Chapter 17 — Kneeling before the Queen and Duke

In the most magnificent palace in the capital, where power and intrigue have always gone hand in hand for the past twenty years, Tuong Ba Khiem, after many days of silently monitoring the situation, finally realized that everything was out of his control. The trusted butler reported that Nhuoc Lan had not come to the rendezvous point at the deserted temple for two consecutive full moons, that the Tu palace was in an atmosphere of panic, and worst of all, there were rumors that Bach Quan had secretly sent a letter to the princess, possibly revealing part of the truth related to the poisoning plot.

Sitting quietly in a separate study room, where no servant was allowed to enter without a summons, Tuong Ba Khiem slowly stroked his silver beard, his cold eyes narrowed slightly, full of calculation. Over the past twenty years, he has built an entire empire of underground power in the Dai Ninh court, from causing a fire at Vinh Tho palace to quell the threat from the newborn princess, to installing countless eyes and ears in large and small families throughout the capital, all with the aim of consolidating and protecting the position of supreme power he has achieved. He couldn't let all that effort fall apart just because a little girl was saved by chance.

"At this point, we can no longer leave it alone," he muttered to himself, his voice chillingly cold, "it must be resolved completely, once and for all."

He summoned a few of his most trusted subordinates, those who had followed him from the early days of building his power, to discuss the final plan. The upcoming court meeting, on the occasion of discussing the redistribution of military provisions to the border towns, will be attended by a large number of civil and military mandarins, including of course Sam Khinh Vu as the newly ordained princess. This will be the last, and only, chance for him to strike decisively before all unfavorable evidence can be presented to the Holy King.

"I have arranged for a maid to be part of the tea service team at the main hall," a subordinate reported, his voice a secret whisper. "If there is just a small sign, she will act right away while offering tea to the princess in the middle of the court, using another type of poison, which acts extremely quickly, leaving no traces that can be traced back to the source."

Tuong Ba Khiem nodded, but there was still another concern. "What about the Winged King? He is always by the princess's side. If he detects any unusual signs, our plan will fall apart immediately."

"We have considered that," the subordinate replied. "Just before the court meeting, there will be a small riot staged at the east gate, enough to attract the attention of the guards and force the Winged King to send someone to handle it, creating a brief but enough space for the other palace maid to take action."

That was just the first layer of the whole move he made. Tuong Ba Khiem understands better than anyone that a person who climbed to the pinnacle of power through blood and intrigue has never bet his entire fortune on a single move.

"If that girl slips," he said, his voice low, so cold that it made even his most trusted subordinates shiver, "I need another solution, big enough so that no one will have time to think about whitewashing or investigating anything else."

He personally called a deputy general in charge of the food barracks in the west of the city, who for many years had secretly received generous benefits from the Grand Master's palace without anyone in the court knowing, and gave him careful instructions: if he received a signal - a cart of sea salt with a red flag was pushed to the barracks gate before noon - he would immediately send a small army, in the name of a drill to transport military food, close to the royal palace, enough to create a short-lived uprising, so that in the midst of the chaos. Then, no one can distinguish between suppressing rebellion and silencing witnesses.

"The salt truck has a red flag," Tuong Ba Khiem repeated, his eyes flashing with a cold light. "No one expected to use the same records of grain shipments that go back and forth every day between the merchant guilds and military camps as signals. Even if they looked, people would only see a normal salt shipment."

That ruthless caution clearly shows the nature of a person who has been accustomed to manipulating power for twenty years, never leaving any loopholes for opponents to take advantage of. Tuong Ba Khiem believed that, with such careful preparation, no matter how talented Princess Khinh Vu was, no matter how vigilant Duc Vuong was, it was impossible to predict the final attack he was about to unleash.

However, he did not know that the trusted butler whom he trusted to communicate with Nhuoc Lan, during a careless move, had been secretly and closely watched by guard Bang for many weeks. When that butler accidentally revealed part of the assassination plan in a conversation with his accomplices at an empty pub, Bang promptly overheard and immediately rode back to report the emergency news to Viet Khoi that night. What Pang heard was only an incomplete fragment - enough to know that there was a palace maid planted, enough to briefly hear a signal related to sea salt - but not enough to understand the full scale of the bloody backup plan that Tuong Ba Khiem had hidden so carefully.

"We must act now," Viet Khoi said, his face tense as he listened to Bang recount everything he had collected. "If the audience is allowed to take place as Tuong Ba Khiem plans, Khinh Vu's life will be in extreme danger. We need to prepare careful countermeasures, both to protect her and to reveal enough clues to expose his entire plot in front of the Holy King and the civil and military mandarins. Only then can we completely eliminate this threat."

Khinh Vu, after hearing the whole situation, did not show any fear as Viet Khoi feared, on the contrary, her eyes flashed with an unusually decisive light. She sat quietly for a moment, her fingers lightly tapping on the table top in a familiar rhythm - an old habit from the nights she spent reviewing the merchant's books, every time there was a number that didn't match and she couldn't find the reason.

"Sea salt," she repeated softly, her voice low. "I heard there was mention of a salt shipment with a signal attached, right?"

