Chapter 12 — I'm as frugal as a chrysanthemum, but I'm raising a poor son? Eighteen years later, I became the queen mother

“No one bullied the mother-in-law.”

“Hanh Nhi, you must remember carefully.”

“Today, we just lost a little reputation.”

“But we kept the most important thing.”

“Just stay alive.”

“As long as we're still together.”

“Forever, there is still a chance to turn the situation around.”

Trieu Hanh looked at me and was silent for a long time. Then, he nodded vigorously.

“I understand.”

“Mother, please rest assured.”

“I have remembered this debt.”

"One day, you will make them pay back both capital and interest."

The big drama called "cheat catching" at Tay Son villa has become a taboo. No one dared to mention it publicly. But the atmosphere in the entire harem gradually became strange. I was detained at Tuy Ngoc Hien. The Emperor did not issue a reprimand, nor did he come to see me. He seemed to have forgotten my existence. I know, he's waiting. Waiting for a result, or more accurately, waiting for an excuse. An excuse enough to make him determined to thoroughly deal with this royal family's chaos. The Concubine and the Queen were also unusually quiet. Perhaps they did not expect that Tinh Vuong would use such a method of "destroying his reputation" to ruin their fate. Currently, between the three of us, a strange balance has formed. No one dared to act first. Whoever strikes first will most likely become the "sacrifice" used by the emperor to quell the storm. Every day we wait for news. Waiting for news from my father. Half a month later, the news finally arrived. My father's prison carriage has arrived on the outskirts of the capital. Tomorrow, he will be escorted to the Penal Department's prison. Xuan Ha cried so much that her eyes were red and swollen.

“Lady, what should we do?”

"The old man has been upright and honest all his life, how could he endure such injustice?"

I don't cry. Tears are the most useless thing in this palace. I just quietly looked out the window, staring blankly at the sky getting darker little by little. Trieu Hanh comes every day. After returning from Tinh Vuong's palace, he immediately came to me and sat with me for a while. We don't say anything. But as long as he sits next to me, I feel at peace in my heart. He is thirteen years old. His figure is tall and straight, his eyebrows and eyes have lost their youthfulness, and have gained some calmness and sharpness that does not match his age. I know, he is waiting for my orders. If I just say a word, he will go to work. Even if it means robbing a prison car. But we can't. Doing so will only make us die faster. Late at night, I can't sleep. Suddenly I heard a very light movement outside the door. I sat up cautiously.

“Mother concubine, it's me.”

It's Trieu Hanh's voice. He pushed the door open and walked in, still carrying the cold air of the night. In his hand he held a piece of paper.

“Concubine mother, viewers.”

He gave me the paper. Borrowing the faint candlelight, we see a name and an address written on the paper. His name is the key royal historian in this meeting with my father, Tien Phong. The address is an underground casino in the south of the city.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Tien Phong is a distant cousin of the Queen.”

Trieu Hanh's voice was very low, but extremely clear.

"He was addicted to gambling. He lived in 'Thong Bao Dong Ward' in the southern city and owed thirty thousand taels of silver."

“And the boss behind that casino is his own brother of the Queen, the Father of the Nation."

In an instant, I immediately understood. This is a lump. The queen used gambling debt to control Tien Phong, forcing him to stand as false evidence, becoming a knife that bit people.

“Is this news trustworthy?” I asked.

My heart beats violently.

“Uncle Hoang looks it up.”

Trieu Hanh said.

“The evidence has already arrived.”

“Tien Phong's debt papers, along with the casino's books, are all in the hands of the royal uncle.”

I looked at Trieu Hanh and suddenly felt a bit strange. He told me these things so calmly, so naturally. It seems like he was born to handle such murky plots.

“Hanh Nhi…”

I'm a little worried.

“Mother, you once said.”

He interrupted me, his bright eyes looking straight at me.

“As long as we are still together, there will always be a chance to turn the tables.”

“Now, the opportunity has come.”

“We can't just wait for others to save us.”

“We have to take it upon ourselves, show that knife.”

The knife he talked about, I know what it is. It was the knife brought before the emperor. It's a knife he uses to cut people.

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

“Tomorrow, the Ministry of Criminal Investigation will publicly conduct a preliminary examination of your maternal ancestors.”

Trieu Hanh said.

“You don't need to do anything, just as usual.”

“The rest, leave it to me and my royal uncle.”

He looked at me, there was a steadfastness in his eyes that made me feel secure.

“Mother, do you believe me?”

I nodded.

“I believe in you.”

I will always believe in you.