Chapter 7 — Broken Pearls Are Hard to Heal

It seems we have overcome four years of wind and rain and misunderstandings. Once again returning to Duong Chau filled with the scent of gardenia flowers that year. Memories rise like a rising tide. Completely engulfed me. … When I was fifteen years old, the Quy family, because they wanted to congratulate Quy Hanh who was seriously ill, welcomed me from his hometown to become his family. But no one expected that on the wedding night, the person like him who had lived his life at the mercy of fate would miraculously wake up. He leaned against the head of the bed, although his face was still a bit pale, his eyes were unusually bright. He looked at me as I had just lifted my veil and burst out laughing.
"Who bought these little dumplings? Why are you still so excited?"
At that time I was young, my face was round, my dark red uniform was loose, looking both funny and pitiful. The next day, he secretly slipped a letter of reconciliation into my hand.
"This noble man is really unreasonable. Such a good lady is forced to marry someone whose life and death are unknown like me. Isn't that cruel? Ah Am, when the young master recovers, I will take her home. At that time, I will prepare a large dowry for her and send her off with a smile."
After that, none of us mentioned that letter of separation again. The days in Duong Chau were so good. Quy Hanh's health is getting better every day. He is a person who cannot sit still. Criticizing that studying was boring, he climbed the wall to take me to the temple festival. He patiently held my hand, stroke by stroke teaching a country girl like me how to read. And I know how to weave many delicate small items that people in the city have never seen, including bamboo dragonflies and bamboo horses. Everything he saw was extremely interesting. Every time I finished it, he proudly hung it on his waist and took it to show off to his friends. One time, under the gardenia tree, he muttered in a low voice.
"Little dumpling, is it okay if you don't come back anymore?"
Looking at his red ears, my heart was filled with joy. But when his health completely recovered, Mrs. Quy wished her son to be successful, forced him to concentrate on reading, and ordered me to always stay by his side to watch over him. Quy Hanh hates reading books the most. Whenever there was a chance, he followed the boys from noble families and climbed the wall to escape to the wharf. When his friends saw this, they blatantly laughed at me behind my back.
"Look, it's just a humble girl, but she actually considers herself the main wife, and even wants to take care of her husband."
Quy Hanh never knew about those gossips. He didn't even know that every time he climbed the wall to go out, his mother took out all her anger on him. Forced to kneel. It is forbidden to eat. Slap your mouth. In the cold and gloomy Buddhist hall, I quietly endured those slaps and punishments for a year, without saying a word to him. I thought I just needed to endure it. Wait until he grows up and he'll be fine. Every time he happily returned after being bored playing, he would stuff me with a packet of roasted chestnuts with sugar.
“Eat quickly, it's just been roasted, it's very sweet.”
I just quietly looked at him. In the end, still didn't say anything. Only later will we understand. There are self-pity... not everyone knows. There are favorites…well not everyone sees it. Until that day. He secretly followed a merchant ship out to sea. Before leaving, he lay on top of the wall and reached out to pinch my cheek.
"Ah Am, obediently stay at home and wait for me to return. I will definitely bring lots of Western clothes Duong brought back interesting things for her, all of which were things no one had ever seen before."
I smiled and nodded. But in the end, I still couldn't wait for the Western dishes he promised. Not long after he left, my father came to pick me up. Instinctively, I shook my head.
“I want to wait for Quy Hanh to return.”
The noble lady has hated me for a long time. Trieu ma ma next to her smiled coldly and threw me a letter. In the letter, it was written that Quy Hanh hated me. This trip to sea is to avoid me.
“Tong Van Am, if you know what to do, get out of here. The young master called you dirty. Before leaving, he personally told you to give this to you and then get out of the Quy family. In the young master's heart, there has long been a love match for the young lady. If it weren't for happiness, who would even glance at a country girl like you?"
I looked at the noble lady standing next to Lady Quy. Inferiority and bitterness are like big waves that engulf people. It turns out...in Quy Hanh's heart there has long been a bright moon that no one can replace. I don't make noise. Only followed his father and left Duong Chau. But fate wants to torment people... Never choose the right time. After my father passed away, my brother and my money-grubbing sister ran away with all the money in the house, leaving me to fend for myself in a ruined temple. My body already had injuries from the Quy family, and I had a cold. The whole person just lay on a pile of grass waiting to die. The Tham family passed by, treated me, and took me home. Then I married into the Tham family. Happy failure. Becoming a widow was completely silent. A heavy tear fell onto the remaining words. The three words "little dumplings" on the letter immediately blurred. The sound of cold rain outside reality rushed into my ears again. I woke up from the stream of memories. Trembling hands continued to flip through the remaining letters in the box. Half of the letters from home were burned. Every sentence, every word... is the nostalgia he wrote for me one leaf after another in the sea of eternal life and death.
"The wind is strong today, I wonder if the little dumplings at home will eat on time or not?"
"I bought Tay Duong products, A Am will definitely like it when she sees it."
It turned out that he had never married Miss Bieu. He used all the sincerity and honesty of his youth to protect his "little bun". Only unexpected…