Chapter 5 — Tran Bac Vuong Phi

On the carriage ride back to the palace, my mother saw the smile on my face and smiled, holding my hand and asking me all sorts of questions. The wheel clattered, passing through the market street, turning into the alley. As soon as night fell, two lanterns in front of the palace gate were lit. I helped my mother get out of the carriage and as soon as I entered the main hall, I saw my father sitting neatly on the monk's chair, his face gloomy. "Are you back?" His voice was heavy. Mother's smile slightly retracted, waving her hand to tell me to go back to the room first. I retreated from the main hall, but didn't go far. I just stood in the hallway, looking inside through the half-closed carved door. "What's wrong, old man, your face is so heavy." Mother took off the shawl and handed it to the maid. Father clapped the table with a loud thud and the tea cup jumped up. "You still have the face to ask! Who gave you the freedom to decide? What kind of person is His Highness the Crown Prince? That is the future Prince of Heaven! If Oanh Nhi can marry into the Eastern Palace, she will be the Queen in the future! It's good for you, quietly go find the Queen to ask for Her Highness the Second Highness. What future does the Second Highness have? The temperament of not fighting or taking, How much future can there be!” The mother stood still, raised her head, her eyes were a determination I had never seen before. “Master.” Her voice was very light, but each word and each sentence did not tremble, "Oanh Nhi is a piece of meat that fell from someone. The Queen is fine, the concubine is fine, I just ask her to marry someone who truly treats her. In His Highness the Crown Prince's heart, there is only the little slut born by that girl's mother. Oanh Nhi married her, that is, a concubine, a concubine." She paused for a moment, her voice trembled a bit, but became even more steadfast: "My daughter." can't be someone's concubine." "You..." Father suddenly stood up, pointed at her, so angry that he couldn't speak. Mother didn't back down, just looked at him frankly like that. "Good, good, good." Father repeatedly said the three words "good", waved his sleeves and walked out the door. The sound of his footsteps was both heavy and urgent. As he passed me down the hallway, it brought with it a cold wind. 9 The holy decree came down. His Highness Tieu Truong Linh calmed the chaos in Northern Cuong, won a glorious victory, crowned Tran Bac Vuong, and proposed marriage to a daughter named Tham. The eunuch's voice was high-pitched. When he read the three words "Tran Bac Vuong", out of the corner of my eye I saw my father's body stagger. The mother knelt on the ground, tears falling, wetting a square tile in front of her knee. Three days later, the bride price of Tran Bac Vuong Palace officially entered the palace. That battle was not inferior to the previous display of the Crown Prince's palace. Inside and outside the door, people crowded in to watch the excitement, filling half the street. Inside there was a chest full of organ models, mortise structures, and exquisite craftsmanship. Mother held a foldable organ box, flipped it over and over, then looked back at me. I am holding a small wooden sparrow, assembled from dozens of thin pieces of wood, its wings can flap up and down, lifelike. She suddenly smiled, reached out to stroke my sideburns, and said softly: "This child really has heart." The girl stood in front of her hospital door, looking from afar towards the main yard, the towel in her hand was twisted to death. The maid next to her whispered: "Miss, the bride price His Highness the Crown Prince sent is not much more than this..." "What do you understand?" The younger sister's voice suddenly lost its usual timidity, as cold as the ice under the eaves that had not yet melted, "No matter how you say it, from now on I will also be the Crown Princess, he is just a Royal Princess, seeing that I still have to bow..." She bit her lower lip, swallowed the second half of the sentence, turned around and entered the room, and slammed the door with force. In the afternoon, concubine Tham Man came to my hospital. She stood in the hallway, looking at the chests in the yard

Haven't tidied up yet, my fingers in my sleeves are so tight they're turning white. "You're so lucky, sister." Her voice was soft, still timid as usual, "Your Second Highness wastes so much heart, it can be seen that you put your sister's heart first. Unlike you, the things His Highness the Crown Prince brought are all gold and jade, how can they compare with such delicate items... with such dedication." I raised my eyes to look at her. She lowered her eyelids: "You are truly blessed to be loved so deeply by the Second Highness. Unlike me, you are still an orphan, have never learned any skills, have not read many books, and do not know how to please others. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is kind to you, it's just pity..." I smiled: "Sister, take care of yourself well, the wedding period is coming, don't think too much." She bit her lip and said nothing more. When she turned around, the hem of her skirt turned out in a curve. Days passed like that day by day. His Highness Do Second sent someone to deliver it without interruption. Sometimes it was a box of dried fruits from Bac Cuong, with a short piece of paper, writing "this is sweet and sour, I don't know if Oanh Nhi has ever tasted it"; Sometimes it's a newly acquired ancient book, with a few small lines of notes at the bottom of the page, discussing with us the organs in the book; Sometimes it's just a cinnamon flower branch broken from the palace, the fragrance is gentle. Every time my mother saw it, the smile on her face became a little deeper.