Chapter 1 — Internet Users Love Me

Every time husband and wife make love. My husband placed my deceased brother's sword horizontally next to his pillow.
“Van Lang, Chieu Vien's sword is looking at you.”
"If he knew under the golden stream and saw you lying under his brother, do you think he would hate you or me?"
Those words were like ice chips going through my ears, piercing straight into my heart, making my whole body shiver. Later, I gradually thought clearly. Luc Van Cu hates me. Hating me made him have the reputation of marrying the sister of his fallen comrade, hating my existence reminding him day and night. His soulmate has died, but he is still alive, even possessing his soulmate's sister. I married him at the age of seventeen and died at the age of twenty-three. It's only been six years, but it feels like I've endured sixty years. When I open my eyes again, I am reincarnated back to the day of the lantern festival. I stopped my stepmother, lowered my eyes and said:
"Mother, no need to throw away the flower veil anymore. I am willing to marry Manh family's second lang."
The tea cup in the stepmother's hand hit the edge of the table.
“Van Lang, can you say it again?”
In my previous life, after my brother An Chieu Vien died in battle. The stepmother immediately came up with the idea of marrying her to her deaf and mute nephew from her mother's house. Her family name was Manh, she was the third daughter born to the Manh family, and had always been unable to raise her head at her mother's house. If she can sneak me into the hands of the deaf and mute second son of the Manh family, she will be able to straighten her back in front of her sister-in-law Han Thi, and from there, she will have the Tinh Vien Ba palace as support. It's just that she was afraid of being rejected by people, so she staged a towel throwing scene at the lantern festival. On the surface it seemed fair, but in fact the floral towel had been marked, and the Manh family's people soon mixed in with the waiting crowd. In my previous life, I knew absolutely nothing. I put on new clothes, carried a lantern, and vaguely entered that lantern festival. Then, I saw Luc Van Cu. He shouldn't have appeared on that street. His work at Han Lam Institute prevented him from leaving, but he still came, still standing in the frontmost position, catching the flower scarf I threw down. The sound of congratulations echoed throughout the street like a tide. The smile on the model's face stiffened. I married Luc Van Cu. I thought I had found a way to live in a place of death. Unexpectedly, he fell into a deeper hell. After getting married, Luc Van Cu was extremely cold towards me. During the day everyone does their own work, but at night they pull us into the tent, roughly and silently. Just every time we do marital matters. He will definitely place his brother's sword horizontally next to his knee.
"Van Lang! Van Lang!"
The call of the stepmother pulls us back to the present.
“Are you really willing to marry Manh Khai Nien?”
That tone was like confirming a good thing falling from the sky. It's hard to blame her for being suspicious. The story of Manh Khai Nien being both deaf and mute was known to the whole capital. The second young master of the Tinh Vien Ba palace has not been able to speak since he was young, nor can he hear clearly. Which kind of lady would be willing to marry him?
"Yes." I raised my head and looked straight into her eyes. "Mother has worked hard to prepare for the lantern festival, and my daughter cannot bear to make her feel awkward. The Manh family's cousin has always been polite to her daughter, and she is willing to get married."
The next finger tapped twice on the knee. She is a clever person, she has to calculate everything three times. I actively want to marry her Not only did he avoid the risk of unexpected events happening in the lantern festival, but he also managed to get a love gift to give to his mother-in-law, Han Thi, in his mother's house. Either way, she benefits. But she won't immediately believe it.
"Last month, Han brought Khai Nien to her house. You hid in your room and refused to come out. I thought you didn't like her." She spoke slowly.
"At that time, my daughter did not understand things and thought wrongly." I bowed my head and lowered my voice softly. "If mother doesn't believe it, the daughter can write proof."
The stepmother smiled full of kindness.
"What papers? You are my daughter, do I still not believe you?" She stood up to help me. "Although it's a bit inconvenient for Khai Nien, that child has a good heart and is the eldest son of the Ba palace. He has a rich family fortune. If you marry there, mother will also feel secure."
She held my hand, her palm warm. I lowered my eyes and smiled obediently, but I didn't have any emotions in my heart.
“So the Lantern Festival…”
“Not organized anymore.” The stepmother raised her chin and instructed the wife: "Go put away the flower scarf and send someone to the Ba residence to report the news."
She always said she would do it. That very day, she ordered someone to pack up the equipment for the lantern festival, and told her confidant to go to Tinh Vien Ba palace to deliver the news. I stood in the circular hallway, watching the servants untie the lanterns and roll up the curtains, finally feeling at peace. When returning to the inner courtyard, the little private guarding the gate stopped me.
“Miss, the Luc family's second master has arrived, sitting in the living room.”
My steps stopped.
"What is up?"
“He said he came to celebrate Tet.”
I nodded, turned around and walked towards the back yard. The living room door was slightly open. Through a yellow apricot bush, people can be seen inside. Luc Van Cu sat upright in the passenger seat, his spine tense like a sword not yet unsheathed. His facial features were pale, his eyebrow bones were not high, and his eye sockets were also shallow, but because of that cold and distant look, a delicate face seemed to be carved into a block of cold jade. The last time I saw him was in his previous life. He stood outside the doorway, not entering my room. He stood half a meter away looking at me, his face even more unsightly than that of a dying person. But clearly the person who is about to die is me. I have never understood him. Luckily, now I don't need to understand anymore. I'm planning on leaving. Luc Van Cu suddenly tilted his head, his eyes passed through the half of the door and the gap between the apricot branches, coldly falling on him. After the snow, the sky had just cleared, the sunlight was so white and mournful. I withdrew my gaze and quickly turned through the round door. Behind me was the sound of chair legs scraping against the ground.
