Duchess Miranda, who had sipped tea with the Empress, cautiously set down her teacup.
“So, Duchess Sherwood is assisting Astel’s Royal Highness with the national wedding preparations?”
“Yes, it’s a truly honorable duty. I will do my best despite my limitations.”
Miranda, who wore a delicate smile, looked much younger than her years, and her eyes sparkled like gemstones.
“A Duchess like you is a role model in our empire’s social circle, certainly fit for preparing the national wedding.”
“You flatter me. Sadly, Astel’s Royal Highness lost her mother at an early age, and our family is related to Duke Astel, so I’ve taken on this duty.”
Adeline nodded and took another sip of her tea. Despite Miranda’s excessive humility and politeness, her red lips and the jewels around her neck were incredibly extravagant.
“You’re always too humble, Duchess.”
“I merely follow Her Majesty’s teachings in fulfilling my role.”
Indeed, her eloquence was fitting for a central figure in high society.
“I’ve never really taught you anything.”
Initially, Empress Adeline led the ladies of the court, but ever since she gave birth to Princess Ruana at a relatively late age, Miranda had been filling that role.
“Her Majesty is always kind and compassionate, so naturally…”
“Let’s stop the formalities.”
Adeline gently cut her off. She didn’t want to bring the tedious emotions she had felt leading the social circle into this place.
“We need to expedite this national wedding as the engagement has been too long.”
“Yes, I agree.”
“The national wedding is scheduled for the first day of next month in coordination with the Papal office. Can you complete the Royal Highness’s preparations by then?”
There was only about a half-moon left, but Miranda could certainly manage.
“Yes, I’ll make it happen. Duke’s Royal Highness will arrive at the mansion soon.”
“Good.”
The crown prince’s wedding was a national event, classified similarly to when an emperor marries.
“His Majesty opposes extravagant national weddings. Also, we have deep ties with the Astel duchy, so no dowries or gifts are needed.”
This was also a tactic to expedite the national wedding. Otherwise, it would likely be delayed for a year or more.
“I’ve heard the same from Duke Astel. However, we’ve sent a few of the Royal Highness’s favorite and essential items by carriage, which I will carefully review.”
Miranda had no choice but to step in, as this was a role usually taken by Serena’s mother, who died soon after childbirth.
“Pay most attention to the health and mindset of the princess who will become the Crown Prince’s consort.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Adeline smiled at Miranda’s submissive response.
Both remembered the chaotic engagement ceremony, but now that the national wedding was set, they could only hope for a smooth journey ahead.
For the first time, Serena felt the effects of motion sickness in a carriage. She usually rode horses in Astel and if she took a carriage, it was for a short time on level ground, so she never felt this ill.
“Please… Can’t we ride horses to the capital and then pretend we came by carriage?”
She pleaded several times, but neither Anna nor Peter would budge.
“I feel like I’m going to die… I’m dizzy… I want to get off…”
If time had allowed, they could have rested and stayed somewhere, but now they had to arrive at the Duke’s residence as soon as possible to prepare for the national wedding.
“Miss, please bear with it a bit longer. We’re almost there.”
“How many times have I heard that! If we’re in such a hurry, riding a horse would be faster. Why does everyone have to suffer like this…ugh.”
No matter how much she complained, they only stopped for about five minutes, which drove Serena to the brink of madness.
“How could you compromise the dignity of a duke’s daughter? Furthermore, it’s a journey for a royal wedding; you must absolutely not leave this carriage.”
Anna tried to comfort the pale Serena by patting her back, but her mood did not improve in the slightest.
“My life will be like this from now on.”
Life spent only enduring time within a lavish carriage, emblazoned with the emblem of the Astel dukedom.
“Oh my, you shouldn’t say such things. And we’re almost there.”
“I… hate it.”
She couldn’t bear to imagine living such a nauseating life.
Moreover, Serena knew well that she wasn’t the original heroine of this story. The problem was, that was all she knew about this story.
“Lady Shroud is a highly respected person in society. She will certainly take good care of and assist you.”
She was not interested in that. After all, the preparations to become the Crown Princess would not reflect her will in the slightest. It was nothing new, as she had experienced something similar during her engagement ceremony.
“Miss, look… That seems to be the mansion of the Duke!”
This time, Anna wasn’t lying. A brightly lit mansion appeared beyond the window.
Even in the middle of the night, every window of the luxurious mansion was brightly lit, standing out even in a street inhabited only by nobles.
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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