Chapter 1 — Chinh The Muu

The night before the wedding, I found out that my fiance had a six-year-old son. A wedding that should have been the most brilliant in one's life, ended up with a drama so humiliating that it was impossible to hide. When the nanny hugged the baby and knelt in front of the gate of Thua Ba palace, I still stood in front of the bronze mirror trying on the wedding dress I would wear tomorrow, the red brocade background was embroidered with a peony with gorgeous gold thread, the beautiful lady knelt on the ground meticulously adjusting each fold of her dress, the maid held the phoenix standing next to her, everything was perfect, like a flawless big wedding. Until there was a sudden commotion outside. The administrator quickly rushed in, her face pale, and she leaned close to my ear and said a sentence that was enough for me to forget for the rest of my life: The Duke's family raised a son outside, and the child was already six years old. At this time, the nanny was holding him and kneeling in front of the palace, screaming in the middle of the main street that Vinh An Ba Palace married the daughter to the door, but did not recognize his blood and flesh. We look at ourselves in the mirror. The person wearing a red outfit is Tham Uan Ninh. From head to toe, he is impeccably exquisite, only his eyes are cold. Including the time the woman was pregnant, he hid it from everyone for seven years. I said a word quietly. The lobby had now turned into a pot of porridge, mother broke the tea cup, the tea soaked the brocade on the table, father walked back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back, pointing out the door every few steps and cursing. Seeing me enter, both of us were silent at the same time.

“Tie people up.” I said.

They looked at me.

"A nanny, carrying a child of unknown origin, smeared the Duke Palace and the Thua Ba Palace in the middle of the street. Such a matter should not be investigated by us, nor should it be reported to the officials."

My voice is not loud.

"Directly send people to Tran Quoc Cong's mansion, tell them that there is someone impersonating the bloodline of the National Duke's Palace, causing trouble in front of the government's door, the government does not dare to handle it arbitrarily, please ask the National Duke to decide personally."

Father looked at me for a long time, then finally turned around and told the housekeeper:

“Do as Third Miss says.”

The nanny was gagged, and the child was stuffed into the carriage. From the back door, she left towards the Tran Quoc Cong palace. The people gathered around the palace gate saw that there was no more excitement. They gradually dispersed. I stood by the window of the hall, watching the carriage disappear around the corner. I know this won't end like that, but at least, dirty water can't be splashed on the doorstep of Thua Ba residence. The next day, the news came back. The nanny was beaten with a stick. When she was carried out, her stomach was bleeding. Only one breath remained. The child was not beaten, but when she was taken out of Tran Quoc Cong's palace, she was in a coma, her little face was pale, and was held in her arms by a woman, who didn't know where she was taken. The Tran Quoc Cong Palace sent someone to spread the word, saying that the nanny was ordered by someone else, impersonating the bloodline of the National Duke Palace, and had already dealt with it. All the unexpected words were to tell the uncle to rest assured and the wedding to proceed as before. Father breathed a sigh of relief, mother patted her chest and said luckily...luckily there was no arrangement. Ms. Cuu Ty introduced me. I said nothing. I know that the child is real, Bui Chieu dealt with the nanny, hid the child somewhere else, then used an "impersonation" to force this matter down, he protected that child, also protected that woman, the entrustment he gave to the Thua Ba palace, was just a bleeding and unconscious nanny. a sentence "rest assured and prepare for export". I returned to my room, spread out my wedding dress, smoothed out the wrinkles on it inch by inch, my fingertips touched the lotus flower embroidered on the cuff of my shirt and paused for a moment. Then we continue to smooth it out... The next morning. The tea house is an enterprise under the name of Princess Phuc An. The elegant room is on the second floor. If you push out the window, you can see the theater across the street. When I arrived, the woman was already inside. She was dressed in a moon-white dress, with only a silver hairpin in her hair. She was so elegant that it was not like the "beautiful exterior" that was rumored on the outside. Her movements of pouring tea were very slow. On her wrist, she wore a jade bracelet of extremely good quality.

“Miss Thua Ba Palace, I have admired it for a long time.”

She raised her head and smiled slightly.

"My last name is Tiet, the last name is Uyen. Today, I borrowed the Princess's business card to invite the lady out. It was an accident."

We sit down. On the opposite side, on the stage, the play "The Horse's Head on the Wall" was being performed. The sound of gongs and drums echoed from afar, dull and vague.

"The nanny that day caused trouble in front of the Ba residence, she is your person."

Tiet Uyen did not deny it, she pushed the tea cup towards me, raised a cup herself, gently brushed away the tea leaves floating on her face, but did not drink, just quietly looked at the opera outside the window, as if talking to herself.

"He has always said that in this world, only Thuan Uan Ninh is different from women, saying that she is not like ordinary ladies, has courage and intelligence, can stand shoulder to shoulder with him, I have heard those words for so many years."

Tiet Uyen turned around and looked straight at me:

"I just thought, let's meet once to make it clear, today we finally met."

“Let me tell you a story, lady.”