Deadly Secrets

New Blog ;; Deadly Secrets Season 2

2007-12-31T23:50:00.001-08:00

Hello. (:

www.ntbn-studios.blogspot.com

www.deadlysecrets2.blogspot.com

The End <3

2007-09-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

FIVE YEARS LATER
___________________________________________________________________

“Tuyen! Come here, honey!” Tu Quyen yelled as a little girl came running up to her.
“Mommy! Mommy! There was a bee in my hair!” Tuyen said.

Tu Quyen giggled as she fixed her daughter’s hair.

“Where’s daddy?”
“He’s at work, sweetie. Now let’s get you ready to go to your great-uncle’s grave.”
“Yes, mommy!”

Tu Quyen and her daughter visited Tuan Ngoc’s grave at around noon. They offered food and burnt incest then left. When they returned, Luong Tung Quang was already home.

“Daddy!!” Tuyen yelled as she embraced her father’s arms.
“There’s my little girl!” he said.
Tu Quyen ordered the maids to prepare dinner as she, her husband, and child were hanging out in the garden.
“Mommy! How did I get my name?” Tuyen suddenly asked.
Luong Tung Quang bent down and picked her up.
“Your name was made out of two women’s name. They were beautiful and talented. They were kind-hearted … and since we knew that you were gonna be just like them, we decided to double all of your wonderful gifts by adding their two names together.
“OH! I see… so that would be mommy’s and auntie’s! Quyen and Tuyet…!”

Five hundred miles away, a young woman was teaching a classroom full of kids. The room was raggedy and old.

“And the second step is to stroke your brush up to complete the calligraphy.”

Minh Tuyet pointed to the board and told the kids to practice as she left the room and met up with Phi Nhung.

“Madame, there’s food on the stove at home.”
“Thanks. Thanks for everything, Nhung,” Minh Tuyet said and shed a tear.
“I—”
“Thanks for leaving my father’s mansion and running away with me to help me in the outside world. I never thought that life would turn out this way … but I don’t blame anyone. My life is pretty good now.”
“Madame, it wasn’t your fault. Everything is going to be alright… and I know that in your heart, you have never forgotten about him.”

Minh Tuyet sighed in and let out a long breath as she smiled.

“You’re right. And I never will forget about him … because … someday we will be because we promised we would…”

Chapter Twenty-Five

2007-09-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

“Me? Marry … Quang?” Tu Quyen asked.
“Of course… I’ve thought about it. I told my friends that I had a niece marrying! They don’t know which one!” Ky Duyen exclaimed.
“So this is about your friends again?”

Ky Duyen rolled her eyes and walked over next to Luong Tung Quang.

“Quang here has already agreed, so has your uncle.”
“Is this true?” Tu Quyen asked Luong Tung Quang.

He nodded his head with a half-smile. Ky Duyen patted him on his back as though he had just accomplished something impossible as Tu Quyen made her way up to them. She wanted so much to accept … but she felt that she would be at fault with Minh Tuyet.

“So that’s it? I’m just gonna marry him? What if Tuyet gets her memory back? We’ll still be married?” Tu Quyen asked. Ky Duyen nodded her head as she took a seat next to Tuan Ngoc.
“Quyen, this isn’t just about your aunt’s friends. It’s about saving face for this family. We hope you understand…” Tuan Ngoc said.
Tu Quyen nodded her head after several minutes, making Ky Duyen shriek in happiness. Right after her shriek, there was another scream coming from a maid, who ran into the living room quickly.

“Sir Tuan Ngoc! I came into Minh Tuyet’s room and saw one of t-t-the guard holding her hands!”

Tu Quyen’s heart started to race as Tuan Ngoc slammed his hand onto the table.
“How did this happen!?”

The entire family hurried went to Minh Tuyet’s room, where they found Bang Kieu beside her bed and holding her hand. Tuan Ngoc came over to him and picked him up by the collar and pushed him out the door.

“YOU! How dare you touch my daughter? She is nothing to you …! You are no longer wanted here! LEAVE!” Tuan Ngoc shouted in rage. Bang Kieu stood up and left the mansion as tears slid down his face. Tuan Ngoc went back to his daughter and held onto her hands.

“Are you okay, dear? You’re gonna get to be at a wedding soon!” he said as though she was a five-year-old.
“Really? Is Quyen getting married! OH! I’m so happy! What should I wear?” she asked and ran over to the closet. She accidentally knocked over her dresser and a jewelry box fell down opened. She bent down and picked up a shiny hair clip. Luong Tung Quang and Tu Quyen walked over to her to see what was going on. Suddenly, a whole lot of things started racing through Minh Tuyet’s mind.

…“Hi, my name is Bang Kieu.”
… “Yeah…I’m a maid here.”
…“You caused the fire! You caused my aunt and my father to die! How can you live so innocently?”
…“I need you to pretend to be in love with each other…”
…“A friend helped me get in and introduced me to Lord Tuan Ngoc, I’m a guard there now.”
…“Oh, I was only able to see one of their faces. The other one seems to always be hiding her face. But I’m sure she’s gorgeous.”
…“Well, what do I do? I know that your father forces us to marry…but I don’t know if I could do this.”
…“I’m really sorry! It’s just… you didn’t seem to like the real me when I first met you. So I was afraid that if I told you who I really was, you wouldn’t like me!”
…“...you wanted to marry me in the beginning… so…let’s get married.”

Suddenly, she yelled and started running out to the main gates.

“Bang Kieu!” she yelled. But it was too late. He was already disappearing into the horizon as the sun was setting down onto their hearts.

Chapter Twenty-Four

2007-09-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

NO BANNER

---

"Fake Love?"

“What on earth am I going to do?” Ky Duyen yelled to her husband.
“Honey, you should just forget about this…”
“FORGET ABOUT IT? Ugh… I told all of my friends and now they’ll just think I’m bragging again!”

Tu Quyen rolled her eyes as she heard this quarrel from outside the room. She sped to Minh Tuyet’s room and tried her best to recover her memory. When she came to the room, she found Minh Tuyet throwing pillows and cups and plates at Luong Tung Quang who tried his best to block all of these things.

“Tuyet! What’s going on?” Tu Quyen yelled as she stopped Minh Tuyet from throwing another cup at Luong Tung Quang.
“H-H-He tried to hold my hand…,” Minh Tuyet stuttered.
Tu Quyen calmly turned to Luong Tung Quang and said,

“I think you should leave her alone for a while. I’ll meet you in the living room.”

Luong Tung Quang nodded his head and exited the room. Tu Quyen turned back to Minh Tuyet and took the cup away from her.

“How about you go play in the garden and I’ll meet you there in about fifteen minutes?”
Minh Tuyet nodded her head and ran off happily to the garden as Tu Quyen picked up everything Minh Tuyet had thrown. She arrived in the living room and found Tuan Ngoc, Trinh Hoi, Ky Duyen, and Luong Tung Quang all staring at her.

“What’s going on?” she asked confusedly.
“We figured out how to solve the marriage problem,” replied Ky Duyen.
“How?”
“… you’ll marry Quang.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

2007-09-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

NO BANNER

----

"The Way Things Are Supposed To Be"

Ky Duyen’s arrival was very elaborate and decorative. Half the maids were getting the place presentable while the other half were taking care of Minh Tuyet. Tu Quyen was by her cousin’s side every step she took. Her heart was beating and she was anxious on the day her aunt would arrive and get the news of the mishap.

Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen were sitting on the chairs in the living room along with Tuan Ngoc and Luong Tung Quang, who was trying to get a hold of Minh Tuyet’s hand. Suddenly, the main gates in the front open inwards; the sight of Ky Duyen and her husband, Trinh Hoi, was viewable.
“Hello everyone!” she said gracefully. As she entered the living room, she tripped over the tall threshold and her husband helped her retrieve her balance. There was a burst of laughter from a single person in the room; Ky Duyen looked around and saw that Minh Tuyet was holding her stomach and laughing like a hyena. Slightly embarrassed, she walked up to the laughing Minh Tuyet with an angry face.
“What is the matter with you child?” she said with fury. Minh Tuyet had a frightened look on her face as she recoiled herself into her chair.
“I-I-I-I-I … M-M-Mother...!”
“MOTHER?! How dare of you to speak of your mother after what you’ve done?!” Trinh Hoi and Tuan Ngoc held Ky Duyen back from slapping Minh Tuyet as Tu Quyen and Luong Tung Quang jumped in front of Minh Tuyet to protect her.
“Sister, you mustn’t be angry at her… she’s … ill.” Tuan Ngoc said,
“Ha! Ill? Don’t tell me there’s not gonna be a wedding… because I told all my friends, and they’ll be here.”
“What? You never told me this!”
“Oh please, brother! Who do you think will be there? You barely get out of the house … and even if you do, it’s just to go to the shop.”
“You-!”
“Let’s not create a commotion!” Trinh Hoi jumped in.
“Now tell me, what is going on?” Ky Duyen said, ignoring her husband.
“Minh Tuyet got into an accident and doesn’t remember anything!” Tu Quyen blurted out.
“Y-Y-YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! I told all of my friends that my niece is gonna get married to a wonderful successful young man! And now… there’s no wedding!”
“Get yourself together! Your niece doesn’t remember anything and she probably won’t for the rest of her life and you’re standing there worrying about disappointing your friends?!” Tu Quyen yelled.
“You ungrateful little…I think you deserve a beating!”
“THINK?! You want something to think about?! How about… how many commands you put on this family? How about the pressure you put on your brother? How about how many disappointments YOU bought to the family? Oh, and you should also give a quick thought about how big your ego and pride is!”
“YOU! Don’t think that just because you’re a little madame in this house means you can talk to me that way!”
“I-!”
“ENOUGH!” Tuan Ngoc yelled. “I don’t wanna anymore yelling! Quyen, bring Tuyet back to her room!”
“Yes, uncle…”
Tuan Ngoc turned back to his sister.
“And you … It’s a week until the marriage ceremony, I’m sure that by then, you’re done thinking thoroughly about what Tu Quyen said.”
“But brother!”
Tuan Ngoc left the room with tears in his eyes. This wasn’t how it was all supposed to turn out…

Chapter Twenty-Three

2007-09-01T12:39:00.001-07:00

…she remembered about the day Minh Tuyet acted the same way when they were both 7 years old. Tu Quyen shook her head and let out a faint cry.

“Mommy!!!” seven-year-old Minh Tuyet opened her mouth as wide as she could and let out a yell; she ran towards her mother, who held out open arms.
“What’s the matter, honey?” her mother.
“Q-Q-Q-Quyen put a b-b-big s-s-s-spider on my bed!” Minh Tuyet cried out loud.
Her mother patted her on the back and called for Tu Quyen, who came running gracefully towards her angry aunt and crying cousin.
“Yes, auntie?” she asked sweetly
“Tuyet said you put a spider on her bed… is that true?”
“U-U-Umm… I-I-I… didn’t think she would be that afraid!” Tu Quyen said shakily.
“But why’d you do that in the first place?”
“…Because she put a roach inside my dresser!” Tu Quyen said with confident in her voice. Minh Tuyet’s mother pushed her away and said,
“Is this true, Tuyet?”
“I-I-I…”
Minh Tuyet’s mother left the two of them in the garden.
“You’re such a snitch!” Minh Tuyet said coldly to Tu Quyen.
“At least I’m not a crybaby…” Tu Quyen said as Minh Tuyet wiped her eyes.
“It’s called acting, stupid!”
“‘It’s called acting, stupid’.” Tu Quyen said with a hint of mockery in her voice. Minh Tuyet rolled her eyes and fixed her hair, looking at her reflection through the pond.
“You have something on your hair…” Tu Quyen said.
“Aahhh! What is it!?” Minh Tuyet yelled.
“It’s just a piece of leaf. Here let me get it for you.”
Tu Quyen leaned over and carefully poked at Minh Tuyet’s hair and put a small spider on her head; she immediately ran away after placing it on. Minh Tuyet giggled as she saw Tu Quyen ran away.
“Stupid… afraid of a piece of leaf…”
She felt a sudden itch on her and lifted her hand to her head. She felt something fuzzy and thought it was just her hair so she gently scratched her head; suddenly… that something fuzzy crawled across her fingers.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!” she yelled. Tu Quyen, who was hiding behind the bush, snickered as she witnessed this hilarious scene. All of a sudden, Minh Tuyet started to shake her body trying to get the spider to fall off as she was blubbering everywhere. Tu Quyen appeared out of the bushes and ran over to Minh Tuyet to help her. She reached her hand into Minh Tuyet’s wavy brown hair, pulled out the brown hair, and threw it in the pond.
“WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?” Minh Tuyet cried.
“…are you really scared? Or are you just acting again?” Tu Quyen said.
“Shut up! That was NOT funny! You wouldn’t like it if I did that to you!” Minh Tuyet started to bawl at the sight of the floating spider in the pond. Tu Quyen started to pat Minh Tuyet on the back but she scooted away.
“I didn’t even do anything … I-I-I don’t like you…w-w-why are you sitting here? I’m gonna go tell my mother! I h-h-hate you… … …”

Tu Quyen shook the memory out of her head and looked over at 21-year-old Minh Tuyet that was smiling at her own reflection in the pond.

