Idel and Reynion, along with Vien, briskly moved their steps to explore various parts of the capital.
“The atmosphere is distinctly different even within the same capital.”
“This area is where the factories are concentrated.”
Responding to Reynion’s comment, Idel unfolded a map marked with the geography of the capital. As they moved away from the bustling city center towards the east, a landscape filled with tightly packed factories unfolded before them.
“Is this noise from the machines operating in the factories? The air also seems stuffy.”
Vien covered her ears with both hands and slightly furrowed her brows.
The sound of looms running nonstop poured out from a nearby textile factory. Above the towering factory buildings, chimneys spewed hazy coal smoke.
Until now, Vien had only visited the capital’s central area filled with fashion studios, cafes, and restaurants, much like other noble youngsters. The landscape here was unfamiliar and somewhat frightening to her.
“Your Highness Vien, or rather, Lady Idel, how about covering your mouth with a handkerchief?”
As they went deeper, the stinging, foul smell intensified. Vien suggested, but Idel shook her head.
“I’m fine. We came here to clearly understand this place. If it’s tough for you, do you want to take a break?”
“Take a break! Leaving both of you alone… Absolutely, absolutely not!”
Vien jumped at Idel’s countersuggestion. Completing the mission given by the duke was nonnegotiable.
“Then hang in there just a little more.”
“Of course. Please focus on what you both have to do.”
Keeping her mouth shut, Vien reluctantly moved her steps but didn’t forget to position herself between Idel and Reynion.
It was when they entered a narrow alley crowded with factories. Someone suddenly popped out from a turning corner.
“Ah!”
“Idel!”
Surprised by the collision with someone, Idel let out a short scream. Both Vien and Reynion simultaneously shouted Idel’s name.
“Ouch…”
The one who collided with Idel was a small child, about waisthigh to her. Idel quickly approached the sitting child, visibly flustered.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah, yeyes, I’m fine.”
Kneeling down, Idel leaned in and asked worriedly. The child stared blankly at Idel’s face revealed from under the hat.
‘Such a beautiful person exists…’
Even her slightly worried expression appeared graceful. Entranced by Idel’s gleaming teal eyes, the child heard a tender voice.
“I didn’t see you there, I apologize.”
Despite Vien’s internal complaint that the child was the one who ran into Idel, Idel disregarded it and reached out her hand.
“Grab on and get up.”
“Ah…”
The child stared blankly at the pristine white hand offered to her. It was like a precious artifact she had never seen before.
Hesitatingly reaching out her hand, she noticed her own dirty hand and paused.
‘What if that beautiful hand gets dirty…’
The child looked at her hand with a distressed expression. Observing this, Idel gently grasped the child’s hand.
“!”
Idel smiled, her grip firm as she helped the small body stand up. The child, her face flushed, stood there not knowing what to do.
“How old are you?”
“Aah, I’m nine years old.”
The child, who wore a hat over her short bobbed hair, looked younger due to her small frame. Her worn shirt and overalls were full of colorful stains.
“What’s your name?”
“Iit’s Ena…”
“A girl, then.”
“Yes…”
Though her short hair made it hard to discern her gender, she was a girl. Ena couldn’t make eye contact, seemingly shy, as she fidgeted in front of Idel.
“Where are you going, Ena?”
“Tto the factory.”
“…The factory?”
“I work at the dye factory over there.”
Idel finally understood what the stains on Ena’s hands and body were. At the same time, she felt a piercing pain in her heart. Her eyes, filled with pity, scanned Ena’s small frame.
“Do you have friends like you who work in the dye factory?”
“Yes… Most kids who can’t go to school like me end up working in factories.”
“May I ask why you can’t go to school?”
“Well, tuition is expensive. Even buying a loaf of bread is difficult for my family…”
Idel bit her lip gently. Though she had expected this answer, hearing it from the child’s mouth pained her heart more. For the impoverished who barely survived on one meal a day, education was a luxury.
“Could you tell me how long you work each day and how much you’re paid?”
Ena clumsily counted on her fingers in response to Idel’s question. Even excluding meal times, the child was working nearly 15 hours every day.
Moreover, the pay was miserably low compared to the working hours. Being a child, she was paid a tenth of an adult’s wage, and even that was halved because she was a girl.
“……Isn’t it tough?”
“But… if I don’t work, my younger siblings will starve.”
Ena answered, clutching responsibility in her small, stained hands. The weight on the young shoulders before poverty and hunger was too heavy.
Idel took a deep breath, trying to brush off the gloomy look on her face. She opened her mouth in a calm voice.
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.”
