Chapter 24 — The Most Despised Son Who Shocked the World

One year after the Training Trial Congress shook the entire Mysterious Region, Tuong Phu Thanh has changed a lot compared to before, both in appearance and in the spirit of the people living in it. Under the guidance of Xia Wuji as the official successor, the family gradually regained prestige in the Eight Tribes Alliance, not only thanks to his personal strength but also thanks to the fair reforms he applied, completely eliminating the discrimination between true disciples and misfits based on birth.

The three seniors, now with the title of Patriarch Elder, have left the cold Tuyet Cot Nhai and moved to live in a spacious small monastery near the street, where they continue to teach their experiences to the younger generation of disciples, no longer having to hide in the dark. Senior Thiet Dien, thanks to being treated by the family's best doctors with rare remedies that he had never had the opportunity to access before, his health gradually improved, although he still had to be careful.

Ha Nhat Pham, after a year of persistent practice, can now walk completely normally, and even began the first basic steps of practicing under the dedicated guidance of Vong Ky Dao Truong, who accepted the boy as an enrolled disciple.

Ha Thu Nhan, now respected by the entire family as the mother of the successor, no longer has to work as a laundry woman, but she still regularly visits the old service area, bringing cakes and fruits to share with her former colleagues, not forgetting the difficult years that have passed.

Manager Ton, who had said countless harsh words to the mother and daughter, was now transferred to another position with less authority according to Vo Ky's decision, not as revenge, but as a fair lesson: with power came responsibility, and those who had abused it to trample on others need to relearn how to behave properly.

Tuong Trong Khang, over the past year, has gradually stepped back, letting Vo Ky personally manage most of the family's affairs, only occasionally giving advice when necessary. He often told other elders that this was the best decision he had ever made in his entire life as a homeowner.

On an autumn afternoon, when the Bach Ngoc Lan flowers in the garden behind the main hall bloomed again like every year, Tuong Gia organized an annual exchange festival with Duong Gia, commemorating the one-year anniversary of signing a stronger alliance between the two families after recent events.

During the festival crowded with guests from all over the Eight Tribes Alliance, Vo Ky, wearing a formal heirloom robe, walked to the middle of the square, where Duong Tuyet Y was standing and chatting with several distinguished guests. The whole square suddenly fell silent when he saw him kneel down on one knee in front of her, his hand holding up a small wooden box delicately carved in the shape of a Bach Ngoc Lan flower.

"Duong Tuyet Y." He spoke, his voice echoing throughout the square in the nervous silence of everyone around him. "More than a year ago, you were the first person in this vast family to see through the cover of mediocrity that I had built up for ten years, the only person who believed in me from the very first days when the whole world despised me. She accompanied me through the darkest days, sharing every piece of evidence, every hope, every fear. Today, in the presence of both families, I want to ask you a question that I have cherished for a long time."

He opened the wooden box, inside was a jade hairpin, engraved with the image of a curled cactus wrapped around a delicate White Jade Orchid - a symbol of the combination of his Ma Cot heritage and the flower that had silently witnessed the two's love blossom over the years.

"Duong Tuyet Y, are you willing to become my life partner and walk with me the rest of the way ahead?"

Tuyet Y stood still for a moment, her eyes filled with tears from overwhelming emotion, then smiled softly, the brightest smile she had ever had in her life. "I'm willing, Ha Vo Ky. From the first day I saw you holding a rock with one hand without breaking a bone, I knew my life would be linked to you in some way."

Applause and cheers echoed throughout the square as Vo Ky stood up, placed the jade hairpin in Tuyet Y's hair, and then hugged her tightly amidst the looks of blessing from both families. Old man Duong stood from afar, slightly nodding with satisfaction, while Tuong Trong Khang smiled and raised a glass of wine to congratulate the beautiful relationship that had just been made public.

"My daughter finally found happiness the way she chose, not because of any political considerations." Old Master Duong said to the elder standing next to him, his voice full of satisfaction. "That's the most a father can wish for his child."

The two homeowners shook hands amid the cheers of the crowd, officially confirming their relationship, which will further strengthen the already strong alliance between the two families for many generations, not with an arranged marriage for convenience, but with sincere love that has been tested through countless storms.

The three seniors stood in the crowd, looking at that happy scene, each of their eyes shone with pride that was hard to describe in words. Thirty years of waiting, thirty years of keeping a seemingly hopeless vow, had finally come to fruition in the most complete way they could imagine.

"Finally, we did it." Dry Bone Old Man spoke softly, his voice trembling with emotion.

"No, she did it, not us." Vong Ky Dao Truong replied, his eyes following Vo Ky who was smiling brightly in the middle of the square. "We just gave him the tools. It was his own energy, compassion, and perseverance that did it all."

That night, when the festival gradually subsided, Vo Ky stood with Tuyet Y next to the Bach Ngoc Lan garden, looking at the moonlight shining through the familiar foliage, the place that had witnessed each important turning point in their arduous journey over the past time.

"Did you ever think that the person most despised by the whole family could come to this day?" Tuyet Y asked, leaning her head on his shoulder, her voice as gentle as the breeze blowing through the garden.

"Never, to be honest." Vo Ky replied, laughing softly. "Ten years ago, when I first entered Tuyet Cot Nhai, I only hoped I could survive each training session, but never dared to think this far."

"I never thought about shaking the world." Vo Ky replied, smiling slightly, holding her hand tightly, his eyes gently looking towards the distant horizon. "I just want to protect the people I love, and prove that a person's true value does not lie in what others see, but in what they choose to become when no one is looking. Perhaps that is why everything is so meaningful."

Not far from where the two stood, Ha Nhat Pham, now able to run and jump like any other normal child, was playing with a few miscellaneous children he had befriended over the past year, clear laughter resounding throughout the garden. Ha Thu Nhan sat on a nearby stone, watching both of her children - one had found perfect happiness, the other had regained her seemingly lost childhood - her heart was filled with a peace that she had never dared to dream of during her seventeen years of living in shame.

The three seniors were also present at the festival, no longer having to stand in the shadows like before, but openly chatting with the other elders, occasionally turning to look at Vo Ky and Tuyet Y with the eyes of fathers looking at their grown children.

"Do you think that girl will take good care of Vo Ky?" Old Man Dry Bones jokingly asked Senior Iron Face, who had now recovered quite a bit thanks to rare medicines.

"I'm sure so." Senior Thiet Dien replied, a rare smile appearing on his scarred face. "And I believe that, somewhere, the boy's father is also smiling down at his son."

Under the gentle moonlight covering Tuong Phu Thanh, the two stood side by side, ending a journey full of hardships but also full of glory, opening a new chapter for both families and for their own lives - a chapter that no longer had the darkness of contempt, leaving only the light of perseverance, love, and the worthy recognition that the most despised illegitimate son in the family's history had won with his own bare hands.