Chapter 1 — Books Hidden Under a Dry Well

Year of crop failure. My father used half a bag of old rice to sell me to the Imperial Palace. The lady saw that my appearance somewhat resembled Miss Tam, so she kept me by Miss Third's side as her concubine. I remembered that the Co family gave me a bowl of rice to save my life, and from then on, I followed Third Miss Co Minh Chau and carefully cared for her every day. Third Miss's body is weak, but her personality is soft. Even the fruit jam given to her from the palace, she is willing to share with servants like us. I originally thought that for the rest of my life, I would follow her and marry into a noble house in the capital, watch her gather her children and grandchildren, and I would stand beside her and take care of her needle and thread box. Who would have thought that after Tay Chau fell, the entire Co family had to flee. The old man encountered robbers on the road and lost his life. His wife got sick and passed away. In the end, only Miss Tam and I relied on each other. I smeared kitchen ash all over my face and Miss Tam's, begging for food along the way, finally reaching the capital. Before her death, the lady once said that when she was young, Third Miss had arranged a marriage with the Ta family in the capital. As long as we reach the capital, survival will no longer be a problem. Miss Tam and I both understand clearly in our hearts. The old family has fallen to this point, I'm afraid we can't rely on that marriage anymore. We just hope that the Ta family remembers the old love and gives the two of them a way to live. I arranged for Miss Third to stay at a small inn in the south of the city, and then formally brought her to the Ta family. The gatekeeper of the Ta family looked at me, his eyes became strange. "The Co family's marriage? Is your third young lady still alive?" Those words sounded harsh, the smile on my face immediately disappeared. The gatekeeper also knew that he had said something wrong, so he quickly smiled and made up for it. "Miss, don't be angry. The soldiers and horses were in chaos, and there wasn't even a single letter sent to me. My old master thought that all of the Co family was gone." "Just two days ago, my palace had just arranged another marriage for the Second Young Master." "Your concubine's arrival is really not at the right time." This was originally expected, I didn't make a fuss, just said: "The marriage was originally decided by the eldest son." In fact, it is natural that there will be changes. My lady has just arrived in the capital, and still remembers the friendship between the Ta family and the Co family, so she specially sent me to meet you." Seeing that I wasn't here to knock on the door and cause trouble, the gatekeeper's tone was much lighter. "Miss, you really understand, I immediately went inside to communicate." I originally thought I had to stand outside the door until the sun went down. Unexpectedly, after just drinking a cup of tea, Mrs. Ta was helped by her mother and hurriedly walked out. As soon as she saw me, tears fell from her eyes, she held my hand and said: "Good child, you have suffered along the way." I know you mistook me for Miss Tam. This cannot be ambiguous. I immediately knelt down: "Old lady, please have mercy on my young lady." "The riots in Tay Chau were so painful that my eyes turned red. The old master protected the lady and the young lady to escape. In the middle of the road, they were hacked to death by robbers. The lady tried her best to reach the outskirts of the capital but could not survive." "You only had one breath left to enter the capital." "Please have mercy on the old lady." Old lady helped me stand. He woke up, wiped his tears and asked: "You are also a loyal child. Where is your lady right now?" I bowed my head and replied: "Staying at an inn in the south of the city. Along the way, I suffered too much. As soon as I entered the capital, I fell ill." Old lady Ta kept saying: "Bring me to visit her." The ladies standing behind her also intended to follow. I quickly stopped them: "Miss is sick, it is not convenient to meet guests. I have told you that if you come to the capital, you must first come to report peace, to avoid worrying the Ta family. When you can get out of bed, you will definitely come."

I came to pay my respects.” Old lady Ta sighed: "This child Minh Chau still understands manners so much." She asked her mother to bring a box. "There are some bills and medicinal herbs in here, please bring them back." Tell your young lady that the Ta family will not abandon her." I was about to refuse, so old lady Ta immediately pressed her hand on the box. "Not to mention the marriage contract between the two families, just the old friendship between her mother and me, these things should also be accepted." I could only thank her. Old lady Ta also gave me two maids and two young ladies, telling me to take them back to the inn. When I returned, Miss Tam was sitting by the bed mending old clothes. I took the needle from my hand. her: "I still have a fever, why are you doing these things?" Co Minh Chau looked out the window: "We can't rely on others to live our whole lives." I recited every word of the Ta family to her, not missing a word. She was stunned for a moment and then smiled bitterly: "I didn't expect this marriage to still be possible, but they withdrew so quickly, it was still difficult to avoid the pain in my heart." I said: "The old lady seems to be a gentle person." Co Minh Chau shook his head: "Being kind is one thing, benefits are another. If Mr. Ta Nhi's marriage has been decided with someone else, we are the ones who are an eyesore." She coughed twice and then said again: "Before her death, my mother once said that there were three shops and two hospitals in the capital, which in the past were entrusted to the Ta family to manage on their behalf. If the marriage fails, that inheritance should also be returned to us." I nodded: "I'll go ask tomorrow." Co Minh Chau grabbed my sleeve: "A Duong, what if they don't agree?" I closed the needle and thread box: "If they don't agree, I will ask again and again. The Co family's belongings cannot just disappear because of a chaotic army and horse." She looked at me, suddenly lowered her voice and said: "If you weren't a maid, maybe you would live better than me." I smiled: “Miss, you were joking. This life of mine was given to me by my family." Outside the door came the voice of the young master of the Ta family: "Miss Gu, the Ta mansion brought the medicine." I opened the door, the clerk stuffed the package of medicine into my lap. He did not enter the room, just stood outside the doorway observing Co Minh Chau. "My second lady said, it's okay to bring the medicine. Miss Co's body is weak, don't continue to come to the palace to bother the old lady." Co Minh Chau's face turned a little whiter. I asked: "What else did the second lady say?" The little private pouted: "Second lady said the capital has many rules. Miss Gu is an unmarried girl, so living in a hotel is really unsuitable. But the Ta mansion is about to take care of the wedding right now, it's not convenient to keep outsiders, so I ask you to find another place to live on your own." Before I could speak, Co Minh Chau sat up straight. "Thank you, Second Lady, on my behalf." Seeing that she did not make a fuss, he instead lost interest and turned around to leave. I closed the door, Co Minh Chau pushed the medicine package aside. "Don't take this medicine." I opened it and smelled it, inside there were some extremely strong sedatives. She asked: "Is there a problem?" I tied the bag tightly: "It won't kill you, but if you drink it, you won't wake up for a long time." The second lady is afraid that tomorrow someone will come to your door.” The old clothes in Co Minh Chau's hand fell to the ground. I bent down and picked it up, placing it back on her knee. “Young lady, go to sleep. Tomorrow I will go to Ta Palace." She said: "You are just a maid, they don't even care." I took out another greeting card from the box and smoothed the corners. "It's because I'm a maid that they revealed their true colors in front of me." As soon as it was dawn, I took the two maids that old lady Ta had given me to the Ta residence. This time the gatekeeper was no longer polite, one hand leaning on the door frame. "What are you doing again?" I handed it over

