Chapter 185 "Go find a rich woman."...
“I…we…” Aya stammered, “We’re sisters, and I can’t bear to see her die.” She carefully looked at my face. “Back in the village, I was born weak and was often bullied. Some bad kids would throw stones at me, and it was Sister Shaling who would come running over fiercely and chase those kids away. Sometimes when I had a headache or fever, she would bring me some medicine.”
I remember this. When I first entered the other world, I was rescued by Aya while I had a fever. Shaling thought it was Aya who had a fever and brought her fever reducers. This shows that they helped each other.
Aya lowered her head and said, "Later, we followed Prince Bernot to the Eastern Territory and entered the palace. I didn't know anything and couldn't learn anything well. I was often bullied and ostracized, and I was even falsely accused of breaking things and stealing things. Every time, Sister Shaling stepped in to help me. She was kind to me. We not only have a bond from growing up together, but also a bond from wandering together later. That's why I mustered up the courage to ask you."
Seeing that I didn't speak, Aya felt even more embarrassed. "I know I'm not qualified to ask you for anything, and I haven't really helped you much before, but I just can't bear to see her die."
I remained silent for a while before saying, "I can only promise to have a doctor examine her and prescribe some medicine. As for her release, we'll discuss that later. This is only because of you."
Aya saved me twice, and I can't ignore her request.
Aya was extremely excited and kept saying, "Thank you, sister." I called a maid and asked her to find a doctor to treat Shaling. The maid hesitated for a moment, and I asked if we should consult Prince Bernard. She quickly said no and hurriedly left.
Aya left after a while. The fire in the fireplace burned quietly. My hand touched the gold and silver trim of the fireplace, and I suddenly remembered that this room didn't have a fireplace yesterday. In just one morning, it had been installed. I looked at the large bed with its deep purple silk-trimmed floor-length canopy, the newly changed dark blue curtains by the window, and the newly changed luxurious and soft dark red carpet on the floor. The whole room had a sense of understated luxury.
I sat by the fireplace in a daze, and soon I felt sleepy again. My head was also a little dizzy, even though I had just woken up not long ago. I've been so tired lately.
When I woke up, I saw Bernard sitting on a chair by my bed, looking through an official document. When he saw me open my eyes, he quickly sat down next to me, gently stroked my forehead, and breathed a sigh of relief, "The fever has gone down, that's good."
"I have a fever?" I asked in surprise.
"Look at you, you don't even know you have a fever." He complained, brushing the stray hairs from my face. "You must have been tired last night and caught a cold. I told you not to sleep in this room, there's not even a fireplace."
"This place is nice; at least your mistress hasn't slept here." I propped myself up against the headboard. "By the way, where's your wife?"
Benoît was married four times. His first marriage was to Eve, the sister of Hoya, the mistress of Rosie, his father's illegitimate son. At the time, Benoît was in my body and even competed with her for her affections. This marriage was declared invalid after Benoît returned to the capital from the wilderness because he was forced by Rosie and did not go through the proper royal marriage process.
His second marriage was to his adoptive father Abdul's daughter, the stuttering girl from Castle Black. The stuttering girl had been engaged to him long before, and had even secretly followed him when he was trapped in Castle Black. Later, he was awakened by me and returned alive to the East. His biological father, fearing he would join forces with his adoptive father, strongly opposed his marriage to the stuttering girl and sent him to the Wildlands, thus canceling their engagement.
However, when his biological father's favoritism towards Rosie became public, the nobles were outraged, feeling it damaged the royal family's reputation. They collectively supported the persecuted prince's return to the capital. His return to the capital, his renewed support from his adoptive father, and his marriage to the stuttering girl became a natural progression.
His third marriage was to a young princess from the West who had just come of age. I've never met this princess, but I've heard she's charming and adorable, with a good personality, and quite popular with unmarried men. Bernard married her to secure trade agreements with the West. He persuaded his adoptive father to have the stuttering girl divorce him. His adoptive father, wanting a cut from the trade deals, readily agreed.
There were also rumors that the godfather had vaguely heard that Bernard had switched his newborn son with a daughter, and had become suspicious of Bernard. He was unwilling to continue the relationship between him and his father-in-law, so as to avoid future disputes and a messy situation.
For his fourth marriage, Benoît chose his father's stepmother, the granddaughter of the now-deceased Queen Mother, who was rumored to possess a hidden fortune. It is said that Benoît orchestrated a scheme to catch his wife in bed with another man, with many high-ranking nobles witnessing the Western Princess rolling naked off the bed and kissing her lover passionately. Afterwards, Benoît and the Western Princess amicably separated, with the Western royal family paying Benoît a sum of money as compensation for damage to their reputation.
This is an unwritten rule of the royal family on this continent: the party whose reputation is damaged must obtain compensation from the other party, otherwise the party that caused the damage will be ostracized and despised by all the nobles on the continent.
