Chapter 12 — The Heir to the Throne with the Wicked Face

The Prepared Trap

Cận Bá Tuyên was not someone who easily ignored suspicions, especially after receiving direct orders from Khưu Bá Trạch to find clues related to the reappearance of the Ghost-Faced Witch. While reviewing the list of recently appointed military officers, he noticed a small but suspicious detail: Vệ Khinh, also known as Trường Phong, always had periods of unexplained absence at night, even though his official records were completed on time.

"You have someone keep a close eye on this guy Vệ Khinh." Cận Bá Tuyên ordered a trusted subordinate. "I want to know exactly where he went, who he met, on the nights he reported being on patrol after hours."

For two weeks straight, Trường Phong was closely monitored without even realizing it, although he was always careful in every action. Until one night, when he secretly went to meet Nhược Hi at a familiar house to discuss a plan to approach the military captain, a subordinate of Cận Bá Tuyên secretly followed him and recorded all his movements.

A few days later, Trường Phong was summoned to the Minister of Military Affairs for the reason of periodically reviewing public affairs. But when he entered, he realized that the atmosphere in the room was different from usual. There were two strange generals standing guard on both sides of the door, their eyes full of menace.

"Vệ Khinh, do you know why I called you here?" Cận Bá Tuyên sat behind the desk, his cold voice completely different from his usual affability.

"Subordinates are unknown." Trường Phong kept calm, even though a feeling of insecurity began to arise in his heart.

"Someone reported that, over the past two weeks, you have often secretly left the barracks at night to meet a suspicious person at a secret house in the western part of the city." Cận Bá Tuyên slammed a stack of papers on the table, including a sketch of the house where Nhược Hi and Trường Phong often met. "How do you explain this?"

Trường Phong knew he couldn't deny it completely, because someone was watching with his own eyes, so he chose a half-truth, half-false way to alleviate the situation. "This subordinate met an old acquaintance, a lonely widow who was once beholden to the subordinate's family, and occasionally stops by to help a little, there's nothing shady."

"A lonely widow?" Cận Bá Tuyên smiled faintly, his eyes as sharp as a scowling knife. "So why did my subordinates hear in that house the sound of discussions about books, about court news, about names like Khưu Bá Trạch, like the Queen Mother? Why would an ordinary widow care about such important national affairs?"

Trường Phong knew he was cornered, but still tried to remain calm. "Sir, perhaps you heard wrongly."

"Do you think I'm that easy to fool?" Cận Bá Tuyên stood up, his voice sharp. "I suspect you have a close connection with the great thief Ghost Face Demon Girl. You may even be the one who provided him with information within the royal court. For the crime of colluding with criminals, you know what the punishment is, right?"

"Your Highness accuses your subordinates without solid evidence. I'm afraid that is not satisfactory," Trường Phong replied, his voice maintaining the necessary toughness even though his heart was extremely worried.

"Proof?" Cận Bá Tuyên clapped his hands, and two soldiers immediately escorted a bound man into the room—the owner of the house that Nhược Hi and Trường Phong often borrowed as a secret meeting place, a member of the Night Shadow Pavilion who had been arrested earlier that morning. "This person confessed that the house was rented by a mysterious organization as a place of communication, and you were one of the people who frequented it."

Trường Phong glanced at the man, noticed the panic in his eyes but still tried not to reveal any more information, knowing that he had been tortured and forced to confess but still stubbornly protecting the most important secrets.

"From now on, you are detained for further investigation." Cận Bá Tuyên ordered, his voice full of pride. "If you honestly declare everything you know about that mysterious organization, I can consider it lenient. But if you stubbornly deny your guilt, don't blame me for not being lenient."

Trường Phong was escorted to prison that night. The news quickly reached Nhược Hi through a secret communication network of the Night Shadow Pavilion installed in the Ministry of Military Affairs.

"Trường Phong was arrested?" Nhược Hi stood up when she heard the news, her face pale with worry. "For what reason?"

"Suspected collusion with the Demon Faced Witch," Tang Dịch Phong replied, his voice also full of tension. "Cận Bá Tuyên captured a person in our network and used forced testimony to incriminate the general."

Nhược Hi clenched her fists, her mind frantically calculating all the options. If Trường Phong was detained for a long time, under Cận Bá Tuyên's torture, no matter how strong-willed he was, it would be difficult to keep the secret forever. But if she rescues him by force immediately, she will be forced to reveal part of the power of the Night Shadow Pavilion, at the expense of the safety of the long-term plan she has worked so hard to build over the past three years.

"I can't let him stay there another night," she said, her voice determined. "No matter what price we have to pay, we must save Trường Phong."

"But if Her Highness comes to the rescue using the identity of the Ghost-Faced Witch, Khưu Bá Trạch will be even more convinced that there is a direct connection between the general and our organization," Tang Dịch Phong warned. "That will only make the situation more dangerous."

"I know." Nhược Hi closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, her gaze had become sharper and more decisive than ever. "But I have no other better choice than right now. I will take advantage of my position as owner of Thông Bảo Trang, use the relationships and evidence I have in hand, to pressure the court to release you before extreme measures are needed."

That night, Nhược Hi summoned the Night Shadow Pavilion's elite forces, preparing a bold plan to rescue Trường Phong while protecting both their true identities from the watchful eyes of Cận Bá Tuyên and Khưu Bá Trạch.

Instead of breaking into the prison by force as her instincts urged, Nhược Hi chose an indirect but much more dangerous path. She secretly transferred to a royal historian who was famous for his integrity but was dissatisfied with Khưu Bá Trạch's power a stack of documents copied from Cận Bá Tuyên's own books - evidence that he had forced confessions and used illegal corporal punishment on innocent civilians in many previous cases, a serious violation of imperial law that Cận Bá Tuyên himself always carefully concealed.

"If this royal historian submits a petition, Cận Bá Tuyên will be forced to take care of himself before continuing to investigate Trường Phong's case." Nhược Hi explains the plan to Tang Dịch Phong. "At the same time, I will let people spread rumors among the mandarins that the arrest of a promising young military officer just because of a few vague statements proving that the Minister of Military Affairs is abusing his power, may cause many people who are already dissatisfied with him to be more shaken."

The plan went exactly as calculated. Just three days later, the royal historian presented Cận Bá Tuyên's petition to the court, forcing him to focus all his attention on dealing with the risk of being dismissed, leaving no time to thoroughly interrogate Trường Phong's case. At the same time, Khưu Bá Trạch, realizing that the arrest did not have solid evidence and was causing unfavorable public opinion for his faction at a sensitive time before the investiture ceremony, quietly ordered the release of Trường Phong, only demoting him to one level as a gentle form of deterrence to save face.

When Trường Phong stepped out of the prison, his body covered in wounds from the torture during several days of detention but his eyes still unwavering, Nhược Hi had someone waiting to take him to a safe place to take care of him. Seeing her, he smiled slightly even though his lips were swollen and purple.

"I know you will think of a way," he spoke, his voice hoarse from being starved for several days.

"Next time, don't be so reckless as to keep quiet that you'll let yourself suffer like that again." Nhược Hi both blamed and felt sorry for him, wiping the wound on his face with her own hand. "I almost lost my mind with worry."

"I'm just doing what I need to do, to protect you and the whole situation," Trường Phong replied, his eyes looking at her affectionately even though his body was still in pain. "As long as I know she's safe, all the suffering I endure will be worth it."

This event, even though it ended safely, was also a profound wake-up call for both: Khưu Bá Trạch and Cận Bá Tuyên were starting to get very close to the truth, and they would not have much time left to complete their plan before being completely discovered.