Beginning of School

2007-08-25T11:20:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! Well, school is starting for me starting on Monday (8.27.07)...Of course, some of you may be starting school also. Now that school is beginning, I may not have enough time to update twice a week for EACH story that I'm doing, meaning FOUR times a week. Therefore, I've decided to update for each story every Saturday starting from today (8.25.07). I am starting the last grade of junior high : 8th. There'll be lots of work assigned, so I hope you all understand and continue supporting! :]

P.S. New chapter for 'The Music In Me'

Chapter Twenty-Two

2007-08-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

Everyone looked at Minh Tuyet with anxiety in their eyes. Why would she ask her fiancé such a question? Bang Kieu’s heart started to race while Phi Nhung’s eyes were beginning to tear up.
“Uh…Tuyet? What are you talking about?” Tu Quyen asked, holding on to her hands.
“Oh! Hi Quyen! I didn’t see you there,” Minh Tuyet replied happily. She gave a huge smile to Tu Quyen, who confusedly smiled back. Tuan Ngoc hurriedly bent down to his daughter and asked,
“Honey… can you hear us?”
“Of course I can, father. I only hit my head… I’m not deaf…,” she replied.
“That’s good, that’s good,” Tuan Ngoc said, running his hand up and down through Minh Tuyet’s hair. She took another glance at all of the people in the room and asked a question that pained her father, and surprised everyone else.
“Where’s mother?”

Tuan Ngoc and the doctor, Nguyen Hung, were outside in the garden as they discussed about Minh Tuyet.
“What happened? Why is she asking questions to which she already knows the answers to?” Tuan Ngoc asked worriedly.
“When Madam Tuyet fell, she fell faced-down, but before that … she hit her head on the road, that explains the bump, which must’ve affected the memory part of her brain. However, it didn’t entirely mess up that whole part, so that’s why she remembers some people and forget others. This happened to my niece a long time ago… and she completely forgot about the past. Therefore, it would be best if you and her family members would subtly remind her of things that happened before.”
“Is that the only way she’ll be able to remember everything?”
“Not necessarily. She could always remember everything again if she sees something that had to with an emotional past…that may be affective. But I suggest you not to try to shove things like that in her face, forcing her to remember. Her brain must cooperate… or else, it’ll function worse.”
“Yes, thank you doctor. We appreciate your help,” Tuan Ngoc said.
“It’s my job. I’ll be back tomorrow to check up on her again, hopefully, her memory progress will be better.” With that, Nguyen Hung left the mansion.

Minh Tuyet was sitting beside the lake with Tu Quyen. For some reason, Minh Tuyet was avoiding her. Minh Tuyet was either staring at Tu Quyen until she looked back, or flicking pieces of plants in Tu Quyen’s hair. Getting irritated, Tu Quyen quickly grabbed Minh Tuyet’s hands and started to shout.
“Remember Tuyet!!! You’re getting married in six days! You can’t keep this up! Stop pretending! WAKE UP!” Tu Quyen slapped Minh Tuyet across the face, who suddenly cried.
“I didn’t even do anything … I-I-I don’t like you…w-w-why are you sitting here? I’m gonna go tell my mother! I h-h-hate you,” Minh Tuyet stammered as she sobbed. After seeing Minh Tuyet’s reaction to her slap, she remembered about the day Minh Tuyet acted the same way when they were both 7 years old. Tu Quyen shook her head and let out a faint cry.

Chapter Twenty-One

2007-08-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Minh Tuyet woke up at the sounds of birds chirping right outside the window and Phi Nhung’s constant calls of ‘wake up, madam!’. Minh Tuyet looked out the window and admired the birds… they didn’t have anything to worry about; if anything happened, they could just spread their wings and soar to the sky, leaving all their worries and unhappiness, but they probably didn’t have any. Today was the day Bang Kieu and Duong Trieu Vu returned from sending the news to her aunt. She thought that she would be able to get over Bang Kieu over the past two days, but he was all she could think about, aside from the fact she was going to be marrying Luong Tung Quang in two weeks. Minh Tuyet pushed the blanket off her and got changed.
After begging to her father, she finally got permission to go outside again. She decided that she would go by the little river and throw all of the memories she had with Bang Kieu into the river and let it flow with all of the other unhappiness in her life. She and Phi Nhung were walking down the road, looking at shiny accessories. Minh Tuyet came upon something that made her heart felt stabbed: There was a glittery hairclip place on a piece of purple velvet on a stand. She picked it up and turned it around slowly, observing all the wonderful pieces of jewels that were on it; she remembered about the day that Bang Kieu gave one just like that to her, as an ‘early birthday present’.

“Thank you, boys, for the news. Tell your master that I will be arriving there a week before the wedding with my husband,” Ky Duyen said as she led Duong Trieu Vu and Bang Kieu out the main gates. The two men climbed onto their horses and started riding back to the city. They were almost there when Duong Trieu Vu turned to Bang Kieu and asked,
“Hey…um… are you gonna leave Lord Tuan Ngoc’s mansion because of this situation between you and Minh Tuyet?”
“I don’t know… I thought about it. It’s really awkward when I see her… but I remember about my mother who is very ill…and I need the money,” Bang Kieu answered, still keeping his eyes on the road.
“I don’t understand why you’re so mad. I think you should just forgive her… she did do this because she liked you.”
“You don’t get it… If she liked me, then she wouldn’t have any problems with telling me the truth.”
“Oh… so you’re not sure if she likes you or not. Well, I can assure that she does like you. I have never seen her so heart-broken before…,”
“Well…can we just drop this? I don’t wanna talk about this.”
Bang Kieu face had a frown on it and he started to ride faster; Duong Trieu Vu tried his best to catch up with him. When they were on the roads where little food stands and shops were set up, Bang Kieu slowed down, making it easier for Duong Trieu Vu to ride alongside with him. He looked over to Bang Kieu, who still had a frown on his face.

“This is beautiful, isn’t it?” Phi Nhung asked, showing Minh Tuyet a pink handbag. Minh Tuyet nodded her head and pulled Phi Nhung to another stand.

“Man…if you wanna talk about it, you know I’m here,” Duong Trieu Vu said to Bang Kieu, who was riding a bit fast.
“But I already told you I don’t want to talk about it!” Bang Kieu yelled.
“KIEU, WATCH OUT!” Duong Trieu bellowed.

“MADAME! WATCH OUT!” Phi Nhung cried.

Bang Kieu stopped abruptly when he felt he horse had hit something…or someone. They quickly dismounted from their horses and ran to the victim, who fell faced down. Duong Trieu Vu saw a trail of blood while Bang Kieu carefully turned the body over. He stared at the body in shock when he saw that it was Minh Tuyet.
“Madam!!!” he heard Phi Nhung cried as she felt to her knees beside Minh Tuyet and started to shake her.
“Put her onto the horse…we gotta get her back to the mansion … and quick!” Duong Trieu Vu said. Bang Kieu did what he was told; he had to support Minh Tuyet’s body as he was riding the road while Duong Trieu Vu rode Phi Nhung back to the mansion.

“WHAT HAPPENED?!” Tuan Ngoc yelled loudly at Duong Trieu Vu, Bang Kieu, and Phi Nhung, who were standing in a line.
“I expect you to take care and make sure no harm or danger comes near my daughter! Is that too hard?!” Tuan Ngoc screamed in Phi Nhung’s face. Minh Tuyet was on her bed with a strip of white cloth wrapped around her head; on the side, there was a blot of red blood. Tu Quyen was standing beside Phi Nhung, who whimpered and cried softly.
“How did this happen?!” his eyes boarded into Phi Nhung.
“I-I-I-I-I-… I didn’t mean for this to happen…I wasn’t paying attention…” she finally managed to say.
“NOT PAYING ATTENTION? So I hired you to go hang out with my daughter but keeping her safe is out of the question?”
“I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I am so sorry, sir. I-I-I never…,” Phi Nhung got cut off,
“Ahem, sir. I could explain what happened,” Bang Kieu spoke up. Duong Trieu Vu nudged him at the arm and whispered,
“What are you doing? This could cost us our job! I have a family to support…” But Bang Kieu completely ignored him.
“Really? You can explain…well then go ahead!”
“You see, Minh Tuyet had dropped something and had ordered Phi Nhung to pick it up, when Phi Nhung wasn’t looking, Minh Tuyet took the opportunity to run across the road without supervision for once…but a horse hit her.”
Phi Nhung looked over at Bang Kieu in the eye. It was a lie. Everything he had just said was made up.
“Is this true, Phi Nhung?” Tuan Ngoc looked over to her.
“Y-Y-Y-Yes … s-sir, it is.”
“Very well then. As your master, I apologize. I know my daughter could be like this… therefore…you will not lose your job.”
“D-D-Daddy?” Minh Tuyet said softly on her bed.
Tuan Ngoc, Tu Quyen, and Phi Nhung immediately ran over to her and started to ask a series of question such as ‘can you hear us?’, ‘how many fingers am I holding up?”, and ‘do you need anything?’. Bang Kieu wanted to so much to run over to her and hold her in his arms…but his fantasy was interrupted when Duong Trieu Vu pulled him to the bed. They were slowly walking up to Minh Tuyet when Luong Tung Quang ran into the room and pushed the two aside. He quickly held Minh Tuyet by the hands and gently placed it on his lips. While Duong Trieu Vu and Bang Kieu walked over, Minh Tuyet’s eyes opened up. She looked at each person in the room carefully… she looked at Phi Nhung, Tuan Ngoc, Tu Quyen, Bang Kieu, Luong Tung Quang, and Duong Trieu Vu, who were all looking back. She looked down at her hand and saw that Luong Tung Quang was holding it… She quickly pulled her hand away and yelled,
“Who are you?!”

Happy Birthday Alissa :]

2007-08-19T14:45:00.001-07:00

http://vietstudios.blogspot.com/2007/08/happy-birthday-alissa-3.html

Chapter Twenty

2007-08-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

Luong Tung Quang looked over at Minh Tuyet in shock. Minh Tuyet, on the other hand, was staring into space…unaware of the fact that Luong Tung Quang had a look of disagreement.
“What are you talking about?” he asked nervously.
“...you wanted to marry me in the beginning… so…let’s get married,” Minh Tuyet answered, her eyes still glued to the piece of rose that was drooping in the wind by the window.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes I am…”
Luong Tung Quang quickly got down to his knees in front of Minh Tuyet and held her by the hands.
“Look, Tuyet. I know that this is just the pain that you have talking. I don’t know what had happened the other night, but it had affected you in a horrible way. You’re just saying this now because you’re hurt…but when you finally get back to your senses, you will regret your decision! I can guarantee you that!”
“I won’t regret it, I promise you. To tell you the truth, I liked you when I first saw you,” she lied.
“Really?”
“Yes… and now this is my decision…that is unless you don’t want to marry me.”
“No…I…I mean, who wouldn’t want to marry me you? Look at you, you’re beautiful.”
“So it’s a yes?”
“I… um…,” Luong Tung Quang scratched his head. He must admit that he did want to marry Minh Tuyet in the beginning, but after he met Tu Quyen, she made him realized that Minh Tuyet wasn’t the one for him.
“So…?” Minh Tuyet said, still waiting for an answer as her eyes was still on the flower.
“I … well… um…” He knew that what happened the other night had caused Minh Tuyet’s heart to shatter into thousands of pieces…but if he rejected her…then those pieces would just dissolve into smaller and smaller pieces. He finally knew what he had to do.
“Yes,” he said determinedly.
“Really…?” Minh Tuyet looked up at him with a smile.
“Whatever for you…honey,” Luong Tung Quang said, returning the smile.
The two of them held hands as Minh Tuyet was in pain and Luong Tung Quang in confusion. Luong Tung Quang looked out the door and saw a shadow, which turned away once it realized that he as looking at it. Tu Quyen ran back to her room as tears ran down her eyes.

