Chapter 1 — Pick up the Bridegroom

My aunt married Tran Bac Vuong and became her successor. My parents wanted to go to the capital to take care of my aunt, but before going they argued about whether they should take me with them or not. Mother cried and said:
"The girl has been weak since childhood. Even if she was taken to the capital, she would still be alive for a few days!"
Father said angrily:
"Ever since he was born, she felt like he was about to die every day. As a result, for so many years, we were afraid every day, but he still managed to live until he was twelve years old!"
At first, my mother still wanted to argue and insisted on taking me to the capital with her. But the older sister bowed her head and said in a low voice:
“Mom, if outsiders know that I have a naturally weak sister, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to get married in the future.”
Mom immediately fell silent. The mother sent a letter back, saying that her sister had an appearance that would conquer the country and that she wanted her to marry into the royal palace and attract the prince. The future glory, humiliation, prosperity and failure of our entire family all rest on you. But when I was seventeen years old. My parents rushed back to look for me. They held a portrait, begging me:
"The prince said he wanted to marry a girl who looked like the person in the picture. As soon as we looked at her, we saw that you looked a lot like her. Good child, follow your parents home."
01
The border city is dry all year round, but the day my parents left, it rained heavily. I tightly held the ten taels of silver left by my mother, standing under the porch and watching their carriage gradually disappear. The cold rainwater splashed on my body, making me cough violently for several hours. By noon, my stomach was hungry, so I had to lean on a torn umbrella and go to West Street. People walking on the street were in a hurry, everyone's faces were blurred, only this rain was clearly visible. I bought a bowl of goat meat soup and two vegetarian dumplings. I sat under the tent roof, listening to the sound of rain falling, slowly eating. Not long after, another person arrived. After sitting down, he also ordered dumplings. Taking a bite of the dumpling, he vomited a mouthful of blood. Vomiting until his face turns blue. I looked at him and said seriously:
"Can you go eat somewhere else? It's a bit disgusting."
He rudely wiped his mouth:
"If you feel terrible, go away yourself. Why are you chasing me here?"
I shyly said:
“Give me a break, I'm about to die today.”
He rolled his eyes and laughed coldly:
"Then please leave me alone for a moment, I'm about to die today."
I looked at him in surprise:
“What a coincidence.”
I calculated the amount of silver in my pocket and negotiated with him:
"Or we can pool our money to buy a good coffin and bury it together. That way we won't have to worry about mosquito bites when we go underground."
He looked at me from top to bottom:
“Sick ghost of the Wang family, what's wrong, do your parents not need you anymore?”
I smiled at him:
“Idiot, the Trieu family has suffered, has your fiancee run off with someone else?”
He was so angry that he jumped up, smashed the table, and roared:
"Damn it! You want to die in my hands and take the opportunity to swindle money, right?!"
I immediately turned to look at the hostess:
“Second lady, he smashed your table!”
Ton Nhi Nuong held a rolling pin, put her hands on her hips and scolded:
"Two debt collectors that even the King of Hell won't accept! Leave it all to the old lady!"
She looked at my thin, pale face, then looked at the remaining debt collector whose mouth was full of blood. She almost collapsed:
"Consider this old lady begging you two! Go see the doctor!"
Trieu Hang and I did not go to see the doctor. The two of us wearing rain to Linh mountain. After death, everyone in the city was buried here. Trieu Hang dug two holes, one for him, one for me. The two of us lay close together in the hole. I soaked myself in the rain water, mumbling softly:
"I hope God will help me to die first. Otherwise, if I turn around and see your fierce face, it will be very scary."
Trieu Hang rolled over and over but still couldn't die. He angrily sat up, ruffled his messy hair and shouted:
"I really don't understand! She and I grew up together since childhood, why does she have eyes for a white-faced guy who only knows how to read books!"
I'm too lazy to pay attention to him. There is nothing new under the sun. In every story, there is a man who sacrifices everything for his childhood, and wants to be with her in life and death. Trieu Hang is not a rare character. He lost his parents at a young age, lived at his aunt's house, slept in a dog nest, and ate leftover rice. The little girl next door pitied him and often secretly helped him. Trieu Hang immediately thought of building a career and finding a future to marry her. From a young age, he followed trading groups in and out of foreign mandarins. All the silver he earned was given to her. He raised her into a young lady who was well fed and dressed beautifully. As a result, he escaped from the bandits' den with a body full of injuries. And the young lady went to the capital to marry Trang Nguyen Lang. Trieu Hang only received one sentence:
"You're good everywhere, but unfortunately I only see you as brother."
The rain is getting heavier and heavier. Our body is also getting colder and colder. Trieu Hang's faint voice rang in my ears:
"Actually, I just want to get married, want a home. Why is it so difficult?"
He still has the strength to grieve. As expected, it was the male supporting character, and he couldn't die at the moment. I weakly said:
“I'm about to die, remember to cover me with dirt, thank you.”
Anyway, this hole was dug for me by Trieu Hang. I still remember his kindness. Before I died, I dreamily said one sentence:
"She will still come back to look for you. Until then, you absolutely should not..."
02
“This man spent one hundred and twenty taels of silver to get your life back!”
"Open your mouth, drink the drug! This one dose of drug is twelve taels! Damn doctor Kim, why don't you just go rob the money!"
"Vuong Phan! Vuong Phan! If you dare to die like that, you will surely die!"
