Chapter 22 — Changed the entire Inheritance Lineage to Choose the Wolf King

The next morning, the Silver Lang Hall was more crowded than the day before. News of the trial spread throughout the capital, and even ordinary people crowded outside the hall doors, waiting for the results.

Yen Chi walked in, back straight, eyes determined. She didn't know that last night Lang Phong had secretly visited Thiet Phong, she didn't know that the last card was already in her hand. She only knew that today, she had to fight with everything she had.

Last night, she could hardly sleep. She lay looking at the ceiling, reviewing every detail of evidence, every argument that could be broken by the other side. Lang Phong tried to reassure her before leaving - for some reason he didn't explain clearly, just saying briefly that "there's still something to prepare" - but the worry still stuck with her until dawn.

Now, standing in the middle of the lobby, she clearly felt the weight of each gaze. On one side was the fragile hope left by a few officials who had witnessed her working hard to help people in the coastal areas. On the other side was the cold contempt of those who were ready to condemn her even before the trial began.

"The Council has carefully considered the evidence since yesterday," Cung Bach Uy began, his voice heavy. "The Huan Huong trace is real. That cannot be denied. But it only proves that someone was involved with that medicinal herb - it does not prove that the princess is innocent of the treason charge."

"Exactly," Tieu Yen interjected immediately, her voice full of confidence. "Uong Bach Nghi may be a smuggler of banned medicinal herbs, acting completely independently for his own benefit. That has nothing to do with those treasonous letters."

"What about the fake handwriting?" Lang Phong growled.

"An expert examiner can be wrong," Tieu Yen replied, unfazed. "Meanwhile, the seals on those letters have been confirmed to be genuine by the Stormwolf Clan's own examiner."

The entire lobby was once again engulfed in whispers. Yen Chi felt like the ground beneath her feet was shaking. Each piece of evidence they presented was skillfully resolved by Tieu Yen, as if she had anticipated everything.

She glanced at Lang Phong. He remained standing, but she noticed his hands clenched into fists behind his back. Cung Bach Uy looked at both sides, his face tense as if he was weighing each word on an unfair scale.

"If there is no other evidence," Tieu Yen said, her voice regaining confidence, almost pity, "I suggest the Council make a decision today. The longer it drags on, the more destabilizing it will be for both sides."

A few elders nodded in agreement. Yen Chi felt her throat dry. This is the moment when the balance can tilt completely to the disadvantage, in just a split second.

"Wang Bai Yi," Di Bai Yang spoke again, his voice sharp as a knife, "if you acted independently, please explain clearly who ordered your release from our custody overnight, and why did you appear immediately afterward as an official messenger of the Storm Wolf Clan?"

Uong Bach Nghi was silent. Drops of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Answer it!" Dinh Vu shouted loudly.

"I..." Uong Bach Nghi moved his lips, his panicked eyes turned towards Tieu Yen.

At that moment, the big door of the Silver Lang Hall opened.

All eyes turned towards that direction.

Thiet Phong walked in, slowly but steadily, although his face was still haggard and haggard after days of imprisonment. He wore a simple tuxedo, stood straight, his eyes scanned the entire hall before stopping at Yen Chi.

"Thiet Phong!" Yen Chi exclaimed, unable to hide her surprise and joy.

Tieu Yen stood frozen. For a brief moment, her perfect mask cracked, revealing true panic.

"No way," she muttered, quiet enough for only a few people nearby to hear. "I ordered him to be kept where no one can find him."

The remaining four brothers stood as if petrified. The second brother was the first to step forward, his voice trembling. "Big brother... big brother is alive. Big brother is really alive."

The fog in his eyes seemed to shake slightly, like a sudden wind blowing through the thick smoke that had covered his mind for many months.

"Greetings to the Council of Elders," Thiet Phong spoke, his voice resounding with majesty even though it was still somewhat weak, "I am Quach Thiet Phong, the eldest son of the patriarch Quach Bach Hai. I would like to testify."

Quach Bach Hai stood up from his chair, his face filled with mixed emotions. "Thiet Phong! Where... where have you been all these days?"

"I'm being detained, father," Thiet Phong replied, his eyes directed straight at Tieu Yen. "According to Tru Tieu Yen's orders."

The entire hall exploded in an uncontrollable uproar.

"Slander!" Tieu Yen shouted, her voice losing its familiar calmness for the first time. "This is a staged trick by Bach Lang to save the situation for the princess!"

"Then let me present the evidence," Thiet Phong replied, his voice never wavering. From inside his shirt, he pulled out a few crumpled pages of paper — the remaining pages from the notebook that he had failed to send the first time, kept for his own protection during his captivity, hidden in the lining of his boot without anyone finding him when he was searched.

"This is the autograph of Tru Tieu Yen herself," he said, handing the pages to Cung Bach Uy to examine. "Detailed records of the dosage of Huyen Huong used on each member of your family, including yourself. You discovered with your own eyes where this medicinal herb was hidden in a secret warehouse at the patriarch's palace, and you were ordered to be arrested by Tieu Yen herself when she discovered you took these pages."

Cung Bach Uy received the pages and carefully compared them with the handwriting in the "treasonous" letters that Tieu Yen presented earlier. His face gradually changed color.

"This handwriting," he said slowly, holding up the two documents for the entire Council to observe, "exactly matches the handwriting in the letters allegedly written by the royal concubine. Every hook, every tilt of the pen, is identical down to the smallest detail — something that could only happen when the same person wrote both."

The entire hall was silent for a moment, then burst into uncontrollable noise.

Quach Bach Hai walked closer to his eldest son, his trembling hand touching his shoulder as if to confirm that this was not an illusion. "How long have you endured in silence, just to find this evidence?" His voice broke, there was no longer any majesty of a patriarch, leaving only a father who was gradually waking up from a long coma.

"I'm sorry for not acting sooner, father," Thiet Phong replied, his eyes still not leaving Tieu Yen. "I'm sorry for leaving my sister to bear everything alone, and for taking so long to realize she was being led by the very person she trusted."

"This is the final proof, and also the decisive piece," Dich Bach Duong announced, his voice resounding with power. "Those 'treasonous' letters were not written by the princess. They were written by Tru Tieu Yen herself, who diligently practiced copying the princess's handwriting for many months, in order to frame a crime serious enough to destroy the princess forever."

Tieu Yen took a step back, her eyes quickly scanning the hall as if looking for a way out. But there is no other way. Soldiers silently approached from both sides, blocking all exits.

"Tru Tieu Yen," Cung Bach Uy spoke, this time with undeniable authority, standing up from his chair, his stern eyes scanning the hall before stopping on her, "do you have anything to say in light of this evidence? This is your last chance to present, before the Council makes a decision."

She stood there, trembling, her chest heaving violently. And in that moment, everyone could see, the wall of lies she had built up for nearly three years, finally began to crumble.

Yen Chi took a step forward, standing on equal footing with Thiet Phong. The two sisters looked at the man who had almost destroyed their entire family. No one in the lobby dared to breathe loudly. All eyes were on Tieu Yen, waiting for the final answer to Cung Bach Uy's question - a question that neither truth nor lies could avoid anymore.

Lang Phong walked up to Yen Chi and held her hand in front of the entire court, a public gesture that was not hidden. "Whatever you say next," he said, his voice cold as ice towards Tieu Yen, "today's truth is clear enough for both lands to witness. Your game is over."