Chapter 37 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Midnight Offering

Bad news arrived at Long Mon pass on a moonless night, when a messenger galloped on horseback for three days and three nights from the capital, almost exhausted when he reached the gate of the command camp, carrying an urgent sealed envelope addressed specifically to Ve Thanh Phong.

Tinh Yen was on night duty at the military hospital when she heard the news and rushed to the command barracks as soon as she could leave her shift, a premonition of insecurity constantly urging her steps. When she arrived, she saw Thanh Phong standing silently in the middle of the room, holding an open letter, his face pale as if he had just lost all vitality.

"What's up?" She asked, unable to hide her worry.

"Someone submitted a petition to the royal court, accusing my father of colluding with a merchant who smuggled weapons across the border, using the proceeds for personal gain instead of serving the army." Thanh Phong replied, his voice shaking with barely contained anger. "This is the most blatant slander I have ever heard. My father has been honest all his life, has never had a penny of ill-gotten wealth, yet now he is accused of such a serious crime."

"Who is behind that false accusation?" Tinh Yen asked, her heart beating rapidly.

"The indictment does not clearly state the identity of the accuser, it only says that it is a 'loyal minister who takes care of the national treasury'." Thanh Phong replied, his voice full of bitterness. "But everyone knows that a false accusation brought to the Emperor's court cannot just come from a single individual without power to back him up. My father wrote in the attached letter that he believed that this was retaliation for his continuous refusal of dishonest supply contracts over the past year."

Tinh Yen clenched her fists, an indignation rising in her heart at the thought of a righteous person like Ve Khai Trach having to face such despicable attacks. She remembered what he said at parting, about how the name Tran Bac Hau "no longer had as much weight as before" in the court - perhaps, he had a premonition that this would happen.

"What will the court do next?" she asked.

"The Emperor has ordered the establishment of an investigation board, conducted by the Ministry of Health in coordination with Do Sat Vien." Thanh Phong replied, and when he mentioned the words "Ho Bo", his voice became much more bitter. "This is what scares me the most — if the person behind this false accusation is actually connected to the Ho Chi Minh Ministry, then this investigation is unfair from the beginning, like letting the accuser himself play the role of judge."

Tinh Yen was speechless, the disparate pieces she had quietly collected over the past several months now seemed to be coming closer together than ever - her master's words about the conspiracy in the court related to herbs, the strange-smelling batch of licorice in the medicinal warehouse, the shady supply contracts that Ve Khai Trach had stopped, and now, a delicately orchestrated slander aimed directly at him right when the investigation was assigned to the very agency he once confronted.

"What are you going to do, sir?" she asked.

"My father asked me to stay and maintain the border line, not to leave my command position for any reason, because he believes that this may just be the first step in a larger plot, perhaps even aimed at weakening the border line when my father and I are caught up in the political vortex at the same time." Thanh Phong replied, clenching his fist into a fist. "But I cannot sit still when my father is alone facing such a conspiracy in the capital."

That whole night, Tinh Yen stayed by Thanh Phong's side, not saying much, just quietly making him a pot of hot tea, sitting next to him in silence as he read and reread his father's letter, trying to find some clue that could help exonerate the family. That was the first time Tinh Yen saw the young general, who was always steadfast and strong in the face of all adversity, appear so helpless and fragile.

"Can I help?" She asked, when the night was halfway over, the oil lamp in the command tent began to flicker because it was about to run out of oil.

Thanh Phong looked up at her, his eyes contained a deep gratitude mixed with pain that could not be hidden. "As long as she's here, like this, it's enough." He said, his voice hoarse from fatigue. "I don't know what will happen next, but at least, tonight, I don't have to face it alone."

The next morning, news of the slanderous report against Tran Bac Hau spread quickly throughout the camp, making the already tense atmosphere because of the war even worse. The soldiers, who had followed Ve Khai Trach into battle for many years, all expressed anger and resentment at the slander that they considered completely baseless, but no one had enough power to intervene in the quarrels in the distant official places of the capital.

When Ky Ba Nghiem heard the news, he came to Tinh Yen with an unusually serious expression. "Have you heard the news about Tran Bac Hau?" he asked.

"I heard, Captain." Tinh Yen replied, her voice low.

"I'm afraid you won't have much time left here." Ky Ba Nghiem said, his eyes carrying a rare sincere concern. "If the political situation in the capital continues to be so tense, you need to be mentally prepared to have to leave earlier than expected, or face a much more turbulent Yen Phung than you ever imagined when you received the summons to return to the capital."

Tinh Yen nodded, feeling more clearly than ever that her path ahead, and Thanh Phong's path, were now caught up in the same political storm that was forming in the distant capital - a storm that perhaps, she would have to step right into the heart of, whether she was prepared or not.

In the days that followed, the barracks was engulfed in a heavy atmosphere that was different from usual. Thanh Phong put all his energy into strengthening the defense line, as if wanting to prove with his own command ability that his family had nothing to be ashamed of, even though in his heart he was still constantly worried about his father's situation in the distant capital. Tinh Yen noticed that he had become noticeably thinner in just a few short days, his eyes were dark because of sleepless nights.

"You must take care of your health." She said, one evening when she brought him a ladder of hand-made tonics, she saw that he was still poring over a pile of military documents under the light of an oil lamp even though it was past midnight. "If the young master falls ill now, the situation will become even more chaotic."

"I know, but I can't help but worry." Thanh Phong replied, took the cup of medicine, drank it all in one breath as if he wanted to swallow the restlessness that was rolling in his heart. "Every day that passes without new news from the capital, I become more and more impatient. I don't know what my father is facing, whether he is being treated fairly or not, or has been detained awaiting interrogation."

"Hostage Tran Bac Hau is wise and brave enough to protect himself before there is clear evidence against him." Tinh Yen said, trying to comfort him even though she was no less worried. "And believe me, the truth will eventually come out, even though it may take time."

"I hope so." Thanh Phong sighed and looked at her with grateful eyes. "Thank you, for always being here, even though I know these days must not be easy for you, when you have to prepare for your own trip to Yen Phung."

"We will get through this together, as we have done for many months." Tinh Yen replied, gently squeezing his hand.

A few days later, another piece of news arrived, somewhat easing the tense atmosphere in the barracks - according to a letter from an old friend of Wei Kai Ze in the court, the initial investigation had not found any concrete evidence to prove the accusation, and a number of prestigious ministers, including Princess Nhuoc Tran, spoke up to request a careful investigation, not to let a general with outstanding achievements be falsely accused just because of anonymous accusations. base.

The name Nhuoc Tran, even though it was only mentioned briefly, caught Tinh Yen's attention. She had never met the First Princess, but through Thanh Phong's brief account, she understood that this was one of the few people in the royal family who had a fair voice and was not easily manipulated by factions in the court - a name she secretly memorized, knowing that it might appear again in her journey ahead in the capital.

"Perhaps, not everyone at the royal court has been caught up in the spiral of corruption and power." Tinh Yen said, a small ray of hope crept into her heart amid the recent gloomy days.

"I hope so too." Thanh Phong replied, nodding, his eyes for the first time in many days shining with a bit of real hope. "Perhaps, when she comes to Yen Phung, she will find more people like that, people who are willing to stand on the right side, no matter how difficult that path is."