Chapter 1 — Truong Minh Lights Are Off

The capital held a banquet to confer the first-class conferment, and old lady Tham was surrounded by everyone and sat on the main seat. During the banquet, a noble lady spoke up to please: "Father Shen is now in power, and is about to marry Princess Chieu Ninh." "In the past, for the sake of a great cause, he personally examined the case of his childhood-grandmother, thereby building a reputation for impartiality." "The thing that made the old lady most proud, was it this?" The Jiang family is clearly innocent, but it keeps getting in the way of my son's career." "The secret letter of colluding with the enemy was something I ordered someone to put in his room." "At first, my son actually found something suspicious, and almost turned the case over to him." "Fortunately, I quickly asked Princess Chieu Ninh for help, imitated that girl's handwriting, and wrote a loveless letter, saying that he voluntarily ran away with the traitors." Laughter in the main hall gradually began. silent. Someone cautiously asked: "What happens after that?" Old Lady Shen smiled even more kindly. "After that? After reading that letter, my son hated him to the core, and personally sentenced him to exile three thousand miles away right at Dai Ly Tu." "Before he left, I also ordered someone to destroy his appearance and amputate his hands, to prevent him from continuing to write petitions to complain." "Finally, he died in the snow at Ninh Co Thap, arriving in a coffin." "That's good, it won't let my son get involved in the future." The whole banquet fell into deathly silence. Those words were heard by the palace cleaners, and in less than half a day, they spread throughout the capital. When the rumor spread to Chu Tuoc Avenue, Master Tham was wearing a bright red robe, riding on a tall horse, to welcome Princess Chieu Ninh. On the sign are four big words: Bright mirror hanging high. The emperor issued the sign because Tham Nghien Tu held the position of Dai Ly Tu Khanh for many years and never mishandled a case. Especially that year, he personally tried the case of Giang Thi colluding with the enemy, impartially. An official walked next to the horse, smiling to please him. "A criminal like Giang Chieu Tuyet deserves to die, and also helps Lord Tham gain a righteous reputation." Tham Nghien Tu heard my name, not even his eyebrows moved a bit. He pulled the reins and coldly replied: "Is she worthy?" Those three words fell lightly in the wind. My heart also aches. Even though I had turned into a ghost, hearing him despise me like that still made me feel cold. I remember six years ago. It's also this Vermillion Avenue. I wore a heavy wooden shackle and was escorted through. His face was covered in flesh and blood burned by a red-hot iron. People stood and watched, throwing rotten vegetable leaves and dirty mud at us. Mud mixed with blood covered my eyes, making it impossible to see anything clearly. I could only hear my mother's pitiful cries. Mother chased after the prison car. In her arms, she held tightly the thick cotton shirt that she had stayed up all night sewing for me. The escort soldier kicked her hard on her breasts. The mother was kicked to the ground, her cotton shirt rolled into the dirty gutter next to her. She didn't have time to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, so she quickly crawled up and knelt in the middle of the road. She stopped Tham Nghien Tu's palanquin. "Master Shen, Chieu Tuyet cannot collude with the enemy, please reconsider!" "He is a child because you watched him grow up, he wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken, how could he collude with traitors!" The palanquin curtain was lifted. Tham Nghien Tu sat in the darkness, looking down at my mother. His eyes were even colder than today. "The sinner's mother, if you dare to get in my way, I'll arrest you."

Well, we still have hope. I don't hate him. I think he was blinded by others, I think that as long as he investigates carefully, he will return my innocence. I pulled the shackle, knelt on the ground, hoarsely calling his name. "Brother Nghien Tu, you have been wronged." I hope he can hear the desperation in my voice. He didn't even turn around, let down the palanquin curtain and proudly left. After being thrown into prison, things started to change. He personally interrogated me once. He discovered that the secret letter that was considered evidence of collusion with the enemy was written on parchment paper from the border area, and the Giang family did not have this type of paper at all. That day, he even ordered someone to bring me a bowl of hot porridge. I thought I could get out alive. Until that fake love letter was brought to him. The letter was written by the Princess Truong who found someone to imitate my handwriting. It's written that I never liked him. Write that from beginning to end, I only used him to escape crime. Write that I am willing to go far with the traitor, even if I die, I will absolutely not stay by his side. Tham Nghien Tu finished reading that letter. He tore up the letter right in front of everyone in Dai Ly Tu's great hall. He personally sentenced me to exile three thousand miles away. Arrive at Ninh Co Thap. The night before the departure, an old woman next to Mrs. Tham came to the prison. She pressed me down and used hot coals to destroy my appearance. Then use wooden tongs to crush each bone in my ten fingers. The old lady told me to do this so that I wouldn't be able to write a complaint later and implicate her son. Before leaving for exile, I was seriously ill and constantly coughing up blood. I used my broken fingers to dab the blood on the ground. Write a blood letter on a piece of torn cloth. I'm about to die, I just beg him to spare my mother. The translator gave the blood letter to Tham Nghien Tu. After reading it, Tham Nghien Tu asked someone to leave a message for me. "Tell her, a disaster like hers is not that easy to die." I am a disaster. Therefore, I died in the vast sea of snow in Ninh Co Thap. There wasn't even a thin coffin. 2The rumors from the fate banquet could not be suppressed in the end. During the early adoration, the king publicly offered his music. A palace servant heard Mrs. Tham admit with her own mouth that Jiang's old case might have been unfair. Literature and martial arts officials were whispering. Princess Chieu Ninh wore a flower outfit and knelt down in the middle of the main hall on the spot. From her sleeve, she took out a thick stack of bills and a signed statement. "Your Majesty, please consider, the palace servant who said that was bribed by a former servant of the Giang family." "They hate Lord Tham, deliberately used the occasion of the big wedding to spread news and cause trouble, tarnishing the reputation of me and Lord Tham." Tham Nghien Tu stood at the head of the line of officials, receiving the testimony for consideration. After reading it, his face turned cold. "She really knows how to choose the right time." "She's been dead for six years and still refuses to rest." He threw his testimony on the ground, turned around and asked the emperor for permission to leave the palace for a thorough investigation. I stood next to him and listened and wanted to laugh. I have been dead for six years. My ashes have also been worshiped in the heavenly hall of Han Son Pagoda. Yet he still thinks I'm a dog hiding in the dark waiting to bite someone. He did not return to the palace to change into his wedding dress. Instead, he directly led Dai Ly Tu's translators and aggressively surrounded Han Son Pagoda. At this time, my mother was adding oil to the lamp in front of the Buddha statue. She heard noisy footsteps outside. Turning around, he saw Tham Nghien Tu walking in wearing a red robe. My mother panicked and used her sleeve to wipe the cushion off the ground.

