Chapter 50

A thin layer of frost covered the hotel windows, blurring the snow and ice outside into a hazy white.

Li Jia hovered her fingertips over the rim of the cup, and only when the warm steam rose onto her fingertips did she realize that she had been standing there for who knows how long.

She and Hera were already husband and wife, so it was perfectly normal for them to sleep together.

Winslow and Doreen each had a room, very close to each other.

What she saw tonight left Li Jia unable to calm down for a long time. She looked out the window and began to worry.

Seeing that the little one hadn't gotten into bed, the woman couldn't resist taking a thick blanket and walking behind her to drape it over her.

Why don't you come over and sleep here?

"Standing by the window in the snow, you'd probably freeze into an ice sculpture."

Hera wrapped her arm around her waist and carefully tucked the blanket over her shoulders, her fingertips gently kneading her soft, warm belly.

"What are you thinking about?"

Li Jia didn't turn around. She simply picked up her water glass, dipped her fingertip in some warm water, and slowly drew on the frosted glass.

First, I drew a crooked A, then added B and C next to it, and finally added a D. The water vapor flowed down the strokes, creating tiny watermarks.

"Thinking about tonight."

Li Jia was still thinking about the live-action TV series she had just watched. Catherine was the main character A, Fran was the main character B, and although she had never met Moise, she guessed from the conversation that she was the main character C.

The matter is no longer as simple as resolving the issue of the Fate Token; it concerns the turmoil and reforms in the entire Northern Territory.

The character Mel, who is at the center of their conversation, must be the villain, D.

B+D+C

Stepmother + Biological Father + Stepdaughter = Reconstituted Family

This is a legally recognized blood relationship.

Now we have DC, B + AD = C

The biological father tries to kill his stepdaughter, but is discovered by the stepmother and the stepdaughter's best friend. The stepmother and best friend then team up to take down the biological father and protect the stepdaughter.

So here's the question: judging from Fran's words, her stepmother was completely focused on destroying her biological father in a suicidal manner.

We can now draw two conclusions:

1. Success! The stepmother and biological father are both out of the picture, the stepdaughter takes over, and the best friend provides support.

Disadvantages: Losing a good woman, a good mother, and a good queen.

Their mission to fulfill their vows failed, and the couple died.

2. If the attempt fails, the biological father will kill the stepmother, the truth will be exposed, and the stepdaughter's best friend will be implicated.

The downside: losing a good woman, a good mother, and a good queen would throw the entire North into chaos.

Their marriage quest automatically fails, the wife dies, and Mel can marry a new wife.

Either way, their missions were destined to fail.

The fact that the Temple of Marriage has never had a single failed case in its thousands of years of history is undoubtedly a slap in the face to the Temple of Marriage.

The snow outside the window is falling heavily again, and the wind is whipping up snowflakes that hit the glass with a soft, rustling sound.

Hera pulled her closer to her chest, gently stroking the back of her neck with her palm: "No matter how worried you are, you can't stand there until dawn. This is not something that can be solved by rushing."

"Go to sleep first. I'll think about it slowly after I meet with Winslow and the others tomorrow."

Li Jia hummed in agreement, but did not move.

Her gaze fell back onto the glass window, where the letters blurred by the moisture had faded. In the light and shadow, she seemed to see the proprietress and Viya, and she couldn't help but clench her fist.

“Your Majesty, I don’t want anything to happen to Queen Fran. She was a good person, and I feel sad that she would lose her life for a leech man.”

Hera didn't understand what "leech man" meant; the adjective was somewhat amusing.

Li Jia said she hated him, and he really wasn't a good person.

Like a leech, the leech man specifically targets wealthy only daughters, sucking their blood and flesh, as well as the blood and flesh of their parents, until they are completely drained, their blood and flesh becoming his own.

There are just too many modern examples. Li Jia vaguely remembers a major news story that shocked society a few years ago.

A man surnamed Lin instructed his nanny to set fire to his home, burning his wife and three children to death. It was a perfect crime, allowing him to absolve himself of all responsibility and then use online public opinion and e-commerce to make a fortune.

After numerous suspicious points arose, attracting the attention of netizens, he cleverly extricated himself from the situation, taking with him the huge sum of money he had earned by exploiting his wife and children, and settled overseas with his second wife, where they had new children.

At the beginning of their meeting, the man surnamed Lin was just a poor hairdresser named Tony, while the woman was a self-reliant and self-made entrepreneur. Tony Lin's sweet words moved her, and even though her parents strongly opposed the relationship, she was willing to be a moth drawn to a flame for love.

She became his wife and gave birth to three lovely children.

More than a decade has passed, and he has everything he needs: a house, a car, and money. But the man has cheated on his wife. He is afraid of being kicked out of the house with nothing, and he knows that everything he has now is thanks to his wife.

