In the end, Edward purchased a rather extravagant dark blue dress and a Calisea pearl set. Of course, this included a shawl woven in the East, a hat with rare bird feathers from Bour-something, and matching gloves and shoes to go with the dress. The items boasted such opulence that he doubted their suitability until the moment they were loaded into the car. However, he thought the relatively simple Calisea pearl set might actually suit Louisa’s tastes.
Emily Ernst approached him softly and said, “I had fun today, thanks to you.”
“Thank you for your help, Miss Ernst,” Edward replied, shutting the car’s rear seat door with a bang. Emily took a step closer and asked, “You will escort me home, won’t you, sir?”
It was a question asked with the assumption of an affirmative answer. However, Edward’s reply was unexpected.
“Sorry, but I’m eager to see my wife today. I’ll send my regards through Gilford another time.”
“…What?”
Emily Ernst’s face stiffened. She was too taken aback to even think of using her fan to hide her expression and just stared up at him.
“There are plenty of cabs around here, aren’t there? Look, one is coming now.”
Edward pointed to a commercial vehicle approaching in the distance. He straightened his clothes and opened the driver’s side door, saying, “Then, I must be off.”
The door closed with a thud.
The black car Edward was in soon left the scene without hesitation. Emily Ernst remained alone in the central square, staring after the disappearing car.
As the evening twilight began to rise, Louisa entered her home and slumped down on the bed without even changing clothes. She wished she could just bury herself in the soft mattress and fall asleep.
Feeling physically and mentally drained from the recent onslaught of events, she leaned back against the headboard and gazed blankly at the canopy ceiling, murmuring, “I need something sweet… sugar.”
When tired, she often craved sugary desserts. This time was no exception, and she promptly pulled the bell cord.
Soon, Rachel came upstairs.
“Madam?”
“Ah, Rachel. I know it’s before dinner, but could you bring me a glass of honey water? I’m craving something sweet.”
It was an unusual request for her, who normally lived by a strict routine. Rachel closely examined her complexion and, noticing the fatigue in her eyes, started fussing.
“Madam! You look so pale, and all you want is honey water? How about I prepare something like chocolate fondue, as usual?”
“What about the dinner already being prepared?”
Louisa waved her hand dismissively. However, in Rachel’s opinion, honey water was hardly adequate for the madam’s stress relief dessert. Rachel insisted again.
“If you’re not in the mood for chocolate fondue, how about chocolate cookies? I’ll prepare them with lump sugar and black tea.”
Unable to resist her maid’s overzealous suggestions, Louisa eventually burst into laughter, covering her slightly open mouth with her hand.
“Alright, then bring it to me. Thanks to you, I’ll be enjoying dessert before dinner.”
“Yes, madam!”
The child cheerfully scurried downstairs. But a moment later, it wasn’t the child who came through the abruptly opened door with the tea set, but someone else.
Edward entered, supporting the door with his shoulder, and said, “What dessert before dinner? Filling up on this stuff isn’t good for you.”
“My goodness. You bringing in something like this? What’s going on?” Louisa approached him, reaching out to take the tea set. Edward, however, lifted the tray he was holding even higher and said, “Never mind that, come in. Let’s sit.”
“Edward.”
“Come on.”
With a nod towards the table, he directed Louisa, who looked at him quizzically.
It was unusual for someone who never seemed to have time to suddenly do something like this.
Despite feeling a bit uneasy, Louisa went to the indicated seat and sat down.
She was more surprised that he was here at this hour and brought these things to her room than the fact that he had been around more frequently lately. It somehow loosened her heart a bit.
As Louisa sat down, Edward calmly joined her on the opposite side.
“Why all of a sudden? Bringing all this?”
Edward, who had skillfully laid out the snacks and tea cups on the round tea table, replied, “Just felt like it. Saw the kid with the dessert and wanted some myself.”
He carefully poured the tea into the cups, then looked at the teapot he was holding, and commented, “Didn’t realize our house’s tea set was so fancy. Is this your taste?”
“I do like it. Though you were the one who chose it.”
“…I see.”
Unaware that he had gifted it, Edward put down the teapot. He had once asked the department store to bring some good items home, and it seemed this set had been included then.
Quietly, he dropped a sugar cube into his cup of tea and remarked, “You seem to like fancy things after all. I thought you always preferred simple stuff.”
Louisa just smiled in response. Edward, seeing her smile, tentatively broached another subject.
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.”
