"Sister, I'm scared..." The child in An Ning's arms trembled, his little hands tightly gripping her clothes.
An Ning saw the bleeding where the little finger had been cut off. "Does it still hurt?"
The child nodded. "It hurts..."
As An Ning was about to tear a piece of cloth from her inner garment to bandage the child, the door was suddenly flung open, and a dim light streamed in.
Two Han people walked in. One of them went to snatch the child from An Ning's arms. "What are you doing?" she clutched the child tightly, refusing to let go.
The other person stepped forward, grabbed her, and separated her from the child. The child cried out in terror, "Sister, scared, scared..."
"Let him go..." An Ning broke free from the Han person holding her and ran towards the one holding the child.
Suddenly, the Han person holding the child kicked her in the chest. She was sent flying to the wall, her internal organs feeling as if they had been shattered. A mouthful of blood spurted from her mouth.
"Sister..." The child stopped crying and just looked at her, calling out to her...
An Ning got up from the ground and looked at the two Han people. "He won't leave. Take me with him. I'll hold him..."
The two Han people exchanged glances. The one holding the child put him down and said coldly, "Hurry up and follow."
An Ning got up, her chest aching so much that she couldn't help but grit her teeth. She stepped forward and picked up the child, whispering, "Don't be scared, Sister is here."
The child reached out his little hand, with the severed finger, and wiped the blood from her lips. "Sister, it doesn't hurt..."
An Ning held back her tears and said, "It doesn't hurt..."
As she walked out of the place where she had been confined, An Ning realized they were in a Han military camp.
"Move it..." the Han people behind her pushed her along.
An Ning mentally noted the number of tents and how many soldiers were guarding the area.
She was shoved into a horse-drawn carriage and left the encampment. After traveling for about half an hour, the carriage stopped. The curtain was lifted, and An Ning was pulled out by the Han people guarding her. She saw tens of thousands of Han soldiers in front of her.
"I'll go report to the Prince," one Han person said to the Han people behind An Ning.
A moment later, the Han person who had gone to report ran back. "The Prince says to bring the person over."
"Move..." the Han people behind her pushed An Ning.
An Ning walked forward. Before she reached the end, she heard a playful, chilling voice.
"General Wu, take a good look. This is your wife..."
She looked towards the voice and saw a man on a dark red horse. He was wearing a distinctive brocade robe made of five colors.
An Ning knew this was the royal attire worn only by the Han royal family.
And before his horse, a woman dressed as a wife lay on the ground. The woman seemed to have been drugged and lay there obediently, motionless. However, her eyes were wide open, and tears streamed down from them.
"General Wu, look, your wife is crying. She's begging you for help..."
Saying this, the man suddenly raised his whip and swung it at the woman on the ground. The whip landed on the woman, leaving a bloodstain and tearing her clothes, exposing her skin underneath.
"Han Xiwen, why are you capturing a woman and child? Do you dare to fight me one-on-one?" a furious voice boomed.
Han Xiwen chuckled softly. "General Wu, haven't you heard that all's fair in war? As long as General Wu surrenders and pledges allegiance, this prince will let your wife go, how about it?"
Wu Dakang's face turned red with anger, but he knew that behind him were not only the citizens of a city but also the gateway for the Han to advance deep into the territory.
He could not yield.
The rough man, his eyes red, looked towards the woman in the distance. That was his wife, the mother of his children.
Suddenly, he dismounted his horse and adjusted his armor.
Han Xiwen's eyes lit up, and he said joyfully, "General Wu, are you surrendering?"
Wu Dakang looked up, his eyes red as he looked at the woman, and said word by word, "Fanghua, I have knelt to heaven, I have knelt to the Empress, but I have never knelt to anyone else. Today, I kneel because I have failed you. Fanghua, if there is an afterlife, I will repay our marital affection. I am sorry..."
Saying this, he suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily. When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with tears, but he forced himself not to let them fall.
Han Xiwen's expression turned grim upon hearing this. "General Wu, do you not even want your wife anymore?"
Wu Dakang looked up at Han Xiwen and said coldly, "The city behind me, the people behind me, will never be yours. Han Xiwen, give up that idea!"
Han Xiwen laughed, a chilling, terrifying laugh. He swung his whip, beating the woman in frustration. Soon, bloodstains appeared all over the woman's body, and tattered pieces of her clothing flew everywhere.
The woman trembled all over, her face covered in tears, but she bit her lower lip fiercely. At this moment, she was only wearing a red undergarment.
Han Xiwen giggled, his laughter eerie. "Wu Dakang, let your wife be exposed here for all the soldiers to see."
Wu Dakang's eyes were bloodshot, his hands clenched tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hands. His副将 (fùjiàng - second-in-command/lieutenant general) could not bear it. "General, are we just going to watch our madame like this..."
Wu Dakang turned his head, his eyes blood-red. "Or what? Should I surrender?"
The副将 had no reply. Or what? Surrender?
They were soldiers. A soldier's duty was to protect the country, yet they could not protect their own families.
The副将's eyes turned red, and he knelt on the ground, stifling his emotions. "The General's righteousness is profound."
From behind, sounds of people kneeling to the ground followed. "The General's righteousness is profound."
"I would rather not have such righteousness," Wu Dakang gritted his teeth, forcing the words out.
"Mom, it's Mom..." The child in An Ning's arms suddenly cried out, waving his hands.
An Ning quickly moved to cover the child's mouth, but it was too late. Han Xiwen, on his horse, turned his head and saw the child in her arms, as if he had found hope.
He burst into laughter and waved his hand. Someone stepped forward and snatched the child from An Ning's arms. She tried to snatch him back but was held at the neck by a sword from behind.
She could only watch helplessly as the child fell into Han Xiwen's hands.
The woman lying on the ground opened her eyes wide, struggling to get up, but it was no use.
The woman's reaction pleased Han Xiwen. Han Xiwen raised the child high and laughed, "Wu Dakang, look who this is!"
Wu Dakang stared intently and trembled all over. It was his child.
"Zhengdao..." Wu Dakang couldn't help but cry out.
Wu Zhengdao looked towards the man in armor in the distance, crying loudly, "Dad... Dad, save me..."
Han Xiwen laughed, his expression already contorted with ferocity. "Wu Dakang, if you surrender to this prince, I will return the child to you, and your wife to you, how about it?"