Concubine: "My lady would like to ask, when will the store contract and the hospital contract that the Co family sent to the Ta residence to be managed, when will it be returned?" The gatekeeper's face darkened: "If you speak, there must be proof." I said: "Your wife's advice before her death is proof." He laughed: "Can the words of the dead also be used to demand things?" The little maid behind me took a step back in fear. I did not back down: "Then please ask Mrs. Ta to come out here. Yesterday the old lady said that the Ta family would not abandon Miss Co." The gatekeeper was about to chase people away when suddenly a woman wearing a dark red outfit walked out of the palace. The lady next to her shouted: "The second lady is out, don't get out of the way." Ta Nhi, Mrs. Dieu Thi glanced at me, her voice low: "The Co family's maid?" I bowed: "Servant A Duong." "Your young lady just received money from the Ta family yesterday, and today she came to claim the store." Dieu Thi smiled very leisurely, "The Co family used to be a proud family, why did they raise such inconsiderate servants?" I raised my head: "Bac is the old lady's pity for the young lady. The store is the old property of the Co family. These two things cannot be merged into one." Dieu Thi's face changed: "You can tell the difference clearly." The lady next to her immediately continued: "Who knows if there is a real store or not? Tay Chau is in chaos, the Co family's books have been burned, so when she opened her mouth, she said the Ta family took the things, don't you want to blackmail?" I said: "Yes or not, the tax department of Ta Phu is the clearest." Dieu Thi stared at me: "A slave like you dares to search the Ta residence's recording room?" I replied: "This servant does not dare to search the Ta palace. This servant will only ask for the things that belong to you on behalf of my young lady." In front of the gate, passersby stopped to watch the excitement. Dieu Thi lowered her voice: "You don't need face, does Co Minh Chau also not need it? A female refugee who just entered the capital stopped at someone else's door to demand property. If the story spread outside, who would dare to accept her?" A fire flared up in my heart, but I still knelt down on the surface. "If the Second Lady feels that this slave is disrespectful, the servant will be punished. But the Co family's family, please Second Lady, please give me a definite answer." Dieu Thi raised her hand, and the lady immediately stepped up and slapped me. "Irreversible thing." I was hit in the face, and the taste of blood was in my mouth. The gatekeeper laughed. Dieu Thi said: "Go back and tell Co Minh Chau, the Ta family remembers their old love, give her three days to find a house. After three days, don't continue to use the old engagement to make others disgusted." I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth: "What about the store contract?" Dieu Thi's eyelids twitched. The lady was about to hit again, but the little maid assigned by Mrs. Ta to stand behind me suddenly spoke: "Second lady, the old lady once told me to take care of Miss Co." Dieu Thi turned her head to look at her. The little maid immediately lowered her face. Dieu Thi slowly walked towards her: "What is your name?" "Slave Xuan Dao." "From today, you don't need to come to the inn to serve you anymore. Go to the laundry room." Xuan Dao's face turned pale. I took a look at her, she bit her lip, not daring to say more. Dieu Thi was satisfied: "Who else wants to help the Co family?" No one spoke up. I picked up the card and stood up. Dieu Thi said: "The last bit of dignity of the Co family has been lost by a slave like you." When I returned to the inn, Co Minh Chau was waiting. She saw the fingerprints on my face and quickly got out of bed: "Did they beat you?" I supported her: "It's okay." "How is it okay?" She turned around and was about to go out, "I'm going to the Ta residence." I held her shoulder: "If you go there, they'll have something to say. Say you're sick and still come to cause trouble, say you're greedy for the wealth of the Ta family." Co Minh Chau was so angry that he coughed and choked: "They robbed things,

I also want to rob you of my reputation.” I opened the box that Mrs. Ta gave me and counted the money checks inside.