Chapter 3 — The Mother Who Wouldn't Go Hungry

The model did not stop. It was as if she opened a gate, and things that had been suppressed for fifteen years just poured out. "I'm thirty kilos thin, you brought in three concubines." "I starved myself to become a bamboo tree, your concubine Lieu only fainted once from hunger, how sad were you?" "Bui Kinh Chi, tell me, how skinny do I have to be for you to feel that I have face?" The street was immediately quiet. Bui Canh knelt on the ground, looking blankly at his mother, as if meeting her for the first time. Bui Hau's face changed from green to white, white to red, and finally became so angry that he slapped a palm on the table. "Crazy, you guys are all crazy!" He pointed at the mother: "For the past few years, I have respected you, let you manage the affairs of the palace, you are good enough, you don't know how to thank me, you still learn these chaotic words!" Okay!” “From today onwards, all big and small matters in the palace are left to Lieu to handle!” He threw that sentence back and turned around to leave. Bui Canh followed his father, reached the door and turned to look at me and my mother. There was an indescribable contempt in those eyes, as if looking at two crazy women who didn't know good or bad. The sound of father and son's footsteps gradually faded away. In the main street, only me and my mother remained. The candle flickered again, exploding a flower lamp. The model stood in place, her back still straight, but we could see her shoulders shaking. She opened her mouth, her voice was very light, as if she was saying to herself: "He has taken over my right to be the housekeeper." "If he has taken it, then take it." I walked over, took out a piece of red sugar sticky rice cake wrapped in oiled paper from my sleeve, and stuffed it into her hand: "What good is being a housekeeper? Every day before dawn, I have to get up and look at the books. It takes a lot of effort and effort, but I can't get any good words." I begged for someone to take it back.” The mother bowed her head and looked at the piece of sticky rice cake in her hand. The cake is still warm, the scent of red sugar wafting into your nose. She took a bite, chewed and chewed, tears silently falling. Falling on the sticky rice cake, she didn't wipe it off, just mixed it with her tears and continued eating. "Is it delicious?" I asked. She nodded, her voice vague: "Sweet." "That's okay." I took her hand and lowered my voice: "I sent someone to the southern city to find a goat herder who knows how to roast a whole goat. Tomorrow night I will bring it, bring both the grill and charcoal, grill the whole goat in the yard." "The goat fat dripped onto the coals, sizzled, and the aroma flew ten miles away." The mother laughed through her tears, reached out and patted my hand gently: "This child's liver is too big." "If you don't have enough guts, can you marry into the Bui family?" I helped her out: "Let's go, mother, just rest first tonight, tomorrow there's still a tough battle to fight." "What kind of tough battle?" "Tomorrow Auntie Liu takes over the housekeeping, doesn't the new official have to light three bonfires? The first bonfire will definitely burn the two of us." I grinned: "Guess what? We'll make her burn floating.”05Early the next morning, the news spread throughout the Marquis Palace. Bui Marquis ordered that the management of the palace was temporarily replaced by Concubine Lieu. Lam Thi stayed in her courtyard to "rest" and was not allowed to go out if there were no important matters. To put it bluntly, it is detention. No one takes care of my house. After all, even Bui Canh doesn't like the young lady, and her position in the Marquis Palace is not even that of a favored maid. But I didn't pay attention, early in the morning I sneaked to my mother's main courtyard. When entering the door, Concubine Lieu's maid was packing things in the main courtyard. A few ladies carried a wooden box containing books and went out. When they saw me walk in, the leader smiled but didn't smile.

bowed. "Young lady, are you here? Concubine Liu said, this book is the property of the Marquis, it must be transferred to the concubine." "Move it." I smiled and narrowed my eyes: "Ah yes, send a message to Concubine Lieu, there are a few items in the kitchen's shopping records last month that don't match, tell her to look carefully." "In addition, the amount of silver in the back garden has exceeded three times, on the book it is recorded at a hundred taels, how much was actually spent." The worker will take notes." The woman's face changed, she didn't have time to bow, she quickly carried the box and left. I went into the main room, the mother was sitting on the soft bed by the window reading a book. Today she did not wear the dark blue official outfit, but changed to a half-old light purple coat. Her hair was only tied in a loose bun, looking a lot more intimate than the usual cold-faced mother. "You really are leisurely." I sat down opposite her. She put the book down, the corner of her mouth carrying a smile: "Having been usurped, isn't it completely free?" "I've wanted to read this book since the day I got married, but I've always had no time, now it's good." "Read it?" "No read it." She threw the book aside and sighed: "My mind is full of what he said last night." I deliberately learned the Bui Hau family's voice. My mother laughed at me, then withdrew her expression. "He said I didn't follow the rules."