Chapter 1 — The day after the wedding, he had to kneel and call me Queen

Right after the day my fiance married my concubine as his wife, he came to see me. His face was full of youthful satisfaction, as if he had given me a great favor.

"Uyen Nhi, I know you have suffered a lot of self-pity. I accept you as my concubine, how do you feel?"

I was about to tell him to go away, but my mother smiled slightly and slowly spoke.

“Master Marquis is joking, this young lady received the decree of investiture yesterday.”

"Now that she is the Queen of the Central Palace, you should also pay her respects when you see her."

His face immediately turned from proud to pale.

“What...what did you say?”

My fiance, Co Yen Thanh, Vu An Marquis, right after the day he married my concubine as his wife, went to Tuong's palace. When he entered the flower hall, his body still smelled of undissolved alcohol and the joy of the big wedding day. The dark red robe from yesterday had been replaced, and now he wore a dark-colored plainclothes embroidered with dark patterns, further accentuating his tall, handsome figure. He looked at me, with pity in his eyes as if he were granting a favor.

“Uyen Nhi.”

He spoke, his voice gentle, as if the humiliating breakup and betrayal between the two of us had never happened. I sat on the chair, holding a cup of tea that had cooled for a long time in my hand, not touching it at all, not even bothering to look at him. My silence seemed to make him extremely satisfied. In his eyes, that was probably a tacit admission, a softness, a proof that I still lingered on my old love.

“I know she has suffered a lot of self-pity.”

He himself sat down in the chair below, his tone filled with youthful pride.

"Vi Nhi, she... has a low status and a weak personality."

“If I don't marry her, she will have no one to rely on in this world.”

"I married her to be my wife to give her a status, and also to give her a way to live."

He spoke in a sincere and earnest voice, as if he were a Bodhisattva who lived to save suffering. I almost laughed out loud. A concubine born from a martial artist, stole her sister's marriage, and then became the matriarch of the Marquis Palace, can that be called "no support"? What about us? I, the daughter of the Prime Minister, was divorced and became a laughing stock throughout the capital. What does that mean? Co Yen Thanh didn't wait for me to answer, but moved a little closer. His voice lowered, carrying intimacy as if sharing a secret that belonged only to the two of them.

"Uyen Nhi, the childhood friendship between you and me since childhood, how could I forget?"

“I have her in my heart, I have always had her.”

He paused for a moment, as if waiting to enjoy the touching look that would appear on my face. Only then did he reveal the true purpose of this trip.

“How about this, I will accept you as my concubine, okay?”

His eyes lit up, as if he had just given me a great favor.

"I assure you, from the fees, expenses to all benefits, everything will be on par with Vi Nhi."

"The management of the middle fund in the palace will also be handed over to her, absolutely not letting her suffer any more self-pity."

"On Vi Nhi's side, I will also advise her."

"She always understands things, she will definitely respect her and love her."

“You two sisters serve the same husband, also will become a beautiful anecdote.”

The cold air from the cup of tea slowly spread from your fingertips straight to your heart. I finally raised my head and looked at the man I thought would spend the rest of my life with me. His face was full of arrogance: 'You should be moved to tears to thank me.' He firmly believed that I would be forced by my family and would fall into a dead end. Besides relying on him, there was no other way. He also firmly believes that I am still attached to him, as long as he shows a little favor, I will immediately obediently run over. I was just about to open my mouth and tell him to take his so-called 'favor' and get out of here. My mother was always sitting next to me, silent from beginning to end, but put down the teacup in her hand one step ahead. The sound of the teacup hitting the table echoed softly and clearly, causing Co Yen Thanh's words to suddenly pause. His mother looked at him, her face still had a dignified and proper smile, but behind that smile there was a bone-chilling coldness.

“Master Marquis was joking.”