Chapter 1 — Three Years in Secret

It's been three years. Since Diep Van That's identity as a conqueror was revealed, she was imprisoned by Ha Quan Thanh in a dark palace secret room without seeing sunlight for three years. "Meow~" In the darkness, her thin hands touched the small fox running towards her: "A Ly, are you hungry?" A Ly is a small fox with great intuition. Three years ago, when she was locked here, it accidentally broke into the secret room, and from then on became her only friend. "Bang." The door of the secret room was suddenly opened. A Ly heard the noise and immediately hid. Perhaps it was the person Ha Quan Thanh sent to deliver the meal. Diep Van That did not speak, she had not talked to anyone for a long time. Initially, the maids sent by Ha Quan Thanh to deliver meals found Diep Van That too pitiful, so they often took the initiative to talk to her. They don't understand why His Majesty used to love Miss Diep so much, but now cruelly locks her in this place. Some people thought the two were just angry, and even advised Diep Van That to comfort Ha Quan Thanh a little, saying that she would be able to leave here. But later, the maids who said those words no longer appeared. They don't know, what Ha Quan Thanh hates the most is the word "leave". After that, the maids who came here became more and more silent, not having time to avoid Diep Van That. This time, the person delivering the meal put down the food box but did not leave. Diep Van That thought he wanted to supervise her eating, so she lay on the bed and weakly said: "You go, I won't eat." She hadn't touched the food that was brought to her for a long time. Right after that, a familiar cold voice rang in my ear: "Without eating for three days, are you planning to starve yourself to death to leave me?" Diep Van That was stunned and then looked up. Thanks to the weak moonlight shining in from outside, she could clearly see Ha Quan Thanh's cold, serious face. He hasn't set foot here in a long time. Seeing him again, Diep Van That suddenly felt a little panicked. When she first locked her in here, Ha Quan Thanh came every day. He always drank until he was drunk, his bloodshot eyes staring at her, unhooking her jaw while kissing her over and over again, saying he loved her. The black eyes were so deep and intense that Diep Van That couldn't tell whether it was love or hate. But as time went on, the number of times he came became less and less. Ha Quan Thanh walked towards her step by step: "Do you think you can be liberated if you don't eat?" Diep Van That closed her eyes, not wanting to answer. That attitude on the contrary fueled his anger. Ha Quan Thanh held the food in one hand, lifted her chin with the other, completely disregarding her self-esteem and poured the food directly into her mouth. "Umm...um...um!" Diep Van That tried her best to resist, the soup flowed all over her face but she still couldn't escape. That brutal force-feeding method caused Diep Van That to choke and cough violently. She held onto the wall, coughing until tears flowed from her eyes. But at the wrong time, she remembered three years ago. At that time, she had a high fever, and no matter how he fed her porridge, she could not swallow it. At that time, he was both impatient and heartbroken, his eyes were red, he sat by the bed, begging and coaxing her to eat. "My good baby, I'm begging you, just eat a little, okay? Hmm?" At that time, he really loved her. Halfway through, the guard suddenly walked in from outside. "Your Majesty, the maid in Miss Ninh's palace passed the word, saying that Miss Ninh didn't see anyone so she was angry and refused to eat." The cold look on Ha Quan Thanh's face immediately changed. He let go immediately, used a towel to wipe his hands and stood up. He signaled the guards to continue pressing Diep Van That

finished eating, and I turned around and strode away. The guard held the bowl, his movements were a bit hesitant. They have followed Ha Quan Thanh for many years, seeing with their own eyes how much he used to pamper Diep Van That, not allowing her to bear even the slightest bit of resentment. But in the past three years, he has turned into a different person, using all kinds of ways to torture Diep Van That. Even though he hesitated, the guard still did not dare to resist the order and could only force Diep Van That to eat roughly like he had just done. Diep Van That's chin was squeezed, she lost all dignity and had to swallow her food. Her ears still seemed to echo the words the guard had just said. Miss Ninh. Ninh Mong... Diep Van That knew that girl looked seven or eight points like her. That was the person Ha Quan Thanh found to be her substitute. Midnight. Diep Van That's weak body began to have a high fever. A Ly lay next to her, seemingly sensing that something was wrong with her owner, so she kept meowing. But Diep Van That never woke up. She dreamed. In the dream, she returned to the time when the system had just brought her to this world. That was the first time she met Ha Quan Thanh, the object of her conquest, the cold and arrogant Ninth Prince. To make him love her, she always clings and doesn't let go. In the end, he was truly deeply moved. They grew up together, their feelings were deep since they were teenagers, and they accompanied them for many years. Ha Quan Thanh extremely pampered her. He once went to the mountains to catch fireflies for her, wrote more than a hundred love poems to please her, and after ascending the throne, he announced to the world that the harem would be empty and that in this life he would only marry Diep Van That... And Diep Van That gradually became truly immersed in that love, forgetting that this was originally just a mission. They loved each other with all their strength. Her mission was really just one step away from success. But the night before the wedding, Ha Quan Thanh discovered the conquest diary that Diep Van That had written for many years. That night, it was raining heavily and windy, and her mind was filled with only the joy of being married to him. However, Ha Quan Thanh rushed in and threw a thick stack of paper onto her face. His eyes were deep, as if he wanted to swallow her into his stomach. "All these years, have you been lying to me, just because you want to conquer me?" "After the mission is successful, you will leave, right?!" "Tell me, will you immediately leave as soon as the mission is successful?" At that moment, Diep Van That's eyes turned red but remained silent. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end she couldn't say anything. Therefore, Ha Quan Thanh went completely crazy. He destroyed everything preparing for the big wedding, locking her in the royal palace's secret room until now. Diep Van That has not dreamed of these things for a long time. An old story from many years ago, like a dream. The next morning when she woke up, her face was full of tears, A Ly was still by her side. When she heard footsteps, A Ly quickly crawled under the bed. Someone else walked in. It's Ninh Mong. She was wearing an expensive, sophisticated dress, her head was full of pearls, looking at this cramped room with a disgusted look. "Tsk tsk, Diep Van That, your end is truly miserable." Sarcastically, she touched the jewelry on her bun: "The jewelry Quan Thanh gave me yesterday, wearing it here, I always feel like it's also haunted by a bad smell." Diep Van That lowered his eyes and didn't speak, didn't even look at her. What Ninh Mong hates the most is this calm look of hers. It's clear that life is not as good as a dog's, but he still dares to act like a boss in front of her. She suddenly stepped forward, forcefully pulled Diep Van That down from the bed, kicked her to the ground, and then stomped her shoe directly on the table.

