Chapter 3 — Chess Game In The Palace

The lid of the chest had a large crack, the objects inside were blackened by smoke, but the golden edges were still visible beneath the pile of broken tiles. Trieu Hanh's hand stopped above Luu Thanh Van's elbow and did not lower. He walked around her, walking towards the chest. Luu Thanh Van turned her head to look in his direction. As soon as she saw the chest, her expression immediately changed. She rushed forward to stop him: "Your Majesty, don't go there, it's dangerous inside..." But it was too late. Trieu Hanh raised his hand to brush away the ashes and took out an item from the crack. A pair of jade bracelets, one corner was broken by fire, but the blue color still remained. He took out another item. A carved golden tree, the pearls are covered with ash, but just wipe it off and it will return to its original shape. The third item was a wish-fulfilling jade tree, broken into two pieces, but the break was extremely clean. In the rest of the chest were countless jewels and jewelry, all of which had royal designs. Trieu Hanh turned to look at Luu Thanh Van. "I reward you twenty-seven times, you return twenty-seven times." "So where did the things in this chest come from?" Luu Thanh Van knelt among the ashes. The gauze on her left arm was absorbing blood, tears and ash mixed on her face. She raised her head to look at the embroideries in Trieu Hanh's hand, her lips trembled twice. "It's... I saved up. Every month I save up my allowance, asking someone to buy it from outside the palace." Trieu Hanh lowered his head to look at her: "You have returned nine parts of your allowance, how do you save it?" Luu Thanh Van bit her lower lip: "I have embroidery, after embroidering it, I'll sell it..." "A servant's embroidery can be sold for the same amount of money." Enough to buy a whole chest of overpowered jewelry?” Trieu Hanh threw the halberd on the chest lid. The piece of gold hit the burning wood, making a sharp sound. "Luu Thanh Van, do you think I'm a fool?" Liu Thanh Van rushed forward and hugged the toe of his shoe: "Your Majesty! I just can't bear it! Those are all souvenirs you gave me. I returned it just because I don't want the queen to feel that I'm in love with glory! In my heart, I only have you!" Trieu Hanh did not move. I stood three steps away, looking at Lien Khe. Lien Khe immediately took out a notebook from her sleeve, holding it up with both hands. "Your Majesty." I took the notebook and opened it. "This is the reward file and the stolen palace personnel file from the Internal Affairs Palace in the past year. Of the twenty-seven times Luu Thanh Van returned rewards, there were eleven times when she returned some items, kept some items, and then reported to the Internal Affairs Palace that 'the remaining items were stolen by palace servants'." I turned to the folded page. corner, brought it in front of Trieu Hanh. "The stolen items, not a single thing was missing, were all in her chest. The palace servants who were accused of stealing things were all subject to punishment. Two people were sent to the Hoan Y Department, one person was directly beaten to death." Trieu Hanh's knuckles holding the notebook turned white. He turned the pages one by one. When he turned to the third page, he suddenly stopped. On that page there is a record of a pair of jade bracelets. When returning it, Luu Thanh Van said that the bracelets were stolen by a palace maid who did heavy work. That palace maid was beaten forty times, and to this day she still has a limp. That pair of rings is now lying under a pile of burning wood, one corner has been broken by the fire. Trieu Hanh closed the notebook. He did not get angry, nor did he destroy things. He just stood still, looking down at Luu Thanh Van's hands holding the toes of his shoes. "You made me beat someone to death on your behalf." Luu Thanh Van suddenly raised his head: "Your Majesty! I'm not there! I don't know that the maid has been beaten.I don't know that the palace maid was beaten to death!” “You don't know?” Trieu Hanh's voice became hoarse. “When returning items, you must sign and fingerprint. The report card only clearly states 'the remaining items were stolen'. You signed your name, don't you understand what those four words mean? "Luu Thanh Van opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word. Finally, she let go of Trieu Hanh's shoe and fell to the ground. "Your Majesty, I just want you to look at me one more time! I don't need dignity, I don't need rewards. I just want you to feel that I am different from others!” “If I accept those things, will you still remember me? You have long forgotten your concubine in the harem!" Trieu Hanh bowed his head to look at her. The light in his eyes gradually dimmed. "So for the past year, everything was you performing for me." Luu Thanh Van's cry was choked in her throat. She wanted to shake her head, but her neck stiffened. Trieu Hanh withdrew his foot from her hand, took a step back. He looked at me, his voice very calm: "Queen, take her back to the old palace. Detention for self-criticism. Without my permission, no one is allowed to visit." I knelt down: "Yes." Trieu Hanh turned to leave. He did not walk fast, his shoes stepped on pieces of burned wood and made a creaking sound. When he reached the palace gate, he stopped one step, did not turn around, and only said one sentence: