Consort Mi closed her eyes, and after a long pause, she said, “There is no need for me to say what happened after that. That vile woman, Dong Ruan. Without the child, she resorted to substitution, replacing one with another. She found some bastard from who knows where to impersonate the crown prince, and made him our Xiliang empire’s emperor for three years!” 

Unable to suppress the venomous hatred inside her heart, she repeatedly used the words “whore” and “bastard” in front of all the court officials. Everyone had an awkward expression on their faces. It felt wrong to rebuke her, but it felt wrong not to as well. They were mostly convinced by her words, yet none dared to agree with her. Someone hesitated and said, “Consort…according to what you said, the child you bore…you never saw her after she was born. How then can you be so sure that this adopted daughter of Marquis Wei is your daughter, the sole imperial bloodline of Xiliang?”

Consort Mi looked at him and abruptly let out a chilling smile. Her expression had been calm before, but that smile gave her a sinister air, causing her pale face and deep crimson lips to look more like a loose-haired woman emerging from a thick midnight fog, stepping on scarlet mandrake petals, every step trailing blood, exuding a murderous aura. 

A collective shudder ran through the crowd. They stared at her, puzzled by her chilling, mysterious smile as she reached into her robes and took out a small box. 

Feng Zhi Wei was also observing her. She knew there were no obvious birthmarks or moles on Zhi Xiao’s body to prove her identity. Therefore, she was equally curious how Consort Mi intended to prove it. Besides, why was she smiling so terrifyingly? 

The box seemed to be tightly sealed. As Consort Mi slowly opened it, she said calmly, “I wonder if you all still remember when the late emperor passed, when I went to bid him farewell, what I did?” 

Everyone frowned. Several ministers who had been present at the time suddenly recalled something, and a strange expression appeared on their faces. 

One person spoke quietly, “You threw yourself onto the late emperor’s body and bit him.” 

The one who spoke was Lu Rui. For some reason, his face was just as pale as Consort Mi’s. 

Consort Mi slowly turned her head and looked at him carefully. For an instant, their gazes met, the meaning between them unclear, followed immediately by Consort Mi turning away and smiling without any warmth, “Yes. I bit the late emperor.” 

Everyone then remembered. At the time, Consort Mi had already “gone mad”, so any crazy behavior was unsurprising. She had lunged forward and bit the late emperor’s corpse. She was immediately pulled away, but that bite was very vicious. It seemed she had bitten off a segment of the late emperor’s fingers. The guards present tried to grab it back, but she immediately…swallowed it. 

This scene was extremely shocking. Everyone present clearly recalled how they had thought Consort Mi was mad. They thought what she did was repulsive, but since she was mad, the action didn’t seem surprising. Now that they knew she had only been feigning madness, and recalling the black and half-rotten state of the late emperor’s corpse, some could no longer hold back an expression of wanting to vomit. 

Even Feng Zhi Wei, thinking of it, touched the goosebumps that had appeared on her body— there hadn’t been anything in her life she didn’t dare to do but this, this is something even she couldn’t bring herself to do. 

The thought of what she was about to do also sent a chill down her spine— three years ago, this woman had already foreseen this day. She had anticipated the blood test of kinship and had bitten off that disgusting finger bone long ago! 

Consort Mi, however, looking unperturbed, calmly opened the box and took out a pitch-black object. As expected, it was indeed a finger bone. 

She said flatly, “Those who have doubts can go and examine the late emperor’s remains in person and see if this is the missing finger bone.” 

Everyone let out a wry smile— inspect the late emperor’s remains? Was that even possible? 

Consort Mi held up the severed finger bone and slowly walked up. She stopped in front of Gu Zhi Xiao, squatted down, and said softly, “Daughter…I need a drop of your blood.” 

Her tone was not gentle, and Gu Zhi Xiao’s gaze was not warm either. She stared straight at the severed finger bone, looking disgusted, and slowly said in a voice that was childish yet resolute, “My name is Gu. Zhi. Xiao.” 

