Chapter 22 — Kneeling before the Queen and Duke

Time passed quickly, after being officially ordained, Khinh Vu gradually stabilized her new life as a princess with a voice in the royal court. She was allowed by the Saint to participate in a number of important political discussions, especially issues related to trade and people's livelihood, areas in which, thanks to many years of experience managing the Sam family's family business, she had a deeper understanding than most court officials who were only familiar with historical books.

One of the first things Khinh Vu proposed to the Saint, after somewhat stabilizing his new life, was to reform some legal regulations related to the investigation of cases among the nobility and mandarins. She clearly realized that the reason Tuong Ba Khiem was able to run rampant for twenty years without being detected was largely because the mechanism for investigating cases related to the nobility was often sought to be covered up and hastily closed by those with power in that world, like what happened with the fire at Vinh Tho palace in the past.

"I strongly think," Khinh Vu reported to His Majesty during an audience, "it is necessary to establish an independent monitoring agency, not under the direct influence of any minister, specialized in re-investigating cases that show signs of being covered up or closed abnormally, especially cases related to human life. Only when there is such an independent monitoring mechanism, tragedies similar to what happened to my mother and myself will happen." The new god can be prevented early, instead of having to wait until the truth is accidentally discovered decades later.""

His Majesty, after carefully considering this proposal, and discussing further with the remaining ministers in the court, finally decided to prepare and establish a new agency called the Supervisory Institute, directly under the authority of His Majesty, with the right to independently investigate any case suspected of illegal interference from powerful mandarins, regardless of status or background. This is considered an important reform, marking a major turning point in the Dai Ninh court's legal system, whose initiative belongs to Sam Khinh Vu himself, who experienced firsthand the pain of justice being delayed for twenty years.

Not only stopping there, Khinh Vu also proposed improving the lives of servants and servants in noble families, recalling the years of witnessing butler Binh and many other servants in Tu Phu having to endure unfair treatment under masters who abused their positions. She proposed to promulgate a number of new regulations, ensuring minimum rights for the servant class, prohibiting employers from arbitrarily punishing or cruelly treating servants in the house, a proposal that initially faced a lot of opposition from conservative aristocrats but was gradually accepted thanks to her persistent persuasion.

Besides those great reforms, Khinh Vu also did not forget to pay attention to the smaller details in people's daily lives. She often traveled outside the palace, disguising herself as a commoner to observe firsthand the lives of people in Khanh Duong capital, thereby proposing more practical policies such as reducing taxes for small business families in difficulty, or establishing more free medical stations in poor areas to help those who could not afford to pay for medicine. These actions gradually made her image in the hearts of the people become close and loved no less than the respect that the mandarins had for her because of her intelligence and bravery shown in the overthrow of Tuong Ba Khiem.

Old lady Tu, after her son was executed, her health seriously deteriorated, and she finally passed away not long after due to old age and the mounting pain of losing her child. Khinh Vu, even though he no longer had any obligations, still personally visited the funeral, standing quietly in the back, not wanting to attract anyone's attention, just silently saying goodbye to the woman who had treated him kindly during the three years she was Tu Phu's bride. That action, when known to a few people, made her image even more popular with the people, a princess who not only had sharp intelligence but also maintained a kind and grateful heart despite experiencing so much suffering caused by her own family.

As for Tham Nhuoc Lan, after being exiled to another country, Khinh Vu still silently had people monitor her situation from afar, not to continue to prosecute her crimes, but to ensure that she did not fall into such poverty that she had to risk committing another crime. She received news that Nhuoc Lan had settled in a remote land near the border, living a quiet life, teaching literacy to children in the village to make a living, and seemed to have truly repented after all the events she had gone through.

Khinh Vu, after many nights of thinking, decided to have someone secretly send Nhuoc Lan a small amount of money and a short letter, not to completely forgive her for what she had done, but to give her a chance to start her life over in a better direction. In the letter, she only wrote a few lines: "I cannot forget what you have done to me, but I also understand that you are just another victim of someone else's greed for power. I hope you live the rest of your life honestly, as a way to atone for your past mistakes."

That action of Khinh Vu made Viet Khoi surprised when he found out, but also secretly admired her rare tolerance. "Did you really forgive her?" he asked, as they both sat chatting in the royal garden one quiet afternoon.

"I don't dare say I have completely forgiven," Khinh Vu replied, her eyes looking far away at the flowers blooming in the garden. "But I understand, if I keep holding on to hatred in my heart, the person who will suffer the most in the end will still be myself. I choose not to forget what happened, always remember it as a lesson to be more careful in life, but also not let it continue to imprison my heart forever in the darkness of hatred. That is the way I choose to move forward, carrying with me both the wounds and the valuable lessons learned."

In addition to Nhuoc Lan's story, Khinh Vu also spent time focusing on restoring the honor of families that had been unintentionally unjustly implicated by Tuong Ba Khiem's power over the past twenty years. She had someone review many old case files, discovering that many families had been falsely accused and had their property taken away just because they had a small conflict with the Grand Master's faction. From there, she presented it to the Holy Lord to ask for vindication and return a part of the property that had been unjustly confiscated, helping many families have the opportunity to rebuild their lives after many years of suffering in silence, not knowing who to turn to.

Viet Khoi looked at her, didn't say anything, just quietly poured another cup of tea and pushed it towards her when he saw that the old cup had cooled down, a small gesture he still repeated every time she was so engrossed in work that she forgot herself. The girl who endured the extreme pain of betrayal is now not only standing strong again, but also using those painful experiences to build a more equitable future for not only herself, but also for many other people in society. He understood that this was what made him respect and love her more and more, not only because of her external beauty or noble status, but because of her bravery and kindness hidden deep inside her.

“You have changed an entire court in just a few short months,” he said, his voice filled with admiration. "From establishing the Supervisory Institute, to improving the lives of servants, to exonerating unjustly accused families, all of those things would have taken many years for a normal official to do, but she was able to do it in such a short time."

"I'm just trying to turn the suffering I've experienced into something more meaningful," Khinh Vu replied, smiling slightly. "If we just keep the pain to ourselves and do nothing to change the injustices that still exist around us, then perhaps everything we have gone through will become meaningless. I want when I look back, my mother in nine streams can be proud of what her daughter has done in life."