Huu Quan imagined what he would say to the Emperor. His name, age, background, or simply stating what evidence he has gathered to prove his father's innocence. Or simply present His Majesty with the appeal he has been writing and rewriting all week, and let His Majesty make the decision he thinks is the best.
But it's all for naught when the light that has followed the Emperor comes to a halt in front of him and the lady in a black flared evening gown standing in front of him is muffled and moves to the side.
The thoughts in Huu Quan's head fade into oblivion.
"Hello there." Thai Thuy says "This is the first time I see you at the October banquet, may I know your name?"
Huu Quan widens his eyes so much that they are constricted and tears well up in the corners. Huu Quan hopes so, believing that the tears he's shedding are the result of rolling his eyes too wide, rather than the feeling of being fooled rising in his chest.
The man in front of him, slowly greeting him, is the man who bought him at the Yen Hoa brothel, redeemed him from there, brought him home, listened to his life story, invited him to the party, and wholeheartedly promised to recommend his story to the Emperor.
The man who makes him keep his sincere gratitude in his heart is the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, Sir Le Phat An, and his nephew, Sir Miguel Thretcher Nguyen Huu Van Quan."
Huu Quan hears someone introduce his name and uncle, sees Phat An kneeling to officiate, and kneels to officiate as well. So that man is the legendary Hoang Chinh, the Emperor of Linh Nam. Everyone knows it, everyone realizes it, except Huu Quan, who still believes he is just an ordinary fast set, who would have thought that man is holding him like a chess piece, playing with it?
Thai Thuy lifts Huu Quan, smiles, and asks:
"May I ask you to dance?"
"Yes." Huu Quan replies "Your Majesty."
Khac Tuan stands to one side, his eyelids wrinkled, then suddenly relaxed, because when he sees Huu Quan's confused expression, he seems to understand everything. He has no idea Thai Thuy is Hoang Chinh. Until he stood in front of him, Huu Quan was still thinking about Thai Thuy in his heart, a Linh Nam mandarin who helped him wholeheartedly for nothing, and he mistook Hoang Chinh and Thai Thuy as entirely different people.
A sly Emperor, Khac Tuan secretly laughs.
"Don't you have something to say to me?"
Huu Quan inquires of Thai Thuy, still an intimate address, not Your Majesty, not respectfully like everyone else. Thai Thuy is surprised, no one has dared to speak to him in such a hollow manner after knowing his identity, let alone ask him such a reproachful question.
"No, do you want to tell me something?"
The dance quickly comes to an end, and Huu Quan asks Hoang Chinh:
"You know who I am, what I intend to say to His Majesty, and why I am here. You could tell me right away that you're Hoang Chinh. Why are you hiding it, and why are you teasing me like this?"
Thai Thuy hugs Huu Quan and turns around to the tango rhythm, a carefree smile on the corner of his lips, saying:
"I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but I never said I wasn't the Emperor of Linh Nam. I promised to help you meet His Majesty, and now that I've done so, what's the problem?"
Huu Quan's rage gradually subsides as he realizes Thai Thuy is right. He never claimed that he was not Hoang Chinh, he simply misunderstood himself.
"I apologize." Huu Quan responds.
The music pause for a moment, the dance stop, and Thai Thuy lets go of Huu Quan:
"Besides, since you're here, why don't we go into the conference room?"
The precise sentence, delivered in virtuoso French with the grace of a Parisian accent, is loud enough to both Khac Tuan and Sir Resident Superieur, Jean Francois, who stands a few steps away to hear it. They both turn to face Hoang Chinh, who has turned his back to walk up the stairs. Sir Resident Superieur follows him, and Khac Tuan approaches Huu Quan, extending his hand as an invitation:
"This way, Mr. Thretcher."
