Chapter 20 — The Abyssal King Returns

Three days after the horrifying battle at Huyền Khương Hall square, a public trial was held right at the main hall, with the full participation of all civil and martial officials, elders representing large and small clans throughout the U Minh Giới, and representatives of the common people invited to witness to ensure absolute transparency after seven years of government manipulation in the dark.

Cố Thanh Vũ was brought to the front of the main hall in chains, his face no longer looked as cold and authoritative as before, but was haggard and haggard after three days of being detained awaiting trial. Nhiếp Bách Khương, as the direct victim of the old slander plot, and Diệp Uyên Thanh as the most important witness, took turns presenting the entire incident before the jury consisting of the most impartial elders left in the court.

"Cố Thanh Vũ, you are accused of poisoning Princess Điền Nguyệt Hinh, planting dark magic on little princess Nie Tiểu Yên with the aim of destroying the royal bloodline, falsely accusing you of harming loyal minister Nhiếp Bách Khương, and countless charges of abusing power and oppressing people during the seven years you held the position of Regent. Do you have anything to defend?" The elder presiding over the trial raised his stern voice, echoing throughout the great hall.

Cố Thanh Vũ knelt down and remained silent for a long time. His eyes gradually lost their original stubbornness, replaced by extreme helplessness. "I... I have nothing to defend. All the evidence is so clear, I only regret that my many years of planning finally failed because of a bloodline that I thought had long since disappeared."

"So you admit all the crimes?" The elder asked again.

"I admit it," he replied, his voice low and full of bitterness. "But I want to ask one question, before accepting the sentence." He raised his head and looked straight at Bách Uyên standing quietly behind the row of honor seats. "If you don't give up the throne and don't give up your responsibility, will I still have a chance to carry out that plot?"

Bách Uyên stepped forward, his eyes looking straight at the person who ruined most of his life, his voice was calm but full of weight. "Your question has no meaning, because the essence of the problem does not lie in my presence or absence, but in the greed and ambition that have been ingrained in you since before my daughter was born. If it weren't for that contract, you would have found another plot to satisfy your ambition for power."

Cố Thanh Vũ bowed his head, unable to respond, silently accepting that bitter truth. After consulting, the Council of Elders made the final decision: to strip him of all titles, to permanently imprison him in the same dungeon that he used to imprison Nhiếp Bách Khương, and to confiscate all his assets to compensate the families who had suffered unjustly under his harsh rule for so long.

The insider who betrayed Chu Bách Thành's trust was also put on trial separately, but thanks to Bách Uyên's leniency, considering the circumstances of being threatened and not directly causing anyone's death, he was only permanently stripped of his military power and had to do community service for many years to atone for his mistakes, instead of being sentenced to death as previously prescribed by harsh laws.

The Shadow Guard team under Cố Thanh Vũ was also summoned for private questioning. Most of the subordinates were stripped of their magic power and imprisoned depending on the severity of the crime, but Hắc Diệu, who voluntarily put down his weapon and withdrew from battle right in the middle of the tide of battle instead of risking his life to protect his former master to the end, had his sentence reduced to a term of house arrest. When asked why he was not loyal until the last minute, he just shrugged and replied simply: "I work for the strongest, not for someone who is about to lose." Nie Bách Khương, after a moment of consideration, decided to keep him in the palace guard team under strict supervision, believing that a person who was alert enough to realize the truth even at the last minute still had a chance to atone for what he had done.

"Your Majesty, your mercy towards traitors truly impresses me." A neutral minister, who had hesitated before deciding to side with the truth, clasped his hands in worship.

"I have learned that cruel punishment is not always the best way to deter," Bách Uyên replied, his eyes looking into the distance, where the sunlight was shining through the large windows of the main hall. "Sometimes, giving people the opportunity to correct their mistakes has much greater emotional power than the sword."

In the following days, the U Minh Giới court embarked on the task of rectifying the entire bureaucratic system that had been corrupted for so many years. Nhiếp Bách Khương, with the trust of both courtiers and common people after what he had gone through, was assigned the temporary responsibility of running daily court affairs, while the council of elders and Chu Bách Thành supported supervision, ensuring all decisions were transparent and fair.

