Chapter 6 — This Eastern Palace has been my hunt from the beginning

He walked back and forth a few steps, then suddenly stopped, looked at me, eyes filled with appreciation, surprise, and a comforting feeling when he found his soulmate: "Dao Dao, I really didn't expect... you would have such an understanding!" I lowered my head, hiding the calculation in my eyes: "My concubine... I just don't want to see your highness working so hard. I'm useless, I can only think of clumsy ways, not worth showing in front of others..."

“Who said it was a clumsy way?” He pulled me into his arms, "This is a wonderful plan! A plan to destroy the enemy! Dao Dao, you are truly my lucky star!"

That night, he stayed in my palace, but was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. He pulled me together to repeatedly consider those "clumsy ways", and asked a lot more about the land and the people of the North. I half-truthed and half-falked, revealing what I knew to him in the simplest way possible. The next day, he entered the court in high spirits. He heard that the court had pressured the assembly and presented a detailed combat strategy, the focus being on what I mentioned last night: "lure the enemy deep, cut off morals, and use justice as support." Although there were still voices of opposition, that strategy was practical and suitable to the situation, combined with his status as Crown Prince, in the end he still received the support of His Majesty and the warring faction. The war report came back and the new strategy worked wonders. The main force of the North Dich was indeed tricked, was led into an ambush, the food route was cut off, and because of the water source problem, the army's center was disintegrated, suffering heavy losses, forced to withdraw troops back hundreds of miles. The crisis was resolved, and the harsh words aimed at my father suddenly disappeared into thin air. When Tieu Canh Huyen came to my palace again, the way he looked at me was completely different than before. There is not only love between men and women, but also a bit of respect and trust. He held my hand: "Dao Dao, this time the Northern region was able to turn danger into safety. It is no small feat for you. I never thought that you, living in the depths of the palace, would be able to have such a realistic understanding of the war of the previous dynasty." I leaned into his arms: "I don't understand anything about the war of the previous dynasty. I only know that I can express your condolences for Your Highness. Seeing Your Highness's eyebrows lift and smile, I immediately feel satisfied." He tightened his arms around me: "If you have a wife like that, what else can you ask for?" Justice and kindness go hand in hand, forever the most effective weapon. I not only solidified my father's position, but also became a true ally in Tieu Canh Huyen's heart. This storm of the royal court not only could not shake me even half of it, but on the contrary, it also tied me and Tieu Canh Huyen together. With great victory in the North, Tieu Canh Huyen's trust and respect for us is becoming deeper and deeper. He no longer just sees me as a weak flower that needs to be protected. Sometimes when he is tired of approving the chapter, he will chat with me about some trivial matters at court, or anecdotes of officials. I responded carefully, only saying things that were neither painful nor itchy, and absolutely not going beyond the scope he had implicitly outlined. Up and down the Eastern Palace, no one dared to despise me as the Crown Princess. The eyes of the palace people looking at me were filled with awe. Lam Nguyet Hien still kept the palace door tightly closed. But Lieu is absolutely concubine I will not be willing to sit and wait for death. In the afternoon, while I was looking at the regulations for using summer ice that had just been presented by the Internal Affairs Palace, Tieu Canh Huyen suddenly walked in with a gloomy face and waved his hand for all the palace servants to leave. In the palace, there were only the two of us left.

“Your Highness?” I stood up to greet him, "Your face doesn't look good, is it because something has happened to the court that's bothering you?"

He didn't answer right away, just stared at me, with hesitation and even doubt in his eyes.

“Dao Dao, today you…received an envelope.”

He took out an envelope from his sleeve, the paper was rough, but did not give it to me: "The letter said that... you are not as weak and senseless as you appear. You have a deep mind and are good at plotting. From the incident of falling from a horse during spring hunting, to the case of ancient witchcraft, even the donation of the Northern Realm... everything, is within your arrangements." My eye sockets immediately turned red, my voice carrying the trembling of someone who has been wronged: "Your Highness... do you... do you believe in such nonsense? I... how could I..."