“Thank me for hitting your deficient head instead of your pretty face.”
“…Empress, how can you do this to me!”
“Can’t I? Why?”
In response to my counterquestion, Catherine only chewed on her lower lip.
I said, in a sweet tone,
“Your sin was great.”
“What the hell did I do?”
“You had the audacity to raise your voice in front of me, who is already physically and mentally weak.”
“What? What are you saying?”
“The crime of raising your hand to the woman of the Empress, and of startling the greenhouse plants.”
“…What?”
“Your crimes are indeed diverse, but let’s just gloss over them lightly today.”
I straightened my waist, which had been slightly bowed in front of Catherine, and patted her on the back with my hand.
“The Empress is physically and mentally weak?!”
Catherine yelled at me, her eyes saying, ‘Are you spouting nonsense?’
“Look at how my hand is shaking like this.”
I raised my left hand, which had hit Catherine’s side, and shook it violently.
In truth, I was shaking because I was itching to hit her a few more times, but it was true that my hand was shaking.
“Huh?”
Catherine let out a hollow laugh with a shocked expression.
“Huh? Ha…ha?”
I stopped shaking my hand, clenched my fist, and looked down at Catherine with an emotionless gaze.
Catherine trembled slightly and clung tightly to the arm of her servant.
“Do I have to open your mouth wide with my own hand and insert an apology because you keep spouting nonsense?”
“How could you say such vulgar… no, such brutal things?”
“Vulgar? Brutal?”
“What I meant by ‘vulgar’… it, it was a slip of the tongue.”
“It feels very strange to hear such words from someone who is both vulgar and brutal.”
“What do you mean I have both of those things?”
Catherine flared up as if she had stepped in garbage.
I shouted back at her.
“Brutal! Didn’t the former first consort just demonstrate that with her eyes and actions?”
“…!”
Catherine glanced at Rosie standing behind me, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
“Don’t you know that you can rip, claw, and trample on someone just with words, looks, expressions, and movements? Then it’s right to call you vulgar as well.”
“I, I don’t understand what you’re saying, Empress.”
“Oh, did I hit your head too hard and even the functioning part stopped? I didn’t even hit that hard.”
“Are you trying to humiliate me in front of these underlings?”
Catherine fired back angrily.
“No.”
“No? Empress, aren’t you clearly humiliating me right now!”
I raised my hand to stop Catherine’s words.
Sorry, but,
“I should make it clear. I’ve been openly insulting you from the beginning. It’s not that I’m trying to humiliate you.”
“…Empress, I will never forget today’s humiliation!”
Catherine was trembling all over.
Anyone who saw this would think she was a loyal subject who lost her country.
“Just try forgetting it!”
I also immediately bounced back her words, raising my voice.
“Then my fist will fly right to your face, not your side or cheek.”
“Huh!”
Catherine’s eyes and mouth opened wide in shock.
The important part is still to come. It’s a problem if you’re reacting like you’re choking already.
Helplessly, I watched Catherine’s nostrils flaring for a moment before continuing.
“The day my fist flies straight to your face, your high nose will sink down just like you sunk to the ground!”
I told Catherine, looking down at her as if I were delivering a prophecy.
“And it will never rise again!”
Catherine quickly covered her nose with both hands.
“…How, how could you say such harsh things!”
Did I say it too prophetically?
Catherine showed an unnecessarily strong belief in my words as if what I said was going to happen right now.
“I don’t want that either. So, Catherine, what should we do now?”
I gave her one last chance.
“I, I was loud in front of Her Majesty the Empress today. I will be careful… from now on.”
Catherine said, slightly bowing her head.
Although it was clearly a forced apology, I finally got it.
Catherine was tightly clutching the hem of her dress, swallowing her anger.
“Let’s see how it goes. I’ve begun to like your stubborn nose, Catherine. I hope you take good care of it.”
I added in a friendly voice, ‘You have a nose of just the right height to look down on,’ which was a sincere compliment.
It was a compliment in its own way.
After giving Catherine a warning look, I turned my head to look at Rosie.
“Rosie, let’s meet again later. We were talking about the book earlier, weren’t we? I look forward to having a long conversation next time.”
“Yyes, it’s an honor, Your Majesty! I’m so sorry for causing you trouble today…”
Rosie gave me a look of gratitude.
I turned around, giving her a brief smile, and spoke to my attendants.
“Let’s go back to the Empress’s Palace now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
My attendants followed me, their voices stronger than usual.
I passed by Catherine, who was still sitting on the floor.
Shortly after, Catherine’s voice wrapped around my body like a snake, causing a chill.
“You were too much last night!”
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.”
