Chapter 18 — Pregnant Exterior Forced to Confess, Queen Mother Only Says Two Words: Husband

He knows, since I said it, there must have been a plan.

“As you command, princess!”

He bowed deeply, then turned and left. After he left, I sat alone in the room all night. The next morning, the sky was not yet completely bright, I changed into a man's outfit, led a few of my most trusted guards, and quietly left the mansion. I will not return to the capital. But the horse did not stop and went straight in another direction. That place... is an unnamed wild mountain west of the capital. In the mountain, there is a decaying Taoist temple. In that Taoist temple... there was a person, a long time ago... I had never seen him again... that person was not from the very old Taoist temple. The three words "Thanh Phong Quan" on the mountain gate have faded to the point of being almost unrecognizable. I pushed open the half-closed door and stepped inside. In the yard, weeds are overgrown, everywhere is desolate. A man wearing a gray robe, his back turned to me, was chopping firewood. He was very attentive, he didn't even notice me entering. His movements were steady and powerful. Each blow of the ax accurately splits the log in half. Sunlight filtered through the sparse foliage and fell on him. I can't see his face clearly. But I could clearly feel it...he exuded a calm yet powerful aura from his body. I opened my mouth slightly.

“Luc Thai.”

I softly called his name. The man's body who was chopping firewood suddenly stiffened. He slowly turned around. A face that has been weathered but still has clear edges appears before our eyes. His eyes were very complicated. There was surprise, there was doubt, and there was also a hint of excitement that was hard to detect.

“Your Highness the Princess?”

His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken for a long time. Used to be General Uy Vu. Also the person who took over Tham Thanh Ha, was in charge of the military guard period, and commanded the forbidden army. In the battle to pacify An Vuong's plot, he made outstanding achievements. Originally, he should have been given the title of marquis and worshiped generals, his future was limitless. But then he proactively offered to resign his entire position. He said he was fed up with the officialdom full of lies, and just wanted to find a quiet place to live the rest of his life. The royal brother stopped him many times, but he still resolutely left. In the end, the royal brother could only reluctantly agree. From then on he disappeared from everyone's sight. No one knows where he went. I also had to spend a lot of effort to find out that he was hiding here. I walked up to him and looked straight at him. Compared to three years ago, he has aged quite a bit. There were even a few gray hairs on both temples.

“Why do you come to this place?”

He put down the ax and asked.

“I came to invite you out of the mountain.”

We directly state our intentions. He was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled. That smile carried some bitterness.

“Your Highness the Princess was joking.”

“I am now just a wild man, a worldly outsider.”

"It's long since I stopped asking about worldly matters."

“The country needs you.”

I looked straight into his eyes, saying every word.

“Thirty-hundred thousand barbarians in the north suppress the scene.”

"The border is in danger, the commune is in turmoil."

“Currently there are no generals in the court who can use them.”

“Only you can turn the situation around and save thousands of people from fire and water.”

I gave him the war report. He took it and looked around. His eyebrows furrowed more and more. His eyes also gradually became serious. When he read the last line, the hand holding the war report began to tremble slightly. He was silent. After a long time, he raised his head to look at me.

“Why me?”

“Because you are Luc Thai.”

“A general of Great Liang.”

"He was the person who in the past in the Northern realm made the barbarians fear him, the god of war who had never been defeated."

“Your blood is still hot.”

“Your heart still beats for this land and the people on this land.”

“Those things will not change because of a Taoist robe.”

My words were like heavy hammer blows hitting his heart. He still didn't say anything. His hands clenched in war, his blue veins clearly visible. I know his heart is struggling fiercely. He is not afraid of death. He is afraid of people. Afraid that I will once again become a blade in the hands of others. Once used, it is thrown away.

“What are you afraid of?”

I looked at him, as if I had seen right through his soul.

"Are you afraid of repeating Tham Thanh Ha's mistakes?"

“Or are you afraid of becoming a second An Vuong?”

"I'm afraid that the country you risked your life to protect, in the end, you'll just make a wedding dress for someone else?"

My words are very sharp. Even somewhat cruel. But for someone like Luc Thai, you must use the sharpest blade to cut straight into the deepest wound in his heart. His body shook violently. He raised his head and looked at me with unbelievable eyes. He didn't expect that I could say it so bluntly.

“I can assure you.”

I met his gaze, my voice was firm and strong.

“This time, you are not fighting for anyone.”

“You are only fighting for the people of the world.”