Chapter 4 — The Heiress's Selection of a Husband

The next morning, Anh Thu woke up before dawn, carefully preparing for the most important meeting since she arrived in Xuyen Giang. She wore the simplest gray canvas outfit in her bag, tied her hair neatly back, no makeup, only revealing her rustic face with a few crow's feet deliberately added with eyeliner to look more seasoned than her real age.

She stood in front of the side gate of the Chu family mansion since six o'clock in the morning, waiting patiently even though she was so nervous that her hands and feet were shaking slightly. At nearly seven o'clock, Mrs. Xuan appeared, her figure still as straight as she saw it from afar yesterday, her stern face with sharp eyes scanning Anh Thu from head to toe in just one glance.

"Who are you looking for?" Mrs. Xuan asked, her voice was not cold but not very warm either.

"Yes, I heard that our family is in need of a maid. My name is Thu, I come from the countryside, I don't know anyone in this city. I hope you will be kind enough to give me a trial." Anh Thu bowed her head low, her voice trembling but sincere, just like she had practiced all night.

Mrs. Xuan frowned, her eyes undisguisedly searching. "Do you have identification papers? Do you have anyone to introduce you? This house does not accept people without reason, especially nowadays, the loss of belongings in rich houses is very sensitive."

Anh Thu had anticipated this question. From her cloth bag, she pulled out a fake citizen identification card with the name Do Thi Thu, carefully made before leaving the old city, along with a few loose coins and a handwritten introduction, pretending to be an old acquaintance in her hometown, confirming that she was an honest, hard-working person. "Yes, I have all the papers here. I've only been in the city for a few days, I don't know anyone much, I only have this paper from my old neighbor introducing me."

Ms. Xuan took the papers and carefully examined every detail, her eyes still full of doubts. "Have you ever done housework? Do you know how to cook? Do you know how to iron and clean properly?"

"Yes, I know everything. In my hometown, I often help with housework and have also worked for some well-off families in the village." Ms. Thu replied, trying to keep a modest tone but not appearing too timid to avoid causing excessive suspicion.

Ms. Xuan was silent for a moment, then pointed at a pile of tablecloths arranged haphazardly on a nearby wooden table, which was just laundry waiting for someone to fold it neatly. "Okay, I'll try you a favor. Fold these towels neatly, I'll see how your skills are and then move on."

This was the type of work that Anh Thu, despite coming from a high-class family, had never really gotten used to. But she spent a long time observing the maid in the Tan Phuc villa, and with her innate dexterity and long, flexible hands, she quickly grasped how to fold each towel squarely, with straight corners, neatly stacked on top of each other like a true expert.

Mrs. Xuan observed, her eyebrows furrowed in surprise at the unexpected dexterity of the country girl in front of her, but she didn't say much, just nodded slightly. "The skills are okay. But in this house, it's not just about folding towels, you also have to know how to be polite, know how to keep your mouth shut, and know how to respect order. Are you sure you can handle it? The work is hard, the hours are tight, not everyone can stay long."

"I can bear it all, if you just give me a chance." Anh Thu said, her eyes showed sincere urgency, mostly not acting but real emotions, because this was truly the only opportunity for her to approach the truth about her father.

Just as Mrs. Xuan was still hesitating, a gentle voice rang out from behind. "What's going on, Ms. Xuan?"

Both of them turned around and saw a middle-aged woman with a noble but approachable demeanor walking towards her, wearing a simple jade silk ao dai, her hair tied up in a neat bun with a few silver strands. This was Lam Ngoc Dung, wife of President Chu Vinh Toan, mother of the three Chu brothers.

"Yes ma'am, this girl came to apply for a job as a housekeeper, but I don't know her background yet, I'm considering it." Mrs. Xuan replied, her voice becoming more polite.

Lam Ngoc Dung looked at Anh Thu with gentle eyes, without any sharp scrutiny like Mrs. Xuan. "What's your name? Where do you come from?"

"My name is Thu, my hometown is very far away, I've only been to the city for a few days." Anh Thu bowed her head politely to answer, both nervous and feeling the warmth emanating from the woman in front of her.

