Chapter 9 — Praying for Tham Yen Tri Binh A

So Lang Yen bowed his head and sprinkled medicinal powder on the wound in his palm. The blood stains from the torn reins had formed dark red scales. When the powder fell, his fingers slightly curled up. Her fingertips were sticky with medicine, little by little she pressed it. The movement was very light, completely different from the tone she scolded him on the city wall. "Three days and three nights, three horses. Don't you need your life anymore?" She bowed her head, her voice sad, "Tham Yen Tri, what did you come to Bac Canh for?" "...To find someone." So Lang Yen's finger paused, then continued to wrap the bandage, round and round: "Looking for someone?" He didn't answer. She knotted the bandage, let go of his hand, took a step back, leaned against the edge of the table, crossed her arms and looked at him. Tham Yen Tri sat on an old chair and looked up at her. The palm of her hand was wrapped in the bandage she had just applied, and her moonlight white outfit was wrinkled and shapeless. He didn't speak, but that look in his eyes said too much. Too deep, too straightforward. He had never looked at her like that before. "Who is worth running so far away from?" She moved her eyes, trying to keep her voice calm, "Di Kinh has so many people right in front of you, so why do you have to run to Bac Canh to find it?" Tham Yen Tri was silent for a beat then opened his mouth. "Before coming to Bac Canh, I had a marriage arranged." So Lang Yen turned to look at him. She stared at his face, her hands clasped involuntarily. She always thought that he was like before in De Kinh - going to court, scolding people, sometimes skipping class to eat wontons. But she forgot that he had already reached the age of marriage. "...Which family's lady is so unlucky that she has to marry you?" So Lang Yen tried to look relieved and asked. "Phu Tran Bac Hau. The marriage was appointed by the Queen Mother."The marriage was appointed by the Queen Mother. Princess of Tran Bac Marquis - the top talented woman in De Kinh, To Uyen. She was completely unaware of this. She fought in Bac Canh for three years, and no one told her. So Lang Yen moved her lips, realizing that her voice was more tense than expected: "So you're not in De Kinh preparing to get married, why did you personally run to Bac Canh to find someone?" "It's canceled." She was stunned: "...What?" "I canceled the marriage." Tham Yen Tri spoke as softly as if it were nothing. So Lang Yen's eyes widened, her arms folded in front of her chest also fell, truly shocked. "You dare to cancel the marriage that the Queen Mother had arranged? Are you crazy?" Tham Yen Tri did not answer. He sat on the old chair, looked up at her, his eyes filled with tender affection. That look that So Lang Yen had never seen before made her heart suddenly skip a beat. "Because I already have someone in my heart." Tham Yen Tri's voice was not loud, but every word fell firmly in the quiet tent. "She is in Bac Canh. This time I came to find her." So Lang Yen stood at the edge of the table, looking into his eyes. His eyes did not avoid, just straight and steady on her face. So Lang Yen's heart beat incredibly fast, but his mind felt like it was covered by the Northern Snow, unable to say another word. She had known him for thirteen years and had never seen him look at anyone with such eyes. She couldn't stand that look, so she averted her eyes, turned around, picked up the kettle on the table, poured a cup and stuffed it into his hand. The movement was too hasty, half a cup of water spilled onto his sleeve. "...So what about To Uyen?" She opened her mouth, deliberately keeping her voice calm, as if asking something completely unrelated to her, "You canceled your marriage with her, what should she do?" "Originally, she didn't want to marry me. That very day, she knelt down in the main hall of the Marquis Palace, telling her father that she only wanted to marry one person in this life." So Lang Yen turned to look at him. "She's an editor in the Academy, her family background is not high, but besides that person, who is it?" Neither can it.” Tham Yen

Tri put the cup of water on the table. "Her father did not agree, so she immediately said - if she cannot marry the person she wants, she would rather not marry for the rest of her life and grow old alone in the Marquis Palace." So Lang Yen was stunned. The talented woman at the top of De Kinh smiled like peach blossoms in March, and was praised by everyone as gentle and kind. Yet he knelt in the main hall and told his father that if he couldn't marry the person he wanted, he would rather be alone for the rest of his life. She suddenly felt that the name To Uyen was no longer a vague figure in the rumors. But a person who is alive and well, with stronger bones than anyone else. "Does her father agree?" "No, but he won't force her to marry someone else." Tham Yen Tri shook his head. "That's enough." So Lang Yen said, "At least she said it." She lowered her head to look at the map of defense exchange spread on the table, then looked at the letter in the corner that had been written for several years but had not been sent, and suddenly raised her hand to pick it up. "I'll go to Tong Truong Uyen's camp. You wait in the tent." The lights in Tong Truong Uyen's tent were still on. He was sitting in front of the court watching military reports. Seeing her enter, he put down his pen, his eyes fell on the envelope in her hand: "Decided?" So Lang Yen placed the letter of separation in front of him: "I should have given it to you a long time ago. Military duty has been pressed for three years so it has been delayed until now."