Chapter 385 The Absurd Blood Test

Chapter 385: The Absurd Blood Kinship Test

Xiao Zhengxian smiled knowingly, his gaze hiding a trace of inscrutability.

He slowly turned to Zhao Qian, his voice low but carrying an undeniable pressure: "Lord Zhao, do you recognize Prince Jing, the Regent of Daye?"

Zhao Qian looked up, his gaze dark and resolute, and declared without hesitation: "I do! He is my own flesh and blood!"

These words struck like thunder, throwing the Golden Throne Hall into an uproar, the entire chamber boiling over in an instant.

Chancellor Jiang's face turned ashen as he hurriedly stepped forward, his voice strained in protest: "Your Majesty, this man is spouting nonsense and slandering recklessly! You must not believe him! The Regent Prince is the flesh and blood of the late Emperor and Princess Nanyue, and your own brother. Do not let this scoundrel's wild words deceive you and harm the bond between brothers!"

Xiao Zhengxian gave a cold snort, his gaze like ice, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "As to whether it's nonsense, we'll find out with one test. Summon Imperial Physician Yan to the court!"

As his words fell, an old man with graying hair and beard was led in by the eunuch.

This was none other than the newly appointed director of the Imperial Medical Institute, Imperial Physician Yan, renowned for his medical skill.

He carried a white porcelain basin filled with clear water. Though his steps were steady, his eyes betrayed a faint unease.

Xiao Zhengxian swept his gaze across the hall and spoke solemnly: "Today, let Imperial Physician Yan conduct a blood kinship test between the Regent Prince and the Nanyue Grand Secretary, to verify whether the Regent Prince is of the Daye royal bloodline. Surely no one has any objections?"

The ministers who supported Xiao Lingchuan could no longer hold back, voicing their protests one after another, denouncing the act as absurd and an insult to the royal dignity.

"Absurd?" Xiao Zhengxian sneered, his eyes cutting like blades across the crowd, his tone growing colder: "I merely wish to ensure the purity of the Daye royal bloodline. Where is the absurdity?"

He turned to Xiao Lingchuan, a glint of provocation in his eyes: "What do you think, Fourth Brother? Surely you don't think this shouldn't be done?"

Xiao Lingchuan raised his hand, silencing the clamor of his supporters. His expression was indifferent, but his voice was cold as ice: "I will naturally cooperate with Your Majesty to get to the truth. However, may I ask how Your Majesty plans to conduct this blood kinship test?"

Xiao Zhengxian replied solemnly: "Naturally, blood from both you and the Nanyue Grand Secretary will be dripped into water. If the blood merges, it will prove you are father and son!"

Xiao Lingchuan nodded faintly, his demeanor calm: "Very well, let it begin!"

Surprised at his ready agreement, Xiao Zhengxian furrowed his brows slightly, then urged in a deep voice: "Imperial Physician Yan, proceed!"

Imperial Physician Yan bowed in acknowledgment, stepping forward to prick Zhao Qian's finger with a silver needle. A drop of crimson blood slowly fell into the clear water, forming a tiny ripple.

He then turned to Xiao Lingchuan, the silver needle glinting coldly in the candlelight.

Xiao Zhengxian sat upright on the dragon throne, his expression outwardly calm, but inwardly his nerves were taut.

He had long since ordered the water to be tampered with. No matter whose blood was dripped in, it would merge.

In full view of the hundred officials in the Golden Throne Hall, once Xiao Lingchuan's blood merged with Zhao Qian's, the "father-son" relationship would be an irrefutable fact!

That very moment, even if he couldn't take Xiao Lingchuan's life, he could use this pretext to banish him to Nanyue, eliminating the threat forever!

However, just as Imperial Physician Yan's silver needle was about to touch Xiao Lingchuan's fingertip, Xiao Lingchuan's gaze turned icy. He snatched the needle in a flash, grabbed Imperial Physician Yan's wrist, and pricked his finger with lightning speed.

Imperial Physician Yan cried out in shock, unable to react in time. Xiao Lingchuan dragged him to the porcelain basin, and a drop of blood from his finger fell abruptly into the water.

That blood slowly merged with Zhao Qian's!

The ministers in the hall were stunned into silence, exclamations rising one after another, as if the entire hall had been turned upside down by the scene.

Xiao Lingchuan turned, his gaze cold as frost, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his lips. He looked straight at Xiao Zhengxian on the dragon throne, his words like knives: "Your Majesty, it seems that Grand Secretary Zhao and Imperial Physician Yan are father and son!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt in the Golden Throne Hall.

Silence—a silence lasting several breaths.

Then, someone couldn't hold it in and let out a snicker, like a fuse igniting the entire court.

Subdued laughter and suppressed murmurs buzzed and interwove into a wave of silent mockery aimed at the man on the dragon throne.

All eyes were fixed on the white porcelain basin.

The clear water remained, but the two drops of crimson blood had vanished, merged into one, indistinguishable, as if they had always come from the same source.

This absurd and farcical "truth" was laid bare for all the civil and military officials to see.

On the dragon throne, Xiao Zhengxian's smugness and scheming had not yet fully faded, frozen on his face.

The color drained from his cheeks, shifting from flushed to pale in an instant.

His once handsome face twisted like a piece of crumpled paper.

"No! Impossible! This—this isn't real!" Imperial Physician Yan was the first to break down.

He fell to his knees with a thud, pointing at the bowl, his hands trembling like autumn leaves in the wind. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please see the truth! I... I have never met this Nanyue envoy before. How could we be father and son? There must be trickery! There must be!"

