Huu Quan keeps fidgeting with the coin in the brocade bag all the way back.
Thai Thuy is happy because the person he cares about likes him, but who can be happy when their gift is given more attention than the giver, so he asks calmly:
"Hey, does that silver coin captivate more than me?"
Huu Quan looks over, smiles shyly, and slips the silver coin into his pocket, the chest pocket of his silk shirt:
"No, I just really love it. It means a lot more than the things I was given."
Thai Thuy laughs heartily. He drives with one hand, and with the other, he grabs Huu Quan's hand.
"It's not even the most meaningful. It's just that you seem to get a lot of meaningless gifts."
"Those gifts don't strike me as cliché. Only a few of them are special." Huu Quan responds. "That includes this silver coin."
Thai Thuy nods, his gaze focusing on the winding big road.
The road back to town is bathed in purple and pink afternoon light. Huu Quan places his hand on the window sill and stares out the window.
"You appear to enjoy sunsets."
"Yes. Sunsets are my favorite. Dawn is also pretty. However, I still prefer the sunset. They are violet." Huu Quan is dozing off.
Their vehicle drives through a small town. The night market is not very crowded since it opens early, but the torches are already lit. Huu Quan's eyes brighten and he points in that direction, saying:
"Thai Thuy, I want to go to the fair."
Thai Thuy isn't in a hurry, he has nothing to do today, so there's no reason for him to rush back to the palace. Furthermore, he is a player himself, so a brief visit to the fair is not a problem.
Huu Quan is most likely a lively and enthusiastic man.
Huu Quan always maintains a disciplined demeanor at home, in the palace, or when conversing in formal places, resembling a young man trying to be an adult. Huu Quan is probably more like his age when he is having fun, innocent and mischievous. Huu Quan also enjoys snacks, green and red teas of various colors, and unnamed flowers with tiny rustic flowers. Thai Thuy reaches out and plucks a small branch from Huu Quan's bouquet, placing it on his short, sparse bangs.
"Ha ha, do I look pretty?" Huu Quan tucks his hair to look like a girl.
"You're pretty, like a girl." Thai Thuy chuckles.
"Non, je suis un garçon" Huu Quan pretends to be serious, clasps his hands behind his back, puffs out his chest, and knocks on the flower fan like a fragrant wooden fan before laughing.
Thai Thuy shakes his head in defeat, putting the flower in his hair:
"Alors je serai la fille!"
Huu Quan laughs even louder, reaching up with his slender hand to lift Thai Thuy's chin:
"My Lady!"
Thai Thuy pretends to frown and waves his hand:
"Oh my, you look like a delinquent teasing a good girl."
"You're more like it." Huu Quan scratches his flower-stained bangs while also helping Thai Thuy in cleaning the flower dust from his hair.
Hundreds of oil lamps in front of the stalls lit up like fireflies dancing in the night sky. Huu Quan smiles happily as he leans on Thai Thuy's shoulder.
If only things could stay this way. If only he could stay with him forever.
The atmosphere around Huu Quan suddenly thickens, as if danger is approaching. He can feel it in his bones as if someone is pointing a gun at his head. This was the feeling he had once felt when a French mandarin pressed the muzzle of a shotgun to his head and another forcibly removed his father.
Huu Quan looks around, concerned.
"What happened?" Thai Thuy inquires.
"I'm scared." Huu Quan trembles "There's someone with a gun nearby."
Thai Thuy scowls and takes a closer look around. The crowd around Thai Thuy laughs loudly, he is unfamiliar with guns and does not recognize them.
"How can you be sure?"
"I'm not sure, but it feels familiar." Huu Quan becomes terrified. "Let's go back, okay?"
Thai Thuy says nothing, simply nods, and turns to return Huu Quan to the car. A loud bang is heard before the two can leave. People flee in fear. Thai Thuy can only hear a choking sound from Huu Quan.
