Chapter 10 — On the day of the big wedding, the main concubine was changed, I still refused to kneel down

"He will discover that the books are not fake copies, he will go find the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince will panic."

“People who panic will make mistakes.”

“The person who made a mistake ——”

Ta Truong An looked at me.

“It's not worth sitting on that chair.”

One day before the spring festival. Sure enough, the whole palace was in chaos. Minister Tham Chinh discovered that the fake books had been exchanged for real books, and immediately ran to report to the Crown Prince in panic. After hearing this, the Crown Prince became furious, his face was cold as iron, he immediately ordered a search everywhere, determined to find the person who dared to bypass him and secretly swap books. Unfortunately, after searching again and again, turning over all the clues, I still couldn't find even a single trace. Last night, Truong Binh Van woke up in a panic, his whole body drenched in cold sweat, only to discover that the letters and keys he brought with him had all disappeared without a trace. His heart was on fire, but he did not dare to report the truth to the Crown Prince - something happened when he went to check the books in the middle of the night. Once he told it, the Crown Prince would not only not reward him, but also suspect that he had a strange heart and was secretly scheming. Therefore, he chose to stay silent. But that silence... unintentionally prolongs our precious time. Spring festival day. The Queen Mother sent a small palanquin to take me from Tho An palace to outside the altar.

"The Queen Mother's will, Mrs. Cam Dao will be the maid to pray for the Queen Mother's blessing, according to the Queen Mother's ceremony."

No one dared to stop the Queen Mother's people. The altar was built on Thien Dan Mountain north of the imperial citadel, nine stories of white jade steps, sixty feet high, with civil and martial officials lined up according to their rank on both sides of the steps. My father stood at the forefront of the martial arts ranks. Today, he is fully dressed in a first-class military official's uniform, with the "Tran Bac Dao" sword given to him by the Emperor at his waist. When he saw me appear next to the Queen Mother, his eyes moved slightly, then immediately returned to calm. Crown Prince So Lam Uyen stood in the highest position, facing heaven and earth, his back turned to the civil and military mandarins. Next to him, Lieu Nhu Yen was wearing a royal concubine's uniform, her face pale. She obviously knew about the books. The Spring Ceremony took place according to proper rituals. Sacrifice to heaven, sacrifice to earth, sacrifice to ancestors. At first glance, everything seems calm and peaceful. Until the Crown Prince finished reading the sacrificial inscription, he was about to throw the sacrificial inscription into the copper top to burn - Suddenly there was chaos below the steps.

“There are assassins!”

More than a dozen people dressed in black rushed out from both sides of the bushes surrounding the altar, holding swords in their hands, heading straight toward——my father.

“Protect the late General!”

Dinh Quoc Vuong roared loudly. But the speed of the black-clad men was too fast. The Thanh Tran Bac Dao on my father's waist left its sheath, one blade slashed down the two first attackers. But there were more than ten people behind.

“Not good, someone wants to use the name of an assassin to kill General Co!”

In the crowd, someone shouted loudly. During the chaos, I saw a detail - those so-called "assassins" had a symbol engraved on the blade of the knife drawn from its sheath. Military commander of the Northern police force. This is slander and calamity. Let the "people of the Northern police force" at the spring ceremony "execute the Crown Prince", then put the blame on my father. The killing was arranged by the Crown Prince. I suddenly stood up. The Queen Mother pulled me back firmly.

“Don't rush.”

The voice of the old Queen Mother terrifyingly quiet. At that moment, a long whistle sounded from the top of the altar. I don't know when, Ta Truong An stood on the highest position of the altar, dressed in white, hands clasped behind his back. His voice penetrated throughout the entire Heavenly Temple Mountain.

“Stop.”

No one listens. The group of men in black continued to rush towards my father. Ta Truong An brandished an object from his sleeve. A yellow token rotated in mid-air and landed in the middle of the bronze top on the altar. Facilities for carrying out orders. I gave this order card to Ta Truong An the last time we met.

"Serving the Emperor, National Teacher Ta Truong An, ordered soldiers to protect the altar! Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed without mercy!"

On all sides of the altar, hundreds of fully equipped forbidden soldiers suddenly appeared. They are not the Crown Prince's forbidden army. It was a thousand elites mobilized by the order of the National Teacher. The group of men in black were surrounded in the middle, facing a dilemma. My father retracted his knife, took a step back, and coldly looked at those "assassins".

“Take off the mask.”

The army stepped forward and ripped off the masks of the men in black. The other leader had a scar on his face from his forehead down to his chin. My father recognized him.

“Han Viet.”

Foreign Minister of the Military Ministry, Minister Lieu Vong Son, deputy commander of the military. Three months ago, during the winter incident, I met with assassins, the person in charge of "protecting" the Crown Prince.

“Vice Commander Han.”

My father's voice was cold as ice.

"Your people, wielding the Northern Police Army's sword, rushed out at the Spring Festival Ceremony."

“Is it to kill this general, or is it to slander this general?”

Han Viet's face was pale, he couldn't say a word. His eyes couldn't help but look towards the top of the altar.