Chapter 10 — A Woman Who Can't Change

I heard it and my whole body felt cold. It turns out they didn't just want to swap me. Even though I have returned to A's heart, they still want me dead. Tham Nghien Chu grabbed his collar.

“Who wrote the fake notes?”

The other person's throat moved slightly. Manh Thuy Quan immediately shouted:

“Pry his mouth open!”

But still one step slow. Black blood flowed from the corner of his lips. He swallowed poison. Before he stopped breathing, he stared at me.

“Don't think that avoiding a knife will mean you can live.”

“The person who truly wants your life is waiting in the palace.”

After speaking, his neck turned to one side. Outside the delivery room, the sky is about to dawn. When the first cold ray of light shined in, I heard Ms. A coughing softly on the bed. She was awake. But at the same time, outside the courtyard door, the sound of neat horse hooves was heard. This time, the person who came was the true ruler of the palace.

14

When the royal staff stopped in front of the Marquis Palace's door, the horizon was just shining silver gray. This time it wasn't just one person giving the instructions alone. Ahead there are Vu Lam guards opening the way. Behind there are two female officials, four royal physicians and a green-curtained palanquin. As soon as the leading female official entered the door, she took out the order to engrave the phoenix.

“There is the Queen Mother's will.”

“The Marquis has just given birth, there is no need to enter the palace.”

“The royal physician went to the palace for treatment.”

“The matter of Ninh Thi's bloodline will be proven right at the Marquis Palace.”

Lady Ninh's tense shoulders only relaxed a bit. She looked at the phoenix order and said in a low voice:

“The Queen Mother still remembers.”

The female mandarin respectfully bowed.

“The Queen Mother said that the Ninh family had been looking for their daughter for twenty-one years, and could not let her flesh and blood suffer any more injustice.”

A lady lies on the bed, her face almost transparent. Hearing that sentence, her eyelashes moved slightly. I was temporarily carried by my nanny. But he still kept struggling towards Mrs. A. I'm afraid you'll close your eyes again. I'm afraid all of this is just a dream before it's reflected back. The doctor stepped up to check his pulse, his face quickly darkened.

“The lady lost too much blood and was hit with an anesthetic, causing her vital energy to be damaged.”

“If you slow down the bleeding for another half an hour, I'm afraid it will heal less and cause more harm.”

Tham Nghien Chu's fingers tightened until they turned white.

“Save her.”

The physician knelt down.

“We will definitely do our best.”

The female official ordered someone to seal all the evidence in the room. Small coffins, longevity locks, blood towels, medicine bowls, fake threads, black wooden cards, each item is displayed on the table. Old Mrs. Bui looked at these things, her eyes no longer had the original stubbornness. She sat on the ground, as if she had aged ten years in just a moment. Lieu Thua An was kept in the corner of the room. His knee was seriously injured, but he still stared at Lieu Nhuoc Vi. Lieu Nhuoc Vi was held next to her nanny. She was so hungry that she cried loudly. The cry is deafening and makes people angry. After waking up, the first question A Nuong asked was about me.

“Where is Minh Duong?”

The nanny immediately carried me over. As soon as I touched A's hand, I immediately became quiet. She no longer had the strength to hug me, so she could only gently touch my face with her fingertips.

“My lady is here.”

“Don't be afraid.”

The bridge of my nose is stinging. If I wasn't a newborn, I would definitely tell her. I'm not afraid of knives. Not afraid of coffins. Not afraid of the Liu family's cannibal eyes. I'm just afraid that from now on no one will call me Minh Duong. The female official looked at that scene, her eye sockets were also red go up. She quickly regained her emotions and invited Mrs. Ninh to take out half of the jade button. When two pieces of jade button are put together, the complete full moon pattern appears. The corner of an old diaper matches the pattern on the jade button. Mrs. Liu confirmed the child purchase contract. The old mother of the Ninh family clearly stated the location and shape of the birthmark on A Nuong's left shoulder. A Nuong does not take off her shirt in front of everyone. The female official invited two maids inside to check. A moment later, the two ghosts came out, their voices trembling.

“Your Majesty.”

“On Lady Hou's left shoulder there is indeed a birthmark shaped like a crescent moon.”

“The size and location are exactly the same as Ninh family's old records.”

Old lady Ninh closed her eyes, tears rolling down.

“Xu Nhi.”

The lady looked at her, her lips moving slightly. But that word "grandmother" could not be uttered immediately. Twenty-one years cannot be compensated by just relying on a jade button. Mrs. Ninh understands. She just bowed and said solemnly in front of the bed:

“Child, the Ninh family is sorry for you.”

A Nuong's eye sockets are slightly red.

“The person who owes me is not the Ninh family.”

She looked at old lady Bui.

“It's them.”

The female official turned to Mrs. Bui.

“Ta Thi bought children, hid the Ninh family's relics, pretended to be her biological daughter, married her off, appropriated the dowry, and plotted to harm other people's daughters.”

“Do you accept these statements or not?”

Old lady Bui gritted her teeth.

"I don't accept it."

“The matter of buying children is just Mrs. Liu's one-sided statement.”

“Relics can also be faked.”

"Now that he can cling to Tran Quoc Cong Palace, of course everyone will help him talk."

The female official was not angry. She ordered someone to present a wooden box sealed with wax.

"Many years ago, the Queen Mother used to keep records of the Ninh family's loss of a daughter."

