Palace maids had been waiting at the side door for some time, carrying trays.
Hearing the announcement of water being served in the main hall, the palace maid walked in with heavy steps.
The palace maid put down the tray, and everyone's eyes fell on it. Inside was a fist-sized white porcelain bowl. The glaze of the bowl was delicate and glossy, and it was clear at a glance that it was a top-quality piece from the official kiln.
On the tray were a dagger and two neatly folded white gauze pads, probably for stopping the bleeding.
Just as the empress was about to step forward, the emperor raised his hand and called out, "Empress, please wait."
"Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance. I will go and do the bloodletting myself." The Empress stopped and looked at the head of the table with a worried expression.
Mo Ziqian echoed, "Father, Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance."
“Your Majesty, when it comes to identifying the dragon vein, the Emperor’s bloodline is more accurate.” The speaker was a young imperial physician.
The Empress glared at her angrily: "How dare you! My Xuan'er is naturally the Emperor's own flesh and blood. Your words are slandering my reputation and questioning the royal bloodline!"
"No, no, Your Majesty, please calm down. What I meant was that the blood test would make it easier to use the father's blood for kinship verification."
The young imperial physician, seeing the Empress's anger for the first time, was so frightened that he immediately knelt down to explain.
Mo Ziyan continued, “The imperial physician is right. The mother is like the earth that nurtures the seed, the father’s bloodline is like the seed, and the child is the fruit that the seed bears. The earth and the seed’s bloodline cannot merge, but the seed and the fruit will inevitably merge. The reason is very simple. Mother, please don’t blame the imperial physician for speaking the truth.”
Today's matter is of great importance, and the Empress does not want to delay important matters because of a single sentence from the imperial physician.
She knew perfectly well that the imperial physician dared to be so bold because he had someone backing him up.
Emperor Liang descended from the head of the table to the table, picked up the dagger, and gave Nangong Zeyue a deep look.
With a gritted tooth, he sliced the dagger across his fingertips, and blood gushed out, dripping right into the bowl.
A palace maid nearby, with keen insight, presented the gauze, which Emperor Liang took and held between his fingertips.
Seeing Nangong Zeyue looking at him, Mo Ziyan urged, "Hurry up, Father is waiting for you."
Nangong Zeyue glanced at Emperor Liang, then looked at Mo Ziyan.
"Could he really be a spy sent by Wanling?"
Some ministers whispered among themselves, but their voices were loud enough for most people in the hall to hear.
Nangong Zeyue seemed not to hear, reaching out her hand only to pull it back into her sleeve.
That appearance made him look guilty in everyone's eyes.
The imperial physician urged, "Please, young master, quickly drip your blood; the blood in the water will start to disperse in a little while."
Nangong Zeyue saw that Mo Ziyan's smug expression was written all over his face.
He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Mo Ziyan, "Could Your Highness please cut my finger for me? I'm afraid of blood."
Emperor Tai Liang was petrified on the spot; apparently, he had fainted from his own blood.
The imperial physician: "..." He had just been watching the emperor bleed without blinking. There has never been a saying that fainting at the sight of blood is different for different people.
Mo Ziyan was overjoyed and jumped up from his seat.
"No problem. I'm not afraid of slaughtering cattle or sheep. It's just a small cut. What's there to be afraid of?"
Some ministers couldn't help but think to themselves, "With such timidity, he'll hardly amount to anything in the future."
Even those who previously didn't have a high opinion of Mo Ziyan began to waver.
Mo Ziqian sipped his tea as usual. If Nangong Zeyue hadn't learned about and analyzed this man from Gong Xishuo, he would have thought that Mo Ziqian was suffering from diabetes at such a young age.
Gong Xishuo had spent so much time with Nangong Zeyue, and along the way he had always helped his senior brothers bandage their wounds without ever showing any fear or fainting at the sight of blood.
He was confused; could there really be people who faint at the sight of their own blood?
When Nangong Zeyue saw Mo Ziyan approaching, he reached out, picked up the dagger, and handed it to him.
Just as Mo Ziyan reached out to catch the dagger, he swiftly brought it down, slashing Mo Ziyan's finger and drawing blood that fell directly into the white porcelain bowl.
Emperor Liang was completely bewildered by Nangong Zeyue's bizarre actions.
As everyone was making their own guesses, they heard ghostly wails and howls coming from the main hall.
"ah!"
"You audacious scoundrel! You dare to do this!"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. This humble subject's hand has never been touched by a prince before. I was a little nervous. My mistake. Your Highness has no problem slaughtering cattle and sheep. It's just a small wound, and it will heal quickly."
As Nangong Zeyue spoke, she gave Chao Gongxi Shuo a wink.
Gong Xishuo immediately understood, quickly pulled his colleague who was on the same page as him, and stepped forward to block the imperial physician.
Mo Ziyan had never suffered such humiliation in her life, and she jumped up and down on the spot, clenching her fingers in protest.
“Father, you must do justice for your son. He has ulterior motives and attempted to assassinate me in front of you.”
"Shut up!"
Emperor Liang's eyes were fixed on the bowl.
Mo Ziyan was startled by the shout and followed the emperor's gaze. His heart skipped a beat, and he was so frightened that he almost lost his soul.
Oh no, I've shot myself in the foot! The two drops of blood in the bowl are right next to each other, but they just won't mix.
Ignoring the pain in his fingertips and the blood still gushing out, he roared at the palace maid beside him, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly bring me a bowl of water."
As Mo Ziyan spoke, he reached out to knock over the bowl of water, but Nangong Zeyue was already on guard.
She reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him forcefully to the side. "Your Highness, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do it. Look, your blood has stained your sleeves red. Would you like to go back and change?"
"you……"
Mo Ziyan was unable to move because Nangong Zeyue had his wrist joints gripped. With a sweeping leg, he was about to kick over the table where the bowls were placed.
In the blink of an eye, Nangong Zeyue raised her leg and kicked his knee, while pulling him down with force again.
Mo Ziyan let out a cry of "Ah!" and fell straight backward.
As soon as he landed, several trusted confidants rushed over and helped him up.
"Quick, change the water."
The ministers and imperial physicians were too far away to see clearly that Mo Ziyan's blood dripped into the bowl.
A palace maid rushed forward to change the water, but the emperor raised his hand and shouted, "Get out!"
"Your Majesty, there is still the Third Prince's blood in that bowl of water. Oh no, Your Majesty will have to suffer again in a while. I deserve to die."
Nangong Zeyue looked completely innocent, pretending to be a commoner, which made the Emperor of Liang's forehead twitch.
He was both surprised and delighted.
To my surprise, the two drops of blood in the bowl, like water and oil, never seemed to mix.
To his delight, his returning son was even more intelligent than he had imagined, a man of great wisdom and resourcefulness.
Gong Xishuo exclaimed in alarm, "Everyone, look! The Third Prince's blood is incompatible with the Emperor's! This... this is a crime of deceiving the Emperor!"
As for his claim about who deceived the emperor, everyone knows the answer.
The Empress rushed forward and was shocked to see the two incompatible drops of blood in the bowl. "Your Majesty, Consort Lan, she... she's deceiving the Emperor!"
Several senior officials realized what had just happened and rushed forward, filled with grief.
"Your Majesty, the Nanzhao Kingdom harbors wolfish ambitions. They are deliberately using a honey trap to bewitch you, intending to disrupt the bloodline of our Liang Kingdom!"
The emperor was so angry that he swayed as if he were about to collapse.
Pointing at Mo Ziyan with his finger, he gritted his teeth and said, "Guards! Lock him up in jail."
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