Chapter 4 — Going Thousand Years Later

21

I thought for a while, couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked:

"Why are you so sure that I was your wife in a past life? Just because I have the same face as that painting? There are so many people in this world... everyone has two eyes and a nose, it's not strange that some people look the same."

“It's her.”

Little Marquis's eyes looked at me without wavering, steadfastly as if I were her - his daughter named Ngu He. He must have loved his wife very much. But even if it were me… so what? The previous life and this life are inherently different. In this life, I have my own life, I will not give up everything for him. Little Marquis began to tell about the past of him and his wife.

"We first met by the lake at night in the palace. After that, I asked the Emperor to give her to me as his wife. Three years after we got married, I went to the battlefield, and when I returned, she was killed by criminals."

“He He, I have been looking for you for the past thousand years. Come follow me home, you will remember everything.”

With just a few short sentences, he told everything clearly. But is the truth that simple? So... who was the person who killed me?

“Why does he want to harm me?”

I can't help but wonder. If it's true as Tieu Marquis said, I was your wife in my previous life, then who was the person who killed me? Why does he want me dead? Is it because of the court's resentment? Because of fighting for rights? Or… because of personal hatred? If there really was someone who caused me to die unjustly, then whether it was in my previous life or this life, I would like to know the truth.

22

“!”

I stared at the phone screen in shock. The story of the girl named "Fish Clown" was like a sharp sword, piercing straight into my heart. She is the daughter of a famous and loyal general, lost her father at a young age, and her mother committed suicide out of grief. An orphan girl, raised in the palace under the protection of the Queen Mother, was appointed a princess. She fell in love with Little Marquis at first sight. But it should not have been her who married him. He was supposed to marry Princess Lenh Nguyet, a predetermined royal marriage. The Queen Mother loved her and forced the emperor to change the marriage so that she could take that position. In the end, whether it was replacement or ironic fate, she still had three years of marital harmony with him. Until he left the capital to fight. When he returned triumphantly, she died of difficulty giving birth. He was heartbroken, her burial was so perfect. But then just half a year later, he married Princess Linh Nguyet. Not only that, he also built a mausoleum, planning to be buried with Princess Linh Nguyet when he died. I felt a cold run down my spine. Three years of marital harmony, and finally being replaced by someone else? But wait...died because of difficulty giving birth? I don't know why, I have a strange feeling. Apparently, in the morning, Little Marquis said... "when I returned, she was killed by a traitor." But archaeological records record that she died because of difficulty giving birth. In the end… what is the truth? I was startled, my eyelids twitched, then angrily threw the phone aside. Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable! Except for Princess Linh Nguyet, is it possible that... everyone is a villain? Little Marquis - the person I thought I had a deep love for, who had been searching for me for thousands of years, could quickly marry someone else. After half a year I passed away? The Queen Mother - who once pampered and protected me, forced the emperor to change the marriage and turn me into a substitute? And the person who killed me... Who was it? Could it be that all these people know the truth, and I'm the only one who is most pitiful?

23

I stared at the screen with wide eyes, almost dropping the phone. As soon as the news was announced, new discoveries were made one after another. People began to dig deeper into the identity of Tang Chieu Hau - the husband of Princess Ngu He, and then... the whole social network exploded because of this shocking discovery. Turns out, Marquis Zeng Zhao's tomb was excavated more than thirty years ago! This is not even the point. The shocking thing is... he was actually buried with Princess Linh Nguyet in the matrimonial tomb! Tang Chieu Marquis's tomb was built extremely majestically, located in the middle of rolling mountains, with a scale and luxury many times greater than the tomb he once built for Princess Ngu He. And according to what people recorded... When exhumed, Princess Linh Nguyet's remains were still lying next to him, according to the burial ritual. The epitaph is clearly engraved: • After his original spouse died, he married Princess Linh Nguyet as his main wife. • • Their marriage is extremely passionate. • • Tang Chieu Hau suffered from blurred vision after the war. • • Not long after returning, he died. • • Princess Lenh Nguyet asked herself to be buried, wishing to "be born in the same bed, die in the same grave." • I read this and was stunned. So the person that Marquis Zeng Chieu really wants to be with for the rest of his life... is Princess Linh Nguyet? What about Princess Ngu He? The girl's marriage was replaced, her husband and wife "got along" with him for three years, then died of difficulty giving birth (or was it harmed?), and finally the grave was just a strange, cold place, no one remembered her. And this "deeply loved" husband, at first, said he would never forget, but in the end... he fell asleep next to another woman. Turns out… this is the truth? An epic ancient love triangle scene, truly eye-opening!

