Chapter 23 — Betrayed by My Own Mother, Saved by My Mother-in-Law

"Back then, you took the money and then spat it back out; you heard Teacher Diep explain the new government policies clearly enough. You are the one who knows best about the procedures for registering Trieu Thu for the entrance exams."

Old Ton hurriedly waved his hands. "I do not know anything. I know absolutely nothing at all." The village chief tapped his pipe against his palm with a sharp, rhythmic sound. "You are the village accountant; all the paperwork passes through your hands. When the commune officials ask, how do you intend to deny it?" Old Ton’s face turned deathly pale, and he had no choice but to trudge along behind us. On the day we traveled to the commune office, the sky was overcast. A biting wind blew, turning the leaves of the eucalyptus trees along the roadside to reveal their pale undersides. I walked forward, my backpack pressed tight against my chest; inside, the admission notice, sealed in three layers of plastic, lay undisturbed. Mother Chau walked beside me, her gait steady and unwavering. She wore a faded blue jacket, her hair pulled back into a neat bun, looking as though she were about to step into a life-or-death struggle.

Inside the commune office, the room was already full. My mother sat on a long wooden bench, her complexion haggard. Lam Dieu To stood leaning against the wall, his gaze shifty and anxious. The village chief from my birth village was also present; seeing me enter, he let out a long, weary sigh. The official in charge of the investigation was a man surnamed Phuong. He flipped through the files and spoke in a steady, monotonous tone. "We will not pursue who sent the anonymous letter for now. Today, we will clarify only three matters. First, did Lam Trieu Thu register for the exam voluntarily? Second, does her current marital status affect her enrollment? Third, was there any act of identity theft or falsification of documents?"

I stood tall. "I registered for the exam voluntarily, and all the information provided is entirely truthful." Official Phuong nodded. "Please present your account first." I began to speak, starting from the day my mother tricked me into going to a banquet under false pretenses. I recounted the wedding feast, how I knelt in the mud of the courtyard begging to go home, and how the Trieu family never forced me to consummate the marriage. I described how Mother Chau found my mathematics textbooks and even asked me if I still wished to continue my studies. I spoke coherently, without haste. The entire office fell into a deathly silence; no one dared to interrupt. My mother initially tried to argue, but at a sharp, warning glare from Mother Chau, she clamped her mouth shut.

Official Phuong asked, "Do you acknowledge this marriage?" The question fell like a heavy boulder onto the table. Everyone’s eyes turned toward me. I paused for a moment. "I will never acknowledge that being forced into this marriage was right." Mother Chau tightened her grip on my hand. Dai Tru stood outside the door, his head bowed low. I continued, "However, I acknowledge that the Trieu family protected me during my darkest hour. Mother Chau is my mother-in-law, and she is the woman who broke her back raising pigs to support my education. Brother Trieu Dai Tru has shown me respect and has never once forced me to do anything against my will. If I am standing here today, it is because they stood behind me and paved the way for my future."

Official Phuong asked again, "If you attend university, how will you resolve this marital relationship?" Suddenly, Dai Tru lifted his head. "Official, may I say two words?" Official Phuong nodded. Dai Tru stepped into the room, tightly clutching the scrap of paper he had used to draft the divorce petition earlier. "I married Trieu Thu against her will. If she needs to be free to attend university, I am ready to divorce her. If she does not wish to divorce, I will wait. She can live however she chooses; I will not stand in her way."

His words were stuttered and clumsy, yet he did not waver. The office was so quiet that the sound of turning pages was deafening. My mother suddenly shrieked in a frenzy, "Did you hear that? They said with their own mouths that the marriage is problematic! How could a person of such character be allowed to attend university?" Mother Chau spun around, glaring at her. "The marriage is problematic because you tricked and sold your own daughter, not because Trieu Thu's character is flawed." My mother choked on her own words. Official Phuong turned his gaze to her. "Mrs. Lam, in your accusation, you claimed that Lam Trieu Thu was unfilial, mentally unstable, and instigated by her husband's family. Do you have any evidence?" My mother's eyes darted around shiftily. "She doesn't listen to me and talks back to my face; isn't that being unfilial?" Official Phuong frowned. "The university entrance exam is national policy; an adult has the right to register independently. Not obeying your interference does not mean she is unfilial."

Lam Dieu To could no longer restrain himself and interjected, "But she brought shame to our house! I even had my own engagement broken because of her!" Official Phuong shot him a cold glare. "Your engagement was broken-what does that have to do with her qualifications for admission?" Dieu To fell silent. It was only then that the village chief from my birth village finally spoke up. "Honorable official, the Lam family is indeed biased toward their son. The matter of tricking Thu into marriage is something everyone in our village whispers about. If this accusation letter originated from her own family, I believe it is undoubtedly rooted in personal vendetta." My mother looked at him in disbelief. "Village Chief, why are you taking the side of outsiders?" The chief sighed heavily. "I am not taking sides; I simply do not want our village to suffer the disgrace of this incident any further."

Teacher Diep stepped forward and presented a document from Principal Nghiem. "Honorable official, this is a certificate from the high school in the town. During her time there, Lam Trieu Thu was an excellent student and showed no signs of abnormality. Throughout her exam preparation, I supervised her closely and can testify that her mindset was very stable and she was incredibly diligent despite the hardships."