Chapter 207 Blood Test for Kinship
Upon hearing this, Wang trembled violently and glanced at Cui Yunyi.
"What are you looking at her for?" Su Jingzhi immediately rebuked.
"Consort Cui is now a prisoner, barely able to protect herself, how could she possibly protect you? If you tell the truth, His Majesty and the Princess might spare your life out of consideration for your honesty; but if you dare to utter even a single lie, it will be a crime of deceiving the Emperor, punishable by the extermination of your entire family!"
Madam Wang kowtowed repeatedly, her voice trembling with sobs, "It's...it's my daughter! Her Majesty the Empress gave birth to a princess! This humble subject would never lie!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Cui Yunyi shouted in disbelief upon hearing this.
"Wang Po! Have you forgotten what you told me back then? You said you had switched the children! You even gave me the prince born to the Empress! How dare you go back on your word now?!"
Wang's body trembled even more violently, her eyes darting around, not daring to look at Cui Yunyi, as if she had some unspeakable secret, but she hesitated to speak.
Su Jingzhi's tone grew increasingly stern, "Why aren't you speaking yet? Is it as the Imperial Concubine said?"
After hesitating for a long time, Wang finally spoke, "Your Excellency, please forgive me; Your Majesty, please forgive me; Princess, please forgive me... This humble subject, this humble subject..."
But he could only get halfway through his sentence before he couldn't continue.
Seeing her like this, Cui Yunyi was both anxious and angry. "Wang Po! Don't forget who provided you with the luxurious life you've had outside the palace for the past ten years? Who saved your life when you were being hunted down?"
Wang's expression changed, and she suddenly burst into tears, kowtowing to the Imperial Concubine.
"Your Highness, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! This old servant lied to you!"
Cui Yunyi's eyes were bloodshot, and a bad premonition welled up in her heart. "What do you mean by this?"
As if she had finally made up her mind, Wang said, "Actually... actually, I didn't switch the children at all back then!"
These words immediately caused an uproar among the people in the hall.
Even Li Ye suddenly sat up straight, his eyes wide open.
"Impossible! This is impossible!" Cui Yunyi refused to believe it, her eyes fixed on Wang Shi. "You're lying to me! Are you afraid of Li Yuanzhao's power, afraid she'll kill you?"
Wang shook her head and insisted, "What I said is all true. How could a lowly slave like me dare to actually switch the Emperor's bloodline? That's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family! I wouldn't have enough heads to go around! But I didn't dare to offend you, and... I couldn't bear to give up the wealth and honor you promised, so... so I deceived you and gave you a random child from outside, telling you that this was the prince born to the Empress..."
Cui Yunyi nearly lost her footing, taking half a step back to steady herself, exclaiming, "This is impossible! This is impossible!"
Wang Po looked at Physician Wen and said, "This physician can testify."
“When the child was first born, I whispered, ‘This child is a blessed person.’ You asked me why I said that. I held up the child’s arm for you to see and said that she had a red spot the size of a fingernail on her arm, which was a sign of good fortune. Do you remember?”
All eyes immediately focused on Physician Wen, even Cui Yunyi looked at him expectantly.
Physician Wen seemed to suddenly remember, and exclaimed in realization, "Yes, that's right! I remember the shape of that red spot was like a small leaf, wasn't it?"
"Yes! Yes!" Madam Wang nodded quickly, then turned to Li Yuanzhao, "Your Highness, is there a leaf-shaped red spot on your right arm?"
In front of everyone, Li Yuanzhao lifted up his left sleeve, revealing a muscular arm.
Everyone looked over and saw that there was indeed a noticeable red spot on the princess's arm, shaped like a cypress leaf, which was clearly visible in the candlelight.
Li Yuanzhao said calmly, "There is indeed a red spot, but you're mistaken, it's on your left arm."
At this point, there was no longer a shred of doubt in the hall; everyone believed it.
