Chapter 7 — Holy Order of Marriage for the Northern Marquis Town

Tieu Triet replied softly, suddenly spurring his horse closer. The two horses were almost close to each other. He reached over and tucked the wind-blown hair behind my ear. The tip of the finger passed over the shell of the ear, bringing with it a gentle heat. "Just let her follow." He said. “Just good.” My heart seemed to stop beating for a beat. He retracted his hand, the corners of his lips curled slightly. "After getting married, I will return to the northern border. Are you willing to go with me?" "To the northern border?" "You... don't want to go?" I shook my head: "I want to go." Tieu Triet smiled. When he smiled, the lines between his eyebrows relaxed, and warmth rarely appeared in his eyes, which were always cold. "Tham Van Linh." He said. "The northern border is cold, the wind and sand are very strong, the water just freezes in the winter. Can you bear it?" "I can bear it." "No regrets?" "No regrets." He looked at me for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pulled me from the horse. I cried out in surprise, my whole body falling into his arms. The black horse slowly walked away, his chin resting on the top of my head. "From now on, I will protect you." He did not say any swear words, but just this one sentence made the bridge of my nose sting. I heard my voice choke a bit: "Okay." On the way back, Tieu Triet and I saw Tham Van Nhu entangling with Co Ngon. Co Ngon grabbed his sister's hand tightly. "Nhu Nhi, why haven't you seen me in recent days? I wrote a letter, but you didn't reply. Why?" The sister forcefully pushed his hand away. "Do you mind? I don't want to see you." "But we're already engaged." "What about engagement? It's not that easy to marry me. Unless you also go to the battlefield and earn military merit for me!" Co Ngon suddenly understood. out: "Is it because your sister is about to marry Tran Bac Hau?" He looked at his sister in disbelief. The person in front of her is completely different from the gentle, gentle, understanding Nhu Nhi in her previous letters. Why did she change? Or was she originally like that? At that moment, Co Ngon saw me. In a blink of an eye, I saw anger, surprise and regret in his eyes. What do you regret? It's all his own choice. I turned around to leave, but he called me again. "Van Linh..." I didn't turn around, and Tieu Triet rode forward on horseback. 13 A month later, Tieu Triet rode a tall handsome horse to pick up his bride. The bride price of Tran Bac Hau's palace plus His Majesty's reward lined up along two streets. I wore a dark red robe and sat in a palanquin. The wind blew open a corner of the palanquin's curtain, and I saw Tieu Triet riding a black horse and turning to look at me. Four eyes met, in his eyes were joy. The float turns the corner of the street, the sound of gongs and drums resounds across the world. Phu Tran Bac Hau has arrived. Tieu Triet turned around and dismounted, opened the palanquin's curtain, bent down and put his hand inside. "Tham Van Linh." He spoke in a low voice. “Follow me home.” I placed my hand in his palm. His hands are very large, the joints are clear, the palms are covered with a thick layer of calluses. He held my hand tightly, helping me step out of the palanquin. The red carpet stretches all the way to the main street. In the main hall, guests were seated, the golden sign personally given by His Majesty was hung high. The four words "Heaven Tac Thanh Doi" shine with golden light. Tieu Triet and I were worshiping in the hall, suddenly we heard someone outside announcing: "The eldest lady of the Tham family is here!" The whole hall fell silent. Tham Van Nhu wore a somewhat old outfit, let her hair down and rushed in, with dark circles under her eyes. She looked at me and Tieu Triet standing next to each other and suddenly burst out laughing. "Tham Van Linh." She said. “Do you think you will live in peace?” Tieu Triet stood in front of me. He lowered his head to look at Tham Van Nhu, his voice was neither high nor low: "Miss Shen, today is my great day, I

Don't want to see blood." "Leave on your own, or should I send someone to take you away?" Tham Van Nhu gritted her teeth, her whole body trembling. Tieu Triet raised her hand, two guards immediately stepped up to hold her. Tham Van Nhu screamed, was pulled out, the scream echoed in the yard for a long time. I stood behind Tieu Triet, watching her back disappear outside the door. Mother rushed in to say something, but was stopped by a look from Tieu Triet. stood stiffly in place. "Nice mother, from now on, Van Linh is the head mother of the Tran Bac Marquis palace. Whoever dares to bully her is confronting the entire northern border army." Mother opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word. Late at night, Tieu Triet lifted my headscarf. The red candle swayed, he sat beside the bed and looked at me, his eyes slowly scanning every line on his face. "Regret?" He asked. "What do you regret?" "Follow me to the northern border." He said. "That place has strong winds and sand, cold winters, and is not as prosperous as the capital." I raised my hand to touch his face. On his chin there is a faint scar, a wound left on the battlefield in the past. My fingertips brushed over that scar, he tilted his head and gently rubbed my finger. "No regrets. Wherever you go, I will go." He smiled, hugged me, put his chin on top of my head. "So tomorrow we leave."