Chapter 8 — Kneeling before the Queen and Duke

Sam Khinh Vu woke up one morning ten days after being rescued, when pale sunlight shined through the curtains on her face. Eyes slightly opened, the first feeling was a dull pain throughout the body, a dry throat, and extreme confusion when realizing that he was lying in a completely unfamiliar room, not the familiar bedroom in Tu Phu. She tried to move, but her whole body was exhausted, as if she had no strength left, and could only moan softly.

The maid standing next to the bed heard the noise and happily ran to tell the news. Not long after, Viet Khoi was there, standing by the bed looking at Khinh Vu with eyes that were both happy and sad. "You're awake," he said softly, his voice relieved as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. "Do you recognize me, Khinh Vu?"

Khinh Vu blinked at the man in front of her. His face seemed a bit strange because he was much more mature than his childhood memories, but his eyes and voice evoked in her an indescribable feeling of familiarity. "Viet... Viet Khoi brother?" she exclaimed softly, her voice weak but full of surprise.

Viet Khoi nodded, eyes slightly stinging. He slowly told her everything that had happened, from his hunting group accidentally discovering an unusual grave at Tay Lang mound, to rescuing her from the cramped coffin and bringing her to the royal palace for treatment. Wherever Khinh Vu heard, tears silently rolled down, broken pieces of memories gradually reassembled in her mind: the birthday celebration party, the cup of lotus tea Nhuoc Lan gave her, the sudden angina, and Bach Quan's last words in her ear before sinking into darkness, "don't blame me, I have no other choice".

"No way..." Khinh Vu choked, her hands clenched the edge of the blanket, her body trembling. "That guy... and Nhuoc Lan... how could they be so cruel..."

Viet Khoi remained silent, giving her time to calm down. He only gently held her trembling hand, transmitting a bit of comforting warmth. A long while later, when his emotions had subsided somewhat, he slowly continued to tell her about the discovery of the Royal Physician's Hospital, about the phoenix wing-shaped cinnabar birthmark, about the piece of jade pendant engraved with the era name, and about the tragic story of Lady Vinh Tan and the lost little princess twenty years ago.

After hearing this, Khinh Vu's whole body turned to stone; she could not believe what she had just heard. She had always thought she was just the daughter of an ordinary merchant, never for a moment thought about the possibility that she had royal blood in her veins, and could not have imagined that her adoptive father, the benevolent man who raised her for twenty years, was the benefactor who risked his life to hide and protect a royal life from the hands of enemies.

"So... father..." she asked softly, her voice trembling, "do you know about this?"

"Perhaps you know," Viet Khoi replied, his voice low. "But he took that secret to the grave without having time to tell her. Perhaps he was afraid that if he told her too soon, he would put her in danger before she was even strong enough to protect herself."

Khinh Vu bowed her head, tears fell again, this time not only because of pain at the betrayal of her adopted husband and sister, but also because of sympathy for his adoptive father who had silently endured a heavy secret for twenty years, alone facing the risk of being discovered without even complaining, just quietly giving all his love to his adopted child as if it were his own.

"What should we do now?" She raised her head, although her eyes were still filled with tears, there was a ray of determination in her eyes. "I can't let him and Nhuoc Lan live leisurely with the inheritance they plundered with my blood. But I also understand that if I act hastily now, when my body has not yet recovered, when I don't have any evidence in hand, I will only push myself to death again."

Viet Khoi nodded, realizing that her hand, although still shaking on the edge of the blanket, was no longer as tight as before, but gradually relaxed, as if she was forcing herself to calm down little by little right before his eyes. "You're right. The person who harmed you this time is most likely connected to the mastermind of the previous fire. If we don't find the entire network behind it, we can only punish Bach Quan and Nhuoc Lan without getting to the root, I'm afraid the threat is still there, one day it will stretch out its octopus tentacles to harm you again."

In the following days, Khinh Vu gradually regained her health thanks to the dedicated care of the maids in the royal palace and the tonic medicine prescribed by a famous physician. Every morning, she tried to sit up by herself and practice walking a few steps around the hospital bed even though her legs were still shaking, telling herself she had to get better quickly so as not to become a burden to anyone, as well as to soon embark on a plan to reclaim justice for herself. There were nights when she lay awake unable to sleep, in her mind the image of Bach Quan bending down to whisper cruel words in her ear, the image of Nhuoc Lan standing from afar watching with cold eyes without any emotion, made her heart ache like a thousand needles, but she still tried to suppress it, reminding herself that tears could not solve anything, only alertness and patience could help her reach the end of the road ahead.

Viet Khoi also often stopped by to visit, sometimes bringing along a few books about royal etiquette and the history of the Dai Ninh dynasty for her to read while convalescing, helping her gradually become familiar with the knowledge that a little princess should have learned from a young age. He also told her more about the current political situation, about Tuong Ba Khiem's power, and about the complex relationships between factions in the court, so that she could prepare to face a world completely different from the simple merchant life she had been accustomed to for the past twenty years.

The two discussed together until late at night, finally agreeing on a plan: Khinh Vu would stay at the royal palace to recuperate in absolute secrecy, not letting anyone outside know of her existence. During that time, she will dedicate herself to exercising to recover her health, and at the same time, together with Viet Khoi, secretly collect evidence about the poisoning plot, about the connection between Nhuoc Lan and the forces in the court, waiting until everything is ready to officially reappear with her true identity, making it impossible for the enemy to react.

"Half a year," Khinh Vu said, her voice regaining some of its original composure. "I need half a year to fully recover, to relearn the royal etiquette that I have never been taught, to collect enough evidence with you. At that time, I will reappear, not in the name of a dead lady brought back to life in fear, but in the name of a little princess returning to reclaim justice."

Viet Khoi looked at her, his heart filled with deep admiration. The girl who once only knew how to endure and sacrifice wholeheartedly for her husband and family, has now transformed into a completely different person, strong, decisive, able to use reason to control pain, and able to look far ahead instead of just indulging in temporary hatred. He looked more closely at those eyes, saw that the tears had stopped falling, replaced by a cold and alert light that he had never seen in the crying girl of the past, thinking that perhaps it was the extreme suffering he had just experienced that had forged him into a completely new Sam Khinh Vu.

"I will help you," Viet Khoi said softly, his voice firm. "From today, I owe you a promise to go with you to the end of this path, no matter how much I have to face anyone, including people in my own family."

Khinh Vu smiled slightly, her first smile since waking up. Although still filled with pain, it shone with a new ray of hope. That night, when the autumn moonlight shone through the window of the royal palace, the two childhood friends, who had now become allies in a silent but arduous battle, together outlined the first steps for a journey that would last for the next half a year, a journey that would bring Sam Khinh Vu from a cold deserted grave back to the bright light of the royal palace, bringing with them both justice for themselves and the truth that had been buried for twenty years.

Before leaving the room that night, Viet Khoi further advised that, to avoid any risks, Khinh Vu's true identity while recuperating at the royal palace would be hidden under a false name. Only a few trusted people would know the truth, the rest of the servants would only be informed that this was a distant relative of the royal palace who was recovering from illness. Khinh Vu agreed, secretly grateful for his thoughtfulness, understanding that just one small mistake could cause the entire upcoming half-year plan to collapse, putting both of them in unforeseen danger.