Chapter 4 — The One Who Remembers Me Instead

The joyful music of the float came closer. I stood up, my phoenix hat heavy on my head. The ancestor helped me adjust the silk strip on the pumpkin. Mother Qin gave me a red headscarf, I took it and covered my head with it. The moment the towel fell, I saw my mother still standing by the door, clutching the empty bowl in her hand. Her lips moved slightly, as if there were still words left unsaid. But she no longer had the chance. Words that have not been said for sixteen years do not need to be said today. I was helped out of the hospital by Mother Tan. The scent of cinnamon flowers blew on the wind on the headscarf, sweet to the point of bitterness. Grandmother did not send me out. Her legs are not good, she can't walk too far. But she entrusted Mother Tan, the most powerful person beside her, to me. That is the last protection she can give me.
09
When the palanquin arrived in front of the Qi family's door, I heard the elder sister's voice. I lifted a corner of my headscarf and looked through the gap between the curtains. The eldest sister was standing among the guests in front of the Qi family's door. She wore a light yellow dress, with a white jade hairpin in her hair, and a bright smile. She clung to the palanquin curtain, leaned close to my ear, her voice was sharp:
"A Nguyen, you've tried to replace me. Young Master Qi's personality is really difficult to live with."
She curled her eyes and smiled, her tone innocent, as if she were saying that today's pear blossom cake wasn't sweet enough. The people around burst into laughter. Some people joined in to tease, while others looked curiously into the palanquin. I tightened my hands in my sleeves. The layer of makeup covered all the blood on her face. Why did she come to the Qi family? The small mirror reflects my face. Dignified, calm, neither sad nor happy. That is the mask I have practiced best over the past sixteen years. I looked at the smug look in her eyes and calmly said:
“Thank you for reminding me, sister.”
“It's just that from now on, you should call me sister-in-law.”
Ky Minh Chau's smile stiffened for a moment. The white jade hairpin in her hair swayed slightly in the sunlight, so bright it hurt her eyes. The palanquin curtain falls and the sound of gongs and drums resounds. I close my eyes and listen to my heart beating heavily in my chest, like a sparrow trapped in a cage.
10
Qi Yu is not as difficult to live with as we thought. Marriage has too many rituals. I almost didn't eat anything all day, sitting alone in the wedding room until midnight before I heard footsteps coming outside the door. When he pushed the door open and walked in, he carried the faint smell of alcohol but his steps were still steady. He used the scale to lift up the red hood. I raised my eyes and saw a face much more vivid than in the painting. His eyebrows are handsome, the corners of his lips are slightly curved. When his eyes fell on my face, he suddenly stopped. Like confirming something.
“Are you hungry?”
He asked. I was stunned and didn't have time to react. He turned around, took a box of food from the table, and opened the lid. Inside was a plate of cinnamon rolls and a bowl of still warm lotus seed sweet soup. Cinnamon flower cake still radiates heat, the sweet fragrance spreads out. He gave me a pair of silver chopsticks:
"Mother said you haven't eaten anything all day. Eat first."
I received chopsticks, picked up a piece of cinnamon flower cake and put it in my mouth. The cake is soft and spongy, sweet without being greasy, better than any cinnamon flower cake we've ever eaten. I bow my head and eat With each small piece, I suddenly felt a sting in my nose.
“What are you crying for?”
Qi Du sat down at the table and poured himself a cup of tea.
"Do not have."
I said. He looked at me but didn't ask anymore. The room was quiet for a while. Only the sound of me eating small bites and the sound of his teacup occasionally hitting the table. Later I learned that he specially sent someone to buy that plate of cinnamon flower cake to a long-standing store in the south of the city. Because he heard that the second lady of the Ky family liked to eat cinnamon flower cakes from that store the most when she was young.
11
The third day after getting married, Qi Yu and I returned to the Ky family. The carriage stopped in front of the door. I opened the curtain and saw my mother already waiting on the steps early, but her eyes went over my shoulder and looked back. I followed her eyes. Qi Yu had just stepped down from the carriage behind him. His figure is tall and straight, his demeanor is leisurely. The smile on the mother's face immediately bloomed. She stepped forward, first holding Te Du's hand:
"You've had a hard time traveling."
Qi Du leaned slightly and pulled my hand away:
“Nice mother, A Nguyen is also tired.”
At this moment, my mother looked at me, as if she had just discovered that I was also here. She smiled:
"A Nguyen, come inside. Your sister is also back, waiting for you."
Elder sister has also returned. When I carried my dress and walked through the door step, the little sparrow in my lap gently bumped against my chest. In the lobby, the eldest sister was sitting under her grandmother's seat, holding a cup of tea in both hands. Seeing me enter, she immediately put down her cup and stood up:
“A Nguyen!”
Today, she wore a garnet red dress. In my hair is still that white jade hairpin. The only thing is, next to the brooch, there is also a just-picked witch flower, blooming brilliantly, making her even more dazzlingly beautiful.
“Sister.”
I called out once.