Chapter 53 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Chief Princess Gia Lam

Nearly ten days after Kinh Ba Van's visit, one morning, Tinh Yen's cell door was suddenly opened not by a familiar prisoner, but by a group of entourage dressed in luxurious clothes, led by a woman a few years younger than Tinh Yen, with a majestic but not aloof appearance, bright and sharp eyes exuding a wisdom beyond her years.

"This is Her Royal Highness Princess Truong." An entourage introduced himself with a respectful voice. "The person came to directly ask about your case."

Tinh Yen quickly knelt down to worship, although inside she could not help but be surprised by this unexpected appearance. "Lady Do Tinh Yen, pay your respects to Her Royal Highness Princess Truong."

"Get up, there's no need to be polite in this situation." Nhuoc Tran said, her voice was gentle but carried an indescribable weight, signaling the entourage to retreat, leaving only a close maid standing guard at the door. "I don't come here as the First Princess to judge you, but simply to find out the truth for myself."

Tinh Yen stood up and observed the woman in front of her with a mixture of caution and curiosity. She had heard a few rumors about Princess Nhuoc Tran through conversations with other medical students at the hospital - a prince with a rare progressive ideology, often siding with reforms against stagnation and corruption in the bureaucracy, although she herself rarely openly confronted any faction.

"Your Highness, why do you care about the affairs of women?" Tinh Yen asked, carefully choosing her words.

Nhuoc Tran smiled faintly, her eyes looking far away out the small window as if considering how much to reveal. "I have two reasons." She said. "First, Tinh Tan is someone I have known since childhood. Her family has had a relationship with the royal family for many generations. I cannot ignore when my acquaintance almost lost his life because of an unclear plot. Second..." She paused for a moment, her eyes much sharper as she looked straight at Tinh Yen. "I heard that you brought with you a white talisman, which once belonged to a royal physician who disappeared from the court records twenty years ago. I have reason to believe that your case is not simply a medical accident, but is related to old secrets that some people in this court want to keep forever."

Tinh Yen was slightly startled by the Princess's sudden understanding, clearly feeling that this was not a random visit born out of simple compassion. "What does Your Highness know about that Royal Physician?" She asked, unable to hide her excitement.

"Not more than you." Nhuoc Tran replied, shaking her head slightly. "I only know that twenty years ago, there was a major incident that caused a number of mandarins in the court to be wary of each other for many years afterward, involving a talented royal physician who suddenly disappeared. My father, the emperor at that time, mentioned this incident only once before his death, with an incomprehensible regret, but he passed away before he could explain it more clearly."

Those words made Tinh Yen believe more in Nhuoc Tran's sincerity - a secret related to the deceased emperor, certainly not something that could be easily fabricated to gain the trust of a imprisoned person like her.

"Your Highness thinks, who is behind this slander of women?" Tinh Yen asked directly.

Nhuoc Tran was silent for a moment, her eyes flashed with a clear caution. "I don't have specific evidence to point to anyone, and even if I have doubts, I can't arbitrarily say it at this time, when I don't have anything definitive in my hands." She replied. "But I can help you in another way - using my position to ask the Ministry of Justice to allow you limited access to a number of relevant documents, under strict supervision, to personally search for evidence to exonerate yourself. This is something that imperial law still allows, although it is rarely used because of complicated procedures."

"Your Highness, I have a bold question." Tinh Yen said, after a moment of hesitation. "Why is your highness, with such a noble position, willing to risk intervening in a small case, involving an unknown medical student like a common woman? If this matter were to be exposed, wouldn't your highness also suffer a lot of scandal?"

Nhuoc Tran smiled slightly, a smile that carried both bitterness and determination. "You asking this question reminds me of myself many years ago, when I first witnessed an honest official being harmed just because he dared to expose a shady expenditure in the treasury, while the real mastermind was still leisurely in office." She said, her voice low. "From then on, I told myself, if one day I have the strength to prevent a similar tragedy from repeating, I will no longer stand by and watch silently, no matter what people say about me. My position, if not used to protect the right, is just a meaningless layer of brocade."

That answer made Tinh Yen more moved and confident, realizing that the woman in front of her was not simply acting out of political considerations, but actually carried in her heart a sincere concern for the injustice of the times, no different from what she herself had always embraced in her medical journey.

Hearing that, Tinh Yen's heart pounded because a real ray of hope appeared clearly for the first time since the day he was imprisoned. "I would like to thank Your Highness for your help."

"Don't be so quick to thank me." Nhuoc Tran said with a serious voice. "I'm not helping you out of simple pity, but because I believe, if there is indeed a conspiracy of corruption or concealment of old sins operating behind all of this, exposing it to the light will benefit the entire court, not just you. I also heard about the case of Tran Bac Hau, and about the relationship between you and the young man of that family - two incidents that happened almost at the same time, targeting people who had one thing in common, that they had obstructed the interests of a generation. some force in the Household Ministry, it cannot be a coincidence."

Tinh Yen remained silent, clearly sensing the formidable sharpness of the woman in front of her, a sharpness that could become a valuable ally, but also required her to be extremely cautious in every word and every subsequent action.

"In the next three days, I will arrange for you to be taken under escort to the Archives Pavilion of the Royal Medical Institute, with the official reason being to search for medical documents related to the toxicity of umbeles and pears to serve in your defense in court." Nhuoc Tran said, her voice turned practical and neat. "You will have limited time, under supervision, but I believe, someone as sharp as you will know how to make the most of that opportunity."

Before leaving, Nhuoc Tran stopped a little more at the cell door, turning back to look at Tinh Yen with a complicated look. "I hope, you really are as innocent as I feel." She spoke softly. "Because if that's true, then this is not just your own injustice, but also part of a much larger picture that the whole court, sooner or later, will have to face."

When the cell door closed, leaving Tinh Yen alone with four familiar stone walls, she sat down, her heart still pounding from the unexpected encounter she had just had. For the first time since her arrest, she felt that she was not alone in this fight - there was Kinh Ba Van silently supporting her, there was Thanh Phong trying to find a way to turn the situation around, and now, there was an unexpected ally with the noblest title in the royal family, who believes that the truth, no matter how harsh, was always worth finding to the end.

She took the old diary Kinh Ba Van left behind, flipped to the last blank page, used the piece of charcoal left over from dinner to sketch out the entire chain of events that had happened into a simple diagram - from the first night of poisoning, to the wrong prescription, to the last fateful night - trying to find a common link connecting it all. In the next three days, when she had access to the Archives under supervision, she knew she would not have much time to waste, and every minute of careful preparation right now could become the decisive key to her entire destiny in the future, as well as to the truths that were buried deeper than she ever imagined.