“Sister Van Lang.”
His voice penetrated the cold, dry air of the winter afternoon, steadily chasing after me. I stopped walking, took a deep breath, wiped all emotions from my face, then slowly turned around. Luc Van Cu stood at the other end of the hallway, seven or eight steps away from me.
“The story of the Lantern Festival…” He spoke, his tone flat without any wavering. “Why suddenly no more organization?”
"It's father's idea. The end of the year is coming, I'm afraid of being too ostentatious." I responded according to the reason I had prepared in advance.
Luc Van Cu stared at me. He certainly didn't believe it, but there was no way to refute this statement. I performed the ceremony and prepared to say goodbye.
“Sister Van Lang.” He spoke again. "If If you have any trouble, just come find me. When Chieu Vien went on an expedition, he entrusted me to take care of him. Taking care of you is my duty."
“Thank you so much for the good intentions of Mr. Luc. Van Lang did not encounter any difficulties.”
He was silent. The wind blew through the hallway, the bronze bell under the eaves rang out in small sounds. I'm about to say goodbye again. He suddenly said something, his voice carrying an indescribable emotion.
“Really?”
He stopped for a moment, his eyes slowly scanning every inch of my face.
“Then why don't you call me Van Cu brother anymore?”
I was stunned. He spoke again. The voice was very light, so light that it sounded like he was talking to himself.
“Or are there some things you know sooner than me?”
My spine stiffens. This sentence may be a probe, or it may just be an unintentional statement. I can't guess how much he actually knows. But no matter how much he knows, I won't give him any more chances in this life. I made up an excuse to cover up the situation, let Luc Van Cu leave and then returned to my hospital.
“Miss.” Ngan Hanh walked over to greet her, her eyebrows furrowed tightly. “Do you really want to marry Second Young Master Manh?”
I nodded. Ngan Hanh stomped her feet, her voice both impatient and angry:
“Madam is so cruel! If she wanted to please her mother's family, she would do it herself. Why would she use the girl's marriage to repay her lover? Knowing full well that Second Young Master Manh is both deaf and mute, he still pushed the young lady into such a place!”
In my previous life, Ngan Hanh followed me into the Luc family. For six years, she has blocked countless hidden arrows and dangerous attacks on my behalf. The Luc family's wife caused trouble and cut off her monthly salary, but she still endured it silently. I told her to leave, find a decent home to marry, and stop following me to suffer. She absolutely refused, saying she wanted to stay in the Luc family and be a mother for the rest of her life. I can't say it. I tried to hold my last breath, begging Luc Van Cu to find Ngan Hanh a marriage. Rarely did that person give in and find Ngan Hanh a rich family on the outskirts of the capital and let her be his wife. The day Ngan Hanh left the house, her eyes under the veil were red and swollen like walnuts, holding her arms tightly and refusing to let go. I smiled and wiped her tears.
“Stupid Ngan Hanh, stop crying. Not only do I have to get married, but I also have to live well. If one day I have nowhere to go, at least I can still come to you for help.”
I deceived you. When I said those words, I knew my life was about to run out. Less than four months after she left, I died alone in the cold room of the Luc family.
“Okay, okay, my sister Ngan Hanh, don't be angry anymore.” I smiled and held her shoulder. "Marrying to the Manh family doesn't necessarily mean you have to suffer."
“Think about it, although second son Manh cannot speak, he is handsome and listens to me. Where can a husband like that go to find a lantern?"
Step-mother said that Manh Khai Nien has a kind nature, this statement is only half true. His personality is straightforward and stubborn. If someone disrespects me right in front of him, he will not say a word but immediately rush up to beat them, pin them to the ground, and beat them until their nose bleeds. Even though he himself was injured, he still refused to let go. Both stubborn and stubborn. Once he has determined something, nine buffaloes cannot pull him back. Only when in front of you Me, he is incredibly obedient. Whatever I tell him to do, he will do it, never disobeying even half a word. If you get something good, the first person you think of is me. Tinh Vien Ba and his wife love their children like life. If guys like it, of course they will also like it. The Manh family, up and down, has always treated me differently. Marrying Manh Khai Nien is the most stable path for me right now. Moreover, in my previous life, two years after I married into the Luc family, Manh Khai Nien's ear disease suddenly cured completely. After that, he entered the Martial Arts School, accepted a position in the army, and gradually rose to the position of deputy commander of the military. At court, he fought Luc Van Cu to the point of losing and losing. It's just that I never thought about it in my previous life, why did a person who was deaf and mute for more than ten years suddenly recover? To this day, we still do not have an answer to this question. The next day, Han Thi personally brought people over. When I got to the living room, my stepmother was sitting and talking to her, smiling. As soon as she saw me, Han Thi immediately stood up, pulled my hand and sat down next to her, touched my face and frowned.
"Your chin is so pointy, is it because you don't eat properly?" She turned around and told her mother: "Bring the box of deer antlers and bring it up here so Van Lang can nourish her."
Han Thi's eyes stayed on my face for a long time.