Chapter 50 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Chains Between the Golden Palace

Three days after the fateful night, Tinh Yen was still confined in a small room in the guest house, not allowed to leave even a single step, all meals were brought by guards, no one was allowed to visit. She didn't know exactly what Tinh Tan's condition was, she could only guess from the tense look on the guard's face every time he brought food, and through the terrifying silence that covered the entire guest house, which was usually bustling with the sounds of passersby.

Those three days of house arrest were as long as three years for Tinh Yen. She sat for hours at the small window, looking out at the narrow yard where there were only a few bamboo leaves moving in the wind, trying to review every detail of the fateful night, searching in her memory for any clue that could explain the strange disappearance of the palace maid who brought the bowl of medicine, but the more she tried to remember, the more vague everything became, as if her very memory was being distorted by an invisible hand.

She wrote a short letter to Thanh Phong, asking the guard who seemed to have some conscience to help deliver it, although she was not sure whether it would actually reach him or not. She also thought about Su Van Can, about the old notebooks in the Archives that she had not yet had time to flip through, wondering if they contained any clues about a similar incident that happened twenty years ago that Ngan Ba Thuyen had mentioned, a clue that could help her better understand the person who was trapping her right now.

On the third night, she dreamed of Mrs. Khue standing in the middle of the medicinal garden in Lach Dua, her eyes were kind but stern, saying only one sentence before disappearing into the mist - "You have learned enough to know what is truth, don't let fear make you forget that." Tinh Yen woke up in the middle of the night, tears soaking her pillow, but inside she felt a strange stability, as if her grandmother had just given her a little more strength to face what was to come.

On the morning of the fourth day, the door to her room opened, not the familiar person bringing food, but a group of people dressed in formal uniforms, led by a middle-aged mandarin with a cold face, sharp eyes like knives, and several guards fully equipped with swords.

"Do Tinh Yen, you are accused of intentionally administering the wrong medicine, endangering the life of Lady Tinh Tan, a serious crime related to the safety of nobles in the forbidden palace." The official read, his voice sharp and without any emotion. "According to the orders of the Ministry of Justice, you must be escorted to the prison to await formal trial."

Tinh Yen stood up, her heart pounding, feeling like the whole world was collapsing under her feet. "Sir, I am completely innocent! I never intentionally harmed Lady Qin. Please give me a chance to present the truth!"

"You will have a chance to present the truth in public, not here." The official replied, coldly signaling the guard to come forward.

At that moment, the door opened again, Kinh Ba Van walked in, his face was heavy, his eyes avoided looking directly at Tinh Yen as if he did not dare to face what was about to happen. "Wait." He spoke, his voice somewhat urgent. "I am the Chancellor of the Imperial Hospital. I would like to say a few words before you escort the people of my hospital away."

The middle-aged mandarin frowned slightly but still stopped, showing some respect for Kinh Ba Van's position. "The chancellor keeps saying it, but the arrest warrant has been approved from above and cannot be changed."

"I know." Kinh Ba Van replied, turning to look at Tinh Yen. His eyes were so complicated that it was difficult for her to fully read the emotions inside - both torment and something like a silent apology. "I just want you to know, no matter how unfavorable the current situation is, I will not let things stop here unfairly. But right now, I do not have enough authority to block the arrest order from the Ministry of Justice, when physical evidence has been presented and Lady Qin's condition is still in critical condition."

"Miss Qin... are you still not awake?" Tinh Yen asked, her voice shaking with worry.

"Still in a coma." Kinh Ba Van replied, his voice low. "If you don't survive, your crime will no longer stop at causing harm, but will become murder, a crime that can cost you your life."

That sentence was like a knife cutting straight into Tinh Yen's heart, causing her legs to slightly buckle. She tried to keep her spirits up, but the fear of the prospect of a death sentence hanging in front of her was something that nothing could completely dispel in that moment.

"I beg you sir, please believe me." She said, her voice choked. "I swear on the spirits of my deceased grandmother and master that I have never, and will never, intentionally harm anyone I am responsible for saving."

Kinh Ba Van looked at her for a long time, then nodded slightly, a small gesture that carried more meaning than any words at this time. "I will review the entire incident myself, not letting anyone rush to conclusions without enough solid evidence." He said, then turned to the Xing Ministry official. "Please treat my doctor properly. She has not been officially charged yet."

The mandarin nodded briefly, signaling the guards to come forward. One of them took out a small bronze chain, not too heavy but enough to mark the identity of a suspect being escorted, and lightly locked it on Tinh Yen's wrist. The feeling of cold metal touching her skin made her shiver, a feeling of humiliation and helplessness filled her mind, different from all the difficulties she had experienced before - this time, it was not a natural disaster, not a war, but the people, the very system of power she had hoped to use medical magic to serve, was turning against her.

As she was led through the Thai Y Vien yard, Tinh Yen saw many eyes following from the hallways - some curious, some pitying, some gloating. She met the eyes of Au Ba Tuong standing silently in the corner of the yard. His face was complicated and difficult to read. It was unclear whether he was repentant or simply afraid of the disaster that had almost fallen on him. Farther away, she saw Ngan Ba Thuyen standing on the steps of the Archives Pavilion, his eyes following her with deep pain, as if he was witnessing a tragedy that had happened reenacted before his eyes, but he did not approach, did not say a word, just stood there, motionless, like a stone statue carrying an unresolved past.

The small prison carriage was waiting outside the hospital gate, Tinh Yen was pushed up, the wooden door slammed shut behind her, the sound of the lock ringing harshly like an end to all the hopes that had just been rekindled since the day she arrived in Yen Phung capital. Through the small gap in the car door, she saw the sign with the name Thai Y Vien gradually disappearing, where she once had many ambitions to contribute, proving her value as a traditional medicine woman from a fishing village - now, it all seemed to be collapsing in just a few short days.

The prison car rolled through the streets of the capital, amidst the bustling flow of people as usual, no one knew, no one paid attention to the fate of a small girl being escorted behind that tight wooden door. Tinh Yen sat crouched in the dark corner of the car, her hand still tied to the copper chain, her heart filled with hundreds of worries - thinking of Thanh Phong, not knowing if he had heard the news yet, thinking of Ky Ba Nghiem and Nhuoc Lan on the distant border, thinking of Mrs. Khue and Lieu Nguyen, the people who taught her to stand firm in the face of all life's storms.

Passing a bend near the central market, the bus slowed down because of the crowded crowd, Tinh Yen pressed her face against the crack of the wooden door, trying to look out one last time before the darkness of the prison swallowed up all daylight. She saw a small stall selling medicine on the street, an idyllic scene reminiscent of Mrs. Khue's stall in the old days in Thanh Duong district market, and in that moment, a strong homesickness welled up, making her heart both painful and somewhat comforted - no matter what happened, her roots were always there, no one could take them away.

When the carriage stopped in front of the gate of Hinh Bo prison, towering, dark and cold stone walls appeared before her eyes. Tinh Yen took a deep breath, trying to suppress the fear rising in her heart. She knew, from the moment she stepped through that gate, a new challenging chapter in her life would officially begin - no longer a battle with epidemics, with battle wounds, but a battle with human injustice, a war in which she had nothing in hand but faith in the truth and a heart that had never surrendered to adversity.