It's too noisy. Why in the world is there such a noisy person? Almost every day, it whispers in my ears. I tiredly opened my eyes. I saw Trieu Hang arguing with someone else. His aunt's saliva splashed and she cried loudly:
"Trieu Hang! Your brain has been soaked, hasn't it? Before, you used real silver and real gold to raise Duong Giao Nguyet, I could still consider the two of you to have an oral engagement! But now what do you mean by picking up a tuberculosis ghost like this! Every day you have to use ginseng soup to hang its life, I also have to clean its body. If it dies in my house, I..."
“Clack” sound.
Trieu Hang placed a piece of silver on the table and said in a deep voice:
"Auntie, don't talk anymore. Tomorrow I will follow the merchant group to the foreign officials. Vuong Phan asks you to take good care of me."
His aunt's eyes immediately lit up and she reached out to take the silver. But she couldn't get it. I tightened my grip on the silver and said with difficulty:
“You Don't need a network anymore?
Trieu Hang turned around to see me and happily said:
“Sick ghost, you're awake!”
For the past half month, I've been so sick that I can't wake up. But I still vaguely hear some words. Every day, Trieu Hang leaves early and returns late at night, serving as a bodyguard for the trading group. His aunt takes care of me and takes thirty coins every day. I lie on his back and command:
“Go search your aunt's jar of rice. Inside were hidden five taels of silver. The medicine she gave me was mixed with water."
Trieu Hang boldly went into the kitchen and found silver. His aunt raised her eyes and said firmly:
“Trieu Hang! Think carefully! Today, if you walk out the door because of this tuberculosis ghost, from now on you will no longer have a home!”
Trieu Hang's footsteps slowed slightly. I grabbed his ear, twisted it around and shouted:
“Go! If not, I will die right on your back now, letting all your money go down the drain! You will never know the future story between you and Duong Giao Nguyet!”
Duong Giao Nguyet is Trieu Hang's reins, he listens to everything he says. Trieu Hang immediately carried me out. We go straight to Dr. Kim's medical clinic. He is sitting and counting money. Seeing Trieu Hang enter, he just raised his eyes and said indifferently:
“Oh, it's Trieu Hang. Vuong Phan's illness is indispensable for ginseng. I just imported a batch of goods, selling them to you cheaply, only need one hundred taels.”
I poked my head out from Trieu Hang's shoulder and coldly asked:
“Kim Bat Hoan, are you tired of living? Do you want me to help you predict when the King of Hell will come to arrest you?”
As soon as Kim Bat Hoan saw me, his face changed and he smiled shyly:
“Oh, your debt collector isn't dead yet?”
He returned thirty taels to Trieu Hang, lowered his voice and said to me:
“I really didn't trick him into too much money. You absolutely should not talk about my business indiscriminately."
I counted the money, then patted Trieu Hang on the shoulder:
“Let me down, let Kim Bat Hoan check your pulse.”
Trieu Hang was stunned, rubbed the wound on the back of his hand, and impatiently waved his hand:
“This man is a great man, there's nothing to say about a little injury. No need to treat, waste of money.”
I took a look at Kim Bat Hoan. Kim Bat Hoan immediately advised:
“Trieu Hang, sit down quickly. I look at your face, I'm afraid you haven't had a proper rest for a long time. Half a month ago, you just escaped from a bandit den. I advised you to take Dai Hoan Dan for a month, but you only bought some medicine to treat foreign injuries and then ran away.
Kim Bat Hoan said that Trieu Hang was injured in the lungs and must recuperate for a year. Otherwise, in a few years, the old wound will relapse and he will lose his life. I think, it turns out that many years later, Trieu Hang was provoked by Duong Giao Nguyet to vomit blood and died because of this disaster. I counted the silver and threw it to Kim Bat Hoan, glancing at him:
“Use good medicine.”
Kim Bat Hoan smiled pleasingly:
“Definitely, definitely.”
Trieu Hang and I wait for Kim Bat Hoan to prescribe. He couldn't stand, he couldn't sit. He angrily picked at the wood chips on the door crack. I looked at him and silently laughed coldly twice. I coughed twice. Trieu Hang immediately brought tea and poured water for me, but his mouth was disgusted:
“I'm about to die, but I'm still worried about you.”
He bought me a bowl of meat porridge, and I only drank a bowl of tea to fill my stomach. I criticized it for being hot, Trieu Hang immediately used a spoon to stir it to cool it. His mouth muttered:
“Sick ghosts are truly difficult to serve.”
There's work to do. The wrinkles between Trieu Hang's eyebrows also relaxed. He no longer sighed, nor worried anymore. I thought to myself. See? Trieu Hang is the type of person who likes to sacrifice, his bones are light. Other people treat him well, but his whole body feels uncomfortable. I'm not like him. I am the type of person who likes to be demanding. I just hate others for not being able to treat me well. Looking at it like that, the two of us are quite a match. Ton Nhi Nuong carried a bamboo basket to get food. As soon as she raised her head and saw the two of us, she said in surprise:
"The neighbors all said that Vuong Phan was sold to you to be his adopted daughter-in-law since he was a baby. I still didn't believe it. It turned out to be true."
Trieu Hang immediately turned red in the face and was so excited that he spilled hot porridge on the back of his hand. He scolded:
"Someone who eats so much fat is talking nonsense! How old is she, how old am I! How can this kind of rumor be spread!"
Ton Nhi Nuong glanced at him, took a dumpling from the basket and stuffed it for me, smiled and said:
"In my opinion, although Vuong Phan is younger than you, he is better at working and managing his family than you. Okay, forget about Giao Nguyet and live kindly with Vuong Phan."
03
Trieu Hang is sick. He wants to hold a party at Hanh Hoa Lane and inform Master Thanh Hoang that we will become brothers and sisters. I sat on a small chair, drinking medicine and reading medical books, too lazy to pay attention to him.