Bang nodded, somewhat surprised by that reaction. "That's right, princess, but I don't know what that means."

"I understand very well," Khinh Vu replied, her eyes shining. "My father traded silk and sea salt for decades, I grew up with those books. Salt is something that the royal court strictly controls, all large shipments going in and out of military camps must go through the paperwork of certain commercial associations, which cannot be completely hidden, no matter how skillful the person behind it is. If Tuong Ba Khiem intended to use a shipment of salt as a signal to mobilize troops, surely somewhere in the books of those trading guilds in the past few days there would have been an unusual order, with a larger quantity than usual. regulations, or sent to a military camp that is not on the periodic distribution list."

Viet Khoi looked at her, both worried and impressed by her courage and sharp mind. "Do you want someone to check the books of the sea salt merchants?"

"That's right," Khinh Vu replied, her voice returning to its familiar calmness. "I used to have business relationships with three or four large merchant guilds that specialized in trading salt from the coastal area to the capital. Please let Bang quietly come and inquire, see if there have been any unusual orders in the past three days. If we find that clue first, we will know exactly which group of troops will be mobilized, and can stop it before it can mobilize, instead of just waiting for disaster to strike in the middle of the main hall."

Viet Khoi immediately agreed, allowing Bang to leave the capital that night in disguise to follow the clues, not forgetting to remind him to be very discreet and avoid alerting anyone.

After Bang left, Viet Khoi immediately called the Royal Court and several old mandarins who had testified in the previous court session to discuss, asking them to be ready to be able to speak up as soon as necessary. It was during that night's discussion that the Royal Physician, after a period of heavy contemplation, finally confessed a detail he had kept hidden for twenty years, never daring to reveal it to anyone, even when he told the whole story to Viet Khoi the last time. “That night, when the fire had gone out, I was one of the first to go in and examine the ruins,” he said, his voice shaking. "The old man still remembers very clearly, in the front door frame and two side doors of Vinh Tho palace, there are still remnants of half-burnt wooden beams, stuck across the outside of the door frame, a trace that could not have been caused by the heat causing the wood to deform randomly, but could only be due to someone intentionally pressing in from the outside before the fire broke out. The old man was about to report it, but the next day, the case file was suddenly closed, and the superiors issued a restraining order. Investigate further. The old man was scared and had to swallow that detail in his heart for twenty years, not daring to tell anyone, for fear that if he opened his mouth, he would share the same fate as the palace servants who died that night."

After hearing this, Viet Khoi and Khinh Vu were both speechless. This is the last missing piece: evidence that the Vinh Tho palace fire was not an accident, but an intentional murder, with all escape routes sealed in advance. Khinh Vu tightly held the hospital physician's hand as she spoke, her voice choked. "You have kept this in your heart for twenty years, bearing that fear alone, waiting for the day when you could say it. I will not let that suffering be in vain."

He also secretly rearranged the guard team escorting Khinh Vu, replacing a few positions with those who had absolutely trusted him since the time he guarded the border - including a few people who had disguised themselves as palace maids and eunuchs to serve around her palace many months ago, now being transferred directly to the service team at the main palace - at the same time, he had someone secretly carefully investigate the list of all palace maids serving tea, quickly determining who Tuong Ba Khiem was. was planted to carry out the assassination plot.

That night, before leaving Khinh Vu's palace, Viet Khoi lingered a while longer by the door frame, watching her sit by the desk and review one last time what the two of them had just discussed. He walked closer, didn't say anything, just gently placed his hand on her shoulder, a simple gesture that made Khinh Vu stop writing mid-sentence.

"No matter what happens tomorrow," he said softly, his voice low, "I will always stand between you and any danger. That was the promise I made the night you woke up in the royal palace, and that promise remains intact today."

Khinh Vu looked up at him. In that moment, all the sharp calculations that were always in her eyes suddenly softened, leaving only a warm trust that she had never dared to place in anyone since that fateful night in Tu Phu. She placed her hand on his hand that was still on her shoulder, gently squeezing it in a short breath, without saying a word, but they both understood, it was an answer that was clearer than any words that could be uttered.

"Are you sure I'm ready to face danger again," she said softly, repeating the question he hadn't yet asked out loud, "don't worry, this time I won't just be a decoy waiting for someone else to save me. If Bang finds a clue from the sea salt records before the audience begins, I will be the one to report that news to the court, so that no one, not even the Holy One, can suspect that this is just an arrangement by you to defend yourself." me.""

He left late at night, leaving Khinh Vu alone at the palace window, looking out at the quiet night sky, both nervous and determined. She knew that this would be the most important battle in her entire journey to reclaim justice, a battle that would not only decide her own fate, but also determine whether justice could overcome a force that had manipulated the court for twenty years or not. She reached for the phoenix hairpin on the dressing table and put it in her hair with her own hands instead of having her maid help her, as a private ritual before battle. Tomorrow, when she enters the main hall, she will no longer be the prey waiting in the dark like the night at Tay Lang mound, but the one who sets the trap, and this time, it is Tuong Ba Khiem who has to step in there first.