Chapter 5 — Crown Prince Concubine Sweet Mouth

The mother peeled a fruit and gave it to the father:

“Dad, what she says is right. You should try it quickly.”

The daughter-in-law is probably the only person in the family who makes her father less worried. Patriarch eats. Moreover, he ate seven fruits in one gulp. Outwardly, people hate us, but our bodies are always honest. Every time my father and I encountered difficulties, he still scolded us as usual, but he always put on his mandarin shoes faster than anyone else. The third month after his father took office, the Ministry of Rites and Hong Lu argued endlessly over the etiquette of welcoming the envoy. Someone sent a letter all night:

"Father, both sides say they would rather die than give in. Please help me."

The patriarch immediately put on his robe and entered the palace. By the time he returned, it was already morning. The fourth month after I entered the Eastern Palace, Tieu Thua Canh offended a few old officials because of the new policy and was blocked in the royal study room and scolded for an entire afternoon. I sent someone to deliver a letter home:

"Father, the Crown Prince probably refuses to eat tonight. Please help me."

The angry patriarch tore up the letter. Half an hour later, he still sent someone to bring an old file recording the changes in the tax regime over the years, accompanied by a line of words:

"Tell the Crown Prince to eat first. If you starve to death, there will be no one left to clean up the mess."

Tieu Thua Canh finished reading the piece of paper and suddenly asked me:

“Every time something happens, why do you always look for your ancestor?”

“Because the father knows everything.”

“What if one day you are not in the capital?”

We don't need to think:

“Then I will find your highness.”

“What if something happens to you?”

“So we need to find our ancestors.”

Tieu Thua Canh was blocked by me and couldn't say a word for a long time. Unfortunately, the words became an omen. Not long after, something really happened to him. Moreover, it was such a big deal that even the ancestors couldn't immediately save him. ## May 6, Hoai Chau encountered a severe drought. The court provided twenty thousand stone for food relief. The food boat followed the canal to the south, but on the way, it was accidentally missing eighty thousand stones. At the same time, the patrol discovered three thousand pieces of armor in an abandoned manor outside the city, along with an order to dispatch soldiers bearing the seal of the Eastern Palace. On the military mobilization order, it was clearly written, ordering the Hoai Chau garrison to use the name of escorting relief food and secretly enter the capital. After just one night, the reserve army saving the people turned into a reserve army plotting a rebellion. The Emperor became angry, ordered the Eastern Palace to be blocked, and all officials were suspended pending investigation. What's more dangerous is that the troop mobilization order not only has the East Palace seal, but also has a signature written by Tieu Thua Canh himself. The official in charge of escorting the food immediately confessed, saying everything was done according to the Crown Prince's orders. Tieu Thua Canh did not argue. The Emperor asked him why he didn't say anything, he only replied:

"The evidence is complete, no matter what I say now, your father will think that I am making excuses. Please give me three days, I will definitely investigate the truth."

The emperor spoke coldly:

"Right now you can't even come out of the Eastern Palace, so what are you using to investigate?"

The whole hall was silent. Finally, my father stood out from the back of the row of officials and carefully opened his mouth:

“Your Majesty, I feel... your Crown Prince's words are unique some morality.”

The emperor looked at him:

“You want to pray for the Crown Prince?”

My father immediately shook his head:

“I don't dare. I just think, if your Highness really has a heart for mischief, Your Majesty will give you three days, and in a short time, you can capture all of your comrades. If your Highness is harmed by someone else, three days can still restore the innocence of the reserve army. No matter what, Your Majesty will not suffer any loss.”

For the first time, civil and military officials discovered that settling matters can be settled right on the edge of the knife. The emperor looked at him for a long time, and finally gave him three days. It's just that the person in charge of investigating the case also conveniently fell on my father's head.

“Khuong Hoai An, this case is entrusted to you and Dai Ly Tu, the Criminal Department and the Imperial Palace to investigate carefully. Three days later, I must see the results.”

My father knelt in the middle of the main hall, his face as white as a wall that had just been whitewashed. After the tidal wave, the man had not yet had time to change into his official uniform and ran straight to Khuong palace. At the same time, I climbed over the wall behind the Eastern Palace and ran back to Khuong Palace. The patriarch was fishing by the lake. My father and I each knelt next to him. My father hugged his left leg:

“Father, the civil and military officials are all waiting for me to investigate whether the Crown Prince has rebelled or not. Save me.”

I hug my right leg:

“Father, your highness hasn't eaten anything since yesterday, it seems like he's really about to die. Save me.”

The patriarch closed his eyes. The fishing rod in my hand fell into the lake. After a while, someone asked:

“Who spoke first?”

My father argued:

“Of course you are! Treason is a serious crime!

I said:

“But your highness has not eaten for two days.”

My father turned his head to look at me:

“The Crown Prince couldn't die without eating for two days. If your father and I don't find out the results tomorrow, we may not still be alive the day after tomorrow."

The patriarch stood up, brushed off his shirt:

“Save the Crown Prince first.”

My father did not dare to believe it:

“Father!”

“I'm fatter, I can endure hunger.”

My father hugged his chest. For the first time, people who know their father's love can also disappear. Patriarch's mouth said to save the Crown Prince first, but after entering the study, he spread out all the files and invited us to look at them together. That military command order was written extremely perfectly. The handwriting, the seal, the writing tone, all were identical to Tieu Thua Canh's usual orders. Mr. Dai Ly himself invited the autograph examiner to examine it three times, but could not find any loopholes. My father was so sad that he was about to lose his hair:

“So how should we investigate?”

The patriarch did not answer, but turned to ask me:

“You sit and watch the Crown Prince criticize the chapter every day, can you see anything?”

I took the command to bring the soldiers closer and read it from beginning to end. The words are indeed Tieu Thua Canh's words. The seal is also the seal of the Eastern palace. But I still feel like there's something wrong.