Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90 - Light And Shadow>
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112 - The Morning Comes>
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118 - After The Storm
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132 -
Chapter 133
Chapter 134 - Epilogue 1.3
Chapter 135 - Epilogue 2.1: Traces Of Life
Chapter 136
Chapter 137 - Epilogue 2.3
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141 - Epilogue 4.1: Ever After>
Chapter 142 - Epilogue 4.2
Chapter 143 - Epilogue 4.3
Chapter 144 - Epilogue 5.1>
Chapter 145 - Epilogue 5.2
Chapter 146 - The Most Romantic Weekend>
Chapter 147 - Short Stories 1.2
Chapter 148 -
Chapter 149 -
Chapter 150 -
Chapter 151 -
Chapter 152 -
Chapter 153 -
Chapter 154 - Short Stories 3.1: Unexpected Things Happen>
Chapter 155 - Short Stories 3.2>
Chapter 156 -
Chapter 157 -
Chapter 158 -
Chapter 159 -
Chapter 160 -
Chapter 161 - Short Stories 5.1: The Man Behind The Mask>
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164 -
Chapter 165 -
Chapter 166
Chapter 167 - Short Stories 6.2
Chapter 168 - Short Stories 6.3
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189 (End)
Categories Genre: All, Completed, Fantasy Status: Completed ______
Total Chapters in book: 189
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 189 Page No. 188 Page No. 187 Page No. 186 Page No. 185 Page No. 184 Page No. 183 Page No. 182 Page No. 181 Page No. 180 Page No. 179 Chapter 16
Chapter 16:
I didn’t know for sure why the emperor ignored his poisoned tea. He had an undeniable proof right in front of him.
I could think of two reasons why. Either it wasn’t enough to implicate the dowager empress, or even if it was, he didn’t have enough power to use it against her. Maybe it was both.
According to the emperor, the dowager empress had huge power and influence. Just because he became the emperor didn’t mean she would have lost her authority.
She tried her best to harm him when he was the heir to the throne. It was clear why the emperor appointed me to be his first wife so hurriedly. He had to do it before the dowager empress could place her own woman in this position.
The way she glared at us when he announced his intention was deadly. If a look could kill, I would have been dead by now. This was very bad.
However, the biggest problem wasn’t the dowager empress. Of course, she was an obvious threat to my life, but from my point of view, the emperor was my biggest problem.
The dowager empress was my enemy, and I had no doubt about it. The emperor, on the other hand, was a questionable ally. I would never be betrayed by the dowager since I would never give her my trust. However, the emperor was a different story. I had no choice but to trust him to some extent, but it was too dangerous for me to give him my full trust.
In all honesty, the emperor scared and worried me more than the dowager empress.
Therefore, the fact that Duchess Gust was on the side of the emperor, an ally of mine, didn’t mean I should trust her.
We were accomplices and partners, but I didn’t trust him fully. I was sure he felt the same way about me too.
My life depended on the emperor, yet I couldn’t trust him. This was such a maddening situation!
What if he poisoned me and framed my murder on the dowager empress? It would be like killing two birds with one stone. Get rid of the only witness to his murder and also the dowager empress both in the same scheme.
My situation worried me sick.
Did I make smart decisions? Did I make the right assumptions so far? No one could tell me. I had to make every single decision myself, and I was responsible for each one of them. One wrong decision could be the death of me.
‘I don’t want to die!’
I forced myself to smile brightly. I had to have thick skin if I wanted to survive.
I said to the duchess, “I can’t help but be anxious. I am new here and so many bad things have happened so far. I will trust you to guide me.”
Duchess Gust smiled neutrally and bowed. “It would be my honor.”
So that was how my royal life on this thin ice began.
Suddenly, a maid walked in to speak to Duchess Gust. As soon as I heard the message, I almost dropped my cup.
“The dowager empress would like to see you, your highness.”
Already?
***
Unfamiliar maids surrounded me to dress me. Afterward, I headed towards the dowager empress’s wing.
Her residence was separate from all the other wives’ living quarters. In fact, she was living next to the emperor’s quarters.
The proper rule dictated that the dowager empress needed to move from the empress’ wing to another residence after the death of her husband. However, she claimed that the shock of the former emperor’s death was too much for her, she needed more time to grieve in her own room.
