Chapter 1 — The Tofu Seller Who Wouldn't Wait for Him

Everyone in town admires me, saying I am a blessing that only takes many generations to obtain. A person like Moc Bac Than actually agreed to stop in this poor countryside because of me. He teaches, I sell tofu. Early in the morning he grinded beans, I lit a fire in front of the stove, sometimes he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder, saying that even this coarse cloth could not hide my beauty. People in town call you Mr. Moc, and call me Tay Thi tofu. I also thought it was a blessing. Until sunset that day, a horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of the yard. A woman stepped down from the car, her hair tied in a high bun, her body covered in silk, her eyes lightly painted with lipstick, tears falling freely. As soon as she entered the door, she clutched Moc Bac Than's sleeve, her voice trembling until she couldn't make a sound: "The emperor has broken his promise, the harem has added one person after another... Than brother, I really have no choice." He stiffened, we couldn't see his face, we only saw his hand hanging at his side, slowly clenched. In the end, he still followed her. As soon as they left, I immediately closed the tofu shop, took a small bag of luggage, and left this place. Where to go, I don't know.

1

The first person to see me carrying my luggage was aunt Vuong next door.

“Mong Vi, where are you going?”

Her voice was loud, and as soon as she called out, the surrounding neighbors all stuck their heads out. Old Truong sells meat, Lady Chu sells tailors, and there are a few regular customers who often come to buy my tofu, crowding around in a circle.

"So big and so small, are you going to the capital to enjoy the blessings?" Lady Chu smiled and looked at me, "I told you before, how can someone like Mr. Moc spend his whole life stuck in this poor town?"

I tightened my luggage strap and said nothing. Everyone saw the splendid carriage yesterday afternoon. Although that woman wore a hat to cover her face, everyone knew she was a noble lady. After that, I don't know who had the ear, but discovered that Moc Bac Than used to be a royal deputy.

“So gross!” Old Truong patted his thigh, "Such a big mandarin, because of our Mong Vi, even the mandarin didn't do anything anymore, how deep and meaningful is the love!"

Everyone complimented me, saying I was a blessed monk from a previous life. I can only laugh.

"Yes... you're going to the capital to do something, I'll go find you first."

When the words reached my mouth, I didn't understand why they turned in another direction. I cannot say that he followed another woman and left without saying a word to me before leaving. We still don't understand what happened yesterday. As soon as the woman entered the door, she cried. I quickly tied my apron and went to the kitchen to prepare food. Rummaging through all the jars, there was only tofu. I ground tofu from the morning, cut it into thin pieces, fried it until golden brown on both sides, used soy sauce to braise it in a bowl, and mixed two plates of tofu and onions. When I picked it up, the woman had stopped crying and was holding Moc Bac Than's hand. I placed the dishes on the table, smiled and said: "There's nothing to entertain, it's all homemade tofu..." Before I could finish my sentence, I saw Moc Bac Than's face darken. He only looked at the food table, then turned his head away, his voice cold as well water in December: "You only do this?" I was stunned. He once said before that anyone who gets to eat a plate of my tofu is a blessing from a previous life. I asked him, what about me? He immediately laughed and said that I must have been Avalokitesvara in my previous life, saving suffering and suffering, and only in this life could I receive such blessings. But the way his eyes looked at that tofu table yesterday was like looking at a bunch of things that shouldn't be on the table. The other woman was gentle, took a piece to taste, and praised my good craftsmanship. But Moc Bac Than did not move his chopsticks again, nor did he look at me one more time. When they left, the sky was already bright. He helped her into the car and turned his head to look into the yard. He wanted to say something, but in the end he just frowned and turned around to get in the car. I stood idly by the kitchen, looking at a table of cold tofu.

"Mong Vi? Mong Vi!"

Aunt Vuong pushed me once before I regained consciousness.

“What are you thinking, your face is pale.” She leaned closer, lowered her voice, "Are you unwilling to leave us? Don't worry, the capital is a good place, Mr. Moc is a high official, you can go there just to enjoy the blessings."

I nodded.

"So... where is Mr. Moc? Why don't you come with me?"

I opened my mouth and heard myself say: "He's waiting for you at the top of the town." Words once spoken cannot be taken back. The neighbors urged me to go quickly, don't let Mr. Moc wait too long. We were pushed by them to take a few steps, then stopped.

"Auntie Vuong," I stuffed the gate key into her hand, "I won't open this tofu shop anymore. The mill and furniture, please take a look and help me handle it."

Without waiting for her to ask further, I quickly walked around the corner, out of their sight. Outside the town, there are two intersections. One road goes east, leading to the capital. One road goes north, passes a few mountains to reach the border area. Shouldn't he be in a panic? So we will go towards the border. At worst, we won't see each other again in this life.

2

The road became more and more desolate, but Moc Bac Than's face became clearer. I remembered what happened yesterday and immediately kicked a stone on the side of the road. The stone rolled down the mountainside, startling some wild birds and flying up. To entertain the queen, I actually went out of my way to make a whole table of tofu dishes. Fried tofu, braised tofu, mixed tofu, tofu soup, filled the table. She tasted a piece of fried tofu, and her eyes painted with phoenix tails suddenly opened wide. I thought she liked it, and breathed a sigh of relief. But at midnight I went to the bean house and stood outside the window listening to her talk to the maid.

"Niang Niang, this servant has already figured it out. That Kieu Mong Vi comes from an ordinary background, her parents are both dead, and she sells tofu to make a living in this town. Along with Mrs. Moc... there is no marriage certificate, and has never been a matchmaker for a dowry."

The maid's voice was not loud, but every word was clear. Then came the queen's laughter, very soft, carrying an indescribable meaning.

"So that's it. I thought he was really married."

"Your Majesty has been wronged."

"No problem." The queen paused for a moment, "He told me before that he would never marry another woman in this life. I thought it was a joke, but it turned out to be true."

I stood outside the window, the wooden pot soaked in beans in my hand almost falling to the ground. Will not marry any other woman. So what are we?