"You look gentle and honest." Lam Ngoc Dung smiled and turned to Mrs. Xuan. "Ms. Xuan, this week there is a shortage of people to help in the kitchen and clean up the old storage room, so let's just give her a try, see if it's okay and then move on. These days people are hesitant to work as long-term housekeepers, it's not easy to find someone who's willing to work hard."

Mrs. Xuan heard that, although she was still a little worried, but in response to her wife's words, she could not refuse directly. "Yes, if you say so, I will give her a one-month trial. If she does well, then keep it, otherwise, that's it."

Ms. Thu was so happy that she almost burst into tears, bowing her head in thanks repeatedly. "Thank you, Ms. Xuan, I promise to work hard and not let everyone down."

Lam Ngoc Dung nodded with satisfaction, then turned and walked away, with the leisurely appearance of a woman accustomed to a life of luxury but still maintaining a rare kindness in the upper class. Anh Thu looked at that back, a complicated feeling of gratitude and guilt arose in her heart, because she knew clearly that she was deceiving the kind woman who had just opened her heart to help her.

Mrs. Xuan led Anh Thu into the maids' annex, a small, simple set of rooms hidden behind the garden, away from the main mansion. The room assigned to her was only a few square meters, with a simple bunk bed and a small wooden cabinet for personal belongings, shared with another girl named Mai, who had worked in the mansion for nearly two years.

"Mai will guide you through the work in the first few days. Remember to get up early, be in the kitchen at five o'clock in the morning to help prepare breakfast for the whole family. The hours in this house are very strict, don't be late." Mrs. Xuan advised, her voice strict but not malicious.

"Yes, I remember." Anh Thu replied, looking around the small room that would be where she would live in the coming days, a world completely different from her previous life, but closer than ever to the truth she was looking for.

Ms. Mai, a girl about Anh Thu's age, with a cheerful personality, quickly started talking and got to know her, telling her briefly about the lifestyle in the mansion, about the personalities of each family member, and about the unwritten rules that maids need to remember carefully. "In this house, the chairman rarely goes out, his health is weak. The Eldest Uncle is very fastidious, he has to be careful in everything he does. The Second Uncle is more accommodating, but doesn't talk much, looks scary at people, as if he knows everything. The Youngest Uncle is funny, often jokes around with us, and is the most approachable in the family."

"What about the Vice President, the president's cousin, what kind of personality have you heard?" Ms. Thu asked more, trying to sound like an idle question from a newcomer who was not familiar with the owner's house.

Ms. Mai lowered her voice, a bit reserved. "Mr. Bach Dinh? That guy rarely comes down to this side kitchen. He lives in a separate house next to the main mansion. He has a private, locked office that no one is allowed to clean except his trusted maid. I've worked here for nearly two years and have never been in that room. The people in his office are strict and rarely smile, but he's very trusted by the chairman. He's considered his right-hand man."

That information made Anh Thu's heart beat faster. A locked room, rarely visited by anyone, was most likely the place where the secrets she was looking for were kept. She tried to keep a calm face, just nodded slightly as if just being socially curious, but in her heart she had already begun to plan out the next steps for her investigation plan.

Anh Thu nodded, remembering every word Mai said, silently telling herself that her first impression of the three Chu brothers was not much wrong. That night, lying on the narrow bunk bed, listening to Mai's light snores next to her, Anh Thu looked up at the dark ceiling, clasped the half of the jade pendant hidden in her shirt, silently promising her parents' ghosts that she would not give up, no matter how long and thorny the road ahead was.

She remembered Lam Ngoc Dung's gentle face, Mrs. Xuan's strict but kind eyes, and Chu Vinh Khang's sharp and unfathomable eyes when he passed her on the side of the road the day before. Each person in this family had their own character, and Anh Thu understood that she would have to learn to behave differently with each person, and must be extra careful whenever facing those who could see through the fragile cover she was wearing.

She officially set foot in the Chu family mansion. From that night on, every day that passed brought her closer to the truth, but it was also another day she had to live in fear of being discovered, between the thin line between an ordinary maid and an heiress carrying the mission of vindicating her entire family.