“Such naivety. You seemed smart, but this is disappointing. Interference in the palace will turn into poison, so be careful.”
Velia had many things she wanted to say. However, she couldn’t utter a single word in the face of the resolute Empress’s expression. She wasn’t even sure what to say.
How did you know it was poison, why did you drink it knowing it was poison, what are you thinking…
Unable to hide her trembling eyes, Velia simply looked at the Empress, who let out a light laugh.
“…You’ve wasted too much time.”
She then coldly concluded,
“Don’t come here anymore. Seeing your face once is enough.”
As if her task was complete, the Empress issued a departure command to Velia.
The Empress then naturally picked up Velia’s teacup and threw it to the floor. A commotion ensued from outside the door at the loud sound of the breaking cup.
In a soft voice, Velia spoke to the Empress.
“Don’t you know that enduring like this isn’t the answer, Your Majesty? We may not have much time left.”
“I know.”
Velia stared at the floor where the tea was still spilling.
“I will find an antidote.”
“This tea is made in the royal palace. Taking it outside is impossible, as is analyzing its ingredients.”
Just as Velia was about to respond, a voice from outside the door asked if they could enter.
Reluctantly getting up to leave the room, Velia heard a very faint voice from behind her.
“…Take good care of Khaled.”
Velia didn’t respond. She just turned and bowed to the Empress with the empire’s perfect etiquette. The Empress seemed to smile at that.
That moment, Velia understood why the Empress had confined herself to the palace, falsely admitting to her worthlessness.
To stay in the palace a bit longer, to avoid attracting the Emperor’s and the concubines’ attention.
Just to endure it all as the Empress.
Velia bit her lip and turned around, grabbing the door handle.
Driving out the Empress was legally impossible. Hence, Raul had chosen to end his own life.
The current Emperor, too, was slowly planning to kill the Empress.
How long could she endure?
‘Ah, I wasn’t mistaken.’
As Velia left the Empress’s room, looking inside one last time through the closing gap of the door, the Empress was looking back at her with an incredibly warm expression.
And she felt a premonition that this might be their last encounter. So she couldn’t take her eyes off the Empress until the door completely closed.
Bang!
The sound of the door closing felt like being cut off from the world. Her eyes stung for no reason, but she couldn’t afford to show tears. She looked up and took a deep breath.
“Velia.”
Khaled seemed to have been waiting outside, as he approached the moment she left the palace.
“Let’s go. We’re done here.”
Velia managed a weak smile and tightly gripped Khaled’s hand.
(This is a time marker.)
Perhaps her meeting with the Empress had been so intense that her expectations were high. Her subsequent audience with the Emperor passed rather uneventfully.
The Emperor had to concede his shares of the gold mine due to their engagement. This pleased him, and he hadn’t forgotten that Velia was the cause.
Although he seemed to have made some effort to welcome her, meeting the Emperor left Velia feeling rather unsatisfied.
“So when does that old hag die?”
Khaled, looking at the Emperor’s face, was constantly asking when he would die.
“…Khaled.”
To be honest, the Emperor didn’t have much time left. But it wasn’t a topic to discuss in front of the palace.
Prince Khaled frowned deeply and let out a sigh.
“Ugh. I really can’t stand that old man.”
Displeasure was evident in the Emperor’s gaze as he looked at Velia. It was likely because Velia had rejected his cherished son.
However, seeing the old man overtly show his annoyance and uttering words out of habit, Prince Khaled felt his anger boiling up.
“It’s actually a relief. It would have been harder if he’d pried more.”
Prince Khaled realized Velia was considerate of him. Grateful, he pulled her closer by the shoulders.
“There will be a party to welcome you in a few days. So you can enjoy some leisure until then.”
“You just want to play around.”
Velia rolled her eyes.
Prince Khaled chuckled and took Velia’s hand as they walked.
“Right. When I introduce you at the party, invitations will flood in from everywhere. I’ll have less time to monopolize you, so I have to monopolize you as much as I can now.”
Prince Khaled said this shamelessly.
Looking at Prince Khaled who spoke his feelings so unabashedly, Velia burst into laughter.
“Heh, what’s that?”
“Unlike you, I’m usually free. No one comes looking for me.”
The Emperor’s tasks for Prince Khaled were mostly menial, so he actually had very little to do in the palace.
‘The Emperor is pushing Raul to the extreme.’
Important tasks went to Raul, while useless and bothersome tasks went to Prince Khaled.
The discrimination was so blatantly obvious that even Velia was stunned.
“Never heard the rumors that the second prince just lazes around?”
Prince Khaled was continually scheming to spend time with Velia.
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.”