This was clearly a poor excuse from the dowager empress. If the new emperor had an empress, the emperor would have had a solid reason to kick her out, but for now, things had to be left as it was.
I felt strange. Only a few days ago, she was my fellow wife to the old emperor. However, now, I was her daughter-in-law. This was absurd.
Didn’t people think it strange that the father’s concubine married his son? According to the priestess and the chancellor, there seemed to be no legal problems, but it still surprised me at how open-minded people were in this world.
This would have never been acceptable in the olden days of Korea. It seemed like this world resembled the western countries more than the Asian nations in my world.
Historically, the customs of having multiple wives and concubines were common in many Asian countries. I remembered reading about Korean history at school. I enjoyed history classes, especially European history. In fact, I planned on studying history at university.
I wished I studied harder though. It could have been helpful in my current situation if I knew more.
There was no point in regretting the past. There was nothing I could do. All I needed to focus on now was my own survival.
I took a deep breath. It felt like my heart would burst. My hands were trembling. I clenched my fingers to ky myself at ease.
I couldn’t show any weaknesses.
When I arrived, the dowager empress’s maid announced loudly.
“Your Highness, the first wife has arrived.”
I stood tall and entered the room.
***
The dowager empress was surrounded by high-ranking ladies. They all glared at me chillingly. Clearly, they were on the dowager’s side.
Their stares felt uncomfortable, but I hid my nervousness as best as I could. I walked slowly towards them and bowed politely.
“Good morning to the honored dowager empress.”
Her cold voice ordered me, “Rise.”
“Thank you.”
The ladies around the dowager started to greet me together in unison.
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
The dowager empress’s maid guided me to a chair across from everyone. My maid in waiting, Samantha, carried the golden box on a silver tray to the dowager empress.
“What is this?”
The Duchess answered with a gentle smile.
“It is a gift from the first wife to the dowager empress. It is to celebrate the recent occasion.”
The dowager frowned slightly. This was a common practice for the new daughter-in-law to present a gift to the dowager empress. Usually, the announcement of a new emperor was a happy event for the dowager empress since her son had been crowned as the new emperor. However, in this case, it wasn’t her real son. This was definitely not a happy occasion for the dowager empress.
A gift was an insult, and I didn’t order it. Samantha planned it without even consulting me!
The dowager empress put on a disturbing smile and faced me. She lowered her voice and thanked me.
“Thank you. I guess all I have left to do is to move to the back room and enjoy the happiness of my son and his wife. For that, I thank you.”
“…”
I didn’t know how to respond. My mind went blank with nervousness and shock.
The dowager empress announced, “Well then, let’s open the gift. I would love to see what you brought me.”
The dowager empress’s maid took the box from Samantha and opened it in front of the ladies.
Inside the shiny golden box was a small golden can with black tint. On top was beautiful silver decorations.
The ladies around the dowager empress exclaimed.
Samantha explained proudly, “This is Kamailak, the best black tea that was harvested last year. They say its quality is the best it has ever been in a hundred years.”
One lady who appeared to know much about tea recognized it.
She exclaimed, “Oh my! This is worth more than gold nowadays!”
Another lady agreed, “I heard last year’s leaves are indeed of the highest quality.”
The ladies all nodded in agreement. The dowager empress looked at them disapprovingly. When they realized her displeasure, they quieted down.
The dowager turned to me and gave me another fake smile.
“How could I ever repay you for your kindness?”
There was no way I would be able to appease her even if I beg for her forgiveness. Besides, if I showed any weakness, she would use it against me.
Samantha successfully angered the dowager empress, and now I had one option left. I tried to think positively. I knew from the beginning I would never be able to have an amicable relationship with the dowager empress.
I finally opened my mouth.
“There is no need for thanks, Your Highness. I tried to find the best gift for such a HAPPY OCCASION. I am glad you approve it.”
When I emphasized the words ‘happy occasion,’ I saw the dowager empress’s face spasm.
The dowager empress gave a stern expression and clapped her hands.
“Well then, should we enjoy the first wife’s gift together?”
Suddenly, it was teatime. The servants moved quickly to set the table.
When I saw the teacups and pots, I couldn’t help but become stiff.
They shone brightly. They were all made of silver.
Total Chapters in book: 189
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
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