Chapter 11 — The night before the Crown Prince paid the royal concubine, the Ministry of Ceremonies mistakenly gave me my Queen's Order

I continued to say: "If you really protect the Ta family, you will not force down the reward from your parents. If you really have a sincere heart, you will not force me to pay tea for your concubine. If you really miss your old feelings, last night you would not have used the Ta family's old case to threaten me." Tieu Thua Quan's eyes cooled little by little.

“So, she abandoned you for the position of Queen?”

I burst out laughing.

“Up to now, your highness still thinks that… I abandoned you.”

I stood up, held the envelope and walked to the front of the court. That white jade tea tree is still there. The surface of the tea no longer moved, cold as a gray mirror. I reached out to pick up the tea tree. Tieu Thua Quan stared at me, as if still holding on to the last ray of hope. Tham Lenh Nghi also looked over, in his eyes there was resentment, jealousy, and also a look of desperate pleading. Everyone in the hall was watching. Let's see if I will give that cup of tea or not, give an old love a step up, give the East palace the last bit of dignity. I placed the tea cup upside down on the altar. The tea poured out with a loud sound, flowing down along the surface of the crimson court, wetting the ceremony order written by the Crown Prince himself, and also soaking the paper with the words "Ta Thi Minh Duong must respect the tea."

“I don't respect this cup of tea.”

The white jade crown was placed face down on the altar, emitting a clear sound. Tieu Thua Quan closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, there was only coldness left in his eyes: "Ta Minh Duong, you will regret it." The new emperor spoke softly, each word as cold as the blade of an executioner descending into the main hall:

"Crown Prince Tieu Thua Quan has poor moral conduct, takes advantage of military merit, forcibly requests rewards, decides to marry on his own, oversteps the formality of accepting a concubine, and disrupts court regulations."

"From today on, stripped of all rights to govern the Eastern Palace, imprisoned in Chieu Duc Palace, not allowed to step out even a single step."

"All matters are handed over to the Third Jury, which will strictly investigate and impeach."

Tieu Thua Quan suddenly looked at him: "Royal brother!" The Imperial Army has moved forward. Tham Lenh Nghi rushed forward to grab him by the hem of his shirt, but he avoided him. She fell down and sat down on the ground, suddenly burst into laughter, and finally burst into tears: "Your Highness, didn't you say that Ta Minh Duong was just a decoration?" No one answered her. Tham Quoc prostrated himself prostrate and begged for forgiveness, the East Palace officials scrambled to clear up the relationship, and the court officials quickly took notes. A final concubine-welcoming ceremony left only chaos in the main hall. Tieu Hanh walked next to me. He didn't ask if I was scared, nor did he say any words of comfort, just gave me a clean towel. I lowered my head and realized that when I raised the tea, the old wound on the back of my hand was bleeding again.

"The Ta family's award letter will be delivered to the palace today." He said.

I took the handkerchief: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

“The great ceremony will be held in seven days.”

He looked at me and said in a low voice: "If you don't want to, you still have time to leave today." I raised my head to look at him. There was no coercion in his eyes, no warmth. There is only alertness. This road is not a brocade palanquin, but a royal knife blade. But at least this time, the choice is in our hands. I hugged the envelope tightly and said softly: "The Goddess has accepted, she will not back down." Tieu Hanh nodded: "Okay." I turned around and walked out of East Palace main street. Outside the door, the sunlight was bright eye. The red bamboo was still hanging under the eaves, making a loud sound as the wind blew. At the end of Chu Tuoc street, the common people still did not know what happened inside. They only watched from afar as the army continuously entered and exited, and the noise of gossip rose like a tide. When we step through the threshold, we turn around and look back once. Tieu Thua Quan was escorted by the military, but his back was still straight. Tham Lenh Nghi fell down and sat on the red carpet, his red dress spread out on the ground, like a trampled fire. On the altar, the white jade tea tray is still upside down. Tea water followed the edge of the table, drop by drop falling. I withdrew my gaze, hugged the book behind the curtain, and stepped into the midst of the heavenly light... (END OF FULL TEXT) (loving...