Chapter 7 — Changed the entire Inheritance Lineage to Choose the Wolf King

The first days at Nguyet Anh Thanh passed like a series of never-ending lessons for Yen Chi.

"The future princess cannot sit like that at court," the old governess - the person tasked with teaching her court rules - reminded her, her voice stern but not malicious. "The back must be straight, hands on the thighs, eyes looking straight ahead, not glancing sideways no matter what happens."

Yen Chi nodded, trying to adjust her posture as required, even though her body, used to the freedom of the mountains and forests, felt uncomfortable and cramped.

"I know this is difficult for you," the housekeeper said, her voice softening a bit when she saw the tired look on Yen Chi's face. "But the Bach Lang court has hundreds of eyes always watching your every little move. Even a small mistake can become an excuse for people to gossip and suspect."

"I understand," Yen Chi replied, although her heart couldn't help but feel heavy under that invisible pressure.

The lessons that followed were even more rigorous - how to pour tea at the right angle so as not to spill out the cup, how to bow differently according to each rank in the court, how to tactfully handle when someone intentionally provokes you with difficult questions in a crowded place. Some evenings, Yen Chi returned to her room with tired legs from having to stand upright for hours, and sometimes she wondered if she was losing the inherent freedom and generosity of a girl who grew up in the mountains and forests.

But every time she felt discouraged, she remembered Lang Phong's steady eyes when he knelt before the entire Storm Wolf Clan, remembering the promise she made to herself before leaving her homeland - that she would not let any challenge defeat the will of a wolf girl.

That afternoon, when Yen Chi was walking alone in the royal garden - where all kinds of flowers and grasses were brought from all over the lands ruled by Bach Lang - she accidentally overheard the conversation of two palace maids pruning branches nearby, not knowing she was standing hidden behind the trees.

"Do you think His Highness really loves her?" a palace maid whispered. "I heard she was abandoned by her own family before the other clan. There must be something wrong with her."

"Did she ever use some trick to bewitch your highness?" The other palace maid replied, her voice full of doubt. "It is said that her clan does not have any significant power. Our Highness deserves a princess with a much more noble background."

Yen Chi stood silently behind the trees, feeling like there was an invisible knife cutting into her self-esteem. She was mentally prepared for suspicious looks, but hearing such malicious gossip directly still hurt her more than she thought.

She quietly left before the two maids discovered her, not wanting to create a new rumor. Walking between the rows of trees in the garden, she tried to suppress the feeling of self-pity rising in her heart, reminding herself that this was just one of countless challenges she would have to face in this new land. She once stood firm against the betrayal of an entire family, but could she fall before the gossip of two anonymous palace maids?

But that sadness still followed her all afternoon, until Lang Phong found her sitting alone by the lake in the garden, her distant eyes looking towards the lotus flowers closing their petals waiting for nightfall.

"What's up?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

Yen Chi hesitated for a moment before recounting what she heard. She didn't want to appear weak, but she also didn't want to hide things from him — if they truly wanted to build a sincere relationship, honesty had to be the first foundation.

Lang Phong listened in silence, his face gradually becoming serious. "I'm sorry you had to hear such words. I will..."

"No," Yen Chi interrupted, shaking her head. "You don't need to punish them, or order people to stop talking. That would only make things worse — it would make me look like a weak person who needs to be protected from words, instead of someone who can stand on her own."

"So what do you want?" he asked, his eyes full of concern.

"I want time," she replied. "Time to prove, through actions, that I am worthy of this position — not because I am your betrothed, but because I am."

Lang Phong was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly, a rare and genuine smile that Yen Chi had never seen him give to anyone else in the court. "That's what made me love you from the first letter, Yen Chi. You never wanted to be saved — you just wanted to be seen for your true worth."

He was silent for a moment, his fingers still gently playing with the back of her hand, then continued, his voice deeper. "I also went through years of doubt, Yen Chi. When I was young and had not yet passed the tests of the Council of Elders, many people in the court thought that I was too immature to inherit the throne after my father's sudden death. Some people even openly suggested that a distant relative of the royal family replace me, arguing that I did not have enough battle experience. I had to prove myself day by day, challenge by challenge, not with words, but with myself. action."

"I didn't know you had experienced that too," Yen Chi said, her eyes softening.

"So I understand better than anyone what it feels like to have to shoulder the burden of proving your worth in the face of skeptical eyes," he replied. "And I believe, just like I did it, you can do it too — it just takes more time."

Yen Chi leaned her head lightly on his shoulder, letting that rare moment of peace settle in her heart, without needing any more words. The sound of frogs croaking by the lake mixed with the sound of the wind gently shaking the lotus branches, creating a gentle music that lulled both of them into a rare moment of peace amidst all the turmoil that lay ahead.

He reached out, gently touched her hand, and in that moment, a warm feeling spread throughout Yen Chi's body - different from the cold, calculating feeling she had felt in her old family. This is a sincerity that does not need to be doubted, and does not require the use of intuition to examine.

"Thank you," she said, her voice choked. "Thank you for being patient with me."

"I will always be patient," he replied. "We have a long way to go, Yen Chi. I don't expect everything to go smoothly right away. I just hope we will always face it together."

In the days that followed, Yen Chi began to proactively learn about court affairs - not to prove herself to others, but because she really wanted to understand the land she was about to spend her life with. She learned how to read reports about agricultural crops, about the border situation, and about the difficulties that Bach Lang people are facing during this year's long drought season.

Dich Bach Duong, the calm strategist, became her most patient teacher during those lessons, not afraid to explain and re-explain each complicated legal clause until she truly understood it thoroughly, instead of just memorizing it mechanically. "The princess has an exceptionally sharp mind," he commented after a conversation about food allocation policies. "I think, if the princess continues like this, it won't be long before even the most skeptical people in the court will have to change their views."

Yen Chi smiled, but in her heart she knew that the road ahead was still long, and the malicious whispers out there would not easily disappear after just a few weeks of effort. But at least, for the first time in months, she felt like she was building something that truly belonged to her — not forced, not arranged, but a choice she voluntarily pursued.

Late that night, while sitting alone at the writing desk in her room, she picked up a pen and intended to write a letter to Dinh Thi Le as was her weekly habit, telling her nanny about her small steps forward in a foreign land. But after writing a few lines, she stopped writing, looked out the dark window, and felt a deep nostalgia for her homeland that she did not expect. Even though her old family treated her badly, the Son Lang mountain range, her nanny's warm little kitchen, and even the beautiful memories of her childhood are still an inseparable part of her. She folded the unfinished letter, telling herself she would finish it another night, when her heart was more at peace.