Chapter 1 — He Thought I Was Still Waiting For His Palanquin, But The Divine Order Has Come To My Palace

After he chased me into the deep mountains in the middle of a snowstorm to reflect on myself, I no longer fought. He also no longer proactively appeared in front of Tham Trac Nien. He took his younger sister to the southern city to choose jewelry, and I immediately went to the northern city to order fabric. He took his younger sister to attend banquets at the doors of large houses, and I took people away from the temple to the pagoda to recite sutras for blessings. Even when he personally sent a card inviting me to spend the spring with him, I used the excuse that I was not feeling well and stayed in the yard to entertain my old friend. He was very satisfied with my appearance of knowing how to advance and retreat, obediently and without entanglements. Even talking to outsiders:

"That way we have some of the appearance of the family's head and mother."

"Wait until the fifth day of next month, when Tu Tam leaves the capital, I will personally bring the bride price to the door and use eight large palanquins to welcome her back to the palace."

But he didn't know. I, the one he left behind in the bone-chilling snow, in search of a way to live... I stepped onto the king's bed. The decree of consecration has arrived at the palace gate. The day I entered the palace. Coincidentally, it's the fifth day of next month. During the life of the National Duke's wife, Tham Trac Nien finally remembered me when he accidentally met me in a deserted hallway.

"Tu Tam's body is weak, you keep arguing with her over and over again. Do you know your mistake now?"

The early spring wind left behind a numbing coldness, cutting every inch of my face until I shivered. He is still as arrogant as before, his words are sharp, not leaving an inch of concession. But he was so careful that he was afraid that I would cause trouble for his younger sister so he leaned over, blocking half of his body, tightly protecting Du Tu Tam behind him. Love is biased to the point of being obvious, arrogant without hiding anything. In fact, the person he once stood behind to protect—was me. He and I are childhood friends, we have been friends for three generations. From childhood, he was carefully taught by his parents that he must yield to me, protect me, love me, and love me. For fifteen years, he has always done that. Until mid-summer last year, his father's oldest daughter - Du Tu Tam - entered the capital. She is a frail beauty, her small face is as pale as jade, her sparkling phoenix eyes always have tears that make people feel sad. My mother loves me very much and has prepared a set of precious jewelry worth thousands of gold for me. Yet she bit her lip and her eyes turned red:

"I really admire Sister Lam... You still have a loving mother. As for me... there's nothing left."

Tham Trac Nien didn't say a word, just frowned, raised his hand to block me, and pushed me back.

"Tu Tam's father died in battle to protect my father. As soon as her mother heard the bad news, she went into labor, and the blood flowed so much that she couldn't save both mother and child. The Tham family owed her a life. Since then, they have been raising her at the old residence. Nhu Nhi... maybe because of me..."

I curled my lips and interrupted:

“Offer my whole mother to her?”

Tham Trac Nien was speechless.

"I don't mean that. I just want... to remind you to live a little more kindly, don't shout too loudly when eating meat, so that hungry people have some way to retreat."

I didn't understand, so I replied:

"Her parents died early, which is truly a pity. But their deaths were not caused by me? Just because she did not have a mother, I could no longer be close to my mother. Is there any morality in this world?" That reason?”

"If today the jewelry my mother gave you made you feel sad, then tomorrow at the big wedding, I will take away your biological brother from your heart. Wouldn't that be even more of a knife stabbing straight into your heart?"

The bowl of soup in the hand of Du Tu Tam - who was hiding behind the wall - fell to the ground and shattered. She frantically waved her hand:

“I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it like that, it was all my fault that it was my fault that you got angry... It was my mistake, it was me who deserved to die, I... I'm leaving!”

The wind was strong and the rain was heavy, so she rushed headlong into the thick rain. Finally, he fainted in Tham Trac Nien's arms and was carried back to his palace. When passing by me, Tham Trac Nien gritted his teeth and said coldly:

“Are you satisfied?”

After a serious illness, Du Tu Tam was diagnosed with heart disease and absolutely could not withstand any shock. Tham Trac Nien immediately felt heartbroken, feeling that all her injuries were caused by the Tham family. But I—are too sharp, my words are harsh, I pressure people to the point of relapsing old diseases, it's truly unreasonable and oppressive. He was angry with me, so he started arguing. From then on, no matter at banquets or social interactions, the person next to him was always Du Tu Tam.