The Substitute Bride and the Cripple - Chapter 50 - Baited with a Smile

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

Lucille is re-employed in the house of an overly cool, good-looking magician!

After being unceremoniously kicked out of the mansion where she worked for three years, Lucille comes to the countryside in search of safety and a peaceful life. She is introduced to a new job as a housekeeper, but it turns out to be in the home of a quiet, eccentric, white-haired magician called “Sensei”.

Sensei, who hates “unnecessary things,” is very strict in his treatment of her. Lucille, who wants to protect her good job at all costs, begins to observe sensei from the shadows…

“C-cute!”

Lucille gradually discovers the cuteness of the difficult sensei’s unexpected appearance and finds herself becoming more and more attracted to him…

The owner of the mansion that drove Lucille out has a strange obsession with her and plans to bring her back.

A magician who has utmost respect for sensei attacks.

Please, let me live in peace! Sensei won’t like it!

This is a romantic fantasy about an old wizard and a carefree, easy-going housekeeper who overcome various problems in their lives by using or not using magic, while nurturing their feelings for each other.

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Once she transmigrated over, Li Haitang, an elite female doctor from the big city, is demoted to a pitiful little cabbage whose parents have both died. She is surrounded by extreme jackals, wolves, tigers and panthers family and relatives. What? She is sold to a half-dead body that is going to be buried in the ground. Has she been sold to an old man with a heavy taste? The only way to escape from the arranged marriage is to pack a bundle wrapped in a cloth! Who would have thought that on the way to the wedding, she meets a wild man who is feared by everyone in the village? The wild man has three treasures, he is hardworking, spoils his wife and has good stamina! His pectoral muscles, abs and mermaid’s line are all there.

As part of the imperial family, every move by Chu Yuan in this game of chess is made with apprehension, fearing that with a moment of inattentiveness, the whole match will be lost in a single move.

Ascending to the throne at eighteen, not half a year passes before civil strife erupts in Yun Nan. Though the thoughts of the old guard at the imperial court are not exactly identical, they are all waiting to see how the new emperor will put an end to this.

Unexpectedly, before this side could make a move, a few thousand miles away, the King of Xi Nan, Duan Bai Yue, had already personally commanded troops to attack in all directions; not half a year had passed when peace was restored.

Sparse moonlight shines into the palace; Chu Yuan stamped the wax seal himself, and had a secret letter sent urgently to Yun Nan 800 miles away — this time, what must we(1) give in exchange?

Brush marks passed through the back of the paper; it almost can be seen, when writing this line, how angry the young emperor was.

Duan Bai Yue spread out a piece of paper unhurriedly, replying with only one word.

You.

Notes:
(1): Chu Yuan is using the royal ‘we’ here.

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