Everyone has to do it
799 Words
Lam Thach watched Trinh Trieu’s departing figure and spat on the ground angrily:
“Let’s see how long you can keep acting smug!”
By the time Trinh Trieu returned home carrying water, dawn had broken. A fire had been lit in the kitchen, and the faint scent of wood smoke drifted through the air. Just as he set down the buckets, a familiar voice rang out from inside the house:
“Ta Shi wants warm water.”
It was the voice of Ta Shi — Linh Du.
Trinh Trieu paused for a moment, silently thinking to himself that he, once a proper emperor, had now become a water-carrying errand boy.
But when he thought about her six-month pregnant belly, he held back his complaints, fetched some warm water, and brought it into the room.
Then Linh Du called again:
“Where’s the mirror? And the comb too.”
Trinh Trieu said nothing, silently doing as she asked.
Only after she finished washing her hair did he get the chance to clean himself — and even then, he only managed to dip a towel in water and give his face a quick wipe.
That morning’s breakfast was still nothing more than thin porridge and a plate of overly salty pickled vegetables. The whole family sat gathered around an old wooden table.
The pickles were so salty that just one bite required several gulps of porridge to swallow.
Only Linh Du had something extra — a boiled egg.
Trinh Trieu glanced at the egg, then at her belly.
Fine. She was pregnant — he could go without.
The three little girls sat in silence, none of them daring to speak.
Tieu Me, sitting beside Tieu Yen, whispered, “The egg smells so good…”
Tieu Lang stretched her neck to peek at Ta Shi’s bowl, then lowered her head again.
None of them had ever eaten proper meat or eggs before, but they were sensible and knew not to ask.
After breakfast, everyone headed off to work in the fields.
Trinh Trieu planned to sneak into the mountains to assess the situation, but just as he stepped out the door, Linh Du called him back:
“Where do you think you're going? The laundry hasn’t been washed yet!”
Trinh Trieu stopped in his tracks.
“Isn’t laundry women’s work?” he asked.
Linh Du crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’m pregnant. You want a pregnant woman to bend over and wash clothes? What if I have a miscarriage?”
Then she added another line, as if condemning all of his ancestors:
“You’re the baby’s father. If you don’t wash them, who will?”
Trinh Trieu was at a loss for words.
At that moment, the kids heard the commotion and came running over.
Tieu Me piped up quickly, “Uncle, I’ll carry water for Auntie! I’ll wash my own clothes!”
Tieu Yen and Tieu Lang chimed in as well:
“We can help too, Auntie!”
Linh Du glanced at Trinh Trieu and said flatly:
“See? Even children know how to help. And you…”
Trinh Trieu had no choice but to pick up the buckets and go draw water again.
Once the basin was full, he tossed the clothes in, let them soak for a bit, then was about to hang them up to dry.
Seeing this from afar, Linh Du nearly choked.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Trinh Trieu frowned.
“I washed them already.”
Linh Du put her hands on her hips, staring at him like he was some strange creature:
“You call that washing? No scrubbing, no wringing, didn’t even change the water! You planning to wear filth?”
Trinh Trieu was speechless.
Back in the palace, servants had always done the laundry.
Only now did he realize — laundry was an art.
Tieu Lang ran over to demonstrate:
“You have to scrub the cuffs and collars really well! You can even use a stick to beat them!”
She gently struck the clothes with a stick, sending water splashing everywhere.
Tieu Me added,
“You also have to change the water and wring them out, or else they’ll smell.”
Linh Du sat under the eaves, nodding:
“See? Watch and learn.”
Trinh Trieu remained silent, beginning his laundry lessons from three little girls.
A while later, when the clothes were finally washed and hanging across the yard, Trinh Trieu let out a sigh of relief.
His hair was dripping wet, and his shirt clung to his back with sweat.
He looked up at the sky — it was still early. After thinking for a moment, he said:
“I’m going into the mountains. You all stay home.”
- Writer
