“Empress Mother?”
“Um.”
“Why would the Empress Mother?”
Seizing the opportunity, Audrey shot a sharp, penetrating question.
Mikhail always admired Audrey for her logical and smart thinking, but at this moment, he somewhat resented her clever mind.
Swallowing his tears, he said, “Well, actually… it was a guest invited by Mother. It seems this young lady is probably my betrothed.”
‘What on earth is he saying?’
Annette, unable to keep up with the conversation, stood with her mouth agape, unable to interject.
As Audrey burst into tears again, Mikhail also began to cry.
Annette, pondering whether it was appropriate to reveal her identity to a non-royal lady in order to calm the crying children, suddenly remembered the Empress and the Empress Mother hiding in the bushes.
She had hoped they would leave first while she handled the situation, but they seemed reluctant to leave Annette there and remained.
The thought that they might have heard the entire conversation sent a wave of dizziness over her.
‘What a mess I’ve created by stepping in so confidently!’
Little did she know that the Empress Mother was trying to suppress her laughter, finding the absurd dialogue amusing, and the Empress was holding her neck, her face red with disbelief at her son’s ludicrous misunderstanding.
Then Mikhail, rubbing his eyes, yelled out in frustration, “That’s why I said I don’t want to be the Crown Prince anymore!”
Annette’s expression suddenly changed, sensing a shift in the air, like the calm before a storm.
Then, rumble! Suddenly, the ground vibrated, and a large tree next to Mikhail began to shake from its roots and started to fall.
Annette’s eyes widened in horror.
‘No, it’s falling in that direction…!’
Meanwhile, at the palace.
As soon as Cardein arrived at the palace, he headed straight for the Emperor’s office and proudly placed the engagement certificate from the temple on the desk.
Lucius, who was about to sign some documents, looked incredulous.
“What are you doing now?”
“Just letting you know that the engagement is official.”
“Hmph. I thought you’d run straight to the princess.”
The incident of Cardein neglecting his brother for his beloved woman had happened just that morning.
Lucius grumbled with a sense of being overlooked.
Then Cardein cheekily said, “The princess is a bit busy right now. How about an engagement gift?”
Lucius clicked his tongue. “With all the dowry already going to the Heyworth Kingdom, you want more?”
“As if I’m taking it away. You insisted on preparing the dowry from our duchy.”
Lucius, who had been eager to play a role like sending off a son to marriage, cleared his throat and quickly signed the document, handing it over to Cardein.
“Here you go.”
Cardein eagerly took the document, which was the ownership transfer of a ruby mine in the central region he had long coveted.
Preparing it all and still complaining.
Thinking of what to craft for Annette with rubies from this mine, Cardein pondered.
“Are you sure about postponing the royal wedding? If you want, we can proceed immediately…”
“No need. Better to resolve this properly now, in case something like this happens again. Can’t always rely on you for every body swap.”
“I don’t mind, though.”
“I’m fine too.”
Quick to respond, Cardein let out a soft sigh.
“Actually, I think it worked out for the better.”
“What? Don’t tell me you…” Lucius’s face showed a look of astonishment.
Cardein frowned deeply.
“What are you thinking?”
“It was a joke.”
Lucius, as if never serious, shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Cardein, incredulous, shook his head slightly and continued.
“That person… she’s been alone since she was so small and young. I can’t go back in time to take care of her, so I just want to look after her a bit in that form, and comfort her.”
Lucius nodded, understanding the affection in Cardein’s words. Although he had joked, he had somewhat anticipated such feelings.
In the serious atmosphere, Cardein, feeling a bit flustered, said more lightly, “Anyway, I’m counting on my respected brother to take care of everything.”
“Hmph,” Lucius let out, his feelings of being overlooked melting away with that comment.
“By the way, did Lord Melrin say he saw our princess?”
At that moment, Cardein addressed the Royal Guard Commander, Lord Melrin, who was standing quietly beside the Emperor. Given his position overseeing the protection of the royal family, it was certain he knew about Annette’s presence in the palace.
When Lord Melrin nodded, Cardein’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “I think our princess is around the same age as Lady Melrin.”
“That was my impression as well,” agreed Lord Melrin.
“Right? Can you tell me what Lady Melrin likes most? I can’t think of anything for girls of that age apart from dolls or sweet desserts.”
“Ah…”
Lord Melrin hesitated, swallowing his words. It wasn’t because he was an indifferent father; rather, his daughter Audrey had always been frail and mostly confined at home, leading to her unconventional interests for a noble lady.
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.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