People throughout the U Minh Giới, upon hearing about the fall of Cố Thanh Vũ and the return of the once beloved Venerable Lord, organized small spontaneous festivals throughout the villages and towns, celebrating the close of a dark chapter in history. Harsh taxes were immediately abolished, political prisoners who had been unjustly detained for many years were also released one after another, reunited with their families in tears of happiness.

In the midst of that joyful atmosphere, Bách Uyên spent most of his time with Thục Di, who was still in the recovery stage after losing too much blood and wasting her vitality to awaken the hidden Pure Spirit bloodline within her. Every morning, he personally carried the bowl of smoking medicine into her room, sat patiently blowing it to cool it down before spooning it in, his hands that had signed thousands of decrees now clumsily adjusted to her breathing rhythm so as not to make her choke. Tiểu Yên, now completely healthy, kept sitting at the head of the bed, telling and retelling the story of that night until Thục Di had to laugh because she heard the same part for the tenth time, not taking a step away from the hospital bed of the person she considered her mother.

"You don't need to worry about taking care of me so carefully. There are still many court affairs waiting for you to resolve," Thục Di said, one afternoon when she saw Bách Uyên personally feeding her spoonfuls of medicinal porridge.

"Nothing is more important than taking care of the person who risked her life to save my daughter," he replied, his eyes filled with deep respect. "The royal court already has Bách Khương and the elders to take care of it. As for this matter, I want to do it myself."

Chung Diệu Nga, while waiting for Thục Di to recover, also took the opportunity to walk around U Minh Thiên Cung, unable to hide her amazement at the wonders of this world, from the sacred wood gardens that glow gently at night, to the ancient libraries that have preserved knowledge for thousands of years. She thought to herself, perhaps this was the place where fate had arranged for her student to find her true origin, even though the road leading there was so full of dangers that she once feared losing the only adopted child of her life.

Diệp Uyên Thanh, after completing her important role as a witness, was invited by Nhiếp Bách Khương to return to the position in charge of the royal archives, a job she had devoted herself to for many years before the incident occurred. She happily accepted, seeing this as a way to continue serving a court that had now returned to the right path.

"For the past seven years, I have only hoped that one day I would see justice served." She told Bách Uyên in a private meeting. "Now that wish has come true, I have nothing to regret anymore."

"It is you who deserve the most credit in all of this," Bách Uyên replied, bowing his head to thank her again. "If it weren't for your courage to preserve evidence for seven years, perhaps the truth would have been buried forever."

Nhiếp Bách Khương, in the temporary role of managing the court, also quickly demonstrated his ability and impartiality, promulgating a series of policies to ease the burden on common people, restoring positions that had been unjustly abolished during the past seven harsh years. He often came to consult Bách Uyên about important decisions, although his cousin always humbly said that he was the one directly in power, and his opinion was only for reference.

"You say that, but I know clearly that without your guidance, it will be difficult for me to properly handle the complex problems remaining from the past seven years of chaos," Nhiếp Bách Khương said, his eyes full of respect for his cousin who had gone through so many challenges to return.

"You underestimate yourself." Bách Uyên smiled and patted his cousin's shoulder. "Seven years of imprisonment have not eroded my intelligence and righteousness, but on the contrary, have trained me with a patience and understanding of the suffering of common people that not every monarch has."

In the evenings, when all work was temporarily put aside, Bách Uyên often sat alone on the highest balcony of a small palace for the royal family to rest, looking down at the shimmering lights of the capital that was gradually reviving life after seven years of gloom. In his heart, the question about his own future still lingers endlessly, mixed with responsibility for the whole world and the desire for a simple life that he has experienced in the human world.

Peace gradually returned across the Underworld, but for Bách Uyên, a big question still hung in his mind — now that justice had been served, when his daughter was completely safe, should he return to the position of Lord that he had abandoned seven years ago, or continue to pursue the idyllic path that he had grown to love during his years living among humans.