Chapter 3 — Praying for Tham Yen Tri Binh A

When I let go, my palm was covered with a piece of paper, creating a red streak. After taking a few steps, he stopped again. The sunlight shined on his face, his lips moved slightly. "So Lang Yen." Just one word, no follow-up. She moved her lips, wanting to answer. But So Lang Yen knew that even if she screamed at her throat, Tham Yen Tri would not hear her. He stood there for a moment then walked into the royal palace, his back straight, his steps steady. So Lang Yen stood in place, watching him go further and further. The person he called was her. But in this world, no one can answer him anymore. Tham Yen Tri sat in the dark all night, So Lang Yen also stayed in the dark next to him all night. As soon as it was dawn, he changed into his court clothes and entered the palace to attend the court, not seeing anything unusual on his face. The carriage headed towards the palace. He sat in the car, closed his eyes, and tapped each beat with his fingers. So Lang Yen knows what Tham Yen Tri is thinking. He was thinking about Tong Truong Uyen's triumphant return to the court. He thought that when Tong Truong Uyen returned, she would also come with him. He thought that So Lang Yen was Tong Truong Uyen's wife, of course she had to follow her husband back to the capital. But he didn't know that she had never been Tong Truong Uyen's wife for even a day, he didn't know that the second day after getting married she had gone to war, and he didn't know that she had died under the wall of Bac Canh city. At court, the Infantry Thi Lang reported a great victory in the North and that Tong Truong Uyen would soon return to the Imperial Capital. Tham Yen Tri stood in the row of princes, his face expressionless, but his hands in his sleeves were clenched into fists. After clearing the tide, he walked through the long palace and returned straight to the palace. As soon as she returned to the palace, Tham Yen Tri locked herself in the study room. The new princess came to bring tea. He took it, put it on the table, and didn't drink it. Waiting for someone to leave, he lifted the teacup and put it down again, repeating three times without taking a sip. So Lang Yen stood at the corner of the table, looking at him. Tham Yen Tri suddenly pulled out the desk drawer, took out a piece of paper, and picked up a pen to write. She stopped to look - he wrote: "General Song has triumphed, on behalf of this king, he asked his wife." After writing, he stared at the word "wife" for a long time. Then he crumpled the piece of paper into a ball, threw it on the ground, then took out another piece of paper and wrote again - "General Song has worked very hard, this king has prepared a small gift, please pass it on to my wife." As a result, Tham Yen Tri looked at the three words "Mrs. Sun" for a long time, and finally crumpled it up. On the third piece of paper, he wrote a sentence: "So Lang Yen, how are you?" After writing, So Lang Yen saw Tham Yen Tri's hand holding the pen tremble slightly. He looked at those words for a long time, and in the end he didn't rub them away or put them back. After that, Tham Yen Tri took out an envelope from the desk drawer, wrote on the outside "General Song Than Khai", folded the paper in half, stuffed it inside and sealed it. He wanted to send this letter to Tong Truong Uyen. He wanted to ask Tong Truong Uyen if So Lang Yen was okay. But he didn't know that Tong Truong Uyen would not help him, because she was not with Tong Truong Uyen. Tham Yen Tri stuffed the letter into his chest, stood up, walked to the door and then stopped. He took out the letter, looked at it again and again, and finally tore it up. The pieces of paper were thrown into the charcoal pot, and as soon as they encountered the fire, they rolled up and burned to ashes. Tham Yen Tri stood in front of the coal pot, looking at the pile of ashes, not moving. A fire suddenly flared up in So Lang Yen's heart. Instinctively, she scolded him again like before: "Tham Yen Tri! Are you sick?" "Why ask?" Tham Yen Tri muttered to herself, her voice very low, "It's useless to ask." She stood behind him, watching the sparks in the coal pot gradually extinguish. At night, Tham Yen Tri did not return to the bedroom, but dressed in her clothes and lay on the small bed in the study

room. So Lang Yen flew beside the bed, looking at his face. Moonlight filtered through the door, clearly illuminating his still frowning eyebrows. Why don't you relax after sleeping? She reached out, wanting to smooth out the wrinkles between his eyebrows, but her fingers went right through, still not touching anything. Tham Yen Tri suddenly turned around and turned to face So Lang Yen. His lips moved slightly as if he was saying something. She leaned closer and heard a few words. "...So Lang Yen, if you're good, don't come back." Her heart tightened. Tham Yen Tri thought she was hiding from him, thought she didn't want to see him. But So Lang Yen is not hiding. She is no more. "Tham Yen Tri." She said, "I'm good so I came back, but did you hear?" Tham Yen Tri didn't hear, pulled the blanket up to his chin and curled up. Outside the window the wind blew. So Lang Yen stood by his side until dawn. When Tham Yen Tri woke up, he reached under his pillow and touched it. She didn't know what he was looking for. He got out of bed, got dressed and pushed the door open. The new princess was waiting in the hall, on the table were two sets of bowls and chopsticks. Tham Yen Tri sat down, picked up the bowl of porridge, took a sip and then put it down again. "Isn't it to your taste?" The new princess asked. "Not hungry." He replied.