Chapter 2 — Funeral Song Under the Ashing Mat

My father's face showed sadness, but also some comfort, he smiled at me, full of sadness. Just silent for a long time, then said one sentence: "I'm still young." When Hong Li meets a funeral gate, from ancient times until now, Hong Li has always given way, because "the dead are great". The palanquin in front had no intention of avoiding it. The route that should have gone from the Princess's palace to the Tham family's palace was forced to change its route to this place. I saw the woman coming down from the palanquin. She was dressed in red, not covered by a pink scarf. Exquisite makeup, beautiful makeup like peach blossoms in spring, but in my eyes, it looks extremely ugly. Luc Lan once said that she was the one who killed her mother. Her name is Tu Tu Dieu, title of Princess An Binh, and she is the younger sister of the current Queen. In the capital, no one dared to offend her. Luc Lan is a close maid of Xuan Sinh's mother and sister. The day her mother entered the palace and died, she did not go with her. When she heard the news, she felt sad for a long time. Many nights, I still hear her sobbing echoing through the hospital buildings. Later, Xuan Sinh said, her father gave Luc Lan a certificate to sell her body and let her leave the palace. Tu Tu Dieu walked step by step closer to my father, speaking loudly for everyone to hear:
"Tham Truong Ngoc, don't forget, today is our day of great joy!"
Father's face immediately changed, he turned to look at me, then looked back at her, his eyes filled with disgust.
"Princess An Binh, today is the anniversary of my wife's death. According to ritual and morality, I should take her the last part of the journey."
"I won't let you! This princess will stand right here today, see who dares to surpass me!"
Tu Tu Dieu was extremely arrogant. When his eyes passed over me, he left only a trace of contempt. But when she saw her mother's coffin, her face showed undisguised pride. It's like saying: "Look, he's mine."
“You…!”
Father was angry and couldn't help but take two steps forward.
"What? The once elegant flower detective, now wants to hit his fiancee in the middle of the street, the younger sister of the current Queen, Princess An Binh, personally bestowed by the Emperor?"
Tu Tu Dieu raised his head high, chin raised as arrogantly as a phoenix. She knew that my father would not attack her, so she was even more lawless and took advantage of the situation to encroach.
“Tu Tu Dieu, if you still want me to marry you, get away immediately!”
Father lowered his voice, carrying some threat. Tu Tu Dieu was like a horseman trying to tame his handsome horse. When he saw his father breaking his usual gentleness for the first time, he was not scared at all, but on the contrary, he showed a proud look like someone who had just won a big game of chess.
"Tham Truong Ngoc, you have no choice but to marry me. Why? Do you want to defy the order?"
She wouldn't back down even an inch. At that time, a servant in charge of the funeral approached his father and whispered that the time for entering the funeral was near. I saw my father clenching his fists, his expression extremely angry.
"Tu Tu Dieu, you are truly shameless! Get away!"
“You…!”
Perhaps she had never been scolded to the face like that before. What's more, it's the person in her heart - my father. The corners of her eyes immediately turned red. Fortunately, the old mother next to her pulled her back and gently ordered the servant to make way. Xuan Sinh whispered in my ear, saying that this time she was playing tricks on purpose, to spite me
father's face. I turned my head to look at my mother's coffin. In my heart I thought, in the future, I must return today's situation to them.
4
That day, just after returning from her mother's funeral, the Princess immediately wanted to enter the Tham family's door. Father had already given the order to open only a small door on the side of the palace. I still remember, that was the door for servants to enter and exit when going to the market. I hid next to the door frame and saw with my own eyes Tu Tu Dieu's face fall. At that time, the people in the alleys did not care who was the princess or who was the princess. I saw a lucky woman dressed in red, standing in front of the small door, and immediately pointed and whispered. When my mother was alive, she had good relations with her neighbors and everyone loved her. At this moment, we cannot help but be compared. Although the words were not loud, they were enough for Tu Tu Dieu to hear every word clearly. Many people scolded her for being shameless, deliberately blaming her, and holding her father responsible. A Princess like her had never heard such filthy words. The smile on her lips stiffened. Finally, she became so angry that she ordered someone to whip the people to chase them away. Tu Tu Dieu was exposed to the sun in front of the door for a long time. I know that her father deliberately let her suffer humiliation. At midnight, she was carried into the palace gate. As soon as I entered the hall, what caught my eye was my mother's tablet placed right on the main street! Tu Tu Dieu was so angry that he almost wanted to rush up and destroy it. But in the end, he just threw the headscarf hard on the ground. She pointed straight at the tablet and angrily shouted:
“Tham Truong Ngoc, today is our day of great joy, shouldn't we get rid of that unlucky thing?!”
Huh. That is my mother, my father's origin. Why bad luck? The bad luck is you!