Chapter 5 — Mother's Throne

Under the dim candlelight, Ta An couldn't recognize who she was. Ta An thought the person sitting in the Trieu Duong palace was me. He became angry with revenge. Without seeing clearly, he beat his biological mother almost to death. If it weren't for the Noble Concubine's timely rescue of Co Ky Ngoc... I'm afraid she would have turned into a blackened mass of coal. Some older palace servants also recognized Co Ky Ngoc, their faces showed disdain. After all, they had heard those rumors in the past. Ta An tried to resist:

“Mother, I don't know this person.”

"How can your mother slander me for no reason, saying she is your mother?"

“My mother is just a commoner, she passed away ten years ago.”

“Don't know each other?” We move forward, pressing each step:

“If you're not used to it, why do you worship her sculpture in the room?”

"And you intentionally used a thin silk scarf to cover the statue's face?"

I sent someone to carry that maid's statue. Ta An still refused to admit it, gritted his teeth and said:

"I already told you, that's the statue of my mother!"

“Nonsense!” I put the statue on the ground:

“This is the work of jade sculpture master Chu An, he passed away when I was only seven years old.”

“How could he sculpt the mature appearance of a seven-year-old child?”

I looked at Co Ky Ngoc who was in a coma:

“But at that time the first queen had already entered the palace as queen.”

“I saw the painting when she first entered the palace — exactly like this statue.”

It was that statue that made us begin to doubt the relationship between Ta An and Co Ky Ngoc. But the Buddha necklace in the hands of Ta An and the emperor, makes me dare to confirm - Ta An is the biological son of the emperor and the first queen. There are only three chains of Buddha beads in the whole world. Extremely rare materials, rarely found in the world. It was my grandfather's item and was prepared as a dowry for my mother. That day there was a lack of money in the house. Mother heard that Co Ky Ngoc sincerely worshiped the Buddha, so she sold the Buddha necklace to her at a high price. The two chains are now in the hands of the emperor and Ta An. The remaining chain is definitely with Co Ky Ngoc. It's no wonder Ta An criticized me for my lowly birth and criticized you for your low status. Co Ky Ngoc came from a famous family for hundreds of years and was once a queen. Of course nobler than us. It's just a pity that that nobility cannot be exposed to the light. Can only rot in darkness. Ta An grew up in the temple with Co Ky Ngoc. Learn to chant. Also learn hatred. Ta An thought that the Emperor was bewitched by me and the Noble Concubine, so he refused to bring mother and son back to the palace and acknowledge their identities. He resents me and the Noble Concubine. So before killing me and the Noble Concubine, he intentionally tortured and humiliated us. Clear evidence. Ta An had no way to refute, he could only bow his head and look at Co Ky Ngoc. There began to be whispers around. Even though he said it softly, it still reached my ears.

“So are the old rumors in the capital true?”

“So this child belongs to the first emperor, or to the current saint?”

“Looking at that appearance... it must be that of the reigning saint.”

In the midst of gossip. The Queen Mother was helped by the palace maid. She broke up the banquet and sent someone to take everyone out of the palace. Then send someone to collect the Crown Prince's seal. Then, she looked towards me and all the concubines behind me.

“Whose fault was it... Whose fault was it that family's misdeeds that year, causing the disaster that day now."

7

The Queen Mother opened her mouth, clearly stating Ta An's true identity. Ta An is the king's son. That year, the first emperor was seriously ill. At that time, the Emperor was still the King of Han, and he was sick in the palace. While being cared for by Co Ky Ngoc, the two developed feelings for each other. In the palace, rumors arose everywhere. The first emperor heard those rumors, saw their bad things with his own eyes, and immediately fell ill and died. The Queen Mother wanted to quell rumors and preserve royal dignity. Forced Co Ky Ngoc to be buried along with his predecessor. Outsiders only said that the emperor's love was profound and the queen willingly followed the emperor. But the emperor used a palace maid to substitute for Co Ky Ngoc. As for the real Co Ky Ngoc, it was hidden. The Queen Mother looked towards Ta An and said:

"We all wanted to pull out the weeds, but at that time she was pregnant, and we couldn't bear it."

“The first emperor has no descendants, so everyone thinks, what if this child is the first emperor's child?”

"But when the child is born, everyone will know that he is the king's child."

“If mother and son were willing to live their whole lives in the temple, everyone in the family would let it go.”

“Unexpectedly, they still want to return.”