Chapter 5 — I heard that I had a loving husband and wife, and had many children and grandchildren. He crushed the white jade bowl in his hand.

I remember one time I woke up in the middle of the night and Tieu Duc wasn't next to me. I put on my coat and went out to look for him. From afar I saw him standing in front of Co Van Thu's tablet. That shrine had long been sealed, but he moved the tablet into the dark compartment of the royal study room. He held a lock of blue hair in his hand and stood like that all night. I remember the nights he got drunk. When he hugged me, he kept muttering incoherently:

“Van Thu… I am sorry for you… in my next life I will absolutely not let you suffer like that again…”

At that time, I just thought he was talking in a daze. And smiling helped him wipe the sweat from his forehead. Now that I think about it, every word is a knife. The person he loves has never been me. What he gave me... was just because Co Van Thu left too soon, so he transferred all the guilt and debt towards her to me. I'm just a substitute. A tool for him to use to save himself. That bowl of "nourishment ladder" that has never been interrupted every day, I'm afraid it is the ultimate medicine that he used on people to preserve the position of the eldest son born to Co Van Thu. It was he who made me childless for the rest of my life. Then he waited until I ran out of oil and the lights went out and died, then acted like I was deeply in love and buried me in the imperial mausoleum. Let everyone in the world praise that Ninh Quy Phi was the most favored in the harem, and until her death, she still enjoyed all the glory. But who knows, underneath that layer of glory and grace is just an empty corpse. I knelt there, watching the sun gradually move towards the West. I don't know how much time has passed, a piece of clothing passed before my eyes. Jet black color. The top is embroidered with a dark yellow dragon pattern. It's Tieu Duc. He passed in front of me, his steps never stopping. Not even a single sentence was said to me. Go directly into the palace. The electric door closes. There was laughter inside.

"Your Majesty, Princess Dung's sister still seems to be kneeling out there. Do we need to let her retreat?"

"Since it's the Queen's rule, I won't say more. But the time is almost enough, let her stand up."

His tone was calm and indifferent, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him. I lowered my head, looking at my shadow stretched by the sunlight on the tile floor. Tears fell drop by drop onto the stone slab on the ground, quickly drying by the sunlight. Tong Thanh Hoa, what evil did you sow in your previous life that you have to receive such an outcome in this life? It's time. Let's try to stand up. Both legs completely lost feeling, and as soon as they used force, they immediately fell forward. With both hands on the ground, my bones hit the stone floor so hard that I had to take a deep breath of cold air. I tried three times. It wasn't until the third time that I was able to barely stand up. I staggered towards the palace gate. Every step hurts so much that I bite my lip until the taste of blood comes out. When I arrived in front of the high and wide palace gate, I saw a person. He stood outside the palace gate, perhaps for a long time. When he saw me limping out, his face immediately darkened. Without saying a word, he just took three big steps in front of me, bent down and picked me up around the waist. I am as light as a bundle fodder. Being held firmly in his arms, his body temperature was transmitted through his clothes, shockingly hot. The eunuch guarding the gate stood next to him, staring blankly, opening his mouth without knowing whether he should stop or not.

“You let me down… this is the palace gate…”

“No release.”

His voice was low and heavy, carrying suppressed anger that could not be hidden, but when he hugged me, his arms held me extremely steady.

“I saw the direction she knelt in.”

“Probably one and a half soup.”

I opened my mouth, but couldn't say a word. He walked quickly towards the carriage not far away, with one hand he lifted the curtain, the other hand grabbed me and placed me in the carriage, his movements were so gentle it was unbelievable. In a place where we cannot see. Under that tall palace wall. Tieu Duc stood behind the window, watching the carriage slowly go away. Behind him is Co Van Thu with a smile on his face. He didn't turn back. Just standing in front of the window, from beginning to end, not moving at all, with both hands behind his back, ten fingers clasped tightly together, squeezing so hard that his joints turned white.