Chapter 8 — On the wedding night, when he was forced to marry Vuong Gia Khat's wife, I used a needle to acupuncture his life.

The Emperor and Duong Huc both looked at me in surprise. The Emperor smiled bitterly: "Indeed... amazing..."

“Can you cure it?” Duong Huc quickly asked.

I bit my lip: "I can try it once, but I need some special herbs..."

"The medicinal herbs of the Thai hospital are up to you to use." The Emperor weakly said, “I… believe you…”

I looked at the Emperor in surprise, not understanding why he trusted a stranger like me. Duong Huc seemed to see my doubts and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty is like a father and son to me." It turns out that's it. I nodded and quickly wrote down the remedy. Duong Huc called the eunuch confidant and ordered him to immediately prepare.

“Does your Majesty know… who poisoned you?”

I asked carefully while preparing for acupuncture. The Emperor and Duong Huc looked at each other, the Emperor smiled bitterly: "Who else could it be... Ly..." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly convulsed violently, the corner of his mouth overflowing with black blood! I immediately inserted a needle to stabilize his pulse, but the situation was critical, the usual methods were no longer effective... just like the time I treated Vuong, I could only "treat poison with poison". I gritted my teeth and said, "But it's extremely dangerous..."

“Use.” Duong Huc said decisively, "All consequences will be borne by this king."

I took a deep breath, took out a small porcelain bottle from the hidden compartment in the medicine box, the last time I used it for the royal family, there was still quite a bit left. The emperor was unconscious again. I helped him up and put the medicinal liquid into his mouth little by little.

“What is that?” Duong Huc lowered his voice and asked.

“Doan Trang Tan.” Last time, he was unconscious, so of course he didn't know what I used to treat him.

I wholeheartedly observed the Emperor's reaction.

“Same as what the Prince used that day.”

Duong Huc's eyes became complicated: "You carry poison with you?"

“Just for protection.”

I replied briefly, stopped with my bare hands, and quickly stabbed the silver needle into the Emperor's major acupuncture points. A moment later, the Emperor's face began to change for the better, and his breathing became a little more stable. I breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

“For now, it's stable.”

I said softly, "But it takes seven days of continuous treatment to completely eliminate the toxins." Duong Huc nodded, a flash of appreciation flashed in his eyes:

"You saved the Emperor, my king... I don't know how to thank you."

“The king is too talkative.”

I bowed my head, "This is the duty of a physician."

“The duty of a physician…” he repeated softly, suddenly asking, “That snowy night five years ago, why did you save me?”

My fingers trembled, the silver needle almost fell: "Just passing by." His voice was very light, but each word was clear,

"That night, there was a snowstorm on the mountain, and there was absolutely no way for a traveler to pass by."

I remained silent and continued to concentrate on acupuncture.

“Ton Hinh Nhi…” he suddenly grabbed my wrist, “Who are you?”

I raised my head to look at him, facing eyes as deep as ink, my heart beating like thunder. At this moment, I know I can't hide it anymore.

“My mother… is one of the founders of Han Mai restaurant.” my voice trembled.

"But she discovered that Prime Minister Ly used Han Mai shop to research harmful poisons, and wanted to expose... so..."

“So it was destroyed.” Duong Huc continued, his eyes gloomy, "That night Prime Minister Ly admitted it."

My eyes are hot:

“That night I saved you because I saw that those who were pursuing you were all wearing Han's jade pendants Mai Quan... I want to find clues from you..."

Duong Huc's eyes changed from surprise to awakening, and finally turned into deep guilt. He grabbed my hand: "So all these years... you've been searching for the cause of your mother's death?" I nodded, tears finally falling:

"Before she died, my mother made me swear... I must stop Han Mai Quan from continuing to harm people..."

He raised his head to look at me, his eyes had never been so gentle:

"If you ever saved my life, from now on, this life of Duong Huc is yours."

A warm current welled up in my heart, but I was speechless. The Emperor's weak voice broke this warm moment: "You two... treat me... as if I don't exist..." We then remembered that the Emperor was still by our side, so we quickly separated. Although the Emperor was weak, there was a smile in his eyes: "Your Majesty... your eyes are not bad..." Duong Huc rarely blushed: "Your Majesty, don't provoke me." I was so embarrassed that I didn't know where to hide my face, so I quickly bowed my head and continued acupuncture. For the next seven days, I stayed at the Emperor's bedside day and night, helping the Emperor detoxify and treat his wounds. Duong Huc secretly commanded troops and gathered evidence that Prime Minister Ly was plotting treason. On the afternoon of Saturday, the Emperor was finally out of danger and in much better spirits. He leaned against the headboard, looked at me and Duong Huc, and suddenly said: "It's time." Duong Huc nodded, turned and left the palace. A moment later, there was a commotion outside, followed by Prime Minister Ly's angry roar.

“What are you doing? I am the prime minister of the dynasty! Let me go!”

The palace door was pushed open, Duong Huc's bodyguard escorted the tied Prime Minister Ly in and threw him to the ground.