Chapter 2 — White Cat Leads Good Luck

"Now that you are engaged, Nguyet Nhi's heart is unavoidably upset. You give in to your sister a little more, don't compare with her."
I nodded. Leaving the study room, we walked through the hallway and smelled the sweet aroma coming from the small kitchen. It's the chestnut flour cake steamed with cinnamon sugar that my sister likes to eat. The chef saw me, quickly covered the steamer with a towel, and said shyly:
“Second Miss, you have already told me that the eldest lady doesn't have a good appetite, so she'll only make one portion today.”
I smiled: "It's okay, I don't like sweets." The chef feels like a burden has been lifted. I turned around and took two steps, then heard her whisper to the maid behind:
"Still the second lady understands things and has never fought with the eldest lady."
In this life, the compliment we receive the most is the word "understanding". I also like to eat sweets. When I was seven years old, I accidentally ate a piece of food and was seen by my sister. She came back and told her mother, saying I was greedy and stole her breakfast. Mother punished me to kneel in the hallway for two hours. From then on, I no longer like to eat sweets. Mother said again: "How about you go to the estate to stay for a while? Wait for your sister to recover and then return." I was silent for a moment and asked: "How long?"
“Half a year.”
Mother sighed and reached out to fix my sideburns. Movements are rarely so gentle.
"Don't you know how your sister's temper is? If she makes a fuss, no one can stop her. Be a good girl, so that mother won't have to worry."
07
The next day, I went to the estate outside the city. The estate only has a few tenant households and an old couple looking after the door. That place is remote, even street vendors rarely pass by. Although life is frugal, it is the most comfortable time we have had in many years. I don't need to look at anyone's face, nor do I need to guess what unprovoked disaster will befall me today. We rarely get to live so true to ourselves. I also have a cat. It was a kitten born to a tenant farmer's female cat. Its whole body was covered with long, snow-white hair. Only its front legs had a small tuft of yellow fur. We named it Nguyen Tieu. It is very attached to us, wherever we go it follows. I read a book on the mountainside, it lay on my knee and slept. When I cook, he squats next to the stove, tilting his head to look at the fire. I told him many things. I said my mother never combed my hair herself, and always let her maid do it for me. But when combing her sister's hair, she could comb and happily chat for half an hour. I said my father never praised me once, even though he said my studies were very good. He only said "yes" once, then turned to listen to his sister tell him what disaster had caused him today. I said you threw my Tuong Phi bamboo pen into the well. That's the item I saved up three months of pocket money to buy. I said Bui Thieu came to apologize again and gave me pine nut candy. Nguyen Tieu did not understand. It just used its furry head to rub against my palm, making a purring sound. In this world, there is finally something that belongs only to us. It will not be taken away, it will not be given to others, and it will not be shared with anyone. Half a year passed quickly. Mother sent someone to spread the word, saying that my sister's illness had been cured and told me to return. The day I return home, my sister wears it my hand.
"You don't know how boring the past half year has been at home, no one has played with me."
I looked at her bright smiling face and said nothing. Her eyes fell on Nguyen Tieu in my heart.
“Oh, I also brought a cat back, it looks nice.”
I hugged Nguyen Tieu closer to my chest, silently leaning away half a step away. But I didn't expect that she wouldn't even leave this little bit of comfort for me.
08
I put the cat on the bed. It trembled all over, baring its teeth. I went to the table and poured some warm water, then took a piece of dried meat and crushed it in my palm, intending to feed it. But perhaps it was scared by Bui Thieu's kick. Before I could get close, it suddenly jumped out of bed, crawled through the slightly open window and ran out of the yard in the blink of an eye. I chased after that white shadow, unconsciously arriving at a deserted alley at the end of a long street. The cat gently crawled through a half-closed wooden door. I panted, holding onto the wall and slowly stopping. From the crack in the door came faint sounds of "meows". I hesitated for a moment then gently pushed the door open. Below the hallway in the yard hang a few bright wind lamps. The corner was covered with thick dry straw and clean, soft mattresses. More than ten cats, big and small, with different fur colors, were gathered in one place. In the middle of the herd of cats is a young prince. He wore a purple-blue brocade robe embroidered with extremely delicate clouds, and a white jade mandarin on his head. A mischievous calico cat is clinging to his shirt. It stretched out its claws to grab the scented bag hanging on its side, causing the precious fabric to be picked up by the cat's claws until the threads unraveled. If he changed to Bui Thieu, I'm afraid he would have been angry long ago. But the young master in front of him was completely unaware.