Chapter 52 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Person Standing In The Middle Of Phong Ba

The news of Tinh Yen's arrest reached Thanh Phong's ears one day later than reality, because Trinh Van Kien had to seek information through many different relationships to confirm the incident, in the context of Thai Y Vien deliberately keeping this story secret to avoid affecting the institute's reputation.

"Dude, bad news." Trinh Van Kien spoke in a low voice, rushing straight into Thanh Phong's private room at the temporary residence in the middle of the capital without warning. "Miss Tinh Yen was arrested by the Ministry of Justice three days ago, the crime is related to Miss Tinh Tan being poisoned in the palace."

Thanh Phong was sitting and reviewing a stack of papers related to his father's case. After hearing the news, his hand stopped and the paper in his hand fell onto the table without a sound. "Say it again." He said, his voice cold with shock.

Trinh Van Kien recounted what he knew — about the night of the first poisoning, about the error in the prescription, and finally, about the fateful night when Tinh Tan fell into critical condition for the second time, leading to Tinh Yen being sent to the Criminal Prison to await trial. Thanh Phong sat quietly listening to everything, his face gradually turned pale, his hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"I have to go see her right away." He said, standing up and reaching for his coat.

"Dude, please calm down." Trinh Van Kien quickly stopped. "The situation of Tran Bac Hau's case is already tense. If you now publicly appear at the prison to visit a doctor who is suspected of being involved in the safety of a concubine in the palace, I'm afraid Chung Ba Trinh's side will have more excuses to attack, thinking that our family is involved in a larger conspiracy."

Thanh Phong stopped, his breathing was rapid, anger and worry mixed together making it difficult for him to think clearly in that moment. "So what do you want me to do? Stand still and watch her suffer unjustly in the dungeon, while I know better than anyone that she absolutely never intentionally harms a single life?"

"I'm not saying you have to stand still." Trinh Van Kien replied, his voice lowered. "But you need to act more tactfully than to be spontaneous. If you want to really help that lady effectively, you need to find a way to approach the problem from behind the scenes, instead of rushing straight out, making both matters even more confusing, making it easier for bad guys to take advantage of you."

Thanh Phong stood still for a long time, his anger gradually subsided and gave way to the necessary sobriety. He sat down on the chair, holding his head in both hands, trying to organize his thoughts amidst the chaos of emotions swirling in his heart.

"You're right." He spoke after a long moment of silence. "But I can't stand by and watch. Even if it costs me my father's case, I won't let Tinh Yen suffer injustice alone."

That night, Thanh Phong stayed up, drafting a long letter to send to several former mandarins who had had an affair with his father, those who still maintained their impartiality amid the political storm surrounding the Tran Bac Hau family, asking them to find out more information about Tinh Yen's case, and at the same time see if there was any way to access the official investigation files from the Hinh Bo.

The next morning, he went to the residence of an elderly mandarin whose intimate name was Lord Ngo, who had been an old friend of his father many years ago, currently holding a significant position in Lai Bo, famous for being a rare and upright person in a world full of calculations.

"You came to me at this time, aren't you afraid of further implicating your family?" The old mandarin asked, his eyes searching as he listened to Thanh Phong explain his wishes.

"The junior knows the risks, but the junior cannot ignore a clear injustice." Thanh Phong replied, his voice determined. "Miss Do is the person who saved my life on the battlefield, a person with the purest medical ethics I have ever met. If even such a person is falsely accused and no one dares to speak up, I fear that would truly be the scariest thing for this entire court."

The old mandarin was silent for a long time, his eyes evaluating the young man in front of him with a new respect. "Your father taught his son well." He spoke finally, his voice slow. "Okay, I will help you learn more about this case, as an old favor to Tran Bac Hau. But I can only help within the limit of not getting myself caught up in political trouble, you must understand that."

"I would like to thank you, sir." Thanh Phong bowed his head deeply, a faint ray of hope rising in his heart.

In the following days, Thanh Phong devoted all his rare free time amid the busy confrontation schedule of his father's case to quietly collect more information, meet a few old acquaintances in the mandarin world, and carefully inquire into every small detail related to Tinh Tan's case without revealing too clearly his special interest, to avoid causing unnecessary suspicion.

He also tried to send a small amount of money, through a trustworthy intermediary, to the prison officer in charge of Tinh Yen detention area, asking this person to take better care of her as much as possible, and at the same time pass on short messages of encouragement, although he did not dare to sign his name for fear of implicating both of them if discovered.

Trinh Van Kien, although initially dissuading Thanh Phong's impulse, also silently contributed, taking advantage of his extensive acquaintances among the soldiers and guards to inquire more about the trial process at Hinh Bo, about those with decision-making authority in Tinh Yen's case, and most importantly, about the possibility of whether anyone within Hinh Bo would be willing to review the case more impartially.

"I heard that the judge presiding over this case has a reputation for being strict but fair, and is not easily bribed or pressured from any faction." Kien reported back to Thanh Phong after a few days of questioning. "This could be a rare blessing in the midst of this adverse situation — if the evidence is truly presented clearly and conscientiously, there is still a chance for the truth to be revealed."

"So we have to find that evidence before the official trial takes place." Thanh Phong said, his eyes determined. "Even if I have to turn this whole capital upside down, I will still find it."

In the midst of those days of searching for news, Thanh Phong happened to meet Chung Ba Trinh at a small court meeting, where they both had to be present to report on the progress of related cases. The royal historian looked at him with cold eyes, the corner of his mouth slightly curled up in an unkind smile.

"I heard that Mr. Tran Bac Hau has recently been busy inquiring about another case, which has nothing to do with his own family's case." Chung Ba Trinh spoke, his voice deliberately casual but full of meaning. "You should be careful, if you are under investigation and are also dispersing your energy into other people's matters, it can easily make people think that you don't really take your father's case seriously, or worse, are trying to hide something by causing more public opinion turmoil."

"Your highness is so thoughtful in worrying about me." Thanh Phong replied, his voice remaining calm even though his heart was seething. "But I believe that a bright and upright person, no matter how many different matters he is interested in, has nothing to hide. Only people with disabilities are often startled by the concern of others."

Chung Ba Trinh frowned slightly at the unexpectedly sharp response, but quickly regained his composure, just nodded slightly and turned to leave, without saying another word. Thanh Phong stood and watched his back disappear, more and more convinced in his heart that Tinh Yen's slander and his father's case were not two completely separate events as it appeared on the outside - because a royal historian who was only in charge of investigating the border food and grass case, showed unusual interest in his actions related to a completely different case in the forbidden palace.

One evening, while sitting alone at the writing desk, looking out the window towards the Hinh Bo prison far away in the night of the capital, Thanh Phong took out the packet of blood tonic Tinh Yen had given him at the small tea shop, now almost used up, only the last few herbs remained. He brewed a small pot and sipped slowly, as if trying to retain some remaining warmth from the girl who was suffering unjust imprisonment, telling himself that, no matter how difficult the road ahead was, he would never give up finding justice for her, just like how she had never given up on any life that had ever placed her trust in her hands.