Chapter 11 — 30 Whips Change Retirement, I Take You and Leave Brilliantly

As he left, he turned around once every three steps, tears falling. Thuy Van closed the door, the corners of her mouth pulled up to her ears.

“Dong master, refreshing!”

“There's nothing so refreshing.”

"That year, the old lady caused trouble for you every day, and now she's turning to you to beg you. If this isn't refreshing, then there's nothing else in this world that's worth refreshing."

I sat down to continue calculating the accounts. Numbers don't lie and are more trustworthy than people. Half a year later. The Tham family's property spanned six cities in Jiangnan. The weaving ward expanded from three places to eight places. The tea brand increased from two places to five places. Liang Xing restored to its original size, and also received orders from the government—formal, legal orders that cannot be manipulated. The Nam Duong maritime trade route is stable, with monthly revenue exceeding twenty thousand taels. Lam An Chamber of Commerce re-elected, I was nominated as vice president. The position of president is still vacant. Because everyone thinks that sooner or later that position will be mine. Luc Hanh Chu stood next to me, watching me receive the seal of the Chamber of Commerce, and said one sentence:

“Half a year ago when you first arrived in Lam An, who would have thought?”

“I can.”

"…Alright."

Y Nhi was five years old and started following the teacher to read books and receive letters. The teacher praised her for being smart, teaching her once and understanding. Her favorite thing is not memorizing books, but calculating. Tham Khanh Son said it was hereditary—the Tham family has always been rich in business and talent, with numbers engraved into their bones. That afternoon, Y Nhi suddenly ran out of the study room.

"Niang! Someone gave me a rabbit!"

The little girl held a snow-white rabbit in her arms and was so happy that she jumped up and down.

"An uncle. He was standing at the entrance of the alley, asking Uncle Trieu to deliver it to him."

Every month he sent things from the capital to Y Nhi. Sugar candies, paper kites, little wooden horses, silk flowers. There was never a letter attached, nor a name left. But Y Nhi is not stupid. She knows who it is.

“Mother, when will father come to visit me?”

"Wait until he's done and he'll come."

"Father is so busy. Even busier than mother."

“Yes, he is indeed very busy.”

Busy with what? According to the news transmitted by Tham Khanh Son— Co Hanh did a few things in the capital. First, he took the position of crown prince Tran Vien Marquis and presented it to the court, vindicating Tham Van Xuyen's case, and requested a posthumous award to the Tham family. That chapter was written by him himself, one thousand six hundred words. Second, he turned against Tran Vien Hau—his father. Because his father was not directly involved in the military salary case that year, but had received money from Giang Thu Nhan and spoke on his behalf in court. Co Hanh asked his father to confess to the court. His father was angry and kicked him out of the Marquis Palace. Third, he left the house and left cleanly. He gave up all of the Marquis's property and the right to inherit the title. From crown prince Tran Vien Hau, he became a commoner. When Thuy Van said these things, her eyes turned red. I sat on a stone bench in the garden, watching Y Nhi chase the rabbit.

“Dong master, the prince has truly repented.”

“So you—”

“Thuy Van, do you think that if a man does these things in order to atone for his mistakes, I should forgive him?”

Thuy Van bit her lip.

"He suffered thirty lashes, gave a rabbit to my daughter, offered a penance, and severed ties with the family. These things are all things he should do. Not something we should be grateful for.”

“But—”

“But what?”

“Your Highness really misses you every day. Trieu An said, in the small room the prince rented in the capital, there was a painting on the wall that he painted that year—the painting 'Peach Flower and Water Eggs'. He sits in front of that painting every day for half an hour."

I bowed my head and looked at my hands. In five years of marriage, he has never seen me paint. He didn't know that the picture was drawn by me. He only found out after I left. Humans are like that. If you get it, you don't appreciate it. When you lose it, you turn everything over to find traces.

“I--” I called her.

“Yes?” The little girl ran over holding the rabbit.

“Name the rabbit.”

“Call me Tieu Bach!”

“No, it's called Tieu Doan Tu! Because it's round.”

“Okay, called Tieu Doan Tu.”

She lifted the rabbit up in front of me.

“Nang, try touching it, it's very soft.”

I reached out and rubbed the rabbit's ears. Just like Y Nhi's finger when she was born. That day Co Hanh was not around. He missed too much. Three months after being kicked out of the Marquis Palace, Co Hanh went to Lam An. This time he did not warn. Just standing at the beginning of Tu alley. Wearing a faded cotton shirt, with an old bundle on his back. Trieu An followed him, both of them looked extremely struggling. When Tham Khanh Son came to report, he only said three words: "He's here." We step outside. Standing at the entrance of the alley looking at him.