Chapter 16 — Holy Order of Dowry

When the carriage rushed out of the palace gate, the moon in the sky had already set. The torches of the forbidden army were connected into a long strip, illuminating the long road, sometimes dim and sometimes bright. Tieu Thua Canh rode his horse next to the carriage, not saying a word the whole way. I don't want to listen to him either. Mother Tan hugged the evidence box sitting next to me, her fingertips constantly trembling. "Eldest lady, if there is still a souvenir of the old general left in the temple, you must not let it fall into their hands." I grabbed her hand tightly. "Not going to happen." "The things my mother has kept for half her life, I must take them out tonight." The wind blew a corner of the car curtain. I saw Han Than riding a horse, his empty sleeve flapping in the wind. His back was still straight, like a broken spear but determined not to yield. The firelight from the street was getting closer and closer. Looking from a distance, the back yard from the street was glowing red for a distance. My chest tightened, almost suffocating. Before the carriage could stop completely, I quickly opened the curtain and jumped down. Mother Tan quickly caught me. The gate from the street was slightly open, in front of the door were two old men guarding the street lying collapsed. There was no blood on their bodies, they were just beaten unconscious. Han Than rushed forward to check for breathing. "Still breathing." I breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately looked towards the backyard. "Where did the fire start?" The commander of the forbidden army quickly turned back. "Your Highness, the fire came from the western fog room." "Someone threw kerosene into the crack of the door."West fog room. The place where my mother used to store old things. I lifted my skirt and was about to run in. Tieu Thua Canh immediately opened his arms to block me. "The fire hasn't been extinguished yet, you can't go in." I raised my eyes to look at him. "Get away." His voice was very low. "Tham Van Chi, even if you hate me, don't gamble with your life." I looked at his face dyed red by the fire, suddenly feeling extremely strange. "If the prince had said this three years earlier, maybe I would have believed it." "It's too late now." Okay.” I walked around him. Han Than led someone to break the door outside the western room. Smoke billowed out, choking so much that it stung the eyes. The soldiers carried water to light the fire, and the burning wooden beams made clicking and popping sounds. Mother Qin used a towel soaked in water to cover my mouth and nose. I stood under the porch, staring at that room. Inside was the old armor my father left behind. There is a tablet that my mother worships. There may even be a clue to the other half of the soldier talisman. When the fire was extinguished, half of the western room collapsed. The army carried an ice box out from under a pile of charred shelves. The stone box was extremely heavy, and the outside was covered with an iron shell that was burned and cracked. As soon as Han Than saw it, his whole body immediately collapsed and knelt down. "Eldest lady, this is the box the old general used to hide military orders." I squatted down and stroked the surface of the box with my hand. In the stone crack is inlaid a small word Tham. That's my mother's handwriting. The bridge of my nose stung, but I didn't shed a tear. "Open." Han Than took half a bronze tiger talisman from his chest and inlaid it into the recess of the stone box. The pattern fits tightly without any gaps. The box made a dull "click" sound, but was only half open. Han Than's face changed. "There's still a key missing." I looked towards Tieu Thua Canh. He was silent for a moment, took out an old piece of jade from his belt. "This is the one your mother gave me in the past." My heart sank heavily. "My mother gave it to you?" Tieu Thua Canh avoided my eyes. "On the wedding night, she sent someone to deliver it to her, saying that if the old Shen family had an accident, she would use this jade to open the box." I could barely laugh. "So you already knew what was hidden in the old jade." "You also know my mother didn't know." trust the royal palace.” His hand held the jade

"At that time I thought she just wanted to be careful." I took the old piece of jade and inserted it into another groove. The ice box finally opened. There is no gold or silver inside. There was only a roll of old military maps, a suicide note, and a list. I held up the suicide note first. On the outside of the envelope were written only a few words: "Van Chi's daughter". My fingers immediately froze. Those are my father's words. Han Than prostrated himself on the ground, his voice choked up. "The old general wrote it down before his death." "The old general risked half his life to bring it back to the capital, but did not dare to deliver it directly to the Tham residence." "At that time, the Tham residence was surrounded by watching eyes." I peeled off the suicide note. The first line that caught the eye was: "If my daughter reads this letter, absolutely do not trust the royal government." Flames flew in the night wind. It seems like I can no longer hear anyone else's voice in my ears. I can only see each stroke my father carefully portrayed. Food and grass transport routes to the West were cut off and reinforcements were blocked. Someone in the capital borrowed the old seal of the Royal Regent to give orders. Lieu Thi's family secretly colluded with the Thai Concubine's maternal lineage. The last sentence is the one my father left me.