“What, what is it?”
Prisilla, guilty about many things, deliberately widened her eyes, pretending ignorance.
“Are these blank spaces in the ledger because you spent money, or because the income from selling medicines isn’t included?”
“How should I know! I just organized it according to the receipts the company sent! Do you think I embezzled money?!”
“…….”
“Why are you interrogating me like this?”
Irritated by Regina’s suspicious gaze, Prisilla snatched the ledger back. Overwhelmed by managing both the household and the medicine supply ledgers, Prisilla was in a tough spot.
She had previously boasted to her husband about her perfect ledger management with Yuan’s help, showcasing it as the competence of Prisilla Felt, daughter of the Felt Trading Company, so she couldn’t afford to admit her inability now.
“Ugh, if Yuan were here, she would have instantly figured out the problem.”
Regina, choking on the mention of ‘Yuan,’ glanced at Prisilla and walked away.
‘Yuan. Yuan. Father blames Yuan for stealing, but why is Mother also…?’
Yuan leaving was no different than just a maid leaving the house.
Regina believed this without hesitation.
Her father, Garett Peliesse, left a decent noble family in his youth to marry her mother, Prisilla. Naively, Prisilla fell for the charm of the second son from the renowned Peliesse family, unaware he had no title or inheritance. She ended up pregnant with Frederick.
The Felt Trading Company, newly moved to the capital, lacked information at that time. It only found out too late that Garett Peliesse, from a small but prestigious family, had nothing to offer.
Once the marriage preparations revealed Garett had no title, estate, or even wealth, the Felt family was in turmoil. If not for Prisilla’s pregnancy, Garett might have faced fraud charges for a sham marriage.
The Felt family chose to support them instead of pursuing legal action. They didn’t want to see their daughter raise a child alone in poverty.
They provided Garett with business funds as dowry, but inexperienced in business, Garett squandered it, including being scammed.
Twice more, until Regina’s birth, Garett devoured the business funds provided by his in-laws, completely losing his authority as a family head.
Moreover, with his in-laws’ cold shoulder, he had to move from one lowly house to another, maintaining a poor lifestyle without working, despite being a noble.
Only Prisilla, shuttling between her family and Garett, managed to scrape together living expenses. The money dwindled, but the frequency of disdainful looks from his wife and children towards Garett increased.
Garett’s life turned around when the then-Northern Duke, now Emperor Igor, suddenly ascended the throne.
The same day news spread about First Prince Clad Upris choosing to become a ‘Deposed Prince’ and seeking refuge with his maternal family, Garett received life-changing news from the family lawyer.
The death of his brother, Philip Peliesse.
As a direct descendant, Garett was to inherit the title since Philip’s children were too young.
At that moment, Regina’s life also completely changed.
Her resentment towards her father flew away like a feather, and her heart was stolen the moment she saw the grand mansion of a noble family, leaving behind the rat-infested house she used to live in.
Even as a minor noble, a noble was still a noble. Regina was enchanted by the modest dresses she had previously ignored for being too mundane.
Everything placed and hung in Yuan’s room looked precious and beautiful. The moment Regina could freely try and walk in those things, she felt like she owned the world.
Regina, who used to bow her head every time a four-horse carriage passed, now felt elated to be able to greet and face the beautiful girls of her age riding in them.
However, the noble society she had dreamed of was not so easy. To the high-nosed nobles, Prisilla and Regina were mere half-nobles.
Yuan Peliesse was recognized as a perfect noble lady as her mother was also from a prestigious scholarly family. In contrast, Regina, inheriting merchant blood, was cunningly ostracized among her strong peers.
Encounters with friends were no different than with a maid in disguise.
Naturally, Regina’s anger was directed at Yuan, who had become a maid despite being a perfect noble. Regina took out her frustrations on Yuan at home, taking anything that belonged to her.
She became more twisted when her father, Garett Peliesse, started involving Yuan as his assistant in research, neglecting his noble-born daughter.
Regina thought her father’s incomprehensible favoritism was ‘noble thinking’ – a narrow-minded view that harshly judged even one’s own children based on lineage.
Regina never wanted to lose what was hers. She didn’t want to feel like the elegant things were not meant for her anymore.
‘Now that raven Yuan is gone from the house. Everything is truly mine.’
She believed that as long as she maintained a high status at home, her father wouldn’t just look for any suitor, even if they were a fallen noble, as long as they had a domain.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
