Chapter 7 — At the Royal Banquet, I Apologize to My Husband

18 The Emperor and the Third Prince were both attracted by this scream. I quietly asked the king to calm down, then personally went out to handle the situation. Open the door and step out, downstairs, we see Ta Tu Khanh. Besides him, there are two children and Tran Uyen Quan. Some of them are being stopped by the second lieutenant and not allowed to go upstairs. “What's going on?” I asked. The young man's face was full of awkwardness: "Master, the Grand Master wants to take his family upstairs to look at the lights, but I have already made it clear that you are receiving noble people and it is not convenient. He still insists on meeting you." I looked at Ta Tu Khanh and laughed coldly: "Your Highness is so majestic. My people have already made it clear that they will not receive guests, do you still want to barge in?" When Ta Tu Khanh saw me, he tried to suppress his anger, his face softened a bit: "Giang Minh Suong, I didn't want to bother, it's just... Uyen Quan is pregnant. We want to look at the lights, but there are too many people out there, so we just want to temporarily borrow that room. It's like an old friendship, I hope you'll respect me for once." I rolled my eyes: "What do you mean by that? The fetus in Tran Uyen Quan's belly is my child? Why should I show respect for her?" “You!” Ta Tu Khanh was about to get angry, but because he had something to ask, he had to suppress it. "Even if it's not for me, it's for the two children. After all, you and I were once husband and wife, how could we be so unfaithful?" Hearing him say that, I looked towards the two children standing behind. They seem to be quieter than before, and their whole bodies are noticeably thinner. I don't know if it was an illusion, the eyes looking at me were no longer as hostile as before but carried a bit of caution and resentment. My heart aches a little. But I still turned my head and said coldly: "Looking at the old love between husband and wife, I advise you to leave early. I'm welcoming noble people, I don't have time to deal with you." At this time, Tran Uyen Quan suddenly burst into laughter. She raised her hand to gently caress her already visible belly: "Noble lady? What noble person can a businesswoman like you receive? At most, they are just a bunch of newly rich people." Then he turned to pamper Ta Tu Khanh: "Tu Khanh, just tell Giang Minh Suong to send those guests away and give up the room, right? Those traders, don't you have respect for the Grand Deputy?" Ta Tu Khanh's face was somewhat hesitant. At this moment, the door upstairs suddenly opened. A small wrapped cotton ball stepped down. He rushed to hug me tightly, raised his head and asked: "Mother, father asked why you haven't come back yet? You ate with me..." 19 I quickly hugged the Third Prince, afraid he would fall. He bowed his head and said gently: "Okay, mother will be home soon." I turned around to leave but Ta Tu Khanh held my arm tightly. He stared at me, his eyes shining with anger, gritting his teeth and asking repeatedly: "Who is it? Why do you call her mother? Did you... remarry?" I was stunned and lowered my head to look at the Third Prince. Ta Tu Khanh, as the Grand Deputy, of course knew the Third Prince. It's just that today the Third Prince wore a big hat, covering half of his face, and snuggled into my arms, so he didn't recognize me. But there are so many people, I don't want to explain. I struggled to push his hand away: "You don't need to worry about my business!" Ta Tu Khanh was angry: "Why not? She is the mother of Linh Nhi and Hien Nhi, how can she recognize another person?" The two children almost burst into tears but still bit their lips and endured. Ta Linh couldn't help but rush forward and push the Third Prince: "Who are you? How dare you call her mother? Don't you have a mother?" “That's enough, Ta Linh!” I shouted loudly. Ta Linh felt like she had been hit with a stick, tears rolling down her eyes. Although the third prince was scared, he still clung to me and did not let go. It pursed its lips and said to Ta Linh: "It's obvious that you don't need your mother, so why are you crying now?" Hearing that, Ta Linh burst into tears. Ta Tu Khanh did not have time to comfort his daughter. He's still thinking about something else. “Really… you remarried? That person upstairs... is your husband?" "Are not." I quickly denied it. This matter absolutely cannot be revealed. But Ta Tu Khanh didn't believe it: "Huh! It was useless for her to deceive me. Just now the child called him father!" “Get out of the way! I want to go up and see, who is it that makes you throw away all your dignity and beg for separation? “You can't go up!” I stopped and signaled the junior to stop him. But Ta Tu Khanh seemed crazy and rushed forward despite everything. During the chaos, the door upstairs opened. One person stepped out. When he saw clearly who it was, Ta Tu Khanh immediately stiffened and fell silent. 20 The Emperor does not want this matter to be made a big deal. Just as Ta Tu Khanh was about to kneel down, the dark guard stepped forward to help him up. The Emperor didn't even glance at him and turned around to return to the room. I also hugged the Third Prince along. The Emperor acted as if nothing had ever happened. After eating, he and the Third Prince enjoyed the flower lanterns for a while and then left. Before leaving, the king asked me if I wanted to ask for forgiveness for Ta Tu Khanh. I thought for a moment, then shook my head. Living people must learn to bear their consequences. Success is also possible, failure is also possible. It's all cause and effect. The next day, I heard that Ta Tu Khanh was punished by the emperor at court. He said he was arrogant and arrogant, and dismissed him from the position of Deputy Grand Master. Although he was still left in the Academy to edit history books, his reputation was no longer there. Although the deputy crown prince is only in a nominal position, his position among the hundreds of mandarins is very high. Now that he was relieved of duty and made the emperor unhappy, Ta Tu Khanh's status seemed to plummet. At the same time, I received a holy decree appointing me as Lady Vinh Quoc. Everyone came to congratulate. Ta Tu Khanh also came. It's just that he just stood outside the door for a moment, not daring to enter. Not long after, I heard that he had sold the government. As I expected, he sold both his servants and his house in exchange for a small house in a far away area. The location of the house is very poor, there is no soundproofing, and there are arguments every day. Tran Uyen Quan and Ta Tu Khanh began to hate each other.