Chapter 10 — The Voice of the Heart Unmasks the Fake

Her father's voice was as calm as a dead pond:

"My daughter, I taught myself. Your dirty tricks, keep them and use them in the underworld."

The person turned his head to look at me. In that look contained all the trust of a father. When Tham Thanh Dao was dragged away, she still screamed hoarsely:

"You will regret it! I know the fate of this dynasty! You only have two hundred years left before it perishes at most! Without my reforms, you will lose your country sooner! Let me go! Quickly let me go..."

Her voice gradually disappeared behind the corner of the palace wall. The courtyard became quiet again, only the sound of the wind blowing the lanterns down the hallway. The palace staff knelt on the ground, their heads bowed low, no one dared to look up. I stood in the middle of the yard, the wind blew my skirt. Father came down from the steps, walked to my side, and patted my shoulder.

“The disaster has finally been eliminated.”

I turned my head to look at you. Father's eyes stopped on my face. There was a very deep emotion in those eyes, like a secret that had been hidden for a long time was finally about to be revealed.

“Can Nuong.”

The person spoke softly:

“I want to ask you a question.”

My heart jumped slightly.

“The poetry books that fill your stomach, the methods of improving water wheels, farming tools and making paper... Tell me, where did it all come from?”

19 Your voice is very soft, so soft that only the two of us can hear it:

"That day in the main hall, I thought this place was 'more majestic than the Imperial Palace'. I still remember it. Tell me, what is the Imperial Palace? Where do you come from?"

I opened my mouth, but for a moment I couldn't say anything.

“More.”

His father looked at me with a smile in his eyes and also a bit of inquiry:

"That day in the main hall, I heard her say 'in this world there cannot be a second time traveler'. At that time I didn't understand. Later you told me how to improve the water wheel, people from the Ministry of Public Works came to report that it was a method that had never appeared before, so I immediately began to think."

The person stopped, his smile deepened:

“Can Nuong, you and she are the same person, right?”

My legs are weak, I kneel.

“A daughter does not dare to deceive her father.”

I prostrated myself on the ground, my voice trembling:

"The daughter... is indeed from the same place as her. But the daughter and she are not the same. The daughter has never thought of harming anyone, only wishing to help her father protect the country, so that people can live good days."

The royal father was silent for a long time. I prostrated myself on the ground, not daring to raise my head, my forehead touching the cold tile floor, my heart beating like thunder. The wind blew from the other end of the hallway, making my spine cold. I don't know how people will handle me. Tham Thanh Dao is a time traveler, so am I. Tham Thanh Dao was dragged away to die, and I...

“Stand up.”

His father's voice was very light, but extremely steady. I raised my head. Father stood in front of me, his back turned to the light, making it impossible for me to clearly see the expression on his face. But the human hand reached out. The hand was large and warm, like that day in the royal study, helping me stand up from the ground.

“I know.”

Speaker:

“I always knew.”

I was shocked.

"After that day in the main hall, you came to me to talk about the water wheel. As you spoke, your eyes lit up. I have never seen that light before. In my heart I hold everyone, not just ourselves.”

The emperor looked at me:

“I can hear her dirty thoughts, but I cannot hear your heart. However, I can see your eyes.”

His voice lowered:

“Can Nuong, I only have one wish.”

“The country and its people are at peace, prosperous and flourishing, and the people live in peace and happiness.”

“Can you help me?”

I stand in front of you, the wind blows across the distance between us. The glass tiles on top of the palace sparkle in the sunlight. The palace walls in the distance stretch to the end of the horizon. This strange dynasty, this world I came to, should not belong to me. But right now, the emperor standing before me has placed the weight of an entire nation in my hands.

“The daughter wishes.”

I kneel down. This time, my knees are extremely stable:

“My daughter vows to take the place of my father's condolences and protect the Dai Chu country. In this entire life, my daughter will absolutely not disappoint you."

The emperor helped me stand up. The person smiled. ## 20 Since then, Dai Zhou had another eldest princess. I don't get married, I don't live in a harem, I travel outside all year round. In the south, water canals were dug, in the north agricultural tools were improved, new fishing boats were popularized in the eastern harbor, and wasteland in the west was planted with drought-resistant potatoes. People from the Ministry of Public Works see me with more respect than they see the minister. In the books of the Household Ministry, what we care most about is whether the food in the hands of the common people will be enough to eat until the beginning of spring next year or not. After that, the crown prince never mentioned Tham Thanh Dao again. He seemed to have just woken up from a confused dream, neither too big nor too small, his whole body was much calmer. He followed his father in approving the decrees and handling political affairs, and increasingly had the demeanor of a military commander. In the second year, the crown prince became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter. On the day the baby turned one month old, she held the child for me to see, smiling and saying:

“Can Nuong, look at her, her eyes are very similar to yours.”

The mother sitting next to her smiled. The corners of her eyes had a few more wrinkles, but her smile was extremely reassuring. The day Tham Thanh Dao was executed, I did not come to watch. Father sent someone to tell me that he was dead. We stood next to the newly built water wheel, watching the water rushing through the fields. The rice fields on both banks are golden, and harvest time is near. The wind carries the scent of rice. In the distance, there were farmers standing on the edge of the fields singing. The melody is rough but cheerful. I raised my hand to stroke the golden princess badge on my waist and turned my head to look towards the capital. The other person came from modern times, only thinking about how to climb up, how to trample on others, how to become "the one standing above others". She memorized a lot of Tang poetry, but never thought about what the verses about "loving the people", "watching the moon", "worrying about the country" actually mean. I'm not like her. I bent down, grabbed a handful of canal water and splashed it on my face. The water is very cool. The rice flavor is very strong. The sun of this world is shining down brightly. That's good. END OF STORY.