her left hand. "Ah!" Diep Van That couldn't control herself and screamed loudly. Only then did Ninh Mong feel satisfied and cruelly said: "The soles of my shoes are dirty, please help me clean them." Having said that, the force under his feet became even stronger. Diep Van That's face was white with pain, and blood soon covered the ground. The guard couldn't bear to look anymore, so he quickly stepped forward: "Miss Ninh, if you did that, if your majesty knew..." Hearing that, Ninh Mong coldly glanced over: "What? Now do you feel that in your majesty's heart, she is more important than me?" The guard was stunned and did not dare to say more. Diep Van That was in so much pain that she was half dead, looking at Ninh Mong's face in confusion. Previously, she had only vaguely heard that Ninh Mong was extremely favored by Ha Quan Thanh thanks to this face. But at this moment, looking at the guard's giving way, she seemed to truly feel how much Ninh Mong was pampered. Ninh Mong smiled coldly, her legs continued to use force. Until a "crack" sound rang out, her arm bones were crushed and broken. Diep Van That was in so much pain that she almost suffocated. Looking at her broken hand, her eyelashes trembled slightly. She used to play the piano very well and was called the most talented female in the capital. Her hands are her life. But what good is that? She was no longer allowed to touch the piano anymore. Each intense pain made Diep Van That almost faint. While panicking, she accidentally saw the concentric button hanging on Ninh Mong's neck. Diep Van That's whole body shook! She stared at that concentric button. Ha Quan Thanh did not believe in God and Buddha, but in the third year of being with her, he heard that Nam Son had a very powerful temple to pray for love. As long as a person prays to Buddha three times and nine times, they will be able to pray for a pair of concentric buttons engraved with the names of two loving people, holding hands together until their heads turn gray. In order to be able to be with her, an arrogant person like him, the nine-fifth supreme person, had to kneel and worship up the mountain for her step by step. First, pray to the Buddha on high to bless Diep Van That for a smooth life; The second kowtow, pray to the Buddha on high to bless Diep Van That, who is 100 years old, without worrying; The third kowtow, praying to Buddha from above to bless Ha Quan Thanh and Diep Van That, holding hands until their hair turns gray, to see each other every five years. But now, the concentric knot that he kowtowed to each step to pray for is hanging around Ninh Mong's neck. Ninh Mong saw her absent-minded eyes, and the proud look in her eyes became even stronger: "This concentric button, Quan Thanh specially prayed for me. You and I each have one, and you also said you want to grow old with me." The silver-headed old man... Just four short words made Diep Van That's heart almost bleed. Looking at her reaction, Ninh Mong felt extremely refreshed. As Diep Van That's replacement, ever since she gained Ha Quan Thanh's favor, the thing she wanted to do most was to completely trample Diep Van That under her feet. Not only did she torment her body, she also wanted to break Diep Van That's spirit. Therefore, Ninh Mong arbitrarily took Diep Van That out of the secret room. Diep Van That was taken to Phuong Minh palace, where she used to live. Every corner of this place was arranged by her own hands. She was tied up by Ninh Mong and locked in a hidden corner. "Diep Van That, now I will show you how much you love me." Not long after, Ha Quan Thanh arrived. He hugged Ninh Mong into his arms. Ninh Mong was as soft as boneless, leaning on his chest to act coyly and said: "Your Majesty, today I went to Diep Van That's place and accidentally stepped on her hand to play with. You don't mind, do you?" Ha Quan Thanh hugged her slender waist, only stopping for a moment. Immediately after that, he asked back: "Are you injured?" Ninh Mong smiled shyly and shook

head.