Chapter 1 — Hoa Mi Revenge of Vengeance

“Madam, listen to this song, how pleasant it is.”
The maid Xuan Vu carried a carved birdcage and gently walked on tiptoe into the room. In a cage with a thin layer of sandalwood chips, a five-colored nightingale is perched on a bronze bar, its feathers stacked together like colored silk, tilting its head and singing to me. That sound was graceful and clear, like a gurgling stream flowing through a jade slab. I sat in front of the desk, the tea cup in my hand fell to the ground, shattering and scattering all over the floor.
“Madam… Madam?”
Xuan Vu was startled and took half a step back. I stared at that bird, my blood running cold. That's it. Five-colored nightingale. It was the demon bird that had devoured it in the previous life, causing the To family's hundred-year-old fortune to collapse in just one night.
"The aunt said that she always locked herself in her room, afraid that she would get sick from boredom, so she took the trouble to ask someone to find and buy this precious nightingale from far away Linh Nam."
Xuan Vu lifted the bird cage and brought it forward, with a pleasing smile on his face.
"Look at the color of this fur, it's five colors. I heard that you can't find a second one in the whole Jiangnan region."
I stood up and walked to the front of the birdcage. The nightingale gently flapped its wings, opened its beak and sang one more time. The sound was so sweet that it was sickening, as if it was deliberately trying to please. But we know clearly that behind that graceful song is the beginning of the downfall of the entire To family three years later. I stretched out my hand, and when my fingertips were about to touch the birdcage, I suddenly retracted it.
“Since it's your intention,” I heard my own voice surprisingly calm, “Then I have to raise this little beast well.”
This time, it's our turn to change its owner. …The Western Court of the Su family. I stood in front of the window, silently looking at the hundred-year-old camphor tree in the middle of the yard. The rainy season last May, the shiny green leaves were wet, the smell of earth mixed with steam from the canal in the distance flew into the room, making my throat choke. In a previous life, it was also during this season that Tham Thanh Van brought this nightingale. As for me, the name To Van Ngam only knows how to bury my head in books, only know how to focus on taking care of my family, and foolishly thinking that my husband is feeling sorry for me. That's right, after being married to him for three years, my father passed away, my grandfather fell ill, and I was the only one left to carry the Su family's huge fortune. When Tham Thanh Van stepped into the door of his in-laws, he said such beautiful words, that he would share my worries and be a strong pillar for the To family. I believed him. A nightingale, what a thoughtful gift.
"Madam, let me clean up the debris for you. Don't touch it or you'll get scratched."

