Chapter 18 — The Heir to the Throne with the Wicked Face

The Day of Destiny is Appointed

Ten days after the stormy court meeting, Khưu Bá Trạch officially announced to the entire court: the ceremony to invest Khương Bạt Nghi as the new monarch will be held on the fifteenth day of the twelfth month, on the occasion of the Western Liang Three Kingdoms delegation still remaining in the capital to witness, as a way to affirm the legitimacy and stability of the Đại Hạ court in the eyes of neighboring countries.

"In the past three years, the royal court has gone through a difficult period due to the lack of an official successor," Khưu Bá Trạch announced in front of the official, his voice full of authority. "It is time to end this situation, bringing Đại Hạ into a new period of stability and development under the rule of the new army."

This news was like an alarm bell ringing straight at Thông Bảo Trang. Nhược Hi, upon hearing the official announcement, knew that the remaining time to act had been narrowed to a minimum.

"There's less than half a month left," she spoke to Trường Phong, her voice filled with tension. "Tang Dịch Phong still has no news from the border."

Just when the situation was most tense, a secret messenger from the Night Shadow Pavilion came to Thông Bảo Trang, carrying a carefully sealed envelope from Tang Dịch Phong. Nhược Hi quickly opened it, her hands shaking with excitement.

The content of the letter made her breathe a sigh of relief mixed with extreme excitement: Tang Dịch Phong had found the captain of the old army, now living anonymously under a different name at a border outpost. After many days of persistent persuasion, including revealing part of the truth about Nhược Hi's true identity, the captain - who had been harboring a persistent obsession for the past three years because he had participated in the heinous crime that year - finally agreed to testify, on the condition that the safety of his young family was guaranteed.

"He said that, for the past three years, he has had nightmares every night about what happened at Kim Loan Palace that year." Tang Dịch Phong wrote. "He is just a pawn forced to carry out orders, with no choice but to obey, but the burden of conscience has eroded him over the years. I will take him back to the capital in absolute secrecy, expected to arrive three days before the investiture ceremony."

Nhược Hi hugged the letter tightly to her heart, tears suddenly flowing from her eyes because of emotion. "We have all three of the most important pieces: the payment book, Lady Ung's testimony, and now the direct witness who participated in the night of the incident. Enough to build an irrefutable record."

But the good news brought a new danger. As soon as Khưu Bá Trạch learned through his private network that a former soldier from the Imperial Army was being secretly brought from the border to the capital, he realized that his greatest fear of the past three years had returned.

"Stop him at all costs." He ordered Cận Bá Tuyên, his voice was sharp and filled with murderous intent. "If we let that guy reach the capital before the investiture ceremony, all our efforts over the past three years could collapse in the blink of an eye."

Cận Bá Tuyên immediately mobilized a group of elite cavalry, carrying special orders, and set out to intercept Tang Dịch Phong's group on the way back to the capital. At the same time, Khưu Bá Trạch also secretly ordered people to increase surveillance on Ứng Diệu Trân and Tịnh Nghiệp Am, determined to extinguish all remaining clues before the investiture ceremony took place.

"From now until the day of the investiture ceremony, I will not allow any variables to have a chance to interfere." He told Uất Nguyệt Hàn in a private meeting. "Once Bạt Nghi has been officially ordained and sits firmly on the throne, all evidence and all witnesses, even if they appear, will no longer have any meaning, because the rules have been arranged, no one can overturn the situation once the throne has an owner."

"Are you sure you can control the situation?" Uất Nguyệt Hàn asked, her voice still a little uneasy.

"The Queen Mother can rest assured," Khưu Bá Trạch replied, his eyes cold and full of confidence. "I've been waiting for this moment for twenty years. I won't let anything stand in the way of it, no matter how many more lives it costs."

Receiving news that Cận Bá Tuyên had mobilized cavalry to block Tang Dịch Phong's group, Nhược Hi and Trường Phong immediately organized the Night Shadow Pavilion's elite rescue team and set out in silence, determined to protect this last witness before the fateful investiture ceremony.

"This will be the decisive battle before entering the final climax," Nhược Hi said, her eyes as determined as cold steel. "If we lose this witness, our three years of preparation will be in vain. But if we succeed, we will have everything necessary to confront Khưu Bá Trạch face-to-face right at the very investiture ceremony that he has so diligently prepared."

The ambush took place in a thin forest two days' journey from the capital, where Cận Bá Tuyên's cavalry group had just stopped Tang Dịch Phong's convoy and begun to approach. At the most critical moment, when the two sides were preparing to fight, the Night Shadow Pavilion's rescue team led by Trường Phong suddenly appeared from behind the forest. Nhược Hi, wearing the familiar guise of the Ghost-Faced Witch, struck with them, delivering a surprise blow that left the cavalry unable to react.

The battle took place fiercely in the dark night, the sound of clashing weapons echoed throughout the deserted forest. Trường Phong faced off head-on with the cavalry commander, a true expert whom Cận Bá Tuyên trusted with this important task. The two sides fought for dozens of rounds without a winner or loser. In the end, thanks to timely support from Nhược Hi to create a distraction, Trường Phong was able to defeat his opponent, forcing the entire remaining cavalry group to flee in chaos.

When everything had calmed down, Tang Dịch Phong breathed a sigh of relief, and the commander of the imperial army - a middle-aged man with a face full of traces of years of living in the shadow of sin - stepped out of the partially damaged carriage.

"Thank you for saving my life." The captain spoke, his voice trembling but his eyes became somewhat steadier when he saw Nhược Hi take off her mask, revealing her true face in front of him in the darkness with only a few trusted people. "I... I am willing to testify before the court, even if it costs me my life, to atone for some of the sins I have committed."

Nhược Hi helped him up, her eyes filled with gratitude. "You are not guilty, you are just a soldier forced to carry out an unjust order. The ones who deserve to be blamed are those who gave the orders, not the desperate executors like you." The group continued toward the capital at night, choosing dangerous and circuitous paths to avoid pursuit. Three days later, as expected, they reached a safe haven of the Night Shadow Pavilion in the heart of Vân Khánh, just in time for the fateful investiture ceremony.

When Cận Bá Tuyên received news that his cavalry team was defeated and no one was captured, he hurried to report to Khưu Bá Trạch, his face full of fear. "Sir, my subordinate's cavalry group was ambushed in the middle of the road. It's unclear where that former soldier is."

Khưu Bá Trạch finished listening and was silent for a long time. His face showed genuine insecurity for the first time since the incident three years ago. "So he has returned to the capital safely," he said, his voice low. "It seems that the opponent this time is not as simple as I thought."

"What should we do now, sir?" Cận Bá Tuyên asked, his voice full of worry.

"There is no other way." Khưu Bá Trạch gritted his teeth, his long narrow eyes flashed with cruel determination. "We will carry out the investiture ceremony as planned, without delay even for a day. Once Bạt Nghi is firmly seated on the throne, any witnesses who appear will be considered treason, going against the established orthodoxy. Double the military force to protect Kim Loan Palace during the holiday, not allowing any suspicious people to have a chance to approach."

The atmosphere in the capital city of Vân Khánh in the last days before the investiture ceremony became suffocatingly tense, as if the whole city was holding its breath waiting for a huge storm to come, sweeping away everything that had existed for the past three years under the cover of false peace.

At the secret hideout, Nhược Hi gathered all the witnesses and evidence collected over the past three years, making one final arrangement before the big day. Khấu Đình Ân's payment book, Ứng Diệu Trân's testimony, and now the mouth of the military captain himself - all are ready to be presented before the people of the world, just waiting for the right moment to unleash the full power of the truth that has been buried for too long.