Chapter 2 — Phung Hac has a lifetime of deception, Tieu Minh Han has a lifetime of protection

The thick darkness hides the cold smile at the corner of my lips. I was originally the most noble princess of Dai Wei, dressed in silk brocade, delicious food and warm clothing, and never worried about being in need all my life. Just because the neighboring country of Mac Bac silently rose up, its soldiers were strong and powerful. The newly appointed Wolf King of Mac Bac, Tieu Minh Han, sent a messenger to ask for his hand, personally asking me to marry him as his queen. Taking ten thousand taels of gold as a bride price, promising to never go to war, establishing friendly relations between the two countries. His father was wary of Mac Bac's powerful army, but put the livelihood of the Le people first, not wanting to open hostilities. Therefore, he issued an order, ordering me to go to Mac Bac to reconcile. In my previous life, I was fascinated by Phung Hach's sweet words and lost my reason. I don't want to go alone to that place where Mac Bac eats people and doesn't spit out bones, I long for freedom. But that so-called freedom is nothing more than being in the wilderness, without a name or space, doing Phung Hach's exterior, wearing a canvas shirt, eating leftover rice and porridge residue. Lang King Mac Bac Tieu Minh Han heard of my desertion and personally led three thousand elite soldiers to Dai Wei to meet my father. When my father learned that I was not close to Mac Bac, he was furious and immediately sent guards to search for my whereabouts. Finally, in the wilderness thirty miles from the capital, I was found at that time in my outer identity. As for Phung Hach, he quickly climbed the wall and escaped long ago. I refused to marry the Mac Bac Wolf King and went on a hunger strike for three days, using death as a threat. My father loved me for my ignorance, compensated Mac Bac with fifty thousand heads of buffaloes and goats, and offered an additional thirty thousand years of tribute each year, in exchange for allowing me to stay in Dai Wei, barely keeping one life. However, it still cannot change the fact that we have taken on an external identity. I was shamelessly spit on and scolded by the people, not worthy of being a princess of a country. My corrupt reputation was written down in manuscripts and spread by word of mouth everywhere. Before I died, I was laughed at and humiliated by the same maid I used to be. We live like a joke. But all of these things were given by Phung Hach.

“Thanh Hoang, what's wrong with you?”

In the dark night, Phung Hach's eyes shone with light, falling into my eyes like the gaze of a hungry wolf. I clenched my fist, suppressing the urge to slap him in the face. It's not time yet. Catching a cheat must have a pair, catching a thief must have a funeral.

"Nothing."

"I suddenly remembered that there were a few things I hadn't picked up yet. I needed to go back to the palace."

“You just wait here, I will have the maid bring out my intimate clothes.”

“So… will anything happen?”

Phung Hach began to show signs of impatience. I suppressed the feeling of disgust in the bottom of my heart, leaned close to his ear, and lowered my voice softly:

“Trust me this once, okay?”

The words were as light as a breeze, carrying a deliberate gentleness. We feel very clearly, the breathing of the person next to us becomes rapid, as if they are trying to suppress something.

“So… be sure to come back soon.”

In my heart, underground waves have rolled up violently. In my previous life, because I was confused, I insisted on following Phung Hach and leaving, willing to be his exterior. In return, he was married to a famous lady, holding concubines in succession, each woman entering the door one by one. Even the maids of the past could step on my head. I used to cry and ask him why he treated me so. He just smiled coldly and replied with one sentence:

"A proper marriage is a wife, running away is just a concubine."

Spending his whole life betting on the true heart of a young wolf, still willing to be deceived, becoming an outsider who cannot show his face, causing Mac Bac and Dai Wei to struggle and confront, is truly both stupid and despicable. So this time, I won't bet anymore. In this life, Lieu Nhu Nhi is still just a little maid in Chieu Duong palace. Half a year ago, when I left the palace for a spring vacation, she was chased by a group of thugs. As soon as she saw my carriage, she immediately fainted in the middle of the road. I felt sorry for her because she had no father or mother, so she stayed in Chieu Duong Palace and became a little maid, carrying water to light the fire. Unexpectedly, that little kindness of mine would warm a cold poisonous snake. At that time, Lieu Nhu Nhi had not yet been found by the Nam Cuong envoy, nor had she colluded with Phung Hach.