Xuan Vu squatted down to collect the pieces of the tea cup, muttering: "This tea cup is a matching set in the Old Master's study, it's a pity that it broke." I didn't answer, turned around and walked in front of the bronze mirror. In the mirror, the face of a twenty-four year old woman was reflected, her eyelids were as delicate as her mother's, but her lips were thin, her chin was pointed, and since childhood she had been said to have a cunning appearance. There are light dark circles under the eye bags, which are traces left after three long months of staying up all night comparing books. In my previous life, I spent every day and every month like that. After this nightingale arrived, first of all, things happened to the stores one after another. The silk warehouse was flooded, all goods were moldy and damaged. The boat carrying ceramics overturned at Lap Trach wharf, three thousand bales of Quan Dieu ceramics were broken and not a single piece remained. The tea hills were devastated by pests and diseases, the Long Tinh tea crop before the Qingming Festival was completely lost without a single leaf. Everyone said the To family's fortunes had changed. Only I didn't know, my fate didn't change naturally, but was sucked up by this demon bird one mouthful at a time. Until the rainy night before my death, I lay in the empty old house that had been mortgaged, my skinny body left with only skin and bones. The nightingale sat in a cage at the head of the bed, its iridescent feathers were even more brilliant than three years ago, its beak kept opening and closing, silently swallowing something. I saw with my own eyes a stream of white air being extracted from my chest, billowing into its throat. And Tham Thanh Van, my good husband, was standing on the porch outside the door, smiling and chatting happily with a young woman. In that woman's arms she held a chubby white baby boy, always calling him father. That scene, I will never forget until I die.
“Madam, the aunt is here.” The voice of the errand boy reporting from outside the door came through.
I took a deep breath and reached out to touch the jade pendant hanging on my waist. This is the relic my mother left me, aged jade, shiny and cool like a stream of clear water. Only by touching it can we force ourselves to calm down. When Tham Thanh Van walked in, he was still carrying a small bronze feeding trough in his hand. This year he is twenty-eight years old, with a tall figure, dignified facial features, a high straight nose, and thick black eyebrows. Before joining the Su family, he was just a poor bachelor, so poor that he couldn't even collect the money to pay for the exam. My father saw that he had a handsome appearance and was literate, so he recruited him to be his son-in-law. Having been raised for three years, what he wore was silk from the To family, what he ate was rice from the To family, even the jade ring on his hand was taken from the To family's treasury.
“Van Ngam, does the nightingale please you?”
He smiled and walked closer, placed the bronze feeding trough on the table, and smoothed his sleeve.
"I ordered someone to prepare special food for it, mixing mealworms and egg yolks. It must be raised like that so the coat color will be beautiful."
I lowered my eyes and picked up the feeding trough to examine it. Crafted from bronze, a tiny word "Tham" is engraved on the bottom.
“The lady is already tired.”
I spoke softly, my tone carrying just the right amount of gratitude, "This bird's song is indeed very pleasant. Having it for company makes the room a bit less boring." Tham Thanh Van seemed very satisfied with my reaction, reaching out to pat my shoulder, but I took a half step back, pretending to flip through a book on the table.
“You and I are husband and wife, why do we have to be so polite?”
His hand paused in mid-air, then naturally withdrew, stroking his sleeve again.

"I know you've been working hard these past few years. I've been keeping an eye on the silk shop's affairs. The ceramics department has also negotiated with the kiln. Taking good care of your body is the most important thing."
Take good care of your body? In his previous life, he always used these words, every word and sentence was filled with care and concern. But turning away, he secretly bought a mansion in Lieu alley outside the city, thirty miles away, secretly impregnating a woman named Bach To To. That woman gave birth to a son, white and chubby, exactly like him. Less than half a year after my death, Bach To To was welcomed into the To family's grand courtyard. The child changed his last name, took the last name To, and sat on the chair of the master of the To family. As for me, To Van Ngam, I am just a short-lived former mother-in-law with no children and was completely forgotten by people.
“Young lady is right.”
I poured tea for him, amidst the mist, my facial expression seemed extremely docile and obedient.
"If you're busy, go ahead. I'll clean up the books for the past few days."
Tham Thanh Van stayed for another quarter of an hour, talking about a few trivial things in the shops, then stood up and left. He always said he was busy with work, but in reality most of the time he was busy running to that house in the suburbs. Waiting until the sound of his footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the winding hallway, the obedient smile on my face gradually faded, inch by inch, cold to the end.
“Xuan Vu.”
“Madam advised.”
"Go invite Mama Vuong over here, go through the back door, don't let anyone see."
Mother Vuong is an old person who has been with me since my mother was alive, and has been with the To family for forty years now. In her previous life, she was loyal to me, but half a year ago when the To family declined, she was pushed to a remote estate in the countryside by Tham Thanh Van using the excuse of "old age." Not long after, she "slipped" and fell into the river. When she was picked up, her body was cold. Looking back now, I'm afraid she would have discovered some clues at that time. Not long after, Vuong Ma Ma tiptoed in from the back door. She was nearly sixty, her hair was gray, but her appearance was still agile and sharp, her eyes were as bright as two bronze nails.
“Mom, there's one thing, I can only ask you to do it.”