Chapter 2 — Instead of Marrying His Wife, 7 Years of Supporting Him to the Throne, In Exchange for a Cup of Poisoned Wine

“You really… have never trusted me.”

The Great Hall was silent for a moment. Ta Hanh looked at me, an extremely faint ray of complexity flashed through his eyes, so fast that it made me think it was just an illusion. But the next moment, that flash of complexity was replaced by coldness.

“The evidence is real, how can I believe you?”

Authentic evidence. I almost wanted to laugh out loud. The letter that called me a foreign minister's request was retrieved from my palace. That piece of jade with my personal seal on it was also found under my pillow. But in recent days, the person who comes in and out of my palace the most is the matriarch arranged by Tham Minh Chieu. It's not that I haven't argued before. But no one listened. Because I'm just a female. Because I am the crown prince's replacement. Because after Ta Hanh ascended the throne, he needed a truly worthy queen with a noble background. As for me, someone who knows too much about his struggling years, a former concubine with the title of "second wife instead of a husband", I'm too annoying. I suddenly don't want to beg anymore. I don't want to cry anymore either. I looked at the man on the throne and suddenly remembered the wedding night seven years ago. At that time, he sat under the candlelight, his face pale, even his happy clothes could not hide some of his vitality. After removing the wedding scarf, he looked at me, was silent for a long time, then said in a low voice:

“If you regret it, there is still time.”

At that moment, I felt a little soft-hearted. I thought, this person probably isn't as cold as outsiders say. It turns out he's not cold-hearted. Just a little bit of his remaining gentleness that he has never given me before. The toxicity finally fully took hold. I suddenly vomited a large mouthful of blood, my whole body fell to the ground, and my eyes went dark. The sound of Tham Minh Chieu's exclamation of "so dirty" seemed to be heard in his ears, and he seemed to hear the panicked footsteps of the palace servants. In the chaos, I heard Ta Hanh coldly instruct:

“Pull down.”

It turned out that seven years of husband and wife. In the end, we are only worth those two words. I lay face down on the cold yellow tile floor, suddenly thinking clearly. In my entire life, my biggest mistake was not changing my marriage, nor was I loving the wrong person. But when I die, I still pray that they will turn their heads to look at me just once. If there is an afterlife. I absolutely will not be the daughter of the Tham family anymore. Absolutely not being Ta Hanh's wife anymore. Absolutely do not bow your head for anyone anymore. Before my consciousness completely sank into darkness, the last thing I saw was the golden phoenix spreading its wings to fly above Tham Minh Chieu's phoenix robe. Unfortunately, she couldn't wear it for much longer... When I opened my eyes again, I smelled the scent of cinnamon flowers. Not the cold smell of ambergris in Khon Ninh palace, nor the bitter smell of poisoned wine, but the sweet, slightly sickening scent of cinnamon flowers blooming in the courtyard on the first night of autumn. There was also the maid's low whisper in my ear.

"Why aren't you awake yet? Tomorrow we have to get married. If we miss the auspicious time, the lady will be angry again."

"Just keep quiet. The fourth lady has been upset these past few days. Who would want to marry a sick crown prince?" (intentionally not using Tu Miss)

I was stunned for a long, long time Slowly turned his head, looking towards the two young faces next to the bed. They are two young maids in my previous hospital, Thanh Le and Xuan Hanh. The girls are still alive. I raised my hand in shock, touched my face, then lifted the blanket to look at my body. There is no blue-black color after the poisoning occurs. There are also no dark scars left behind by years of hard work in the Eastern Palace. I'm still sixteen years old. It's still Tham Thanh Vu who is about to be pushed to replace that guy. My heart was so shaken that I almost rolled out of bed and ran to the bronze mirror. The girl in the mirror had a delicate appearance, still carrying some of her immaturity that had not yet melted away, her lips were pink and bright, her eyes were clear, not looking haggard and worn away by the years like before she died in her previous life. I stared blankly at myself in the mirror, for a long time, and suddenly burst out laughing. I have been reborn. God actually gave me a chance to do it again. Thanh Le and Xuan Hanh were startled by my laughter and quickly stepped forward to help me.

"Fourth lady, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

I put my hand on my chest, where the pain that tore my heart and cracked my lungs still remained when the poison broke out in my previous life. But inside my heart, little by little, I became more alert. Tomorrow is the day to change marriage. In other words, everything is still in time now…. I slowly sat back down next to the bed and asked softly:

“Where are the Lady and the First Lady?”

Thanh Le quickly said:

"The lady is in the front yard. I heard that the eldest lady lost her temper again and refused to test the price. Marquis has already gone there."

I lowered my eyes, slightly curling the corners of my lips. It's still the drama of the previous life. The older sister criticized the prince for being weak and refused to marry him. Her parents couldn't bear to let her suffer, so they remembered me - the daughter who was the most easily manipulated. In my previous life, I heard my mother cry and say, "If Minh Chieu marries her, it would be the same as sending her to die", then I heard my father say, "Your sister is my daughter, she will be of great use to the Tham family in the future, I cannot break the burden of this marriage", and finally my mother knelt down and begged, saying, "If I don't go, neither my aunt nor my younger brother will be able to live." That's why I softened my heart. But in this life, I won't anymore. Whoever wants to get married will get married. I won't die for anyone else anymore. I turned my head to look at Thanh Le.

“Go get the moon-white outfit from my closet.”

Thanh Le was stunned:

“Miss, it's so late, where do you want to go?”

“Pre-hospital.”

If it's been done again, then there are debts that should start counting from tonight. When we arrived at the front hospital, the room was noisy. Tham Minh Chieu cried like a pear flower caught in the rain, plunging into his mother's arms, his voice choked up.

"Mother, if I don't get married, I won't get married even if I die! The prince won't be able to live for a few more years, so how will my daughter be able to keep it alive!"