Chapter 55 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Danger Lurking

Two days after the trip to the Archives, Kinh Ba Van visited Tinh Yen for the second time, this time with a much more tense expression than the last time. He gave her a piece of news sent by Nhuoc Tran himself, informing her that the official trial had been scheduled, with only about half a month left.

"Half a month is not a long time." Tinh Yen said, her voice thoughtful, after briefly telling him about the old official document she had copied. Although she did not reveal the details of what she suspected was greater than what was behind it, she only said that it could be part of the evidence related to the motives of the person who wanted to harm her.

After listening to Kinh Ba Van, his face was thoughtful for a long time. "You be careful." He said, his voice unusually serious. "I don't know exactly what you found out, but if it's important enough to make you keep it a secret even from me, then it's dangerous enough to make whoever is trying to harm you act more aggressively if discovered."

That warning quickly came to pass. Three days later, a good prison officer hurriedly announced the news to Tinh Yen through the crack in the door, his voice filled with worry in a whisper - There had been a small fire in the Archives Pavilion the night before. The fire broke out right in the area containing old dispatch cabinets related to the distribution of food and herbs. Luckily, it was extinguished in time before it spread, but most of the records in that area were completely burned.

"Is there anything wrong, Mr. History?" Tinh Yen asked urgently, filled with worry for the old man who helped her.

"He was not injured, but it was said that he had been temporarily suspended from his position to investigate the cause of the fire. There were rumors that he had negligently let the oil lamp burn, although he insisted that he had carefully turned off the lamp before leaving that night." The good prison officer replied.

Tinh Yen heard that, a cold feeling spread throughout her body - this fire could not be a coincidence, just a few days after she found that important official document, the area containing the relevant documents suddenly caught fire, and the person who helped her was blamed for negligence that was not her own - a chillingly familiar scenario, almost a miniature copy of what was happening to her.

She worried about Su Van Can's safety more than ever, but in captivity, she had no way to contact him directly or help him. She could only ask the good prison officer to pass a short message to Kinh Ba Van, hoping he would find a way to protect the old keeper of the Archives from baseless accusations.

Not only that, a few days later, Tinh Yen herself also felt a more direct threat. During the dinner being brought into the cell, she discovered a small piece of paper hidden at the bottom of the bowl, not the familiar handwriting of the person who had previously sent good news, but a cold, scribbled line: "Don't dig any further, if you don't want the people around you to suffer the same fate."

Tinh Yen's hand trembled as she read that piece of paper, not because of fear for herself, but because of worry for those who had been helping her - Kinh Ba Van, Su Van Can, Nhuoc Tran, and even Thanh Phong far away. She burned that piece of paper immediately with the small candle in the room, not daring to let it exist for another moment, like a self-defense instinct honed over many years of having to protect herself in the midst of chaos.

That night, she couldn't sleep, her mind spinning between fear and a stubborn determination to not give up. She remembered what Mrs. Khue once taught - "fear is a natural human instinct, but letting fear control your actions is true weakness" - and told herself that no matter how much the hidden enemy wanted to threaten her, she would not back down, because backing down now would mean accepting an unfair verdict, and letting the truth about the July epidemic forever remain in the dark.

The news of the threatening note, although Tinh Yen tried to keep it secret, finally reached Thanh Phong's ears through the secret communication line between him and the good prison officer. He immediately found Trinh Van Kien, his face pale with worry.

"Who dares to threaten her right in the prison, under the strict guard of the Xing Ministry?" He said, his voice shaking with anger. "That means, the person behind all of this has his hands and feet deep inside the government apparatus, not just a single individual."

"You're right, this is not something one person can do." Trinh Van Kien replied, his voice lowered. "I think it's time for you to consider going to Mr. Ngo again, not only to ask for information, but to officially request you to increase protection for that lady, using his respect in Lai Bo to put pressure back."

Thanh Phong nodded, without further hesitation, immediately composed an urgent letter and sent it that night. He also wrote another short letter, thanks to the good prison guard, who delivered it to Tinh Yen. It was only a few lines but contained an unshakable determination: "No matter who threatens you, he will have to face me before he can touch you again. Keep your spirits up, I am always by your side, even though I cannot be present directly."

Tinh Yen read that letter late at night, tears rolling down with emotion, clearly feeling that even though she was imprisoned behind four cold stone walls, she was still not alone - there were people willing to put their own safety on the line to stand by her side, that was a power that no threatening piece of paper could extinguish.

A few days later, when Kinh Ba Van visited again, Tinh Yen recounted the entire incident, from the threatening note to her worries about the safety of those around her. After listening, his face darkened, he clenched his hands and placed them on his knees.

"This person, whoever it is, has started to panic." He spoke, his voice low but firm. "Someone confident in his power would not need to send such a clumsy threat. That means, you are on the right track, close enough to make him feel truly threatened."

"But if you continue, the people around you will be in danger." Tinh Yen said, her voice full of concern.

"If you stop, the path to justice will also stop, and what happened to your grandmother, to your master, will forever be silent." Kinh Ba Van replied, his eyes were unusually steady. "I have lived long enough to understand that there are truths that, once they begin to reveal themselves, there is no turning back — you can only choose between moving forward and facing it, or letting it crush you in the darkness forever. I believe you have the courage to choose the former path."

Those words of encouragement were like a new breath of vitality that added strength to Tinh Yen in the midst of the darkest days. She nodded, her eyes regaining their familiar steadfastness. "I won't stop, sir. But I need more time, and I need some way to find out who is behind the fire and this threat, before the trial takes place."

"I will ask Her Royal Highness Princess Truong to assign additional people to discreetly protect Su Van Can and you for the remaining time." Kinh Ba Van said, standing up and preparing to leave. "As for the evidence, you continue to silently piece together. I believe, once the truth begins to emerge, there will be no way to continue hiding it forever."

When the cell door closed behind him, Tinh Yen sat quietly in the twilight darkness of the late afternoon, her hand gently touching the place where the paper copy of the old dispatch was hidden, silently promising to herself and to the deceased, that no matter how much danger lurks, she will go to the end of this path of finding the truth, not only to exonerate herself, but also to let the injustices that have been buried for so many years come to pass. see the light.

Outside the small window, the sunset light finally disappeared, giving way to the familiar darkness that enveloped the cell. Tinh Yen closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and felt her heartbeat gradually return to normal after a turbulent day. She knew that from now on, each next step would be more dangerous, but it also meant that she was closer than ever to the answer to the question that had haunted her for so many years.