Huu Quan leaves home early in the morning, and by the time he arrives at the Ministry of Justice department's main yard, it's nearly noon. The mournful crying reaches his ears as soon as he steps through the gate.
"Your Majesty, this is a false accusation, I wouldn't dare to do it, please rethink… rethink again… agh agh…"
The person who is muttering and complaining is none other than the old Ministry of Justice mandarin. Huu Quan looks around the yard and sees that the entire family of the Ministry of Justice mandarin has been forcibly arrested. Women and children are tied to one place, and the old man at the other end is the only one subjected to torture.
Huu Quan's expression remains unchanged as he goes deeper into the courtyard.
"Mr. Huu Quan, His Majesty is busy, can you please..." says a guard, bowing his head.
"I know, just inform His Majesty that Nguyen Huu Van Quan is looking for him."
The guard nods and runs in. Huu Quan notices him whispering something in Thai Thuy's ear and Huu Quan smiles when he looks in this direction.
Thai Thuy looks surprised, then smiles back. As if he hasn't expected that he would go find him so early in the morning, and goes straight to the Ministry of Justice department, not Ki Liem's palace. Thai Thuy nods to the guard and he dashes toward Huu Quan.
"Please come in, Mr. Huu Quan!"
Thai Thuy stops everything, stands still, and clasps his hands behind his back, waiting for him. Thai Thuy immediately spread his arms when Huu Quan is only an inch away.
The entire royal yard falls silent at once.
"Your Majesty?" Huu Quan is taken aback.
"I'm working hard to find out who wants to hurt you, should you reward me with a hug?" Thai Thuy clears his throat.
Huu Quan's eyes widened and he burst out laughing, the crisp laughter echoing throughout the yard. Thai Thuy is startled and shyly retracts his arms.
"It's a little crowded here, Your Majesty can't behave like that." Huu Quan says as he takes a step forward and grabs Thai Thuy's hand. "This is good enough."
Thai Thuy is not the type to make demands. Huu Quan agrees to hold his hand, and that's enough.
The interrogation continues.
The Ministry of Justice mandarin appears to have noticed a difference in the atmosphere around Hoang Chinh before and after Huu Quan arrived. Hoang Chinh's face was filled with murderous intent before he arrived as if he didn't tell him what he wanted to hear today, Hoang Chinh would let him die brutally. His face became visibly dilated after Huu Quan arrived. If he doesn't hang on to Huu Quan, Hoang Chinh might put him to death.
"Mr. Huu Quan, please speak to His Majesty for me. You know I couldn't possibly hurt? What face would I have to make if I did that to Sir Nguyen Huu's eldest son?"
Huu Quan softens his heart at one point. Yes, he does soften in response to the old man's pleadings, not because he thinks he has done nothing wrong, but because Huu Quan doesn't want to be the cruel person who turns a blind eye to those who have to agonize over the torture of their loved ones.
But just as he was about to help, that old man dared to bring up his father. Sir Nguyen Huu should not have been mentioned at this time.
Huu Quan asks Thai Thuy:
"How are you so sure this has anything to do with the Ministry of Justice department?"
Thai Thuy gives the bullet to Huu Quan and says:
"There is a sign above it and a code."
"So isn't it enough to check the code?"
"That's the problem, I can't find it." Thai Thuy speaks up.
Huu Quan frowns. Can't find it, to put it bluntly, they probably erase the traces.
"Permit me to speak with the Ministry of Justice mandarin." Huu Quan turns to face Thai Thuy.
Thai Thuy nods after a glance at Huu Quan. Thai Thuy understands Huu Quan's rage at the person who attempted to kill him. There's also the possibility that man lacks the courage to commit such a heinous crime, but there must be some involvement.
"I know you didn't shoot this bullet." Huu Quan grins. "But you said you wouldn't hurt me, isn't your face a little thick-skinned?"
The old mandarin's face turns pale as he remembers what he has said. Huu Quan's expression indicates that he doesn't want to speak for him. It is, on the contrary, like adding fuel to the fire.
He's done, he mentioned Sir Nguyen Huu. Isn't Huu Quan already aware of this?
"Both His Majesty and I already know about it, it's just that there is no proof. If you confess now, your wife and children, your title, everything would be returned. If you don't, everything will all be on you." Huu Quan lowers his body and whispers into his ear.
