Pavilion of Lotus in the Imperial Garden.
“Ha-ha-ha.”
“Giggle-giggle.”
“Chuckle-chuckle.”
The untroubled laughter of young noble ladies, aged around eighteen to twenty-four, filled the garden with a cheerful atmosphere.
Their joyful laughter was ceaseless, seemingly amused by something. Eleven Empress candidates were seated around a table carved from Paulownia wood, enjoying their lunch.
A little away from the ladies’ table, their maids huddled together, chattering. However, they were actually keenly observing the candidates, staying alert to their every move.
“Those three over there, I’ve never seen them before… Is it true what the rumors say, that Arabell comes from the Akurel Kingdom?”
“I thought it was Chatel, not Akurel? Didn’t someone say she’s been living in Chatel since birth?”
“Oh, if she had been in Chatel, I would’ve definitely known. Our kingdom has no noble ladies of Princess Ani’s age; I’ve met all the young ladies in our kingdom.”
“Then she must be from Akurel. But I thought immigration from Akurel to the Empire had been prohibited for years due to tense relations…”
“So, how long has Lady Arabell been in your service? Since birth, like us?”
“Are they people from Akurel? They look and talk like Imperials…”
The maids’ relentless questioning left Rosa and Dina sweating bullets. They looked admiringly at their superior, Vera.
Vera, with an air of confidence, replied, “Well… here and there… The Delsangkr family always loved to travel… Ha-ha. Just think of us three as Lady Arabell’s shadows. We are devoted to serving her – it’s our calling, ha-ha.”
Vera skillfully dodged each question with vague answers, demonstrating her seasoned experience, undoubtedly worth the five-fold salary from the Emperor.
The candidates’ maids, frustrated by Vera’s evasive responses, couldn’t extract any new information besides the fact that Lady Arabell had turned twenty last month.
However, unlike Vera who was masterfully handling her role, her Lady seemed like a lamb thrown amongst wolves.
Lady Arabell appeared to be neither evasive nor capable of grasping the intentions behind the questions. In fact, she seemed woefully under-equipped for such subtleties.
She answered the candidates’ disguised queries with a sincere honesty that was almost alarming.
Seated at a round table, finishing their lunch of sandwiches and salad, the smiles on the lips of the ten other candidates were intriguingly sly.
Their eyes sparkled simultaneously as they looked at their cinnamon black tea. They had found someone weak and vulnerable, an easy prey, which pleased them greatly.
“Oh, so the rumor about you being from Akurel was just a misunderstanding. Born and raised in the southern part of the Empire and never left, you say?”
“Oh dear, no family estate? Then the story about your father treating people and selling medicine, traveling from house to house like a peddler, not owning a business property, is true?”
“Kender Baron… Hmm, a name I’ve never heard of… Which social circle did you say you belonged to? Our family has long overseen the southern nobility council, so we know all the local families.”
“Oh my, neither your father nor your uncle were part of any noble association? That’s odd. I thought any noble with the means to pay dues and access to the Imperial Court would automatically be listed in their regional council…”
“Oh, your family was expelled from the nobility for being unable to pay the dues and had to return your palace entry pass. Now it all makes sense.”
The ten candidates, who were rivals until yesterday, were busy exchanging glances, seemingly forgetting their past competition.
“So that’s why we never saw you before. You didn’t have your coming-of-age ceremony at the palace.”
Grace from the Lusang Ducal Family spoke with apparent politeness, but her tone was laced with mockery.
Curiously probing, the daughter of the Maguire Earl’s family asked, “Then, you must have attended a debutante ball hosted by local nobility, right? Which family’s ceremony did you attend? My sister couldn’t attend the palace ceremony this year, so we went to the one hosted by the Duke of Bellerc. Maybe I saw you there?”
Arabell’s response was quite something.
“At that time, pigs were dying from an epidemic, so I didn’t even think about my birthday.”
Not having a coming-of-age ceremony, let alone one at the palace, was unheard of. Even wealthy merchants were known to host such ceremonies for their daughters.
This was the moment when the candidates’ eyes started to gleam like a pack of hungry wolves.
There was a genuine nervousness and unease about Arabell, who arrived amid numerous rumors, until they saw her with their own eyes.
The eleventh empress candidate brought personally by Emperor Maxwell, who had never been involved in any scandals with women, aroused curiosity. How beautiful and exceptional she must be to have caught the fastidious Emperor’s eye!
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
