Chapter 12 — Arrested on the night of the big wedding, I was reborn and killed him like crazy

Luc Chieu's carriage took me directly to the eastern outskirts of the capital, a quiet palace but still exuding a solemn aura. That is the ancestral house of Dinh Quoc Cong palace. After his maternal grandfather died in battle and his uncle was seriously injured, his maternal grandmother immediately moved the entire palace to the inner city, and since then this place has been vacant. But the palace is still neatly cleaned, without a speck of dust. My maternal grandmother has actually returned and has been waiting for me since early. When she saw me safely getting out of the car, her old eyes finally sparkled with tears. She grabbed my hand, didn't say anything, just patted it hard. I know, from today onwards, this place is my home. It's my real home. The news that I left the Tham family was like growing wings and flying across the capital overnight. Some people say that the eldest daughter of the Royal Palace was disrespectful and filial, and dared to break up with her mother's family right before the big wedding. There are also people who say that I climbed to a high branch and made friends with the forbidden army, so I no longer considered the Thai Viceroy anything. Words came and went, all kinds of speculation. I don't care. What we need is this disturbed water surface. The turbid the water, the easier it is to catch new fish. Two days later, I closed the door and didn't go out. On the one hand, getting acquainted with the palace, on the other hand, inventorying the entire dowry left by his mother. Those shops, estates, and money are like elite troops, quietly waiting for us to take control. That is the capital for us to take revenge. It is also a support for us to rest in peace and establish our destiny. On the third day, the news arrived. His father's case, as Tieu Giac said, has "fallen out of water" (The truth will eventually be revealed). All charges were transferred to another Ho Ho minister. The other person could not bear the humiliation and in prison "committed suicide out of fear of his crime", leaving behind a "repentance letter". Tham Chi Vien's father, because of "not strict supervision and irresponsibility", was fined three years and closed for a month. A great disaster was enough to destroy the clan, but it was lifted up very high and then gently put down. Anyone with eyes can understand that this is Thuy Vuong's trick. He used thunderous tricks to depose a servant of the Household Ministry, conveniently placing his own men in that position. At the same time, I sold the Grand Deputy a favor, making my foolish father even more tied to his boat. Hit two birds with one stone. The day my father restored his position, he sent someone to give me an envelope. In the letter, there is not even a single sentence blaming me for leaving the Tham family. On the contrary, there were no words to comfort and ask questions. Between each line, we are alluding to me, don't forget the "promise" to Thuy Vuong. Don't forget to continue for your sake, for the Tham family, to utilize the last bit of my value. I looked at that envelope and laughed. Then, throw it straight into the charcoal pot. Father, I will temporarily keep this life of yours for you. But when it comes back, it's up to us to decide. What we're really waiting for is Tieu Giac's next step. I took the initiative to leave the Tham family, then took advantage of Luc Chieu's influence and moved into Dinh Quoc Cong's palace. This series of actions has long gone beyond his control. He absolutely will not stop. That black chrysanthemum petal, that sentence "wait for me", is the war letter he sent to me. What does he want to do? I sat in front of the window, looking at the old leafless tree in the yard, falling into contemplation. In my previous life, he took advantage of me, that's why Dealing with the Viceroy's Palace and eliminating strangeness in the court. In this life, the Grand Deputy Palace was already in the palm of his hand. What will his goal be? He is so attached to me, is it just because I am an easy-to-use chess piece? No, that's not right. I remember the way he looked at me. In it, besides calculation and control, there is something deeper. A kind of stubbornness that borders on madness, as if it had to be had. That feeling is not like looking at a woman. It's like looking at an item that belongs to you, having lost it and then finding it again, absolutely not allowing it to be lost again. Between us and him, what problems are there that we don't know? I sent the butler Tan of Dinh Quoc Cong's palace - the person personally entrusted by my maternal grandmother, who is also my most trusted confidant - to look up a buried story. A story related to my mother, the Royal Palace, and the first queen's taboo night ten years ago. That night, a strange fire suddenly broke out in the palace. The fire burned several eunuchs to death, and also took the life of Lady Le Tan - the emperor's three-month pregnant favorite concubine. After that, the case was suppressed, without investigation, without prosecution, as if it had never existed. I only vaguely remember this story. When I was young, my mother accidentally mentioned it. She said, behind that fire were terrifying secrets that could never be exposed in the light. And Lady Le... is her closest concubine. Not only that, Le Tan's family was also Tieu Giac's biggest enemy in the court at that time.