Chapter 2 — One Dream of Peach Blossoms, Two Ways of Carrying Flowers

A familiar sound rang out from outside the palanquin. Isn't that Manh Ngoc? Why is he out like this? Out of curiosity, I secretly lifted a corner of the curtain. Sure enough, he saw Manh Ngoc in brocade standing in front of the palace, leisurely raising his head to look at Mac Niem. I almost forgot, Mac Niem's family had to pass through Manh palace. It's not clear whether he suddenly felt a sense of old feelings, or because he was impatient to wait for a long time, so he went out to welcome them. Mac Niem held the reins and paused slightly: "Yes." Manh Ngoc smiled: "Congratulations, I don't know whose family it is, I'm really lucky to have Lord Mac's attention." He clearly knew that Mac Niem had now been dismissed and returned to his hometown, but he deliberately emphasized the word "sir", the sarcasm was clearly evident. Mac Niem smiled softly: "The lady willing to marry me is my blessing." Manh Ngoc smiled coldly, hardly visible. The two were originally the same student and eventually passed their doctorate exams in the same year. It's just that after many years of traveling in official positions, due to political disagreements, they became more and more distant. My brother once told me that when Mac Niem was dismissed, I'm afraid there was no lack of Manh Ngoc's plot in it. I let down the curtain. The palanquin continued to move forward. I don't know where the wind came from, lifting a corner of the curtain. I was about to put down the pink scarf. When I turned my head, I met the eyes of Manh Ngoc who was looking over. The pink towel has been covered, blocking everything from the outside. I heard Manh Ngoc calling: "Slow down!" Mac Niem stopped his horse: "Sir Manh, what else do you have to advise?" Perhaps Manh Ngoc realized he was at a loss, paused for a moment before asking:

“I wonder whose family you are marrying?”

Mac Niem replied: "Lord Manh has too much control." Manh Ngoc suddenly said: "Tang Tang, do you really want to marry him?" When I heard it in the palanquin, I just felt confused. Mac Niem didn't move anymore, as if waiting for me to answer. I replied: "Marriage is a big deal, how can you joke? Sir Manh asked this question, am I afraid I'm being rude?"

"Furthermore, Lord Manh, isn't half of today's marriage thanks to you as a matchmaker?"

Yesterday, I was embarrassed by the Manh family. When I went out, I happened to see Mac Niem coming. Manh Ngoc smiled as if he wasn't smiling and said: "Yo, did Lord Mac know that Tang Tang had returned, so he intentionally came to find her?"

"Hey, Tang Tang, you're not married yet, he's not married yet. Wouldn't it be better if the two of you got together as a couple? Wouldn't you both be happy?"

He was dressed in brocade and floral clothes, Mac Niem was wearing a rudimentary cloth shirt, Manh Ngoc's eyes were full of obvious sarcasm, and he intentionally boasted, adding another sentence:

"Tang Tang, in the past, your eyes were really wise and you chose me."

After that, I went home, but I didn't expect that the Mac family's matchmaker would actually come to ask. Ah Niem, brother and I all thought that there was nothing wrong with Mac Niem, so we agreed to the marriage. Manh Ngoc stiffened for a long moment, then smiled softly. That smile is hard to describe in words. He said softly: "Tang Tang, I know you have always been arrogant."

"Could it be that because she couldn't be the main wife of the Manh family, she got angry and randomly found someone to marry?"

“Tang Tang.” His voice softened a bit, "You should think again, you've been gone for ten years, the engagement between me and you is no longer valid."

"It's just a memory of our past love, we were childhood sweethearts, I took her into the palace, naturally I won't mistreat her."

“It's just a difference in status, but a glorious and happy life, isn't it better than others? often?"

"If you think clearly, you still have time to turn back now. Today is over, don't blame me for being unfaithful."

His mouth kept saying "ten years, ten years". He thinks a long time has passed, but in my world, it has only been ten short days. Perhaps because that time was shortened, it made me feel even more that he and the past were too far apart. Has become a stranger that I don't want to get close to anymore. The young man who used to be humble and straightforward in the past, in the blink of an eye, turned into an arrogant person on high.

“Sir Manh.” I pondered for a moment and then said, "Yes, I know that this is not worthy of you, so please don't miss my good time, don't say too much."

“Mac Niem, let's go.”

Although the Moh family is not as poor as the Manh palace, it is not as poor as we thought. There is still a small courtyard, and there is also an old nanny whose eyes have more or less lost her vision. She has been at the Mac family for many years. From the moment Mac Niem first entered the officialdom, she began serving his mother. My brother said, four years ago, Mac Niem's father passed away, and two years ago, his mother also passed away. Relatives saw that Mac Niem no longer had a position, so they gradually stopped coming around, and often the streets were quiet. However, Mac Niem still held a wedding banquet, occasionally gathering two or three tables of guests. After saying goodbye to my old friend, I vaguely felt a bit of pain in my stomach. A bad premonition arose in my heart. I went out to the bathroom to take a look, and sure enough, the lunar event had arrived. I'm a bit stunned. Compared to normal days, the time is not right at all. But thinking back, since leaving Dao Hoa Nguyen, ten years have passed in the human world, and changes are normal. When I returned to the cave room, I discovered that Mac Niem was already in the room. He sat quietly by the bed, his delicate eyebrows under the bright red candlelight, making him even more handsome. I don't know if it was because of the candlelight or not, I just felt that his cheeks were pink and his eyes seemed covered with a layer of mist. I suddenly see that you look more like a bride than me.

“Tang Tang.”

He called out to me, a bit flustered: "Come over here and sit for a while?" To you, perhaps I am someone I haven't seen in ten years. But for me, we just met not long ago. Compared to Manh Ngoc, in addition to his slightly different appearance, his personality has hardly changed at all. Seeing him confused, I felt funny, so I walked over and sat down next to him: "Hey, Mac Niem."

“Um?”

“Why don't you dare look at me?”