Ly Le Ha: The courtesan "snatched her husband" Nam Phuong Queen, kept the letter of the government's face for half a century

The beauty of the "dance village" once refused all the sweet words of the princes, but gave herself to the former Emperor Bao Dai. Unfortunately, in the end, she did not have the heart of the former loveless emperor, and was quickly "forgotten".

Miss Universe is loved by thousands of people

Ly Le Ha comes from the land of Hai Phong, famous for her charming beauty and sparkling black eyes. She quickly became famous in the world of port land play.

Then in 1936, Le Ha moved to Hanoi to live on Kham Thien Street, where the largest concentration of discos were at that time. Here, she also built a name in an unexpectedly short period of time. At that time, she was followed by many people.

It is said that her every dance move always makes men ecstatic. At this time, Le Ha also participated in the first beauty contest of the North and won the highest title.

After the contest, the name Ly Le Ha became more and more famous and became the dream of countless rich boys.

The corner of Kham Thien street in the old days when Ly Le Ha was a star in the village of Ha Thanh dancers. (Photo: Historical documents of Vietnam)

Condemned love affair with King Bao Dai

Former emperor Bao Dai met Ly Le Ha under which circumstances is not clear. It is only known that when he went to the North to work as the Supreme Adviser for the Provisional Government, he fell in love with the dancer with a charming body and a captivating smile. Despite that, Bao Dai had just set up a "second room" with "Thu concubine" Mong Diep.

During his time as a consultant, Bao Dai openly interacted with Ly Le Ha, going to parties every night despite the objections of the austere people. Even the love of Bao Dai and Ly Le Ha made Queen Nam Phuong and "Thu concubine" Mong Diep extremely upset.

One document reads: "Ly Le Ha seduced him in Saigon in the 1940s. It was a beauty queen, Miss Hanoi in 1938 or 1939. Rumors about the beauty of the girl named Ly had spread. to his devoted cousin Vinh Can, who brought Ly Le Ha to meet Bao Dai at his residence in the capital of Cochinchina."

Another anecdote tells that Bao Dai "married" Miss Ly in Hanoi. When working at the Liszt discotheque, Ly Le Ha used to dance with a guy named Hanh, a famous tailor in Hang Bong Street, 30 years old, still unmarried because of her passion for disco life. Once, two people were dancing, when a secret agent came to Hanh's ear and said: "Fairy master, if you want to be alone, stop immediately so we can take you up to the old lady (only Bao Dai)".

According to Mr. Pham Khac Hoe, who used to be the chief executive officer of Emperor Bao Dai's office, he witnessed Nam Phuong's heartbreak because of her husband's cheating habits. Accordingly, when Bao Dai was in Hanoi, due to his habit of playing, the former emperor could not stand the lack of money, so he asked Mr. Hoe to return to Hue to send his wife a letter asking for money.

That afternoon when Mr. Hoe came to get a reply, the queen said softly: "Mr. Hoe! You must know that I trust you and respect you, before and now. So I want you to tell me all the truth. about Mr. Vinh Thuy falling in love with Ly". She also wanted to go to Hanoi for a reunion, but fearing that it would cost the government more and make the former emperor constricted, she told Mr. Hoe: "Okay! I have to suffer alone to make people happy". She then sent her husband the amount he demanded. Mr. Hoe also said that he did not know what Nam Phuong wrote in the letter, but when he read it, Bao Dai's face kept turning pale.

Keeping the "resentful" letter of the government for the next half century

In March 1946, Bao Dai joined the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to Trung Khanh. But when it was over, he did not return to the country with the delegation. He had to borrow money to live the difficult days here. Ly Le Ha traveled to Chongqing to follow him.

After applying for asylum in Hong Kong, at first Bao Dai had to live off of Ly Le Ha's savings. Daniel Granclément - author of the book "Bao Dai, or the last days of the kingdom of Annam" wrote: "The money he threw on the tables or paid for the room was paid by his mistress Ly Le Ha. This man had to open the safe and give him all the savings of a half-upper girl, amounting to several hundred silver thanks to his perseverance in accumulating."

At this time, Queen Nam Phuong wrote to the other party a letter that Ly Le Ha kept for half a century later: "Dear sister Ly Le Ha. I live thousands of miles away from the former emperor, but she I know that you are taking care of the former emperor in Hong Kong with all my heart. I pray that history will not let go of the former emperor and meet again. Duc Tu Cung and I will forever be grateful to you. Ms. Nam Phuong. ".

Disappointed by the former emperor, but still respected for life

Although always by Bao Dai's side in the most lonely and difficult times, Ly Le Ha still could not "hold" the heart of the love-loving former emperor. In Hong Kong, Bao Dai added a "phi" who was a French-Chinese girl named Hoang Tieu Lan.

In June 1946, Mong Diep also went to Hong Kong and pushed Ly Le Ha out of the former emperor's room. In 1947, Nam Phuong and her five children set out for Hong Kong. "The concubine" Mong Diep and his lovers had to hide. Therefore, Ly Le Ha has never been able to meet Nam Phuong, and at the same time, lost track of her for about 3 years.

When he returned home, Bao Dai brought Hoang Tieu Lan back with Mong Diep and brought him to Da Lat to buy each unofficial wife a private mansion, then added Phi Anh. As for Ly Le Ha, he was forever left behind.

Portrait of Mrs. Huang Xiaolan

According to Daniel Grandclément, whenever Ly Le Ha was asked by international reporters about the former emperor Bao Dai, she still called "the old man" by the respectful name: Mr. Ngu.

On the other hand, according to some documents, after many years of disgrace, she moved to France to marry a local and live in the suburbs of Paris. Ly Le Ha also did not see the former emperor Bao Dai again since living in France.

Nam Phuong Queen's 66-word "letter to face her face" makes her husband's mistress torment her for life Hoàng Phúc19:34:46 25/06/2023Beautiful, educated, virtuous, but Nam Phuong Queen had a difficult life when her husband, former emperor Bao Dai, was engrossed in chasing butterflies, leaving her to worry about her children alone. Still, she kept her pride.