The granddaughter who married Bernard is the only daughter of the former Queen Mother's youngest daughter. The Queen Mother once doted on her youngest daughter, but unfortunately, she died young from a high fever, leaving her to shower all her love on her granddaughter. Rumor has it that the Queen Mother was incredibly shrewd with money and gave almost all of it to this granddaughter. Although the granddaughter has always denied this, it is practically an open secret.
The granddaughter was simple and virtuous, but not pretty enough. However, she was devoted to Bernard and insisted on marrying him. The Queen Mother, who was still alive at the time, had no choice but to defy public opinion and secretly arrange the wedding between Bernard and her eldest granddaughter. The deed was done, and neither Bernard's biological father nor stepmother could stop it.
"Why did you suddenly ask about her?" Bernard asked me gently, draping a soft coat over my shoulders.
“I was just curious,” I said. “I heard she’s head over heels for you.”
"Perhaps," he smiled, "Are you under pressure?"
"What does it have to do with me?" I laughed. "Our relationship is only short-term. Once this period is over, we might not be together again. Why should I feel pressured? There are plenty of men in the world waiting to be with me."
The second half of the statement is a bit boastful, but it's not far from the truth. I already have several "ex-husbands" before him, and maybe there will be more in the future; the next man will be even better.
His smile was somewhat sinister. "I'm afraid that won't happen."
“Which one of my relationships isn’t short-term?” I laughed. “Whether it’s the Grand Chancellor of Achia, Hya and Diya in the West, the Elf King, or Manboa in the North, which one isn’t? Of course, maybe they will come looking for me again.”
His expression suddenly turned sour, his deep blue eyes flashed with a cold light, and he pursed his lips, remaining silent.
I ignored him. After a long while, he blurted out, "In order for you to move into the palace, I agreed to give her cousin a trade project, and she moved into a mansion in the suburbs of the capital."
"You also have a mansion in the suburbs?"
“That’s hers; it came with her dowry.”
"Looks like you're really rich. You dare to offend you?"
"In your eyes, am I the kind of person who would do anything for money?"
"Yes."
“Then how could I possibly be interested in you?” he added casually. “You’re very poor. When you first came to the capital, you could only beg and lived in the slums.”
I was about to retort, "I'm poor, and I didn't even ask you for help," when I suddenly changed my mind, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and headed for the door. He caught up with me, his face cold, and pressed the door shut. "Where are you going? Dinner's almost ready."
"I'm going home for dinner."
"Go home what?"
“I’m not going to eat your food,” I sneered. “I ate two meals from you before, breakfast and lunch. I’ll pay you back later.”
"What's wrong with you?!" he roared in fury.
I shoved him away forcefully, my sneer growing even louder. "Get out of the way, a good dog doesn't block the road. Even if I'm poor, I won't beg for food from you."
His tone softened immediately. "Did I hurt you with what I said? I'm sorry, please apologize."
"I'm just a beggar, what do you want from me?" I kicked him hard, and he gasped in pain, but still held the door tightly shut.
"Don't blame me for not warning you. If you don't move aside, I'll make sure you never find me again if I ever get the chance to leave."
He reluctantly opened the door, and I quickly left.
I had no luggage and walked very easily. I walked briskly out of the palace without encountering any obstacles. Perhaps he dared not.
After asking a maid for directions, I walked around two gardens and was about to step onto a path when a black carriage pulled up beside me. The maid who had been serving me at the palace leaned out of the carriage window and said, "Madam, are you leaving the palace? I'll take you out; it's still a distance away."
"You will take me out of the palace?" I asked, half believing and half doubting.
"Yes, I swear."
As I boarded the carriage, I remained somewhat skeptical, but glancing at the direction along the way, it seemed to be the same route out of the palace. We had passed through these same places on our way in.
Half an hour later, the carriage arrived at the side gate of the palace. I called for it to stop and got out. The maidservant followed me down. "Where are you going?"
"go home."
The maid looked puzzled, but dared not ask any more questions.
It was completely dark when we crossed the sparsely populated road and passed a jewelry store. Several elegant ladies came out together, laughing and saying that the pearls that had arrived today were of very good quality. A well-dressed middle-aged man saw them off, and I inadvertently exchanged a glance with him.
The bright lights in front of the jewelry store clearly illuminated the middle-aged man's face, revealing him to be none other than Bluebeard, the man who had hired someone to rob me years ago.
I was stunned. I looked at it repeatedly, afraid that I had misread it.
After I was robbed, I actually sneaked back to the jewelry store, wanting to settle the score with Bluebeard, but I was outnumbered and outmatched, so I didn't dare to go back.
Bluebeard saw me too, and seemed to recognize me. He smiled at me, showing no fear.
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