Chapter 2 — After He Let Go Of My Hand Again, He Regrets It

"Your Highness, a little silver reward is enough. These jewels and jewels were given to me by the Emperor. In the past, people valued them so much. Do you really have the heart?"

I took a sip of tea, my voice calm.

"They are all things outside the body, there's nothing you can't bear."

When you no longer pay attention, those things also lose the meaning of their existence. They took out a stack of paintings from the chest. Bui Ngoc is inherently proficient in Dan Qing. Those are all paintings he drew of me at different times. In the earliest painting, the paper has turned yellow, the edges of the painting have rotted over the years. In the painting, I wear a blue cloth shirt, standing under a peach tree where the petals are scattered. No makeup, young face, eyes still filled with innocence. That's me five years ago. That was also the year I met Bui Ngoc. That year, in order to avoid fighting in the palace, he fell off a cliff. It was I who saved him. Bui Ngoc's injury at that time was very serious, I spent all the money I brought to be able to cure him. On weekdays, I go to the mountains to pick medicine and sell it for money. After he gradually recovered, he tried his best to help me shoulder some of the burden. Bui Ngoc is very good at drawing paintings, bringing them to the market to sell, and can even be exchanged for several times the amount of money. There were even people who were willing to pay a high price and invited him to come to their house to paint. But he refused. He only drew mountains and water, birds and animals, but never drew people. One time I was curious and asked him why. Bui Ngoc smiled with a deep meaning and spoke slowly.

“I only draw for the people I love.”

Not long after his injury healed, he immediately offered to leave. Three months of morning and night, I soon developed feelings for him. On the day we broke up, he gave me a painting, the person in the painting was me. We confess our hearts to each other. That same day, he told me his identity.

"Thin Tuyet, in my opinion, the future of living is unpredictable, are you willing or not?"

I clasped the painting in my hand, and without hesitation, followed him and left. Those paintings have always been treasured by us as treasures. It's just that later, the person he loved changed to Lam Dung Dung. On her birthday, Bui Ngoc specially drew her a picture. Lam Dung Dung brought that painting in front of me to show off.

"Look at how vivid the drawing is. They all say that only people with love can draw with such an expression."

"You are just a girl from the countryside, how can you compare to the relationship between me and the emperor for more than ten years?"

That year, when Bui Ngoc wanted to accept Lam Dung Dung as his concubine, he asked me what I wanted. The officials continuously offered complaints, saying that the harem was empty and was detrimental to the country. He is the emperor, the harem cannot be just me. But he promised me, in his heart, there is only one person. I was naive enough to believe it was true. Until Lam Dung Dung told me that she and Bui Ngoc had known each other since childhood, more than ten years of childhood. She is the white moon light in his heart. The two had long discussed marriage and had expressed their feelings to each other. When I questioned Bui Ngoc about this, he did not deny it. Just showed impatience and said coldly.

“Don't think too much, I just see her as a younger sister.”

But after that, the younger sister he called was summoned to serve him every night.

“My lady, the old wooden chest is damp, I'm afraid these paintings are must move to another storage location.”

Lien Huong's words pulled my mind back to reality. I didn't think anything and spoke calmly.

“Then burn it all.”

When the paintings were about to burn into ashes, Bui Ngoc appeared again. His eyes were sharp, glancing at the half-burnt painting, with my appearance still vaguely visible on it. He even forgot his identity and rushed forward in panic, frantically trying to get the painting back.

“Tham Thinh Tuyet, what are you doing? Dare to burn the painting I gave you?

He was visibly angry, his hands hurriedly brushing away the layer of ash on the painting. I suddenly felt funny. Even a living person like me doesn't even care, so why would he care about an inanimate object?

"The Emperor has given it to me, so naturally I have full authority to handle it."

“It's just an item, there's no need for your Majesty to care so much.”

In the past, Lam Dung Dung used to keep an eye on my snow flower jade brooch. I refuse to give it.