Chapter 1 — Xuan Nuong Comes Home

The day my son was scolded for being barefoot in school, my husband recovered his memory. "Xuan Nhi, I am Trung Vo Marquis, I... have a wife and children." My husband took me to the Marquis' Palace and let me be his concubine. He took my son to the best private residence in the capital. Madam is tolerant and has never cut off our mother and son's obligations. Dear husband, every month he has a few days to rest in my hospital. But three years later, I still knelt at the lady's feet: "I beg the lady to give this slave a letter of release." The lady sighed: "That's it, you are also a pitiful person." 1 Having received the letter and letter, the lady rewarded me with twenty taels of silver to settle the family. But I'm about to die, I have no use for it. So I bought my son Tong Lam an inkstone. Yesterday, Lam Nhi hid from me and told the errand boy that her older brother had a very good inkstone. He only looked a few more times and was teased by his classmates, telling his brother to be careful and not let the second mouse steal away. I asked Lam Nhi, she shook her head and said I heard wrong. An eight-year-old child lied to his biological mother, his face not even a bit red. Just like his father in the past, he tricked me into thinking I had lost my memory, tricked me into becoming friends with him, tricked me into thinking that once I reached the capital I could be a married man. But I don't blame Lam Nhi. Lam Nhi lied because she was afraid of hurting me. I placed the new inkstone in a prominent place, filled with joy, waiting for Lam Nhi to come home from school. But as soon as she entered the door, the smile on Lam Nhi's face immediately froze. "Mother, you're spending money carelessly again! Just to let me know, I scolded you for using moon silver more than mother, I don't understand you and your wife..." My face turned pale. At the beginning of the year, husband Tong Tram Chau suddenly checked the books and discovered that I spent fifty taels a month. I want to explain that it's because Lam Nhi is sick, the lady gave her husband the best medicine. He didn't listen. The lady was also silent. I did not expect that the words Tong Tram Chau scolded me that day would be heard by Lam Nhi. I forced a smile and explained: "This money is not taken from the public company, it was secretly rewarded to me by my wife. Lam Nhi, this is the only thing mother can give you." After hearing this, Lam Nhi's eyes turned red. Obviously just a small child, but the eyes looking at me are like those of an old man looking at an ignorant student beyond help. "Mother, painting these things is useless." "Today you buy me an inkstone, tomorrow the lady can take out a more expensive one from the dowry. By then I will become their laughing stock!" "What is a concubine? What is a concubine? Even if we destroy it, bones, bleeding, can't even reach people's heels!” “Don't cause any more trouble!” Lam Nhi wiped her tears, turned around and went into the study room. It closes really hard. My heart also trembled. Before arriving at the Marquis Palace, Lam Nhi's eyes sparkled and said that in the future she wanted to pass the exam, so that I could enjoy her blessings. It's only been three years... The light in his eyes was gone. All that remains is resignation and self-abandonment. After I'm gone, can it really support itself alone? That night, unable to sleep, I took out all of Lam Nhi's shoes and clothes, sewing and re-stitching the easily worn areas. Until the sky was bright, his hands were full of bloody needle holes. But I couldn't find any other way. What should we do? What should my Lam Nhi do? It was almost noon, the maid called outside the door: "Miss, the Marquis has returned, she told you to come over." Suddenly, a light flashed. In the past, when Tong Tram Chau made me his concubine, he promised me one wish. I don't know if it still counts or not. The main room is preparing dinner. The maids saw me coming and quickly brought me chopsticks. When the mother-in-law eats, the concubine must stand

The waiter picked up the food. Seeing my fingers pricked by needles, Tong Tram Chau immediately turned cold: "Get out!" Out in the hallway came the laughter of the little maid. I bowed down to pay my respects and retreated into the hallway. The little maids were still whispering to each other. "You vixen! Are you so eager to get too close that you will be scolded by the Marquis?" "The Marquis has a deep affection for the madam, the birthday party is coming soon, how can she make her look bad in front of her?" Similar words, I have heard countless times. I was also dissatisfied and sought support from Tong Tram Chau. But he said: "She was originally my stain." Now that I think about it, that sentence still stings in my chest. I lowered my eyes, seeing myself as deaf and mute. By the time my husband and I finished eating, I was hungry. Seeing Tong Tram Chau coming out, I quickly stepped forward: "Master, do you remember the one wish you promised me?" 2 Tong Tram Chau stared at my hand full of blood holes, his eyes darkened: "There's an important matter today, don't make a mess." Then he was about to leave, I pulled his sleeve: "Your life was saved by my father, you can't go back on your word!" Tong Tram Chau removed my fingers one by one and said coldly: "To compete for favor, you dragged out your dead biological father. You are truly a 'maiden'." My heart felt like it was being stomped on. Competing for favor? Right. The whole palace said that I was competing for favor every morning and evening. If I wanted to know a few more words, I was competing for pet. Even when I was sick and taking medicine, I was also competing for pet. Since being locked in this cage of concubines, every thing I do, every sentence I say has become "a seduction and competition for favor". But this cage is not something I want to step into... Looking at that man's determined back, I begged: "I am for Lam Nhi." Tong Tram Chau stopped walking, showing great compassion: "Say it." Let's quickly talk about Mr. Mac's story. Mr. Mo has taught more than ten doctors. Today, Tong Tram Chau returned to the palace to take his father to see Mr. Mac to pay his respects. "The Marquis please take Lam Nhi along." Tong Tram Chau thought for a moment: "Mr. Mo has high vision, don't get your hopes up too much." "Thank you, Marquis!" Tong Tram Chau didn't go, but instead took two steps towards me, his voice low: "Xuan Nuong..." I Dumbly raised his eyes. But he sighed again: "Nothing, you go back down." Returning to the courtyard, Tong Tram Chau ordered someone to deliver a silver flower-engraved brooch: "The Marquis specially bought it for you." I was not very interested. What Tong Tram Chau brought back for his wife was a whole set of gold jewelry inlaid with gems, Jiangnan embroidered silk, and Dong Hai pearls. When I came to my place, there was only a silver brooch. Suddenly remembering the years when Tong Tram Chau pretended to have amnesia and became friends with me, he personally cut wooden brooches for me, accumulating a whole chest. After entering the Marquis Palace, Lam Nhi suffered from typhoid that could not be cured. People in the kitchen scolded me for using too much charcoal and refusing to use medicine. Reluctantly, those wooden hairpins were used as firewood. I weighed the silver brooch, it was two coins, melted it down for Lam Nhi's consumption. If Lam Nhi can worship Mac Phuc Tu, there will still be many places where money will be needed. I carefully calculated how much money I could leave for Lam Nhi, but without realizing it, it was time to turn on the lights. Lam Nhi returned. I stepped out to greet him: "Lam Nhi, can you worship Mac Phuc Tu..." Before the words finished, I saw a pair of red eyes, like a hot iron, pressing fiercely at my heart. For the first time, I felt it hated me. "Lin Nhi..." Lam Nhi pushed me away: "In the future, can you stop controlling me?" "I'm still illiterate, but I still want to interfere in reading other people's books. Are you helping me or harming me?" He slammed the door. When I asked the errand boy who followed, I found out that Mr. Mac questioned his education

