Chapter 4. Empress’s Concubine Scandal: The First Day
Three little children crouched down, moving stealthily. While adults could see their small heads, they believed they were hiding well.
“Hush—!”
“Hush.”
When the six-year-old boy with brown hair signaled quietly, the following children nodded their heads in unison.
In the small hands of these children, there were cookies or candies partially melted due to body heat. Surprisingly, even though they were swallowing saliva with every gulp, they never ate those treats.
Even for children around the age of five, it would be very challenging to resist temptation.
“Hey, they’re cute. What are they doing?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. It seems to be the direction of the sponsorship….”
The gardeners, who had been watching, leaned on their shovels and leisurely exchanged conversations.
However, not a single person intervened or scolded the children.
The empress was very generous. She showed special mercy to the children.
Moreover, there wasn’t a single troublemaker among these children.
Wearing excessively good clothes for commoners, eating nutritious food, and just being in a beautiful place with friends, mothers, and aunts; there was no reason for them to go astray.
“Wow.”
Meanwhile, the children who had crawled to the sponsorship sparkled their eyes.
As always, there was someone much prettier than a fairy tale princess sitting with a teacup. Wearing extremely luxurious clothes, and also, incredibly handsome knights were by her side!
Oh, and also…
“You little rascals.”
“Meow!”
Caught!
The child who had been following along, sniffing snot, was caught by a knight and hung up like a rag.
The children immediately ran towards the empress, shouting in excitement.
“We have a present for you….”
“A snack, for you.”
“We’ll pick up the fallen ones for you.”
However, none of them were terrified or genuinely scared.
The captured child comfortably hung on the knight’s neck.
At first, everyone felt awkward and didn’t know what to do, but now it was a familiar sight in the empress’s palace.
“Were you giving this to me because you wanted to eat it?”
“Yes. Um, Mom said to thank Empress…. Ah? Empress. Thank her for everything, like when praying!”
The bright sunlight showered down on the sponsorship. Under the fluttering parasol, children gathered like fallen leaves.
In this incredibly pleasant and lovely scene, there wouldn’t be anyone who didn’t smile.
Even the devil would smile.
I accepted the cookies the children offered and placed them in the empty bowls. Then, I picked up one cold cream puff at a time and placed them on the small palm-like hands, resembling autumn leaves.
“A virtuous child deserves a reward.”
“Wow!”
“Enjoy it.”
The children, excited by the unexpected gifts, were jumping around and running wildly. While enjoying their lively antics, I took a sip of fragrant peach tea. ‘Ah, how peaceful.’ By now, due to the surprise announcement from the empress’s palace, the whole world must be in chaos, buzzing like an agitated beehive. However, just like the empress’s palace, there seemed to be no disturbance, and everything was as usual. “Did you know the children would come like this today? The number of cream puffs is just right,” questioned Che-Deaf Kyeong, holding the children with both arms. I lightly nodded and pursed my lips. “They’re all so bouncy and cute, aren’t they?” “Yes, truly blessed kids. Why are they jumping around like this in such a safe place?” “Children are the most beautiful when they’re true to themselves. I don’t want to see them cowering and being cautious.” The identity of these children was none other than the offspring of maids in the empress’s palace. Some brought newborns from the beginning, while others married male employees working in the empress’s palace and gave birth.
As a result, the number of children increased from one to two, and now there are seven children living in the empress’s palace. Although their ages vary, the need for care is common, so the mother-like maids take turns looking after the children. As far as I know, there haven’t been any issues so far.
“I recall the first day a maid with a child entered the empress’s palace. Seeing such a young child surprised all the knights.”
Shofen Kyeong, standing to my left and serving as a guard, murmured, sounding sentimental. It was a tone filled with emotion.
“The oldest child was only three years old. I remember the little one toddling around like it was just yesterday… and now, suddenly, they’ve turned six.”
“That’s right, Your Majesty. We knights have no idea how mischievous they can be.”
“They’re healthy.”
“Yes. It’s an honor to dream of becoming a knight protecting Your Majesty. It’s commendable.”
At first, the entire empress’s palace was in an uproar about bringing in the children of maids. Even the surroundings turned upside down. ‘Criticism about not using young children politically must have been harsh.’ But what about now?
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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