Chapter 237 "See? My market value is pretty good..."
Hya just left, and Bernard has already arrived. I'm really busy.
The day Bernard came, I was watering the flowers in the yard. I woke up very early that day because of the heat and couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up and watered the flowers.
He appeared in the sunlight. The morning sun wasn't very bright, but it was still hot; this was the weather in the western desert.
His alluring blue eyes sparkled, mingling with the sunlight and subtly shimmering with golden light, possessing a unique beauty.
Her silver hair was tied back, revealing her exquisite features.
I didn't notice when his silver-blue robe leaned against me. The watering can in my hand was sprinkling water on a beautifully blooming flower. Then, his long, strong hand grasped the hand holding the watering can.
I was startled and stunned. The watering can fell to the ground with a thud, splashing water all over the floor.
"How did you get here?!" I exclaimed in surprise. "How did you get into the royal city without an invitation?"
"He was brought in by the chief steward of our royal city."
He was probably referring to the hunchbacked head steward who had escorted me to the capital. The head steward hadn't left yet; he was staying here to handle some miscellaneous tasks for me, but unexpectedly, he opened a back door for him.
I laughed. "I'll have to tell him from now on that he has to submit a formal invitation before he can get in."
He blinked. "Rules are necessary, but I'm the exception."
We had breakfast on the spacious stone terrace on the top floor of the palace. Several stone pillars on the terrace were covered with green vines and newly formed purple-green grapes, shimmering alluringly in the early morning sunlight.
Omelette, meat sandwich, croissant, milk, tea, and water—I felt I had a very good meal and was quite happy with it. But Bernard frowned slightly. "You're a powerful person in the capital now. Is this all you eat?"
“These are fine,” I retorted. “If you don’t like them, go back to your capital for breakfast.”
Bernard laughed. "I mean, why aren't there any vegetables and fruits, your favorites?"
I chuckled: "This is the Western Region, you expect vegetables and fruits here?"
Fruits and vegetables are available, of course, but they are very expensive. Common vegetables in the Eastern Territory such as apples, pears, oranges, kiwis, leafy greens, and celery don't grow here. Only the most common grapes, watermelons, cucumbers, onions, and asparagus are available, but the yield is small and they are very expensive. To promote a minimalist lifestyle, I generally don't eat fruits and vegetables for breakfast; at most, I eat them for lunch or dinner, or perhaps a cucumber and meat sandwich for afternoon tea.
“But I can pick some grapes for you this morning.” I gestured to the maid to take a large pair of scissors and cut some off, adding, “If you had come any later, you could have had watermelon.”
He sighed deeply, “Would you like to come back to the East with me? Life here is too hard.”
I just laughed, "How could that be?!"
He sighed and said, "If fruits and vegetables weren't so prone to spoiling on the way, I would have sent someone to deliver some to you."
A thought suddenly struck me.
I pulled him into the study, spread out a map of the Great City, and pointed to a few lines, saying to him, "Look, this is your eastern border, and we are on the other side. If we build a straight road between us, wouldn't we be able to shorten the distance between the two borders and develop the trade of fruits and vegetables?"
A straight road is like a modern highway, a straight line leading directly to the destination.
He didn't speak, but just looked at me thoughtfully.
“Look, this line is the shortest between our two realms. How about we build it here?” I said again.
He then spoke: "Do you know how much it costs to build a road? And this route looks short and easy to build, but it is actually full of difficulties. There are several small hills, two rivers, and a large thicket of thorns in the middle. The road is very difficult to travel. We usually don't take this route when we come from the East. There is no one living along this road, and it is also very troublesome to resupply."
“A road that few people have traveled is even better,” I said immediately. “We don’t need to pay relocation fees or resettlement fees to the original inhabitants, so the cost is very low.”
He laughed. "Okay, tell me your plan."
In simple terms, it all boils down to money and people.
I described to him what a modern highway looks like, then talked about how convenient transportation facilitates trade, and finally we got to money.
I mentioned my difficulties; I had only been in power for a short time and didn't have much money. But once this straight road was built, the investment would be recouped quickly. I could give him my share and only need to recover my costs.
He laughed and said, "You're trying to get something for nothing? To put it bluntly, you want me to pay the lion's share?"
I smiled shyly, "You know my situation very well."
“It’s not impossible,” he said with a smile, “but what would I get in return? Just the profits from the completion of this straight road?”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“You and I will sign an agreement, a chief mistress agreement, the official kind.” He smiled. “A ten-year agreement, no backing out halfway through.”
"A chief mistress agreement? I've never heard of that." I sneered.
"That's because no one signed it before, but there are such agreements in the Eastern Territory. Usually, it's high-ranking noblemen or royal men who want their chief mistress to be devoted to them and not to marry again."
"Then why hasn't anyone signed?"
"Because men with a chief mistress usually have a high status and a lot of financial power, they are not worried about the woman leaving them, and even if she does leave, they don't care, because they have plenty of choices. But I'm different; I am indeed worried that you will leave me."
"Signing an agreement doesn't guarantee anything."
"But it's always a guarantee, better than not signing at all."