The son of the Tong family, but he didn't even look at Lam Nhi. After that, Tong Tram Chau also blamed Lam Nhi for not being able to agree. The room was filled with the sound of children sobbing. My heart also tightened, full of guilt and unwillingness. "Lin Nhi, mother will never interfere with your reading again." "Tomorrow mother will return to her hometown, perhaps... many years without returning. Please take good care of yourself." "That's right, the anniversary of your grandfather's death is coming, remember to bow your head in the direction of your hometown. You are a reader, understand the rites..." Choang! Suddenly, the sound of a tea cup breaking was heard in the room. Lam Nhi cried in a choked voice: "According to the dharma, the prime minister is my grandfather!" The debris in the room seemed to pierce my heart, causing blood and flesh to bleed. Before heartbreak comes luck. If Lam Nhi can stick to her mother's house, perhaps there is still an open path. Father, daughter is not filial... That night, I checked the things left for Lam Nhi again. The next morning, I carried my small bag of luggage out the door and accidentally met Tong Tram Chau. He frowned and asked: "Where are you going?" "Going back to the hometown, my wife has given permission." He nodded: "When will I return?" I was momentarily speechless. Suddenly, the lady called him, he turned his head and revealed a gentle smile, throwing me behind his head. I said softly: "I won't go back anymore." 3 As I left the palace gate, it started to rain lightly. The misty rain covered Hau palace in a layer of mist. I didn't look back, on the contrary, I walked faster. For three years as a concubine in the Marquis Palace, I was almost never allowed to go out. This bustling citadel was so strange that it scared me, but luckily I still remembered the way to the wharf. Luckily we are about to return home. Falling leaves return to their roots. But I didn't expect that even such a humble wish would fall into vain. The moment he was stopped by the soldiers guarding the city, the image of his hometown in his memories suddenly collapsed. The business card is fake. I was considered an escaped slave and locked up in Kinh Trieu Palace prison. Tong Tram Chau came to redeem me, his face so gloomy and scary: "Ly Xuan Nuong, blame me and my wife for pampering you too much, making you not even need the face of the Marquis Palace to compete for favor!" Again, competing for favor! I want to tell him that I'm about to die. I want to be buried next to my parents' graves, and I don't want to have to obey some kind of concubine distinction even as a devil. But before the words left my mouth, I saw Lam Nhi standing at the corner. The first sentence he opened his mouth was: "Mother, I beg you, please think about my dignity!" "The story of you running away spread out, if you say it lightly, it means you are competing for favor, if you say it seriously, you are an adulterer..." The question behind "telling me how to be a person" Lam Nhi did not say. But I understand. The child I gave birth to with my life, the treasure I embroidered until it became blind before raising it, is blaming me for not loving him... A sweet, fishy taste suddenly arose in my throat. I could only bite off the tip of my tongue and use stronger blood to suppress that bitterness. "You're my wife. I'm not running away alone, I'm going in the open!" After hearing this, Tong Tram Chau slapped me hard right in front of Lam Nhi. The sound was so loud that it almost broke my heart. Tong Tram Chau's eyes were like ice: "Do you still want to slander your wife?" "Since you entered the palace, ice in the summer, charcoal in the winter, fruits in season, clothes for all seasons, do you owe me a single inch?" "Go ask around the capital to see, whose house's mother-in-law treats his concubine better than his own sisters?" "Now you are fighting with me everywhere, in the end, is it someone who has instigated you, or is it your nature to be deceitful?" Evil?” Evil nature? In the past, he clearly praised me for being good-natured, afraid that I would be bullied by bad people outside, and insisted on accompanying me to town to sell things.

embroidery.