Chapter 14 — Bamboo Burning Brooch

Thanks to my secret information, Princess Vinh An annulled her marriage to Tong Lich Thanh before Thuong Thuong lost power, so he was not caught up in the competition for the throne between Ninh Vuong. Perhaps because of my gratitude for that matter, the Princess Truong treated me very gently. "Last time you asked this palace to testify, this palace helped you once. This time, what is it for?" I bowed my head to bow. "It's for your Highness." "For this palace?" The eldest princess smiled faintly. "Ninh Vuong is dead, Vinh An has also found another husband. What else can you do to help this palace?" I pursed my lips slightly. Seeing that all the attendants around him were standing quite far away, he boldly said: "The Queen Mother is now over seventy. Her Majesty is also close to the age of destiny, sooner or later the Crown Prince will ascend the throne." "Currently, His Highness relies on his brotherly relationship with His Majesty, so he has a solid position in the court. But after the Crown Prince ascends the throne... Can His Highness still be like that?" "Why not?" The eldest princess laughed. "This palace is my biological aunt. of the Crown Prince." "But the Queen... is the Crown Prince's biological mother." "What... do you mean?" The eldest princess raised her eyebrows at me. I bowed my head slightly. "In order to preserve the brotherly relationship with Your Majesty, over the years, Your Highness has always looked for beauties to bring into the palace to please the King. But Your Highness has forgotten... the harem is the Queen's world." "Your Highness's actions have long violated the Queen's taboo." "It is true that when Your Majesty was still in office, you still loved and protected Your Highness. But on the day Your Majesty died... Your Majesty remembered the past, could it be that "At that time, Your Highness's entire palace will be in the thoughts of the Queen and the Crown Prince... aren't you really afraid?" The princess's long fingertips gently tapped the wooden handrail twice. Not knowing what she was thinking, she suddenly burst out laughing. Even the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes softened. "This girl is really brave. In the matter between this palace and the Queen, is it the turn of a young lady like you who has not yet been married?" I still did not raise my head, just bowed lower. "Your Highness, please let me finish. Although I am still young, I have witnessed a few things, knowing how long the resentment of women in the harem can last. The Queen is only forty-two years old this year, and is being taken care of. very good." "Living for another twenty or thirty years will not be a problem." "If Your Majesty continues to reign for another ten years, Your Highness will still have peace for another ten years. But if tomorrow the Crown Prince ascends the throne... then tomorrow the Queen will become the Queen Mother." "Your Highness, think about it... does she still remember how those beauties who were brought into the palace in the past divided their sacred favors?" The smile on Princess Truong's lips gradually disappeared. The water clock in the corner of the room dripped little by little, making the silent atmosphere last longer. "Are you trying to divide the relationship between this palace and the Crown Prince and his children?" "I don't dare. I just want to help Your Highness leave a way out. The civil servants and military generals that Your Highness has made friends with in the court, most of them respect Your Majesty." "Waiting for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, how many of them will still retain their loyalty? If Your Highness doesn't think about it soon, it will be time." So, the Queen only needs one will to uproot all of Your Highness's years of dedication." Princess Truong's tapping finger suddenly stopped. After a long time, she slowly spoke up: "So tell me, what should this palace plan?" I took a deep breath and said the words I had prepared in advance. "Let's get married." "After the Crown Prince was stabbed on Dong Son, his body was no longer the same. Instead of waiting for him to ascend the throne before thinking about it, why not?

by preparing a retreat right now.”“Ninh Vuong is dead. Vinh Vuong and Binh Vuong are still young." "Only An Vuong is approximately the same age as the Crown Prince, but his maternal family has no influence. His Highness is not afraid to join forces with An Vuong and overthrow the Crown Prince. At that time, Princess An is a person of Your Highness, of course she will treat Your Highness a little better." "But this palace only has Vinh An as a daughter, and she is already married, how can it be..." The eldest princess said this, suddenly burst into laughter. This time, the laughter carried a bit of real interest. She stood up, the hem of her skirt trailing on the yellow tile floor, walked in front of me, lifted my chin, looked straight into my eyes. "You want to marry me. An Vuong? This girl is so young, I really didn't expect you to be so calculating." I looked straight into her eyes, not avoiding her at all. "This goddess is just at the end of her road, so she came to ask His Highness for a way to live. If Your Highness doesn't help me, at most I will only marry a cold scholar, or rely on the Buddha's teachings, to live out the rest of my life." "But if Your Highness doesn't calculate soon...What will happen in the future, Your Highness will know better than me." The eldest princess let go, took a half step back, and slowly walked around me. "My appearance is good, my body is not bad, and my mind is quite smart. Only the family background... is really a bit poor." "But if this palace accepts you as a daughter-in-law, then being a Prince Concubine is also considered reasonable." After receiving the status of Princess Truong's daughter-in-law, Her Majesty was indeed very happy to announce the marriage between me and An Vuong. Just because the Crown Prince was not yet married, Princess Truong was determined not to announce it to the public for the time being. So this marriage became a secret. Besides Her Majesty, only the Princess Truong Palace and An Vuong Palace knew. At that time, the Princess Truong Palace and An Vuong Palace knew. At first, when Ly Tuyen had just been injured and had not yet recovered, because of the incident of the bamboo brooch, he tried to fight his illness and went to the Lam family to exonerate the elder sister. Unexpectedly, the elder sister's reputation could not be saved, on the contrary, his own body was even more damaged.