Foraging
740 Words
At first, Trinh Trieu didn’t respond, only coming back to his senses when Linh Du called out again:
“Trinh Dai! What are you doing?”
He finally snapped out of it.
“What is it?”
Linh Du frowned.
“Light the lamp, then bring me some warm water.”
Trinh Trieu took a deep breath, stood up, and headed outside.
“Got it.”
He returned with a fire striker, lit the lamp, then went to the kitchen to fetch a basin of warm water.
The moment Linh Du saw it, she frowned again.
“Did you test the water?”
Trinh Trieu blinked.
“Test it?”
Linh Du’s expression darkened.
“Trying to scald me to death?”
Trinh Trieu fell silent, looked down at the basin, then quietly added some cool water to it.
After that, she made him fetch a comb, watch the boiling pot, and run all sorts of errands.
It wasn’t until Linh Du lay down on the bed that Trinh Trieu could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He washed his face quickly and climbed into bed. There was no time to bathe, so he just wiped himself down briefly.
The bed wasn’t large—Linh Du lay on the inside, while Trinh Trieu stayed near the edge, as if afraid of touching her.
Linh Du quickly fell asleep from exhaustion, but Trinh Trieu lay awake, unable to sleep.
He—someone who had once been an emperor—now found himself hauling water, boiling it, and being ordered around?
Yes. Before he ended up here, he had been the ruler of a nation.
Raised in luxury from birth, he was surrounded by fine food and silk garments. Even after taking the throne and leading military campaigns, his life had never been as harsh as it was now.
He died from exhaustion. The country was poor, torn by internal and external conflicts. He had done everything he could to leave behind a legacy, but before turning thirty, he collapsed.
For the sake of the nation, he had no wife or children—not even anyone truly loyal beside him.
Who would’ve thought that after death, he’d awaken in the body of a poor peasant man, one with a pregnant wife?
Trinh Trieu couldn’t help but wonder: what became of his country after he died? Did his successor manage to hold onto the throne?
Lost in thought, he glanced at Linh Du’s belly in the darkness. Strangely enough, his final thought before drifting off was—
…Would they ever get to eat meat regularly?
The next morning, Trinh Trieu woke up very early. Linh Du was still asleep.
He quietly got out of bed and went to the yard to wash his face. Trinh Dai Son and Trinh Shi were just waking up, and Tien Shi was already tending the fire to prepare breakfast.
Trinh Shi said,
“Eldest, take the day off today. Let the others go to the fields—stay home and look after your wife.”
She knew her son had worked hard for the past two weeks and even brought money home. A day of rest was well-deserved.
Trinh Trieu didn’t refuse, but he had another plan in mind—he wanted to explore the nearby mountains.
Thanh Ha village was surrounded by large hills. Sometimes, wild boars would come down and destroy the fields. Whenever that happened, the village head would organize people to chase them off.
Trinh Trieu wanted to see if he could find anything edible or sellable up in the mountains.
He had looked around the house the day before—just a few hens, a small vegetable garden behind the house, and barren soil. Feeding ten mouths like this was no small feat.
The house itself was shabby, with a low dirt structure and a thatched roof that creaked in the wind. Whenever it rained, water leaked through like a sieve.
Even daily water had to be fetched from the river. He had noticed yesterday that the water jar was already half-empty.
“I’ll go fetch water,” he said, grabbing the buckets and walking off before anyone could respond.
On the way back, he happened to run into Lam Thach.
Trinh Trieu merely smirked, raised a fist in mock threat—
Lam Thach turned pale and fled on the spot.
Trinh Trieu chuckled to himself and calmly carried the water home.
- Writer
