Chapter 18 — The Poor Bridegroom Is the Supreme One

In the damp cell of Đại Lý Tự, Khinh Vy sat quietly on a rough wooden cot, her eyes staring intently at the space in front of her, but her mind was working non-stop, rearranging all the clues and evidence that she had quietly collected over the past many months.

"Calm down," she told herself, "panicking won't solve any problem. We need to think clearly, logically, to find the best way to overcome this situation."

She closed her eyes, and a comprehensive picture of everything that had happened since the day she was born until now appeared in her mind. A set of fake books about the southern treasury tax of which Kỳ Bá Thành had kept the original, a copy of the slanderous record of mistress support with the housekeeper's signature, testimony about Tiểu Mai and the assassin organization that attacked her at the market, information about the mysterious group of people hired by Âu Vĩnh Phát to activate the vortex in Black Vuc Coc - all those pieces, if arranged and presented properly at the right time, would form an impossible logical chain of evidence. denied, exposing the entire conspiracy of Khinh Tuyết, Triệu Nhã Trân, and the Au family.

But the most urgent problem right now is the current case - the accusation of seal theft and murder against A Loc's servant. She needs to find A Loc, alive or dead, to have the most direct evidence to refute this accusation.

"A Loc," she muttered, trying to remember everything she knew about this servant. In her previous life, she had never heard of the name A Loc, meaning this was a completely new link in this conspiracy, created specifically to deal with her preparations. That also means that the opponent had to spend a lot of effort and time to set up this entire scenario, and a hastily prepared plan, no matter how sophisticated it seemed, always had certain loopholes.

At that moment, the cell door opened and a soldier walked in, but instead of wearing his usual cold expression, he was somewhat tiptoeing, his eyes glancing around as if he was wary of someone. "Madam," he whispered, his voice so low that only Khinh Vy could hear, "I am a person sent by Đại Lý Tự Khanh. My lord wants me to convey that he feels that this case has many unusual points, but because of pressure from the royal court, he cannot publicly take a side until he has really solid evidence."

When Khinh Vy heard that, a new ray of hope arose in her heart. "I would like to convey my thanks to you. Please, sir, can you tell me more about the scene where evidence related to A Loc was found? Any small detail can help me find the truth." The officer nodded and briefly recounted the location and condition of the scene that the officers and soldiers discovered - an area near the riverbank east of the capital, where torn pieces of cloth and blood stains were found, but A Loc's body was not found. "Sir also finds it strange, because normally, if it is a real murder, the mastermind will find a way to completely destroy the body, rather than leaving the scene with clear evidence but missing the most important part."

"Thank you, sir, for letting me know this," Khinh Vy said, her eyes flashing with a sharp light. "That further confirms that A Loc is most likely still alive, and that scene was just a hasty staging. Please, sir, if possible, please help me pass a small piece of information out to my family." The officer hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement, accepting the small piece of paper that Khinh Vy hastily wrote on a piece of charcoal from the corner of the cell, in which she briefly wrote down the direction the investigation needed to focus on: the east riverbank area, the possibility that A Loc was still alive and being held somewhere near this area.

After the sailor left, Khinh Vy continued to think about the next steps. She knew that she needed to prepare a comprehensive strategy for the upcoming trial, not simply denying the accusations, but also proactively counterattacking, presenting all the evidence she had collected to completely reverse the situation, turning Khinh Tuyết and Âu Thế Khang from accusers into those exposed in public.

"But to do that," she thought to herself, "we need to find a way to bring all the evidence out at the right time, in the right way, to create the biggest surprising effect, making it impossible for the opponent to react or try to deny it," She remembered what Dịch Thần once said, about needing direct, irrefutable evidence, clearly linking Khinh Tuyết and Triệu Nhã Trân with specific actions. Now, with this A Loc case, if we can find him alive and get direct testimony about who kidnapped and forced him, that will be the final piece of the puzzle, connecting the entire chain of evidence into a complete, irrefutable picture.

During those long days of waiting, Khinh Vy spent most of her time reconstructing the entire sequence of arguments that she would present to the public, sentence by sentence, word by word, like a general preparing his troops before a life-and-death battle. She imagined the scenario that Khinh Tuyết and Âu Thế Khang might present - starting with the testimony of an anonymous witness, then fake physical evidence at the scene, and perhaps, they would also prepare a few more witnesses to add weight to their false story.

"If I simply deny each and every allegation, it will be like playing a passive defensive game of chess, forever lagging behind the opponent," she thought to herself, "I need to proactively attack, turning their evidence into a double-edged sword that turns against them." She remembered every detail in the set of fake books that Kỳ Bá Thành had kept, every line in the slander document with her signature, and told herself that the time to reveal that evidence must be calculated very precisely - too early, the opponent would have time to prepare countermeasures; too late, it was possible that the unfavorable judgment was announced before she could present her statement.

She also thought of the possibility that Khinh Tuyết and Âu Thế Khang might not sit still and wait to be exposed easily, but would most likely find a way to counterattack more fiercely right on the street, and could even use more cruel tricks if they felt cornered. That thought made her even more worried about the safety of Dịch Thần, who was being held as a hostage in the hands of the enemy.

The next few days passed slowly in the cold cell, Khinh Vy maintained her spirit, not letting herself fall into despair or panic, even though she was not sure how the situation outside was developing, even though she was not sure whether Dịch Thần was safe or not. She trusted the people whose trust she had built over the past months — Vân Nhi, Bạt Sương, Kỳ Bá Thành — believing that they would not abandon her in this time of danger.

One afternoon, the kind sailor stopped by again, this time bringing news that made her heart pound. "Madam, I heard from the wind that someone from your family is secretly searching around the east riverbank area in the exact direction you pointed out. Your Excellency has also discreetly sent someone to keep an eye on that area to see if they can discover anything new."

"Thank you for the news, boss," Khinh Vy said, her eyes shining with hope, "as long as A Loc is found, whether she is alive or not, the truth will be revealed."

Every night, when the moonlight filtered through the tiny window of the cell, she remembered Dịch Thần, his steadfast eyes in the moment the two were separated. She believes that no matter where he is detained, he will find a way to keep himself safe, waiting for the day they can reunite, face together and defeat the evil plot surrounding them.

"In just a few more days," she told herself, her eyes steadily looking up at the small window, where the moonlight still shined quietly, "I will definitely find a way to expose everything, to reclaim justice for myself, and to protect the people I love, no matter what the cost."