As if she couldn’t stand it any longer, Michelle raised her voice just as the maids brought a prepared carriage.
“Miss, the Aliande is ready.”
Suppressing the words she was about to say, she managed to swallow them and got up from her seat with a composed expression.
Tap, tap, tap [Dash].
When the teaspoon struck the porcelain, everyone’s attention was focused.
“Thank you all for coming this far. Since I managed to get Aliande tea from the south this time, I hope you all have a pleasant time.”
With Michelle’s words, the maids behind her simultaneously placed teacups in front of the tables. Then, as everyone had been waiting, they each started to express their thoughts.
“Oh my, is this the famous Aliande tea?”
“The fresh scent tickles my nose; it’s so nice.”
With a swift change in topic, the atmosphere of the party became more relaxed.
‘Just for me, I shouldn’t hear rumors that the party was ruined.’
Perhaps Lady Hoen intentionally provoked herself to ruin the party. Since it was unpredictable how rumors would spread in high society.
Thinking so, Lina, like nothing had happened, raised her teacup along with the other ladies.
However.
‘What’s this?’
Lina, who was wrinkling her nose, smelled the tea again.
But unlike the ladies who said it had a refreshing scent, a slightly different tea aroma passed through Lina’s nostrils.
‘Did Aliande always have this scent? This is like…’
With an uneasy feeling, Lina smirked.
‘Something’s strange.’
Feeling a sense of discomfort, Lina did not sip the tea and smelled it again.
‘I’m sure I’ve smelled this aroma somewhere before. Definitely, I…’
Soon, as if something had come to mind, Lina let out a small groan.
‘I remember. This is… Arcknay Fruit.’
Despite her outwardly calm appearance, her mind was busier than ever.
Who could have played such a prank with the tea? Curious, she glanced around, but everyone seemed to be happily sipping their tea, showing no signs of any irregularities.
‘The person who would do this to me…’
Lina, who didn’t think that Michelle, Lady Melbourne’s granddaughter, would do such a thing, looked around. Then, she happened to spot Lady Hoen exchanging glances with a maid.
‘Did she bribe the maid?’
For a moment, as they exchanged glances, Lady Hoen drank the tea as if nothing had happened. But Lina could tell.
Lady Hoen was entirely focused on whether Lina was drinking the tea or not, as if confirming for herself.
‘Her name was Malin, I think.’
Lina recalled the name of Lady Hoen’s granddaughter, which she had heard from Michelle a while ago.
‘Even though I’m a commoner, to do such a thing…’
Arcknay Fruit was one of the toxic fruits found in the northern region.
The toxicity of this fruit had no impact on human lives, but even a slight contact with the lips caused them to swell instantly, eventually leading to rashes on the face and body.
‘Probably suffered for over a month just because of a little mistake, tempted by its sweet scent?’
During a long journey in the past, hungry and by mistake, Lina had eaten Arcknay Fruit and suffered for over a month due to a nasty skin rash. Thanks to that, the scent of the fruit had left a lasting impression in her mind.
‘I almost caused a big problem, didn’t I?’
In a few days, a hunting competition was scheduled at the royal palace. If she had mistakenly drunk this tea, she would have been confined to the mansion without a doubt.
‘Along with that, the reputation of Lady Melbourne, who hosted this tea party, would have been tarnished.’
Lina began to ponder while looking at the teacup in front of her.
If Lina didn’t drink this tea or spilled it, it would be a very disrespectful act towards the host. And if she behaved like that, Lady Hoen would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to criticize her.
‘What options are there?’
How to avoid ruining the atmosphere of the tea party and not drinking this tea. And how to make Malin drink this tea.
After a moment, when Lina raised her head again, her lips curled up on one side as if she had found the answer.
“Miss, is there something wrong?”
Whether it was frustrating for Lina not to drink the tea, Marilyn spoke to Lina first.
“The tea isn’t decreasing at all. It’s the tea that Lady Dartmouth worked hard to procure.”
In fact, Aliande was one of the luxurious items produced in small quantities in the eastern region.
“That’s not it…”
As Marilyn’s words drew everyone’s eyes that were having conversations, Lina hesitated as if she had waited.
“Is there really some problem?”
Michelle cautiously asked as Lina’s appearance seemed strange.
“No, it’s not a big deal… I just recalled an old memory.”
“An old memory?”
Looking at Aliande, a tea that only nobles could afford, and recalling an old memory. Marilyn scoffed, seeming to mock Lina’s words.
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.”
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