The Ministry of Justice mandarin falls to the ground. Well, it's all revealed. If he doesn't tell now, he might die. But if he confesses, that person would also know, and that person would also kill him and his family. Either way, he will die. Where to run now.
"Please forgive me, Mr. Quan, if I tell you, that person will kill me. I know I'm wrong, please forgive me."
"Is it the same person who sent you to do this and to dismiss my appeal?" Huu Quan inquires.
The Ministry of Justice mandarin nods when he realizes he couldn't avoid it any longer.
"That's right. It was that person. That person said that if Sir Nguyen Huu was vindicated, all links above and below would be investigated. Those who have evidence must therefore perish. That person told me to send a subordinate guard to follow you and kill you if the time is right. His Majesty must be unaware that Sir Nguyen Huu has been wronged."
Thai Thuy, who stands on the upper platform, can only smile faintly when he hears that. Oh, if that person knew he found out before, and he had a thorough file in his hand, they'd probably have a stroke and die.
Despite knowing everything, Huu Quan is taken aback when he hears the confession.
How can people be so cruel to one another?
Why did that man want to harm him and his family? Until now, he has always been the most approachable and welcoming. That person always congratulates his father when he receives the honor and wishes for him and Khac Tuan to become two outstanding talents of the Linh Nam court.
However, that person is now planning to slander his father and murder him.
The human heart, it turns out, is the coldest place on the planet.
Thai Thuy notices Huu Quan has been silent for a long time as if he's so stunned that he doesn't know what to say. He takes a step forward and takes Huu Quan's hand in his:
"That's enough, go back to the main hall and wait for me."
Huu Quan is surprised, looks at Thai Thuy with panicked eyes, quickly calms down, nods, and follows the bodyguard out of the Ministry of Justice department's courtyard.
"Your Majesty, I have confessed all, I beg Your Majesty to forgive me... Your Majesty..." The Ministry of Justice mandarin feels a glimmer of hope as he watches Huu Quan walks away.
Hoang Chinh smiles as he turns his back on the old mandarin, who is sitting on the ground.
"Tell me why I should forgive you?"
"Your Majesty, as I have confessed, I have no intention of assassinating Huu Quan, I hope Your Majesty will be gracious." The Ministry of Justice mandarin trembles.
"Is that so, but Huu Quan isn't an Emperor?" Hoang Chinh sits up calmly and crosses his legs.
Hoang Chinh smiles, causing the Ministry of Justice mandarin to shiver:
"Your Majesty..."
"On that day, there was not only Huu Quan but also me. You didn't mean to kill him, were you planning to kill me?"
Hoang Chinh stands up and turns around coldly:
"Dared to assassinate the Emperor. Nine familial exterminations!"
He walks out of the yard without looking back. Screams and wails are abruptly silenced.
…
"How are you doing?" Thai Thuy asks.
When he returns to Can Chanh Palace, he notices Huu Quan sitting at a stone table in the courtyard. The servants and bodyguards greet him when he enters. Only Huu Quan appears to be deep in thought and concentrating on something. He doesn't look back until Thai Thuy put his hand on his shoulder.
"Did you expect people's hearts to change so quickly and so unpredictably, Thai Thuy?"
Thai Thuy is perplexed for a moment after hearing the question, then shakes his head.
"I don't believe so." He states. "Humans are evil and suspicious by nature. We just keep our emotions under control. No one can change from bad to good, and no one can change from good to bad."
Huu Quan hears that and doesn't know how to respond, he can only sigh as he stares at his tightly interlaced fingers.
"That person came to my house before my father was forcibly arrested."
Huu Quan comes to a halt in the middle of a brief silence and waits for Thai Thuy to take a seat on the chair in front of him. He fixes his gaze on him, letting him know that whenever Huu Quan wants to tell a story, Thai Thuy is ready to listen.
"My father and that guy drank until late at night together." Huu Quan sighs. "He also stated that regardless of the outcome, he would congratulate us. Now that I think about it, he knew that it was only a matter of time before I was banned. That night, they drank to wish each other luck and perhaps to make fun of my father."
"Come to think of it, that person made fun of both of our lives." Thai Thuy smiles faintly.
In a moment, after absorbing all that sentence, Huu Quan turns around and looks curiously at Thai Thuy.