“That is wonderful news!” Tuan Ngoc cried with happiness when Minh Tuyet and Luong Tung Quang told him their decision. All the maids stood on the side and admired Minh Tuyet and her life as Tu Quyen congratulated her with a fake smile.
“We must start with the wedding plans right away!” Tuan Ngoc said.
Although Minh Tuyet had made the decision, she wasn’t all that excited, neither was Luong Tung Quang. However, Tu Quyen tried to hide her pain by acting anxious about the day of the wedding plans. She was talking about the food, decorations, guests, and dresses. Then Minh Tuyet’s father did something she wished he had never done: He called two guards over to send the good news to Ky Duyen and her husband; Duong Trieu Vu and Bang Kieu came over.
“I want you two to take the horses from the shelter and quickly ride to Ky Duyen’s city. I’m guessing that it would take you about two days for the trip because you will spend the night there, can you two handle this responsibility?”
“Yes sir!” the two young men yelled, staring Tuan Ngoc in the eyes and lifting their hands to their foreheads. Minh Tuyet immediately looked away when Bang Kieu walked by.

Chapter Nineteen

2007-08-14T19:40:00.001-07:00

Tuan Ngoc, Minh Tuyet, Tu Quyen, and Luong Tung Quang were gathered around the dining table for breakfast. Minh Tuyet was in silence eating her meal as Luong Tung Quang and Tu Quyen were having a conversation.
“Girls, I’m going to be visiting your aunt Ho Le Thu today,” Tuan Ngoc said.
Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen looked over to him and nodded.
“Are you two going to be okay staying here alone?” Tuan Ngoc asked.
“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll be here,” Luong Tung Quang jumped in.
And the three began to talk about what they would do the rest of the day, leaving Minh Tuyet alone with her broken heart.

Minh Tuyet was sitting in the garden, staring out onto the lake. She was thinking about what would happen if she didn’t lie to Bang Kieu; if she never bumped into him; if she never rejected Luong Tung Quang, who turned out to be a nice guy; and if she had married Luong Tung Quang…
“Madame Tuyet, Madame Quyen requests for you,” a guard said behind her. She turned around and got ready to go, but she stopped. It was Bang Kieu.
“Bang Kieu, I-”
“If that is all ma’am, I shall return to my duties,” Bang Kieu said and he left the garden leaving Minh Tuyet in tears. She made her way to Tu Quyen’s room in pain.
“How are you?” Tu Quyen asked Minh Tuyet as they sat down.
“I’m alright, I guess. But I feel as though something is missing from my heart,” she answered.
“I see… well, I’ve thought about Quang and everything and I decided not to tell him. I’ll just bury it.”
“Oh, okay…” Minh Tuyet said. If she wasn’t this down, she would’ve convinced Tu Quyen to tell him, but she wasn’t really in the mood right now. Minh Tuyet stood up and walked drowsily to the front building. She thought about the kiss she had with Bang Kieu a couple of days ago, and now it’s all just a memory that would blow away in the dust. She promised herself that she would not cry because of this anymore… she started to feel more and sleepier. Her father knew nothing about the incident last night, and she wasn’t planning on telling him. But she couldn’t help but to wonder if of any of the maids gossiped about this… or if they even know. Luong Tung Quang walked into the room and immediately started to talk.
“Hey, Tuyet; I thought about Quyen, and I decided to- ”
“Marry me, Quang…”

Chapter Eighteen

2007-08-14T19:38:00.002-07:00

Minh Tuyet watched her step as she ran after Bang Kieu. Every time she thought she was close, she would grab for his arm and miss.
“Go away!” Bang Kieu yelled as he continued running towards the lake behind the mansion. But Minh Tuyet completely ignored him and kept chasing him. When he got to the garden, he looked back to see if Minh Tuyet was still there. She was still running; but she tripped over a piece of plant that was growing like a bridge. She fell to the floor and let out a yelp. Bang Kieu ran back to help her up; when he got there, she was seriously bleeding at the knee.
“Are you okay?” he asked, as he held her head in his arms.
“I’m fine. Bang Kieu…I didn’t mean to lie to you and –” Minh Tuyet was interrupted by Bang Kieu.
“I really don’t wanna hear it right now. I just can’t understand why you would lie to me!” he cried as he stood up. Minh Tuyet stood up after him and said,
“I’m really sorry! It’s just… you didn’t seem to like the real me when I first met you. So I was afraid that if I told you who I really was, you wouldn’t like me!”
“Tuyet, I’ll like you because of who you are!”
“Exactly! That was what I was afraid of…”
Bang Kieu shook his head, completely speechless about the situation. Suddenly, the leaves started rustle and Tu Quyen and Luong Tung Quang appeared. Bang Kieu looked over to Luong Tung Quang and smiled painfully.
“So…this is the one you’re gonna be marrying, huh? All I have to say is… you’ll be better off with him,” he said to Minh Tuyet and left. He passed Tu Quyen and whispered,
“Not hiding anything, huh?”
Tu Quyen’s face suddenly turned red and she looked over to Minh Tuyet, who was sobbing on the ground. She ran over to her and kneeled down beside Minh Tuyet,
“Go ahead and cry… let it out,” Tu Quyen patted her on the back.
“Was…meeting him that day the biggest mistake of my life?” Minh Tuyet asked as the moon shone over the lake. Luong Tung just stood there with confusion in his heart.

Chapter Seventeen

2007-08-14T19:38:00.001-07:00

Tu Quyen pulled Minh Tuyet inside her room and closed the door shut. Minh Tuyet had just arrived back from the countryside with her father, and was told that Tu Quyen wanted to see her.
“What is going on?” Minh Tuyet asked as she looked at herself in the full length mirror. They both sat down and Tu Quyen held Minh Tuyet by the hands.
“I’m so sorry,” Tu Quyen said with her eyes closed.
Minh Tuyet thought for a while about what could be so bad that had made Tu Quyen act this way. Suddenly, her eyes bulged out.
“You have to be kidding me!
“I’m sorry!”
“I can’t believe this!”
“I know, I know! I am so sorry!”
“I trusted you, Quyen!”
“What?” Tu Quyen said. She had a feeling that she and Minh Tuyet were not talking about the same thing. However, Minh Tuyet was still talking.
“Quyen! I can’t believe you! This is not how this is supposed to turn out! Why did you tell him?”
“Wait, wait, wait. What’re you talking about?”
“You didn’t tell Bang Kieu?”
“Tell him what?”
“….that I am a mistress!”
“Of course, not!” Tu Quyen cried.
Minh Tuyet touched her heart, which was racing very fast.
“Thank god!” she cried.
Tu Quyen just smiled. She thought she had let out her feelings to Minh Tuyet, but she didn’t. Now she had to start it over, which was more nerve-wrecking.
“Well, why are you sorry?” Minh Tuyet asked, still admiring herself in the mirror.
“I… You have to promise me that you will not tell anyone!”
“I promise!”
“I…think….well, I think… I kind of… like… well…I think…I like…um, l-l-like Quang.”
“Quang? As in the Luong Tung Quang that gets on my nerves?”
“Yeah, him.”
“Quyen! This is great! Now I don’t have to marry him!”
“Wait, huh?”
“Well, if we tell my dad…then he will arrange the marriage between you and Quang, not me and Quang!”
“No! You promised me you wouldn’t tell me anyone!”
“But…”
“Look, Tuyet. I’m not even sure about my feelings. Just don’t tell anyone!”
“What if when you’re sure about your feelings but you never tell my dad? Are you really going to sit there on our wedding day and see the person you love get marry to your cousin?”
“Tuyet! I never said I loved him!”
“I’m sure you will when you get your feelings sorted out!”
“I’m begging you not to tell anyone!”
“I really don’t understand why you’re doing this. Just tell my dad! Or better yet, tell Quang! You’re not gonna gain anything if you just stay silent about this. It may seem like something you’ll get over, but trust me, when you get your feelings sorted out, you’ll feel like he’s the only one that can put a smile on your face. Just thinking about him isn’t gonna make a difference! You have to do something about it! Once you’re sure that you love him, he’s the only one that can catch you if you ever fall. You’ll think about him day and night, and once you see his face, your whole day lights up just because of his smile.”
“Tuyet… Just because you feel that way…it doesn’t really mean that I’ll feel it, too.”
“Yes it will! I found my happiness, Quyen. But I know that if I speak the truth, it’ll just turn into a forbidden love. You found yours, too! However, your dream can happen!” Minh Tuyet explained as a tear ran down her eye.
“Are you talking about…”
“…yes! Me and Bang Kieu…. We can never be and you know it! But you and Quang… it’s perfect. And you’re throwing it all away just because you’re not sure if it’ll turn out how you planned it? Just live in the moment! Tell him!”
“I guess I will,” Tu Quyen said, wiping the tear off of Minh Tuyet’s face.

“I need to talk to you about something, Tuyet,” Luong Tung Quang said that evening when Tuan Ngoc and Tu Quyen were both in their rooms. Luong Tung Quang and Minh Tuyet were in the front building having tea.
“What about?” Minh Tuyet replied, not having the slightest interest in what he had to say.
“It’s…um…about Tu Quyen.”
“Really?” Minh Tuyet said, quickly turning her attention towards him.
“Yeah; I know that you’re not exactly the person I should be talking to when it comes to this, but I can’t think of anyone else. And you’ll probably understand, considering how you feel about me.”
“Oh, well go ahead. What is it?” Minh Tuyet said, resting her chin in the palm of her hands.
“I think…that…um…I like …her.”
“Who; Tu Quyen?”
“Yes. I don’t know why, but every time she comes into the room, I feel as though…”
“…she lights up your day,” Minh Tuyet said as she thought about Bang Kieu.
“Exactly! How do you know?”
“Oh…um…wild guess.”
“Well, what do I do? I know that your father forces us to marry…but I don’t know if I could do this.”
Before Minh Tuyet could speak, Duong Trieu Vu ran in and landed on his knees.
“Um…Madame Tuyet! I think you should go to bed now!”
Minh Tuyet eyed Duong Trieu Vu, and then finally figured out what he was trying to tell her. She turned over to Luong Tung Quang and said,
“I’m sorry, I gotta go!”
She ran to the door and stopped abruptly when a guard blocked her.
“I can’t believe this,” the guard said. Luong Tung Quang and Duong Trieu Vu looked at Minh Tuyet and the guard, who ran away.
“Bang Kieu!” Luong Tung Quang heard Minh Tuyet yelled as she ran after the guard.

Chapter Sixteen

2007-08-14T19:35:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, you feel like people misunderstand you, so the only way you can get back at them is to make them angry with the words you say. That was how Tu Quyen was feeling on a morning of a breezy day. She woke up and took a little walk around the garden, hoping to find peace somewhere. She never wanted to create such a huge problem between her and Van Quynh; she tried her best to get acquainted with Minh Tuyet’s friends, but she doesn’t understand why they treat her the way they do. Tu Quyen made her way to the front building and she saw Luong Tung Quang there enjoying tea. Somehow, the sight of him made all of her confusion disappear.
“What are you doing here so early?” she asked, taking a seat right beside him.
“We’re looking at the past sales again,” he replied, looking at her.
“Sounds fun,” Tu Quyen said sarcastically.
“I’m actually learning a lot of stuff.”
Tu Quyen put her arm on the armrest and put back her head. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out for a couple of seconds. Luong Tung Quang didn’t notice, so he put his hand down on the armrest, not knowing that Tu Quyen’s hand was already there. When his hand touched hers, she suddenly jumped but their hands didn’t separate. For some reason, Tu Quyen felt her face moving closer and closer to his. Their noses were about to touch when Minh Tuyet came in.
“What’s up?”
Luong Tung Quang quickly pulled back his hands and Tu Quyen sat straight up, straightening her dress.
“Uh, nothing,” Luong Tung Quang said nervously.
“What’s going on? Your faces are red,” Minh Tuyet said, taking a seat across from Luong Tung Quang and Tu Quyen.
“Nothing, really, nothing,” Tu Quyen said, cupping her cheeks with her hands.
“Well, good news! My father and I are going into the countryside today!” Minh Tuyet yelled in excitement.
“What?” Luong Tung Quang and Tu Quyen yelled in unison.
“Yes, I know! I’m so excited!”
“B-b-b-b-b-but I thought your father and I are going to look at the past sales of the shop,” Luong Tung Quang said.
“He told me to tell you to stay; we’ll be back a little bit after noon.”
“Oh … okay.
“Keep him company, okay Quyen?”
“Um, sure.”
Minh Tuyet happily skipped out of the room, leaving Tu Quyen and Luong Tung Quang sitting with a bunch of things going through their minds.

