Chapter 14 — The God of Light's Swapped Bride

While Da Vu was still on his way to search for the Quang Thach slab in the ruins on the outskirts of the city, the trial at Lam Thanh temple was unusually accelerated. Co Bat Uy, through his powerful connections in the court, influenced the trial to take place five days earlier than originally scheduled, right when he knew that Da Vu would not be able to return in time.

Y Nhi was escorted to the front of the street in simple chains. Her face was haggard after several days of imprisonment but her eyes still remained steadfast. She looked around the courtroom, hoping to find Da Vu's silhouette, but only saw the strange and cold faces of the mandarins sitting on the high platform.

"Lang Y Nhi," the judge presiding over the trial said in a stern voice, "you are accused of stealing the family heirloom of the Lang family. The evidence is clear, the witnesses are complete. Do you have anything to defend yourself?"

"Sir," Y Nhi replied, her voice shaking but still trying to maintain a dignified look, "I absolutely did not steal that brooch. I believe that this is a slanderous plot, someone deliberately hid that object in my belongings to harm me."

"Do you have any evidence to prove your words?" the official asked, his voice still maintaining outward objectivity.

Y Nhi bit her lip. She did not have any specific evidence to refute, only a firm belief in her own innocence. "I don't have direct proof," she admitted, "but I swear to heaven and earth, I never touched that brooch."

Lang Vinh Khoi was invited to testify, standing in front of the public square with a heavy expression, not daring to look directly at his daughter. Doan Thanh Nhan sat next to her, her eyes were cold, not showing the slightest bit of guilt as she declared the pre-arranged statements.

"I confirm," Doan Thanh Nhan said, her voice filled with false certainty, "the jade brooch is a family heirloom of my palace, always kept carefully in a private room. Y Nhi visited my room last week when the item disappeared, and now it has been found again among her belongings."

Y Nhi looked at her stepmother, an indescribable pain rose in her heart at that cold cruelty, but she was not surprised. What hurt her the most was her father's eyes - the man standing there, silent, not saying a single word to defend his biological daughter.

"Huong Hau Lang," the presiding officer turned to ask Lang Vinh Khoi, "do you have anything to add?"

Lang Vinh Khoi took a deep breath, his eyes glanced at Y Nhi for a split second, then quickly turned away. "I... I have nothing more to add," he replied, his voice shaking but still trying to remain calm. "All of your statements are correct."

A silent scream rang out in Y Nhi's heart. She had hoped, even if there was only a faint glimmer of hope, that her father would stand up to protect her, would tell the truth. But now, when she heard him confirm that false testimony with his own mouth, her heart felt like it was broken into pieces.

Before the trial continued, another mandarin sitting next to the presiding officer softly whispered something in his ear. Y Nhi noticed that the host nodded slightly, his eyes flashed with a hint of calculation that she could not understand. She did not know that official was also part of the network of relationships that Co Bat Uy had quietly cultivated over the years, ready to bend the rules to the will of those with power and money.

At that moment, a strange man entered the courtroom, introduced himself as representing a powerful man, and asked to express his opinion. That was Ta Khac Dung, appearing exactly as the script had planned.

"My lords," he said, his voice filled with false politeness, "my master, considering the pitiful situation of this girl, wants to act as a guarantor, asking for the punishment to be reduced, in exchange for her accepting to become a concubine in the palace to atone for her crime."

The whole courtroom was in an uproar. Y Nhi raised her head, her eyes burning with anger. "I would rather suffer the heaviest punishment than accept that condition!" she shouted, her voice echoing throughout the courtroom.

The presiding officer tapped his gavel, signaling silence. "This is a private matter, not within the scope of public judgment," he said. "I will pass judgment based on the evidence and testimony that is available."

After a period of artificial deliberation, the mandarin announced the sentence: Y Nhi was convicted of theft, had to be imprisoned for another month, and compensated twice the value of the lost item. It was a much lighter sentence than what the law stipulated for the crime of stealing aristocratic heirlooms, a deliberate "leniency" to pave the way for Co Bat Uy's next step.

But what hurt Y Nhi more than that sentence came right after. Lang Vinh Khoi, under the hidden pressure that Ta Khac Dung had suggested before the trial, stepped out in front of the court and announced a decision that made the entire courtroom silent in surprise.

"I, Lang Vinh Khoi, hereby officially renounce all father-son relations with Lang Y Nhi," he said, his voice shaking but still trying to remain decisive. "From today, her name will be erased from the Lang family tree, she will no longer be my daughter."

Y Nhi stood dumbfounded, not believing her ears. She looked at her father, her eyes were red but not a single tear fell, as if the shock was so great that she completely paralyzed all emotions.

"Dad..." she whispered, her voice cracking. "Dad, would you really do that?"

Lang Vinh Khoi did not dare look straight into his daughter's eyes, just bowed his head, turned around and walked away quickly, as if he wanted to escape from the cruel act he had just committed. Doan Thanh Nhan followed behind, the corner of her mouth flickering with a satisfied smile that she tried to hide.

Tuyet Vy, standing in the crowd watching the trial, witnessed the entire scene and felt a shiver run down her spine. For the first time, she realized that things had gone much further than she had imagined when she started the wedding exchange plan. She looked at her sister standing dumbfounded in the middle of the courtroom, and in that moment, she suddenly remembered her childhood years, when Y Nhi often gave her the cake, and often protected her every time she made a mistake and was scolded by adults. A vague sense of guilt crept into her heart, but it was quickly crushed by fear of Co Bat Uy's power and her mother's severity.

"Let's go," Doan Thanh Nhan urged, grabbing Tuyet Vy's hand and pulling her away. "There's no point in standing here any longer."

She still didn't have the courage to speak up, so she just quietly left with her parents, leaving her sister standing alone in the empty courtroom, amidst the curious and pitiful eyes of passersby.

Y Nhi was escorted back to the cell, her steps were as heavy as stones. She sat crouched in the corner of the cramped, dark cell, her tears finally began to flow endlessly, wetting the hem of her shirt. She lost everything — her family, her status, even her name in her ancestral family tree — in just one fateful afternoon.

She didn't know where Da Vu was now, if he could find a way to save her, or if he still had time to return before things got even worse. Loneliness and despair surrounded her between four cold stone walls, and for the first time since she was switched on the night of the great ceremony, she felt she had truly reached the deepest depths of suffering.

The warden guarding the cell, an older man who had no grudge against her, saw her crying alone and felt somewhat sad. "Miss," he said softly through the bars, his voice somewhat apologetic, "there was a piece of paper someone asked me to pass to you, saying it was from an old woman in your old palace."

Y Nhi raised her head and quickly received the crumpled piece of paper through the iron bars. It was the scribbled, shaky handwriting of the nanny, just a few short lines: "Mr. Da Vu has set out to find a way to save you. He told you to have faith and will definitely return in time."

She hugged the piece of paper tightly to her chest, the tears still kept falling, but in her heart, a small ray of hope had begun to rekindle amid the desperate night of the cold prison cell. Even though she did not know where her husband was or what he was doing, she still chose to believe in the promise he had given her, the same way she had trusted him since the first and most difficult days in the poor Ben Muon area.