"Quan!" Thai Thuy snatches his kneeling body. A nameless fear in his heart makes it difficult to breathe. Thai Thuy couldn't say anything else after choking on Huu Quan's name.
Are you all right? Of course, it's not, and Thai Thuy has never been assassinated, how can bullets pass through people and be alright? Are you okay? How can someone be okay when the pain etches into the body? Don't die, Quan. You can't die, he hasn't even properly proposed to you.
"I'm fine." Huu Quan's face is still rosy, and he is gently rubbing his left chest. "A little painful, but no bleeding."
Thai Thuy exhales a sigh of relief and ponders in his mind. How can he be fine when the bullet struck the body?
After Huu Quan rubs for a while, a bullet with the size of alum sugar lands on the dry concrete pavement. The chest pocket is scorched and burns through the brocade bag, leaving only a small hole in the brand new Indochinese silver coin.
Thai Thuy exhales another huge sigh of relief. His gift turns out to be a talisman. The assassin appears to realize he has failed as well, so he slips into the crowd and runs away.
"Let him go." When Thai Thuy tries to run after him, Huu Quan pulls his hand back. "You're the Emperor, and being out here alone is dangerous."
Thai Thuy frowns and sits back down.
"Let me drive you home." Thai Thuy says.
"Okay." Huu Quan gives a nod. "Bring me home."
It's November, and the wind is much colder than it was at the end of last month. Lady Nguyen Huu continues to reside in Sir Phat An's mansion. Only Huu Quan in a black car, accompanied by a bodyguard dispatched by Thai Thuy, goes into Saigon to pick up Sir Nguyen Huu. Sir Nguyen Huu is not as happy as Huu Quan has hoped when he returned intact and still capable of redeeming his father, and he continues to speak harshly to his son.
"Father, I come to pick you up!" Huu Quan says.
"My greatest pleasure, hello." Sir Nguyen Huu answers sarcastically. "So how much did you pay to be able to change a sentence like this?"
Huu Quan is well aware that a prison is a dangerous place. His father is a skeptic, he doesn't believe in luck, free will, or randomness. To receive commensurate results, everything must be exchanged at a fair price. The story of Huu Quan escaping from Yen Hoa surprised him, but it also scared him. Furthermore, he can even redeem him.
Huu Quan must have done something unethical as well.
Sir Nguyen Huu despises three things: first, before and after are inconsistent; second, in and out are ambiguous; and third, no order. This technically violates the second.
"We should go home first, father." Huu Quan replies "Mother misses you terribly."
Sir Nguyen Huu exhales a short breath and then agrees silently. The car rolls across the craggy dirt road and returns to the enchanted citadel of Hue.
Until his father walks into the house, Huu Quan turns back and asks the bodyguard:
"You have something to give me, don't you?"
The guard bows his head as an agreement then returns to the car and pulls a large wooden box from the trunk.
"This is the document that His Majesty directed me to give to Mr. Huu Quan. He also stated from now on, I will be in charge of protecting you, if you require anything, just leave it to me."
Huu Quan takes the wooden box in his hand, the delicate lock matching the key in the brocade bag perfectly. Huu Quan nods in agreement.
"Then I'll ask uncle Phat An to arrange it the next time you stay in the mansion. At the very least, you must accompany me into Saigon when you return to the palace."
The bodyguard nods.
"Thank you, Mr. Huu Quan."
"It's nothing." Huu Quan says, "How is His Majesty?"
The guard frowns slightly, looking down at the ground. That shows Huu Quan that perhaps Thai Thuy's life is not easy either.
"He's very busy with many works, he constantly calls for the Ministry of Rites. Only that he genuinely cares about you. I believe it's because of you and that day that he no longer goes to the brothel downtown or escapes alone."
Huu Quan smiles wryly, mentioning Thai Thuy again makes him sad. He gave him his first gift, but it was ruined in an instant.
Huu Quan's head lights up, and he turns to the bodyguard, saying:
"Actually, I'd like to ask you a favor."