Chapter 3 — Little Fisherman of the Princess

Mother panicked and shielded herself in front of sister. "Young lady spoke rudely, I respectfully ask Princess Truong..." Mother raised her hand to interrupt her father: "The words spoken by nobles are decided by nobles themselves, it is not the turn of an old servant like me to comment." Her intention was to transmit those words verbatim to Princess Truong's ears. Sister's face immediately turned pale. The sharp mama turned her head to see me, then changed her smile: "Your Highness has been waiting for a long time. Please follow the old slave." "Wait." The elder brother stepped forward: "Mother, the ceremony to receive the heir has not yet been held. Doing so is afraid it is not according to the rules." The mother's smile faded a bit: "The eldest princess has already made it clear to Her Majesty. The ceremony to receive the heir will be held on an auspicious day next month. Before that, The young lady will go to the palace to get to know His Highness first." "His Royal Highness understands that it is inevitable that Lord Tuong and Madam Tuong cannot bear to leave their daughter, so he specially ordered this old slave to prepare some small rituals." Father and mother's faces were both ugly, the elder brother wanted to stop talking. They were all waiting for me to say no. "Trouble you, ma ma." I spoke amidst their surprised eyes. "Goddess please consent."08 When ma ma led me into the room, the Princess Truong was holding a grape, leaving the monk below to play music for everyone to listen to. True to the rumor, the music master and the male pet in Princess Truong's palace all have outstanding appearances. "I pay my respects to your Highness." "Raise your head." Princess Truong's voice was leisurely, making the anxiety in my heart ease a little. The person observed me a few times and then smiled: "She's a beautiful lady." "Your name is Kien Du, right? Do you have a nickname?" I hesitated a bit. Princess Truong raised her eyebrows: "What's wrong, don't want to say?" I quickly shook my head: "This goddess used to have a maiden name, called Tieu Ngu." When I was young, my mother said I was lively and naughty, like a small fish in the water, slippery and hard to catch, all day I only knew how to cause trouble. At that time, every time my mother called my maiden name, she always had a gentle smile on her face. When I returned to Tuong Palace, my parents, elder brother and older sister still called me by that nickname. One day, the elder brother taught the elder sister how to write. I followed them and picked up the pen, but the handwriting was crooked. When the elder brother saw it, he frowned and said: "Rotten wood cannot be carved into things." It was clear that when he taught sister, he was extremely patient, yet he refused to share even a little bit with me. Sister A laughed and teased me: "Tieu Ngu, Tieu Ngu, if you're so stupid, you shouldn't be called Tieu Ngu, you should be called A Ngu. The word 'Stupid' in stupid." At that time, I was still young and didn't understand anything. Seeing sister and brother both laughing, I also laughed. Later, for unknown reasons, the former "Tieu Ngu Nhi" gradually transformed into "A Ngu" in their mouths. Seeing my gloomy expression, the Princess did not ask further. She just smiled and said to me: "Then from now on I will call you Tieu Ngu Nhi." 09 The princess is more gentle than I imagined. She did not urge us to change the way we call ourselves mother, but did all the things a mother should do. The shopkeepers of the most famous tailor shops and jewelry shops in the capital continuously visited the palace for several days. Even people from the Textile Department in the palace came several times. Each item is personally inspected by the Head Princess. Everything is a unique part for us, we don't need to compete or choose with anyone anymore. It's like I've returned to the days when I was still "Tieu Ngu Nhi". In this place that was considered by the upper and lower Tuong Palace to be a wolf's den, we lived more comfortably than in Tuong Phu. On the fifth day after entering the palace, my mother brought someone to my hospital. I recognized him as the master I met when I first arrived at the palace

Chief princess. Remembering the outside rumors about Princess Truong, and seeing this master's handsome appearance and extraordinary temperament, my face immediately turned red. My new wife, is it possible that even my male pet wants to give it to my daughter? The master saw my appearance and probably guessed what I was thinking. He suppressed a laugh and explained: "Miss, I am here to teach you how to play." A gentleman has the six skills, a woman has the eight skills. These are all things that officials' children must master. I only took a few lessons before I was seven years old. After returning to the capital, my parents never arranged for someone to teach me. I didn't expect Princess Truong to think so carefully, even thinking about these things. I embarrassedly accepted the guitar my mother gave me and began to study with him. Fortunately, this monk was a kind person and did not tell the misunderstanding to Princess Truong. Just like that, I lived in Princess Truong's palace for ten days. That day, after finishing dinner, Princess Truong suddenly pulled me aside and asked: "The day after tomorrow is the Van Tho period, do you want to come with me to the palace to attend the banquet?" Years ago, my father and elder brother also brought my mother and sister to the palace to attend the banquet. I was extremely curious about the royal palace, but my father only told me: