The Short Life of Luxury of the Lady of Xiangyang Prefecture

(Baonghean.vn) - Although she has turned 98, Ms. Lu Thi Quyet is still very clear-headed. She is the wife of Mr. Lang Vi Nang, the district governor of Tuong Duong district before 1945.

The old lady currently lives with her eldest son and a group of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Phuc village, Don Phuc commune (Con Cuong). In the house that the Nang government, when it was no longer a mandarin, chose the wood and built, the old lady, like a lamp in the wind, lives quite quietly.

She remained silent most of the day and only answered questions from her children and grandchildren's visitors. She was one of the last witnesses to the glorious days of the Lang Vi family.

Mrs. Phu Nang is now nearly a hundred years old.

During the French colonial period, the “local official” system was applied to the mountainous region of Nghe An, in which the Lang Vi family of Tuong Duong prefecture governed. According to the descendants of the most prestigious family in the mountainous region of Nghe An, the Lang Vi family had 3 generations of district chiefs and 5 generations of district chiefs. For a long time, positions such as district chiefs and prefects were only passed down to members of the family or in the form of “father to son”.

Mr. Lang Vi Nang was the last mandarin to abandon his palace in Cua Rao village (Tuong Duong) and flee before the Viet Minh army entered and took over the government in August 1945. Mrs. Lu Thi Quyet was the second wife of Mandarin Nang.

A book written on leaves is considered a treasure by the Lang Vi family.

Mrs. Quyet, originally from Na Khom village, now Yen Na commune (Tuong Duong), was a beautiful and virtuous woman from a prestigious family in the ancient Muong Xieng Nua village. She remembered the first time she met Lang Vi Nang, he was only 16 years old, at a "competition" in the Muong Xen area (Ky Son) today. That time, Mr. Xuvanuvong, the prince of Laos, also participated. At that time, Lang Vi Nang was nearly 40 years old. His ex-wife had also passed away a long time ago.

During the meeting, the mandarin at that time no longer had a wife, so he freely mingled with the girls from many villages and hamlets without fear of being disreputable. The mandarin also sang love songs, threw balls, etc. From that meeting, after tossing balls to each other, Mrs. Quyet only knew that this person was a mandarin but did not know that he was a district chief who governed a large area.

Later, when he returned to the village, whenever he had free time, Phu Nang would ride a horse into Na Khom village to visit the beautiful girl. "Wherever the mandarin went, someone carried him, but he (Phu Nang) liked to ride a horse," the old lady recalled. Some time later, in another "show-off" meeting in Cua Rao village, a physiognomist told Phu Nang that if he married this woman, she would have many sons. Being willing to love her, but not having a son to carry on the family line, Lang Vi Nang almost immediately asked her to marry him. At that time, she was 20 years old.

Although she became the daughter-in-law of a family with many generations of mandarins, Mrs. Quyet's luxurious life in the largest mansion in the southwest of Nghe An did not last long. After a few years of marriage, the revolution broke out. After handing over power to the revolution, the Lang Vi family lost its position. As the Thai people say, they resigned from office and became soldiers.

During the land reform movement, houses, fields and many other properties of the mandarin’s family were confiscated. After completing her 2-year “re-education” sentence, Lang Vi Nang returned to her children and grandchildren to do business like ordinary people. From a district chief’s wife, Mrs. Quyet returned to farming life, raising her children with her husband until 1975, when Nang district was lost.

Mrs. Quyet's eldest son, Mr. Lang Vi Tinh, with artifacts of the once powerful family lineage.

As predicted by the fortune teller, when she married the Nang family, Mrs. Quyet gave birth to 7 sons. The youngest son is now over 60 years old. Struggling with her children, the luxurious life gradually faded from her memory. When she got old, Mrs. Quyet became a hard-working farmer.

Remembering her husband who passed away more than 40 years ago, Mrs. Quyet said he was a man of great love. “After seizing power, someone told him to flee to Laos, but he loved his wife so much that he did not go.”

Mrs. Lu Thi Quyet is still affectionately called “Mrs. Phu Nang” by the elders in the community. She is a woman who witnessed a special period in the history of the western region of Nghe An and the luxurious life of feudal officials before 1945.

Huu Vi - Dao Tho