Chapter 7 — Wu Yang Flower – Jade Snow Palace

On the table are placed all kinds of exquisite tea and cakes. The wardrobe is full of brand new clothes. The materials are all the highest quality Van Cam from our silk shop. He is truly sincere. Know my interests well. The canary's cage, even though it is cast in pure gold. Even though it's full of jewels. It's still a cage. We walked to the window. The door was nailed shut from the outside. Leave only a small gap for ventilation. I peered through that narrow gap, looking at the apricot forest outside. It was getting dark. A few scattered stars hang in the dark blue sky. Also very quiet. Xuan Hoa must have been crazy worried at this point. How will my people react when they discover I'm missing? Industry in the capital has not yet completely transformed. This move of Tieu Quyet is like pulling firewood from the bottom of a pot. It really messed up my whole plan. So what? Does he think that one hospital man and two guards can lock me up, Tham Thanh Nguyet? He looks down on me too much. It's also too much to underestimate the power we've built in Jiangnan over the past ten years. I slowly curled my lips. Giving a bone-chilling smile. Tieu Quyet. This chess game. It's only just begun. You drag me down to your hell. Then I will destroy that hell myself. Let's just wait and see. The following days. Lam Nguyet Hien has calm winds and calm waves. I am like a real bird kept in a golden cage called Lam Nguyet Hien. Every day eat then sleep, sleep then eat. I accept all the dishes the palace maids bring. The clothes and jewels were brought to me, I calmly changed them. Don't refuse. Don't resist. I even started to leisurely walk around this empty courtyard. Looking at the apricot forest with bare branches that are not yet in bloom. Spreading food for the carp to swim carefree in the pond. My compliance. The quiet is almost harmless. Gradually causing the guards and palace maids to relax their vigilance. In their eyes, the rich woman from Jiangnan who was so rich that she was an enemy of her country was just a woman after all. Being imprisoned by a man, he lost his fangs and claws. They were wrong. Tieu Quyet comes every day. Usually at sunset. He carried a tired body and the faint smell of alcohol as he entered Lam Nguyet Hien. He has never entered my room. Just stand outside in the yard. So when he didn't want to face him, he retreated to his room. Separated by a nailed door, occasionally observed him. He always quietly looked into my room, through the crack in the door, as if he could see right through me inside. Between us are ten years of accumulated resentment. No one said a word. He looked at me. I also looked at him. Looking at his increasingly haggard face. Look at his eyes becoming heavier and heavier, as if carrying the whole court on his shoulders. I know he's not comfortable. Lieu Nhu Yen is not an easy person to deal with. As for me - a "Treasurer" who suddenly disappeared - I have become the biggest mystery in the capital. He had to quell the rumors. We must reassure the officials who benefit from us. Must resist pressure from the Lieu family. And above all — having to face the emperor's suspicion. He must be very tired. There is no mercy in my heart. There is only a kind of cold pleasure. That day, I was watching the carp. He came, still standing under the largest apricot tree. But today, he was more quiet than usual. The smell of alcohol on the body is also stronger. He stood for a long time. It took so long that I thought he would do as usual — stand until it got dark and then leave. But this time, he spoke up.

“Don't you have anything to ask me?”

His voice was hoarse, like dry sand rubbing against his throat. My hand, which was spreading food to the fish, paused slightly. I don't turn back. Just gently ask:

“What do you want to ask?”

“Ask me why I locked you up.”

“Ask me what position I should put Lieu Nhu Yen in.”

“Ask me what I really want to do.”

There was a hint of self-mockery in his voice. I burst out laughing. Turn around and look at him. “Your Majesty, have you misunderstood something?”

“You are a chess player.”

“I am a chess piece.”

“The pieces just need to stay on the chessboard.”

"There's no need, no qualification, to ask a player's thoughts."

My words are very calm. But it's like a soft blade. Making his already unsightly face even more pale.

“In your heart, do I treat you like that?”

“Isn't that right?” I asked back, "Your Majesty, do you think there is still a deep love between you and me?"

He was silent.