Chapter 4 — Van Quan's Friendship and Ambivalence

I immediately understood. No wonder Chu Diep's actions today were contrary to his usual polite style. Perhaps my words of mocking Luong Ngoc Kieu earlier had reached his ears. I looked down again at the brocade box in my hand. It's only been about half an hour since I talked to Luong Ngoc Kieu. Could it be that he intentionally sent someone back to collect the token, then brought it back to me in front of everyone, just to get revenge for the verbal feud just now? Before, I only felt he was cold. Only today did I find out that he was also a narrow-minded person. Luckily! He and I have gone our separate ways, we no longer have anything to do with each other. … In just one short month, King Ninh Trieu Tuan was summoned to the capital by the Emperor and was appointed Crown Prince. After Trieu Tuan returned to the court, the great families of course all tried their best to bring their young lady to the Eastern Palace. If you can't be a Crown Princess, being a good brother is also a good thing. That day, the Queen Mother held a banquet in the palace. On the surface, it's called a flower reward banquet, but in reality it's to choose a concubine for the Crown Prince. Unmarried female relatives of all families are on the palace list. In the Royal Garden, Trieu Tuan sat right below the Queen Mother. Haven't seen him for many years, but his appearance is even more handsome than before. Tall body, gentle demeanor like jade, elegant demeanor, making many girls blush shyly. "Three girls, we haven't seen each other for many years, is everything okay?" Trieu Tuan smiled at me, his words carrying a sense of intimacy. My heart suddenly tensed, I respectfully and cautiously replied: "Goddess is always at peace." I didn't dare say another sentence, and I didn't want to have anything to do with someone like Trieu Tuan. The Queen Mother next to me looked at me kindly and smiled kindly: "In the past, if it wasn't for Prime Minister Minh to take in the Crown Prince when he went to the capital to look for his father, how could anyone today have such a filial grandchild?" That's right. Trieu Tuan is the child of a folk girl who was favored by the Emperor during his tour of Giang Nam many years ago. After returning to the palace, the Emperor did not take the other woman with him. It was not until she passed away that Trieu Tuan went through countless hardships and went to the capital to find his father. He once stopped my father's palanquin, and then my father took him back to the palace to receive him for a period of time. That's why I got to know him. … When looking at Trieu Tuan, the Queen Mother's eyes were filled with love. In my heart, I was secretly scared. Everyone said that in the previous rebellion, all the princes were involved, only Trieu Tuan, in the land of Tran Chau, kept himself clean. At first I didn't think much. But looking at the scene before my eyes, I'm afraid that what Trieu Tuan did in the past... The Queen Mother is not the Emperor's biological mother, everyone in the world knows this. If before leaving the capital in the past, Trieu Tuan had secretly joined forces with the Queen Mother, then looking back at the princes' rebellion this time, he alone could have cleared up all involvement... Yet in front of everyone, he always had such a gentle and harmless appearance, making it impossible for people to have even the slightest suspicion. I panicked in my heart and quickly stood up: "The Queen Mother, the hundreds of flowers in the Royal Garden are blooming, their beauty is indescribable. This young lady really loves it, I beg the young lady to allow her to enjoy the flowers for a while." The Queen Mother smiled and nodded: "That's right, today our family is organizing a flower feast. The gossip is over, let's all go see the flowers."The flowers in the Royal Garden are indeed blooming extremely brilliantly. But I'm not in the mood to enjoy it at all. Because Trieu Tuan did

return. The evil wolf has been hiding in Tran Chau for many years, always waiting for the opportunity to act... Has returned. … In the past, when Trieu Tuan came to Minh Palace, he was only ten years old. I once saw him bandage the wound of an injured rabbit. Even though while struggling, that rabbit bit him and injured him, he did not complain a single word. Everyone in the palace said he was a gentle child with a gentle personality. Speaking of which, he and I are the same age. There is another child in the house about the same age, of course I often find him to play with. But one day, I accidentally discovered the rabbit that he had saved, and then bit him back... His skin had been brutally stripped off. The rabbit's skin was skinned, leaving only a red lump of blood. I even saw that bloody body moving slightly. It's not completely dead yet. … Just when I was lost, a large hand covered in calluses suddenly reached out from behind. Right after that, that hand covered my mouth and forcefully pulled me to a place where there were no people. His cold lips were close to my ear. The breath exhaled like a snake's tongue, carrying a dark cold that made people shiver. "Third sisters, all these years... really make me miss them." In that moment, my whole body stiffened. A bone-chilling stream of cold air rushed from the soles of my feet to the top of my head, spreading throughout my whole body. "Your Highness, I don't dare to acknowledge this name as sister." Trieu Tuan's lips curled up into a dark smile. "But I remember it very clearly. Just because I was three days younger than her, in the past she kept clinging to me, insisting that I call her sister, didn't she?" My voice trembled: "That's just the goddess who didn't understand things when she was young. Looking forward to the electricity." Don't blame me." That year, after seeing him skin the rabbit, I became seriously ill.