Chapter 17 — Old Book Repairer In A Small Alley

One week after the meeting with Ung The Khang, Duy Khoi was summoned to meet the dean on a Monday morning. Mr. Lu Dinh Toan, who has led the Literature Department for more than fifteen years, sat behind his desk with a heavy expression that was completely different from his usual warm attitude.

"Duy Khoi," he said, his voice somewhat reserved, "I heard some information about you conducting an underground investigation related to Ung Boi Chau, in parallel with the official reprint project. Can you explain more clearly?"

Duy Khoi took a deep breath and decided to be honest. "Yes, teacher, I discovered some evidence that the poem book Smoke Suong Lac Ben may not have been entirely composed by Ung Boi Chau, but by another author. I am coordinating with an independent expert to verify."

Mr. Toan's face darkened. "Do you know that the sixty-year reprint project is being sponsored by Tinh Hoa Publishing House with a large sum of money, and our department is counting on that funding to maintain many other research activities? If this news gets out before the official conclusion, not only will your project be affected, but the reputation of the department and the school will also be affected."

"I understand your concerns," Duy Khoi replied, trying to keep his voice calm even though an indescribable frustration was rising in his heart. "But teacher, if the evidence I have is true, we are talking about a woman having her creative efforts taken from her for sixty years. As a literary researcher, I cannot turn a blind eye to that just because of concerns about funding."

"I'm not telling you to turn a blind eye," Mr. Toan said, his voice softening a bit but still maintaining a stern look. "I just want you to be careful, follow the correct procedures, and have the supervision of the scientific council before announcing anything to the public. Don't let your personal feelings - I heard that you are emotionally involved with the person who discovered this evidence - dominate the objectivity of your research work."

The last sentence made Duy Khoi stunned. He did not expect that the private matter between him and Lam had also reached the dean's ears, and clearly, that was not information he had guessed on his own, but someone had deliberately provided it to him, with the purpose of weakening his reputation in the eyes of his superiors.

"Where did you hear that from?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

Mr. Toan hesitated for a moment. "Someone sent me an anonymous email, with several photos of me and that girl in many different locations, along with a warning that I was letting my personal feelings affect my professional work and discrediting the department if I continued to pursue a 'baseless conspiracy theory'."

Duy Khoi felt blood rush to his face from anger. Clearly this is an organized smear campaign, not only targeting their evidence but also targeting his own personal honor, to isolate him from the support of his colleagues and superiors.

"Can you show me that email?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm even though he was boiling inside.

Mr. Toan hesitated for a moment, then opened the computer and rotated the screen for Duy Khoi to see. The email was sent from an anonymous address, without a clear sender's name, but the writing was professional and sharp, not like a regular anonymous email but like a carefully drafted document by someone who understands how the academic environment operates.

"I think this is not a random angry individual sent to you," Duy Khoi said, his voice heavy. "This is an organized, carefully orchestrated campaign aimed squarely at discrediting you before you can announce anything official."

"I understand your concerns," Mr. Toan said, his voice softening a bit, perhaps because he realized that he was also being used as a tool in a much larger war than he initially imagined. "But I also have a responsibility to the entire department, to dozens of other lecturers and students who are dependent on research funding. I do not prohibit you from continuing, but I ask you to temporarily not use the name of the department or the school in any activities related to this, until there is a clear conclusion."

Duy Khoi nodded, understanding that this was a necessary compromise, even though it did not completely satisfy him. "I understand, teacher. I will be clear and will not use the name of the department for this anymore."

Leaving the dean's office, Duy Khoi felt a new loneliness, different from the previous feeling of loneliness when he was the only person Lam trusted. Now, he himself is gradually being pushed to the edge of the academic environment in which he has spent his entire career, just because he dared to pursue a truth that many people want to remain forever in the dark.

At the same time, in Tra Lang, Lam also received bad news. An article appeared on a website specializing in literature, signed Tieu Ngoc Lam, with the title "Need to be cautious about 'findings' that lack scientific basis on literary copyright". The article, although not naming Khoi Suong Lac Ben, uses arguments very close to their case, warning about "the trend of creating sensational stories based on a few pages that have not been fully verified, causing confusion in public opinion and harming the nation's cultural heritage."

Lam read the article and his hands shook with anger and confusion. She immediately called Duy Khoi, who was also in a confused mood after the meeting with the dean.

"She betrayed me," Lam said, her voice choking. "After everything she said to us, now she writes such an offensive article."

"I just read it too," Duy Khoi replied, his voice clearly tired. "But pay close attention, the article does not name her case, nor does it completely deny the possibility that the evidence is real, just generally speaking about the need to be cautious. Maybe she is under pressure from somewhere, writing this article as a way to protect herself, or maybe this is part of an agreement with Tinh Hoa in exchange for something."

"So should I contact her again now?" Lam asked.

"Not yet," Duy Khoi replied. "Let me find out more about the situation first. But Ms. Lam, I have to be honest, the situation is deteriorating faster than I thought. They are attacking on many fronts at once — my academic reputation, the scientific reputation of the evidence, and perhaps, soon, the legal system."

Just as he predicted, just two days later, a letter from the lawyer's office representing Tinh Hoa Publishing House was sent to both Lam and Duy Khoi, with official and deterrent content: requesting both to immediately stop all acts of "spreading false information, insulting the honor and dignity of the late poet Ung Boi Chau and his family", otherwise they will initiate a lawsuit to claim compensation for damages with a clearly stated amount, a number large enough to scare anyone. must also falter.

Lam held the letter in her hand, standing silently in the workshop, feeling as if the fragile protective wall that she and Duy Khoi had built over the past few months was being shaken violently from all sides. She looked out the window and saw the clearance notice still posted at the beginning of the alley, now supplemented with a new sign, more clearly stating the progress and expected timeline — a coincidence in timing that made her unable to help but think that this was part of Ung The Khang's overall strategy: tightening the grip from all directions, until she had no choice but to surrender.

That evening, Duy Khoi arrived at Vong Chu shop, his face haggard after a long and turbulent day. Lam showed him the letter from the lawyer's office. He read it through, his jaw clenched.

"The compensation amount they mentioned is enough to bankrupt not only your shop but also my family if I had to pay," he said, his voice bitter. "This is a familiar tactic — using huge financial pressure to make the opponent automatically withdraw out of fear, even though it is unknown whether the case will win or lose."

"Should I find my own lawyer?" Lam asked, his voice worried.

"I contacted a lawyer, a former classmate from college, who is currently working at a law office specializing in protecting the rights of disadvantaged groups," Duy Khoi replied. "He agreed to review the file for free in the early stages, saying that if his evidence was strong enough, their threat to sue was just a scare tactic, their likelihood of winning the case was not high, because this was essentially a dispute about historical truth, not an ordinary defamation case."

That reassurance helped Lam calm down somewhat, but in her heart she still couldn't dispel the feeling that, even if the law was on their side, the road ahead was still long and thorny, when the opponents they were confronting possessed resources and influence far beyond what the two of them could fend off on their own.