Chapter 1 — Queen of the Border

The palace was confiscated. The elder sister disguised herself as a man and followed the elder brother into exile to the border. But at the border, she had to eat bran and swallow vegetables, looking more than ten years older than people her age. As for me, I stayed in Phuong Ty in the capital, using the best makeup, every day just playing the flute, playing the zither, strumming the pipa, and singing, which made that Commander Cam Y Ve love me, want to help me clear my name from being a traitor, and redeem myself for me. The day the Marquis Palace was cleansed of its injustice— The elder sister looked at my radiant beauty and went crazy, using a knife to kill me. When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the day the Marquis' Palace was confiscated. This time, the elder sister gave me the hair tie: "Little sister, my body is weak and can't walk that far. The border gate should still let you go." I took the hair tie and tried to suppress the joy in my heart. That's good— The emperor's high mountains are far away, and the border is the most suitable place to raise martyrs. 1My father had an affair with the king, so the whole family was convicted. Men were exiled to the border, women had to be sent to the Church Ward. At this time, the elder brother was holding a hair tie in his hand and said to me and elder sister Tham Minh Chau: "In the clan, a younger brother just died." "You two, if you don't want to join the Church Ward, you can disguise yourself as a man and follow me to the border." In this life, the elder sister immediately grabbed the hair tie and put it in my hand. "My body is weak, I can't go that far." "The border should still be left to Nhu Y. Please go away." The elder was a bit stunned. That brother has always favored his eldest sister. The eldest sister has a proud heart and is a famous talented woman in the capital. If he stayed in the capital, he would definitely be humiliated by old acquaintances, so he made this suggestion. It's just that he didn't expect his eldest sister to give me that opportunity. The brother seriously asked again: "Minh Chau, are you really willing to stay in the capital?" Since childhood, the elder brother has taken care of the elder sister a lot. On the way to exile, of course he will also do his best to protect her. But the elder sister nodded and pushed me: "Tham Nhu Y, just leave this good thing to you!" But she couldn't hide the smile at the corner of her mouth. It's like saying: "In this life, let your sister bear the hardships at the border for me." 2The path of exile is indeed very painful. There are heavy shackles on his shoulders, and iron chains on his feet. Of course, after leaving the capital, whether to wear it or not, how much or how little to wear, isn't it all decided by a sentence from the escorting officer? Brother Tham Duat Tu looked at me, his eyes hesitant for a moment. In the end, he still took out half a tael of scrap silver and gave it to the mandarin escorting him: "My little brother's body is weak, sir, please loosen the shackles for him a little." The mandarin weighed the scrap of silver in his hand and smiled maliciously: "Okay." But after less than half a mile of walking, he forced me to put the shackles back on. Tham Duat Tu shouted dissatisfiedly: "What are you doing? Didn't you say you would remove the shackles?" "What are you screaming about?" The official swung the whip and hit him straight on the back. "Didn't I already give him some comfort? This little bit of money is only enough to go so far. If you want more comfort, give me the money!" Tham Duat Tu was angry, and was about to argue with him. I held his shoulder again: "It's okay, I can handle it." After putting on the shackles and setting off again, I lowered my voice and said to him: "Brother, you've found the wrong person. This person has unstable eyes, a crooked mouth, a sloppy gait, and is a cunning person. This type of person is erratic and likes to throw stones into the well." Tham Duat Tu stared at me incredulously. It seems like he doesn't believe me. I just smiled, bowed my head and continued moving forward. This is the bravery that helps us