“Hey,” Tu Quyen greeted as she sat down in the garden, across from Luong Tung Quang. The truth was, Luong Tung Quang had felt something he had never felt before this morning when he was with Tu Quyen. He had thought that it happened to him all the time with beautiful girls, but this wasn’t true. He never had this feeling when he was Minh Tuyet, only this morning.
“Quyen, I wanna tell you something.”
“Oh, what is it?” Tu Quyen said blushing.
“I…this…um…m-m-morning, I wanted…to … say …that I never felt…”
Tu Quyen knew where this was going. She was going to sit there listening to Luong Tung Quang’s apology about what happened this morning and that he never meant for it to happen. She then knew that she couldn’t take it anymore so she jumped in and interrupted him.
“Same here!”
“What?”
“I…um, I mean, I’m sorry, too. It’s just that I was still kind of drowsy and sleepy so I didn’t really know what was going on, I’m sorry. Don’t worry about anything,” she lied.
“Oh…yeah, I guess. Yeah…,” Luong Tung Quang said disappointedly.
“Yeah, I would never do anything to break you and Minh Tuyet up.”
“We’re not even together.”
“Don’t you worry; I’ll try my best to persuade her.”
“Oh…that’s…um…great, thanks.”
“Of course! Anything for you… and Minh Tuyet!”
Tu Quyen stood up and left the garden.

I can’t believe she left me all alone! Tu Quyen thought as she wished she had gone along with Minh Tuyet. She sat nervously in the front building thinking about what had happened earlier between her and Luong Tung Quang. I can’t have feelings for him, she thought. He’s my cousin’s destined husband! Or at least…based on an arrange marriage, he is. Her thoughts were interrupted when Luong Tung Quang walked into the room and took a seat, but this time, across from her. He was obviously still thinking about what happened this morning, too. Tu Quyen tried to talk, but she was afraid all her words would just come in one of his ear, and out the other… as he thought about his future with Minh Tuyet. Fortunately for her, he was the first to speak.
“Do you know when Minh Tuyet and her father would be home?” he asked softly.
Tu Quyen was happy to hear his voice, but once she saw that Luong Tung Quang only cared about Minh Tuyet, she felt as though her heart had just a release a tear.
“Oh, she said around noon.”
“I see…”
“When are you leaving?”
“Later tonight; my father left with my mother to the other side of the city to visit my grandparents, so it doesn’t really matter when I arrive home,” he said.
“Oh…”
An awkward silence had started to begin. Luong Tung Quang didn’t want this to happen, but he didn’t know what else to say. He looked over to Tu Quyen, who was observing her perfectly cut fingernails. She looks so adorable, he thought; he looked at her with a tilted head. He quickly turned his head away when Tu Quyen looked up. She smiled a beautiful smile that Luong Tung Quang could see at the corner of his eyes. Suddenly, Phi Nhung ran into the room as her dress flew gracefully. She walked over to Tu Quyen and whispered something. After hearing what Phi Nhung had to say, Luong Tung Quang saw that Tu Quyen was in shock. The two girls walked over to him and gave him a curtsy, and then they left the room.
“Did he say why he wanted to see me?” Tu Quyen asked as she stride through the outdoor hallways.
“No, ma’am. He just asked to see you,” Phi Nhung answered.
“Ugh, I can’t believe this!”
“I’m sorry for disrupting you and sir Quang, please forgive me. But he said this was urgent.”
“It’s quite alright, Nhung, it’s not your fault.”
Phi Nhung turned to her room as the walked past it, but Tu Quyen kept on walking until she arrived back in the garden. She saw Duong Trieu Vu and Bang Kieu standing by the lake, making small talk.
“What is this in reference to?” Tu Quyen asked coldly as she walked up behind them.
“Oh, hi Tu Quyen!” Duong Trieu Vu said giggly.
“That is madam Quyen to you.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“And why are you here?” Tu Quyen turned to Bang Kieu.
“I need to ask you something.”
Suddenly, Tu Quyen’s heart started to beat heavily. She was afraid that he would ask something about Minh Tuyet… or worse, ‘madam Tuyet’. The three of them took a seat down on stone chairs beside the lake.
“This is unbelievable,” Tu Quyen asked, shaking her head.
“What is?”
“Are you two aware of the fact that guards do not make requests, but the lords and mistresses do?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Yet, here I am sitting because of something that’s supposedly urgent.”
“Look, here…”
“Excuse me, but I believe that this is not the attitude you’re supposed to be talking to me with. Just because we’re acquainted outside of the mansion, it does not mean that we can talk as though we’re the closest of friends inside the mansion, because it’s obvious that we are not.”
“I’m sorry and everything. But I have a feeling that both you and Minh Tuyet are keeping something from me.”
“Listen. I don’t think that the relationship between us is at a point where I can ‘hide’ something from you.
“Well, why did you hide the fact that you were a mistress here?”
“I think it’s possible that it’s because I don’t want to be treated differently from a peasant. I enjoy my time outside of the mansion, but there are always people like you that ruin it. Besides, even if there was something wrong; don’t you think you’re better off asking Minh Tuyet?”
“I-I-I-I…”
“If there is nothing else that needs to be said, than I will be on my way. Besides, I have many other things to worry about.” Tu Quyen stood up and stormed out of the garden, so glad that she didn’t expose anything. She was walking so fast that she didn’t notice where she was going; suddenly, she bumped into Luong Tung Quang. He quickly grabbed her arm, preventing her from falling.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” Tu Quyen said.
“It’s alright, you weren’t that heavy. I have a new…” he replied.
“Huh?”
Luong Tung Quang just smiled as he finished his sentence in his mind.
…room in my heart.

Chapter Fifteen

2007-08-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Duong Trieu Vu and Van Quynh were waiting by the river for Minh Tuyet. During the wait, Duong Trieu Vu kept going on and on about Tu Quyen and her ‘indescribable beauty’. Van Quynh rolled her eyes at every single compliment he gave to Tu Quyen. After minutes, but what seemed like hours to Van Quynh, there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned around with a smile but it disappeared as soon she laid eyes on Tu Quyen, who was standing right next to Minh Tuyet. Van Quynh reluctantly smiled as Duong Trieu Vu greeted Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen happily.
“What is she doing here?” Van Quynh said under her breath.
Van Quynh was too busy imagining herself pushing Tu Quyen into the river that by the time she was snapped back to reality, she had no idea what was going on. Van Quynh found herself nodding to the inaudible words that were coming out of Duong Trieu Vu’s mouth as she continued her fantasy. Suddenly, she saw Minh Tuyet and Duong Trieu Vu leaving and Tu Quyen was left back staring at her.
“Where are they going?” Van Quynh asked coldly. She didn’t really want to make conversation with Tu Quyen, but she had to know why she was left with the girl she hated the most in the whole entire world.
“They ran into town to get some food for the picnic,” Tu Quyen replied.
“Oh, that’s no surprise.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing really… I’m just saying that I’m not surprised to see other people doing all the work. I mean, it is the mistress at Lord Tuan Ngoc’s house.”
“Why don’t you say that about Minh Tuyet?
“Cause-” Van Quynh got cut off.
“Because she’s your friend? And just so you know, the only reason why the two of them went is because they know the town more than me!”
“Why didn’t they choose me?”
“You were too busy fantasizing about that Vu guy, that’s why!”
Van Quynh’s face turned bright red and she put her face up close to Tu Quyen’s.
“Look here, missy. Just because you live a ‘high-class’ life, it doesn’t mean you can talk down to me like I’m your servant!”
“But I just did. I guess you’re gonna have to deal with it, the same way you dealt with Vu’s rejection!” Tu Quyen smiled. Van Quynh backed away from Tu Quyen and gave her a big slap.
“Minh…your…own…business!” Van Quynh said, emphasizing each word that was coming out of her mouth. But Tu Quyen paid no mind to Van Quynh’s anger, instead she simply said,
“Actually, it is my business… he did reject you because of me,” Tu Quyen said. She had no idea why she said that, she knew it wasn’t true, or at least she thought it wasn’t true. And right then, Tu Quyen received another slap from Van Quynh. Tu Quyen quickly returned the slap, despite the fact that her cheek had a sharp pain n them. Van Quynh’s hands turned into a fist. How does she know about this? she thought. She let out a frustrated sigh and walked away as a tear escaped from her eye.

Chapter Fourteen

2007-08-14T19:33:00.001-07:00

A tear ran down her face as Van Quynh’s back was to the door. Duong Trieu Vu was on the other side forcing her to open up the door. Why does he wanna talk? she though to herself. It was three days since she confessed her feelings to him and now there he was knocking on the door wanting to talk.
“Open up the door!” he yelled, still banging on the door.
“Go away, Vu! I don’t wanna talk to you!” Van Quynh cried as another tear ran down her cheek. She used all of her strength to keep the door shut as Duong Trieu Vu tried to break it down.
“Stop it! Go away!” Van Quynh yelled.
“I’m not going until I get to talk to you!”
“We ARE talking, now go! GO!”
“No!”
Suddenly, Van Quynh fell down and the door got wide opened. Duong Trieu Vu ran in and helped Van Quynh up, helping her take a seat.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Well, I just wanted to… um, talk to you.”
“…about what?”
“What happened the other day…”
“Look, I don’t wanna talk about it right now, I don’t have enough energy to yell,” Van Quynh said standing up and caressing her back.
“I really wanna talk about it,”
“I don’t! So humiliating myself in front of the guy I like wasn’t enough, you just decided to come and make me feel worse about what I said and did?”
“I’m sorry; I need to talk to you. It’s just… you know how you have feelings for me?”
“What about it?” Van Quynh said with a soft voice, hoping for him to tell her that he liked her, too.
“I love you! I really do,” he said with a smile.
“Really?” she cried with excitement and held onto his hands.
“…as a sister,” he said, still smiling. However, the smile on Van Quynh’s face has disappeared and she had let go of his hands.
“What?” she asked, closing her eyes.
“I love you as a sister. Me, you, and Tuyet; we’re like the three best friends ever! It’s great! I love the relationship between us. We’ve known each other for a really long time, since we were in diapers! And… I don’t wanna ruin it.”
“Oh…”
“Plus… I like…” Duong Trieu Vu paused and said,
“…Tu Quyen,” he whispered.
Van Quynh looked at Duong Trieu Vu, completely dumbfounded. She tried her best to keep a tear from falling down, but the moment it escaped from her eyes, she looked away. She subtly wiped the tear from her eye and gave him a smile.
“I’m so happy for you! Well, at least, I wish you good luck with her.”
“Ha! That will never happen, she’s a mistress and I’m a guard for her building.”
Wanting to scream ‘I love you’, she turned to him and said,
“Well, it’s a lost for her.”
“Thank you,” Duong Trieu Vu said, giving her a hug.
Van Quynh returned the hug. When her head was on his shoulders, she closed her eyes and a stream of tears ran down…

Chapter Thirteen

2007-08-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Minh Tuyet sat quietly as her father carefully wrapped a necklace around her neck and clipped it in the back. Minh Tuyet let her wavy hair down and gently picked up the face of the necklace. It was a locket shaped like a heart and had a keyhole in the middle.
“This belonged to your mother,” Tuan Ngoc said.
Minh Tuyet closed her eyes and a tear ran down.
“Thank you so much, father.”
“This locket is the only possession I have that belonged to your mother. You remind me so much of her,”
“This is the most special gift I have ever gotten. Thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. Now go to bed.”
Minh Tuyet sat up and went to her room. When she arrived, she found Tu Quyen pacing across the floor.
“What is it?” Minh Tuyet asked slowly taking off the necklace and placed in a box.
“Bang Kieu saw me,” Tu Quyen replied nervously.
“What?” Minh Tuyet cried standing up from her seat.
“I’m sorry! I don’t know why Bang Kieu was standing there; I thought it should’ve been that Vu guy!”
“His name is Duong Trieu Vu.”
“Who cares?”
“Well… um, did you say anything about me?”
“No, of course not! I promised I wouldn’t… but I hope he don’t assume anything because my voice was really shaky when I was talking to him.”
“Ugh! Quyen, how can you let this happen? I told you to be careful!”
“I’m so sorry! I really am. But look on the bright side, now only you have to sneak around…”
“I guess you’re right. But PLEASE do not let anything about me being a mistress slip out of your mouth, okay?”
“I promise!” Tu Quyen said raising her hand in the air. Tu Quyen left the room and a knock was on the door after a while. Minh Tuyet walked across the room and opened it up; Duong Trieu Vu quickly ran inside as Minh Tuyet closed the door and made sure no one saw him coming in.
“What are you doing here?” she asked with her arms folded.
“I wanted…to…uh…talk to you about what happened today at my house.”
“Look, Vu. I rejected my father’s party for me so I can go to yours. And when I come, you just had to make a big argument with Van Quynh!”
“I know! I’m sorry!”
“Just go! Go!” Minh Tuyet yelled as she pointed to the door.
“No, no, no. I wanna talk to you about something. Did you know anything about Van Quynh’s feelings for me?”
Suddenly, Minh Tuyet’s face turned red and she started to stutter.
“Uh…no…why…w-w-would I?”
“It’s obvious that you knew! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“…because Van Quynh made me promise!”
“I’m really…I thought… I-I-I-I…,” Duong Trieu Vu tried to talk.
“Look, she likes you, and I don’t know how you feel about her, but I really don’t want two friends not talking to each other just because of this. So unless you two work it out, I don’t want neither of you two talking to me. But before you go, I want to ask you one teeny favor. Please don’t hurt her… Now get out!” Minh Tuyet said angrily as she pushed Duong Trieu Vu out the door, and closed it behind him. Although her two best friends’ situation want to make her cry, the thought of Bang Kieu added a smile on her face as she fell asleep.

