Chapter 3 — Crown Prince Concubine Sweet Mouth

Public officials criticized the amount of money as too little, but at least the policy was maintained that the dyke must be repaired. The Ministry of Health does not want to release money, but it also maintains dignity that the national treasury cannot be emptied at once. The two Ministers looked at each other for a moment and at the same time snorted coldly. The Emperor decided on the spot:

“Just do as Khuong Khanh says.”

After the tide subsided, two Ministers took turns blocking my father at the palace gate. Minister of Justice said:

“Lord Khuong, your words just now clearly favor the Household Ministry.”

My father replied gently:

"If the official doesn't praise him for keeping money well, can he bear to take out three parts for you? You can rest assured. Once the three most dangerous sections have started, can the remaining sections really be left unattended?"

The Minister's Household also said:

"Lord Khuong, you know very well that the national treasury is in trouble, yet you still open your mouth to help the Ministry of Justice."

My father sighed:

"If you don't let the Ministry of Public Works fix the three sections first, next year the dyke will really break. When the responsibility is prosecuted, the first person to be questioned is why the Ministry of Households did not give you money. Now, using three parts of silver in exchange for one year of peace for you, it is well worth it."

The two Ministers thought for themselves and both felt that this statement was very reasonable. As a result, after just ten steps, the two met each other again outside the palace gate. After speaking two sentences, they discovered that my father told the Ministry of Justice that he favored the Ministry of Justice, and told the Ministry of Protection that he was saving the Ministry of Protection. The two turned their heads at the same time. My father had already climbed into the palanquin and was still urging the carriage driver to leave quickly. The next day, news immediately spread in the capital, saying that the new Lieutenant-Governor Khuong Hoai An had the demeanor of his father, and on his first day in court, he had quelled the dispute between the two ministries. After Patriarch listened, his expression was extremely complicated. The mother is very calm:

"Previously at home, he also used this method to advise me and my grandmother. In the end, my grandmother and I were no longer angry at each other, and instead started scolding him together. For the past twenty years, the Khuong family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have been in harmony, and his merits are not small."

From then on, my father found a suitable position for himself. The Ministry of Soldiers and the Ministry of Rites argued over the matter of rewarding military merit. The first praised the generals and soldiers for being bloody on the battlefield, then praised the Ministry of Rites for maintaining the organization, which was not easy. Finally, the Ministry of Military Affairs reported the merits, the Ministry of Rites assigned ranks, and the two sides inspected each other. The royal historian Kinh Trieu Doan worked helplessly. Kinh Trieu Doan turned to bite back and Ngu Su could only use his mouth. My father said that Ngu Su if he opened his mouth was responsible, Kinh Trieu Doan's work was hard. It would be better if Ngu Su personally came to monitor the house for three days, so that he could see the truth clearly and help Kinh Trieu Doan share the work. Three days later, the two of them rolled up their sleeves and entered the palace together, joining forces to play the role of my father. The reason is that the person is unpredictable and intentionally makes the court tired. The Emperor finished reading the opera, rarely smiled for half a moment, then turned around and increased the salary for my father. My father finally admitted that although my father did not understand the grand strategy of governing the country, he understood people's hearts very well. Each person fights for morality with their mouth, but what they protect in their heart is not necessarily morality. Some people are afraid of taking responsibility, some people are afraid of losing face, some people just want to prove that they are not wrong. But my father refused responsibility to determine who is a saint and who is a villain. The person is only responsible for building a step for each person to be able to walk down. Of course, sometimes the ladder is not built well, and both sides will fall together. But that also has its good points. The two factions that were originally at odds with each other will immediately put aside their old hatred and scold each other together. Thanks to that, the court became more united than ever. ## 4 My father is in the court to smooth things over, while I am in the Eastern palace pouring bewitching soup. We, father and son, stood out for a moment like no one else could compare to us. But Tieu Thua Canh always felt that I had other plans. After two months of marriage, he finally couldn't help but ask:

“You keep watch in your study every day, what exactly do you want?”

That day, the emperor had just scolded him for the military expenses on the northern border. After returning, he criticized the chapter without expression for two hours, not even a bite of the rice and soup on the table was touched. I thought for a moment:

“I want your highness to take a sip of soup first.”

“Other than that, what about?”

Tieu Thua Canh stared at me:

"Don't the Khuong family need your protection? Father-in-law doesn't have any position in the court that he wants to achieve?"

I suddenly realized. Turns out he was always waiting for me to bid.

"Your Highness misunderstood. My father's current position is high enough. If it gets any higher, he won't be able to sleep at night. As for the Khuong family..."

“Father said, as long as father and son rarely cause trouble, that is the greatest contribution to the family.”

After listening, Tieu Thua Canh was silent. I pushed the bowl of soup in front of him:

"Your Majesty scolded your Highness for half an hour but did not have the heart to punish you. It can be angry when you see anger, but in your heart you still value your Highness the most."

“Your father blames you for your perseverance in raising troops for the northern border.”

"That's even more commendable. Your Highness has just replaced the king to maintain the border, and stood still to let you vent all your anger. The two identities of subject and son, neither side will neglect."

In the end, I made him laugh. That smile was very pale, only stopping at the bottom of the eyes for a moment, like a thin layer of ice on the surface of a spring river blown away by the wind. I looked dumbfounded again. Tieu Thua Canh asked:

“Why don't you say more?”

"I talked for half a day, but His Highness finally gave me a smile. Looks like this bowl of soup was not in vain."

The smile on his lips immediately disappeared. But his ears slowly turned red. I discovered that the Crown Prince is an extremely strange person. Praise him for ruling the country well and for being able to keep his face unchanged. Complimenting him for restraining himself and maintaining decorum, he can even ask what book I copied those words from. But if you compliment him on the beautiful color of his clothes today, or compliment him on eating half a bowl of rice more than yesterday, he will immediately look away and pretend he didn't hear.