Chapter 7 — Little Fisherman of the Princess

“Tieu Ngu Nhi, come here quickly!” The princess stood not far away and waved at me. I was just about to pass by when I saw my mother's face change dramatically and her voice was sharp: "What did you call me?" I retracted my gaze: "Call me by your name." Having finished speaking, I didn't pay attention to their reactions and immediately ran towards Princess Truong. The princess held my hand and walked towards the center of the hunting range. "Are they giving you a hard time?" I shook my head. The longer we leave Chiang Palace, the smaller their influence on us will be. The things that once bound us in the past seem to suddenly no longer matter. He patted my hand gently. 17 Everyone gathered in the center of the hunting range, the men were all prepared to compete for the top position in this fall hunt. The Emperor was suddenly happy and gave a few more rewards. His father and brother stood in the ranks of officials, Do Hoai Can was no exception. They are civil servants. The elder brother was not good at riding horses or archery. At most, he only participated for the sake of it. Of course, his thoughts were not on the reward, his eyes kept looking at me. I naturally spoke up: "Your Majesty, what if our daughter wins a high ranking?" No one expected me to speak up at this time. My father and brother looked at me with the same reproach as before. In the sister's smile, there was also a bit of joy at the misfortune of others. "Your Majesty, please forgive me..." The brother was just about to speak up to ask for love on my behalf when he heard the emperor laugh loudly. "Sure enough, you are worthy of Du girl." The king added a few more rewards, and finally pointed at me: "If Du girl wins first place, I will make you a princess, how about that?" I turned around. He looked at Princess Truong first, then cheerfully accepted the invitation. There was a lot of chatter in the crowd, but no one spoke out against it. Everyone clearly understood in their hearts that the Emperor was intentionally supporting me. My position as the eldest princess, your Majesty's granddaughter, is completely secure. Regardless of whether I win first place today or not, the title of princess will be bestowed sooner or later. After a whistle sounded, everyone simultaneously spurred their horses and rushed away. The third prince rode his horse past me and loudly called out: "Tieu Ngu, sister, if you don't hurry up, first place will be mine!" Lam Viet followed behind him. When he arrived in front of me, he said: "Just wait and see, I will hunt a beautiful one and bring it back to you. You also have to give me a reward." I laughed and scolded the two of them a few times, then spurred my horse to chase. Only a few people from the Chiang family remained standing in place. Confused and not knowing what to do. 18First place is not easy to win, let alone I have only learned horseback riding and archery with Lam Viet for a month. The addition of rewards is just a small plan that I and the Princess Truong discussed in advance, to create opportunities for the ladies to express themselves. His Majesty may not have seen it, so he pushed the boat and agreed. The weather is clear, we ride horseback for a while then slow down to enjoy the scenery. Behind me, someone chased after me. "A Ngu." I didn't turn around, just slowly said: "Brother, A Ngu is the name you guys forcibly gave me." The side was quiet for a moment. "Kien Du, you and your mother are separated, she is very heartbroken." "Aren't you the ones who gave me to Princess Truong to be your heir?" I asked back. There was another moment of silence. The brother spoke with difficulty: "We didn't expect..." "We didn't expect that Princess Truong really valued me." "I didn't expect that I wasn't hated like you thought." "I didn't expect that I wasn't pushed to the end and had to come back and beg you to accept me." "I didn't expect that I wouldn't give you the opportunity to give me grace and alms so I could return home." I was indifferent.

laughed: "Brother, am I right?" The elder looked at me: "Kien Du, you are much more active than before, and much more ostentatious." "I was originally like that. It's just that you guys have forgotten, even I have forgotten." I waved the horse whip: "Master Tieu Tuong should still return quickly, don't let your parents and sister worry." 19 In the end, Lam Viet won first place. There were a few ladies of the official family who had always hidden their talents before, but this time they actually won awards. Under Her Majesty's signal, the First Princess gave them invitation cards. Surely later, in addition to offering prices, they may have another option. In the past, we did not have the right to choose, so now we are very willing to give the right to choose to others. Lam Viet insisted that I promise him something as a reward. While excited, I agreed. It was said that Do Hoai Can held two foxes and stood blankly behind us looking at them for a long time. I later heard this story from the maid. Chasing prey made me exhausted, and that night I fell asleep as soon as I lay down. In the middle of the night, I was awakened by the sound of fire. I quickly ran out of the tent. The soldiers and retainers guarding outside the tent were all gone. Black smoke billowed from one side of the hunting range.