Girls, remember this: never marry down, and never gamble with a man's conscience.

You think he will remember the hardships you went through together, but in reality, every night when you close your eyes and see your face, he thinks of his poor, wretched self from the past.

It's common to see poor men with infatuated women by their side, but rare to see rich men holding hands with their wives who have shared hardship.

So Li Jia was furious. Like millions of netizens, she went online to condemn the man surnamed Lin who was like a leech. But what was the outcome?

The man surnamed Lin remains at large. His wife, now in the afterlife, may be filled with resentment and anger. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, but for a mother, having her own father kill three children is nothing short of heart-wrenching and unbearable pain.

If ghosts truly exist in this world, most of them are female ghosts, female ghosts who were murdered, and when they return at midnight, they will seek revenge!

Fortunately, those of us who grew up in a patriarchal society have learned about all of this through the blood and tears of our predecessors, through reading, and through the internet.

It turns out that girls can grow up without getting married and can do what they like.

To this day, it has been less than a century since modern women began fighting for their right to education.

And this is just another normal day for a man.

The growing awareness of women has made people realize that women will inevitably rise to high positions and gain a voice.

Now Li Jia faces the same scenario again, and she begins to tremble. This time, she is no longer powerless and can only watch helplessly as Queen Fran fights with her life to protect the country, her people, and the children she left behind.

True friendship surpasses love; Hawthorne's children are her children.

Lying in bed, Li Jia still couldn't fall asleep, so she turned over and poked the woman's back.

Hera sighed. "Speak, what is it?"

Li Jia whispered, "I think Moise has the right to know. Her stepmother is about to become a dragon slayer for her sake, and she knows nothing about it. I think that's unfair."

Hera discovered that this little guy insisted on fairness in everything.

I'm so worried about this that I can't sleep tonight. If it's not resolved by then, I'll probably be up all night.

She can't sleep, so she can't sleep either.

"Alright, let's get up. Put on your little yellow chick clothes, it's cold outside."

Hera was referring to her little yellow chick cotton coat.

Where to?

Hera glanced at her briefly and said helplessly, "Go find Moise."

Li Jia happily jumped out of bed, quickly put on her cotton coat, wrapped her arms around Hera's arm, and waited for her to use Shadow Cloak.

Hera: ...

You're already so familiar with the process.

——

A small yellow chick stood beside the tall figure, and the two of them stood motionless in front of the four-poster bed with gold and silver carvings in the palace.

"I've already brought you here."

"Why aren't you as boisterous as you were before?"

Hera touched the fluffy rooster comb on Li Jia's cotton-padded coat hood and asked, puzzled.

Li Jia: ...

What should she say? Should she bring herself here, sneak into someone else's room, or do it while she's asleep?

Imagine you're sleeping soundly, and when you open your eyes, there's someone standing at your bedside—two people, no less. How would you feel?

The bed curtains hung halfway down, enveloping the girl in a hazy moonlight.

She lay on her side, her long, ink-black ebony hair like fluffy clouds, with a few strands playfully clinging to her neck, making the skin at her collarbone look like thin snow. Her skin was so delicate that you could see the pale blue veins. Her lips were a dark, frozen cherry red.

Li Jia was mesmerized. This was the first time she had ever seen such pure and thick black hair since she came here.

Due to regional and ethnic differences, the proportion of black hair among Westerners is not high, but it is not entirely non-existent.

Hera frowned as she watched the little yellow chick staring intently at the girl on the bed. She reached out and grabbed Li Jia's wrist, asking, "You like this kind of thing?"

This startled Li Jia, who immediately shook her head in denial: "No, it's not what you think. Doesn't Your Majesty know what I like?"

She looked extremely aggrieved. Based on Li Jia's past experience, Hera would comfort her and the matter would be over.

But this time, she was determined to prove herself wrong. Hera looked down into her eyes and said, "I don't know. Tell me, what kind of answer is it?"

Li Jia was speechless for a moment, thinking, "Who? Who else could it be? They're already registered in the marriage history, they've already got their marriage certificate, who else could it be?"

But she knew what Hera wanted to hear. She had been around Hera for so long that she had become quite slick and adept at flattering her superiors.

He broke free, grasped Hera's hands in his own, and said with a smile, "I only like someone like you, sister."

Sure enough, the woman's brows relaxed after Li Jia said that, but she wasn't going to let her off so easily: "You said you like someone like me, then why have you been staring at her like that?"

Why be jealous of a girl who's about your age?

Li Jia felt immense pressure. If she didn't explain herself clearly, she would definitely be in trouble when she got back. She honestly said, "I was looking at her hair. Black hair is rare here, but almost everyone in my hometown has this color."