Chapter Twelve

2007-08-14T19:30:00.002-07:00

“Daddy! You really don’t have to make such a big deal out of this!” Minh Tuyet cried as she followed her dad around while he was making orders to maids where to put the arrangement of roses.
“What do you mean ‘don’t make a big deal’? This is your 22nd birthday, sweetie!” Tuan Ngoc said, tilting his head to the right to make sure a picture frame was straight.
“Daddy! Listen to me!”
“I know, I know, I know. The food isn’t ready, but Thuy Tien is doing her best with all the other cooks. Don’t worry, honey; everything will be okay,” Tuan Ngoc assured to his daughter.
“Daddy!” Minh Tuyet yelled. Tuan Ngoc stopped abruptly when his daughter pulled him by the arm, causing him to fall flat onto a chair.
“I don’t know how to say this … but, um. I decided to spend my birthday this year with my friends … outside the mansion,” Minh Tuyet looked at the wonderful roses on the desk beside her.
“Oh, but…I always thought you wanted to spend your birthdays in the mansion.”
Minh Tuyet wanted to apologize to her father but she didn’t want to see the look in his eyes. She really did feel bad, but she wanted to spend her birthday with her friends, especially Bang Kieu.
“I’m so sorry, father…” she said, her eyes still on the roses.
“It’s alright; I guess…I can just invite my own friends as a little party for myself. But you must be home before midnight so I can at least spend a couple of hours with my daughter on her birthday!”
“Thank you so much, Daddy! I love you! I love you!” Minh Tuyet hugged her father and ran to her room.

“So, there’ll only be five of us?” Tu Quyen asked when Minh Tuyet was back in her room.
“Yes, it’ll be fun! Don’t worry…they’re really nice people.”
“I’m really nervous! I haven’t hung out with…you know, um…”
“Peasants?”
“Yeah…sorry.”
“It’s alright! Trust me…once you hang out with them, you’ll forget all about your ‘high class’ life,” Minh Tuyet said proudly.

Tu Quyen and Minh Tuyet quietly knocked on the door of Duong Trieu Vu’s house. They walked in and Minh Tuyet saw a cake that had ‘Happy Birthday Tuyet!’ and was slightly bent. There were refreshments in the small living room, where there were a couple of wooden chairs with a little table beside it.
“This is so nice!” Minh Tuyet said, looking around the room with amazement.
“Who is this?” Van Quynh asked, pointing to Tu Quyen, who quietly stood next to Minh Tuyet.
“Oh! This is my cousin, Tu Quyen. Tu Quyen, this is Van Quynh, Duong Trieu Vu, and Bang Kieu,” Minh Tuyet introduced, as she points to each person in the house.
“Hi, nice to finally meet you!” Van Quynh said, shaking Tu Quyen’s hand.
“Hi! You might not know me, but I’m the guard of your building,” Duong Trieu Vu said, jumping in between Van Quynh and Tu Quyen.
“Oh, really?” Tu Quyen asked, trying to sound interested.
“Yeah! I’m the one that always says ‘Madame Quyen, your uncle would like for you to come to the family room’, and stuff like that.”
“Really? That’s great…”
Van Quynh stood beside them with her arms folded with her eyes rolling. She tapped on his shoulders and he turned around.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Um, wanna help me cut the cake?”
“Can’t you see I’m talking?”
“So talking to this woman here is more important than the meaning of this party?”
“No, I am not saying that, I’m trying to whip up a little conversation right here and you just rudely interrupted.”
“I tapped.”
“Just because you tapped, doesn’t mean you politely interrupted.”
“Does it really matter?”
“You know what? Thinking of it, there is no way to politely interrupt.”
“Exactly! So I wasn’t being rude…it was …um, neutral?
“How stupid…” Duong Trieu Vu turned around to find that Tu Quyen was talking to Bang Kieu and Minh Tuyet. He felt a grip on his shoulders and a force that turned him around.
“Did you just call me stupid?” Van Quynh asked with anger.
“So now you’re gonna blame me for being honest?”
“You know what? You are really something…what’s the word … ARROGANT!”
“What’re you talking about?”
“Ever since I met you, I knew you were really arrogant but still, I clenched my teeth and tried to be friends. But I guess this isn’t really gonna work out because you and your ego is always in the way!”
“What does this have to with my ego?”
“Ugh! I hate you!”
“Oh…I know what this is about. You’re jealous that I was talking to Tu Quyen.” By this time, everyone was quiet and was looking over at Duong Trieu Vu and Van Quynh.
“Jealous? Are you out of your mind?”
“I don’t know…YOU tell me!”
“You know what? Maybe I am jealous! Actually, I AM jealous! You happy?” Van Quynh cried with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Wait, wait, wait. Van Quynh, what’re you talking about?”
“I hate you! I thought you were someone different! I thought you’d finally understand how I feel about you by now! But of course, you can’t see anything! Your ego is in the way!”
Van Quynh hastily ran out the door and accidentally tripped over a log. Duong Trieu Vu ran after her but she was nowhere to be seen by the time he got to the door.
“This was not how I imagined today would be…” Minh Tuyet said, her eyes filled with disappointment as she fell down to the wooden chair.

Chapter Eleven

2007-08-14T19:30:00.001-07:00

“…and they’re always sneaking around,” Bang Kieu said as the three other people slurped noodles around him. He, Minh Tuyet, Van Quynh, and Duong Trieu Vu were back at the little noodle shop the next day. Minh Tuyet was nodding her head in agreement to everything Bang Kieu had to say about the mistresses at Lord Tuan Ngoc’s mansion.
Minh Tuyet cleared her throat during an awkward silence.
“So, how did they look?” Minh Tuyet asked, curiously eyeing Bang Kieu.
“They look decent. Who am I kidding? They’re gorgeous…well at least one of them is.” he replied.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, I was only able to see one of their faces. The other one seems to always be hiding her face. But I’m sure she’s gorgeous,” he said, nudging Duong Trieu Vu’s arm.
“Oh, I see.” Minh Tuyet said with a smile. After minutes of Van Quynh and Duong Trieu Vu making small talk and Minh Tuyet and Bang Kieu having their own conversation, Minh Tuyet stood up and straightened her dress.
“Well, I better get going!” she said.
“I’ll come along. My break is over anyways,” Bang Kieu said standing up.
They all said ‘goodbye’s and the two made their way to the mansion. Walking down the road, they had nothing to say. Minh Tuyet carelessly flung her arms around as Bang Kieu walked around and picked up souvenirs and observed them.
“Look at this!” Minh Tuyet cried in excitement, picking up a shiny hair clip from a stand that had a red umbrella hovering over it.
“What?” Bang Kieu asked, walking over to her. She handed the clip she was holding in her hands over to him. He looked at it and gave it back to her and stared into her eyes. She was looking at it with a shine in her eyes.
“It’s beautiful,” she said softly.
“How much is it?” Bang Kieu turned to the shop owner.
“300 gold coins.”
Minh Tuyet was about to take out the amount of money from her small purse when she realized that Bang Kieu was there.
“300?” she yelled with fake anger.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Are you kidding me? I could get this across town for only 50!” she lied.
“Then I guess you’re gonna have to go across town.”
“Ugh!” Minh Tuyet rolled her eyes and stomped over to the stand across the street. She picked up a dusty tea set with paintings that were scratched and pretended her excitement for it, loud enough for the other shop owner to hear. After a while, Bang Kieu walked over to her and they continued walking home. Wanting to complain about the rudeness of the shop owner, Minh Tuyet said,
“Can you believe the price?”
“Well, don’t sweat it. He was pretty rude, anyways,” Bang Kieu said keeping his hands in his pockets.
“But it was so beautiful! It would’ve been great for my birthday party!” Minh Tuyet quickly slapped her hand on her mouth.
“When is your birthday?” Bang Kieu asked, ignoring what Minh Tuyet just did.
“In three days.”
“Are you gonna celebrate it?”
“Uh…yeah.”
“…with who?”
“My family, of course.”
“Family? I thought you said you didn’t have one.”
“Oh…um… I was trying to … um … make myself feel better,” Minh Tuyet lied, looking down to her feet.
“Oh, I am so sorry!”
“It’s alright.”
“Well, I guess I should give it to you now.”
“Give me what?”
Bang Kieu reached into his pockets and pulled out the shiny clip that Minh Tuyet was admiring earlier and handed it to her.
“Oh…my…god!”
“I knew how much you wanted it…so, I bought it for you.”
“When?” she cried excitedly.
“…when you were over at the other stand.”
“Oh! Thank you so much! This is so kind of you!” Minh Tuyet yelled jumping up and down, hitting Bang Kieu on the shoulders. He took a hold of her hands, causing her to stop hitting on him. She stopped jumping and looked into his eyes. They gazed at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Minh Tuyet felt weak at the knees as Bang Kieu pulled her closer to him; their faces were so close that Minh Tuyet felt as though their soul would become one. Suddenly, Minh Tuyet felt something brushed against her lips; for a while they both felt as though they were in a completely different world as their lips touched. His hands ran up her wavy hair as her hands were tightly wrapped around his back. It was then, that Minh Tuyet felt happiness would expand throughout her life forever and would never end.

Chapter Ten

2007-08-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

“Is the coast clear, Vu?” Minh Tuyet whispered through the small opening of her door. Duong Trieu Vu was on the other side, slightly bending his knees so that he can have a clearer sound of what Minh Tuyet was trying to tell him.
“Don’t worry, he’s in the kitchen,” he whispered back. Minh Tuyet carefully stepped out of her room and made her way to the family room. She saw Luong Tung Quang sitting there when she arrived.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, sitting down and started to drink tea. “My aunt isn’t here anymore, so we no longer have to pretend we get along.” Minh Tuyet said.
“…thank god,” she added under her breath.
“Your father invited me here so we can look over some of the past sales of the antique shop.”
“I see. Well, have fun doing business stuff,” Minh Tuyet said and left the room as her father entered.

“Phi Nhung, what am I gonna do?” Minh Tuyet complained as she paced across her room. “I can’t believe this is happening!”
“All I can say is that you shouldn’t have lied to him in the first place; you wouldn’t be in this situation,” Phi Nhung replied as she continues to sew.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door that made Minh Tuyet gasped.
“That could be him!” she cried. She ran across the room and jumped into her bed and let down the curtains. Phi Nhung opened the door and Tu Quyen ran in.
“Minh Tuyet!” she cried.
Minh Tuyet immediately sat up and pushed the curtain to the side.
“What is it?”
“If I’m not mistaken, then I think Bang Kieu is on his way here right now to give you your father’s request!”
“Wh-wha-what? This is not good!”
A loud but somewhat soft voice yelled outside in a clear voice.
“Madame Tuyet! Your father is requesting for you to report to the antique room!”
“Oh my god, that’s him!” Minh Tuyet said as she fell down onto the bed.
“How are you gonna get out?”
“I have an idea!” Phi Nhung said. She ran to the door and in a high pitched voice, she said, “Come on!”

She walked over to the closet and pulled out a small scarf and handed it to Minh Tuyet.
“Wrap that around your face and madame Tu Quyen will help you to the antique room.”
The girls went along with the plan. After a few minutes, they opened up the door and there stood Bang Kieu with his head bowed down.
“Hello, madams; I am new here, so if I had done anything correctly, please do tell me.”
Tu Quyen smiled as she led Minh Tuyet down the steps, who couldn’t see a thing. Phi Nhung then walked out the door to close it. Bang Kieu looked over to her and whispered,
“She must be really ugly, huh?”
Phi Nhung just smiled and closed the door.

“I think we should have this part painted yellow so it’ll look like the sun’s reflection is shining upon the flowers,” Tuan Ngoc said, pointing to a spot on the vase while Tu Quyen and Minh Tuyet just looked around. The door opened and a guard came in.
“Sir, your business partner is here for the appointment.”
Minh Tuyet turned around and was about to order the guard to get her some water, but she hastily turned around when she saw his face.
“It’s Bang Kieu!” she whispered to Tu Quyen.
Minh Tuyet was pretending to shuffle through some documents as Bang Kieu, Luong Tung Quang, and Tuan Ngoc left the room. She and Tu Quyen quickly left the room and back to her room. Bang Kieu was on the side, wondering why the two mistresses were always sneaking around.