She thought Tham Nghien Tu had finally awakened his conscience and was willing to come and light a stick of incense for me. She took out a faded, washed towel from her chest and carefully intended to wipe the dust off my tablet. Tham Nghien Tu strode across the threshold. The first sentence was not an inquiry. "Where is Giang Chieu Tuyet hiding?" My mother's hand suddenly trembled. The oil lamp in her hand tilted, half a cup of hot oil poured onto the back of her hand. Immediately a large red swollen area. As if she couldn't feel the pain, she looked at Tham Nghien Tu in bewilderment. "Master Tham, Chieu Tuyet is dead." "She died in Ninh Co Thap, her ashes have been worshiped by the people for six years." Tham Nghien Tu laughed coldly. "Worshiped for six years? How long are you two planning to fake her death?" He waved. hands, the group of servants behind immediately dispersed. "Search for me!" "Turn this temple inside and out, not even an ant can be missed!" The group of servants fiercely rushed into the cramped room where my mother lived. The small counter made of wooden planks was overturned. The earthen kettle used to boil the water was broken and the water flowed all over the ground. The clothes in the old trunk were pulled out and thrown on the ground for people to trample on. A soldier ran out carrying a bag in one hand. The handle of the bag opened, falling onto a pair of red embroidered slippers I wore when I was a child and a stack of old letters I wrote home. Tham Nghien Tu glanced at that pair of embroidered shoes. The voice was full of sarcasm. "The props are really well prepared." "Even the shoes from when I was a child were kept, it seems like I had already planned to use them today." That pair of embroidered shoes, my mother took them out to dry once every winter. She always told me that Ninh Co Thap was too cold, afraid that my feet would get cold underground. Pilgrims in the temple heard the noise and all gathered around. Someone recognized my mother's face. "Isn't this the mother of a criminal who colluded with the enemy?" "How dare you stay in the temple without fear of offending the Buddha?" Those pointing words were like a stabbing knife. My mother bowed her head, bit her lips, not daring to explain a single sentence. She couldn't speak up to explain, her throat had already been damaged by crying. Tham Nghien Tu raised his head and his eyes fell on my tablet. Next to it was a long-lasting lamp that had been burning for six years. "Does a female criminal who colluded with the enemy also deserve to enjoy incense and smoke in the temple?" He had clearly been to Han Son pagoda before. The year my mother was seriously ill, he was the one who walked with me every step and kowtowed up the mountain. My knees were bruised, he immediately spread his cloak on the stone steps, then personally lit a lamp for me. He said: "May Mrs. Giang be safe, hope Chieu Tuyet will have no troubles in her life." But now, he stands in front of the same Buddha statue, saying I am not worthy. He pointed at my tablet and turned to look at my mother. "Lady Giang, I give you the last chance." "If Giang Chieu Tuyet still doesn't appear, tomorrow I will open an autopsy to confirm the death!" "I want to see whose ashes are inside." As soon as my mother heard this, her knees softened and she knelt down at Tham Nghien Tu's feet. She desperately bowed her head. Her forehead hit the blue stone and soon bled. "Master Tham, the people beg you." "Chieu Tuyet suffered enough when he was alive. After his death, please let him rest in peace, don't touch his resting place!" Tham Nghien Tu slowly looked down at her from above. There was no mercy. "When she was alive, she tricked me, and when she died, it was still the same." 3My mother knelt before the Buddha statue all night. At night, Han Son Pagoda was very windy, the cushion was cold on the ground and her tears were completely wet.