Chapter 12 — I Am Your Royal Highness, Not Your Puppet

I bowed my head and bowed, my voice calm and clear.

"I thank my father for his kindness."

"I wish to go to the mountain land with King Diem."

Father looked at me, seemingly completely unsurprised by this choice. He just sighed softly.

“Stupid girl.”

Three days later, the decree was given. Diem Vuong Tieu Canh Diem's words and actions are not virtuous and his family is not strict. Stripped of all positions in the capital, immediately set out for the land of Van Chau, without a decree, never allowed to return to the capital. Lieu Nhu Nguyet was a guest but did not keep her duty, inciting discord in the Royal Palace. Immediately taken to Tinh An Pagoda outside the capital, he wore his hair to practice, praying day and night for the royal family, never leaving the pagoda even half a step in his life. The entire Liu family, because of their involvement in Liu Qian's embezzlement case in the past, was exiled three thousand miles away, never being allowed to set foot in the capital for all eternity. When the decree was transmitted to the Royal Palace, I was packing my luggage. Tieu Canh Diem stood behind me, watching me carefully fold each simple outfit and place it in the wooden box. His lips moved slightly but in the end he still couldn't say a word. The day Lieu Nhu Nguyet was escorted away, she cried until her heart was paralyzed. She wanted to beg Tieu Canh Diem, but was forced to back down by his cold eyes. She wanted to come and beg me again, but was directly blocked outside the courtyard by Tham Nhat. Until she was pulled onto the carriage, her angry cries were still heard from far away. From beginning to end, Tieu Canh Diem never looked at her once more. His eyes from beginning to end rested on me. Until the whole Royal Palace was completely quiet again, he slowly walked towards me, his voice hoarse.

"Why didn't she choose to separate? Her father gave her the chance."

I still didn't stop the movements in my hand, just replied faintly:

"Because the book of peace was written by me. I don't want it to become a stain in my life."

"More because," I raised my head and looked straight into his eyes, "my father is fighting for the country in the North. I cannot be a deserter at this time."

"I want to go see what the land my father used his life to protect looks like."

"I also want to see what a Tieu Canh Diem who has had all her aura stripped from her body will look like."

He looked at me bewildered, his eyes turning red little by little. He reached out his hand, as if he wanted to touch my cheek, but his hand stopped in midair, then slowly dropped.

“Thanh Ninh,” he bowed his head, his voice carrying a heavy choking sound, “sorry.”

This was the first time he said sorry to me. I'm not saying 'it's okay'. Because there are injuries that cannot be erased forever. I just say:

"The road ahead is still very long. Your Majesty, please respect yourself."

The road to Van Chau is long and arduous. We have no staff, no front or back, only a simple carriage and more than ten absolutely loyal bodyguards. Tham Nhat and Xuan Hoa both followed me. Tieu Canh Diem took off her royal brocade robe and changed into a rough cloth outfit just like me. He is no longer a high-ranking King, but just a person is punished. When he first started, he was extremely unfamiliar. He didn't know how to make a fire, didn't know how to carry water, and even when the carriage wheel sank into a mud hole, he didn't know what to do. I don't help him, nor do I laugh at him. I just watched quietly. Watching him from the beginning completely helpless, not knowing what to do, to later gritting his teeth and persevering. Watching his hands develop blisters, then those blisters gradually turned into thick calluses. Looking at his originally white face being worn away by the wind and sand until it was dark and rough. We still rarely talk between us. But some things are quietly changing. Whenever he encountered a difficult mountain road, he would proactively jump out of the car and walk ahead to show us the way. Every time it rains, he will quietly cover the person with his only raincoat. Every time he came to the inn and there was only one room left, he would let me sleep on the bed, while I hugged the blanket and spread it on the ground to sleep. He no longer calls me "Thanh Ninh", nor does he no longer call me "Vuong Phi". He just worked quietly, using actions to atone for his mistakes.