Chapter 1 — Tham Nuong Does Not Marry Ta Family

At the end of the year, my mother and I traveled thousands of miles from Duong Chau to Ta family. Everyone in the capital laughed at me, saying that I came from a merchant background, was rude and disrespectful, and compared to the husband of the Ta family, I was indeed on a high. I never objected. Until the banquet, my mother politely mentioned my marriage, but Ta Nam Tu was indifferent and sarcastically said:

“I heard that a wealthy merchant can enter the Ta family's door at ten thousand taels, you choose.”

Everyone is sure that we will choose the latter. Unexpectedly, I slowly opened my mouth: "Ten thousand taels." Ten thousand taels is enough for me to return to Duong Chau to recruit a husband.

1

The Ta family is a famous family in the capital. Especially at the end of the year, the scene becomes even more bustling, large and small banquets are held continuously, and young ladies from all over come to accept new promises. At the courtyard, bustling laughter and chatter were occasionally heard. The Ta family sisters and I sat together, they whispered loudly, their voices were so low that I couldn't hear them clearly. At the banquet table, the Ta family's sister, Lam Tieu Van, secretly glanced at me, then turned around and giggled with the sisters next to her. Suddenly, I heard my name. It seemed like they were commenting on my appearance, saying that I couldn't compare with sister Kieu. My hand holding the chopsticks suddenly tightened. This is not the first time. Since the day before yesterday, when my mother and I went to the capital to enter the Ta family, those searching eyes had not interrupted. At first, I was angry, but my mother advised me to be patient, saying that the big family has many rules, so don't offend before you even step through the door. Mother's words echoed in my ears, I slowly breathed out, pretending not to hear. I bowed my head and was about to continue eating, but I heard someone laugh and say:

"Look at her, she's started eating again. Who knows if they and their mother came to our palace to stay and stay? With such an appearance and background, how can they be worthy of brother Nam Tu?"

"Don't you see, her mother is still trying to flatter her, she must have made up her mind to climb the Ta family's heights."

“I heard that she was a remarried person before, maybe she did something dirty and was sent away!”

“Tch!”

The sound of chopsticks falling to the ground. The young ladies were stunned and looked at me bewildered. I looked cold and said loudly: "You guys talk nonsense!" The girls looked at each other, then immediately fell silent. At this moment, Ta Nam Tu stepped forward, saw the scene before him, frowned, and asked in a low voice: "Tet, what's the noise?" He has an extremely handsome appearance. In winter, he wears a round-neck ao dai embroidered with green bamboo motifs, the collar is lined with a layer of fine fur, his face is like jade, his body is like blue bamboo. He stood there, naturally attracting everyone's attention. I reflexively looked towards him, just about to open my mouth to say that they were disrespectful to my mother, but before I could say anything, I was interrupted by the cousin of the Ta family. She smiled brightly, pointed at me and said:

"Brother, your fiancee has probably never eaten anything delicious. Just now at the banquet table, she stared at the plate of grilled goat meat and ate more than half of it, looking like a reincarnated hungry ghost! We only teased her a few words and she was not happy, even throwing her chopsticks, how rude!"

After saying that, she even made a devilish face at me, her face full of mischief. I was so angry that my whole body trembled and I said loudly:

“It's obvious that you are speaking ill of your mother I——”

As I spoke, I was about to step forward to argue, but Ta Nam Tu misunderstood. Wrists are grabbed tightly. Ta Nam Tu used much more force than before. With one strong push, I fell to the ground. Even though we are separated by a thick layer of clothing, we can still feel the intense pain in our knees and elbows. Physiological tears flowed out involuntarily. Ta Nam Tu stood high up looking down at me, his eyes flashed with contempt, his tone was cold:

“Tieu Van just joked a few words, you already want to do it? This is the Ta family, you haven't married here yet, it's not your turn to teach others yet."

As soon as the words ended, everyone's eyes turned to me, carrying a look of gloating and laughter. I have never suffered such frustration, my eyes immediately turned red, but I tried to hold back my tears, chokingly said: "It's obvious that they are disrespectful to my mother——" Ta Nam Tu didn't bother to listen, and shouted in a low voice: "Enough! The banquet is going well, and you're making a mess like this, aren't you causing enough trouble?" I was stunned. At this moment, from the outside door, a servant loudly announced: "Miss Kieu is here!"

“Ah! It's sister Kieu coming, come out and see! She's the best at skating, we have to ask her to teach us."

“Brother, you should come quickly too!”

Everyone started to talk and leave. Lam Tieu Van smiled, stepped forward and pulled Ta Nam Tu's sleeve, pulling him along. Ta Nam Tu glanced at me falling on the ground, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, but in the end he was still pulled away.

2

The noisy crowd dispersed, I brushed the dirt off my dress and stood up. Even though he had thick winter clothes and no serious injuries, his elbows and knees must have been bruised. I don't know how to ice skate, so naturally I don't want to go there and get excited, so I went back to my room. This time in the capital, in addition to marriage, I have another important matter. Three years ago, my sister A Man married into the general's palace in the capital. Before Tet, she sent a letter to Duong Chau announcing the birth of a male child. The whole clan was overjoyed. This is my first grandson, of course I keep it in mind, and have prepared a precious gift for the child. Unfortunately, I'm not good at women's work, so in the end I decided to carve a jade pendant with a green bamboo pattern myself. The bamboo is elegant and the pattern is not too complicated. I spent a lot of money to buy a good block of jade, and it took more than two months to complete the carving. Today, I made an appointment with sister A Man to meet at Monkey hour. Thinking of this, I stood next to the bed, lifted my pillow, but at that moment, my face changed. Where is my brocade box?! I searched the whole room, but couldn't see a trace of the brocade box. My heart suddenly became confused and I quickly rushed out. Just when I saw a little maid carrying a tray towards the lake, I grabbed her and was startled:

“Tham... Miss Tham, what's going on?”

I recognize her. She is a maid in this hospital. I squinted my eyes and asked seriously: "Who came into my room today?" The little maid trembled, her eyes avoided, turning to other things:

“How can I know, slave? Miss, please let go, I still have to bring fruit to the other ladies and gentlemen!”

Speaking of that, she struggled to escape my hand. I saw something bad and decided not to let go: "If you don't say anything, I won't let you go!" Seeing me continue to question her, she glanced at the lake, lowered her voice and said: "Miss, if you lose anything, just go to the lake to look for it." Lake? While I was still stunned, she snatched my hand away and hurriedly left, muttering: "What a rude lady." I didn't care about her words, quickly picked up my dress, and walked quickly to the lake. Ta palace is large, including a lake. Currently, the weather is cold and the lake surface is frozen. When I arrived, I only saw a few young ladies wearing cotton shirts skating on the lake, laughing non-stop. Ta Nam Tu was also there. Next to him was a young lady, with a slim figure and a weak look, her shoulders wrapped in a thick cloak, half of her beautiful face hidden behind a layer of fine fur, like a beauty covering her face. Surely this is the sister Kieu that the Ta family's cousin mentioned, she is indeed a true beauty. But I don't have the mind to pay attention to these things, now that Than is near, thinking that sister A Man must have been waiting, my heart becomes even more impatient. While thinking who to ask, I suddenly turned my head and saw Lam Tieu Van holding my jade in his hand. Seeing me looking over, she rolled her eyes, held up the jade, and smiled coyly:

"Sister Kieu, if you don't skate, it's really not sincere. It's not like this, take this jade as the prize, we compete from here to the other shore, whoever wins, this jade belongs to that person!"