Chapter Nine

2007-08-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

“So you two had to act like you guys loved each other?” Van Quynh snickered.
“Yeah, then he started putting his arms around me and holding me,” Minh Tuyet said as she shuddered.
“You should’ve been there, Van Quynh. He walked up out of nowhere and sat down next to her. I tried not to laugh when I was standing there,” Duong Trieu Vu said. The three of them were at the little shop where Minh Tuyet and Bang Kieu had noodles the other day.
“What about the other guy?” Van Quynh asked.
“What other guy?” Duong Trieu questioned curiously.
“This guy named Bang Kieu,” Van Quynh replied.
“Who is he?”
“He’s someone that Minh Tuyet bumped into.”
“What about him?”
“She likes him,” Van Quynh laughed.
“I do not!” Minh Tuyet protested,
“Well, guess what? She told him that she’s a maid at Lord Tuan Ngoc’s mansion.
“What?” Duong Trieu Vu cried.
“Well, he started to talk about my dad, and he was actually right. So then I just-” Minh Tuyet stopped when she heard a soft and gentle voice call her name.

“Tuyet?”
She turned around and saw Bang Kieu in the sunlight.
“Bang Kieu!” she said when she saw him. She quickly stood up and both of them immediately went into a conversation, completely ignoring Duong Trieu Vu and Van Quynh. Van Quynh leaned over to Duong Trieu vu and whispered in his ear,
“That’s him.”
Duong Trieu Vu deliberately cleared his throat, grabbing Minh Tuyet’s attention.
“Oh! I’m sorry. Let me introduce you guys,” Minh Tuyet, turning away from Bang Kieu and facing the other two.
“Bang Kieu, this is Van Quynh and Duong Trieu Vu, my closest friends. And guys, this is Bang Kieu, my friend. Duong Trieu Vu works with me at my dad’s … um, Lord Tuan Ngoc mansion” Minh Tuyet said.
Bang Kieu sat down and ordered himself a bowl of noodles.
“Nice to meet you,” Duong Trieu Vu said and put out a hand.
“Likewise,” Bang Kieu shook the hand, “so you work with Tuyet?”
“Yeah,” Duong Trieu Vu nodded his head.
“Well, I’m joining you!” Bang Kieu cried in excitement.
“WHAT?” Minh Tuyet choked on her noodles. Van Quynh handed her a glass of water and she gulped it down.
“A friend helped me get in and introduced me to Lord Tuan Ngoc, I’m a guard there now” Bang Kieu explained.
“So-so-so-so-so, you’re gonna … work there? Are you getting a room there?” Minh Tuyet asked with fear in her voice.
“Yeah, I am. I actually have to go now, I’m moving in this afternoon.”
“I’ll eat your noodles,” Duong Trieu Vu raised his hand as Bang Kieu left.
Minh Tuyet started to slap herself and said,
“Wake up! Wake up!”
Van Quynh and Duong Trieu Vu sat there and giggled quietly.
“I can’t believe this is happening! I admit it, Van Quynh! I like him! If he finds out that I’m not who he thinks I am … he’ll be so mad! Then he’ll never talk to me again! Help me!”
“Calm down, Tuyet. I’ll help you,” Duong Trieu Vu said, pulling Minh Tuyet’s hands away from her face.
“How?”
“Well, I work there, too. I know where your room is, so I’ll just show him around and tell him to never be in that area.”
“That’s … actually a smart idea!”
“I know. It is my idea,” Duong Trieu smirked. They continued eating, and little did Duong Trieu Vu knew, Van Quynh was staring at him the whole time.

Chapter Eight

2007-08-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Tu Quyen found Minh Tuyet and Luong Tung Quang talking and laughing in the front building; she felt a sudden stinging pain from somewhere inside her, she didn’t really understand why. She walked over to them and sat down next to Luong Tung Quang.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Nothing, we were just talking about how Quang had that bread stuck on his lips,” Minh Tuyet replied.
“Hey, hey, hey! It wasn’t that funny,” Luong Tung Quang said smiling.
Minh Tuyet pointed to her mouth.
“Then why am I laughing?”
“…because you’re an idiot.”
Tu Quyen laughed loudly at Luong Tung Quang’s comment, causing Minh Tuyet to look over at her strangely. Tu Quyen immediately stopped and smiled. Why did I laugh so loud at his stupid comment? she thought.
After lunch, Minh Tuyet headed off to the antique room with her father, leaving Tu Quyen and Luong Tung Quang alone at the dining table. Tu Quyen felt somewhat nervous, she couldn’t explain why. Suddenly, her heart jumped when Luong Tung Quang spoke up.
“So, how are you?”
“Uh, I’m fine, thanks. You?”
“I’ve been great, thank you. I should go home now. I only came this morning because Tuan Ngoc wanted me to see the antique room.”
“No!”
Luong Tung Quang looked back in surprise.
“I mean…you should say ‘bye’ to Minh Tuyet and my uncle first before leaving.”
“Good idea. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Tu Quyen sat silently as Luong Tung Quang left the dining room. She hit her head, asking herself why she had rejected to him leaving. Why do I care if he goes or not? she thought to herself. Tu Quyen stood up and left the dining room, asking herself dozen of questions that involves Luong Tung Quang.

Chapter Seven

2007-08-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Guest Star: Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen

The next morning, Ky Duyen heard a knock on the door of her guest room; she walked over to it, opened the door, and found herself facing Phi Nhung.
“I’m sorry for the disturbance, Miss Duyen, but Lord Tuan Ngoc has sent for you to join the family in the garden for some tea.
“Tell them I’ll be right there,” Ky Duyen said and closed the door.
It was a few minutes before she arrived to the garden, where she found her brother, her two nieces, and Luong Tung Quang having tea. She took a seat beside Tuan Ngoc and took a look at the table; there were five different varieties of tea to choose from, and a selection of delicious-looking pastry.
“May I?” Ky Duyen asked, pointing to the basket filled with croissants.
“Oh, yes, of course. Help yourself,” replied Tuan Ngoc.
Ky Duyen, Tuan Ngoc, and Luong Tung Quang looked over to Tu Quyen and Minh Tuyet, who were whispering to each other and quietly giggling in between.
“Girls, would you like to share with us what is so amusing?” Tuan Ngoc said.
Minh Tuyet held back a laugh and answered her father.
“We were just saying how stupid Quang looks with that piece of bread stuck to his upper lip,” and right after she finished her sentence, Minh Tuyet broke out laughing, while Tu Quyen was silently giggling beside her. Tu Quyen slapped Minh Tuyet on the arm which made her stop her laughing.
“Oops, I mean…how fine he looked,” Minh Tuyet said, hiding dozen of laughter behind her smile. Luong Tung Quang quickly brushed off his lips with his cheeks bright red from embarrassment.
“This is absolutely delicious!” Ky Duyen said, biting into her second croissant.
“It is, isn’t it? It was baked by our best cook,” Tuan Ngoc said in agreement.
“May I request for her? I want to give her my best compliments.”
“NO!” Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen yelled in unison. Ky Duyen looked over at them with a confused look on her face.
“I mean, she must be very busy…we shouldn’t bother her,” Tu Quyen quickly said. Ky Duyen shook her head.
“No, we should give her our appreciation for these delicious pastries.”
“I agree with your aunt, girls,” Tuan Ngoc spoke up. He turned and beckoned a young guard standing by the small bridge to come over.
“Duong Trieu Vu, go get the cook.”
“Yes, sir!” Duong Trieu Vu said loudly. A few minutes later, a pretty young lady came to the garden; the sight of her made Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen sighed and rolled their eyes. The girl quickly got to her knees. Ky Duyen stood and walked over to her; she bent down and lifted the girl’s chin up to get a better look at the face.
“What is your name, young lady?”
“Thuy Tien, ma’am,” she said with confidence.
“Stand up,” Ky Duyen said, standing up and taking her seat again. “Your pastry really satisfied my hunger. They’re very delicious!”
Thuy Tien bowed her head.
“Thank you, ma’am. But if they looked half as pretty as you, then it’ll be a meal fit for king.”
“Dear, you are so sweet,” Ky Duyen said shyly. Thuy Tien gave a smirk to Minh Tuyet who rolled her eyes.
“Now, tell me…what is the key ingredient to this great-tasting pastry?” Ky Duyen asked. Wanting to say ‘sugar powder’, Thuy Tien hesitated and said,
“Love.”
Ky Duyen opened her mouth in shock and tears ran down her eyes.
“You are the sweetest! Beautiful, too!”
“Thank you, madame,” Thuy Tien said sweetly, and smiled and Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I must return to my duties,” Thuy Tien said.
“Yes, please return to your duties,” Tu Quyen said.
Thuy Tien left the garden leaving Minh Tuyet breathing in frustration and Ky Duyen still complimenting on the pastry. Luong Tung Quang decided to have a little fun; he stood up and walked over to the seat beside Minh Tuyet and sat down with his arms around her. Minh Tuyet immediately felt uncomfortable when she felt the warmth of his body next to hers. She squirmed around her seat trying to get Luong Tung Quang’s hands off her shoulders, but she failed. Minh Tuyet had to accept it for the entire teatime, which caused her to be very furious. Her face was red with anger but on it was always had a smile. Tu Quyen reached onto the table and gave the Minh Tuyet a glass of water, who gulped it down without thinking.
“Well, I must be on my way home now. I’ll visit some other time,” Ky Duyen said and stood up. The entire family followed Ky Duyen out to the main gates and said their farewells. As the sight of Ky Duyen’s carriage was no longer visible, Minh Tuyet violently shrugged Luong Tung Quang’s hands off her shoulders. Luong Tung Quang scratched his head and smiled as Tu Quyen pushed him through the gates back inside.

Chapter Six

2007-08-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

Guest Star: Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen

Minh Tuyet was walking through the outdoor hallways alone when she saw Luong Tung Quang walking towards her. Although she didn’t really like Luong Tung Quang, she knew she had to apologize for ruining his dinner with her personal family matters. She continued striding in the direction of Luong Tung Quang.
“Hello, madame,” Luong Tung Quang said as he bowed down with his hand on his stomach.
“Good morning, sir Luong Tung Quang,” Minh Tuyet said with a soft voice as she made a curtsy.
Both were looking at the flowers in the garden and the sky, not knowing what to say.
“What are you doing here so early?” Minh Tuyet asked.
“Your father invited me over for an attempt of a successful meal again,” Luong Tung Quang smiled.
“Oh, hehe, yeah. Listen I just wanna apologize for what happened.”
“Are you apologizing because I now know you’re a murderer?” Luong Tung Quang chuckled at his own joke and looked away. But Minh Tuyet pulled him by the arm and slapped him. Luong Tung Quang felt a sharp pain on his cheek and quickly touched his cheek with his hand; he looked angrily at Minh Tuyet.
“What are you doing? I was just joking,” Luong Tung Quang yelled.
“How can you joke like that? I actually thought you were different from how I thought you were,” Minh Tuyet said with pain in her voice and tears in her eyes. She stomped away with a rage of fire inside her.
“You were actually gonna give me a chance?” Luong Tung Quang yelled behind her, but with his back towards her.
“Aren’t you afraid I’m gonna kill you?” Minh Tuyet replied without turning around and kept walking.

Tuan Ngoc, Minh Tuyet, Tu Quyen and Luong Tung Quang once again were sitting at the dining table in their same seats. This time, everyone ate in silence. Neither Luong Tung Quang nor Tuan Ngoc tried to whip up a conversation because both were afraid that it would just result into another argument.
“I need all of you to hear this,” Tuan Ngoc said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. All three them looked over to Tuan Ngoc and listened attentively.
“Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen’s aunt is visiting today,”
“That’s it?” Tu Quyen asked.
“No…she wrote me a letter in advance telling me about her visit today. Ky Duyen said that Minh Tuyet is now twenty-one, which means should she at least be in a serious relationship by now. She told me that …, uh…um” Tuan Ngoc paused.
“Said what, father?” Minh Tuyet asked anxiously.
“She said that if you’re not in a relationship, then she would find you a husband, whom you would have to marry,” Tuan Ngoc finished.
“What?” Both Luong Tung Quang and Minh Tuyet yelled at the same time, and then they looked at each other.
“Now, I don’t really agree to this because you never know what kind of men Ky Duyen brings to the table…so I need to ask you and Luong Tung Quang a favor,” Tuan Ngoc said to Minh Tuyet, “I need you to pretend to be in love with each other…”
“No.” Minh Tuyet replied right away.
“Tuyet, would you rather to pretend to be in love with someone you hate but you know, or would you rather marry a man who you hate and don’t know him, AND he’s probably older…a lot older,” Tu Quyen spoke up. Tuan Ngoc nodded his head in agreement. Minh Tuyet reluctantly nodded her head, agreeing to the plan.

