Chapter 23 — The day my mother wanted to reconcile, I tore up her letter of reconciliation

As soon as the news spread, the Heavenly Yard immediately burst into tears. We arrived, just in time for her to be escorted out. She no longer had the crazy look she had on the street, her face was gray, her hair was only loosely tied, as if her soul had been drained in just one night. Bui Thua An was held in her nanny's arms, crying until her face turned red, but there was no one like before to comfort her. A circle of people stood in front of the hospital door. Some people watched excitedly, some laughed at other people's pain, and some people couldn't bear to watch. But no matter who it is, in their eyes there is no longer the fear of "after all, it is the exterior of the National Duke" like before. Once the truth is revealed, she is just a joke. Lieu Nhu Nuong saw me and her steps suddenly stopped. She stared at me, her eyes like a dead puddle of murky water, no longer angry, no longer crying, only coldness remained.

“You are very pleased, aren't you?”

I stood on the stone steps, looking down at her from above.

“Winning an intra-parliament dispute is not something to be proud of.”

She seemed to hear something funny, the corner of her mouth slowly pulled up into a strange curve.

“Internal affairs?” Her voice was hoarse, "Bui Minh Dao, until now do you still think this is just an internal matter?"

I don't answer. She smiled even deeper, as if in a defeated position she still had something that could stab someone.

"Do you think that if you chase me out of the palace, you can sleep peacefully with your pillow raised high? You are wrong. This threshold of the Bui family has never been just a place for women to compete for favor. What people want has never been just a title of concubine."

She said, her eyes passed me, falling towards the main courtyard not far away.

"A National Duke has died, and still has valuable things in his hands. Former ministry, fame, disciples, titles... those things are enough for many people to look at, do you understand?"

My heart sank slightly. What she knows is more than we thought. But right after that, the escort lady lost patience and pushed her hard:

“Less nonsense, go!”

Lieu Nhu Nuong staggered a step and finally said no more. Just when she was pulled out of the moon gate, she turned around and looked at me. That look had no hope for life, no resentment, but instead carried a strange kind of pity. It's like looking at someone who doesn't even know the date of his death. I stood in place until her figure completely disappeared before slowly withdrawing my gaze. Ngan Binh said in a low voice:

“Miss, up to this point you're still trying to act mysterious, thinking you're some kind of character.”

“She's not a character.” I say, “just a chess piece.”

“The chess piece's last words are often the truest.”

Ngan Binh paused, his face gradually becoming serious. That night, Ta Hanh arrived. This time, I didn't have to climb the wall and go through the side door, nor did I have to hand over a short piece of paper, but I directly waited in the study room. Under the light, there was only a cup of cold tea in front of him, obviously sitting there for a while. Let's step in, dismiss the servants, and get straight to the point:

“What did you find out?”

“It's more complicated than you think.” Ta Hanh said.

His voice was always calm, not much emotion could be heard, but because of that, that sentence had more weight. I sat down opposite him:

“The person behind Lieu Nhu Nuong?”

He pushed a few new documents in front of me.

“At first, I just thought it was because your father - Bui Triet, when he was alive, had poor moral conduct and was taken advantage of when he was weak. But following Han Hanh's clues and continuing to investigate, I discovered that Lieu Nhu Nuong was able to hide outside for seven years, not just because Bui Triet tolerated her.

“There is always someone protecting her.”

I bowed my head and opened it. There were a few sums of money transferred extremely discreetly, along with several times people from outside the palace came in and out of Thanh Phong Trang. The traces are all very light, so light that they are almost coincidental, but if joined together, they are no longer a coincidence.

“People in the palace?” I asked.

“To be precise, it was borrowed from someone in the palace.” Ta Hanh replied. “The clue points to a recently favored concubine, whose mother's family has a very close relationship with a royal family.”

I raised my head to look at him. He didn't say the name directly, but it was enough to make my heart cold. Concubines, kings, and foreign powers. This is no longer a situation of competing for favors in the backyard.

“What is their plan?” I asked.

“Title is just a facade.” Ta Hanh said. “What they really want is the 'national duke' card.”

His fingers gently tapped on the table, as if displaying the entire chess game before my eyes.

“Bui Triet is dead, but the prestige of the Bui family's family still remains. There are still people in the army who remember his old lover. If at this time we build a 'legitimate bloodline' that is still young and has external support, many things will be easier to do."