Chapter 10 — Kieu Hoa went to the wrong door, I don't want to go back

The entourage gave the oil paper to Co Hoai Nghien. Co Hoai Nghien opened it, just looked at it, his eyes became a little colder.

“What is written on it?”

He didn't answer right away. We take one step forward.

“Master Gu, this matter is related to my mother, I should know.”

He gave me a piece of paper. There are only six words on the paper. The key is with Tham's daughter. The copper key in my sleeve suddenly felt heavier. Thanh Chi also thought about it, looking at my sleeve in horror. I don't avoid it. Co Hoai Nghien's eyes fell on my wrist.

“Do you have a key on you?”

I looked at him for a moment.

"It could make them dare to go into the Thai Pho palace and kill people for a key, I'm afraid it's not the key to a normal private warehouse."

“I just know it's something my mother left me.”

Co Hoai Nghien asked:

“Did she leave any words?”

"Before her death, she told me not to trust the Tham family, nor to easily trust noble families."

“What else?”

I lowered my eyes.

“She told me to live.”

As soon as those three words were uttered, my chest suddenly felt heavy. When my mother passed away, I was still very young. She held my hand tightly, her nails almost digging into my skin. She said, Duong Ninh, please be patient until the day you can leave, don't look back. We didn't understand then. Now I seem to understand a bit. Co Hoai Nghien put the piece of paper back.

“There will be extra guards in this yard tonight.”

“Is Lord Gu afraid that I will run away or afraid that I will die?”

He answered too quickly, which instead made me pause. He looked at me, his expression still cold as before.

“Now she is a living witness.”

"Before entering the palace tomorrow, nothing can happen to you."

Thanh Chi quickly said:

“Then can this slave stay in the room to serve the young lady?”

Co Hoai Nghien nodded.

“Don't turn off the lights.”

“What about that maid?”

“Send it to the hospital.”

“Don't let her die.”

Co Hoai Nghien looked at me.

“You want to interrogate yourself?”

“She mentioned my mother just now, as if she was reciting someone else's words.”

"A person who only knows how to reread words will definitely remember the tone of the person who spoke to him."

He was silent for a moment.

“Before tomorrow, I will make her open her mouth.”

As the maid was being dragged away, she suddenly raised her head to look at me again. Her chin was swollen by the stone, and her speech was no longer clear, but she still managed to squeeze out a sentence.

“Your mother killed more than one person.”

Thanh Chi angrily shouted:

“Shut up!”

I didn't move at all. That sentence was like a small needle sticking into the ear. It didn't hurt much, but it also couldn't be pulled out. Co Hoai Nghien gently raised his hand, and the guards immediately covered the maid's mouth. The hallway became quiet again. The bowl of sedative soup on the ground was covered with sand, but white foam continued to ooze from the gaps. I looked at that water stain and suddenly asked:

“Did Sir Gu already know that someone would come tonight?”

“Guess.”

“So you're always out in the yard?”

“What if I drank that bowl of soup?”

He glanced at me.

“She won't drink.”

I suddenly felt a bit funny.

“Lord Gu believes in me so much.”

"If you dare to get down from the palanquin in front of the gate of the Thai Pho palace, you won't be stupid enough to drink a bowl of soup of unknown origin."

I lowered my head to look at my fingertips, which were still stained red.

“But it's not the right time We are all smart.”

“Then stop relying on force.”

His voice was still calm, but it didn't sound like sarcasm. I raised my eyes to look at him.

“Master Gu, if I give you the key, can it be exchanged for a way to live tomorrow?”

He didn't answer. The night wind blew, the lamp in the hallway swayed slightly. Co Hoai Nghien said:

“The way of life is not given in exchange.”

“So what is it?”

“You have to hold it in your hands.”

I was stunned. Before turning to leave, he said one more thing.

"Whatever the palace asks tomorrow, you just answer."

“But the matter of the key, unless His Majesty himself asks, cannot be mentioned proactively.”

Before I could ask why, the sound of rapid footsteps suddenly came from the courtyard. The entourage ran down the hallway, lowered his voice and said:

“Sir, someone from the Tham family has arrived.”

My heart suddenly sank. The entourage glanced at me and continued:

"Master Shen is outside the palace, saying that the girl was bewitched by someone else, and acted immorally on the street. Please, Lord Co, hand over the person."

The Tham family arrived faster than I thought. It's been less than half an hour since I changed into my robe, and my father is already standing in front of the gate of the Thai Pho residence asking for someone. Thanh Chi was so angry that her eyes turned red.

“Miss, at this time the master did not ask whether you were injured or not, but instead said that you were unvirtuous first.”

I sat under the light, slowly taking out the copper key from my sleeve pocket. The key was very small, the color had faded, and on the handle was engraved a newly blooming begonia flower. In my mother's name, there is also the word "Duong". When I was young, I still thought it was just a private sign that she quietly left behind. Now that I think about it, that begonia flower was probably a life-saving talisman.