Chapter 8 — Thiem Ha Xuan

I adjusted my clothes and coldly climbed out of bed. Behind him, Ta Duong laughed to himself. "Don't worry, ma'am, my body has never been touched by anyone, it's very clean. If you don't believe me, I can call the doctor to come and let him examine you right in front of you." That self-mocking tone made me feel a little guilty. "I didn't mean that, you don't need to..." The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. I looked at Ta Duong's calm face and suddenly didn't know what to say. "Everyone in the world says that I, Ta Duong, am a playboy, and that the Ta family is a wolf's lair. But if I hadn't been a playboy, I'm afraid I would have been ousted eight hundred times." "My father was the general of the Founding State Tran Quoc, my father supported two generations of emperors, and my sister is now Ta Quy Phi. Lady, if you were in my position, what would you do?" Ta Duong looked at me calmly, as if she was just discussing what to eat today. "The more I indulged, the less wary of people above me." "You must have heard about my outside story. She is the daughter of Minister of War, Minister Truong Quoc Uy. Truong's family was framed by a traitor, the whole family was beheaded, only she survived." "She was alone and had no one to rely on, but the court was always looking for her. I had to change her name, using that as an excuse." hide her." "As for drinking wine, it's an even more baseless rumor. I just invited others to play chess with me. Who would have thought that the more the rumor spread, the more outrageous it would be." "Speaking of chess..." Ta Duong leisurely looked up at me and calmly said: "Madam, maybe you've forgotten. Actually... we've known each other for a long time." I frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"… After the birthday party. Ta Quy Phi's god, the reputation of my true disciple Huyen Co spreads further and further. Many writers and gentlemen come to me, just to ask for a painting or to play a game of chess with me. A light breeze blew through the door and into the room. I hold the black piece and lower it to the chessboard. The man sitting opposite sighed and then clasped his hands and said: "I have lost. I have long heard of you, and today I am truly convinced." I smiled, not paying much attention to his compliments. "Madam, before starting the game, I promised that if I lost, I would promise you something. Now, what do you want me to do?" My movement of placing the pieces stopped. I suddenly lost my mind. What Ta Duong said a few days ago suddenly appeared in his mind. Ta Duong and I really knew each other very early. It's just that year... I was only ten years old. At that time, I worshiped the real Huyen Co as my master and lived in the Tay Nhac temple. Seven-year-old Ta Duong followed his father to offer incense. Seeing me playing chess, he happily sat down opposite. Master told me to play with him for a while. But I saw him being too noisy, holding the chess board and planning to leave. Yet, Ta Duong grabbed my shirt tightly with his tiny hand, saying one "sister" after another, the call was both obedient and soft. He also promised that as long as I win, he will let me do what I say. At that time, we won as expected. When I was young, my mind was full of mischievous thoughts. I teased him and forced him to take off his pants and run around in the yard. Ta Duong's eyes were red, he clutched his pants, refusing to take them off. I felt bored, so I let out a sentence: "If you don't take it off, don't come to me to play in the future." After saying that, I deliberately turned around with a cold face and left. Seeing that I really didn't pay attention to him, Ta Duong immediately panicked, cried and took off his pants. Because of that, my master punished me to kneel in the street for a whole month. It wasn't until the day Ta Duong reminded me that I remembered this old story. Just because I teased him once, he still remembers it to this day. Thinking about Ta Duong now... I really feel a bit nostalgic for that innocent, simple seven-year-old boy back then. … I apologized to Ta Duong for several days. But whenever you see me

that he took another route. It wasn't until the day the royal family organized a hunt that I had the opportunity to be alone with him. I peeled the chestnuts and brought them to his mouth. Ta Duong couldn't take his eyes off the journal in his hand, and coldly opened his mouth. I understood and immediately put it into his mouth. He chewed a few times but still didn't even look at me once. I sighed sadly. Just a little thing and he held a grudge for days. It's true... only petty people and Ta Duong are difficult to please. The horse carriage drove all the way to the hunting ground. As soon as I got out of the car, I saw Tham Lan Thanh and Giang Oan Hoa standing not far away. My eyes stopped. Ta Duong looked in my direction. As soon as he saw Tham Lan Thanh, he snorted contemptuously. Giang Oan Hoa saw Ta Duong standing next to me, her eyes immediately lit up, but she quickly hid them. Ta Duong followed His Majesty to hunt while I stayed in the tent to rest. The curtains were lifted. I thought Ta Duong had returned, so I raised my head and smiled and asked: "Are you back so quickly?" But the person who walked in was not Ta Duong but Tham Lan Thanh. I thought the last beating was enough to make him remember his life, so don't come to me again in the future. It seems... I've been thinking too much. … Tham Lan Thanh walked into the tent. "Xuan Chi..." I looked at him coldly. Tham Lan Thanh took a deep breath and forced a smile. "A few days ago, my colleague showed me your new painting, depicting the scene of Giang Nam. I suddenly remembered my previous life when we went to Giang Nam together..." "Remember that after returning from Giang Nam, my hand was wasted in order to save you?" I smiled coldly, my eyes full of sarcasm. Tham Lan Thanh's face turned pale, her words choked in her throat. "Stop it, Tham Lan Thanh. Don't bring up the past anymore. Between you and me, the past is only filled with pain. You mention it once, I will only hate you one more time."