Chapter 3 — Lady Tri District

I scratched my head and smiled softly:

"But... he looks so pitiful. I can't bear to ignore seeing him die without saving him."

"Then let him rest here for one night, tomorrow I'll send someone to the hospital outside the city, okay?"

I quickly nodded. When it comes to Lam Suong's decision, I have never argued - except for one thing... Luc Nha gave me a chicken leg and smiled and said:

"Young lady, eat more and sharpen your fangs. From now on, if Luc Nha is not around, whoever dares to bully someone will just bite him!"

Lam Suong paused, his eyes softened slightly, and glanced at me:

"Hanh Nhi, you went to look for Ta Khien again, right?"

I shrank my neck like a little quail, not daring to look straight into your eyes.

"Hanh Nhi," she softened her voice, her eyes filled with sadness, "as long as you want it, the engagement contract is considered irrelevant. I will take care of you for the rest of your life."

I didn't speak, I just bowed my head and bit the chicken, little by little, as if only silence could cover what I couldn't say. Luc Nha saw the gloomy atmosphere and quickly called the kitchen to bring rice.

"Butler Lam has been busy all day, quickly eat something to fill your stomach!"

Lam Suong's hand under his shirt gently grasped and then let go. Finally, she seemed to have compromised, scooped up a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of me. It's the red apple medicinal mountain porridge that I like the most. Except for Ta Khien, everyone in the family remembers it.

4

The next morning, while I was still awake, Luc Nha hastily rushed into the room.

"That's not good, miss, the man you picked up yesterday... has disappeared!"

I woke up startled, put on my robe and ran to the living room, only to see Lam Suong sitting in the courtyard, calmly doing math. Seeing me coming, she immediately ordered the maid to clean the soft cushion on the ice opposite.

“Hanh Nhi,” she looked at me, her voice calm, “every person has their own destiny, I have fulfilled my duty.”

Even though I was still worried about the other person's injury, I opened my mouth but didn't know what to say. Lam Suong has always done things in moderation, I always trust her. A few days later, I went around the jade repair shops on the street, hoping to find someone to restore the broken jade pendant. Before Ngoc could fix it, he heard rumors that Ta Khien was about to be promoted.

“I heard that Lord Ta is about to be promoted?”

"That's right! He's a Poinsettia, staying in this small country for three years is already a disadvantage, sooner or later he will return to the capital!"

My hand tightened on the brocade bag containing the jade fragments, my chest felt like someone was choking me. … That night, the Ta family's parents sent someone to tell me to go into the palace. Mother Ta held my hand, her eyes filled with gentleness.

"Hanh Nhi, this time Khien Nhi will come to the capital, wait for us to settle down, then we will take you there to get married, is that okay?"

Father sat in the main chair, speaking solemnly:

"Hanh Nhi, you can rest assured, no matter what happens to Khien Nhi in the future, you will forever be his only wife."

I remained silent, it seemed that Mother Ta also understood somewhat. She took me back to my room, waited for the maid to leave before slowly speaking:

“Hanh Nhi, recently you and Khien Nhi have had a bit of a disagreement?”

My mother has always been kind to me. I didn't want to deceive her, so I nodded slightly.

"Khien Nhi's personality is like his father's, stubborn, often saying things against his will, but in his heart he still cares about you."

She raised her hand to brush away the tangled hair on my forehead:

“Do you know, in the past he passed the Poinsettia exam, why did he only become a small district judge?”

I shook my head. Ta Khien has never been mentioned.

"That year, Princess Truong wanted to recruit him to be her concubine," Mother Ta smiled, "she dared to stand in the middle of Kim Loan Palace to protest... saying that she had a long-standing engagement."

I raised my head in surprise, I had never heard of this. Ta Khien... is it really because of me that he refused the engagement and gave up his entire future? For a moment, my heart was as chaotic as a thread.

"Happiness, I'm telling you these things, not for anything else... I just hope you know, that child still has you in her heart."

Leaving Mother Ta's room, I stood in the hallway, looking at the garden full of red apricot blossoms, suddenly lost. Is it true that... about the jade pendant, he really doesn't know? Snow fell sporadically, I leaned over to avoid it, raised my head and immediately met Ta Khien's eyes - sitting in the courtyard, holding a pen and painting. Today he was not wearing official uniform, only wearing an ivory white long shirt, his figure was tall and thin like a green pine tree under the snow. I took a breath and gathered courage to step forward. But when I saw the painting, my heart suddenly stopped. On paper, red apricot branches bloom in the winter sky, the penmanship is stronger and more vivid than real flowers.

"Thank... Lord Ta's drawing is really beautiful..." I softly praised, my fingers unconsciously tightening my sleeve.

He still didn't raise his head, his voice was cold: "What's the matter?"

“I heard... you're about to enter the capital?”

I looked at his fingertips turning red from the cold, suddenly remembering that I had brought a hand warmer.

“This… is for you…”

“No need.”

He leaned away, his voice colder than early winter snow:

“If there is nothing, please return Miss Duong.”

I retracted my hand, my nose sour.

"So... I wish you a safe journey."

Wait until the sound of my footsteps completely melted into the wind and snow, then Ta Khien put down his pen. He flipped over the top sheet of apricot painting, revealing the hidden layer of paper underneath. Just a few simple strokes sketch out the figure of a young woman standing in the hallway, lifelike. The butler quickly ran over, holding his cloak and covering him, his voice soft:

“Sir, we went up the mountain to find a place to retreat, and it turned out that the old jade carver was no longer there.”

Ta Khien paused, then picked up the pen again and quietly repainted the eyes in the painting.

“I know.”

“One more thing…” The butler bowed:

“It has been clearly investigated, the person causing trouble in the Duong family's trading hall is someone sent by the Tham family.”

Ta Khien put down his pen. When he raised his head, a cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

“Author?”

"The magistrate has long been looking into the Duong family's sea trade. This time, Miss Lam was out..."

Before he finished speaking, Ta Khien put the wolf-fur pen into the inkstone and stood up.

“Prepare the horse.”

His voice was calm, but it made the butler suddenly tense his whole body.

“Go to the Shen residence.”

5

The Ta family has been in the capital for five days, and a letter from the translation shop came saying that today a carriage would come to pick me up and leave.

“Luc Nha,” I propped my chin, my heart in turmoil, “Ta Khien has come to the capital, is he still just a district governor?”