Pride and embarrassment, what were they? I clearly wanted the food in front of me but pretended otherwise.
“You look like you’ve had a hard time.”
His Majesty, or rather, Jeff, stared at me intently, puzzled by my refusal to accept the food he offered despite my apparent hunger.
“Take it, it’s free. It’s delicious.”
He extended a skewer of meat once more. Jeff clarified that he had no ill intentions and would not demand money after I had eaten.
“I’m taking it only because you’re insisting.”
Only then did I turn around, grunting as I snatched the food from Jeff’s hand.
This was back in my more naive days, so I bit into the meat skewer, making it clear that I was not taking it willingly.
“Tasty!”
“See? I told you it was good.”
“Shh, be quiet!”
Thinking back, it was a cute and somewhat foolish time.
“Jeff, you’ve bought a lot of food again!”
As I was bickering with Jeff, a melodious voice rang out. It was a female voice tinged with irritation.
“Move when you talk!”
Perhaps Jeff had spent too much time helping me and sharing food, a tall woman from his entourage appeared. That woman was the Empress.
“My apologies.”
Jeff immediately apologized. Back then, I didn’t know who the Empress was and simply judged by her appearance that she was from a wealthy family.
“Who is this one?”
“I shared some skewers because they seemed hungry.”
“Is that so?”
When the Empress first showed interest, I suddenly felt timid, stopped eating, and looked down at the ground.
“If you didn’t cause trouble, it’s fine. The knights are waiting, let’s go.”
The Empress quickly withdrew her gaze and turned away with Jeff. They seemed to have come out for an inspection or outing.
‘So, I’m alone again.’
If we part now, it will be a fleeting encounter.
But I didn’t want to grow distant from the Empress and Jeff.
Watching their retreating figures, an emotion I hadn’t felt before surged within me, whispering to follow them instinctively.
Dash!
I daringly left the skewer with a few pieces of meat hanging and ran with all my might.
Gathering the desperate emotion that welled up from deep within, I shouted loudly.
“Let me go with you!”
One sentence.
Living on the streets in silence, that one loud sentence I’d uttered for the first time in years gave me a new family.
Afterward, the Empress looked after me even though I was a low-born orphan. Because she secured my status, I received an education on par with noble children.
I hadn’t studied to the profound level required to become a scholar, but I worked three times harder than others to not bring shame to the Empress.
‘I want to serve His Majesty up close.’
Naturally, I had a desire to serve the Emperor up close, and after discovering my talent in swordsmanship, I devoted myself to training like mad.
‘But Jeff already occupies the place I want.’
Alas, the position I so desperately wanted was already secured by Jeff, so my aim naturally became to surpass him, my formidable competitor.
“I won this match. Prepare 4kg of beef as promised.”
Therefore, when I won in bouts against Jeff, I was swept up in immense joy and demanded my reward. However, the exhilarating feeling of surpassing him was fleeting.
No matter how fiercely I charged, the position of aide I truly desired belonged to someone else.
One day, when I was steeped in agony and depression over this, the Empress appointed me as a commander, enabling me to distinguish myself on the battlefield.
All the hardships and adversities that occurred in the process were with Jeff, and as life and death ebbed and flowed, I found myself harboring various emotions.
“Retirement? Don’t you think you’re too young?”
“Well, I’ve done all I can, and the empire is at peace. It’s time to step back.”
Several years later. Having fully matured, I stood shoulder to shoulder with Jeff, gaining a reputation as the youngest and most capable individual within the empire.
“Please reconsider carefully.”
Having aided the emperor at the time and accumulated numerous merits, no one dared to belittle me for my background. With the turbulent times subsiding, many marriage proposals arrived, and I seriously considered retiring.
“Your skills are too precious to return to an ordinary noble’s life! Have you considered any other plans besides marriage after retirement?”
Though peace occasionally ushers in new winds, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to pass on the commander’s role to the next generation and start a family, but Jeff opposed it.
“I do have plans. His Majesty said he’d allow me to do as I please… So, I might as well marry. I’ve just received a proposal from Eloy.”
“Marriage isn’t child’s play!”
During our placid conversation, Jeff suddenly showed intense emotion.
“Sorry for…showing this ugly side of me.”
Jeff, who had slightly raised his voice, paused, making a regretful expression. I didn’t know at the time that he had feelings for me; I thought he was simply frustrated that I’d waste my talents.
“I have to go; an urgent matter has come up.”
And with that, Jeff hastily left.
“Your Highness, a letter has arrived from Eloy.”
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.”
