Chapter 10 — The Portrait That Condemned the Noble Consort

"In recent days, picking flowers on the main road has caused panic in the capital. On the night of the Tong family's wedding chamber, a thief appeared who dared to impersonate a royal family member. Besides the flower thieves, I really can't think of anyone else who has that courage!" "Moreover, there was also the testimony of the five flower thieves later, so Miss Tong confirmed that she was the flower thief!" I firmly assert my innocence. Anyway, five flower thieves died. The dead cannot open their mouth. "Shameless! Shameless!" Hoa Ngoc Nghien pointed at me and cursed: "You're the one who painted me as a wanted criminal! I should chop off your hands, cut out your tongue, see if you still dare to tell lies!" "Enough!" The emperor pulled Hoa Ngoc Nghien back: "Your Highness, do you still remember that you are a noble consort?" "I allow you to be free, not to let you act freely outside!" The warning in the emperor's voice was very clear. "This stops here." "I will take you back to the palace. Minister of Dali Temple." Big brother quickly stepped forward: "We are present." "There's still a female thief in the group of flower thieves. You continue to chase. What happened today was just a misunderstanding." "Yes, it is an irresponsible official. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Emperor Minh Tuyen looked at me again: "For specific causes and consequences, tell Tong Cam Chau to come to the palace tomorrow and explain clearly to me yourself!" I raised my eyes, faced Emperor Minh Tuyen's gaze, then respectfully lowered my eyes: "I obey, Your Majesty." 21 The next day, the emperor summoned me to the palace. The Emperor asked me about everything that had happened over the past three days. I answered discreetly without any loopholes. Even if there are some suspicious points, if you think carefully, the emperor will gently ignore them and completely ignore them. "Can't blame her." The Emperor said: "I also don't want you to become the next Miss Lam or Miss Truong." It turned out that the emperor knew everything the noble consort had done before. "Your highness is too arrogant. Consider this time as a combination of many crimes and punishment." Hoa Ngoc Nghien believes that the emperor will severely punish me. In fact, all the suffering she had to endure in the past three days was gently overlooked by the emperor. The Emperor looked at me with his chin in his hand: "Cam Chau, compared to three years ago, what has changed?" "The emperor's eyelids are even sharper. Compared to when he ascended the throne, he has more imperial majesty." Emperor Minh Tuyen ascended the throne at the age of twenty, at the most beautiful age for men. In the early years, people rode horses to conquer the world. After ascending the throne, his body became even more powerful and noble. "Draw me another picture, okay?" I stayed in the palace, painting a new portrait for the king. While drawing, he talked to me, telling me about what he saw and heard during his trip to Thanh Chau. People say that many folk libraries are selling atlases and landscape paintings that I drew when I was a child, when I traveled with my father and elder brother to the four directions. It was not until dusk that the king let me return to the palace. When I left the palace, I met a royal physician with a frown on his face. The royal doctor had just come out of the noble consort's palace, shook his head and said: "If you want to wash off the paint and tattoos on your concubine's face, you have to peel off a layer of skin. It will definitely destroy the skin." "Does your Majesty know?" "Your Majesty has known since last night. After finding out, the Emperor did not stay at the noble consort's palace, but went to the royal study to sit all night. He must have been worried about the noble consort." Really? I smiled calmly. Indeed, how can a woman who has been cursed with hate continue to be the emperor's favored concubine? 22 For the next three days, every day I went to the palace to paint a portrait for the emperor. The day the painting was completed, something happened in the palace. It is said that because she wanted her hair to grow quickly to hide her ugliness, she cut the hair of a palace maid. The palace maid could not bear the humiliation and jumped into the river and committed suicide. Luckily, the guard promptly rescued him. After hearing this, the Emperor angrily shouted: "Can you still be a noble consort like that?" "Over the years, many things in my palace have been closed with one eye open. Now she is crazy to this extent. If she continues to tolerate it, sooner or later it will cause a big disaster." Emperor Minh Tuyen looked at me: "Passing on my will, I want to appoint Tong Thi Cam Chau as a Divine Concubine." After giving the order, he asked me: "Cam Chau, are you satisfied?" Originally, I never thought about entering the palace. My ambition is to travel through famous mountains, using a pen to paint hundreds of aspects of the world in my eyes. In my previous life, when I became a nun, my parents and elder brother tried their best to arrange for me to have one month every year to leave the nunnery, travel around the world, and temporarily have freedom and breath. Thanks to that, I did not commit suicide during the long years of imprisonment. I owe my family too much. In this life, we must let our family members live good days. Besides, this time, if the emperor thinks carefully, he will know that everything was arranged by me behind his back. People only close one eye and open one eye. If I refused the person entering the palace, I feared the Emperor would turn against me and demand justice for Noble Consort Hoa.