establish yourself. Through a person's appearance, we can judge that person's personality. The road to exile was miserable, but the Catholic Church was also a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. In my previous life, I learned to play the flute, play the lute, play the pipa, and sing in the Church. Although it looks bright on the outside, in reality life is extremely miserable. Even the most despicable group of slaves dare to bully fallen noble ladies. If you want to live in that place, you have to be cruel enough. So, on the first day, I killed someone. I wonder if the elder sister in the Church Ward Ty is living well at this time? 3The farther you go, the more arduous the road to exile becomes. We left the capital in the blazing sun and headed to the cold land at the far north. On the way, they encountered a big snowstorm and were forced to stop at an abandoned temple. A group of servants holding swords and spears were grilling meat and drinking wine in the main hall. "Drink! The grilled meat is so fragrant!" The fragrance drifted to the main hall, making everyone unable to help but swallow their saliva. On the way there were nearly fifty exiled prisoners. Among them, twenty people were from the Tham clan. The remaining twenty-plus people are completely strangers to us, both men and women. The heavenly palace was exposed to wind on all sides, and even the straw was soaked. I sneezed. Tham Duat Tu gritted his teeth and stood up, but I pulled him back down. He lowered his voice: "I still have money. I'll go find a yam to exchange for some coal, wine and meat." "Don't go." I shook my head slightly, almost imperceptibly. "These people are all hungry to the point of madness." In his previous life, Tham Duat Tu died just like that. At that time, Tham Minh Chau was pampered from a young age and kept complaining about the cold along the way. When the snowstorm hit the mountain, she couldn't help but complain: "What the hell is this place! It's all your fault, determined to force me to follow you into exile! Didn't you say you would protect me? But now I'm about to freeze to death!" So, Tham Duat Tu gritted his teeth. He used all the money on his person to exchange for fur coats, wine and meat. But as soon as he entered the heavenly temple, he was punched and fell to the ground. "Bring it here!" Tham Duat Tu knows martial arts. Of course he was not convinced and immediately wanted to fight back. But those criminals all carried human lives on their backs. Coming to this cold northern region, when he attacks, he is even more merciless. "Do you still think you are a noble son? Coming to this place, fists are the hardest morality!" Two punches are hard to beat with four hands. Just like that, Tham Duat Tu was beaten to death on the spot. Tham Minh Chau just went crazy, blindfolded and screaming. It was also because she lost Tham Duat Tu's protection that her later fate was so tragic. This is the story an exiled clansman told me after we returned to the capital. That clansman stood coldly watching the little prince Tham Duat Tu die, always feeling guilty in his heart. But at that time, those desperate people all beat him until his eyes turned red, and he didn't dare step forward to intervene at all. As far as we can see, this is nothing to blame. If Tham Duat Tu was smart enough, he would not let himself fall into such a dangerous situation. At this time, those daredevils were also fiercely staring at us. I pulled Tham Duat Tu back and said: "It's too cold, the people of the Tham clan should quickly gather and warm up." A look of disgust flashed in Tham Duat Tu's eyes. In the past, he was the prince of the Marquis, of course he did not respect the brothers who belonged to the lower branches of the clan. But here, we are natural allies. We cannot ignore such a good piece. Hearing that, the clansmen all gathered. Although the scent on each other's body is not easy to smell, it is indeed warmer

so many. I opened my mouth and said: "This place is too cold. If we don't do anything, it's very possible that someone will freeze to death tonight. I need everyone's help." The clansmen looked at each other. The power of the head of the family still exists, so even though they knew I was a woman, they did not expose me. More importantly, if exposed, it would probably bring disaster and death. But can a woman's words be trusted? Tham Duat Tu shouted: "Do you want to freeze to death?" At this point, everyone took turns asking me what I wanted to do. I looked towards one person, third uncle Tham Tu Vien in the clan. He is quiet, somewhat honest, has a square face, a broad, flat forehead, clear black and white eyes, and is a hard-working and trustworthy person. I called out to him: "Third uncle, I remember you held a position at the Civil Service, right?" Tham Tu Vien was surprised: "Yes... I didn't expect you to remember." I nodded. My aunt had just given birth to me and passed away. I was raised by my mother in the monastery. If a child without a mother wants to survive in the future, he must learn to look at other people's faces. From then on, we gradually learn how to look at people and see physiognomy. I could not avoid having to interact with these brothers and sisters, so I secretly learned about everyone's background. Furthermore, my memory has always been very good. I remember Tham Tu Vien did not rely on the family's kindness, but took the entrance exam himself. He is not good at communication. It was clear that there was support from the Marquis Palace behind him, but after several years of working at the Civil Service, he was still just a low-ranked low-level official, and was not respected in the clan. "Right now, the blizzard is blocking the mountains, I'm afraid we won't be able to leave within half a month." As soon as I opened my mouth, a buzz of chatter rang out around me. The other prisoners nearby also shouted: "How do you know that you will be stuck in the mountains for half a month?" "That's right, that's nonsense!" One night, they couldn't stand it anymore. As soon as they heard they had to stay for half a month, they almost collapsed. Actually, this is not my ability. The clansman who once told me the cause of the elder brother's death told me. He said that half a month of being hit by heavy snow on the mountain was like a nightmare. The prisoners were so hungry that they went crazy, and in the end, even the sword-wielding servant dared to take action. In the end, less than half of the survivors remained. I don't explain. Just continued to say to Tham Tu Vien: "Third uncle, I need your help." The shackles on his neck had been taken off, leaving only the heavy shackles at his feet. The clansmen dragged the iron chains, made a jingling sound and then began to act. The altar in the temple was removed and used to close off the air-vented corners. Everyone removed everything that could be removed from the temple and built a large fire in the middle of the temple. The other prisoners initially stood there staring blankly. Until I said: "You have to live here for half a month. It's best to work together. There's still a lot of work to do later. We must go find food, those pests won't care about our lives or deaths." At this point, everyone acted together. There were so many people, the room quickly became warm. Third uncle even built a chimney to direct the smoke out, preventing people from being poisoned by burning coal. That night, everyone slept in warmth. In the middle of the night, I heard someone secretly crying. Along such a difficult road, no one ever cried or rioted. All of them are people who have despaired of life. But when suddenly feeling the warmth, many people lose sleep for a long time. Even that group of extremely cruel criminals were obedient and did not say a word. Half a month later, the snow and ice melted, and the group continued on their way. Of the fifty of us, not one person died. I naturally became the backbone of the team.