Chapter 11 — Between Two Worlds: A Bride Exchanged for a Dumpling

After months of investigation and failing to find any real evidence to depose Thua An, Ma Dac Uy gradually lost patience. His prestige in Bai Tro village gradually declined, while the name "Ky's son" was mentioned with respect everywhere, even spreading to neighboring villages thanks to his reputation for generous contributions to the district officials. The feeling of being overshadowed, of being threatened with the position he had built up over the years made his jealousy flare up more and more fiercely, to the point where he decided he could no longer wait for any more concrete evidence — if he couldn't find the truth, he would create another truth himself.

He summoned a few of his most trusted henchmen, those who often helped him carry out shady things in the dark, to discuss a cruel plan: slandering Thua An for selling illegal salt - a commodity that was monopolized by the royal court, illegal trading could be considered a serious crime, enough to confiscate all assets and severely punish. He sent someone to secretly bring a quantity of salt of unknown origin, packaged the same way smugglers often do, and secretly hid it in a hidden corner of Thua An's warehouse late on a deserted night, taking advantage of the loopholes when the guard changed shifts.

Ma Dac Uy's plan was not completely airtight. One of the people on watch that night, although he could not detect the intruder, had a feeling that something was wrong when he saw a corner of the warehouse being slightly disturbed, so he immediately reported it to Tieu Ha - who always has the habit of carefully checking every corner of the warehouse system every early morning. Tieu Ha, with her inherent acumen, immediately realized that the strange bags of salt were not on their list of goods, packaged in a style completely different from the way they usually use them.

"Someone secretly placed this in our warehouse," Tieu Ha immediately informed Thua An and Tieu Mien, her voice full of caution. "Looking at the packaging, this is clearly salt without an official license. Someone is trying to trap us."

Thua An carefully examined the strange salt bags, his face gloomy. He immediately understood who was behind this plot. "Ma Dac Uy," he said, his voice cold. "He couldn't find real evidence, so he decided to create fake evidence himself."

Just as he predicted, the next day, Ma Dac Uy led a group of people, including several henchmen armed with sticks and a housekeeper from the district invited by him on the grounds of "receiving suspicious information", straight to Thua An's warehouse, announcing that he would conduct a search because of suspicion of illegal salt trading activities - a serious crime enough to make anyone tremble in fear.

"Ky Thua En," Ma Dac Uy spoke with fake authority in front of the crowd of villagers who had gathered to watch, "I received news that you are storing illegal salt in this warehouse. If you are innocent, you wouldn't mind letting us search thoroughly, right?"

The crowd whispered, many confused eyes turned towards Thua An. Even though he has built up quite a reputation, such a public accusation is still enough to sow doubt in the hearts of people who are accustomed to power always coming with the truth.

Thua An, although he could not help but feel worried about this sophisticated plot, still maintained the necessary composure. He nodded in agreement immediately, without showing any signs of panic or avoidance. "Of course, my warehouse is always open to prove its innocence. But I have a suggestion - please allow the village chief to invite a few more reputable elders in the village to witness this search, to ensure that everything takes place fairly and transparently, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings in the future."

That request made Ma Dac Uy pause slightly, but there was no reason to refuse in front of the watching crowd, so he reluctantly nodded in agreement. While waiting for a few invited elders to arrive, Thua An quietly signaled Tieu Ha, whispering and instructing her to immediately send someone on horseback to the district mandarin's office, inform them of this suspicious search, and mention the good relationship they had built from the previous relief donation.

The search began in the presence of a large number of villagers and several elders invited to testify. Ma Dac Uy's group searched all corners of the warehouse, and as planned, they quickly "discovered" suspicious bags of salt hidden in a hidden corner that Tieu Ha had found before. The officer from the district looked carefully, his face serious.

"This is indeed unlicensed salt," the officer announced, his voice full of importance. "This is clear evidence for smuggling."

The crowd stirred violently, many eyes that once admired Thua An now turned to skepticism, and some even began to whisper about how "Ky Ky" turned out to be just a crook and businessman disguised as kindness. Ma Dac Uy, standing there looking at that scene, could not hide the triumph that flashed across his face, believing that he had secured victory in his hands.

But Thua An, even standing in the midst of that circle of suspicion, still did not flinch. He stepped forward, his voice echoing loudly enough for the entire crowd to hear clearly. "I would like to confirm that this salt is absolutely not mine, and I have never seen it before until this morning when my watchman discovered that a stranger had broken into the warehouse during the night. I believe this is a deliberate slander, and I request a thorough and fair investigation before anyone jumps to conclusions."

That strong assertion made the crowd somewhat slow down, no longer completely believing in what Ma Dac Uy had just staged. But the officer, who seemed to have been bribed by Ma Dac Uy in advance, still insisted that the evidence was too clear, announced that he would seal the warehouse pending processing, and requested Thua An to appear before an official interrogation chaired by Ma Dac Uy himself three days later.

The situation became more tense than ever. Tieu Mien stood next to her husband, holding his hand tightly, her face could not hide her worry but still tried to maintain her composure in front of the crowd. Thua An looked towards Ma Dac Uy, his eyes did not show any fear, but instead showed an unusual calmness of a person who had prepared for this situation.

"Three days," he thought to himself, "enough time for the news to reach the district magistrate." He glanced at Tieu Ha standing in the distance, receiving a discreet nod - the messenger had gone on his way. The battle to regain his honor and inheritance is now officially entering its toughest phase ever, and he knows that the next three days will decide not only his own fate, but also the future of everyone who is placing their trust in him.

That evening, after the warehouse had been sealed and the crowd had dispersed, the whole family sat around in a heaviness that had never been there since the day they started building their business. Tieu Mien poured her husband a cup of warm water, her hands were still shaking slightly because of what she had just witnessed.

"I didn't expect him to be so cruel," she said, her voice choking. "If the district official hadn't intervened in time, would we have been able to keep this business, or even..." She didn't dare finish her sentence, afraid of the worst scenario.

"Don't think about the worst first," Thua An reassured, even though in his heart he wasn't entirely sure about the outcome. "We have prepared all the options. The district officials have been sympathetic to us since the previous donation. The corrupted officials are just subordinates and do not represent the will of the entire district government. I believe that justice still has a place, it's just that sometimes it comes slower than we want."

Tieu Ha, who had just returned from arranging a messenger, sat down next to her, her voice full of determination. "While waiting for the district official's response, I will go collect more evidence that Ma Dac Uy has been regularly cutting off the villagers' food for a long time. If we can prove that he is also a criminal, perhaps the situation will be reversed in our favor."

Thua An nodded, grateful for his brother-in-law's quickness. "Be careful, don't let him find out you're investigating, or you'll put yourself in more danger." That night, even though their hearts were filled with hundreds of worries, the three of them still discussed together until late, mapping out each plan to deal with the upcoming interrogation, determined not to let the hard work they had spent months building be destroyed in the blink of an eye by a dirty slanderous plot.