Chapter 8 — Bamboo Burning Brooch

The letter my mother sent to Duong Chau has not yet been responded to. I was afraid something would happen midway, so I closed the door and didn't go out for the past two days, stayed in my room, embroidered all the previous handkerchiefs with the word "Ha", and then embroidered another hidden pattern in a secret place. Not long after, the news that I was about to settle down reached my eldest sister's ears. After returning from Dong Son, she rarely took the initiative to come find me. Standing under the begonia tree in the yard, she looked at me with a smile. "I heard that you're about to get married? Is Chu's son the Chu family's confidant in Duong Chau?" Hearing that, I didn't even bother to raise my head. "Eldest sister's news is so clear." "Duong Chau is so far away, you don't even have a person to talk to when you're married there." She snorted softly, her voice carrying a bit of pity as if it were a favor. "Or leave it to mother. Choose a few young masters in the capital for you. I know a few young masters, their moral character and appearance are not bad, I can introduce them to you. "At this time, I raised my head to look at her. Sunlight passed through the begonia branches, illuminating her face, covering her with a layer of smooth hair. Her face today is a little better than the previous few days. Perhaps I finally convinced myself that if the other person hadn't come to the door, it probably wouldn't have involved me. She even applied lipstick, a layer of light red lipstick that made her lips look even brighter. "Thank you for your hard work, elder sister." I put away the embroidered scarf. "But I heard that Duong Chau is a very good place, Mr. Chu is also handsome and upright, it is truly a good match." Elder sister was interrupted by me, and her face immediately became ugly. After a while, she said: "Thanh Ha, I advise you not to marry so far away. How old are you now? Life is still long, if something happens in the future, your mother's house is far away, there will be no one to back you up." After saying that, perhaps feeling that she had the upper hand, she left with her head held high. I stood still in place, watching her back slide across the blue stone floor, I just found it funny. Have my back? As long as she doesn't plan with her parents and oppress me, that's fine. How can we expect our mother's family to have our back? Luckily now... I know how to support myself. Another morning. As soon as it was dawn, there was a loud knocking on the front door. I was woken up by the sound of rocks, put on my coat, stood up, opened the window and looked out and saw a few families rushing towards the main gate. A moment later, the maid next to her mother also picked up her dress and hurriedly ran through the hallway, her face pale, as if she had just encountered some terrible character. I leisurely washed my face and changed my clothes, stood in front of the mirror and carefully adjusted my sideburns before opening the door and stepping out. The main hall was full of people. Sure enough, the Vu Lam guards still investigated the elder sister. The mother sat in the upper chair, her face was pale, but still tried to maintain the demeanor of a matron. "I wonder what the matter is for you gentlemen to come to the palace so early in the morning?" The leading general clasped his hands and bowed, his tone still quite polite. "Please forgive me, ma'am. The lower official obeyed Your Majesty's orders to investigate the execution of His Highness the Crown Prince three days ago. According to the investigation, around noon that day, the eldest daughter of the palace went to the Quan Am temple on Dong Son to make offerings. His scent and whereabouts matched the traces of the assassin, so he specially came to ask a few questions." The elder sister stood right next to her mother. When I first walked in, my head was held high. Now, as soon as he heard the four words "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince", his whole body immediately felt weak as if all his strength had been drained from him, and he had to hold on to the edge of the chair to barely stand. Obviously the mother was also panicked, but still stubbornly said: "This young lady is just a concubine, how can she be related?"

When it comes to doing what you like? Your Excellency must have made a mistake..." "Yes or no, you'll know if you ask." The general leaned slightly to look at the elder sister. "Eldest Miss Lam, may I ask when did you arrive at the Quan Am Temple that day? How long do you stay in the temple? Have you ever seen anyone suspicious?" The hall immediately became quiet. The elder sister opened her mouth, and after a long time she answered in a trembling voice: "I... I arrived at the hour of the Dragon at three o'clock. After worshiping Buddha, I went down the mountain. I didn't see anything..." "Are there any witnesses?" Of course not. She had a marriage contract on her person, and secretly meeting Ninh Vuong was already a shameful matter, so she didn't dare to reveal it. Therefore, every time she went up the mountain she disguised herself as a man. On the mountain, there was only one person on the mountain. Sister and Ninh Vuong, where can we get witnesses? The older sister's face was bloodless, she instinctively looked at me. She opened her mouth to ask me to testify, but suddenly remembered something and swallowed her words. After a while, she shook her head. "There aren't many people going up the mountain at the hour of the Dragon, and I don't know if anyone saw me or not." "That means there are no witnesses!" The leading general shouted coldly. "If that's the case, please come with us, Miss Lam. Go back to see the Minister of Justice and the Royal History Minister and report clearly!” “No! I won't go! Mother... please tell me quickly!" The elder sister looked helplessly at her mother. At this point, she remembered to call her mother. But her mother was not as happy as she thought. On the contrary, the word "mother" made her tremble slightly, unconsciously stepping out to beg: "Sir, I can testify. That day, at the hour of the Snake, the eldest daughter returned from Dong Son to pray for blessings. It... it also brought me a peace talisman from Dong Son. That's right, the peace talisman... the peace talisman I always carry with me." Mother frantically took out the peace talisman from her chest. I raised my eyes to look. It was the talisman from the past. When she couldn't pray for her child, I went up to Dong Son to pray for her. Unexpectedly, today, in order to protect the eldest sister, she gave all that credit to him. Hearing that, the eldest sister also nodded repeatedly.