Chapter 14 — The day they married into the National Palace, I personally tore apart their dignity

She understood. From today onwards. This Ninh Quoc Cong Palace. It will be up to us to decide. That night. Tham Nghien Chi arrived. He sat opposite me. There are two cups of tea on the table.

“The sign covering Ninh Quoc Cong will be hung again tomorrow.”

“Do you want to go see?”

“That is the signboard of your Tham family.”

“It has nothing to do with me.”

He looked at me, silent for a moment.

“It has something to do with her.”

“Without her, that sign would never have been hung again.”

I picked up the tea cup and took a sip.

“Tham Nghien Chi, I'll tell you one more time.”

“I did all of this not for you, but for myself.”

“But I still want to say something.”

“Thank you.”

I put down the tea cup and looked out the window. The moon had risen high, the gentle moonlight shining down on the green stones in the yard. What happened on the first day I stepped into the palace seems to have become very far away. That slap that day. Cup of tea that day. The saying: "The face of Ninh Quoc Cong palace, today I will destroy it for all of you." Actually, that day I was scared to death. Married alone to a completely strange place. On the first day, someone set a trap for me. A whole room full of people are waiting to see my joke. We just know very well. Fear is also useless. Take a step back. Ahead will be a ten thousand feet deep abyss. Just keep moving forward. Going step by step until today. Finally able to stand. I finished my cup of tea, then stood up.

“Time to rest.”

He also stood up, turned around and walked out. Walking to the door, he stopped for a moment.

“Tomorrow's sign, are you really not going to see it?”

“Don't go.”

“Then I will ask someone to bring you the stamped copy of the sign.”

“It's up to you.”

He left. The courtyard returned to its original silence. I sat in front of the window, quietly listening to the sound of the night wind passing through the bronze bells hanging under the hallway roof. The bell jingles. Every hour. Articulate. After Dai Ly Tu announced the verdict, Ninh Quoc Cong palace finally removed the layer of dust that had been weighing heavily for many years. On the day the royal court officially issued a decree restoring the title, the whole street in front of him was filled with horse-drawn carriages. People came to congratulate him endlessly. Mandarin of the same dynasty. The noble family. The palace servants who had kept their distance for many years suddenly, as if by appointment, simultaneously brought gifts to the door. Some people sincerely congratulate. There are also people who just want to quickly restore relations with Ninh Quoc Cong palace. After all, in this capital, people come and go, and power changes are normal. When the government declines, everyone is afraid of being implicated. When the government revived, everyone wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make friends. In just three days, the treasure trove of offerings filled more than half of the room. I just took a look, then handed everything over to the manager to carefully record. At any ceremony, record that ceremony. Which district you come from, please write down that district. You can't go wrong with one dish. One dish cannot be missing. On the fourth day, the invitations to the tea party of the ladies were also brought one by one. Among them, there are many names that make us feel familiar. These are all people who were present the day I married into the palace. Those were the same people who were watching the game at that time my smile. Thanh Hoa held each card, looked at it and pouted.

"Miss, before they didn't even bother to look at you once."

"Now we're scrambling to invite people to the banquet."

I smiled, closed the notebook in my hand.

"If people invite you, just go."

"Why do you have to go?"

"If I don't go, outsiders will say that Ninh Quoc Cong palace has become arrogant."

"If I go, the ones who will be upset will be them."

After hearing this, Thanh Hoa burst out laughing. On the day of the tea ceremony, I only wore a simple light blue dress embroidered with orchid branches, with a white jade brooch on my head. Not too outstanding. But don't let others look down on you. When I entered the flower hall, the already loud voices and laughter suddenly fell silent for a moment. Many eyes simultaneously looked towards me. Some people also tried to hide their embarrassment. An elderly lady was the first to stand up.

"The Duke's wife is here."

Immediately afterwards, the remaining people also stood up one by one. No one calls me young lady like before. No one mentioned the fact that I had just married into the palace that year. They all call me Mrs. Quoc Cong. Just a way of addressing.