The King of Heaven, being absent from the last life, allowed for Hue to reincarnate one last time. He could not keep breaking these rules and allowing his daughter to move in between lives. He hoped this life would finally be successful, especially now since his wife, the Queen of Heaven, knew about his meddling. Hoping for the best, he let Hue become My Nuong, daughter of a great king named Hung Vuong VI.
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Hung Vuong VI had only wanted to let his little girl find a truly good husband with whom she can live the rest of her life. He didn't know what happened, but his little girl was mad at him for that and also not talking to him, too.
"Sweetie, will you please come out of your room? I just want to talk to you," he pleaded.
"No! I don't want to be married off! I want to stay with you forever, Daddy. What year is this even? It's 100 AD. Women like me can make their own choices now. I am not a trophy to be won," My Nuong said, rolling her eyes at her dad for being so unprogressive.
"Would you just even give some the people a chance? They have come from all over just to be your husband. I love you too, dear, but I promised your mom that I would see you married off to a good guy before I die," the king said with tears rolling down his face, remembering his late wife.
The sudden mention of her mom brought back memories of her mom dying when she was younger because of birth-related problems with her brother. They had both died in the process. She grew up with her dad, and it was the only family she knew. Deep down, she wanted her dad to stop feeling guilty about not being able to do anything to help her mom. At last, she agreed to give the guys a chance.
By the end of the contests testing strength, intelligence, compassion, and many other important traits, only two competitors were left standing. Thuy Tinh, the spirit of the waters, and Son Tinh, spirit of the mountains, were the ones left. They were both equally good, so the king could not pick one. He told them the first person to come back tomorrow at noon with wedding gifts would be the winner. Thuy Tinh, which is who Thanh reincarnated into, told the fishes to swim over and wake him up when they see the light in the morning. Son Tinh, told the birds in the mountains to come and sing to him when they see the light in the morning.
My Nuong, being the devious girl she is, concocted a plan to stop both of them from coming. She loved her dad, but she could not get married to either one. She wasn't in love with either guy. Thus, she went and gave the fishes and birds something that would make them sleep and not wake up in time to notify the two spirits. Thus, the two guys would not show up in time, and she would not get married! It seemed like a foolproof plan until the Queen of Heaven started meddling.
The Queen of Heaven, after being lectured by her husband, decided that love could not be forced. She remembered how the King of Heaven's parents did not like her because she was from a lower level. She had wanted her daughter not to be judged by the other gods for marrying a low-level person like her dad had. She decided she would help Thanh out in his life, so her daughter could be happy!
She, first, undid the effects of the sleeping drug that Hue had given to the animals. To try to help Thuy Tinh win, the Queen of Heaven made the trees grow out really thick, so that the sun would not penetrate the canopy, allowing the birds to know when the sun rose. This would be sure to help Thanh (Thuy Tinh). The King of Heaven smiled, seeing the good deeds his wife has done.
The morning came, but no one could have known what would have happened. The birds woke up naturally because of their biological clock, while the trees that grew covered up the part where the fishes live, not allowing the fishes to see the sunrise. Son Tinh was able to wake up and show up to Hung Vuong VI with his wedding gifts and got to marry My Nuong. They actually ended up living very happily because it turns out that My Nuong really likes the mountains, so they would go on trips all the time, enjoying the nature.
What happened to Thuy Tinh? Well, he could not admit defeat, so he summoned the waters of the rivers to flood its banks, wreaking havoc onto the land and crops of the people. Son Tinh just responded by raising the mountains higher to avoid the flooding waters. After many attempts to flood the land and failures, Thuy Tinh gave up.
However, he tries to reenact this scene every year, and this is why Vietnam has a monsoon season.
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Back in heaven, the King of Heaven brought Hue back up.
"My dear, you did not end up with Thanh, and I have given you plenty of tries. I am sorry, but remember what I had told you earlier. I cannot help you anymore to be with Thanh," her dad had said.
"I can't believe this happened. In each life, I fell in love with a guy, but it always ended up badly. Why?! Maybe it was not meant to be... Mom was right," she lamented her fate.
The Queen of Heaven, seeing everything unfold, felt tears trickling down her face. She didn't know what she could do to stop this.
Will Hue end up marrying a high level god or will she stay faithful to Thanh forever and remain single?
Source: Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh
Author's Note: This story was very close to the original. In the original, there was a contest to win the daughter of Hung Vuong VI, and both Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh were equally good. Hung Vuong VI had told them both to return the next day and the earliest one with the wedding gifts would become the husband of his daughter. Son Tinh was the first one to show up, and thus became the son-in-law. The end is exactly the same with the back and forth battle between Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh. Thuy Tinh would not accept his loss and allowed his water to flood the riverbanks. I added a more personal tone between the daughter and king. I thought it would be fun to make the daughter more independent and include some humor regarding the progressiveness thing. Adding more details about how Thuy Tinh was late really helps explain why he overslept and also allowed me to include parts about the Queen of Heaven and her meddling. It also allowed me to develop My Nuong's character more through her intervention in the competition. This act also allowed the whole not wanting to marry thing to make sense but still explains how one person can win, matching to the original.
Images- Rainforest:Flickr