Chapter 17 — Changed the entire Inheritance Lineage to Choose the Wolf King

The eagle landed on the window of Yen Chi's room in the middle of the night, its body exhausted after an unusually long flight, carrying with it a carefully wrapped old cloak.

Yen Chi was startled awake when she heard the faint sound of flapping wings. She quickly opened the window to welcome the bird inside. She immediately realized that this was not the usual way of communicating—the falcon looked more exhausted than usual, and instead of a small piece of paper, it carried a cloak.

Heart pounding, she opened the package, found a short letter from Dinh Thi Le hidden in the outer layer of fabric, and when she followed the unusual stitching in the lining of the shirt, she discovered pages of paper hidden inside.

Reading through the familiar handwriting of her nanny, then the pages filled with chilling notes about dosage, duration of use, and the names of each of her brothers, Yen Chi felt a chill run down her spine.

She immediately woke up Lang Phong and showed him the pages with trembling hands.

"This is Tieu Yen's handwriting," she said, her voice choked with emotion and anger. "Thiet Phong found it, and now, he may be in danger because of this action."

Lang Phong read each page carefully, his face gradually becoming more serious than ever. "This is exactly the evidence we need — not only confirming the existence of Huyen Huong, but also clearly showing Tieu Yen's intentional intentions towards each member of her family."

"But Mrs. Le's letter said that Thiet Phong was suspected," Yen Chi said, her voice filled with worry. "If Tieu Yen finds out that he was the one who took these pages..."

She didn't dare finish her sentence, but fear was clear in her eyes.

Yen Chi looked down at the pages in her hand, feeling both relieved to finally have real evidence and heartbroken to read the names of each of her younger brothers recorded coldly and meticulously like numbers in an accounting book, without any humanity. She realized that behind Tieu Yen's gentle appearance over the past three years, there was a cold and chilling calculation, treating each member of her family as just a chess piece to achieve her own goals.

"We need to summon Dich Bach Duong and Dinh Vu immediately," Lang Phong decided, standing up and quickly putting on his cloak. "With this evidence, we can officially bring the matter before the Council of Elders, and find a way to ensure Thiet Phong's safety."

But just as they summoned Dich Bach Duong and Chu Dinh Vu to the study room to discuss the plan, another shocking news came, disrupting all their plans.

An official envoy from the Storm Wolf Clan, sent by chief Quach Bach Hai, arrived at the gates of Moonlight City early in the morning, carrying an official letter and carefully sealed "evidence".

During the emergency audience convened shortly thereafter, the messenger — none other than Wang Baiyi who had been mysteriously released from detention thanks to the intervention of an official bribed in the night, and now assumed a completely new identity, claiming to be the official envoy of the Storm Wolf Clan — stood in the middle of the court hall, his voice filled with mock solemnity.

"Your Highness," he said, bowing his head ostentatiously, "The Storm Wolves have sent here serious evidence, directly implicating your future princess."

Yen Chi stood dumbfounded when he saw Uong Bach Nghi reappear, no longer detained, but standing there with a new identity, full of confidence.

He presented a file of documents, inside were forged letters written in handwriting identical to Yen Chi's - the result of many months of meticulous research into her old correspondence that Tieu Yen had secretly collected since before she left the Storm Wolf Clan - the content hinted at a plot to collude with a hostile force in the north, intending to weaken the White Wolf Kingdom from within to pave the way for an invasion.

"This is false evidence!" Lang Phong stood up, his voice full of anger. "I don't believe these baseless accusations!"

"Your Highness may not believe it," Uong Bach Nghi replied, his voice still remaining suspiciously calm, "but the seal on these letters has been confirmed by the handwriting examiners of the Storm Wolf Clan. We understand this is a serious accusation, but precisely because of that seriousness, patriarch Quach Bach Hai decided to send this evidence here officially, instead of hiding it silently."

The whole court hall was in a violent commotion. Cung Bach Uy, standing in his usual position in the Council of Elders, his face turned pale at this shocking news.

"If this is true," he said, his voice serious, "this is no longer a matter of personal honor, but a matter of national security. I recommend that the princess be detained for investigation, until the veracity of these accusations can be clarified."

"Impossible!" Lang Phong shouted, stepped down from the throne, and stood in front of Yen Chi like a shield. "I will not allow anyone to detain my fiancee based on unverified evidence!"

"Your Highness," Cung Bach Uy replied, his voice still steadfast despite being somewhat reserved in the face of the Wolf King's anger, "I understand your highness's feelings, but if your highness lets your personal feelings dominate your decision in a matter related to national security, it will be a dangerous precedent for the entire dynasty. I am forced to ask the Council of Elders to vote on this matter."

Yen Chi, even though her whole body was shaking with shock and anger, still tried to stay calm, placing her hand on Lang Phong's shoulder. "My dear, let the Council vote. If I run away now, everyone will believe even more that I am guilty."

The vote was tense, and finally, by a narrow majority, the Council of Elders decided: Yen Chi would not be detained immediately, but would be subject to close supervision, and a formal trial would be held within the next ten days to clarify all charges — if convicted of treason, the penalty would be death according to Bach Lang's strictest laws.

This news spread like a storm throughout the Moonlight City that same day, causing the entire court and people to be immersed in confusion and suspicion. The fragile alliance between Yen Chi and Bach Lang, which had just begun to be built with much effort, now faced the risk of complete collapse in just one morning.

The palace maids who used to gossip behind her back no longer dared to speak out loud, but their looks of fear and contempt every time Yen Chi passed by hurt her more than any words. A few officials who had supported her after her success in the coastal region now began to keep their distance, not daring to publicly defend her at the risk of being implicated in a treason case.

Only Dich Bach Duong and Chu Dinh Vu remained steadfastly on her side, and together with Lang Phong, they found every way to prepare for the upcoming trial. "Ten days is not a lot," Dinh Vu said, his voice serious, "but it is enough for us to turn the situation around, if we know how to properly use the evidence at hand."

Meanwhile, in the Storm Wolf Clan, as soon as they received news of the developments at Bach Lang through another secret communication line, Tieu Yen immediately ordered the transfer of Thiet Phong from a simple detention room to a much more solid detention place - Vo Thanh stone cellar, located deep under a rarely visited rocky hill on the edge of the clan's territory, a place that had been abandoned many generations ago and almost no one remembered its existence.

"Take him down there," she ordered her two most loyal henchmen, her voice cold and without hesitation. "Make sure no one knows where he is, including the clan leader. I can't let him have any more chances to cause trouble for my plans."

Thiet Phong was escorted through secret passages in the dark of night, through a thin forest and then through a narrow ravine whose existence he had never known even though he had grown up all his life in this territory. Finally, he was locked in a dark, damp stone cellar, completely isolated from the outside world. The heavy stone door slammed shut, leaving him in absolute darkness, not knowing when he would be able to escape, and also not knowing that, in distant Bach Lang, the sister he risked his life to save was now also on the brink of a trial that could take her life.