Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
That was right.
It didn’t matter even if Sophie had the king backing her. The weight of traditional values would still hang over her. If she dared to be disrespectful, that weight would crush her.
Helen felt a renewed sense of satisfaction.
Eleanor chuckled. “I only fear that may not be the case. Helen, if you’re confident, try asking her for a jar of those Mystic Pearls tomorrow and see if she gives them to you. That will show whether she’s truly respectful.”
Those Mystic Pearls drove Eleanor insane with envy.
Helen, who cared a lot about appearances, immediately responded, “Why wouldn’t she give them to me? They’re just Mystic Pearls, after all. I won’t even need to ask her-I can take them directly.”
Eleanor laughed heartily. “Is that so? Then, go and retrieve a few pearls now and give them to me for safekeeping. If she doesn’t chase after you, I’ll consider myself defeated. I’ll return the pearls and give you an additional three thousand silver coins. But if you lose, the pearls will be mine.”
Standing to the side, Jessica smiled as she said, “Mom, that won’t do. If Sophie questions us later and blames Aunt Helen, wouldn’t it be… Oh, never mind, Aunt Helen wouldn’t dare.” The mother and daughter duo were clearly manipulating Helen, whose “innocence” bordered on frightening, making her particularly susceptible to provocations.
Helen immediately responded, “It’s just a few Mystic Pearls. Do you think she’ll really get angry at me?”
Earlier, she had worried about Sophie’s powerful backing and how she might struggle as a mother-in-law. But now, after a few words, she felt emboldened. Her concern seemed to have evaporated. Helen rose from her seat, chin held high. Gillian accompanied her as she made her way to the side hall.
Outside, the guests were still enjoying the banquet and making toasts. There were only a few guards watching over the wedding gifts. After all, the guests in the residence were of high status, none of whom would dare to commit petty theft.
It was Jacob who had ordered the guards assigned to watch the gifts. When they saw Helen arrive, they had no suspicions. They simply nodded respectfully and allowed her to enter. Helen walked through the room filled with gifts, marveling at the sheer volume. The room was nearly packed, leaving only a narrow passage for people to walk through.
The four jars of Mystic Pearls were on display, each pearl round and gleaming. The unique luster of these special pearls was incomparable to that of ordinary pearls.
“Four jars there must be over two hundred and twenty pounds of Mystic Pearls! Goodness, I’ve never seen so many,” Helen exclaimed, once again stunned.
Sensing Eleanor’s ill intentions, Gillian quietly advised, “My lady, with your status, it’s improper to do such a thing. If you were to take your daughter-in-law’s dowry, it wouldn’t reflect well on you.”
Helen looked at her attendant as if she were foolish. “Of course not. How could I do something like that?”
Gillian sighed in relief, having been worried that Helen might fall for the scheme.
But before she could fully relax, Helen said, “I certainly won’t take any. Otherwise, why would I have brought you? You take them.”
Gillian stared in shock, unable to believe her ears. “What?”
“What are you afraid of? Do you think I can’t protect you if something goes wrong?” Helen glanced outside and whispered, “Hurry, just take three pearls. No one will notice. There are so many of them. Even if ten or so are missing, no one will notice.”
Gillian could hardly believe her ears. Was this really the woman she had raised? To think she would ask Gillian to commit such a theft.
Ancient wisdom proved true-living too long of a life could be problematic!
But what could Gillian do? This was the young lady she had raised with so much care-this was karma indeed.
Gillian was extremely nervous as she was stealing something for the first time. Although Helen was blocking the view of the people outside, the older woman’s hand still trembled slightly as she reached out. Her heart pounded in her chest.
She grabbed a handful of pearls, not knowing how many she had taken, quickly stuffed them into her pocket, and turned around as if nothing had happened. Fortunately, the people outside didn’t look in, given that it was Helen who had entered-who would ever suspect her of theft?
With Gillian nervously in tow, Helen made a show of inspecting the room and said, “Well, these dowry items are indeed impressive. There are many rare treasures.”
Gillian wiped the sweat from her forehead. Despite the chilly weather, she was drenched in cold sweat.
“Alright, let’s go. We need to attend to the guests,” Helen said as she headed out the door.
Gillian quickly followed, the guilt of thievery tormenting her. She prayed for forgiveness from the heavens. She had no choice but to do as her mistress commanded.
As Helen and Gillian left, the guards at the door exchanged glances. One of them nodded and hurried off to find Jacob.
“Seriously?” Jacob asked, frowning.
“I wouldn’t dare accuse Lady Helen falsely, nor would I obstruct her. I feared causing her disgrace,” the guard replied.
“Very well. Return and keep watch. No one is to speak of this,” Jacob instructed.
After the guard left, Jacob poured himself a drink and strolled around the banquet, casually observing from behind a partition screen. From his vantage point, he could clearly see the area where the women were gathered. Helen was speaking with Eleanor, then handed something over to her.
Jacob had a clear view of what was exchanged-Mystic Pearls, at least five or six of them.
Jacob didn’t make a fuss. It was Rafael’s wedding day, so everything else had to take a backseat.
What was Helen thinking? How could she take items from her daughter-in-law’s dowry and give them to someone else? Was such behavior even possible for a rational person? Jacob sighed. He couldn’t understand how an honored concubine like Helen, who seemed so “innocent,” could have given birth to such a wise and perceptive son like Rafael.
Sophie had only gone through one round of toasts when Rafael took her to their new suite. As the groom, Rafael couldn’t leave the banquet so quickly and would have to return soon. Even now, as Sophie watched him leave after he escorted her back to the suite, her hand still seemed to hold the warmth of his touch.
The room was warmed by a brazier, providing a cozy comfort that seeped into her very heart.
It turned out that matters of the heart couldn’t be controlled. Sophie tried to restrain her emotions, but was helpless to stop them from sinking deeper into Rafael’s gentle gaze.
Lily entered, calling for Lulu and the others to go downstairs for the wedding banquet. The servants deserved a meal too. The dishes served for them were quite lavish, though they were served in the lower courtyard, not the main hall.
Lulu and the others had been serving the guests all this time and had not eaten yet, so they were quite hungry.
However, Lulu was also concerned about Sophie and asked, “Lily, is there a table of food here for Lady Sophie?”
“We’ve had some chicken noodle soup prepared for Lady Sophie to have a light meal first. After the prince has entertained the guests, she can join him for dinner. His Highness has only had wine and hasn’t eaten any food,” Lily replied.
Sophie looked up. “Is it alright to just drink wine without eating? Can’t someone stop him for a while and make him eat something?”
Lily smiled. “Oh, are you already showing concern for your husband, my lady?”
Sophie’s face turned a deep red. “Lily, don’t tease me. Drinking on an empty stomach is really not good.”
Lily sent the others out and closed the door of the newlywed suite. There was something the young lady needed to know.
Now that Sophie was officially married, there was no turning back.
Initially, Lily had planned to wait until after the wedding night to discuss this, but having observed Sophie over the past few days, she could see that her mistress had truly developed feelings for Rafael. If she didn’t tell her soon, Sophie would be tormented.
Lily moved a chair and sat down in front of her mistress, gazing at her with relief.
Today, Sophie looked truly radiant, far more so than she had when marrying Blake. It wasn’t just about the makeup-it was that her heart truly belonged to Rafael. When a person was in love, their entire being glowed, and the sweetness of that feeling was evident in every corner of their expression.