I looked at him and said, "Let me think about it."
As luck would have it, that very evening I received a marriage proposal from Haiya. Haiya also included a separate letter, saying that my current position was precarious, and even if my daughter married into a high-ranking noble family, she could very well be overthrown one day.
"You are still an outsider, and a woman, so no noble will submit to you. Their temporary submission is just a delaying tactic. If you marry me, we will be a powerful alliance. I will use the strength of my western border to protect you, and you will use your great royal city as your backing. We will be the most powerful couple."
“If you fear that I will devour the independent capital, we can sign an agreement before marriage to prove that I will never touch any of your property or the capital, and the most respected old nobleman will be the witness.”
Hya is afraid he won't be able to keep his throne, so he wants me, as a backer, to protect him.
I fell into deep thought.
The next day at breakfast, I handed the marriage proposal to Bernard and said smugly, "See? Aren't I pretty popular?"
Bernard smiled and glanced at the marriage proposal, then put it aside. "He's too ugly, not as handsome as me."
"Oh, looks don't matter, what matters is sincerity." I smiled and took back the marriage proposal. "Why don't you propose to me and marry me as your wife?"
He sighed, a rare occurrence for him. "I knew you would ask this, but I still held onto a sliver of hope that you would understand."
"Understand what? Your predicament?"
“That’s right.” He sighed slightly. “As you know, the Eastern Territory is now divided into several parts, and it’s not easy to gain a foothold. My wife can only be a woman who can help consolidate our power. I thought you understood that.”
“I understand now, I understand now that you say so,” I said. “But I thought you were different, that you were different from other men, that you wouldn’t put power and wealth above marriage. But it turns out I overestimated you.”
"Isn't it the same for Haiya? He married you only to consolidate his power in the Western Territory. Independent Great Cities are among the very few cities that can be independent on the continent. Apart from the Western Territory, no other country has such a city. If he marries you, he is proving to the nobles that he has the opportunity to unify the Western Territory."
“But you want me, the Prime Minister of a great capital, to be your chief mistress? I’m not willing to accept that.” I moved closer to him, my words firm and resolute. “You can clearly earn your living through your own abilities, yet you insist on depending on a man. Isn’t that just courting death?”
"I swear, I will not mistreat you. I will treat you like my legal wife, giving you more than I would give you. In fact, you will be more glamorous than my legal wife when we go out. Our children will also receive the most of my assets. If it is a son, I will do everything I can to give him the most prestigious title. If it is a daughter, I will ensure she marries in style, marrying whomever she wants, and I will guarantee her a peaceful life. What other promises do you need? I will keep my word!"
I wanted to laugh out loud, but instead I burst into tears. He panicked a little, handed me a tissue, came back to me, and hugged me tightly.
"How I wish I could say yes! You described such a wonderful picture to me: we have a son and a daughter, and we are very happy." I cried as I said, "We have no shortage of money or power, and we have a strong father to protect us. How I wish I could say yes to you, just for this kind of happiness."
He held me tightly, pulling me even closer. "Then you can just say yes, right?"
I broke free with all my might. "How I wanted to say yes," I said, tears streaming down my face, "but the thought that my son and daughter were both illegitimate children made me unable to say yes."
“I can issue an agreement, with the most prestigious nobles as witnesses, that they have the same status and titles as legitimate children.”
"Why won't you marry me as your legal wife?" I asked, crying. "Why won't you give up your benefits?"
“I also want to give up, but if I give up, I and the people who follow me will most likely die.”
He looked at me intently, “The power struggles in the East are the most brutal.”
My tears flowed again, even more freely.
That very evening, I formally rejected his marriage proposal, as well as Haiya's. I rejected him in front of all the nobles in the council hall.
I said, “Today, I formally reject two marriage proposals. One is from the esteemed Prince Benot of the East, and the other is from King Hyja of the West. Prince Benot has asked me to be his chief mistress and sign a ten-year agreement, which I cannot agree to, to reduce my esteemed position as prime minister to the level of a mistress, even if it is a prince’s mistress. As for King Hyja’s proposal, I deeply regret that, in order to maintain the independence and autonomy of the Great City, and the dignity and status of all nobles, I have to reject this proposal.”
The nobles paused for a moment, then began to whisper among themselves. They had clearly received news of the proposal long ago and were already discussing it amongst themselves, their gazes towards me a mixture of complex emotions—mockery, amusement, and meaningful glances.
Finally, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted, and nobles laughed loudly: "Well done!"
"Defend the independence and freedom of our Great Royal City!"
That very night, Bernard left the royal city. Before leaving, he asked me, "Are you really that concerned about the title of legal wife? Why are you so concerned about these superficial things? Are you that vain?"
“I’m just that vain. I don’t need a piece of paper to prove that I have the same status as my legal wife. I want all the dignity, reputation and wealth of my legal wife to belong directly to me.”
Three days later, I sent a marriage proposal letter to Princess Yani of the Southern Territory. Two weeks later, Princess Yani replied, agreeing to the proposal. And so, I thwarted Mamboa's plan and married Princess Yani.
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Author's Note: Please continue to support me! Mwah!
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