Chapter 1 — On the big wedding day, my husband ignored me and personally carried my pregnant sister to the palanquin.

I spoke softly. Phuc Bo stood up and respectfully led me inside.

"Your Majesty has an order, the Princess returns to the palace, all ceremonies must follow the highest regulations. Dinh Lan Thuy Ta's palace has been prepared, please the Princess follow this old slave."

I followed him, going through successive corridors. Tinh Vuong Palace is extremely large, with elaborately carved pavilions and pavilions, every step is a scene, everywhere exudes the discreet luxury and majesty of the royal family. Compared to that small Co family palace, it is countless times better. Dinh Lan Thuy Ta is the monastery with the most beautiful scenery in the entire Tinh Vuong Palace. Built close to the lake, quiet yet elegant. The decoration inside the palace is even more precious and valuable. A maid dressed in blue clothes and with a delicate appearance stepped forward to bow to me.

"Slave Thanh Lam, obeying the King's orders, is here to serve the Princess."

I observed her once. His eyes were calm, his breathing steady, his knuckles had a thin layer of callus. A person who knows martial arts.

"Your name is Thanh Lam?"

"Where is the king?"

We ask what we care about most. Thanh Lam bowed his head and replied:

"Your Majesty, the Royal Highness is discussing matters in the palace. He told me to convey the message to you, please rest assured that the Royal Highness will stay, everything in the palace, you can decide for yourself."

"Did he... say anything else?"

Thanh Lam paused for a moment, a very faint smile seemed to appear on his face.

"The king also said..."

"He said, please don't get angry because of those people and harm yourself."

"Not worth it."

"It's not worth it for that kind of person."

That sentence without beginning or end is like a stream of warm water, suddenly flowing through the frozen lake in my heart. The King Tinh that I have never met. The man in the rumor is cold and ruthless, but decisive in killing. It doesn't seem as cold as we thought. He knows everything that happened in the Co family's palace. Even knows how to calm our emotions. I changed out of that unsightly robe, took a shower, and changed my clothes. Thanh Lam chose a long ivory white dress for me, with elegant orchid branches embroidered on the hem. I sat in front of the dressing table, quietly looking at myself in the mirror. The phoenix mandarin and robe had been removed, revealing a stunningly beautiful face. You are like a distant mountain. Eyes like autumn water. It's just that the gentleness and innocence of the past were no longer in those eyes. Only a piece of cold silence remained.

"Your Highness, how do you plan to handle the affairs of the Co family's mansion?"

Thanh Lam asked softly while fixing my hair. I looked into my own cold eyes in the mirror.

"Debt, of course, must be calculated."

"Love must be cut cleanly."

"Send my words to Trieu Phong, come to the Co residence early tomorrow morning to collect the debt."

"If they don't pay, then transfer all the valuable things in the palace to me."

"Let them taste the taste of nothing."

Thanh Lam replied respectfully. I paused a bit.

"Send someone to investigate Tham Vi Vi's background."

"A sister who can conceive Co Dien's child right under my eyelids is probably not a simple person."

"I understand, slave."

I was the only one staying at Dinh Lan Thuy Ta. The vast palace is so quiet that only the sound of the wind can be heard outside the window. Yet here we are awake all night. We don't know what's waiting for us ahead. These are even deeper calculations in Tinh Vuong Palace. Or maybe the storms are more intense at the court. But there is one thing we are extremely clear about. I will no longer let others kill at will. Early the next morning, Trieu Phong led people to the Co family residence. Just past the hour of the Snake, he returned to serve his destiny.

"Bam Vuong Phi, as you expected, the Co family's palace can't get any money."

I was still leisurely enjoying tea, not even bothering to lift my eyelids.

"Your subordinates followed your orders and sealed all the land, land deeds, antiques and paintings in the Co family palace."

"Just leave them an empty house and enough food for three days."

"How did they react?"

I put down the tea cup. A trace of contempt appeared on Trieu Phong's face.

"The old lady of the Co palace fainted again on the spot."

"Co Dien knelt on the ground, begging his subordinates to extend it for a few more days. His subordinates broke his legs and threw him out."

"As for Tham Vi Vi..."

Seeming to remember something, Trieu Phong frowned slightly.

"She's a bit strange."

"She didn't cry or cause trouble, she just stood behind the door and said a word to her subordinates."

I suddenly felt interested.

"What did she say?"

"She said: 'Tell Tan Thu, for today's humiliation, I will definitely repay it a hundredfold tomorrow.'"