Chapter 2 — I was taken to the palace as a substitute for the dead princess

My knee hit the tile floor hard. The intense pain made my eyes dark. The Taoist began to ring the bell. The sound of the bell sounded like sharp needles piercing straight into the eardrum. I saw the woman's fingertips in the ice coffin move slightly. I thought I had such a fever that I had hallucinations. Right after that, the Taoist brought a bowl of dark blood and forcibly poured it straight into my mouth. The strong fishy smell immediately rose to the throat. I coughed violently. The Emperor squatted down in front of me and grabbed my chin forcefully.

“Tham Dien.”

"I still remember your father, Tham Thai Deputy, once taught me to read."

“So, I will give you a glorious ending.”

I stared at him.

“What is the ending?”

The Emperor laughed.

“From today onwards, there will no longer be Tham Dien in this world.”

"Being able to become Minh Xu's body is your destiny."

My heart felt like someone had aggressively carved out a large piece of it. My father passed away very young. The Tham family also declined because of that. I originally thought that as long as I married into the Bui palace, I could at least live in peace. Who would have thought that for those who have fallen from grace, even life can be considered a kind of grace by others. The Taoist suddenly took out a yellow talisman and stuck it directly on my forehead. The four-sided candle suddenly burned fiercely. I hear my own bones constantly making cracking sounds. It's like something is being forcibly pulled out of the body. I want to scream. But his throat could not make any sound. I saw my hands hanging down helplessly. Also saw another "me" slowly flying out of that body. Not another me. It's my soul. I stood outside the circle of candles, bowing my head and looking at the body lying on the ground. The body slowly opened its eyes. The Emperor held his breath. The Taoist knelt down on the ground. All the palace staff in the palace also knelt down at the same time. The face that originally belonged to me slowly turned towards the emperor. She looked at him, at first there was a confused look in her eyes, but soon layers of moisture rose up.

“Your Majesty…”

The emperor's whole body shook violently. He rushed forward and hugged her tightly as if if he let go for a moment, she would immediately disappear.

“I'm back.”

I stood silently next to you. No one saw me. I reached out my hand to hold my own body. The tip of the finger pierced straight through her shoulder. A bone-chilling cold air immediately spread from the palm of the hand to the whole body. She leaned in the emperor's arms, sobbing in my own voice.

“Your Majesty... I'm so cold...”

The emperor immediately took off his dragon robe and carefully wrapped her around her. From beginning to end, he never glanced at the torn talisman on the ground once. No one looked in my direction either. At that moment, we finally understood. I'm dead. But not completely dead. I become a ghost. As for my body... Has become the new grave of Princess Truong Lac. At that moment, the main hall door was suddenly pushed open by someone from outside. A young eunuch rushed in.

“Your Majesty, Lord Bui requests an audience!”

The emperor's movement of hugging "me" stopped. I was also stiff all over. Bui Nghien is here. The husband from before even looked at me I don't want to do it one more time... When Bui Nghien entered the main hall, his body was still covered in moisture from the rain. He wore a dark red official robe, his eyebrows and eyes were cold, just like always, his face did not reveal even half of his emotions. I stand before you. Or to be more precise, my soul is floating in front of you. I called out to him.

“Bui Nghien.”

He didn't have any reaction. I called again.

“I'm here!”

He just walked past my body. The hem of the shirt gently penetrates my soul. I stood there stunned, even forgetting the cold feeling. He didn't see me. Bui Nghien knelt down to worship.

“God Bui Nghien, please pay your respects to Your Majesty.”

The Emperor did not speak for him to stand up. He hugged "me" who was wearing a dragon robe into his arms, his eyes full of alertness and caution.

"You're still in the palace at this late night, what's the matter?"

Bui Nghien slightly lowered his eyes.

“I heard that the inner palace has summoned my wife to the palace, so I came here specifically to welcome you.”

I was stunned. The person you're talking about is me. This is the first time in the past three years that he has stood in front of others and admitted that I am his wife. But his voice was so calm. So calm that it seemed like he was just reclaiming a part of the document that belonged to him. The Emperor smiled coldly.