Chapter 17 — The day my mother wanted to reconcile, I tore up her letter of reconciliation

Without calling enough people, without letting them themselves lift Bui Thua An up in front of the ancestral tablet, how could this slap in the face be loud enough?

“Ming Dao.” Tham Thi softly called me.

I turned my head, looked at her, my voice was light but clear: "Nother, if you want to decide, then make it clear in front of your ancestors." Tham Thi looked into my eyes, first stunned, then seemed to finally understand something. That ray of hesitation finally broke. She slowly sat up straight, looked towards the old lady, her voice was so steady and tough for the first time.

"Okay. Open from the street."

“It's just that - if you want to determine the heir, you have to check the bloodline.”

"Lest a hundred years later, if our ancestors blame us, the Bui family won't be able to bear it."

The room was immediately quiet. The old lady's face darkened. Lieu Nhu Nuong's hand holding the child also stiffened in the blink of an eye. But it has come to this point, the words have been said, they want to take it back, but they can't take it back anymore. The old lady stared at me and my daughter for a long time, then laughed coldly.

“Okay, very good.”

“Then three days later, open from the street.”

When I walked out of the main courtyard, it was completely dark. At the end of the hallway, the wind was very strong, blowing the lanterns on both sides. Tham Thi walked next to me, was silent for a long time, then asked in a low voice: "You've been waiting for this day for a long time, right?"

“Are you that confident?”

I stopped walking and looked towards the dark road in the distance.

“It's not confidence.”

“But there is no way back.”

If Bui Thua An is allowed to write in the family tree, the fake will also be written as true. All the evidence in our hands will turn into a late fight, into smearing others. Therefore, this match must definitely take place on the road. You can only win, you can't retreat. Tham looked at me, emotions swirling in her eyes, and for a long time she reached out to adjust my cloak for me.

“Before, she was too weak.”

“It won't be like that anymore.”

My nose suddenly stung, but I still smiled softly: "If you can just say this, it's enough." She didn't say anything more, just walked side by side with me. This time, she was finally no longer the one being pushed away. The night before the opening day, the palace was unusually quiet. Just like before a heavy rain, even the sounds of insects stopped first. I sat alone under the lamp, laying out the things I had accumulated over the past few days. Books, prescriptions, translation station records, months-old papers, the midwife's testimony, clues Ta Hanh brought... Each of these things is not considered earth-shattering, but put together, it is enough to weave into a net. A net that can strangle Lieu Nhu Nuong and all the lies behind her. I looked at it for a long time before reaching out to take out the book of death from my sleeve. An old notebook, thin and dark at the edges, felt strangely heavy in the palm of my hand. It has been silent for the past few days. I originally thought someone's name would appear again, but this time, when I opened it, there were no more dead people on the page. There was only one line of words, slowly appearing on the paper. It's like blood seeping out from the back of the paper little by little. If you want to change your destiny, you must first cut it at the root. I stared at that line, not moving for a long time. Outside, the night was as deep as a well. The awning from the far street is hidden in the darkness, like a lying animal. I closed the notebook, with only one thought left in my heart —— Tomorrow. Already It's time to cut down the roots. Since the road had not yet been opened, the hearts of the people in the palace were already in chaos. The closer that day gets, the more people can't sit still. The second room was busy running around, Lieu Nhu Nuong was busy crying, the old lady was busy inviting the old clan, forcing public opinion, and setting up a posture. The servants below were like cats smelling fishy fish, on the outside they were orderly, but behind their backs they were listening more attentively than anyone else. On the contrary, we are free. The closer you get to the end, the less chaotic you can be. If there is chaos, loopholes will be revealed. That afternoon, Ta Hanh finally arrived in person. He did not go through the main door, but entered through the side door. When he arrived, the sky was gloomy. In the yard, a begonia tree had fallen all over the ground, making his mysterious clothes even colder. Ngan Binh led people in and then very understandingly left. There are only two of us left in the room. I pushed the tea cup over: "Lord Ta came personally today, there must have been results."

“Consider it.” Ta Hanh did not touch the tea, just placed a thin paper bag on the table.

I opened it to see, at the top was an old military registration sheet, below were two backup copies of records of entry and exit from the city gate, and there was also a page that looked like a separately transcribed testimony.

“Han Hanh.” We read the name on it.

“Bui Triet's former subordinate.” Ta Hanh said, "Three years ago, he voluntarily left the camp, in the name of deserting the army. But I followed up and discovered that before and after his disappearance, on the outskirts of the capital, people had seen many times a man wearing a conical hat, passing by Thanh Phong Trang at night."

“Can it be him who is crucified?”

“One class is missing.” He looked at me, "but it was enough to force her to reveal her vulnerability in the street."