Chapter 3 — The Prophet Awakens: Shedding the Worthless Shell

Nam Xuyên territory, located three days' journey from Bắcương, was a land that was once the richest in the south thanks to holding silver mines and vital trade routes connecting the southern seas with the inland. But that was the story of three generations ago.

In a gloomy study room filled with candles, Ước Liêm Phong stood in front of the portrait of his ancestor - a majestic man in sparkling silver armor, holding a seal engraved with the image of an eagle, the once-powerful symbol of the Uoc family.

"Father..." he muttered, his voice full of bitterness. "What did you leave to your children and grandchildren? An empty title, depleted silver mines, trade routes that fell into the hands of others, and a huge pile of debt that I couldn't pay off in my lifetime."

The Uoc family was once a famous family throughout the south, controlling almost the entire salt and silver trade route connecting the coast with the inland. But a great flood sixty years ago washed away half of the vital silver mine, forcing the family to borrow money to rebuild. Then during his father's lifetime, those debts and poor management caused Nam Xuyên to gradually lose trade routes to neighboring lands, including Bắcương.

"Earl." A voice rang out from the door, it was his trusted butler, Kỷ Thường - a thin middle-aged man, his eyes always sparkling with calculation. "Master Kình Vũ has returned from Bắcương."

"Let him in."

Ước Kình Vũ walked in, knelt on one knee and bowed. "Uncle, I have offered gifts and proposed trade as you told me. But the Queen of Bắcương is not easy to fool. She was suspicious from the beginning and spoke frankly about the fur price suppression three years ago."

Liêm Phong curled his lips and smiled faintly. "I don't hope to deceive her. Xa Tuyết Doanh is famous for being astute and sharper than any princess who has ever governed the Northern Cuong. Your trip is only to probe her defense capabilities, and to plant a small seed."

"What seed, uncle?"

"Suspect." Liêm Phong turned around, his eyes flashing with the cold light of someone who had planned for a long time. "I heard interesting news about Bắcương — their queen had a strange marriage. Her husband was a beggar, forced into marriage by the council of elders according to a certain ancient rule called the Thousand Year Agreement."

Kỷ Thường stepped forward, his voice full of calculation. "Is the Earl planning to take advantage of this?"

"Of course." Liêm Phong sat down in his chair, his hand lightly tapping on the table in rhythm with his thoughts. "A marriage to a useless person according to ancient traditions is the biggest loophole in Xa Tuyết Doanh's legitimacy. If I can make the whole of Bắcương believe that marriage is a bad omen, that the tribes are in trouble because their queen has violated God's will by not choosing the right person, then her power will be shaken from the roots without me having to touch a good soldier."

"But uncle, how to spread that rumor without revealing any traces of Nam Xuyên being behind it?"

"It's simple." Liêm Phong smiled, a cold smile without any emotion. "First, I will weaken the Northern Cuong economy - devalue the currency circulating between the two regions, block small trade routes, bribe a few small clan chiefs to sow discontent from within. When the people are hungry, they will find the cause themselves, and rumors of bad omens will spread without my direct involvement. People always need someone to blame when bad luck strikes, and a strange marriage with a beggar is the perfect reason. most." Kỷ Thường nodded in approval. "A clever plan. So what should I prepare first?"

"Send people to money exchange stations along the border, secretly collect white silver circulating in Bắcương at high prices, creating an artificial scarcity. At the same time, send private invitations to several small clan chiefs who are dissatisfied with Xa Tuyết Doanh's tax policy, promising benefits if they cooperate with Nam Xuyên." Liêm Phong stood up, walked to the window and looked out at the Nam Xuyên land engulfed in a gloomy sunset. "I will take back what the Uoc family's ancestors deserve. Bắcương is rich in resources and fertile land, but there is a fatal weakness right in the center of power. God has given me this opportunity, I will not let it slip away."

***

Ten days later, the first signs appeared in Bắcương. The market was abuzz because white silver suddenly became scarce, and commodity prices escalated day by day. At the largest market in the region, an old woman selling vegetables loudly complained among the crowd.

"Since the day the princess married that beggar, Bắcương's luck has continued to decline! Before, there was no such thing as silver being so scarce!"

"Shh, just say it quietly, maybe the patrolling soldiers can hear you."

"What are you afraid of? Everyone in the market thinks so but doesn't dare say it! God has already decided who is worthy of standing next to the queen, so why would you marry a ragged beggar who doesn't know what it means to read? No wonder bad luck keeps following you!"

Such gossip spread quickly throughout markets, tea shops, and crept into every corner of Bắcương without anyone knowing where the true origin came from.

At Nguyệt Trạch, Tuyết Doanh listened to the report from the detective with an increasingly cold expression. "The price of white silver skyrocketed in ten days, the three small clan chiefs suddenly delayed paying tribute with all kinds of excuses, and now add this nonsense rumor."

"Lord, is this all caused by Nam Xuyên?" Tô Bạch Vũ asked, holding his sword tightly.

"There is no direct evidence yet, but the timing is too coincidental to be coincidental." She stood up, walked out into the hallway and looked towards the backyard, where Vọng Thần was lying in the sun as usual, completely indifferent to the waves and waves rolling around her. "And that rumor... was aimed directly at my marriage."

She looked at that lazy figure for a long time, a complex feeling that was difficult to name arose in her heart - both anger that others were using her private matter as a political weapon, and also a bit of protection, although she told herself it was only for Bắcương's face, not for that person.

"Order down," she turned back, her voice firm, "anyone who dares to spread nonsense rumors insulting the royal family will be severely punished. At the same time, have people carefully investigate the source of the scarcity of white silver, and see if the patriarchs who are slow in paying tribute have any connection with Nam Xuyên."

"Subordinates obey."

***

Meanwhile, at the Bắcương central market, the prices of rice and salt have increased by half in just half a month, causing people to start to really panic. A businessman named Ho Dac Tai, who specialized in trading salt from the sea, came to personally meet the mandarin in charge of Bắcương's market to make a presentation.

"Sir, I have been trading here for twenty years, and have never seen white silver as unusually scarce as it has been recently. Some people even rumored that Nam Xuyên merchants were secretly collecting silver at twice the normal price, causing the flow of white silver to flow back to the south." He lowered his voice. "If this situation continues, I'm afraid that by winter, poor people will not have enough money to buy food." The officer took careful notes and immediately reported to Tuyết Doanh. After she finished reading the piece, her face became even more gloomy. This is the second indirect evidence that Nam Xuyên is systematically manipulating Bắcương's currency market, not simply a false rumor.

"If this situation continues, without even having to fight a single battle, the people will blame me for letting them starve and suffer," she spoke Tô Bạch Vũ, her voice heavy. "Ước Liêm Phong understands very well that poverty is the silent but most devastating weapon."

"How does God plan to deal with it?"

"Open the reserve warehouse and sell it at a stable price to cool the market first. At the same time, we will mint more copper coins to replace a part of the circulation with white silver, reducing dependence on the silver source being manipulated by Nam Xuyên." Tuyết Doanh stood up, her eyes determined. "I will not let the people of Northern Cuong suffer the consequences of others' power games."

When Bạch Vũ withdrew, Tuyết Doanh still stood there, her eyes watching Vọng Thần who was singing a folk song in the wrong tone in the yard. She did not know that, just a few meters away, that seemingly heartless man had clearly heard every report, and in his heart, a silent determination was forming - determination to protect this land, protect this woman, even at the cost of revealing a few more fragments of the secret he had buried for more than twenty years.