Chapter 4

He really had the nerve to frame my father.

I knew it—how could he let me go so easily? So this was what he had been waiting to spring on me.

06

Night had fallen. The imposing vermilion gates seemed to exude a chill.

A carriage stopped silently outside.

I stepped down slowly.

A servant went in to announce me. He returned with surprising speed, as if they had been told in advance that I would come.

I passed through one corridor and courtyard after another.

At last, I was led to a pavilion by the lake.

Incense drifted through the room.

Bui Chieu Dan lounged against a cushioned couch.

His long fingers held a teacup. He looked noble and arrogant, as if surveying all creation from above.

I cursed him viciously in my mind.

As expected, a man like Bui Chieu Dan could only be on your side. He must never become your enemy.

I lowered my eyes and humbled myself.

“My father has served with integrity all his life. Please, Your Highness, don’t sully his spotless reputation.”

The man’s gaze was coolly mocking as it passed over my reddened eyes. There wasn’t the slightest hint of pity in it.

“Look up,” he said.

I raised my eyes to meet his.

Bui Chieu Dan sneered. “Your eyes plainly say you hate me to the bone.”

His tone was light.

He simply didn’t care.

Why should my happiness, anger, or resentment matter to him?

Bui Chieu Dan rose at an unhurried pace and walked toward me.

His fingertips idly stroked my chin, neither hard nor gentle.

I endured it without a word,

letting him handle and toy with me as he pleased.

He gave a lazy laugh.

“I used to think you were wanton and unrestrained, but you suited my tastes. I never expected you to change so much. This version of you is even more interesting.”

Then he looked down at me, haughty and condescending.

“I can let your father go.”

My eyes lit up at once.

Could Bui Chieu Dan still have a shred of conscience?

The next moment, his thin lips parted and he spoke slowly.

“You don’t want to be my principal wife, and you don’t want to be my concubine.”

“Then stay with me without a name or title. I’ll take you whenever I please and do whatever I want.”

The man was insane!

I bit down on my lower lip, so angry that my ears burned.

He said coolly, “We’ll start right now.”

I stared at him.

Then I suddenly shoved Bui Chieu Dan back onto the cushioned couch.

As surprise flashed across his face, I reached for my collar.

I began to undo my outer robe.

We had been husband and wife for an entire lifetime. If this was what he insisted on, I had nothing to be embarrassed about.

Bui Chieu Dan watched me, his expression changing.

Seeing his expression, I gave a quiet snort.

No matter how badly he treated me, it seemed he was just as predictable in this regard as he had been in my previous life.

I slipped my arms around his neck with practiced ease and leaned toward him.

He suddenly shoved me away, his jaw tight.

“I never knew you were this shameless!”

I staggered back a step. “…What?”

I had lost my patience too. “What is it you want, then?”

Bui Chieu Dan’s gaze swept from my head to my feet, his expression dark.

“How many men have you done this with?”

Oh. He thought I was shameless, and my practiced movements had made him suspicious.

—Of course, I’d only done this with you in my previous life.

At the thought, all I could do was sigh.

Bui Chieu Dan had always been insatiable. From the time we married until the day he died, there had hardly been a day’s rest.

How could I not have become practiced?

When I fell silent, the gloom on the man’s face only deepened.

Apparently, he had lost interest. He picked up the outer robe I had taken off and tossed it at me.

“I’m not in the mood anymore,” he said.

07

After I returned to the Chancellor’s residence,

I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

I even had a nightmare.

I dreamed of the day Bui Chieu Dan had staged his rebellion in my previous life.

Smoke and flames painted the sky above the imperial city red.

Bui Chieu Dan walked on, stepping over pools of blood that had yet to dry.

His face was cold and indifferent. Not a ripple stirred in his eyes.

When the flames and smoke finally died down, the palace was swallowed by a deathly silence.

By the time his subordinates brought me into the great hall, they were already respectfully calling me “Your Majesty.”

Bui Chieu Dan stood beside the Dragon Throne and silently watched me approach.

He held out a bloodied hand.

I remained silent for a long time. In the end, I placed my hand in his.

Bui Chieu Dan clasped it, lowered his head slowly, and kissed it.

So many people had died that night.

Among the countless bodies were many people I knew.

Bui Chieu Dan’s lips were still warm, but I felt cold from head to toe.

I wanted to escape the nightmare…

I struggled with all my might. The scene before me blurred, then slowly came back into focus.

I was sitting on Bui Chieu Dan’s lap, smiling as I wrapped my arms around his neck and held a grape to his lips.

So many ministers had submitted memorials impeaching me.

They said I had none of the bearing of an empress and was more like a wicked consort.

Unfortunately for them, I was the empress.

I wanted power, and I wanted Bui Chieu Dan’s favor too.

His cool fingertips rested on my waist, caressing it in small, gentle strokes.

I leaned close to his ear and murmured coquettishly, “I really can’t take any more. A little gentler, please?”