If Princess Chang was not delivered by Wang Shi herself, how would Wang Po have known that there were red spots on her arm?
Although I got the left and right wrong, nearly twenty years have passed, and the slight error in my memory makes it seem more credible!
If the imperial physician had not seen it with his own eyes, how could he have remembered the shape of the spot?
He and Wang Po had no connection over the years. One worked in the Imperial Hospital, and the other was thousands of miles away. They had no vested interests or old friendships, so it was impossible for him to help her give false testimony out of thin air.
Even Cui Yunyi believed it.
This old woman, Wang Po, had been secretly kept in the countryside for years, and no one knew of her existence. How could Li Yuanzhao have found her and bribed her in advance? Let alone have her collude with the imperial physician Wen, whom she had never met before, to make a story.
So... the only possibility is that this old woman, Wang Po, lied to her from the very beginning.
For over a decade, they've been fooled with an abandoned baby, allowing her to cling to the illusory belief that "Li Yuanzhao is a bastard" and walk step by step to this day.
The pillars of their spirit over the years collapsed completely at this moment.
She collapsed to the ground, her voice filled with despair, "You lied to me! You lied to me so badly! So... so all these years, I've been a joke from beginning to end..."
Li Ye was the only one on the field, his gaze shifting between Cui Yunyi and Li Yuanshu.
He had raised Li Yuanzhao himself, so of course he knew she had a birthmark on her arm.
However, although the words of Physician Wen and Granny Wang were flawless and seemed to fit perfectly, there was no problem at all.
But what if... what if these two were both arranged by Li Yuanzhao long ago?
What if Li Yuanzhao used her birthmark to stage a flawless interrogation in order to dispel everyone's doubts about her background?
Su Jingzhi immediately said to Li Yuanzhao, "Your Highness, the testimonies of Granny Wang and Imperial Physician Wen are consistent, and there are also witnesses from civil and military officials. Your royal bloodline is beyond doubt and there is no need for further doubt."
Just as Li Ye was about to speak, Li Yuanzhao said, "This matter is still not credible based solely on what Wang Po and Imperial Physician Wen said. The royal bloodline is related to the foundation of the country, so we need to be more cautious."
These words stunned everyone.
Now that the princess's identity is clear, why would she still actively "nitpick"?
Li Ye also looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Li Yuanzhao turned to look at him and said, “Father, I have heard that there is a method of blood kinship testing among the common people. Today, I am willing to have a blood test with you to verify our bloodline.”
Physician Wen stepped forward at the opportune moment and explained, "This method involves dripping the blood of two people into clean water. If they are biological children, their blood will mix; if they are not, their blood will repel each other. It is indeed a feasible method to verify bloodline."
A low murmur of discussion instantly filled the hall.
Some people think it's unnecessary, while others think it's a prudent move.
After all, it concerns the legitimacy of the royal family, so an extra layer of verification is always a good thing.
Li Ye had also heard this saying. After thinking for a while, he ordered, "Imperial Physician Wen, go and prepare water."
The officials exchanged glances, unable to tell whether the emperor still harbored doubts or was simply being cautious.
Soon, Physician Wen returned with a basin of water and brought it to Li Ye.
After glancing at Physician Wen, Li Ye grabbed a cup from the side, scooped out half a cup of water, and handed it to Physician Wen, saying, "Drink it!"
Now, he doesn't trust anyone on the field.
Although Physician Wen did not understand, he still drank a sip as instructed.
Seeing that he was fine after drinking it, Li Ye took the cup and tasted it himself.
After confirming that it was just ordinary water, he bit his thumb hard and dripped a drop of blood into the water.
Li Yuanzhao's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly as he looked at his father's wary expression.
She then picked up a knife, cut her finger, and dripped blood onto it.
Li Ye couldn't wait to crane his neck to look.
The people below also stood up, wanting to see what was in the basin.
Even Cui Yunyi's heart was racing, eagerly awaiting an answer.
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