King Thanh Thai's grandson sells lottery tickets
For over a month now, Tuyen has been selling lottery tickets at a small restaurant on Highway 61C. When meeting anyone she knows, Tuyen nods and greets them. Her congenital cerebral palsy has caused her to stutter and have difficulty hearing. Her legs are weak, so she can only sit in one place on a chair. Despite the hot weather and sweat, Tuyen still tries to endure. Few people who come in and out of the restaurant know that this disabled girl is a descendant of King Thanh Thai.
Nguyen Phuoc Thanh Tuyen (grandson of King Thanh Thai) has cerebral palsy and sells lottery tickets to make a living with his mother at a small restaurant on Highway 61C.
PHOTO: THANH DUY
While her daughter sells lottery tickets, Ms. Nguyen Bich Thuy (53 years old, Tuyen's mother) helps sell at the restaurant. The dark-skinned woman is busy going back and forth, with little free time. "After 4 am, I go to help at the restaurant, so Tuyen has to wake up early to follow. Tuyen sits and sells 100 lottery tickets but usually doesn't finish. When I finish selling at the restaurant, I walk along Highway 61C to continue selling, then go home," Ms. Thuy said.
More than 1km from her workplace, Ms. Thuy and her children live in a house in Nhon Ai Commune, Can Tho City (formerly Nhon Nghia Commune, Phong Dien District, Can Tho City). It is a house of great solidarity, donated by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Phong Dien District (formerly) in 2011. Previously, Ms. Thuy and her husband did not even have a piece of land to throw birds at. Out of love, an aunt gave them a piece of land to build a house, so the place where the mother and her children live is tiny, only a few steps away.
Despite the small size, the house still has a solemn place for the ancestral altar. The altar is divided into three compartments. On the top is a portrait of King Thanh Thai, majestic in his robe and wearing a crown. In the middle compartment is a portrait of Prince Nguyen Phuoc Vinh Giu in a vest, wearing white glasses, exuding an intellectual look. At the bottom is a portrait of Prince Nguyen Phuoc Bao Tai, son of Prince Vinh Giu, who passed away five years ago.
In the narrow house is the place of worship of a king, a prince, a grandson of the Nguyen dynasty.
PHOTO: THANH DUY
As usual, when we got home, Mrs. Thuy helped Tuyen down from the homemade cart that could slide on the tiled floor. Tuyen eagerly pushed it to me after a long day of selling lottery tickets. When it was getting dark, Mrs. Thuy respectfully offered incense at her husband's family altar. She said that Tuyen was her child with Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Bao Tai, the grandson of Prince Vinh Giu, the great-grandson of King Thanh Thai.
Speaking of this, Mrs. Thuy felt sad. Although she was a descendant of the king, Tuyen did not have a full and prosperous life. On the contrary, the disabled girl was more miserable than normal people because her family was too poor and did not have money to treat her congenital cerebral palsy.
Only keep the family glory in the heart
Sharing about her husband's family background, Ms. Thuy regretted that Tuyen was the great-grandchild of King Thanh Thai (1879-1954, the 10th king of the 13 Nguyen Dynasty kings), but most of the king's descendants were not reunited and gathered together but scattered everywhere. Many people's lives fell into difficult circumstances, so they only kept the family's glory in their hearts.
Tuyen has cerebral palsy so she needs her mother's support for everything.
PHOTO: THANH DUY
However, in difficult and deprived situations, she said everyone tried to overcome. Ignoring the prejudices of others, they worked hard to earn a living and support their wives and children.
According to historical records, the "high note" of this family began in 1889, when King Thanh Thai was installed by the French protectorate government. He ascended the throne at the age of 10 but soon showed a spirit of reform. He was the first Nguyen king to have short hair, wear western clothes, know how to drive a canoe, and speak French. However, King Thanh Thai learned French to fight the French, not to serve their lackeys.
Unlike many protected emperors, King Thanh Thai liked to travel incognito, had a nationalistic spirit, and had an anti-French attitude. This made the French very wary, and later considered him a thorn in their side. Faced with the French plot to overthrow him, King Thanh Thai was deposed in 1907. He was then escorted and placed under house arrest in Capsaint Jacques (Vung Tau). In 1916, he was exiled to the island of Réunion, a French colony in Africa at that time.
In a foreign land, former emperor Thanh Thai and his concubine Chi Lac lived with their children, including Prince Vinh Giu. After 31 years of exile, they were able to return to their homeland, but the family members were separated and could not live together. Former emperor Thanh Thai himself lived in Vung Tau, and when he died, he was brought back to Hue to be buried with his ancestors. The king's princes were scattered to different places.
Few people know that the girl with cerebral palsy who sells lottery tickets on the sidewalk is a descendant of King Thanh Thai.
PHOTO: THANH DUY
Although they did not live near each other, to avoid future troubles, the French protectorate government still closely monitored the princes and did not give them the opportunity to study properly. Prince Vinh Giu was sent to Can Tho to work as a road worker. Later, he married Mrs. Ly Ngoc Hoa, lived with her on Phan Dinh Phung Street (Ninh Kieu Ward, Can Tho City today), and made a living by repairing and patching bicycles.
Prince Vinh Giu's family life was "hand to mouth" with 7 children (6 boys, 1 girl), of which Nguyen Phuoc Bao Tai was the youngest son. To be able to raise his children, in addition to repairing cars, he also bought scrap metal and made tables and chairs for fish carriers at the market. With a talent for singing and being a good dancer, this prince worked part-time at some tea rooms and bars. He also used his skills in playing the pipa and zither to earn extra money.
When his children grew up and got married, Mr. Vinh Giu's 60m2 house was divided into many compartments like a boarding house, providing shelter for 6 families with 19 people. Due to special circumstances, the descendants of this "poor neighborhood prince" were very secretive. They lived in Can Tho for decades, but no one knew that there was a branch of descendants of the patriotic king Thanh Thai in this land.
It was not until 2002, when Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet visited Vinh Giu (he was 80 years old at the time), that people realized the origin and background of the ordinary prince. After that, the Prime Minister called many times to inquire about his situation, and his dream of a more spacious house came true. In 2007, Prince Vinh Giu passed away after a serious illness, and his remains were brought to Hue.
Like their father, many of Prince Vinh Giu's children struggled to make a living. Some sold lottery tickets, others drove motorbike taxis from childhood to adulthood. But the one with the most tragic fate was probably Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Bao Tai - the youngest son, father of the girl with cerebral palsy, Nguyen Phuoc Thanh Tuyen. ( to be continued)
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chau-vua-thanh-thai-bi-bai-nao-cong-nuong-di-ban-ve-so-18525080311044497.htm
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