Chapter 14 — Changed the entire Inheritance Lineage to Choose the Wolf King

The exploration team sent by Dich Bach Duong to the northern mountains returned after ten days, carrying three rough Moonstones, only the size of a fingertip but sparkling with a strange silver light in the candlelight.

The dispatched group of miners had to overcome three dangerous passes and an area prone to landslides to reach the ancient quarry, where many generations ago, their ancestors recorded the exact location in old maps kept at the royal library. Finding three Moonstones, even though small, was no small achievement, and Dich Bach Duong could not hide his excitement as he held them in his hands.

"We need something of Tieu Yen's to test," he said, placing the stones carefully on the table. "But even with the Moonstone, I'm afraid we're still missing the most important piece of the puzzle."

At that moment, another piece of news reached Yen Chi's ears, causing all plans to be temporarily shelved. Chu Dinh Vu, while periodically reviewing the list of foreign merchants staying at Nguyet Anh Thanh according to usual security procedures, discovered something unusual.

"I discovered a businessman named Uong Bach Nghi, claiming to specialize in trading medicinal herbs, but when I had someone check his origin documents more carefully, we discovered that some details did not match the official trade records of the border region he claimed to be from," Dinh Vu reported in a private meeting with Lang Phong and Yen Chi. "In addition, this person had many unusual meetings with a number of low-ranking officials in the court, especially those who expressed dissatisfaction with not being promoted."

Yen Chi and Lang Phong exchanged meaningful looks. "Can you have someone keep a closer eye on this person?" Lang Phong asked.

"I ordered someone to secretly monitor three days ago," Dinh Vu replied. "But I would like to ask for your highness's opinion before taking more specific actions, because if he is really just an ordinary businessman, hasty action could cause unnecessary diplomatic trouble with the border region he claims to be his hometown."

"You did the right thing," Lang Phong said. "Continue discreet surveillance, but don't let him know he's being watched. I want to know exactly what he's doing and for whom."

After Dinh Vu left, Yen Chi turned to Lang Phong, his voice full of worry. "Do you think this person is related to Tieu Yen?"

"I can't say for certain," Lang Phong replied, "but the timing is too coincidental to ignore. A strange merchant appeared shortly after rumors about her began to spread in the court, proactively approaching disgruntled officials — this is not the behavior of a normal medicinal herb merchant."

In the following days, Dinh Vu reported more suspicious details: Uong Bach Nghi regularly sent small letters through a complex network of messengers, instead of using the corporatist's official delivery service — a clear sign of intentional concealment of the content of the communications. He also showed special interest in conversations related to the royal concubine, often cleverly steering the conversation toward suspicion of her origin every time he had the opportunity.

"I believe he is the source of most of the rumors circulating in the court," Dinh Vu concluded in the third report. "But I have yet to find evidence directly linking him to anyone in the Stormwolf Clan."

"We need to catch him in the act of doing something specific," Yen Chi said, thinking for a moment. "If he's sending a report to someone, maybe we should try to intercept one of those letters."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do," Dinh Vu replied, "but he's very careful. Every time he sends a letter, he changes the messenger and delivery location, making tracking much more difficult."

"He acted like someone who had been well trained in how to hide his identity," Dich Bach Duong commented, his expression thoughtful. "This further strengthens my suspicion that he is not simply an ordinary henchman, but has been carefully prepared for this mission since before setting foot in Bach Lang."

"So we need to be more patient," Lang Phong concluded. "Dinh Vu, continue monitoring, and report immediately if there is any sign that he is about to commit a significant action."

While the investigation in Bach Lang was progressing slowly but surely, in the Storm Wolf Clan, another important development was also quietly happening.

Thiet Phong, after weeks of discreet observation, finally found an opportunity to sneak into the mysterious warehouse one night when Tieu Yen left the palace to go to a nearby town — perhaps to meet with another contact. He had prepared a key forged to imitate the shape of the lock he had observed before, using his skillful metal forging skills.

He stood silently for a moment in front of the door, listening to the surrounding movements with his wolf intuition before inserting the homemade key into the lock. His hand, more accustomed to holding hammers than delicate tasks, trembled slightly as he turned the key—not from fear, but from the weight of what he was about to discover, knowing that once he walked through this door, there was no going back.

The lock opened with a soft click, and Thiet Phong pushed the old wooden door, stepping into the thick darkness of the warehouse. The musty smell mixed with a strangely familiar sweet scent - the same smell he had smelled around Tieu Yen countless times - rushed straight into his sensitive sense of smell, so strong that he had to hold his breath for a moment.

Inside the dark, musty warehouse, he discovered a small wooden chest carefully hidden under a removable floorboard. Opening the chest, he saw dozens of small bottles of amber and dark spices, and an old leather-bound notebook — the same notebook that Dinh Thi Le had mentioned in her letter to Yen Chi.

Heart pounding, Thiet Phong quickly flipped through a few pages, seeing detailed records of dosage, duration of use, and the names of each person in his family — including his own, with meticulous notes on the level of "resistance" and a plan for gradually increasing the dosage.

He didn't dare take the entire notebook for fear of being discovered immediately, but he promptly tore out a few of the most important pages and stuffed them in his shirt, before carefully rearranging everything as before and leaving the warehouse, his heart still pounding with fear and anger.

He knew, now, he had the first real evidence - no longer vague suspicions, but Tieu Yen's own handwriting, recording in detail the plot to manipulate his entire family. But he also knows that this is the most dangerous time - if Tieu Yen discovers the disappearance of a few pages, she will definitely be on guard, and may even act first to silence him.

That night, Thiet Phong could not sleep, sat alone in his room, looking at the hastily torn pages under the candlelight, feeling both relieved because he had finally found evidence and heavy because he knew the road ahead would be more dangerous than ever.

He decided that, as soon as he had the safest opportunity, he would find a way to send this evidence to Yen Chi in Bach Lang - even though he knew that contacting her directly now could make him the first target of suspicion if Tieu Yen discovered his betrayal.

The problem was, he had no way to contact Bach Lang directly without going through the clan's official mail system — which he suspected had been secretly monitored by Tieu Yen for a long time, at least the letters related to Yen Chi. He needed to find another route, a trustworthy intermediary who could travel back and forth between the two lands without arousing suspicion.

Sitting alone in the dark, he clutched the hastily torn pages in his hand, a new determination rising in his heart. Although the road ahead is still thorny, he knows he can no longer turn back — not just because of his oath to Yen Chi, but because of the conscience of an eldest brother who let his entire family fall into manipulation for nearly a year without even realizing it.

He immediately thought of Dinh Thi Le - the only person in the palace that he knew for sure still kept secret contact with Yen Chi. But approaching the nanny at this time, when Tieu Yen is on high alert, could put both of them in danger if discovered. He decided to wait a few more days to let the situation calm down before trying to secretly communicate with her.