Chapter 4 — The day my Fiance asked me to marry both Sisters, I became Princess So

He remembered now. It's that letter. The night before going to war, he asked someone to deliver a handwritten letter to my bedroom, with only one line on it—

"When I return, I will use a palanquin with eight people to carry you through the door."

But when she wrote that letter, Tham Uyen Thanh had already had an affair with him. His lips moved slightly twice, his throat made a vague sound, but he couldn't say anything. At that moment, footsteps were heard at the beginning of the hallway. Not fast, not slow, steady and powerful, the sole of the shoe stepping on the blue tile floor emitted clear echoes. Everyone's eyes looked over at the same time. A figure dressed in black clothes stepped out from the corner of the hallway, followed by two guards. The footsteps were neither fast nor slow, but each step seemed to step on everyone's breathing rhythm. He wore a dark-colored civilian outfit, a jade belt around his waist, and his appearance was as calm as water. The moonlight and palace lights harmonized behind him, covering his body with a layer of soft light, making his whole person seem like he had stepped out of a painting. He stopped in front of the door, his eyes slowly scanning the room - Tieu Dien was half-naked. Tham Uyen Thanh's clothes were disheveled. Broken porcelain pieces littered the ground. Everywhere is messy. Then he looked towards me. He spoke, his voice low and gentle:

"This king has already told you that there will be a lot of people talking at the banquet tonight, telling you to leave the banquet early. Why are you still being held back by this matter?"

So Vuong nodded slightly to the Emperor as a courtesy, then turned to look at me. He extended his hand towards me, his palm open, his long fingers under the candlelight becoming even cleaner and more beautiful. I looked at that hand and suddenly remembered everything from my previous life— The cold water in the icy lake. Tieu Dien's words when kneeling before my body. Every lonely night was cold during ten years of marriage. I slowly raised my hand and placed it in his palm. His fingers closed, gently holding my hand. Tieu Dien knelt on the ground, raised his head, his eyes fixed on our clasped hands. His eyes seemed to freeze, his lips moved slightly, his throat let out a broken breath:

“So Vuong…”

So Vuong tilted his head and looked at him. Those eyes were extremely indifferent, as if looking at something unimportant. He only looked once, then withdrew his gaze, bowed his head and looked at me, his voice still gentle:

“Do you have anything dirty on you?”

"Do not have."

“That's good.”

He held my hand and walked out. When passing by the Emperor, he leaned slightly:

“Your Majesty, I would like to take Tri Y home first.”

The Emperor waved his hand and laughed:

"Go, go. Let me handle the rest."

So Vuong held my hand and went out. When I passed by Tieu Dien, I looked down at him. He and Tham Uyen Thanh knelt next to each other, struggling as if they had just been picked up from the mud. I withdrew my gaze and followed So Vuong out of the palace. From behind came Tham Uyen Thanh's uncontrollable sobs, along with Tieu Dien's hoarse voice calling out: I won't turn back. The carriage slowly circled around the capital, and along the way, I and So Vuong chatted a few words. When returning to the palace, a strip of white like a fish's belly appeared on the horizon. The palanquin just stopped in front At the gate of the Tham residence, I just lifted the curtain and heard a mournful cry from inside. It's Tham Uyen Thanh. She was dragged in from the side door by two women, her yellow dress bow was torn everywhere by shards of porcelain, the soles of her feet were still bleeding, her hair was as messy as a pile of dry grass. My father stood in front of the main hall door, holding a rattan whip, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

“Kneel down!”

The rattan whip hit the green tile floor hard, making a crisp sound. Tham Uyen Thanh's knees softened and she immediately knelt down, her whole body trembling like a sieve. The mouth keeps saying:

“Father, I know it's wrong.”

My father paid no attention to her and swung his whip straight down. The first whip hit her back, Tham Uyen Thanh screamed, her whole body fell forward. The second whip hit his thigh. She cried until her voice was hoarse, rolling around the ground trying to avoid it, but two women held her shoulders tightly and forced her onto the tile floor.

“I don't know how to be shameless!”

“Destroying the face of our Tham government!”

“Dare to do such a thing in the palace—you think the whole family didn't die fast enough, right!”