Charlotte, observing this, chuckled softly and said, “The Duke is really in a hurry. He has a lot to prepare. I should give him a hint not to rush. I’m sure he’s decorated the Duchy, thinking of immediately marrying Annette and welcoming her as the Duchess.”
Since the bedroom prepared as a bridal chamber couldn’t be used, it would need redecoration, and new clothes and items fitting Annette’s childlike body would have to be prepared.
“And Annette must be feeling quite unsettled right now. Going to a strange place with strangers right away might not be comfortable for her.”
“Eh?” Annette widened her eyes at Charlotte’s words.
Indeed, she had only stayed at the palace for two days, surrounded by strangers and unfamiliar surroundings.
“Actually… yes,” she admitted hesitantly but honestly.
She had liked the Emperor and Empress, who had welcomed her as family from the start. And her decision to go through with the marriage was largely because of the warm attitudes of the people she had met at the palace.
So, she was a bit scared. While Cardin seemed to harbor goodwill towards her, she wasn’t sure if the people at the Duchy would feel the same. Although she knew she should think of the Duchy as her home and wanted to get there as soon as possible…
“But I thought my staying at the palace would be a lot of trouble…”
Annette spoke in a feeble voice, as if hoping they would insist on her staying.
“Not at all. On the contrary, the palace has been livelier and better off thanks to Annette,” Charlotte replied, quickly glancing at the Dowager Empress.
Noticing the Empress’s expression brightening at the notion that Annette didn’t seem eager to leave the palace quickly, Charlotte felt hopeful. They had set the stage; now, if only the Dowager Empress would say one more thing to sway her decision. However, the Dowager Empress just cleared her throat with a “Ahem,” without adding more.
Charlotte looked at the Dowager Empress, who was not used to expressing herself openly, with a sense of pity.
The Dowager Empress, once the eldest daughter of the Eigeis Ducal Family, had been selected as the Crown Princess at a young age. Despite her incompetent husband, she had skillfully managed the empire’s affairs and raised her two sons to perfection. She was also known for her decisiveness, simplifying complex issues, and a level of tolerance that seemed almost beyond human.
Charlotte deeply respected and admired her mother-in-law but acknowledged that her long palace life had made her somewhat awkward in personal relationships.
“You feel the same way, don’t you, Your Highness?” she asked.
Being astute, the Dowager Empress was taken aback by Charlotte’s question and looked at Annette. She knew this was a good time to express her desire for Annette to stay in the palace.
But could she say it openly?
Swallowing her dry throat, the Dowager Empress turned to Annette, who was looking up at her with an adorable face, and spoke, “This palace may seem lively, but it’s rather lonely without special events like banquets… Especially for an old person like me with nothing much to do.”
Annette’s expression became curious at the mention of being old, considering the Dowager Empress’s evident vitality.
Noticing this, the Dowager Empress felt uneasy, wondering if her words were insufficient. Charlotte, offering supportive glances, encouraged her to continue.
“Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but lately, it feels particularly dull. Having a cute child around, dressing her up, feeding her, and watching her antics would really make life enjoyable… Ahem!”
Realizing she might have been too candid, the Dowager Empress cleared her throat. Meanwhile, Annette thought of Mikhail, the only child in the palace and the precious grandson of the Dowager Empress, not realizing that she was the ‘cute child’ the Dowager Empress was referring to.
“Speaking of which, I met His Highness the Crown Prince yesterday. He was really adorable…”
Despite his somewhat unique manner of speaking and his case of ‘prince syndrome.’
“If you permit, I think it would be nice to invite His Highness the Crown Prince to join us for tea.”
Annette suggested, puzzled why the Dowager Empress longed for the company of her grandson who lived with her. She also planned to properly introduce herself to Mikhail, feeling uneasy about how they had parted the day before.
While Annette proposed this, unaware of the Dowager Empress’s actual intentions, the Dowager Empress was confused by the sudden mention of her grandson.
“Sir Loitz…?”
Charlotte, who had been suspiciously eyeing someone lurking around the entrance of the garden from afar, finally recognized him and widened her eyes in surprise.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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