The four of them follow Hoang Chinh out of the banquet hall and into the conference room on the second floor. Everything is jumbled in Huu Quan's mind. However, given the circumstances at the time, Huu Quan might have understood why Thai Thuy needed to devise such a complex plan. They are about to take his father to France. Sir Resident Superieur here is the French's most powerful man in Linh Nam. Those who want to slander his father can force the French to exile him to France if only Hoang Chinh intervenes, but he's afraid that won't be enough.
Huu Quan has temporarily calmed down.
The conference room on the second floor is a small room with a square table in the center and two large velvet chairs. Sir Resident Superieur gets the black one, and Hoang Chinh gets the red one.
"Mr. Thretcher, they're ready to hear you." Khac Tuan says.
Huu Quan nods, opens the appeal form and places it on the table, and slowly tells Thai Thuy the story of how his father was wrongfully accused, as well as how the people who handled his father's case oppressed his family, the evidence Huu Quan gathered to prove his father's innocence, and the times the appeal was blocked and rejected. Every detail of the story that is revealed causes him to swallow back his tears.
"It's ludicrous." Sir Resident Superieur exclaims "Who would do such a thing?"
"You notice it as well." Hoang Chinh says "The evidence is clear, the ones who convicted Sir Nguyen Huu acknowledge his innocence. They must have thought that it's easy to fool around with the French, so they broke the law publicly."
"We will re-investigate, and the Western Court's sin will be issued shortly. Please be at ease, Mr. Thretcher. Sir Nguyen Huu will be released no later than this week."
"Thank you very much, Sir Resident Superieur. Our family will never forget your kindness."
Huu Quan hurriedly officiates with Sir Resident Superieur. Sir Resident Superieur waves his hand, helps Huu Quan to get up, and says some encouraging words before heading out with Khac Tuan.
Only Thai Thuy and Huu Quan remain in the room.
"You got what you wanted." Thai Thuy says. "Congratulations."
That sentence of Thai Thuy makes him feel a bit lost.
Although Nguyen Duc Thai Thuy unexpectedly turned out to be Hoang Chinh tonight, leaving Huu Quan perplexed, he was the one who redeemed him, helping his family in escaping prison separation, and there's a chance that they can reunite as before. But tonight, all he did was blame him, which was probably not the best course of action.
"What's the point of celebrating now? Wait until my father is released, then it will be worthwhile."
Thai Thuy nods as if he has just realized what he was saying.
"Make sense. Well then simply stay and enjoy the banquet if you want. I have to leave right now."
"Wait."
Thai Thuy turns around and asks Huu Quan, who is still standing hesitantly:
"What is it?"
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty." Huu Quan says.
Thai Thuy pauses for a moment before laughing bitterly.
"In the end, you're just like them, seeing me as an Emperor makes you grow distant to me."
"I'm not." Huu Quan comes over. "If I consider you as an Emperor, I should have performed the ceremony on the ground right now. I don't thank you because you're an Emperor. But I hope you're still the man that day, listen to me, no matter of your curiosity or resentment on my behalf. It's not because you are His Majesty of Linh Nam."
Thai Thuy stays quiet and turns away, while Huu Quan moves closer to him.
"So I'll ask again, thank you, Your Majesty, please tell me your name. I'll seek you out someday to repay the favor."
Thai Thuy doesn't look at Huu Quan, but he nods, a clear nod that puts a smile on Huu Quan's face.
"Nguyen Duc Thai Thuy, that's my name."
Huu Quan lets out a sigh of relief and holds on to his sleeve:
"Alright, Sir Thai Thuy. Please come to find me if you ever need my assistance."
…
It's almost midnight.
As usual, the elderly Ministry of Justice mandarin sits at the desk, approving the documents. The long candlelight flickers on the stooped figure of the old man on the wall. A strange envelope falls through the wall unexpectedly. The old mandarin is startled and runs out to pick up the letter, then carefully opens the door and looks back and forth to see if anyone is looking, then opens the letter and reads it.
Not sure what's inside, but it makes the Ministry of Justice mandarin strangely panic.
The Ministry of Justice mandarin dashes back into the room frantically writing something, folds it into the envelope, and runs out.