Chapter 11 — My Father Was a Great General of Tran Bac, He Married Me to a Cold-Faced Prime Minister

I looked at that intention, my face did not change, my eyes did not waver.

“She gave me face because she wanted me to speak for her.”

“What message?”

“Tell my father——tell him not to be so tied to Co Dien Chi.”

Thanh Hoa was stunned, unable to react in time.

“Miss, do you see that?”

"Because this decree was given to me, not to Co Dien Chi. She wanted to separate me from the interests of the Prime Minister's mansion, making me think that I could stand independently from the two sides, thereby wavering my stance."

I slowly put the Taoist intention aside, moving calmly as if it were just an ordinary piece of paper, not worth worrying about.

“When she——received the order, she thanked me.”

“What happens after that?”

"There's no after that, just accept it, the rest remains unchanged."

That night, I told this story to Co Dien Chi. He turned the teacup in his hand, his expression calm.

“She's even calmer than I thought.”

"What about you? Can you calm down?"

He put down the tea cup and looked at me.

“With you here, I can calm down.”

“Here we go again.”

“Not sweet words.” he said very seriously, "With you, I can see her true every step. You understand women better than me."

“Are you praising me?”

“Let's show off a little then?”

He stood up, walked in front of me, bent down——Help me pull back the cloak that had just slipped down.

“The night is cold, wear more clothes.”

“I don't mean this kind of expression!”

“So what kind do you want?”

I glared at him. He rarely smiled once, his laughter spread to the bottom of his eyes.

“Tomorrow, take her to eat crab dumplings in the western city.”

“That's fine.”

In the second month, the situation began to change. In the Northern Cuong, my father won two consecutive battles, his military power was greatly shaken. In the court, more and more people supported the Tham family and Co Dien Chi. The Queen Mother could not sit still anymore. She started using another tactic——public opinion. A rumor suddenly spread in the capital.

"The Prime Minister's wife is the real power in the palace, Co Dien Chi is nothing more than a puppet of the Tham family."

"Tham Niem Khanh, as a woman, dares to reach out and intervene in court affairs. The harem can't even intervene in government, let alone the front court, how can she let her intervene at will?"

"She manages matters in the palace, she also manages matters at court. Is the next step also managing the emperor?"

These words spread like poison everywhere. Thanh Hoa was so angry that her face turned red.

"Miss, outsiders are too much! When did you interfere in court affairs?"

“I did indeed intervene.”

“But that was to help the prime minister——”

“In the eyes of outsiders, there is no difference between helping or interfering.”

I raised my teacup and thought for a moment.

“Where did these words come from?”

“Tea shop in the western city.”

“Which restaurant?”

“Van Huong Cac, the innkeeper's family is Tien.”

I put down the tea cup.

“Go check out the Treasurer's background.”

The next day, Thanh Hoa returned home. Treasurer Tien's wife is the step-sister of a matriarch in Trinh Quoc Cong's palace. Trinh Quoc Cong Palace. It's Trinh Quoc Cong's palace again. I smiled softly. The Queen Mother's tactic is certainly still the old style——using popular opinion to put pressure on the court. It's just that she underestimated one thing. She underestimated me. That afternoon, I took Thanh Hoa with me and shortened the car The horse gently departed and went straight to Van Huong Cac. As soon as I entered the door, I found a place to sit down and ordered a pot of tea. At the next table, there were a few scholars chatting excitedly, with an enthusiastic tone as if discussing worldly matters.

“Let me tell you, the prime minister's wife, surnamed Tham, is indeed Wu Zetian of Dai Qi.”

"Isn't that right? I heard that she even had to read the Prime Minister's statement."

"Sigh, Prime Minister Gu is also pitiful, a top-ranked minister, but is controlled by his wife to the point where he can't breathe."

I slightly raised my eyebrows, raised my tea cup, and slowly walked over.

“What are a few young gentlemen discussing so loudly?”

A few scholars glanced at me, just thinking that I was a normal passerby.

"When discussing political affairs, a woman like you, I'm afraid I won't understand."

“Then just try it.” I smiled, pulled out a chair and sat down, my voice was neither hasty nor urgent, "You say the prime minister's wife is involved in court affairs, what evidence is there?"

"Does this still need proof? Everyone knows."

“I just asked one question.” I put down the teacup and lightly tapped the table with my fingertips, "Have you ever seen her in charge?"

“Haven't seen it, but heard about it.”

“Hear who?”

“The tea shop treasurer said.”

“Treasurer money?”

“That's right, Treasurer Qian is the most knowledgeable about information.”

I nodded, slowly turned my head to look at the counter, where Cashier Tien was bowing his head wiping dishes.