112. You’ve returned!
2024.01.20.
Emperor Igor burst into the Empress’s palace in a fluster, as if he had just heard for the first time about her fainting.
He appeared exactly like a husband deeply devoted to his wife.
Yuan and Tasha, utterly unimpressed by his brazen act, quietly kept their heads lowered. Surprisingly, Empress Marilyn seemed to see the Emperor’s behavior as an opportunity. She shakily got up and shouted at the maids to bring her travel trunks.
“Why are you trying to go somewhere again with such a frail body?”
“I can’t stand it anymore! I’m going to visit my parents’ home!”
The Empress, looking extremely weakened, apparently believed that doing so would shock the Emperor.
She slammed the large trunk the maids awkwardly brought onto the floor and began sweeping items off the vanity into it without even checking what they were.
At first, Emperor Igor stood still with wide eyes, but soon he sat down at the foot of the bed, legs spread wide, silently watching her fill the trunk until it overflowed with clutter.
He looked like someone amusedly observing a small animal’s antics.
“Suddenly planning to go south?”
“Yes. If I don’t go somewhere warm and breathe in some sea air, I’ll suffocate and die right here in this palace!”
A flicker of displeasure passed through the Emperor’s icy blue eyes as he watched the Empress grunting while struggling to lock the trunk.
He let that displeasure slowly seep throughout the bedroom before shifting his gaze to Yuan and Tasha, who had retreated to a distance.
Like a child who had just discovered an entertaining play, the Emperor’s face brightened the moment he saw Yuan.
After a brief silence, the Emperor fixed his eyes firmly on Yuan and finally spoke to the Empress.
“There’s so much delicious food here in the palace—how do you plan to endure the south?”
“!”
“I’ll assign strong attendants to serve you. Since summer is coming, you should go and take a vacation.”
He kept his gaze locked onto Yuan until even the Empress noticed it, then casually stood up and leisurely walked out of the bedroom.
Empress Marilyn, who had been stiffly standing beside her trunk as large as her own body, slowly turned her body toward Yuan.
“Your Majesty. Your Majesty, suddenly the south?”
“He was just saying that, wasn’t he?”
“You mean you’re going to leave the palace just because you brought that sly fox woman into the Imperial residence?”
The elderly maids quickly rushed over, took the trunk from her, and supported the Empress, whose legs seemed about to give out, causing a commotion.
Yet Empress Marilyn’s sharp gaze remained fixed on Yuan, refusing to let go.
“You.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Before Yuan could even finish answering, Empress Marilyn suddenly surged forward as if a new strength had awakened, closing the distance until she stood right in front of Yuan.
The moment Yuan lifted her head, she startled and took a step back. The Empress tightly grabbed her hand and spoke firmly.
“You must come with me too. There are many excellent places in the south perfect for people like us who need rest and recovery.”
Though it sounded like a kind invitation, Yuan could feel the force in the Empress’s grip—this was not a request that allowed refusal. She realized then that the Empress, too, had sensed the Emperor’s sinister gaze.
The Empress’s eyes were bloodshot, the whites around her pupils turned as red as a rabbit’s.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will gladly accompany you.”
Trying to soothe the anxious Empress, Yuan gently pulled her hand away, then firmly took the Empress’s trembling hands in her own as she replied.
“Just give me a little time to pack.”
After seeing that look from the Emperor, Yuan herself no longer wished to remain in the palace.
Since the appearance of Grand Duke Drietter, Bollonico had canceled all external activities and secluded himself entirely within his own palace.
Yuan needed to quickly uncover exactly what Bollonico intended to make her do.
Only then could she begin to plan how to respond when the moment came.
And Yuan already knew how she would find out what Bollonico wanted from her.
After leaving the Empress’s palace, Yuan went straight to the Pelliese mansion.
***
Those feeling unsettled after the investiture ceremony weren’t limited to the Empress or Tasha.
Regina Pelliese, too, had been secluded in the Pelliese mansion since returning after receiving Dreykub’s farewell, endlessly replaying Yuan Pelliese’s arrogant words in her mind.
‘The First Prince granted me full authority over Pelliese.’
‘What? What did she just say?’
‘Ask your father what that means. How could the First Prince transfer full authority over Pelliese to Yuan Pelliese while ignoring you and your father, the current head of the family?’
After much deliberation, Regina stood before her father’s bedroom.
Kyotael, the disreputable secret mercenary, had been absent from the mansion lately, wandering who-knows-where, and asking her mother Priscilla would yield no answers.
If—just one chance in a million—if Yuan truly held full authority over Pelliese,
And if her mother had known about it, she certainly wouldn’t have stayed silent.
When knocking yielded no response, Regina simply pushed the door open and entered.
Her father’s lonely, lifeless back greeted her.
Since drinking the laxative-laced brandy Regina had given him on the day of the investiture, Gerret Pelliese had grown noticeably weaker.