24

One can imagine how much of a fever a controversial historical story like this would create when spread online. Public opinion is divided into many factions, arguing fiercely, each opposing point of view constantly fighting with each other, no one willing to give way. • The defender of Princess Ngu He believes that even though she was married instead, her status as the main wife is still true, and moreover, she died in childbirth, at least deserving of sympathy and pity. • • The faction protecting Princess Linh Nguyet felt that she was the one who suffered the most. It was clear from the beginning that she was the one being kissed, but her marriage was taken away from her. Yet she did not resent it, and later on, her feelings were so deep that she asked to be buried with her husband. • • Only Little Marquis did not have any controversy - because he was cursed by the entire social network without sparing anyone. • Netizens tried their best to scold him for being a "traitor", for being ungrateful, for forgetting his meaning, for being someone who just promised to be faithful and then turned his back on someone else. There is even a hashtag #Marry whoever you want, just don't marry the Little Marquis# that has become a hot trend on platforms. ________________________________________ I sit here, looking back at the words he said told me, then compared it with each sentence and word in the tombstone. Which truth is real? I do not know. But it doesn't matter. Even though I was really the princess of Ngu He district a thousand years ago, at this moment I have already drunk a bowl of Manh Ba soup, reincarnated as Nghi Tu Khuyet of this life. She and I have long since ceased to have anything to do with each other.

25

In the morning, I was awakened by the aroma of food. As I rubbed my eyes and walked out of the bedroom, I stopped yawning before I could stop. In the kitchen, there was a figure wrapped in an apron, busy juggling oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Little Marquis? Hearing the noise, he leaned over and looked at me, his tone natural as if we had lived together for a long time:

“Wash your face, go sit at the table and have breakfast.”

I still stood there stunned, unable to react. He cut off his long hair, completely changed his style, and wore modern clothes. And on a normal morning like today, he appeared in my kitchen, cooking like a normal husband in the family. A complicated feeling suddenly arose in my heart, difficult to describe in words. Is it fun? I'm not sure either. Maybe... it's because for a long time, no one has ever cooked a meal for me.

26

After washing my face, I am much more alert. Without saying a word, I went to the dining table and sat down. Little Marquis took off his apron, brought a bowl of hot noodles and placed it in front of me. The aroma immediately stimulated my taste buds. Without being polite, I picked up my chopsticks and started eating immediately. He sat opposite me, one hand lazily resting his chin, quietly watching me eat. Being stared at by him like that made me feel a little unnatural, so I quickly sucked away the noodles from the corner of my mouth and secretly glanced at him. Unexpectedly, when I looked up, I saw his eyes staring intently at me. Then he calmly said:

“Madam, I have been attacked by netizens.”

“…”

I almost choked on the noodles. Last time he suddenly spoke English, I realized that his level of "catching trends" is really not low.

“Do you even know what 'being attacked by netizens' means?"

“You don't believe me either, right?” He looked at me and asked very seriously.

“The evidence is clear, what reason do we have not to believe?” I replied without hesitation.

But to be honest, after a night of careful thinking, I discovered that I really don't believe in that epitaph too much. Because there are two reasons: First, a tombstone is something created after a person dies, the content on it is entirely engraved by a living person. People can write whatever they want, truth and falsehood are mixed together, cannot be completely trusted. Second, if he really loves Princess Linh Nguyet more, then why has he only been looking for me for the past thousand years? If his love for Princess Linh Nguyet is as deep as what the tombstone says, then the person he should be looking for is not me, but her.