Chapter 4 — A Paper of Reconciliation, Breakup of Love and Breakup of Meaning

7

Tham Tu Vien's throat was choked by my words. He probably never thought that I—who had always obediently listened to him—could say such words. He stared at me for a long time, his eyes full of complexity.

"Thanh Chi, all these years of friendship between us, is it all fake?"

“Just for A La alone, do you want to destroy everything?”

I couldn't help but laugh, laughing so much that tears fell.

"Tham Tu Vien, do you still think it's A La's fault?"

"If it wasn't her, it would have been another Ly La, Truong La. It was you, the one who betrayed me."

“It was he who destroyed everything with his own hands.”

My voice is not loud, but every word is clear, hitting straight into his heart. He moved his lips, wanting to say something, but couldn't get the words out. Finally, he lowered his head, dejected.

“Thanh Chi, stop.” His voice carried a hint of pleading. “Consider it as if I asked you.”

“As long as you let those merchants continue to supply medicinal herbs, I... I agree with you, take A La and her mother far away, and won't let you see them again.”

"Thanh Chi..." Seeing that I didn't speak for a long time, he felt a bit rushed and reached out to pull me.

“Okay.”

I finally spoke, in his surprised eyes, slowly said: "But I have one condition."

“What conditions?” He immediately asked, his eyes flashing with hope again.

I looked at him, every word was clear:

“I want to reconcile with you.”

8

Tham Tu Vien left. Carrying anger and disbelief. He thought that letting A La and her mother leave was a great concession, a rare favor. He didn't expect that what I wanted was not just that. Over the next few days, the atmosphere in the palace became more and more oppressive. Tham Tu Vien no longer enters my hospital. I heard that he ran everywhere because of medicinal herbs, but everywhere he stumbled upon copper and iron walls. As for A La, it also seemed to smell danger. She no longer came to my hospital to act, but switched to another tactic. She began to frequently go in and out of the old lady's hospital. Tham Tu Vien has always been filial, so he had no choice but to listen to what the old lady said. Sure enough, less than a few days later, the old lady sent someone to invite me over. I laughed coldly in my heart—it was supposed to happen, sooner or later. I changed into a light-colored fabric dress, no makeup, let Thanh Truc guide me, and slowly walked to the old lady's Tung Hac Duong. Before entering the door, I heard A La sobbing inside, mixed with the old lady's voice continuously comforting her.

"Don't cry anymore, good child. Grandma is here, she will definitely take care of you."

I stepped across the threshold. In the room, the old lady sat in the main chair, To Kien La knelt at her feet, crying until it was heartbreaking. The child named An Ca Nhi was held in the arms of a nurse. The same eyes as Tham Tu Vien as a child were staring at me curiously. As soon as she saw me enter, the gentle smile on the old lady's face immediately disappeared, replaced by a cold expression.

"Do you still know how to come here? I thought this Marquis Palace couldn't accommodate this old woman anymore."

I followed the ritual, bowed slightly and bowed.

“The granddaughter-in-law visits her ancestor.”

“I don't dare accept it.” The old lady snorted coldly. “Now that you ladies of the To family have wings, even Tu Vien dares to take over ancient, how dare I, this old man, accept the ceremony?”

I stood up straight, said nothing, just looked at her quietly. My silence seemed to make her even angrier.

“To Thanh Chi, don't think I don't know what you're doing!”

"Tu Vien is my nephew and the mainstay of the Marquis Palace!"

“Just because you want to get along with a little girl, you want to push the Tham family to death—how can your heart be so cruel!”

“A La was wrong, but he knelt down and apologized! She is your sister, can't you be more generous and give her a way to live?"

“Moreover, he also gave birth to my Tham family's grandchild! That is a great merit! It's been five years since you entered the door, and your stomach still hasn't moved at all."

"Now you still want to push the Tham family's flesh and blood out the door, what are you planning?"

The more the old lady spoke, the angrier she became, pointing straight at my face, spit flying. A La next to her pulled her hand, chokingly said:

"Grandmother, don't blame me, it's all my fault..."

I listened quietly, waiting until the old lady was tired of scolding and stopped breathing heavily, then slowly spoke:

“Are you finished talking?”

The old lady was stunned, clearly not expecting me to be so calm.

“That said, it's your turn.”

I took a few steps forward, my eyes glanced over A La, and finally stopped on the other child.

“First, To Kien La is not a little girl at all. He is the child of the To family's concubine. Your mother was brought into the palace after your mother passed away. I took pity on him, took him with me, and taught him personally. I consider it as my own flesh and blood, what about it? Go to bed with your husband, get pregnant with a cruel child. This wasn't a moment of confusion—it was betrayal. It's a beast."

To Kien La's face immediately turned pale.

“Second, I married into the Tham family for five years without having children, it's not my fault.” I turned to look at the old lady, her eyes cold. “The doctor has clearly said that my child's physical condition is weak, it is difficult to conceive, and he needs time to recover. When he married his child, Tham Tu Vien also knew this. In the past, it was the Tham family who took the initiative to seek marriage—my grandmother tried to ask, whose fault was it?"

“Third,” My voice suddenly became sharp and resonant.

“Whether or not this child is a blood relative of the Tham family—not sure yet.”

As soon as the words fell, it was like a thunderbolt hitting Tung Hac Duong. The old lady jumped up, pointed at me, trembling with anger.

“You... you talk nonsense! This brother An, from his eyes to his appearance, looks exactly like Tu Vien when he was young, how could he not be the blood of the Tham family?!”

“Like sure?” I laughed coldly, "I'm her older sister, but I didn't know, before meeting her brother-in-law, she also had a childhood cousin?"

To Kien La made a "thump" sound and knelt to the ground, his face pale and bloodless.

9

“You slander me!”

To Kien La shouted, pointing at me, looking like a crazy person.

“I don't have a cousin! Sister, because you wanted to chase me away, you made up such cruel words to defame me! How can you be so cruel!”