Chapter 7 — On the day you give birth, I send you a letter of reconciliation

The cold wind is bone-chilling. The rough rope tightened my wrist, causing pain to the point of numbness. I bowed my head and looked down, at a place dozens of feet high, the loud laughter of Bac Dich's general rang out in my ears:

"Thank you, general! Look closely, who is this? Is it worth it because of a single woman who missed a big event? Or let her go down there to keep her child company..."

Those words were like a cold knife, cutting straight into my heart. During the past three years, I have never mentioned the child in front of outsiders. How can they know? At the foot of the citadel wall, Ta Tram Chu stood still. The mud and snow were up to their ankles, their war robes were soaked in blood and rainwater, and the north wind poured down from the high citadel and was bone-chillingly cold. But his face was whiter than snow. His eyes looked up. On the city wall, my body was hanging over the edge of the city. The rope tightened around his wrist, blood trickling down his fingers onto the mottled stone wall. The wind blew my clothes around, as if at any moment I could fall into the abyss. In that moment, all the sounds of killing, war drums, and clashing weapons became distant. He only sees me. He sees the girl who once stood with him under the flower lights in Thuong Nguyen. Seeing the girl who lost her unborn child because of him. Seeing the girl he had lost, with no chance of saving her. He slowly raised his hand.

“Stop shooting.”

His voice was not loud, but it resonated like steel falling onto the cold ground. Because of that, on the city wall, the bows and crossbows stopped pulling. The shouting fell silent, as if observing Ta Tram Chu's movements. At that moment, Ta Tram Chu suddenly turned his head. His eyes were no longer looking at me, but looking straight at the line of soldiers holding the battle below the citadel.

“Deputy General Ly Quan.”

His voice was low and decisive, not allowing for hesitation. The deputy general immediately stepped up and knelt on one knee in the mud and snow:

“There is an end!”

Ta Tram Chu took off the military talisman from his waist and threw it straight at him. "Toan Binh power, from now on to you." He looked straight into the deputy general's eyes, each word as heavy as a nail: "If anything happens to me—" He paused for a moment, then continued, coldly and cruelly: "Immediately attack the city." “Don't retreat.” “No goods.” “Don't cause chaos because of me.” The deputy general's whole body shook, his hands clenched the military talisman:

“But general—”

“No buts.” Ta Tram Chu interrupted, his eyes as sharp as a bare blade.

“Behind are the people.” “Ahead is the enemy.” "If I change her, it's Ta Tram Chu's job." “As for this battle, it's your business.”

He didn't turn back anymore.

“Hold the city.” “Kill the enemy.” “Don't let my blood—go to waste.”

He then raised his head and looked up at the city wall, looking straight at the Bac Dich general.

“Let her go.”

His voice was terrifyingly calm. “I changed her.” General Bac Dich smiled grimly, bent down and looked down:

“General thank you, your love is truly profound.”

He waved his hand: "Then please come out alone, abandoning all weapons." The north wind howls. I desperately shook my head, my throat was torn from screaming: "Ta Tram Chu! Don't!" But he didn't look at me. He slowly took off his long sword and stuck it into the ground. Then comes the short sword. Finally, there's the helmet. Each weapon left his body, like each layer of life being peeled off. He walked forward alone. The Bac Dich people immediately rushed in up, tied his hands tightly, led him up the wall towards me... seemingly continuing to use a great tactic to threaten below. The moment he got close to me, they saw that I was no longer useful, so they waved an order, raised their bows and arrows and aimed straight at the hanging rope, as if wanting to bind me to the rolling river below. The rope was cut, my body suddenly weighed down, and I fell straight off the wall. In that moment, Ta Tram Chu didn't know where he got his strength from. He broke free from his bonds, rushed to the edge of the wall, and grabbed my wrist with one hand.

“Hold me tight!”

He gritted his teeth and said, his other hand desperately clinging to the edge of the wall. I raised my head to look at him, only to realize that his arm was twisted and deformed due to using too much force. The old wound has not yet healed, and on top of the new injury, the bones are feared to be broken. The Bac Dich people promptly reacted, raised their swords and slashed hard at his back.