“Next to the nanny's body that year, people found a broken piece of vehicle license plate.”

"The word Ta is engraved on the vehicle's license plate."

Old lady Bui raised her head.

“No way.”

The female official said coldly:

"Twenty-one years ago, the Ta family once had a carriage that overturned outside the city."

“She told the outside that the goods truck was robbed.”

“But where did the driver of that carriage go after that?”

Old Mrs. Bui's lips trembled, unable to speak. Mrs. Liu suddenly cried and said:

“The driver is not dead.”

“He was hidden by the old lady in Tay Son Trang Tu.”

“But then I lost one eye and never left Trang Tu again.”

Mandarin immediately stood up.

“The lower officials immediately sent people to Tay Son.”

Lieu Thua An's face also changed. Obviously, even he didn't know that people were still alive. Old lady Bui suddenly rushed towards Mrs. Luu.

“This old woman hurt me!”

The guard held her tightly. But she screamed like crazy.

“Don't all expect to live!”

“If the people in Tay Son open their mouths, everyone will not expect to live!”

As soon as the words ended, a guard outside rushed to report.

“Master.”

“Xishan Zhuangzi has burned.”

“The fire was sky high, it seemed like someone was one step ahead to destroy the fire.”

15

The news of Tay Son's fire spread, everyone in the room's faces changed. Manh Tui Manh immediately sent the Kinh Trieu palace out of the city. Tham Nghien Chu also sent the guards of the Marquis Palace to go with him. Mrs. Ninh was even more decisive, taking down the command charm from her waist.

"People from the Tran Quoc duchy also went."

“In life you must see people, in death you must see bones.”

Old lady Bui was pressed on the ground and suddenly became low laughter. The laughter was hoarse, like torn fabric.

“It's late.”

“It's too late.”

“What can a blind driver remember?”

“Burned to ashes, who will recognize them?”

A lady lay on the bed and looked at her.

"You're scared."

Old Lady Bui's laughter immediately stopped. A Nuong's voice was weak but extremely clear.

“People are afraid that the driver will say that in the past, it was not necessary to buy children.”

"It's the person who targeted the Ninh family's daughter before."

Old lady Ninh raised her head. Old Lady Bui's face twitched.

“Nonsense.”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

“If you only buy a child temporarily, you won't know the value of my relics.”

“Nor did I hide from my husband for twenty-one years.”

"It's even more impossible that as soon as I received the Ninh family back, I immediately sent someone to burn the manor."

“You always know who I am.”

Every sentence is very light. But it was like a blade scraping across Old Lady Bui's face. Old Lady Ninh's hands trembled.

“Why did you do that?”

Old lady Bui gritted her teeth.

“I said, I bought it.”

A looked at her.

“Because that year the Ninh family offered a big reward to find a daughter.”

“People want to wait for higher prices.”

“But then I gradually grew up, becoming more and more like a Ninh family member.”

“You're afraid I'll be recognized, but you can't bear to give up the marriage I can exchange for.”

“So you covered my birthmark, hid the jade button, and took the identity of Miss Ta family to marry me into the Marquis Palace.”

The old lady finally stopped laughing. She looked at A Nuong, her eyes seemed poisoned.

“You are really smart.”

“But what good is being smart?”

“Now I can't even get out of bed.”

“Your daughter is just a soft lump of flesh.”

“If you and your mother want to open my book, you must first survive tonight.”

Tham Nghien Chu's eyes were cold.

“Slap your mouth.”

The guard raised his hand and struck down. Mrs. Bui's face quickly swelled. She spat out a mouthful of blood, but still stared at me. That look made everyone stiffen. In her previous life, when she stood in front of the firewood room door, she looked at me the same way. She said that wild animals are unlucky, let them stand in the cold for one night and they will become obedient. After that night, my fingers could never straighten again. Instinctively, I snuggled into A Nuong's palm. Mrs. A no longer had the strength to hug me, but she still used her hand to cover the diaper.

“She can't scare you.”

I looked at her pale face, suddenly quiet. As long as Mrs. A is still here, I'm not afraid. At sunset, Tay Son finally transmitted news. Trang Tu was half burned down. Three people died. But the blind driver is not dead yet. People from Tran Quoc Cong Palace found him in the underground tunnel. He was so overcome by smoke that he could not speak, but still hugged an iron box tightly. When the box was brought back to the Marquis Palace, it was already dark. There are black burn marks on the box. But the lock is still intact. The driver was also carried back. His face was full of wrinkles, one eye was deeply sunken and empty, the other eye was also cloudy. As soon as he saw Mrs. Bui, his whole body trembled. Mrs. Bui shouted loudly.

“Pull him out!”

“He's crazy.”

The driver struggled again and raised his hand, pointing at her. His throat was burned by smoke, and he could only make a hoarse voice.

“It's her.”

“It was she who sent someone to rob Miss Ninh family.”

“The nanny was not killed by bandits.”

"But the driver of the Ta family strangled him to death."

Ninh The old lady staggered, almost unable to stand. The female official quickly helped her. Manh Thuy immediately asked:

“What's in the iron box?”

The wife coughed up blood foam.

“Books.”

“Check.”

“There's also the letter she wrote to the trafficker.”

The iron box was pried open. Inside were several yellowed letters. Same old check stub. The content of the letter is extremely clear. Every third day of every month, the Ninh family's nanny will go to the pagoda outside the city to complete her vows.