“Darlings! You two have grown into two gorgeous ladies!” Ky Duyen said, hugging Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen in her arms with Tuan Ngoc and Luong Tung standing to the side in the family room. Ky Duyen turned to Luong Tung Quang and observed him.
“And who is this fine gentleman?” she asked.
Tu Quyen nudged Minh Tuyet’s arm, who suddenly said,
“Oh, he’s um…my…fiancé?”
“You don’t sound too sure? But how can you not be? Look at him.”
Luong Tung Quang smiled and said,
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Now, when is the date?” Ky Duyen questioned Minh Tuyet.
“For what?”
“Well, you say he’s your fiancé, what’s the date of the wedding?”
“OH! Um…we’re not sure. We haven’t established that yet, you see.”
“Ha! You better hurry up, a guy with looks like him shouldn’t stay single that long,” Ky Duyen said and winked at Minh Tuyet.
“Don’t worry…auntie. I will always stay loyal to this beautiful lady,” Luong Tung Quang said and pulled Minh Tuyet to his side, who had a hard time smiling the entire time she was standing there.
“That is so sweet! Such young love! Look at them, brother,” Ky Duyen said to Tuan Ngoc who smiled at the fake couple. Luong Tung Quang had a huge grin on his face with his arms around Minh Tuyet. There was a knock on the door and Phi Nhung stepped in.
“Dinner is ready, sirs and madams,” she said.
All five of them stood up and headed for the dining room. Luong Tung Quang and Minh Tuyet left the room hand in hand, while Tu Quyen and Phi Nhung were giggling right behind them.

“So I’ve been thinking, we should set the wedding date! I can only stay for a couple of weeks,” Ky Duyen said during lunch.
“What?” Minh Tuyet asked, choking on her soup.
“I’m saying that we should set the date of the wedding soon. I wanna be there to witness this wonderful event!”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, auntie! Um…you should go home. Uncle Trinh Hoi would miss you a lot! You should go!”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re kicking me out, Minh Tuyet.”
“No, no, no. I didn’t mean that…I was…uh…just saying that…”
“What’s going on?” Ky Duyen put down her bowl.
“You always stammer when you’re nervous. What is going on?”
“We have to be honest with her, Tuyet,” Luong Tung Quang joined in. Minh Tuyet looked over to him with an upside-down smile.
“What are you doing?” she said through her clenched teeth.
“Miss Duyen, we’re not… OW!” Luong Tung Quang suddenly bellowed across the room, Minh Tuyet had stomped on his foot.
“You’re not what…?” Ky Duyen asked.
“We’re not really engaged,” Luong Tung Quang continued with pain in his voice.
“What?”
“We were afraid that if we told you the truth, you would take Minh Tuyet away from me and
find her another husband. And I love her too much, so I decided to make up a little white lie. I’m sorry.”
Minh Tuyet looked over to Luong Tung Quang, she was completely dumbfounded.
“Why aren’t you two engaged yet?” Ky Duyen questioned.
Before Minh Tuyet can answer by stammering again, Luong Tung Quang jumped in.
“Because Tuyet isn’t ready for marriage yet, even though we’ve been together for a long time, she feels as though she needs to get to know me more before we become betrothed.”
“That’s very smart of you, Tuyet. I’m glad to hear this; it proves you have grown more mature.”
Minh Tuyet smiled her sweet smile. They continued eating; Tuan Ngoc and Tu Quyen sat there listening into the three’s conversation in shock; the maids on the side were surprised that Luong Tung Quang didn’t receive a black eye from Minh Tuyet yet. After all were finished with dinner, they walked out the main gates and said good bye to Luong Tung Quang as he stepped into his carriage. Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen were admiring the bright stars in the sky as Tuan Ngoc and Ky Duyen waved good bye to Luong Tung Quang. As they turned around and walked back inside, Bang Kieu passed by soon enough to catch a glimpse of Minh Tuyet’s beautiful face.

Chapter Five

2007-08-14T19:20:00.001-07:00

Deciding to breathe in a little fresh air after the incident during dinner the night before, Tu Quyen took a little stroll by the lake behind the mansion. To her dismay, she spotted Minh Tuyet there, looking out onto the distance. Tu Quyen was surprised to see that Phi Nhung wasn’t there beside Minh Tuyet. She went over to the bench Minh Tuyet was sitting on.
“Where’s Phi Nhung?” Tu Quyen asked as she took a seat beside Minh Tuyet.
“I gave her a day off to visit her family,” Minh Tuyet replied, her eyes still glued to the sunrise in the distance.
“Does your father know?
“No. I thought he should be the one that didn’t know something for a change.”
“Look, Minh Tuyet…”
Minh Tuyet stood up before Tu Quyen could finish her sentence, but Tu Quyen hung onto Minh Tuyet’s arms.
“Minh Tuyet, I wanna apologize for what happened last night, Tu Quyen said. Minh Tuyet looked down and smiled.
“You’re not the one at fault, you were just telling the truth.”
“Stop trying be strong about this! Why can’t you just once let your feelings out?”
Minh Tuyet sat back down again and gently shook Tu Quyen’s hands off her arms.
“I’m just really upset about this. I don’t understand why he never told me.”
“He didn’t want you to feel hurt or guilty.”
“Well, all I can say is that…that’s exactly how you made me feel.”
“And I am truly sorry for that,” Tu Quyen said as she scooted closer to Minh Tuyet.
“It’s alright,” Minh Tuyet replied.
“I just… I got so caught up in the moment and I said the wrong thing. I had to apologize to Uncle this morning. He was mad at first, and then he cooled down. He told me that he can finally take this situation off his back; he’s been perturbed by it for all these years.”
Suddenly, Minh Tuyet threw her arms around Tu Quyen’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Quyen! You lost your father because of me… I’m so sorry!” Minh Tuyet cried as millions of tears ran down her cheeks. Tu Quyen patted Minh Tuyet on the back and consoled her, as she herself, tried to swallow her tears at the thought of her father.

Chapter Four

2007-08-14T19:18:00.002-07:00

When Minh Tuyet arrived at the dining table, her father, Tu Quyen, and Luong Tung Quang were already there. She took the seat on the right from her father, so she was three seats away from Luong Tung Quang.
“Sorry I’m late. I was just –”
“…getting ready, we know. Make sure you’re faster next time,” Tu Quyen rudely cut Minh Tuyet off, who rolled her eyes at Tu Quyen and smiled sweetly to her father.
“I don’t believe you two are acquainted yet,” Tuan Ngoc said, directing to Tu Quyen and Luong Tung Quang, “Luong Tung Quang, this is Tu Quyen, my niece. And Tu Quyen, this is Luong Tung Quang, he’s –”
“Someone I’ll never marry,” Minh Tuyet said under her breath, making it loud enough for everyone at the table to hear, even the maids on the side laughed softly.
Tuan Ngoc turned over to his daughter with a stern look on his face.
“Oh, I apologize, father,” Minh Tuyet said right away.
“You do know she doesn’t mean it, right Uncle?” Tu Quyen said.
“What did you say?” Minh Tuyet’s voice suddenly turned cold again.
“I believe I was talking to my uncle.”
“Who is my father...”
“Just because I’m talking to your father, does not mean I’m talking to you.”
“But you’re talking about me, so might as well tell me what you’re gonna say.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“Is that the best you can say?” Minh Tuyet rolled her eyes.

“STOP IT!” Tuan Ngoc yelled, slamming his hand on the table. “Now I want to have a civilized dinner with you two not bickering at each other all the time. We have a guest here tonight, so you guys can not keep this kind of behavior up. No more arguing!”
“Yes, father,” Minh Tuyet said, her eyes staring down at her empty plate.
“Yes, uncle,” Tu Quyen said.
Luong Tung Quang sat on the side smiling.
“Well, let’s eat,” Tuan Ngoc said. After those words, everyone carefully and gently picked out things from the plates to eat. There was silence for a couple of minutes, but Luong Tung Quang decided to try and start up a conversation.
“Well, how old are you, Miss Tu Quyen?” he asked.
“Don’t you know that it’s rude to ask a lady what her age is?” she replied.
“Oh, well. I apologize, madame.”
“Twenty-one,” Tu Quyen said, reaching across the table to pick up food with her chopsticks, “you?”
“Me?” Luong Tung Quang asked, swallowing his soup.
“No, I’m talking to Minh Tuyet, who’s the same age as me. Duh, you!”
“Oh, I’m twenty-three,” he replied.

“Hey, hey! Why did you tell him my age?” Minh Tuyet asked furiously.
“It doesn’t matter, if he knows my age, then he knows your age,” Tu Quyen replied.
“But he doesn’t know we’re the same age!”
“Now he does! Geeze!”
Tuan Ngoc slammed his hand down on the table again.
“Did you two not hear what I said earlier? No bickering!” he yelled.
Minh Tuyet and Tu Quyen spent the next fifteen minutes in silence while Luong Tung Quang and Tuan Ngoc were immerged into a conversation about business. Minh Tuyet looked at Tu Quyen and rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue; unfortunately, Tu Quyen saw that and took the opportunity to flick some rice at Minh Tuyet when Tuan Ngoc wasn’t looking. Suddenly, Minh Tuyet stood up and reached across the table to where the bowl of soup was. She took a spoonful and put it over Tu Quyen’s bowl, well actually, a little further. The spoon was actually just above Tu Quyen’s laps.
“Here, cousin. Have some soup,” Minh Tuyet tipped over the spoon and the hot boiling soup hit the clothes of Tu Quyen.
“Oops! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, you want some ice?” Minh Tuyet said with a huge smile on her face.
“No it’s quite alright!” Tu Quyen sighed and grinned, hiding her pain. She stood up and used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of salad, put into Minh Tuyet’s bowl, and said,
“There, you go cousin. You should be eating more of that…”
“Are you calling me fat?” Minh Tuyet asked in shock.
“No, no, no. I’m just saying that you should eat salad more often. Instead of those foods with all those fat in it, because it’s obvious you have enough of that already.”
“Okay, that’s it!” Minh Tuyet yelled, standing up, causing her chair to knock over.
“What?!” Tu Quyen stood up, and walked over to where Minh Tuyet was standing. She came up so close that their faces were almost touching each others. Luong Tung Quang quickly went over to them and pulled them apart. Tuan Ngoc was keeping Tu Quyen from hurting Minh Tuyet while Luong Tung Quang was keeping Minh Tuyet from hurting Tu Quyen.
“That’s it! I’ve had enough of you, thinking you’re better than everyone else in this mansion!” Tu Quyen shouted from behind Tuan Ngoc.
“OH! I think I’m better than everyone else? If anyone thinks they’re better than everyone else, it’s you! Always bossing around the maids and guards for no apparent reason!”
Luong Tung Quang and Tuan Ngoc stepped away from the two girls, they both wanted to hear what each girl had to say.
“What are you talking about?” Tu Quyen asked who was frustrated.
“You know what I’m talking about! Always ordering maids to go get you a cup of water!”
“What’s so wrong about that?
“…when you already have a cup of water in front of you!
“I don’t care. Maybe I’d like another cup after I finished the one I already have.”
“Do you NOT see how unreasonable you’re being?” Minh Tuyet scoffed.
“No, actually, I don’t. But don’t you think you should be acting at least a little bit guilty?”
“What’re you talking about?”
“Trying to act like you’re innocent, now, are you? Want me to refresh everyone’s memory?”
“NO, TU QUYEN!” Tuan Ngoc screamed at Tu Quyen.
“What is it?!” Minh Tuyet bellowed across the room.
“Do not tell her, Tu Quyen.” Tuan Ngoc said.
“What is it, father? Tell me, Tu Quyen!”
“You know how your mother and my father died?” Tu Quyen asked coldly.
“Yeah…what about it?” Minh Tuyet replied.
“You do remember it’s a fire?”
“NO!” Tuan Ngoc yelled.
“Well, in case you never knew. You were the one that caused it!” Tu Quyen screeched.
“TU QUYEN!” Tuan Ngoc shouted.
“What?” Minh Tuyet asked confused.
“Your mother and my father were in the antique room looking at the vases and China sets, deciding what to sell in the shop. You were in the kitchen, pretending to be a maid. When you saw no one was there, you decided to mess around with the stove and woods. But little did you know, Phi Nhung saw everything and she told us what happened. You caused the fire! You caused my aunt and my father to die! How can you live so innocently?”
“…father, is this true?” Minh Tuyet asked with her eyes watery.
Tuan Ngoc said nothing and looked down to his feet. Tears suddenly slid down Minh Tuyet’s pale cheeks.
“No, you’re all lying,” Minh Tuyet shook her head, “YOU’RE ALL LYING!”
Minh Tuyet ran back to her room as Phi Nhung tried to catch up. By the time she ran back to her room, Minh Tuyet’s eyes were puffy, watery, and red. She slammed the door behind her, making Phi Nhung stop abruptly.
This is NOT true. Tu Quyen was just making up stuff… THIS IS NOT TRUE! Minh Tuyet thought, her hands covering her ears. She ran over to her bed, where she cried until she fell asleep, dreaming of the day of the fire.

