Chapter 2 — I tore up the marriage letter, the father knelt for three days and three nights

She was the daughter of a scholarly family in Jiangnan. She had been married to the Tham family for twenty years. She was disciplined by her mother, coldly treated by her father, and dominated by the concubine. Every time she was patient, every time she 'cured a little', until the end, all the officials in the capital mentioned the Tham family's wife and said 'the great lady of the Tham family is like a piece of wood'.

“I don't want you to become like that too.” Tears fell from her eyes.

“So I won't be like that.” I hugged her, smelling the faint scent of cassia oil on my mother's body, it was the scent I had smelled since childhood, "Mother, wait until I'm okay, I'll come pick you up."

I turned around and walked into the snowy wind. Behind her came the sound of her mother crying, along with the sound of her father breaking the tea cup. I don't turn back. The capital is very large, but it cannot accommodate a divorced woman. I rented a small courtyard, at the end of Lieu Lane in the east of the city, two taels of silver a month, spending all my personal money that I had accumulated over the past three years. The courtyard was very small, but it was quiet. The landlord was a widow named Manh, people called Manh Tam Nuong, about forty years old, with a cheerful and straightforward personality. After receiving my rent, the lady from above and below evaluated me:

“Get kicked out?”

“Leave on your own.”

“There is bone energy.” She nodded, "but the bones cannot be eaten, what can you do, young lady?"

I thought for a moment: "I know how to do accounts, know how to read, and have a basic understanding of medicinal herbs."

“Medicinal herbs?” Manh Tam Nuong was interested, "How much do you understand?"

"My grandfather was a famous physician in Jiangnan. Since I was a child, I have studied medical books with him for several years."

Manh Tam Nuong patted her thigh: "Very clever! I'm planning to open a small medicinal tea shop at the end of the alley, I'm still missing one person on the street, do you want to try?" Just like that, in January of the thirteenth year of Vinh Hoa's reign, I opened a shop "Chieu Ninh Duoc Tra Pho" at the beginning of Lieu alley, east of the citadel. The shop is very small, with only two tables, a stove, a few rows of porcelain vases, what I sell is medicinal tea - using a recipe passed down from my grandfather, mixed with a few teas that have the effect of eliminating colds, sedating the mind, helping people sleep, one liter per bowl, the price can't be cheaper. The first day, there were no guests. The second day, an old woman came, drank a bowl of apple ginger tea, and said "it's okay". On the third day, three people came. A month later, a long line was lined up at the end of Lieu alley. It's not because of how good the tea I make is, but because where I live is cheap, in the east of the city are all poor people, porters at the port, waiters at the tavern, ladies at the laundry department, all of them have some old illnesses that have accumulated over the years. They can't bear to spend money to get medicine, so they come to my place to drink a bowl of hot tea to warm their bodies. I sell tea and check their pulse. No examination fee, only tea fee.

"Sir, a Bodhisattva like you will sooner or later make yourself lose money." Manh Tam Nuong leaned against the door, biting melon seeds and speaking.

"No." I smiled and replied, "I have already calculated, this month I still have a profit of two silver coins."

“What can two pieces of money do?”

“Enough to buy a dose of rheumatism medicine for Mrs. Vuong at the end of the alley.”

Manh Tam Nuong looked at me, didn't say anything more, and gave half of the melon seeds in her hand to me. Days passed like that day by day. I thought I would live the rest of my life peacefully like that, Selling tea, seeing a doctor, saving enough money to take my mother out, I even started to feel that maybe being divorced was a good thing - at least now I don't have to think every day about how to please someone who doesn't love me. Until that afternoon of the ninth of March. It was getting dark, I was preparing to clean up the shop, a staggering figure rushed into the shop, dove onto the table in front of me, knocking over a row of tea pots.

“Save… save me…”

He was a young man, wearing blood-stained brocade, his face was as white as paper, there was a knife wound on his left shoulder that was deep enough to see the bone, and blood was still continuously pouring out. I saw his face clearly, his hands trembled, the teapot almost fell to the ground.

—— I recognize him.

To be more precise, the whole capital recognized him. Bui Van, crown prince of the Tran Bac Marquis palace, third-rank prince wearing a guard's sword, a red man next to His Majesty, is also Co Truong Dien's closest brother. That year when Co Truong Dien and I were still together, he stood next to us many times, noisily teasing me, calling me "little brat".

“Tham…” he recognized me with difficulty, his eyes widened, “Tham Chieu Ninh?”

“Don't talk.” I quickly calmed down, turned around to get the medicine box, "Your wound is very deep, it needs stitches, there is no magic charge, please bear with it for a moment."

“Wait, wait ——” Bui Van's face turned pale, “you... can you do it?”

I picked up the needle, heated it over the fire, and looked at him expressionlessly:

"If you don't believe me, you can go now, but outside there is definitely someone chasing you. If you step out, I'm afraid you won't survive more than a stick of incense."

Bui Van immediately fell silent. With eleven stitches, he bit a piece of towel, stiffly without making a sound, blue veins appeared on his forehead, sweat poured down like rain, but from beginning to end he never fainted. I finished bandaging his wound, then prepared a bowl of hemostatic medicine and handed it over. He took the bowl, gulped down a large gulp, so bitter that he grimaced: "What are you giving me to drink? Why is it even more bitter than the medicine in the palace?"

“Good medicine is bitter.” I cleaned up the bloody bandages, "Speak, what happened, the prince of Tran Bac Hau, who could have injured you to this extent?"

Bui Van was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "I looked up some things that shouldn't be looked up."

"Salt." He raised his head, looking at me with complicated eyes, "The records of the yamen transporting Luong Hoai salt are related to several high-ranking officials in the capital. Before I could get the exact evidence, I was discovered."