I’ll Be the Male Leads Sister-in-Law

Chapter 543

The inability to exert force to support herself was the most torturous of all. Mu Mingtang wanted to push Xie Xuanchen away, but he merely reminded her deliberately and harshly, “My Empress, next to you is the dress that you are going to wear tomorrow. If you struggle around and stain the dress, I can’t help you for what comes tomorrow.”

…This dude was simply worse than an animal.

On the next day, there were solemn rituals and music. Mu Mingtang wore the set of heavy ceremonial robes and tried her best to stand firm. Since she got up from bed in the morning, her legs have consistently been wobbling.

The ceremony gradually came to an end as Mu Mingtang dragged her long robes and stood next to Xie Xuanchen, accepting the kneeled respects of the officials and ministers.

Mu Mingtang and Xie Xuanchen stood side by side. Xie Xuanchen could see her robes as long as he lowered his head. The moment he did, he would let out the slightest smile and continue to sneak glances at her.

Although Mu Mingtang didn’t return his stares, she knew that he must be laughing.

Mu Mingtang secretly resented his joy. Just then, she felt her wide sleeves move before her hand was wrapped by a slender and powerful palm, clasping her fingers tightly.

It was their greatest wish to match each other’s virtues and overcome hurdles, hand in hand; if one of them was no longer able to soar, then the other would merely perish.

——”History of Ye: The Chronicles of Emperor Gaozu”

(T/N: The remaining extras feature Mu Mingtang in her past life, so do not get it confused with the official story’s ending. The epilogue technically ended in the last chapter)

The skies of Lin An were always grey and today was no different as rain poured from the heavens.

Mu Mingtang sat by the window as she read a book. The palace servant lowered the bamboo curtain over the window and whispered, “Your Royal Highness, the humidity is higher by the windows, please go inside and rest for a while.”

Mu Mingtang shook her head, “There’s no need. Open the window, for there are no colours in this Funing Palace. All there is is only the pond of withered lotus outside.”

The palace servant sighed as she finally lifted the bamboo curtain and brought a cloak to Mu Mingtang.

The Empress stared at the withered stems swaying in the rain and gradually became fascinated.

Actually, Mu Mingtang did not like rainy days nor did she like lotus flowers. But Jiang Mingwei liked them, so Mu Mingtang had to like them too.

Everyone in the palace knew that although Mu Mingtang was the Empress, she was actually just a substitute for a dead person.

Said person was Xie Xuanji’s childhood sweetheart, the moonlight in his heart— the eldest daughter of the Jiang family who died early.

Because of this not-so-secret secret, all the women in the inner palace always looked at Mu Mingtang with pity…and contempt. Mu Mingtang knew that a lot of them were pitying her constantly.

It didn’t matter if she was the legal wife or the Empress, she was still the shadow of another person.

Mu Mingtang thought these women were ridiculous. Though they pitied her, they didn’t know that the reverse applied as well. So what if she was a substitute? She didn’t care about Xie Xuanji. If she only needed to perform a few plays on specific occasions and recite poems while enjoying the moonlight, she could maintain her living standards as the Empress. In what sense was this a pitiful living situation?

On the contrary, they were jealous and worried about a couple that had basically nothing to do with their own lives, which was in turn, what made Mu Mingtang feel pity for them.