Chapter 6 — Kinh Thao

"Nonsense! An Vuong and Vuong Phi are absolutely not that type of people. The royal palace gives out porridge every day, never mixed with fake or mutilated food." "Having porridge to drink is very good! I also heard that An Vuong Phi pawned brooches and jewelry to exchange for rice and food. In the end, the emperor is still worthless!" Before everyone could argue, the boy just went out to the city to pick some food. The treasurer is not good at accounting. Whenever he earns money, he buys medicine to give to the poor. He is often scolded by his son for destroying property. "It's not done! The city gate is closed! Man Chau is surrounded by rebels!" Soon, the screams of murder from outside the citadel echoed into the citadel, making everyone feel scared. Those rebels were all people who had encountered natural disasters. The court slowly refused to distribute relief food, but local officials still forced people to pay full taxes. Many people had to sell their children, gnaw all the bark off trees, and in the end, they really had no way to live, so they had to rob the weapons of the yen men in the districts, then gathered to Man Chau. Outside the city gate, corpses were quickly filled with corpses. Initially it was the body of a rebel. Later, even the generals and soldiers defending the city fell one after another. Every day, someone brings wounded soldiers to the hospital. Some people had their shoulders pierced by arrows, others had a long gash in their stomachs. There was also a child about twelve or thirteen years old. When he was carried in, he was still clutching half a green moldy cake in his hand. Waiting for me to finish treating its wound, I discovered that a rebel strip of cloth was tied around its waist. The shopkeeper was so scared that his face turned pale, he quickly looked around, afraid of being seen by others. "This... this is a traitor, it can't be saved..." I wrapped the last bandage. "If you help one person, it's better to help another." "Didn't the shopkeeper himself say so?" The shopkeeper opened his mouth, but in the end he still couldn't bear to chase the child out. Ten days passed. The medicinal materials in the city were almost exhausted, and the price of rice increased tenfold. Every day on the street there are people starving. The royal palace opened a warehouse to distribute food, but that food was simply not enough. It was said that Tieu Dat stood on the city wall every day and had not slept for several nights. Sometimes when changing medicine for wounded soldiers, I also heard them mention his name. "The royal family has already said..." "Man Chau citadel can be lost, but the people cannot die." "The royal family has sent people to pray for help. Just hold out for a few more days, reinforcements will definitely come." On the fifteenth day. The shopkeeper suddenly came to me. The worry that had been on his face for many days finally eased a bit. He lowered his voice and said: "In the west of the citadel, there is an abandoned tunnel transporting medicinal materials that can lead to the outside of the citadel." "Someone will take me out tonight. I will hide you in the car." "Once you leave the citadel, just go north, don't turn back." I was momentarily stunned. "What about the treasurer?" He smiled bitterly. "I... I haven't finished thinking yet." "I've lived in Man Chau for more than five years." Twenty years. The graves of my wife and children are all here." "Where else can I go?" "But the lady is different, she's young, she's a good narrator, she doesn't deserve to stay here and die." I tipped the packet of medicinal powder into the paper wrapper. "I'm not going." The treasurer immediately panicked. "The rebels have already begun to break down the city gate!" "The reinforcements are still missing. Even An Vuong may not be able to save his life!" "To tell the truth, miss, there is a noble who asked me to take you out of the city!" "If you have a way to live, why do you still want to stay here..." I paused for a moment, then bowed my head and continued to arrange the medical box. "There are still so many injured people in the medical shop." "If I leave... who will save them?" "The city is about to fall, you can't save it, miss."

"Can't save, but saving one person... is better than one person." At that moment, a low voice suddenly sounded outside the door. "Do... do you really want to die with him in this place?" My whole body stiffened. That voice was too familiar. Even though thousands of rivers and thousands of mountains away, I could still recognize it immediately. I slowly turned around. Outside the door stood a windy and tired man. He was wearing a dirty black shirt. muddy, his hair was wet from the rain, his face was pale, but his eyes stared at me without blinking. He... came to Man Chau. His chin was covered with a layer of green beard, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He no longer looked like the king who was always neat and noble. But like a crazy person who had been traveling for a long time, and had finally found his way back The shopkeeper knelt down and bowed. He clearly knew his identity. I sighed softly, no wonder the shopkeeper had a way to get out of the city. Tieu Hanh raised his hand slightly. The shopkeeper hesitated and looked at me, but was pulled out by Thich Cong. There were only two of us left in the room. Tieu Hanh walked towards me step by step. "Follow me back." I took a step back, avoiding the hand At that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist, forcing me to lean heavily against the wall. Tieu Hanh gasped. Jealousy swirled in his eyes, which he tried to suppress. "You still haven't given up?" "He already has a wife, a child, he doesn't need you anymore!" I calmly replied: "In the palace, haven't you told me countless times?" He smiled coldly. believe." "She always thought that her A Dat would wait for her all her life." "But look, in less than a year he married someone else, and even had a child!" "I just had another concubine, and she left without looking back." "Now that I saw him making love with someone else with my own eyes, why did you..." I looked at him and suddenly burst out laughing.