LOGINAfter the coronation, I took up residence in the central palace.The Regent clung to me like a burr, holding me so tightly and unwilling to let go.“Today, my Empress rises to the throne with me, so in the days to come, you mustn’t turn away from me.”I gave him a light push. “Your Majesty, don’t hold me so tight.”“Already starting to despise me?” He lifted his head, and his eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.I lowered my head and gave him a shy smile. “The imperial physicians say there’s another little prince or princess on the way.”“Really?” His joy spilled across his face. He wanted to touch me, then stopped himself, all flustered and delighted. He was worried the kids might bother me, so he slept in the outer room with the two little ones while fully clothed.I gazed at the moonlight spilling through the window, feeling the gentle warmth of winter.After Margaret was dragged away, she was locked up.She had gone mad, and she would yell at anyone who saw her. “I di
Jovan sent me little trinkets, but I returned every single one. Frankly, such things could no longer stir my heart.Then, news suddenly came from the palace that Margaret had summoned me.Inside the palace, Jovan stepped out from behind a screen.“Eleanor, are you surprised? I’m the one looking for you.” Jovan grinned.I glanced at him but did not bother to speak.He seemed not to notice my silence and stepped closer. He eagerly presented the imperial seal to me.“Eleanor, I offer the empire as your dowry. Don’t be mad at me, alright?”Jovan looked at me as though he was pouring his heart out. “The robes have already been prepared. Once you nod, I'll immediately make you the Empress.”I took a step back, dodging his greedy hands.The Regent, who had been hiding in the shadows all along, suddenly struck out and slammed Jovan’s hand away.“Who do you intend to make Empress?” His eyes were blazing with anger.Now that the evidence was undeniable, he did not need to wait for Jov
“Eleanor… You still have feelings for me, don’t you?”After the banquet, Jovan seemed to have lost his mind. He climbed over the wall of my house. He sat atop the wall, just like when we were kids.I suddenly felt all my childhood happiness crumble.“Your Majesty, confidence is admirable, but vanity is a disease.” Jovan jumped down and stared at me, lost in a dreamy daze. “Eleanor, didn’t you always say you’d marry me?“Back then, I was wrong. I was misled by slanderous whispers, thinking you had failed me before marriage. And you never told me you were born with a blessed womb. I've realized now that you truly are the best.“If you come back to me, I won't despise the fact that you've been with my uncle. The throne of the Empress could still be yours. With your blessed womb, we could continue the dynasty together.”In the end, it was all about my body?He despised me back then because of it. Now, he loved me because of it. Jovan really was disgusting.“We were once childho
“If I’d known you were this blessed with fertility, you should’ve been the one to marry the Emperor! Then, the next Emperor would've had our blood!”My father stomped his foot in frustration.I heard that Margaret had spent three months painstakingly learning palace etiquette before the palace matrons finally relented.However, in the end, there was no formal enfeoffment ceremony—just a simple sedan chair. And she was not titled as the Empress.She became a laughingstock in the palace. No one dared laugh at the Emperor, of course, so they all laughed at her instead.It was not until I gave birth to the twins that the Emperor suddenly favored her, eventually promoting her to Imperial Noble Consort.“He can’t possibly think she’s blessed too, can he?” I asked my father in surprise.My father let out a sigh and wiped his sweat. “Eleanor, when the Emperor came asking why I hadn’t told him you were blessed, I nearly died of fright. Later, he asked if Margaret was like you. I was afra
Since that day, Margaret had been rigorously trained by the palace matrons. Not a single inch of her was spared, and whatever the higher-ups said was dutifully obeyed. From time to time, they taught her ways to please, and whenever I passed her room, her screams would echo down the hall.I could not help but feel a thrill. I had been eating well and sleeping well. My skin visibly glowed. My figure looked even better than before. My only annoyance was Jovan. He clearly had not given up and sent little gifts to me now and then. I would hand it to my father every time I received something. He placed the imperial gifts on the ancestral altar. I knew Jovan came to visit once. When he saw his gifts sitting there, his expression immediately darkened.The Regent soon gathered everything needed for the wedding, and even the servants worked themselves into exhaustion like overworked donkeys. Everything was impressively magnificent on our wedding day.That night, in the bridal cham
Margaret’s eyes went red in an instant when she heard the Emperor’s voice. She flew forward and clung to his arm. “Jovan, if you hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have survived…”Jovan shot me a glare without a word. His brows knitted together as though he might crush me between them. It seemed like Margaret’s efforts had not been in vain.Everyone stepped forward to pay respects. Jovan and the Regent exchanged formal greetings before he finally spoke.“Uncle, what is it that made you step in?" The Regent answered in a slow, measured tone, “Your wife and her mother embezzled the dowry left by my late mother-in-law.”Embezzling a dowry was a shameful crime even among commoners, let alone royalty.Jovan looked at Margaret in surprise. There was no doubt she had spent countless hours telling him how I was spoiled at home and how she and her mother had suffered. She could lie all she liked, but the items before us told the truth.Those outrageous stories about me being a burden? No one d







