Chapter 1 — Scars in the Crown Prince's Eyes

To select the Crown Princess, the Queen ordered families to bring portraits of concubines to the palace. When Trieu Tien came to find me, he happened to see the artist painting my portrait. I tightened my handkerchief and carefully probed: "I heard others say, if you have settled down, you don't need to bring your portrait to the palace anymore." Trieu Tien and I are childhood sweethearts, we both have feelings for each other. He thinks about everything for me, but his tongue refuses to forgive anyone. At this time, he was still as usual, smiling teasingly: "Tham Au Ninh, are you implying that I came to marry you?" I awkwardly explained: "No, I'm just afraid that I was chosen to be the Crown Princess, and I'm not used to eating the food in the Eastern Palace." Tieu Ho bot's document anti-copying stamp. If you want to find books with a robot, choose Tieu Ho, stable and reliable, no pitfalls! Trieu Tien laughed exaggeratedly: "This excuse of yours is too absurd. In the capital, which family's young lady is not more beautiful than you? The Crown Prince must be blind to look at you." He walked to the painter's side, pointed at the corner of the eye on the painting, and laughed jokingly: "The scar at the corner of your eye must be drawn clearly." "To avoid that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince cannot see and mistake something with blemishes for beauty." I lowered my head and swallowed the bitterness in my heart, letting it go. The portrait was brought into the palace. Unexpectedly, among countless paintings of beautiful women, the Crown Prince chose only mine. 01 Trieu Tien criticized the artist for drawing too lightly, so he decided to add a few strokes himself. The portrait, which had a beautiful appearance, immediately appeared a dark scar at the corner of the eye, looking extremely ugly. I was so angry that I couldn't help but argue with him: "My scar is not so obvious? Moreover, I painted a flower field to cover it, I can't see it at all." Trieu Tien smacked his lips again, pretending to be serious: "The flower field is not growing on your face, sooner or later it has to be washed away. What if His Highness the Crown Prince sees your true appearance and gets scared, what should you do?" "I did it because I wanted to be good for you. No matter what your scar looks like, No one understands better than me.” What he said was not wrong. The scar at the corner of my eye was left by a landslide when I was eight years old. At that time, I felt like heaven and earth were collapsing. Every day I cry non-stop, refusing to see anyone. Even my parents couldn't advise me, they completely gave up on me. It was Trieu Tien who thought of every possible way to sneak in front of me. I closed the door, and he climbed in through the window, persistently coaxing me. He brought us clay statues, pinwheels, military lanterns and lanterns. He stared at the corner of my eyes and said seriously: "Tham Au Ninh, among the people I know, you are the most beautiful. Even if you have an additional scar, you are still a hundred times more beautiful than others." "Moreover, your scar is not obvious. If you don't look closely, you can't recognize it at all." "I specifically asked my sister. In the past, her forehead was also injured, leaving a mark, but now it has disappeared." I looked at him in surprise, choked up. asked: "Are what you said true?" Trieu Tien raised three fingers and swore: "If I lie, I will be struck by lightning. Even if you cannot marry me in the future, I am still willing to marry you." "If you don't want to be seen by others, how about I let my sister teach you how to draw flowers?" His sister is five years older than us. I don't know how many conditions Trieu Tien agreed with her to ask her to come and teach me. From then on, I used field flowers to cover the scar so no one could see it. The young ladies in the capital saw that our flower fields were beautiful and took turns imitating them. That's why, even though Trieu Tien often said harsh things, I was never really angry with him. But this time, he personally exposed my injuries. I was so angry that I wanted to tear up the portrait and ask the painter to paint it

