Chapter 5 — Changing the Bride and Marrying the Palace

Even though it was just an unintentional sentence, Tieu Man remembered it. The child is not happy. On the carriage back home, Tieu Man asked me: "Does mother also think I'm not human?" Noticing her loss, I guessed that she had heard the words of outsiders. I patted her head and comforted her: "How could it not be the same?" "Our Tieu Man's eyes are so beautiful, clearly made from the same mold as her mother." "Really?" Tieu Man visibly cheered up. "Really." I nodded affirmatively. But I cannot deceive myself. Tieu Man is not like me, nor is he like Manh Han. She must look like her biological mother, a woman Manh Han has never mentioned. 16 That night, after Tieu Man fell asleep, I asked Manh Han: "Tieu Man is gradually growing up, there are things that cannot be kept hidden from her." "I have never heard you mention Tieu Man's mother. What kind of woman is she... in the end?" For some reason, when I said those words, a bit of inexplicable bitterness appeared in my heart. Manh Han looked at me. "Tieu Man is not my biological daughter." Having finished speaking, he turned his head and lowered his eyes, hiding the sadness under his eyes. "She is the daughter of a close friend of mine. My friend's wife had a difficult time giving birth to her. After that, my friend and I went shopping when we met mountain bandits and unfortunately died." "I couldn't bear to leave Tieu Man alone so I adopted her, treating her like my own daughter. "Tieu Man was still young, I never allowed others to tell the truth." "Sorry, I didn't mean to mention it..." Realizing that I said the wrong thing, I quickly apologized. "It's okay." "Anyway, I never told you about this." Manh Han pursed his lips and smiled, but instead comforted me. Let me tell you what happened at the grocery store today. After listening, Manh Han breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you paid attention to my business." At first I didn't understand, then I realized what he meant. "How is that possible?" "You said we were only in a contractual relationship." "Moreover, I myself..." "You're very good." Without waiting for me to finish speaking, Manh Han interrupted. He looked straight into my eyes. "Nhuoc Ngu, from the beginning I knew you were a very good person." His ears gradually turned red. The next words fell very clearly into my ears: "I mean to marry you." "Nhuoc Ngu, I want to become your true husband." 17 The sounds in memory and reality overlapped, but the steadfast eyes of the person in front of me never changed. "My real name is Ta Han. When I was young, the entire Ta family was destroyed." "The Heavenly Father took pity on me so he raised me by his side." "When I was a teenager, I went to the frontier. Then When the war ended, I resigned myself and left the prosperity of the capital." "Over the years, on the outside, I was a businessman, but in fact I was still collecting information for the prince." "This time I returned to the capital because of this." "But my feelings for you are true. The reason I didn't reveal my identity is because every time I mentioned the capital, your face was not good. I was afraid that after knowing what happened, you would leave..." It turned out to be so. No wonder Manh Han knows Tieu Doanh, no wonder Tieu Doanh always advises Manh Han. "Nhuoc Ngu, I don't care about the past." "But if you can't accept my identity and want to separate, I won't stop you." "But not now. Your situation in the capital is not safe." Manh Han said one sentence after another, not giving me a chance to intervene at all. "I need time to think clearly." I withdrew my hand. Manh Han's eyes immediately appeared a little more disappointed. "Okay." He nodded. "But Khuong residence is not safe. I will take you and Tieu Man back to live." Manh Han has a building in

citadel. That very day, he brought me and Tieu Man to stay. Just like when he was in the Northwest, he still reserved the best hospital for me and Tieu Man. 18 The next day, Manh Han left a message, saying that he had to go to the palace to face the saint. When Tieu Man first came to the capital, he kept making noises to get out. I took her to the sweet shop I used to go to often and ordered her a sweet tea ball. Tieu Man liked it very much, after eating a bowl he still wanted more. I'm afraid she'll eat too much so I'm planning on taking her away. When I took out the money, someone suddenly sat down in front of me. More than half of the sunlight was obscured by him. Along with the darkness, there was his gloomy eyes. "Uncle Crown Prince." Tieu Man spoke first. She still remembered yesterday when Tieu Doanh argued with Manh Han, so she was a little scared and hid next to me. "Why did Your Highness come to a place like this?" "The Crown Princess once brought her here before. She said you used to bring her here to eat sweet tea, she really liked it." Tieu Doanh leaned closer. "It's strange to say, the Crown Princess has never mentioned this place in the past three years." My palms were full of cold sweat. A light wind blew, making my body tremble. He didn't have to choose his older sister to ignore what he said that day. He guessed it.