He wailed, frantically kowtowing to Xiao Zhengxian, his forehead striking the cold, hard golden bricks with a dull thud.

He sought help from the emperor, but when he looked up, he met Xiao Zhengxian's venomous eyes.

There was no intention to help in that gaze, only killing intent and disgust, now fully ignited.

Imperial Physician Yan's heart sank like a stone.

He understood: he had become a discarded pawn.

Xiao Lingchuan released his grip on Imperial Physician Yan and slowly wiped his fingers with a silk handkerchief.

He didn't even glance at Xiao Zhengxian, instead turning his deep, well-like eyes to Zhao Qian, whose face had already turned pale.

"Grand Secretary Zhao," his voice was not loud but carried clearly to every corner of the hall, laced with cold mockery, "Congratulations are in order. It seems that on your diplomatic mission to Daye, you have found your long-lost flesh and blood. Truly, this trip was not in vain."

"You... you dare talk nonsense!" Zhao Qian, both shocked and enraged, pointed a trembling finger at Xiao Lingchuan. "This... this is clearly your doing!"

"Oh?" Xiao Lingchuan finally looked up at the emperor seated on the dragon throne, who was nearly bursting with rage. The smile at the corner of his lips deepened, but it didn't reach his eyes: "Your Majesty, did you hear that? The Nanyue Grand Secretary says it was I who manipulated this blood kinship test."

He paused, sweeping his gaze across the faces of the astonished ministers.

"The water was prepared by Your Majesty's own people. This Imperial Physician Yan is the newly promoted director of Your Majesty's Imperial Medical Institute. The procedure for this identification was set by Your Majesty's own decree. From start to finish, did I ever touch that bowl once? Or do you mean..."

"Your Majesty believes that I possess the power of foresight, that I knew in advance Your Majesty would use this method, and that I could, right under Your Majesty's nose, bewitch this bowl of water, this Imperial Physician, and this Grand Secretary?"

This string of questions, each word like a knife, pierced deep.

Xiao Zhengxian was choked speechless, his chest heaving violently, his teeth grinding audibly.

What could he say?

That the water was tampered with? ...

That would be a confession that he had set a trap to frame his own brother.

That the water was not tampered with? ...

Wouldn't that mean admitting, in front of all the civil and military officials, that he had failed to control his subordinates, that the man he employed was a fool who couldn't even recognize his own father, and that he had taken this farce seriously?

"Your Majesty!" Chancellor Jiang immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands towards Xiao Zhengxian, and boomed, "Now the truth is 'revealed'! It seems this blood kinship test is pure nonsense! Even Imperial Physician Yan and Chief Minister Zhao could be shown as father and son, proving this method is utterly unreliable! I beg Your Majesty to rescind the order and not use such absurd means to question the Prince Regent's lineage, which would dishearten the imperial clan and all officials!"

"We beg Your Majesty to rescind the order!" The officials supporting Xiao Lingchuan immediately knelt in unison, echoing the demand.

Xiao Zhengxian had thought of every scenario, but he never expected Xiao Lingchuan to directly use his own men for an on-the-spot test, turning this elaborate framing play into a laughable farce.

"Enough!"

From the dragon throne, Xiao Zhengxian finally erupted in a roar.

He slammed the armrest of the dragon throne, the loud noise causing the entire hall to fall silent.

"Absurd! This is utterly absurd!" His eyes were bloodshot as he glared fiercely at Imperial Physician Yan kneeling below. All his anger and humiliation found an outlet at this moment.

"Imperial Physician Yan neglected his duties and acted improperly, causing such a farce in the court! Guards!"

He nearly roared: "Drag this piece of trash out and beat him to death!"

Two imperial guards immediately stepped forward and, like dragging a dead dog, dragged away Imperial Physician Yan, who had already collapsed into a heap.

"Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life! I am innocent! I..."

"Wait!" Xiao Lingchuan suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as ice, halting the uproar in the hall.

He turned to Xiao Zhengxian, his tone steady but with hidden sharpness, "Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Yan is after all a senior physician from the Imperial Medical Academy, with excellent medical skills, and has long been regulating Your Majesty's health. To beat him to death now would be a pity. Why not spare his life and order him to atone for his crimes by diligently regulating the bodies of Your Majesty and the Empress, so that our Great Daye may soon have a Crown Prince, expanding the family line and continuing the imperial bloodline. What does Your Majesty think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the court officials in the hall nodded in agreement one after another.

These words seemed magnanimous and full of concern for the royal family, but in truth, every word was like a needle, piercing directly into Xiao Zhengxian's deepest pain—the matter of the emperor and empress having no heir was openly raised at court, a slap in the face to Xiao Zhengxian.

All the officials at court knew full well that the reason the emperor had meticulously orchestrated a trap to frame the Prince Regent was simply because he had no son and feared that Xiao Lingchuan would threaten his throne.

Now with these words, Xiao Zhengxian's selfish calculations were all torn open and exposed to public view.

Xiao Zhengxian's face turned ashen, his chest heaving rapidly, and heavy gasps almost burst from his throat.

His gaze was like a poisoned blade, fiercely scraping across Xiao Lingchuan's unruffled face, as if wanting to gouge out several bloody holes. "Then... a-as the Prince Regent says!" He clenched his teeth, forcing out these words through gritted teeth, each word seeming to carry a bloody taste, his voice low as if suppressing boundless anger and resentment. "The court is adjourned!"