Evelia looked up sharply with her quivering eyes.
She couldn’t believe it.
Surely, those words “let’s go now” weren’t meant for her. Surely, the familiar voice she heard close by couldn’t be Liurian’s.
But all her predictions were wrong.
The man standing before her was none other than Liurian, and he was staring directly at her.
“…….”
“…….”
Evelia licked her lips, her face betraying disbelief at the situation.
“Why…….”
The word she had used most frequently of late echoed in her mouth again that day, but sensing the gazes around her, she quickly closed her mouth.
Then, an unexpected voice came again.
“Oh, I thought you just got up from your seat, but wasn’t that the case?”
Liurian looked at her with what seemed like regret in his eyes. His words now, as well as the words “let’s go now,” carried the nuance that he was undoubtedly speaking to her.
Evelia’s pupils trembled uncontrollably. It made no sense. She had just arrived, but even if she had risen from her seat, the request from Liurian for her company was something that could never have happened.
But his eyes were unusually calm today. Was that all? He even tilted his head as if asking what was wrong.
“Surely you haven’t forgotten that we were to pay respects to Father today.”
At these words, Evelia’s eyes widened in shock. Even if she rummaged through her mind, there was no memory of any agreement to pay respects to the Emperor.
She turned to look for Peilyn out of habit, but she too was wearing a bewildered face.
Then the problem was without any more need to ponder.
“Your Majesty seems to be mistaken. I’ve never heard of such a conversation….”
“You’ve certainly forgotten.”
Her gaze that had dropped instantly lifted at Liurian’s words. His tone was excessively firm, almost as if there really had been an order from the Emperor.
“Father will be quite disappointed. He’s quite fond of you, and forgetting a promise with him, indeed.”
“…..Your Majesty.”
“Why the aggrieved expression? Want to say you never forgot? Your face tells me you don’t know anything.”
“…….”
“Or perhaps you never received the message?”
Liurian looked at Evelia with disbelieving eyes. His demeanor was without confusion or falsehood. So Evelia became suddenly confused.
Could someone have failed to convey the Emperor’s order just to make things difficult for her?
It was not impossible. In this vast palace, the only ones truly on her side were Peilyn and Layton.
“The discipline of the servants in the Crown Princess’s palace is a mess. I realized that last time, but now, they not only failed to convey the Emperor’s order but also caused trouble for their master. It’s too pathetic.”
“…….”
“Is this all you have to show for vowing to rectify the discipline in the Crown Princess’s palace?”
As she hesitated, he continued his harsh criticism, a sneer on his face.
Evelia, uncharacteristically, let out a rough breath and instinctively looked around. She saw the young ladies whispering, and among them was Rellia with an inscrutable expression.
It wasn’t the first time she had received such looks, but her heart beat fast. She felt a heavy pain in her solar plexus, and her vision swayed.
Without even thinking of a retort, she reflexively put her hand to her solar plexus.
The pain intensified rapidly. It was agonizing just to stand up straight.
She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them. But the pain did not lessen at all. Instead, her vision began to go white.
It seemed best to leave this place, even if it meant pretending to accompany Liurian.
She could not show a pathetic figure in front of Rellia and her friends, who already looked down on her.
“If we delay any longer, it seems we won’t be able to keep the time appointed by His Majesty. Do you intend to keep standing like this?”
“……No. Let’s go quickly.”
Evelia barely answered, enduring the pain. Then, she hurriedly started walking as if pushed from behind.
Fortunately, Liurian synchronized his steps with her without a word.
The gazes of the other young ladies, including Lilia, were directed at the two, but the Prince’s couple’s demeanor seemed indifferent, not paying attention to it at all.
Lilia, who had been silently watching their retreating figures, unknowingly bit her lower lip hard, her eyes filled with malice.
This was not how the empress had intended the scene to end. Evelia should have been pushed further, torn apart, reduced to a wreck.
She was angry. She had not been able to take even a single revenge for the humiliation she would feel at the victory party, and this was how it trivially ended.
Lilia violently bit her lower lip, trembling all over. She wanted to run to the imperial harem right away.
(This is a time separator.)
As soon as she escaped the greenhouse, Evelia’s pace drastically slowed down.
Evelia could not bear it any longer, and she clutched her vital point, bending her upper body. Her weak legs wobbled, unable to resist the reaction.
“Yo, Your Majesty!”
Startled, Phailin rushed forward and supported Evelia.
“……It’s okay. It’s okay, Phailin.”
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.”
