Chapter 16 — Instead of Marrying His Wife, 7 Years of Supporting Him to the Throne, In Exchange for a Cup of Poisoned Wine

Not to mention the courtiers, even the palace was in chaos. No one expected that the new emperor would not establish a queen, but instead made me the eldest princess and gave her land in Giang Nam. For a time, rumors spread everywhere, some said I had fallen out of favor, some said I took one step back to take three steps forward, and some said the new emperor loved me too much and could not bear to let me be trapped in the harem. But those things are no longer relevant to us. Because I can finally leave. The day we left the palace, the sky was very clear. I wore the royal dress given to me by Princess Truong, brought my mother, my younger brother, Thanh Le, Xuan Hanh, and several trunks of things that truly belonged to me all these years, and boarded the carriage to head south. Outside the palace gate, civil and military mandarins all came to see him off. Ta Hanh stood in the front position, wearing the royal black dragon robe, standing on the long jade steps looking down at me. He is now a true prince. His appearance was still cold as before, his aura was heavier than before, standing there, it was as if everyone's fate was in his hands. How I longed to be able to stand side by side with him in this position. Now that this day has really come to pass, I just want to be as far away from him as possible. I walked up to him and performed a ceremony.

“My sister bids farewell to Your Majesty.”

When the words "my sister" were uttered, I could clearly see the bottom of his eyes trembling slightly. From the Crown Princess, to the Princess. From husband and wife, to military god. It was my hand that cut off the last bit of possibility between us. Ta Hanh looked at me, and after a long time, he slowly reached out to help me up. His palm was still warm, just like I had felt it countless times in my two lifetimes. But this time, I'm no longer attached. He said softly: "Come to Giang Nam, if anything goes wrong, please report back." I nodded slightly.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Tham Thanh Vu.” He suddenly called me back.

I raised my eyes. He looked at me, a very deep emotion swirling in the bottom of his eyes, but in the end it only turned into a very quiet sentence.

“In the future, she will live very well.”

I laugh.

"Of course."

“Because this time, I just live as myself.”

Having finished speaking, I did not stop anymore and turned around to get on the carriage. The moment the car curtains came down, I suddenly felt the rock that had been pressing in my chest for two lifetimes, and finally completely shattered. In my previous life, I died in a cup of poisoned wine in Kun Ninh Palace. In this life, I have finally stepped out of the palace gates and headed towards the heaven and earth that truly belong to me. I will no longer be anyone's substitute. No longer being anyone's chess piece. No longer entrust your destiny to anyone's preferences. Giang Nam is very far away, the spring breeze is very beautiful. But my whole life has just begun. Three years later, Jiangnan. Outside Princess Chieu Ninh Truong's palace, spring water swirls around the city, and willows fill the streets. Silk, medicine, and tea shops under our name have opened throughout the southern continents. My younger brother has also grown into a teenager, reading books to practice martial arts in the library, his eyes no longer showing the shyness like when he was at the Marquis Palace. The birth mother's body has been well nourished, she grows flowers and fishes every day in the hospital, and smiles a lot more than before. I occasionally hear some news from the capital. For example, Truong Ninh Marquis Palace was completely defeated. Because his father was implicated in an old case, he was ridiculed recovered from menstruation, no longer capable of reinstatement. My mother could not bear the abuse and was sick all year round. As for Tham Minh Chieu, he ended up marrying a lowly mandarin, and it was said that life was not good. As for Ta Hanh. It is said that his harem has always been empty, and the courtiers have advised him to establish an Empress several times, but he has forced them down. When this news reaches my ears, I usually just smile lightly and then throw it behind my head. There are people and things that should be left in the past. That afternoon, I sat down in the long corridor along the lake in the hospital, looking through the books, when Thanh Le suddenly rushed over, and before his breathing had calmed down, he said that someone had arrived in the capital. I thought it was the palace's inner servant bringing something, but without raising my head I said: "According to the old rules, accept it." Thanh Le looked strange and said in a low voice:

“Not the inner city.”

The pen in my hand finally stopped slightly. When he raised his head, he sure enough saw a familiar figure at the end of the hallway. Ta Hanh came dressed in plain clothes, as if he was on his way, not even carrying a ceremonial staff beside him. After three years of not seeing each other, he was a little thinner than before, but his eyes and eyebrows lost a little bit of the gloominess of his youth, and a bit more calmness. He stood in the late spring breeze, looking at me, his eyes so deep that people didn't dare to look at them for a long time. After three years of not seeing each other, the person in front of me was already the true emperor of the world. The aura on his body was different from before, but the eyes that looked at me were still the eyes of that person back then. After a long time, he softly opened his mouth:

“Spring in Jiangnan… is indeed more beautiful than the capital.”