again. Trieu Tien quickly grabbed it, ran and said: "Tham Au Ninh, use this picture. I will take it to the palace on your behalf, no need to thank me."02 I knew that such an ugly portrait would definitely not be chosen. Our parents also think so. Crown Prince of the East Palace, Hua Than An, is kind and wise, dignified and courteous, and has a demeanor like a jade tree's orchid. The woman who can catch his eye must also be unique in heaven and earth. As for me, in addition to my blemishes on my appearance, my female and opera skills are also not outstanding. Therefore, my parents began to worry about my marriage. In the past, they thought that Trieu Tien and I were childhood sweethearts, with deep feelings. Both families implicitly understand that sooner or later they will become friends. But the news that the Crown Prince had chosen a concubine had been spread for a long time. Families who intend to get married rush to get married before so they don't have to present their portraits to the palace. But Trieu Tien has never mentioned the idea of getting married to me. Of course, my parents couldn't take the initiative to ask the Trieu family if they were willing to marry me. They no longer refuse families who want to come to marry them. My parents noticed a few young men with good character and advised me to meet them, maybe there will be someone who suits my liking. This time, I nodded in agreement. Before that, Trieu Tien's older sister, Trieu Phi Dao, returned to her mother's house to stay for a few days. She invited me and a few old acquaintances to a gathering. After I sat down, Trieu Tien brought me a plate of cinnamon flower cakes, smiling lightly: "Knowing that you are a picky eater, I specially asked the chef to make it for you, to avoid having you come back hungry and then say bad things about me not letting you eat enough." The cinnamon flower cake had just come out of the oven, emitting a sweet aroma. I felt a little touched when I smelled it, so I casually retorted: "Have I ever said anything bad about you? It's good that you just say less bad things about me." Trieu Phi Dao looked at the two of us arguing and laughed: "Trieu Tien, if you have something to say but don't say it to me properly like that, you will have to suffer later." "This cassia flower was picked from the tree early in the morning, and then stood watch over the chef making it. More than a part of the sugar or less than a part, it's up to you to do it." In the end, I only made this one plate, which is the only part that even my sister like me didn't get to eat." Trieu Tien felt a little uncomfortable and coughed lightly: "Sister, don't talk nonsense. Have you forgotten that I don't like eating cinnamon rolls?" I looked up at him, thinking to myself: He treats me so well, he must really like me. We shouldn't agree to go on a blind date with someone else. After returning, it is still better to tell your parents to refuse. Trieu Phi Dao looked at Trieu Tien and continued to tease: "There's one thing I'm very curious about. Why aren't you and Au Ninh married yet?" "I still remember when I was little, asking me to teach her how to paint flower fields, you would do anything, just kneeling down and kowtowing to beg me. You also said you would marry her in the future." "Is it because your tongue is too poisonous that Au Ninh won't marry you anymore?" As soon as the words fell, everyone around was shocked. laugh. Trieu Tien's face turned red and he said angrily: "She still refuses to marry me? Besides me, no one came to ask to marry her." "Furthermore, what I said was that if she really couldn't marry, then I would have the compassion to marry her." I couldn't help but retort: "Trieu Tien, who says no one came to ask to marry me?" "People who wanted to marry me lined up from the east of the city to the west of the city. If you want to ask, it's not necessarily your turn yet." He smiled coldly. sarcastically: "Oh, you really know how to brag. Does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also have to stand in line?" "Tam Au Ninh, don't forget the scar on your face. If others saw it, it would definitely scare them away. I'm the only one who doesn't criticize you." Everyone in the room immediately looked towards her.

towards my face, eyes filled with scrutiny. This is the first time Trieu Tien has talked about this in front of so many people. I was extremely awkward, staring at him, gritting my teeth in patience until my eyes turned red. Seeing me like that, his voice softened: "Tham Au Ninh, I was just joking, why are you really angry?" "I was wrong, I was wrong. You should eat the cinnamon flower cake first, it won't taste good when it gets cold." Unable to suppress my anger any longer, I knocked over the plate of cake and turned around to leave. Trieu Tien started to chase after him, but stopped, not paying much attention and said: "That's it, wait until tomorrow she's angry and then I'll go comfort her again." Trieu Phi Dao looked at him and sighed: "Trieu Tien, wait until you can't coax her back anymore, you'll regret it."03I agreed with my parents to go meet a young master Tu. Although his family background is ordinary, he is a driven, upright and honest person, and has passed the doctoral exam. I came to the scheduled tea room early. I sat by the window, aimlessly looking out. Still thinking about the words Trieu Tien said. My scar is indeed not beautiful, but if just because of a scar you don't like me, then such a person is not destined for love. Who can guarantee a lifetime of peace, never being bumped or hurt? People are not objects, can they just be thrown away if they are chipped a little? We must find someone who can completely accept all of us. Let Trieu Tien regret it. Accidentally lowering my head, I saw an elegant white-clothed man standing motionless, looking up at me. Seeing me looking back, he seemed a bit nervous. I smiled: "Is that Mr. Tu?" He paused, then slowly nodded and walked up to the tea house. Young Master Tu has a handsome and elegant appearance, a reserved and calm personality, and an extraordinary temperament. Although he is wearing an ordinary white shirt, if you look closely, you will see that there is a hidden pattern embroidered with silver thread, extremely noble. It doesn't seem to fit the normal family background that my parents said. I didn't pay attention, I just thought maybe they remembered wrongly. Young Master Tu speaks elegantly and interestingly. At first, because I was afraid of the awkward atmosphere, I casually said: "The weather is not bad today." After saying that, I noticed the dark gray clouds outside the window. But it's too late to make a profit. I was secretly annoyed, the first sentence made me laugh. If Trieu Tien were here, he would definitely take advantage of the loophole and laugh at me freely. Young Master Tu naturally replied: "It's really not bad. If this spring rain falls, it will be a good thing for the country and its people." Actually, I didn't think that deeply, I just pursed my lips, a bit embarrassed. After that, he naturally continued the story. He asked about my food preferences and daily pleasures. When I speak, he will seriously listen and not suddenly interrupt to find fault with me. Gradually, I relaxed and chatted happily with him. At that time, a young master knocked on the door, looked at Mr. Tu, then apologetically said he went to the wrong room. Rain outside the window began to fall. Amid the sound of falling rain, I leaned closer to him. I pointed to the corner of my right eye and said softly: "Young Master Tu, I have a scar here." He didn't hear clearly, so he leaned closer: "What did you say?" Looking at his face approaching, my heart suddenly beat two beats faster. I took a deep breath, raised my voice to give myself more courage, and repeated: "Master Tu, I have a scar here, very ugly. Have you noticed?" Master Tu's eyes fell on the flower field covering the corners of my eyes. He did not immediately answer. My heart suddenly turns cold.