoy representative, she exchanged formal greetings with Carissen’s officials—but her mind was utterly elsewhere.
“I didn’t expect Your Highness to come in person.”
The official’s polite smile and courteous words sounded like provocation to her ears; she nearly grabbed him by the collar and demanded,
“What? Is it awkward that your groom’s former lover showed up as a wedding envoy?”
“No—that won’t do. They probably don’t even know I was involved with Hyacinth.”
La Til kept her fists clenched tightly but fortunately managed to control herself.
“We’ve known His Majesty Hyacinth since his time in the Tariyum Empire. I thought he’d be pleased if I came personally.”
“Of course! He’ll be absolutely delighted to learn Your Highness came as envoy head.”
“Bullshit.”
Carissen’s official led only La Til and a few others—the designated delegation leaders—to meet Hyacinth, while the rest of the group went elsewhere to handle luggage and arrangements.
“It’s particularly hectic right now—envoys from every nation are arriving. But that’s actually better for our foreign guests. Usually, the Grace Palace is so empty it feels desolate, but now it’s full of visitors.”
As they walked down the yellow corridor, the Carissen official chattered on, but La Til only half-listened, swallowing dryly the entire time.
Each step felt heavier than the last. She suddenly regretted coming, and had no idea what to say to Hyacinth.
Congratulate him? But why did you change your mind so carelessly? If you were going to change your mind, why not do it before I waited all these years? Was the time we spent together meaningless?
At the very least, I’ll stomp on his foot just like Father said, she resolved inwardly, glaring at the back of the Carissen official’s head.
Finally, the official stopped before a door. Apparently pre-arranged, he didn’t knock but quietly opened it right away.
“Thank you.”
La Til straightened her shoulders and stepped inside.
It looked like an audience chamber—throne at the head, long tables lined below—but felt more intimate than typical audience halls.
After scanning the room thoroughly, La Til realized she could stall no longer.
At some point, Hyacinth had been standing there, gazing at her blankly.
Instinctively, she nearly ran to him and threw her arms around him—but she held back. She didn’t want to show longing toward the man who’d abandoned her.
“La Til… You came.”
But the moment the door closed, Hyacinth rushed forward and embraced her. Nestled within his strong arms, in that familiar warmth, La Til froze. Foolishly, a faint glimmer of hope stirred inside her.
But she lifted her hands and gently pushed him away. When Hyacinth reached to caress her face with both hands, she firmly stopped him and said,
“I’ll give you five minutes. Explain. Why did you ask me to come?”
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Well, I expected that she would take concubines from other countries as they helped her with ascension.
The revenge against Hyacinth is quite harsh. A man wouldn’t expect something like that, especially one as narcissistic.
Well, it’s quite fun. It’s interesting and light to read. Feelings of the characters are exposed clearly. 👍🏻