Chapter 10 — I Don't Owe Anyone My Life

“She doesn't need his apology anymore.” Sister A went crazy after the night of the lantern festival. Every day she hugs a pillow, calling it Lien Sanh. Lien Sanh was actually standing in front of her, but she didn't realize it. There was a time when she suddenly woke up, ran to my grave and knelt all night. "Ah Nhuoc, give me my life back." "Can you open your eyes to look at me just once?" No one answered. Lien Sanh survived. But there was a big scar left on his back from the fire. It does not return to sister A's side. Also not with Tieu Can Nien. At the age of twelve, he asked himself to go to the border. Before leaving, he came to my grave. He knelt for three days. "Mother, in this life I no longer have the right to call you that." "But in my heart, you will always be mother." "I will protect Sister Tam." "I will protect the children who have no one to protect them." Later, Lien Sanh became the youngest general in the army. It built dozens of relief hospitals along the border, specializing in adopting kidnapped or lost children. It doesn't come true. Every year during Tet, Thuong Nguyen returns to the capital and places a flower lantern in front of my grave. On the lamp there are only two words written: Sorry. Tieu Can Nien was seriously injured in the fire. My legs, which were already unable to walk, completely lost feeling after that time. He gave up fighting for the throne. Please be granted a small palace outside the capital. Some people say that his palace is full of paintings of a woman. There is a picture of a woman sewing clothes. There is a picture of her standing under a cinnamon tree. There is a picture of her hugging a child whose face cannot be seen clearly. But none of the paintings have complete five senses. Because in his previous life, Tieu Can Nien never really looked closely at me. He only remembers my hands. Remember my back. Missing someone who always stood quietly behind him. When he wanted to redraw that face, he realized he couldn't remember it. At the age of thirty-five, Tieu Can Nien became seriously ill. Before he died, he ordered someone to deliver a box to Lau Palace. Inside is a dried candy that Lien Sanh placed on my pillow a long time ago. The same piece of paper. "I used to think you didn't know pain." "Later I understood, it's just that no one cares whether you're in pain or not." "I can't repay you in this life." "In the next life, I hope we don't see each other again." Lau Quan Viem burned both the letter and the candy in front of my grave. He said: "A Nhuoc doesn't want to see you." 14Lau Quan Viem did not follow me. Because he promised to take care of Sister Tam. He gave up half of his military power and asked to defend the capital. During the day he entered the court. Come back in the evening to hold your baby. He learned how to comb Sister Tam's hair. The first time I combed my baby's hair, my hair got tangled and I cried until my voice was hoarse. The second time, he broke two combs. Later, his sword-holding hands could make the most beautiful hairstyles in the capital. Three-year-old Sister Tam asked: "Where is your mother?" He brought her to my grave. "Your mother is sleeping." "When will you wake up?" "Maybe a long time." Sister Tam placed a flower on the grave. "Then I'll wait for you." Lau Quan Viem turned away. Many years later, Sister Tam understood that her mother would not wake up. I don't cry. Just sat in front of my grave for a long time. Then asked: "Father, do you remember your mother?" "Yes." "Remember every day?" "Remember every day." "Then why don't you cry?" Lau Quan Viem looked at the tombstone. "Because my mother wants me to live well." "If I cry, she won't feel secure." But that night, So Tam saw her father sitting alone in the study room. In his hand was the uniform I used to wear. The man who had never shed tears in front of his daughter, now pressed his forehead against the faded fabric and cried silently all night. So Tam grew up like me. Same eyes. Same quiet personality. When I was sixteen years old, someone came to ask for marriage. The son of a royal historian. Lau Quan Viem did not consider family background first. He called that young man over and asked only one question: "If one day, little girl

I don't want to marry you anymore, what will you do?" The other person replied: "I'll ask her why." "If it's my fault, I'll fix it." "If she really doesn't want to be with me anymore, I'll take her home." Lau Quan Viem looked at him for a long time. Then he turned to ask Sister Tam: "Do you want it?" Sister Tam blushed and nodded. Only then did he agree. Before the wedding day, Sister Tam found a box in the study room. Inside were seventeen. Old envelope. The same notebook written by Lau Quan Viem. I opened the first page. "I came back when A Nhuoc was seventeen years old." "In my previous life, when I returned to Beijing, she had been married for a month." "Ta Truong Hanh said she willingly married Tieu Can Nien." "I stood outside the Tieu family for one night." "In the end, I didn't dare to knock on the door." "I was afraid she had really chosen someone else." "Three years later, she died." "At that time, I just didn't dare to knock on the door." know that you have never received a letter." "I fought the enemy on the border for another seven years." "Before I died, I just thought, if I could return, I would definitely go faster." The next page read: "I received your letter." "Only one sentence." "I'm still waiting for you." "I rode three horses to death." "The wound in my shoulder cracked three times." "But I'm still afraid I won't make it in time." "Lucky, when the sun comes up." About to dive, I saw her." Another page: