Chapter 3 — Kneeling before the Queen and Duke

Mrs. Tu's birthday celebration party was held on a late autumn evening, when the corn leaves in Tu Palace's yard had turned yellow. It was called a birthday celebration because in fact she was not yet old enough to have a big ceremony, but Bach Quan used the excuse of his mother's poor health recently and wanted to organize a small party at home to please her, inviting relatives and a few close business guests to join in the fun. Hearing that, Khinh Vu immediately dropped the embroidery needle on the table, her eyes lit up, thinking that her husband had finally paid attention to family matters, so he personally took care of everything, from choosing the dishes, arranging the seating, to sewing a new set of clothes for her mother-in-law to wear on the happy day.

During the few days before the party, Khinh Vu hardly had a full night's sleep. She personally went to the kitchen to check each dish, personally went to the market to choose each piece of fabric to make a dress for her mother-in-law, and also carefully instructed the housekeeper to arrange the seats appropriately, with those with higher positions sitting close, those with less close relationships sitting far away, to avoid anything rude happening in front of relatives. One night she stayed up until the third shift to manually re-embroider a frayed corner of the tablecloth, always telling the servants that such trivial matters were not worth their concern, she alone was enough to take care of them. Looking at that scene, many people in the palace thought to themselves that the young lady of the Tu family was truly a rare wife, deserving of a more complete blessing than what fate had in store for her.

On the night of the party, lanterns hung all over the yard, the sound of flutes echoed, guests bustled in and out, everyone praised the young lady of the Tu family for her skillful care and knowledge of how to take care of her husband's family. Khinh Vu wore a light blue dress and a simple jade hairpin. She went around the banquet tables to greet guests, the smile on her lips never fading. Unbeknownst to her, in the midst of all that chatter and laughter, two pairs of eyes were still watching her every step and every gesture, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Nhuoc Lan, in a dark red dress that stood out in the crowd, personally carried a tray of tea towards the end of the party, when the guests were tipsy and the atmosphere was less formal and became more liberal and noisy. She smiled, went to Khinh Vu, and said softly: "Eldest sister has worked hard tonight, let me pour you a cup of lotus tea, drink to warm your stomach and relieve fatigue."

Khinh Vu, who was used to her adoptive sister's usual thoughtfulness, did not have any doubts, smiled and took the cup of tea, softly saying thank you. The cup of lotus tea radiated a gentle fragrance, the color of the water was as clear as usual, no one could recognize that underneath that layer of fragrance was a colorless and tasteless poison, carefully mixed by Nhuoc Lan according to the dosage prescribed by the herbalist, enough to work slowly over a few hours, creating the feeling of a sudden heart attack without leaving any suspicious traces.

Khinh Vu finished her cup of tea, feeling a little more refreshed after a busy evening, and continued to greet guests as usual. She did not expect that in just that moment, her fate would be decided. Bach Quan stood from afar and observed, seeing Nhuoc Lan gently nod his head, the cup of wine in his hand swayed slightly because his hand suddenly trembled, but then the image of the transfer documents still lying still in the cabinet waiting for his wife's signature, along with the laughing words of his cousin still ringing in his ears, made him suppress all his guilt, turn away and continue entertaining guests as if nothing happened.

The party ended at the second watch, the guests took turns leaving, leaving only the family members to clean up. Khinh Vu helped arrange tables and chairs, bid farewell to the last guests, and suddenly felt an unusual pain in her chest, as if someone was squeezing his heart. She put her hands on her chest, her breathing gradually became labored, her steps staggered, leaning against the pillar. A servant standing nearby saw this and cried out in panic, rushing to help her.

"Madam! What's wrong with you?"

That cry rang out in the gradually empty yard, causing the few people who were still lingering to clean up to rush over. Khinh Vu tried to say something, but her throat tightened and her eyes began to blur; she could only see the figure of Bach Quan running towards her, his face flashing with something very difficult to name—not quite worry, not quite indifference, but an inner struggle that only he himself could understand.

