Chapter 21 — Kieu Hoa went to the wrong door, I don't want to go back

He used both hands to offer the box to me.

“This is the last half page the lady left behind.”

When I received it, my fingertips were cold. Co Hoai Nghien used the tip of a knife to pry open the iron box. The inside was indeed pressed with a thin silk sheet. The ink on the silk has faded, but the lines still appear clearly. Duong Ninh is not my biological daughter, but the aunt of Princess Chieu Ninh. Her father, Ninh Vien, Deputy General guarding the northern border, lost his life because of refusing to change the salary book. I accepted the Princess's deathbed entrustment, brought the baby to the Tham palace, and took the name of my biological daughter to raise her. If the old case is reopened again, the three families of Co, Luc, and Tham all have people who can be of use, but they also all have ghosts that cannot be approached. Evidence in the Luc family's backyard, seals hidden in the mirror, books hidden under the Buddha statue. I looked at those lines of words, my chest felt like it was being pressed by a heavy object. Thanh Chi tightly covered her mouth, tears falling drop by drop.

“Miss, it's not that you don't need me... but I use my life to protect you.”

I was speechless. It turned out that the mother had already prepared all the escape routes. She told me not to trust the Tham family, but she hid me in the Tham government. She wanted me to live... But she herself was buried to death in that old building. Co Hoai Nghien put the thin silk sheet in a layer of oilcloth.

“That year, wasn't Princess Chieu Ninh said to have fallen ill and passed away?”

The mute raised his head.

“Falling ill and passing away... is just for outsiders to see.”

"The county lord investigated and found out that the border grain had been swapped, and on the way to the capital, he was stopped and killed."

"General Ninh escorted people to the outside of the city, in the end there was only a newly born child left."

Luc Thua Uyen's voice became lower.

“This name Ninh Vien, I once heard my father mention it.”

“People say that is the toughest skeleton of Tran Bac Army.”

Dumb look at him.

“Hard bones lead to early death.”

"The guy with a soft spine, to this day, is still in the Luc family's backyard enjoying the glory and wealth."

Luc Thua Uyen's face immediately turned cold.

“Are you talking about my second uncle?”

Dumb Bo did not answer, only said:

"That year, the Luc Nhi family escorted food and grass, Wei Hanh led the army to change directions, someone in the Tham residence passed on fake books, and the Gu family had someone change the writing."

The coldness in Co Hoai Nghien's eyes became even heavier.

“Which member of the Co family?”

Mute's voice lowered.

“Grandfather Gu.”

Co Hoai Nghien's knuckles turned slightly white. I looked towards him. His face was still calm, but in his eyes it seemed like an old wound had just been opened. At that moment, a piece of rubble fell from the top of his head. Luc Thua Uyen swung his knife to knock it away and shouted loudly: The mute man took the lamp and walked to the stone door and pressed the hidden lever under the offering table. The stone door slowly opened a crack. The cold wind rushed in from outside, bringing with it damp steam. Thanh Chi supported me and stepped forward. I turned my head to look at the three anonymous spiritual relics.

“Shut up, who do those three sacred tablets worship?”

The uncle was silent for a moment.

“Lord Gu, Deputy General Ninh, Princess Chieu Ninh.”

“What about the word ‘Tham’?”

He looked towards me.

“That's the position the lady reserved for herself.”

The bridge of my nose suddenly stings.

“Why didn't you engrave your name?”

Mute Bo said softly:

“The lady said that she has borrowed too much all her life many identities, in the end... there's no need to leave a name."

Tongues of fire rolled down from the entrance to the secret passage, hot heat rushing behind him. Co Hoai Nghien grabbed my wrist.

“Don't turn around.”

He pulled me through the stone door. Behind the door is an even narrower water path, slippery underfoot, and the walls are covered with green moss on both sides. Shut up at the end, suddenly stopped. I turned my head and called him.

“Shut up, hurry up!”

He closed the other half of the iron box and stuffed it into Thanh Chi's lap.

“Miss, this old slave is old, he can't walk fast anymore.”

My face immediately changed.

“Don't say such things.”

He smiled slightly.

"That lady once said, if one day the young lady comes here, let the old slave take her place and see her off a little further."

Co Hoai Nghien immediately turned around and reached out to pull him. But the stone beam above was burned by the fire and collapsed loudly. Mute Bo used all his strength to push Co Hoai Nghien. The stone door collapsed amidst the heavy smoke and dust. I rushed forward, using force to smash the door. From behind the door only one sentence could be heard carrying his smile.

“Miss, just move forward, don't return to the Tham family.”

At the end of the waterway is an abandoned incense shop. When we stepped out of the underground door behind the wall, the pale gray light of dawn appeared on the horizon. The fire in the direction of Tham residence has not yet gone out. Smoke from the Co Family's old mansion still hangs in the east of the capital. In just one night, it was as if someone had torn a hole out of the darkness of the capital, the inside was filled with the rusty smell of blood. As soon as he stepped out of the underground door, Luc Thua Uyen threw himself on the horse.

“I'm going back to Luc palace.”

I hold the reins.

“I'll go too.”

He frowned.

"You have taken half of the thin silk, let me investigate the rest."

I look at him.

"The seal is hidden in the mirror, the books are hidden under the Buddha statue."

“Do you know which mirror, which Buddha statue?”

Luc Thua Uyen was silent.