Chapter 2 — 30 Whips Change Retirement, I Take You and Leave Brilliantly

Over the past five years, in this cold palace, he was the only one who quietly took care of me, never letting me be alone. He stuffed an envelope into my hand.

"Miss Shen, this letter was kept by an old slave for you. It was left by your mother back then, saying she would wait until you left the capital to open it."

I received the letter, but didn't open it right away.

“Thank you, Uncle Tham.”

“Miss, take care.”

The old man's eyes turned red and he retreated to the side. The carriage stopped outside the door. I hugged Y Nhi and got into the car. Thuy Van carried the chest and put it up. The moment the curtain fell, we heard someone running out from behind.

“Thanh Hoa!”

It's Co Hanh's voice. I don't lift the curtain.

"Let's go." I told the driver.

The carriage rolled slowly. His voice gradually faded away. Y Nhi raised her small face in my arms: "Nother, father is calling someone."

“Yes, I heard it.”

“Why don't you respond?”

“I've been answering for five years, that's enough.”

Leave the capital, go south. Travel three days, reach the ferry port. At night, when Y Nhi fell asleep, I opened the letter Uncle Tham gave me. The yellowed paper is the mother's autograph.

"Hoa Nhi, if you can read this letter, it proves that you have left the capital. Go to Giang Nam, go to To Hang, find a man named Tham Khanh Son. He is your grandfather's old subordinate, at number sixteen, Tu alley south of Lam An citadel. In his hand, he has something your grandfather left behind."

Mother never mentioned anything about her maternal family. I only know that she came from Jiangnan. After marrying her father, her family's fortunes declined and she wandered to the capital. After my father passed away, my grandmother raised me alone, and when I was sixteen years old, she fell ill and passed away... Did my grandfather leave anything behind? There is also a small line at the end of the letter.

"My Tham family's belongings are not missing anything. Honey, go get them back."

I folded the letter and kept it close to me. The boat swayed in the night, the sound of water lapping against the side of the boat. Thuy Van was dozing next to her. Y Nhi turned over and placed her small hand on my arm. I close my eyes. Co Hanh, five years of husband and wife, today is the end. He wants his Giang Anh Nguyet, I want my new life. The carriage changed into a boat, the boat changed into a carriage. Half a month later, I took Y Nhi and Thuy Van to Lam An. Spring in the South is different from the North. Everywhere is water, everywhere is bridge. Thuy Van went to inquire about the location of Tu Lane. I took Y Nhi to the tea shop to rest. Y Nhi brought a bowl of lotus root powder and cinnamon flowers, eating until her face was radiant.

“Nang, this is sweet.”

“If you like, eat more.”

“The capital does not have this.”

“Yes, the capital city does not exist.”

“So we're all here later?”

"So Y Nhi won't see her father again in the future?"

I pat your head.

“Do you miss your father?”

The girl lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said seriously: "I don't remember much. Dad is always not at home, and even when he is home, he doesn't hold Y'er." A four year old child, understood clearly. Thuy Van returned, with a surprised look on her face.

"Young lady, I found number sixteen on Tu Lane. But that's not an ordinary mansion..."

"It was a three-door grand house. There was a guard in front of the door. It looked like a noble family. The servant said he was looking for Tham Khanh Son. The doorkeeper asked who he was. The servant told him his name. Their expression immediately changed."

"Change?"

"They said they told the servants to go back and invite you personally. They said... they've been waiting for you for a long time."

I put down the tea cup. Number sixteen Tu alley, large red painted gate, shiny copper ring. Two big men in short clothes stood in front of the door. When they saw me holding Y Nhi and walking towards them, they immediately knelt down on one knee.

“Miss!”

I frowned. They call them "Miss", not "Miss", nor "Madam". The door opened and a man in a gray shirt over fifty years old quickly walked out. The sideburns are gray, the body is straight, the eye sockets are red.

“You are… Tham Khanh Son?”

He knelt to the ground with a thud.

“Old slave Tham Khanh Son, waiting for you for twenty-one years!”

Tham Khanh Son invited me into the main hall. Y Nhi was led to breakfast by a kind woman, with Thuy Van following by her side. In the lobby, there were only me and Tham Khanh Son left. He brought out a wooden box from the interior and offered it with both hands.

"Miss, this is what the old man gave to this old slave before his death. He said that when the lady comes, he must hand it over in person."

We open the box. Inside was a stack of land deeds, house deeds, shop deeds, and three banknotes. I conveniently flipped through the land deed papers, my eyelids twitching slightly.

“Weaving district in the east of Lam An city, food trading in the south of the city, cotton shop in Song Giang, tea shop in Hangzhou…”

I raised my head to look at him.

“Are these all the inheritance of our ancestors?”

Tham Khanh Son nodded: "The old man was in Jiangnan doing business for thirty years, his family's business was spread all over To Hang. Later, when people framed him, the court confiscated the above-mentioned properties. But the old man had already prepared, secretly transferred most of the family's property, dispersing it in the hands of dozens of trusted people. During these years, the old slave has still changed managers, now both the capital and interest, if converted into silver..."