"I've been here for a long time, and this is the first time I've seen it. I feel very welcome and can't help but take a few more glances."

Seeing that Hera's brows had completely relaxed, Li Jia finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Hera had taken her words to heart.

"Next time, take me back to your hometown. I also want to see people with black hair everywhere."

Upon hearing this, Hera thought for a moment and said...

Looking at the smile on her face, Li Jia didn't immediately realize that there was anything wrong with what she said. As long as she wasn't angry, she readily agreed, "Okay."

Couples shouldn't hold grudges overnight; problems should be resolved on the spot, and avoidance is not advisable.

Hera stopped moving. She looked at Li Jia with an expression that said, "You asked me to bring you here, and I've brought you here. The rest is none of my business." She stood still next to Li Jia.

Helpless, Li Jia had no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She bent down and gently patted Moise's back, whispering as she did so, "Princess, wake up, wake up..."

Before Li Jia could react, a thin, sturdy, gold-plated needle was pressed against her neck, and her gray-green eyes suddenly snapped open.

The girl's arm was still supporting her on the bed, and her hand holding the hatpin was steady without trembling at all.

The needle tip gleamed coldly, stopping just short of Li Jia's neck. Even their breath was chilling, yet they showed no fear: "Who are you? Why are you in my palace?"

Before Li Jia could answer, a tall figure instantly blocked her way, casting a shadow over Moise.

The woman acted without hesitation, twisting the girl's wrist and pointing the needle at Mois, saying fiercely, "How was the Crown Prince of Stuart raised? He has no manners at all."

Li Jia peeked out from behind Hera and looked at the girl on the bed who had been cornered by Hera.

In a panic, she snatched the hatpin from Hera's hand and softly reassured the girl, "Princess Mois, don't be afraid, we're not bad people! Really not! We're from the Temple of Marriage... This is Her Majesty Hera, the one who handed you the marriage invitation!"

After saying that, he slapped Hera's hand twice hard, telling her to let go of Mois. Breaking into a private residence in the middle of the night would have landed her in jail long ago in modern society.

Hera paused, reluctantly loosening her grip, but her eyes remained cold, like a lake covered with a thin layer of ice, carrying the oppressive aura of a superior as they fell upon Mois.

Moise rubbed her wrist, which had been pinched red, and glanced warily at Li Jia, half believing what she said, before her gaze returned to Hera.

Seeing Moise's skepticism, the woman moved her fingers, and the hidden starlight on her body suddenly dissipated, revealing her true appearance.

The robe was dark black, but when she moved, the scarlet lining would turn up at the cuffs and hem, like bloodstains splashed in the night. The collar and waist were embroidered with intertwined thorns in gold thread, with tiny rubies adorning the thorns.

Her signature blonde hair and red eyes.

Stunningly beautiful.

Her portrait was exactly the same as the one of Hera, the goddess of marriage, in the court's illustrated book. Her tense back trembled almost imperceptibly, but her fingers gripped the bed curtains even tighter.

"Your Majesty Hera."

Mois's voice was still hoarse from just waking up, but it carried a hint of disbelief: "You came to my palace so late at night...to..."

I'm not interested in you.

Hera was still holding a grudge against Li Jia for almost hurting her earlier, and her tone was very harsh. However, Li Jia kept giving her meaningful glances to calm her down, so she swallowed her resentment and said coldly.

"She's the one who contacted you."

He pushed Li Jia in front of Moise, while he stood behind her.

Once she confirmed that the two people in front of her were not strangers, Moise relaxed her guard. She got up and was about to get out of bed barefoot when Li Jia stopped her, saying it was too cold.

Within Hera's safe zone, Li Jia slowly moved a few steps toward the bedside. When her gaze fell on Mois's still red wrist, she added, "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. She was just being a bit protective; she didn't mean any harm."

Mois glanced between Li Jia and Hera, then said apologetically, "I was wrong too. I thought you were in cahoots with those people in the palace."

"It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. There's no point in dwelling on it anymore. Let's talk."

A hint of hesitation flickered in his grey-green eyes: "Talk...talk about what?"

For example, why did you want to submit the marriage proposal?

"What does your stepmother's marriage have to do with you?"

Li Jia sat down on the edge of the bed, maintaining a safe distance. Her words were sharp; rambling would only be disadvantageous to them.

Mois's eyes darkened. She didn't answer immediately, but stared at the gold thread pattern on the bed curtains. After a long silence, she slowly said, "If I tell you, will Your Majesty the God of Marriage help me?"

Hera took half a step forward after hearing her words, her voice no longer as cold and hard as before: "Then there has to be a valid reason."

Her gaze fell on Moise, scrutinizing her: "Tell me about it."