Chapter 10 — Pregnant Exterior Forced to Confess, Queen Mother Only Says Two Words: Husband

In just a few short days, the Tran Quoc general, who once had a proud and handsome demeanor, had completely turned into a useless person. Hearing footsteps, he raised his head, his empty eyes gradually gathering on him.

“You're here.”

His voice was hoarse, like it had been sandpapered over. There was no anger, no resentment, only deathly stillness.

“Are you coming… to watch me make fun of you?”

I didn't answer him, just put a portion of rice down in front of him. He glanced at it, laughed at himself.

"What's wrong? You're afraid I'll starve to death and can't continue to endure your torment anymore?"

I said leisurely.

"Once you're full, you'll have the strength to answer my question."

He picked up the chopsticks and began to eat greedily, like a hungry ghost reincarnated. It seems that these past few days, he really hasn't eaten much. Waiting for him to finish eating, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Truong Kinh, what is it?”

Hearing this name, Tham Thanh Ha's hand holding chopsticks suddenly stopped. He raised his head, a flash of panic flashing in his eyes. But very quickly, he regained his dumbfounded expression.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

"Really?"

I confiscated the secret book from the Tham family's mansion and threw it in front of him.

“Up here, every name, every transaction, is clearly recorded.”

“Tham Thanh Ha, how long are you going to keep your mouth shut?”

He looked at that familiar secret book, his face became extremely ugly. He knew that he no longer had any room to deny.

“What do you want to know?”

He put down his chopsticks, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. A torn look.

“I want to know, everything.”

My voice doesn't carry a trace of emotion.

“Who is behind the Tham family?”

“You guys, what is your purpose?”

Tham Thanh Ha was silent for a long time. It was so long that I thought he wouldn't open his mouth again. Just when I was about to lose patience, he finally spoke.

“Tell you, what do I gain?”

He opened his eyes and looked at me, with a flash of calculation in his eyes.

“Let me die comfortably.”

I responded without hesitation. He seemed a bit surprised, as if he didn't expect that I could agree so decisively. He looked at me deeply, his eyes seemed to want to engrave my appearance, little by little, engraved into my bones. Then, he slowly opened his mouth and began to tell the story. An earth-shattering conspiracy, hidden under the royal court, lasting for decades, according to his story, layer by layer, slowly revealed before our eyes. It turned out that the Tham family, the Vuong family, along with the officials who had been overthrown by me before, were all just peripheral members of a giant organization. The true core of that organization is the descendants of a few distinguished families from the country's founding. They are dissatisfied with the increasingly centralized royal power, gradually encroaching, damaging the interests of great families like them. Therefore, they secretly joined together, forming a secret pact, hidden in the dark. Their purpose is not treason, nor is it to change the tide. But we want to gradually eliminate royal power (making royal power empty, only in name, no real power). making the emperor a puppet in their hands. They want to make this world once again return to the era where the tycoons controlled everything. The Tham family is the chess piece that they pushed out into the open, using it to hold military power. As for Truong Kinh, the "goddess" that the court praised, was the eye they arranged next to the emperor, using to monitor the emperor's every move.

“Why choose me?”

I asked the biggest doubt in my heart.

"Why... did you let Tham Thanh Ha marry me?"

“Because you are the First Princess.”

On Tham Thanh Ha's face, a complicated smile slowly appeared.

"You are the emperor's most favored daughter, and the current emperor's most trusted sister."

"If I marry you, I will become a royal family member and can approach the center of power with dignity and integrity."

He stopped slightly, his eyes fell on me, and an indescribable strangeness gradually appeared in it.

"They say, although you are a woman, your intelligence and means are far superior to those of men."

“If we can attract you and have your support, our plan will be more than half successful.”

"So, from the beginning, me approaching you, pleasing you, even... falling in love with you, was all just part of the plan."

"As for Lieu Van Nhi's appearance, it was an unexpected turn of events."

“I thought I could control my own emotions.”

"But I didn't expect that I would actually... fall into her gentle scent, step by step, sinking deeper and unable to escape."

“It was my stupidity and greed, which ruined the entire arrangement, that gave you the opportunity to sneak in.”

After he finished speaking, he slowly closed his eyes, his face filled with regret and pain. I listened quietly, without speaking, but inside my heart, big waves were rolling. It turns out that what we once thought was love, what we thought was husband and wife for a lifetime, from beginning to end, was just a meticulously calculated plot. I am nothing more than a pawn being used by them to fulfill their ambitions.