"Quickly, call the doctor here!" Bach Quan shouted loudly, his voice sounding truly panicked, enough for no one among the servants to suspect anything. But when he bent down to support Khinh Vu, close to her ear, he just whispered the words that only the two of them could hear, words that made her heart that was gradually stopping beating feel like it was being torn apart again: "Don't blame me, I have no other choice."

Khinh Vu, in a gradually approaching coma, heard those words and felt like the whole world was collapsing right before her eyes. She wanted to ask why, wanted to ask what she had done wrong, wanted to ask why the person she loved the most and trusted the most could be so cruel, but her throat could no longer make any sound. Her eyes gradually closed, the last image that remained in her mind was Nhuoc Lan's face standing in the distance, her cold eyes watching, without any emotion, without a single tear, completely different from the fake heartbreak she was showing in front of the surrounding servants.

The doctor was invited, but of course could not find the real cause, only diagnosed that the young lady had a congenital heart disease, perhaps due to overworking for many years, combined with the sultry atmosphere of the crowded party, causing the old disease to suddenly relapse. The doctor gave her some sedatives, advised her to rest completely, avoid strong emotions, then said goodbye and left late at night, completely without the slightest suspicion of a plot secretly taking place right before his eyes.

In a coma, Khinh Vu still recalls fragmentary memories of three years as a bride, remembers the first day she stepped into Tu Palace with so much hope for a perfect home, remembers the nights with her husband discussing books by the oil lamp, remembers the times Nhuoc Lan sat by the bed telling her funny stories to relieve her fatigue after a long day. All those memories were now flickering mixed with the pain in her chest, with her breathing becoming more and more labored, making her no longer able to distinguish between what was real and what was the illusion of a person about to die. Perhaps until her last conscious moment, she still did not dare to believe that the people she loved the most were the reason that pushed her to this brink.

Old lady Tu, who was very fond of her daughter-in-law, was extremely frightened when she heard the bad news. She personally went to Khinh Vu's bedside, held her hand, tears streaming down her face, constantly praying to God to help her daughter-in-law recover quickly. She did not expect that her biological son was the one behind all the suffering that her daughter-in-law was suffering. Nhuoc Lan also stayed by the bed all night, personally wiping Khinh Vu's face and covering her with a warm towel. Her worried expression was no different from that of a sister who truly loved her sister, making no one in the Tu palace, including the closest servants, have the slightest doubt about the truth hidden behind that perfect cover.

That night, when everyone in the palace gradually fell asleep due to fatigue after a long night of worry, only Bach Quan and Nhuoc Lan stood quietly outside the room, looking at each other through the flickering oil lamp light. Both knew that the poison had penetrated deeply, and it was only a matter of time before Khinh Vu breathed her last. But to complete their plan, they had to do something even more important, something that would erase all traces, ensuring that even if anyone suspects, no evidence can be found against them. The cold late moonlight shined through the window, illuminating two faces planning the next steps in a cruel plot that the woman lying barely alive in the other room could never have imagined.

"The doctor said that the lady needs to rest completely and not allow anyone to visit other than her family," Nhuoc Lan said softly, her voice returning to its usual calmness. "I will personally be on duty, so that your mother can rest in peace. You just need to act heartbroken and worried like a normal husband, don't reveal anything strange."

Bach Quan nodded, but his eyes still did not leave the half-closed door frame, where his wife's breathing was getting weaker with each passing moment. In his heart, a part of him still lingers on the image of his gentle wife who had devoted herself to him for three years, but the other part, the part that had been swallowed by greed and pride, was hastily calculating what to do next so that no one can find out the clues. Both understood that medical death was only the first step, they still needed an irrefutable proof, a piece of paper with the government's seal, from which they could legitimately take over the entire estate without facing any scrutiny from their maternal relatives or the business associations that often did business with the Sam family.