This was because Regina, aware of the mansion’s abundance of medicine, had swapped out the glass bottle of emergency antidiarrheal medication with a laxative.
Gerret Pelliese had spent that entire day rushing back and forth to the toilet until his face turned as pale as a lily.
Only recently had he begun hearing news that he was finally moving past liquid foods and properly eating breakfast again.
Regina deliberately made noise as she approached the side where Gerret Pelliese was facing.
“Yuan?”
“…….”
“If it’s not Yuan, don’t let anyone near me. Useless people.”
After the severe bout of diarrhea, he had acted as if he despised the entire world.
It seemed he had emptied not just the contents of his bowels, but also the last shred of patience he’d had left.
“Father. Do you know what I heard at the investiture?”
Gerret Pelliese’s irritated, sharply raised eyes snapped shut the moment he confirmed it was Regina standing before him.
Regina, now accustomed to such dismissiveness, continued speaking.
“Well, I met that Yuan girl—”
At the mere mention of Yuan’s name, Gerret Pelliese’s eyes flew wide open.
“You met Yuan? Where? How? Who with? Did she really show her face at the investiture after clinging to Bollonico like that? Huh? Did she even receive my letter?”
“Please calm down and just listen to me.”
“How can I stay calm?! Don’t even speak if you’ve said something stupid to Yuan again, like calling her a crow or whatever! If I hear you’ve once more ignored my warning and acted recklessly toward Yuan, I swear—”
“That Yuan girl! Ha, seriously, Father. She kept boasting about how her goal was always Pelliese, and I just had to stand there and take it?”
“What did you say?”
Startled, Count Gerret Pelliese tilted his head, as if doubting his own ears, and focused intently.
“That Yuan girl went to the Crown Prince from the beginning just to lure in His Highness Bollonico! She believed Bollonico would hand Pelliese over to her, that’s why she did it!”
“B-Bollonico?”
“Goodness. Does that even make sense? No matter how powerful His Highness Bollonico may be, we aren’t some insignificant provincial noble family! Does she think a family like ours can just be handed over like alms to a beggar? Isn’t that outrageous? It’s so absurd—”
“Tell me exactly what she said, in full detail!”
Gerret Pelliese, who had been stuck to the bed like a giant slime, suddenly sprang up like a coiled spring. Regina hesitated, then repeated what she had heard.
“The First Prince granted full authority over Pelliese to that Yuan girl—”
“Again! Again!!”
“She said there’s no way I could’ve done that, so I should ask you, Father, and then I’d understand—”
“Again!!”
“She said you, Father, aren’t the head of the family, but merely a relative helping out with Yuan’s affairs—”
“Steward!! Steward!!!”
Gerret Pelliese’s face turned bright red as he shouted for the steward.
He practically jumped off the bed with such force that the solid mahogany floorboards thudded, then flung off his pajama top.
Quickly pulling on the shirt draped over a chair, he barked at the steward who had just arrived late.
“What took you so long?! Didn’t you hear me calling? Bring me clothes! Bring all my clothes! I have to go! I must enter the palace!”
“M-M-Master.”
The steward, pale with fear, couldn’t speak properly, only poking his ashen face through the slightly opened door.
“T-There’s… a… guest…”
“Guest? Turn them away! This is an emergency! Send them back!”
“It’s… Miss Yuan…”
Regina Pelliese reacted to the name even before her father, whose eyes had widened in shock.
Startled, Regina shoved past her frozen father and the steward, rushing out immediately.
Sure enough.
Priscilla’s shrill scolding, fueled by long-standing resentment over Frederick’s room having become Yuan’s, was echoing loudly through the first-floor lobby.
And there stood Yuan, having just thrown open both heavy front doors wide.
Behind her were six attendants clearly from the Empress’s palace.
“Yuan?”
Snapping back to awareness, Gerret Pelliese, face flushed, leaned over the second-floor balcony, looking down.
Yuan’s irritated dark eyes turned toward her uncle.
The moment their eyes met, Gerret Pelliese completely forgot the story Regina had told about Yuan’s authority over Pelliese. His face lit up with joy, and he nearly jumped for excitement.
Overwhelmed by Yuan’s sudden visit, he welcomed her with a face melted of all previous worries.
“You’ve returned! You’re back!”
The two things Regina Pelliese had most emphatically demanded of Yuan were as follows:
First, never flirt with First Prince Bollonico.
Second, never return to the Pelliese mansion.
“Well, for now, I suppose.”
Yuan Pelliese smiled sweetly at Regina as she gave this reply, her pale face clearly showing she had no intention whatsoever of keeping those promises.
“Regina. You haven’t asked your father yet, have you?”
The memory of her father’s wildly emotional reaction when the topic of Yuan’s authority over Pelliese came up.
The sight of Yuan Pelliese boldly entering the mansion as if it were her own, accompanied by palace attendants.
Unlike Gerret Pelliese, who was momentarily overwhelmed with joy, Regina stood frozen in terrified disbelief, unable to utter a single word.
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
