Chapter 10 — The Regent Hides Thousands of Secrets

24. I stayed in the palace and finished nursing for a month. During that month, Tieu Tuan almost never left my side. He personally gave me medicine to drink, cleaned my body himself, and even changed the child's diaper, he couldn't do anything. It seemed like in just one night, he transformed from a lofty emperor into a... standard husband and father. He handled court affairs neatly without any loopholes. The great victory at Nhan Mon Quan greatly injured Dat Dat's people, and for ten years they no longer had the strength to advance south. This battle also helped him build absolute prestige in the army. The old generals who used to only listen to my Prince Regent's orders are now completely devoted to him. Everything is developing in a good direction. Except... the relationship between me and him. Between us, it's as if we're separated by a thin, invisible layer. No one touches it. No one tore it apart. He never asked me what I planned to do in the future. I never asked him how he would handle me. We just stayed like that, as polite as guests, living together for a month. By the time I give birth, my body has completely recovered. That day, he held the child, sat next to my bed, and said to me: "Ta Trieu, let's talk a bit." I nodded. I know, this day will come sooner or later.

“What... do you plan to do later?”

He asked, his eyes carrying a hard-to-detect tension.

“I…”

I opened my mouth, then realized I didn't know what to say. Leave? Carry your child and run far away? But… can I bear it? Should I let go of the country that I have risked half my life to win? Would you let go of... the man in front of you, along with our child?

"If you want to go," he looked at me, opening his mouth with difficulty, "I... can give you a letter of separation, give you enough gold and silver, so that you and Niem Nhi can be worry-free for the rest of your life."

My heart feels like it's being pricked by a needle, a dull pain. Reconciliation? We're not even married yet...

“If you don't want to go…”

He took a deep breath, as if gathering all his courage, looked at me, and said word by word:

"Ta Trieu, are you willing... to be my queen?"

“The country, let's keep it together.”

“The child, we raise it together.”

"Long is very cold, sitting alone... very lonely."

“Are you willing to... stay with me?”

He looked at me, his eyes filled with affection and pleading, unprecedented. I looked at him, then looked at the child sleeping soundly in his arms - our child. The edges of my eyes are wet again. My whole life is about hatred, calculation, and fighting for power and gain. I never thought that one day, someone would tell me: Giang Son, let's keep it together. Can I… still have happiness? I looked at him and gently nodded.

“I am willing.”

He laughed. That smile, like spring sunshine in the middle of a winter day, dispels all the cold in my heart. He hugged me, bowed his head, and gently kissed my forehead. Three years later. Dai Chu welcomes a legendary queen. She used to be the regent of the royal dynasty, supporting the young emperor and pacifying the world. She was also once a female general who fought innumerable victories, personally conquered the battlefield, and chased back the Dat Dat people. Now, she is the mother of the six palaces, the head of the harem. She and the emperor came to court together, creating unprecedented prosperity. History calls it: "The Emperor's Empress rules in communion." And I am that legendary queen. Right now, I am sitting in the royal library room, approve the chapter. A little girl about three years old, wearing a miniature dragon robe, waddled towards me, her young voice rang out:

“Mother, carry me.”

It's my son - Tieu Niem. Also Crown Prince Dai Chu. I smiled, put down my pen, and hugged you.

"What's wrong, my little Crown Prince?"

“Father... father took my gourd candy again!”

He pouted, his face extremely unhappy. Before he finished speaking, a tall figure walked out from behind the screen. It is the current prince - Tieu Tuan. In his hand, he still held half a skewer of gourd candy.

“Cough cough,” as soon as he saw me, he suddenly coughed twice.

“I just... tasted the Crown Prince's candy to see if it was sweet or not.”

I looked at that stupid father and son pair and reluctantly burst out laughing. The last rays of the day's sunlight streamed in from the window, drawing long shadows of the three of us. Peaceful times, peaceful world. I think, this is the shape of... happiness.

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