Chapter 20 — On the day of the big wedding, the main concubine was changed, I still refused to kneel down

September. The news came from Tong Nhan Phu - So Lam Uyen wants to see me. The new Crown Prince So Lam Phong didn't want me to go. But the emperor nodded.

"Let her go. Give Uyen Nhi an end."

Tong Nhan Phu is located in the northwest corner of the imperial citadel, even more desolate than the cold palace. So Lam Uyen lives in a small courtyard, with no servants, only two eunuchs taking care of it. He lost a lot of weight. The once handsome face that made many noble ladies in the capital fall in love, now only remains with thin lines and a pair of bloodshot eyes.

“You're here.”

He leaned against the wall, his voice hoarse.

“What are you looking for me for?”

"Nothing. Just wanted to see you."

He laughed. That smile has bitterness, regret, and something I don't understand.

“You are more beautiful than before.”

"Nothing." He was silent for a moment. "Has the poison on Lieu Nhu Yen's body been cured yet?"

"It's been solved. She's currently in the cold palace, still alive. Her father is also alive, exiled to Linh Nam as a forced laborer."

“You didn't kill her?”

"Unnecessary."

“You have changed.”

He looked at me.

“Before, you wouldn't let her go.”

“Before, I didn't know myself now.” I sat down opposite him.

“So Lam Uyen, I ask you the last question.”

“That day of the great ceremony, you humiliated me in front of the world — do you regret it?”

He was silent for a long time. It took so long that I thought he wouldn't answer.

"Have." His voice was very low.

“From the moment you stepped out of Thua Thien Palace, I regretted it.”

“The way you turned your head to look at me at that time, I had nightmares for many days.”

“But at that time… it was too late.”

“It's too late.”

I stood up.

“That is the path you choose.”

"Then go well. Although Tong Nhan Palace is not big, at least - you still have a life."

We walked to the door.

“Co Cam Dao.” He called me back.

“That Ta Truong An… do you really like him?”

“Is he worthy of you?”

"Whether it's worth it or not, it's not up to you to decide."

We pushed the door open. Sunlight flooded into that dark room.

“Goodbye, So Lam Uyen.”

“Don't make the same mistake as me.” He muttered behind me.

I don't turn back. Vinh Ninh year twenty-eight. Five years later. In the peaceful North, Mac Bac and Dai Thinh signed a thirty-year peace treaty. My father, with the honorary title of "Tran Quoc Cong", stayed in the capital to retire. The Thanh Town Northern Dao hangs in the main hall of the National Palace. The blood stains on the scabbard have been wiped clean, but the blade is still as sharp and cold as before. Mother finally no longer has to worry or fear. Her greatest joy every day is growing vegetables in the backyard, then forcing her father to eat all the mustard plants she planted. His younger brother Co Cam Than passed the martial arts exam and got first place to join the forbidden army. The young man had just turned nineteen, his demeanor was as brilliant as sunlight in the sky, and his temperament was superior to others. All over the capital, from famous families to prominent nobles, they secretly inquired about his marriage, hoping to become friends. The Queen Mother lived to be over seventy-seven years old, and passed away peacefully in a warm spring. Before leaving, she called me to her bedside.

“Girl, you've lived long enough.”

"You are better than me when I was young. Live well."

Her cat lay at her feet, not making a sound. Minh Co, after the Queen Mother passed away, returned to Nam Cuong. Before leaving, she told me one thing sentence: "You have the intelligence of a snake and the gentleness of a cat." I'm not sure if that's a compliment or a scolding. New Crown Prince So Lam Phong ascended the throne. Era name “Thua An”. He didn't mention wanting me to be queen again. Because he knows, it's impossible. On the day of the coronation ceremony, he stood on the citadel floor looking down at thousands of people, his eyes glanced at me and Ta Truong An among the crowd. We stand next to each other. The corner of So Lam Phong's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just looked away. Lieu Nhu Yen was later released from the cold palace and went to Linh Nam to live with her father. It is said that she married a local tea merchant and lived a normal life. Occasionally, a caravan from Linh Nam passed through the capital, bringing news about her.

"That girl named Lieu, she's gained quite a bit of weight, she works in the tea house every day, her skin has darkened."

“Her husband treats her quite well.”

After listening, Bich Nhi muttered: "It's considered a good ending."

“I see that too.”

As for So Lam Uyen - he stayed at Tong Nhan Phu for three years, then was given a "special amnesty" by the new emperor So Lam Phong, given him the title of a leisurely family, living in a small courtyard outside the capital. It is said that he started reading Buddhist scriptures. One time, I was passing through the outskirts of the capital and from afar I saw a man wearing a gray cloth shirt sweeping the yard in the courtyard. He raised his head and saw my carriage. I opened the curtain and took a look at him. He nodded at me. I also nodded back. Then let the curtain down. The carriage continued to move forward.

“What are you looking at?” Ta Truong An sat next to me, holding a medical book in his hand.

"Nothing."

“Is it So Lam Uyen?”

“How do you know?”

"Just guessing. I'm good at divination."

“Is your hexagram correct?”

“How do you feel?”

He put down the medical book and looked at me.

"Five years ago, I said there would be a big war in June in the North. That's right."

"I said the doctor named Phuong poisoned me. That's right."

“I still say——”

He stopped for a moment.

"I said I owe your father my life. That's true. It's just that the way to repay... is not what I thought."

“Unlike how?”

“I originally thought I would hide in the shadows all my life, secretly helping the Co family.”

He reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair falling on my temple behind my ear.

“I didn't expect that a young lady, standing on the city floor in front of the entire city——”

"I'm not standing in front of the people of the whole city."

"Bich Nhi said, downstairs there were three people selling dumplings who heard it."

"Bich Nhi's mouth is really talkative."

"Bich Nhi said her face was very red that day."

"Do not have."

"Have." He laughed.

That's the most beautiful smile I've ever seen on him. It was not the cold look when questioning Lieu Nhu Yen in Thua Thien Palace. It's not the fierce atmosphere when standing on the altar shouting "kill without mercy". Just a very normal smile. Like the spring breeze, blowing through the begonia flowers. Someone asked me, when was the most glorious moment of my life? Is it the day you were appointed Princess of An Quoc? Was it when the news of the great victory in the North came back? Or was it the morning when my father triumphantly returned to the capital and thousands of people crowded the streets? Not at all. It was Vinh Ninh, year twenty-three, on the eighth day of the third month. The day I was made a concubine in front of everyone. Because from that day on, I truly saw this world clearly — and also saw myself clearly. My name is Co Cam Dao. Tran Quoc Cong's daughter. An Quoc Princess. Wife of the National Teacher. But most importantly —— I am myself. (END OF FULL TEXT)