Chapter 4 — Chinh The Muu

I know what he said is true, he will do the same, treat me with respect, raise my eyebrows, he will not mistreat me. That's enough. I raised the cup of wine and was about to drink it—The door was knocked. The sound was very light, but in the quiet new room it was especially clear, once, twice, as if the person knocking on the door was also hesitating. Bui Chieu frowned, stood up and opened the door. Outside the door was a maid, her face red, her hands twisting her shirt, not daring to raise her head to look at him. She was a member of Tiet Uyen's yard.

“Duke of the country…” The maid's voice was as small as a mosquito, “Miss Tiet said her body is not feeling well, her head hurts so much, she wants to invite the Duke to come over and take a look—”

Bui Chieu stood at the door, one hand still holding the door frame, the candlelight was shining from behind, the expression on his face could not be seen clearly, after a while, he opened his mouth.

"If you have a headache, go get the doctor."

The maid's toes rubbed the ground, not daring to move, nor daring to say another word. Bui Chieu's voice lowered, but the anger in his words rose:

"If she's not feeling well, go find a doctor. If you see red, go find a midwife. I'm not a doctor, I don't know how to treat illness, I don't know how to stop bleeding—what's the use of looking for me?"

The maid was so scared that she trembled, turned and ran, the sound of footsteps along the hallway gradually faded. Bui Chieu closed the door, went back and sat down, picked up the cup of wine and drank it in one gulp. His throat moved slightly, his fingers tightened on the empty cup, his joints turned white. The new room became quiet again, the roses were still burning, the candle wicks made a soft clicking sound. Then, a few classrooms away, there was a faint, crisp sound. It was the sound of broken porcelain. Immediately after that there was another sound, then another sound, one after another, as if someone had thrown everything in the room that could be broken, one by one, onto the ground. Bui Chieu's hand stopped. The sound of breaking was very far away, not heard clearly, but in the quiet night, each sound was heard clearly, vases, tea cups, porcelain vases, furniture, the sounds of breaking on the ground were different, some were crispy, some were dull, some broke neatly, some fell down and rolled a few more times. The last sound was the loudest, like a whole set of dishes being swept down from the table. Then there was no more sound. Bui Chieu sat there, motionless from beginning to end, his fingers still clenching the wine cup, his joints were white, the candlelight shone into his eyes, there was an emotion that was hard to put into words, not anger, not pity, more like fatigue. He didn't get up to look. I also didn't say anything. The red candles burned until the hour of the Rat, candle wax melted on the bronze platform, layer by layer overlapping each other, away from the other layers of the courtyard, no sound was transmitted anymore, in that courtyard it was so quiet that it was like an abandoned building. I don't know what Tiet Uyen looked like standing in the middle of broken porcelain pieces, I don't know if after she finished smashing the last item, she squatted down and hugged her shoulder and cried, I don't know if the child was woken up or not, if she was scared to the point of crying or not, if her bare feet ran out to hug her leg and call her "sister" or not. We don't know those things. I only know, Bui Chieu is not going. He sat in the new room, next to me, drinking the entire kettle of wine, cup after cup, until the candlelight was about to expire, the first streak of gray and white appeared on the horizon. Finally, he put down the wine cup and said one sentence, his voice was very light, as if he was talking to himself.

"The girl before, didn't have that kind of personality."

I did not answer. Outside the window came the first sound of the morning birds singing, a new day had begun. A few layers away from the courtyard walls, the courtyard was quiet without a sound, full of broken porcelain pieces that no one had cleaned up, under the dim light before the sky was full, reflecting cold light. The rose finally burned out, the last smoke from the candle wick slowly rose, dissolving into the morning light. Early the next morning, go to visit Princess Truong. Bui Chieu and I changed into our costumes. As soon as we entered the Princess Truong's main courtyard, we saw a person kneeling in the hallway next to the door, Tiet Uyen, she was kneeling on the blue stone floor, there wasn't even a pillow under her knees, the morning dew had not yet dissipated, a large area of her skirt was soaked, the child was not by her side, she was the only one kneeling there. Bui Chieu's steps slowed down a bit. After finishing the ceremony, his eyes still couldn't help but look towards the courtyard door where she was kneeling, and finally opened his mouth: "Mother, what mistake did you commit, why do you have to be punished so severely?" Princess Chu Tri Doanh sat upright, used the lid of a cup to brush away tea leaves, and said leisurely: "The things you broke last night, including a painting, 'Tung Hac Do' hanging in the room, was given to me by the Queen Mother that year, and is a royal gift." The main street was so quiet that you could clearly hear the sound of Tiet Uyen's knees rubbing on the green stone floor outside the courtyard. Princess Truong put down the teacup: "If this matter reaches your Majesty's ears, what is the crime of destroying royal objects, you should understand, if you can still kneel here now, it is already a respect for that child." Bui Chieu was silent for a long time. He walked to the door and looked at Tiet Uyen kneeling. In the morning light, her back appeared especially thin and weak.

“When did you—” his voice seemed to be forced from his throat, “become so arrogant?”