Chapter 2 — The Emperor gave me a wedding, the General publicly proposed me as his concubine, I threw away my veil and left

The Queen's fingertips tapped lightly on the table.

"Whose palace is the mansion on the west side of the city?"

The little lady bowed her head lower.

"The list said he was a distant relative of a Lang mandarin of the Ministry of Military Affairs, but the slave asked people living around, and the administrator in the palace often entered and exited with the Luc residence card."

There was silence in the palace for a moment. The Queen looked towards me.

"He dares to openly say that he has a wife right in the middle of the hall, so it's not like he's suddenly confused."

I unfolded the piece of red silk and placed it on the table.

“Your Highness, I would like to see Your Majesty.”

The Queen's eyes stopped on that golden thread. It was a stitch that His Majesty personally sewed for me on the day he came to Lam Palace to read the decree. The golden thread is not long, but it sews the whole face of the Lam family into this red veil. The Queen slowly said:

"Tonight, His Majesty is discussing border defense at Taiji Palace. Just now when the news came from the palace gate, the palace sent someone to ask for instructions."

My heart tightened slightly.

“Your Majesty already knows?”

The Queen did not immediately respond. Miss Van suddenly returned from outside the palace, her face very unsightly.

"Niang Niang, someone is coming at Thua Minh's door."

The Queen raised her eyes.

"Word has been passed from the inner court, saying that His Majesty has an edict."

Before the words were finished, a person wearing a blue imperial uniform knelt down outside the palace. His voice was high-pitched, but every word was pronounced clearly.

"Your Majesty's edict: The daughter of the Lam family entered the palace in the middle of the night and lost her integrity. Ordered to immediately return to the General's palace, will deal with it tomorrow."

The candlelight in the temple swayed slightly. The Queen slowly stood up. I looked at the person kneeling outside, the wound in his palm was bleeding again. He still bowed his head, but said one more sentence.

"General Luc is already waiting outside the palace gate, the phoenix will welcome you."

After the maid's words ended, no one in the Central Palace spoke. The Queen stood under the light, her expression cold as if covered with a layer of frost. I looked at the person kneeling outside the palace and suddenly asked:

“Your Majesty really calls me that?”

The maid paused.

“What does Miss Lam mean by that?”

I took half a step forward.

“In your majesty's edict, you call me 'Lam's daughter'?”

"That's right."

"But when His Majesty gave the wedding, on the decree was written 'Lin family Chieu Nha'."

The maid's shoulder stiffened slightly. The queen looked at him.

“Who is the person who gave you the edict?”

The inner servant replied:

“The slave obeys the king's orders.”

“Who is that person in the royal palace?”

"It's late at night, things are urgent, the slave doesn't dare to ask too many questions."

The Queen laughed softly. The laughter was not loud, but it made all the palace staff kneel down at the same time.

"You don't dare to ask too many questions, yet you dare to come to the Central Palace to pass the edict to His Majesty."

The maid's forehead was immediately covered with cold sweat.

“Nguyen Minh Giam, this slave is just doing his job.”

The Queen calmly asked:

“Where is the speech card?”

The maid paused.

"Nguyen Tien urged me too urgently, I didn't have time to issue the card."

Miss Van's voice was cold:

"There is no speech card, no royal servant to come and testify, just rely on your mouth to get the daughter of the Lam family married?"

The maid bowed lower.

“The slave does not dare.”

The Queen slowly walked forward electric door. He was wearing a light-colored coat, with only a simple jade hairpin in his hair, but when he stood there, the whole palace seemed to be silenced by his aura.

“Where are you?”

Two guards entered from down the hallway. The queen didn't even look at the housekeeper's name.

"Escort him to the heavenly palace, guard him with his mouth covered, and don't let anyone get close before dawn."

The maid suddenly raised her head.

"Your highness, a slave is a servant who serves money."

The queen lowered her eyes to look at him.

"What this palace wants to find out is who in the palace gave you that courage."

Two guards stepped forward and held his shoulders tightly. Finally he panicked.

"Your Majesty, spare your life, this servant is just doing the work for others."

The Queen did not respond. I asked again: The servant's lips turned white, his eyes glanced slightly toward the outside of the palace. That moment was very short. But it's enough for us to understand. Outside the palace gate, there are people waiting for the results. It's not just Luc Canh Tham. The Queen also saw that. The person did not immediately press the question, but instead turned to instruct Miss Van:

“Go to Thua Minh gate, bring the list of people guarding tonight.”

Miss Van was ordered to retreat. The palace fell into silence again. The Queen turned to look at me, her voice softened a bit.

“Chieu Nha, let's treat the wound first.”

I shook my head.

“Your Highness, I would like to see Your Majesty first.”

“His Majesty is at the Taiji Palace.”

“Goddess can wait outside the palace.”

The Queen looked at me. In the depths of his eyes there was pity, and there was also a very faint trace of scrutiny.

“If you leave, there will be no turning back.”