Buzz
Assignment: Recount the event of Magi coming to purchase Kieu through the excerpt of Magi buying Kieu
Recalling the Event of Magi's Purchase of Kieu through the excerpt of Magi buying Kieu
Sample Story: Recounting Magi's Purchase of Kieu
Thuy Kieu was a talented and beautiful girl, the jewel of a middle-class family in Bac Kinh. She lived a very happy life with her parents and two siblings. But that period was short-lived; Kieu's family was falsely accused, their wealth plundered, and her father and brother were subjected to public humiliation. At just sixteen years old, Kieu had to make a heartbreaking decision to sell herself to ransom her father and brother, abandoning her passionate first love with the wealthy Kim Trong.
Kieu sought out a matchmaker in the area and asked for help in finding a husband as quickly as possible. After agreeing on her reward, the matchmaker agreed to bring a man to ask for Kieu's hand in marriage. Kieu's family waited at the door and politely inquired:
- May I ask what the esteemed gentleman's name is?
He responded with a grunt:
- Magi.
- Where are you from, sir? Are you from around here?
- Lâm Thanh, pretty close.
Oh my, the way he responds is so rude, he introduces himself as Magi but his manner of replying is far from 'magisterial' at all. Just by looking at Magi, you can tell he's well over forty, too old to get married. Yet, there's not a single strand of beard on his face, incredibly 'smooth' and 'boyish'. And today he's even dressed in groom-like attire. Red shirt, red pants, black hat on his head, hair tied neatly, and he's even holding a fan with landscape painting to fan himself. Completely ridiculous. Following him is a bunch of lackeys without any sense of decorum. He says one thing, they say two, chaos ensues. When led into the house by the matchmaker, Magi immediately jumps onto the high seat. That's reserved for the elders, not for the in-laws to sit on. Despite coming here as a son-in-law, he sits so recklessly, it's truly impolite. While he sits there, looking around, the matchmaker urges Kieu to come greet the guest. Kieu, at this moment, is in a state of utter despair and agony. She has two torn sorrows in her soul. She must choose between the two, which is truly cruel for her. In the end, she chooses filial piety and steps outside. Every step she takes, tears stream down her face. Kieu cries but remains beautiful. For her, greeting guests like this is extremely shameful as she is a noblewoman, never has she greeted anyone like this before. Seeing her distressed and ashamed, the matchmaker is anxious, afraid that Magi might dislike her and Kieu would lose her value. So, she goes all out, grabs Kieu's hand, showing Magi her hair, her eyes, without realizing that it only makes Kieu even sadder because a girl from a respected family has now become an item to be traded, treated as an object rather than a human being. But those heartless and unjust people don't care about that; they only think about money, money, and money. Magi has seen the enchanting beauty of Kieu. But he's actually a deceitful and cunning trader; he's here to buy Kieu for the pleasure quarters of Tu Ba, so he still wants to see if Kieu is truly talented as the matchmaker claims. He forces Kieu to play music for him, and Kieu plays her self-written song 'Silver Fate' with all her sorrowful emotions. The melodious music deeply touches people's hearts, but Magi is still not satisfied. He makes Kieu write another poem on his paper fan. Kieu complies with the request, and Magi is very pleased and agrees to buy her. He turns to the matchmaker and asks:
- To buy Lam Kieu, how much do I need to prepare?
The words he spoke now are truly flowery, completely different from what he said before. But his true merchant nature still reveals itself clearly when the matchmaker quotes the price:
- This is an invaluable beauty worth a thousand gold, forced to sell herself due to family circumstances, please be merciful.
But Mã Giám Sinh wasn't willing to spend much money, he haggled with the matchmaker for quite some time. Finally, they both agreed on four hundred and fifty taels of gold. A ridiculously low price for a person like Kiều, whose 'beauty commands one talent, her talent creates two' as the saying goes.
And so Kiều was sold, her life turning to a new chapter. So many challenges, difficulties, and traps await her ahead. Oh! If only there weren't such inhumane people in this world, valuing money more than human life, then there wouldn't be such heartbreaking scenes, and Kiều's life wouldn't have been as miserable as it would become.
Aside from Recounting the Arrival of the Magi to Purchase Kiều, you need to explore other Literature contents such as Composing a Story of Kiều or summarizing The Tale of Kiều and composing an essay on Magi's purchase of Kiều to strengthen your Literature knowledge.