Chapter Three

2007-08-14T19:18:00.001-07:00

“So, what’s this guy’s name?” Phi Nhung asked as she gently brushed powder onto Minh Tuyet’s rosy cheeks.
“Bang Kieu,” Minh Tuyet replied with a sigh.
“Wow, I wonder why you always meet guys with such nice names,” Phi Nhung joked.
“Well, he seems like a cute guy.”
“You know, ma’am, Lord Tuan Ngoc would never approve of this…You sneaking out to meet a guy that you bump into? Especially if he’s a peasant!”
“Yeah, well, you’re not gonna say anything, and I’m definitely not saying anything; he’ll never find out.”
“Well, what if you get caught?”
“I’ll be careful, I promise,” with that, Minh Tuyet stood up hastily and quietly snuck out the front gates. It was a good thing that all the guards and maids were on break and they were in the kitchen eating, because that was an advantage for Minh Tuyet. She walked out onto the roads made of stone and walked down to the river; she was wearing a raggedy dress that she pulled out of her closet earlier. When she got to the river, she saw Bang Kieu throwing rocks into the river.
“Hi,” Minh Tuyet said softly, tapping Bang Kieu on the shoulders.
“Oh, hello; sorry, I didn’t see you,” he replied.
“It’s alright…so…um…what did you wanna talk to me…about?”
“Well, really, I just wanted to apologize about what happened. But I guess I couldn’t call you out just for that … so I’ll treat you to some noodles?” Bang Kieu said, scratching his head. Minh Tuyet let out a chuckle.
“Sounds great,” she said, and they both walked to a little food shop.
Both were both enjoying their bowls of noodles and watching little kids running back and forward as their mother chased them, holding onto a basket filled with that night’s dinner.

“So, are you new here?” Bang Kieu asked suddenly, making Minh Tuyet choke.
“No, I…uh… work around here,” Minh Tuyet replied after sipping her water.
“Oh, I see. Unlike you, I don’t have a job yet. I just arrived for about two weeks, and already, I’ve heard so much about the city’s businessman, Tuan Ngoc. Do you know him?”
“Me? Of course, I’m his dau-,” Minh Tuyet stopped abruptly; she wasn’t supposed to expose her identity. She thought for a while and then continued,
“Of course I have. You have to be living under a rock to not know who Tuan Ngoc is.”
“Oh. Hehe, yeah, I guess. To tell you the truth, I don’t really like this Tuan Ngoc guy,” Bang Kieu started, “I don’t know, I just think he’s too arrogant, don’t you think?”
Minh Tuyet reluctantly nodded, trying to hide her face as she drank her water.
“Well, I’m not saying that he’s acting off the line or anything. He just sounds really mean, that’s all.”
“I’ve been living here my whole life, and I can assure you that he has done nothing but good things for this city.”
“That’s your opinion, but I’ve been hearing a lot of people talking about him.”
“Like what…?”
“I’m not sure, I’m just sure it’s not good things.”
“Oh,” Minh Tuyet said and continued drinking her water.
“Well, thanks for coming out here today. Hope I can see you again,” Bang Kieu said, standing up. Minh Tuyet stood up and they both walked down the road again. They were both engaged in a conversation that Minh Tuyet didn’t really notice where they were going, but of course, her feet always drag her to her house even though she’s not in control. When they were in front of Tuan Ngoc’s mansion, Minh Tuyet suddenly started to feel nervous.
“You live here?” Bang Kieu asked anxiously.
“Uh…no…well, yeah. I … uh … I…,” Minh Tuyet stuttered.
“This road only leads to the mansion.”
“Yeah, it’s … because … I … uh … I work here,” Minh Tuyet lied.
“You work here? Like a maid?”
“Yeah…I’m a maid here,” Minh Tuyet stammered. Just then, the front gate opened and Tu Quyen walked out. Minh Tuyet gasped and pulled Bang Kieu behind a bush. She waited until Tu Quyen was out of sight, then she pulled Bang Kieu back onto the road.
“What’s going on?” Bang Kieu asked.
“That was my cous-. I mean, that was Tu Quyen…madame Tu Quyen. I don’t really like her that much, that’s why. If she saw me outside, she would’ve started yelling at me…again.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, okay. Bye!” Minh Tuyet yelled as she ran into the front gate and quietly closed it behind her. On the other side of the wall, Minh Tuyet stood with her back to the wall. What was I thinking? she thought. If that stupid Tu Quyen saw me with Bang Kieu, she would’ve laughed and then snitched on me. Ugh, now I have to be careful when going out! She quietly walked across the field and into her building, where Phi Nhung sat waiting.
“I was wondering when you were coming home!” Phi Nhung cried, pulling Minh Tuyet into the room and closed the door.
“Why are you so late? My heart was racing when I heard Lord Tuan Ngoc’s voice going pass the room. I sat in here the whole entire time!” Phi Nhung said.
“Don’t worry. I told you I would be careful; I didn’t get caught! But Tu Quyen almost saw me,” Minh Tuyet replied, going behind the curtains and changing into a more decorative gown.
“Well, let’s get your ready for dinner,” Phi Nhung said.
“Dinner? I just saw Tu Quyen left.”
“I think she went to tell the guards to get someone.”
“Once again, a simple boring dinner with the two same people…just like any other evenings.”
“Actually, you’re having dinner with three people today.”
“Three? Who’s the other person?” Minh Tuyet said, walking out behind the curtains and sat down on a chair, gracefully brushing her hair.
“Sir Luong Tung Quang is joining you.”
“Ugh, him again?”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s too … arrogant.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to get along with him.”
“This might sound silly, but I wish I could be my other identity tonight,” Minh Tuyet said with a smile, and walked off towards the dining building, leaving Phi Nhung in confusion.

Chapter Two

2007-08-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

A young girl was standing beside the busy road in the market. She was looking left and right, but she wasn’t crossing the street. After a few minutes, the person she was waiting for finally came.
“I’m sorry I’m late, Van Quynh. My dad was trying to arrange another marriage for me,” Minh Tuyet said.
“Let me guess. You rejected him even though he had a nice name and is extremely good looking, because you think he's after the money, not you,” Van Quynh replied with a smile.
“You know me so well,” said Minh Tuyet.
They were walking down the dirty road, passing carriages and little stands where people were selling food or accessories. They stopped by a little river and sat down on the ground, with their feet hanging into the water.
“Why are you wearing clothes like that? Weren’t you supposed to meet a gentleman today?” Van Quynh asked.
“Yeah, but I knew I wasn’t gonna like him so I just wanted to wear something simple; no need to impress him. Besides, I was gonna meet you anyways,” Minh Tuyet replied.
“Well, even if you dressed beautifully, people would never suspect you as the daughter of Lord Tuan Ngoc. Every villager knows that Lord Tuan Ngoc’s daughter doesn’t like to be in the public. They don’t even know your name, Tuyet! They’ll just probably think you’re a rich girl visiting.”
“Yeah, but you never know. Me dressing like this would just make people think I’m a maid, which is a good thing, I guess.”
“You know how many girls wanna take your place if you don’t want it?”
“Yeah, well…I wanna be just a regular girl. Like you.”
“Well, I wanna be in your place. Too bad we weren’t long lost twins,” Van Quynh said, making Minh Tuyet giggle. They stood up and walked to their favorite little shop beside the alley; the owner always thinks that Minh Tuyet and Van Quynh can’t afford things there because of the way they dressed. On the way there, Minh Tuyet and Van Quynh saw a bunch of kites soaring in the sky. Minh Tuyet was amazed by it; she never flew a kite before… Suddenly, she bumped into something, or something bumped into her. It didn’t take Minh Tuyet long to realize that it was a ‘someone’.
“Hey! Watch where you’re go-” Minh Tuyet stopped when she saw a man. He was very good looking.
“I’m sorry, ma’am! I was just looking at the kites, and I didn’t see you walking,” the man said.
“Oh, it’s alright. I was watching it, too,” Minh Tuyet replied sweetly with a smile.
They looked at each other for a little while; after a few minutes Van Quynh turned to Minh Tuyet and said,
“Uh… I’ll just go to the shop first.”
“Huh? Oh, okay… you go ahead,” Minh Tuyet replied with her eyes still on the man.
“Hi, my name is Bang Kieu,” he said and held out a hand.
“I’m…” Minh Tuyet thought for a while if she should give out her real name; she remembered about Van Quynh saying that the villagers not knowing her name, so she replied,
“I’m Minh Tuyet.”
“What a beautiful name.”
“Thank you. You have a nice name yourself.”
Bang Kieu smiled as a way of saying ‘thanks’. They stood around looking at the sky, then the ground, then each other for a while. Minh Tuyet suddenly remembered about Van Quynh waiting for her at the shop.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go!” Minh Tuyet yelled as she ran towards the direction of the shop. Bang Kieu suddenly grabbed onto her arm, making her stop abruptly, almost falling.
“How about I wait for you tomorrow at around noon? By the river?” he said.
“Uh… I’m not sure. I…guess. Okay,” Minh Tuyet replied hastily and ran off. Today turned out great after all, Minh Tuyet thought.

Chapter One

2007-08-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

“Madame, are you done yet?” Phi Nhung asked impatiently.
Minh Tuyet walked out from behind the curtains and held her simple dress by the tips and raised it.
“Yeah, yeah. To tell you the truth, I don’t even wanna meet this guy. He’s probably rich, which means he’s probably spoiled, which means I won’t like him, which mea-”
“How about you just meet him first?” Phi Nhung cut Minh Tuyet off.
Minh Tuyet breathed in and gave a loud sigh. She sat down in front of her dresser and looked at her reflection, fixing her hair and putting on makeup.
“What did my dad say his name was?” Minh Tuyet asked as she pressed her lips against a red piece of paper, making her lips cherry- blossom- red.
“Luong Tung Quang, ma’am; it sounds like a very nice name.”
“Well, a nice name doesn’t always come with a nice personality. He probably won’t even like me, just the money I’ll be inheriting.”
“Let’s just give him a chance.”
“You know, if he wasn’t my dad’s best friend’s son, I wouldn’t even consider giving the guy a chance,” Minh Tuyet said and sat up, straightening her dress.

“Sir Luong Tung Quang had arrive, Miss Tuyet! Your father, sir Tuan Ngoc, had requested for you to report to the front building,” a guard yelled in a deep voice from outside the room. Phi Nhung hung on gently to Minh Tuyet’s arms and they both walked out to where Luong Tung Quang and Minh Tuyet’s father were having tea and small talk. When they arrived at the door, Minh Tuyet walked straight to her father and sat down in the chair beside him.
“Sorry I’m late, Dad. I was just getting ready to meet this fine gentleman,” Minh Tuyet said with a sweet voice, and she looked over to Luong Tung Quang.
“And it was worth the wait. You look beautiful,” Luong Tung Quang complimented.
“So, father. Why did you want me to meet him?” Minh Tuyet asked her father; completely ignoring Luong Tung Quang.
“Well, I was going to see if you two were getting along, and have things in common. But honey, why are you wearing such a simple dress when sir Luong Tung Quang is a very important guest? ” Tuan Ngoc replied.
“I have to meet my friend down at the market later. Just so you know, I didn’t throw a fit when I saw him; I guess we do get along. Hmm, oh, and we both agree that I look beautiful today. I guess that’s it? Okay, well, I have to go meet my friend now. Bye,” and with that, Minh Tuyet walked towards the main gates with grace. Arriving at the gate, she realized that Luong Tung Quang was following her, so she turned around.
“What do you want?” Minh Tuyet asked angrily.
“I didn’t think you properly thanked me for the compliment I gave you; nor do I think we properly greeted each other. Let’s start again. Nice to meet you, ma’am; my name is Luong Tung Quang,” he said and he took her by the hand and kissed it softly.
“Hi, my name is Minh Tuyet. I’m the daughter of Tuan Ngoc; you know... the man who owns the most successful business in this city. The one with all the riches? I do believe that’s what you’re after, so why not annoy that instead of me?”
Luong Tung Quang chuckled softly and shook his head.
“I like you, Madame; you’re a very straight-forward person. Well, I would like for you to know that I’m not after the money.”
“Then what are you after? Don’t even say that you’re after me, because we’ve only known each other for a few minutes, which means you only like me for my looks,” Minh Tuyet said, and folded her arms. They both stood in silence for a couple of seconds, then Minh Tuyet turned her back and continued her way to meeting her friend in the market, leaving Luong Tung Quang smiling.