Consort Mi trembled, pursed her lips, and her voice finally softened a little this time, “Zhi Xiao…”

Gu Zhi Xiao extended her finger, but it was towards Feng Zhi Wei instead. A eunuch immediately brought over a silver needle. Feng Zhi Wei smiled, stroked her hair, and said, “Mm…it’ll hurt a little. Don’t be afraid…” With a lightning-fast movement of her hand, a drop of blood had already fallen onto the finger bone Consort Mi was holding. 

Consort Mi stayed squatted, her face tilted upward as she watched Feng Zhi Wei comfort her daughter. In her eyes, there were traces of confusion, pain, resentment, and unease. A complex mix of emotions. After a moment, she lowered her gaze and quietly carried the finger bone down the hall. 

She held the finger bone up and walked once around the hall. Everyone watched with their own eyes as the single drop of blood silently and slowly seeped into the finger bone. 

In Xiliang, this was the most powerful and trustworthy method of proving kinship— People of Xiliang believed that only a biological child’s blood could penetrate a father’s bones. 

The place fell into a dead silence. 

 Some of the silence was from the truth being confirmed. 

Some of the silence was the shock from the dispute over the imperial lineage finally coming to an end. 

Some of the silence was from being moved and stunned by this woman’s foresight, perseverance, and meticulousness. 

Xiliang’s true imperial son turned out to be an imperial daughter. An imperial heir that was lost in a foreign land, living as someone else’s child for three years…all the while, the one they had been worshipping on the lofty throne was nothing more than a child from some unknown origin. 

Everyone stood around stunned, but there were a few elderly ministers already clutching that black obsidian locket and shakily kneeling towards Gu Zhi Xiao’s direction.

As soon as the first group knelt, more and more people slowly followed and knelt on the ground.  

In the end, those who remained standing were the Regent’s faction. They all looked toward Lu Rui, waiting for his command: to oppose vehemently or to throw caution to the wind and fight. 

Lu Rui, however, was lost in thought. Suddenly, he sighed and said to the Minister of War behind him, “The situation is beyond our control. For some reason, His Highness still hasn’t arrived. Why don’t we….” 

“Grand Marshal, you must not…” the Minister of War was about to stop him, but Lu Rui had already stepped forward and bowed his head to the ground. 

“Welcome our sovereign back to court!” 

The words stunned the Regent’s followers. Some were about to curse when they felt the sword nudged forward at their back, followed by a sharp pain at the waist. The curse words were promptly swallowed back. 

With that declaration, several elderly ministers immediately followed and bowed their heads to the floor in unison. 

“Welcome our sovereign back to court!” 

The shouts grew louder and louder. Everyone in the hall collapsed to the ground like flattened wheat stalks. Those who had remained standing soon found they could no longer hold out. Under the pressure of the swords behind them, their legs went weak, and they too sank to their knees, their foreheads pressed to the floor, muttering something incomprehensible with their lips. 

Feng Zhi Wei turned her body slightly and moved to the side of the throne. She didn’t look at anyone but fixed her concerned gaze on Gu Zhi Xiao. 

Consort Mi leaned against the steps, tightly gripping the disgusting finger bone, looking up at her daughter with a desolate yet satisfied smile. 

Gu Zhi Xiao sat on the throne, isolated from all sides. She, too, did not look at anyone, but held her cage tightly in her arms. Her gaze passed over the mass of prostrate figures in the hall, over the tall and majestic palace gate, over the thousand jade steps, and over the white marble square, looking toward the distant direction. 

There are vast grasslands, a blazing red sun, the clearest springs, pearl-like flocks of sheep, and the beautiful Second Palace. 

It has everything that is the most open, free, unstrained, and refreshing in this world. 

She possessed it briefly. 

But on her third birthday, she lost it. 

Never to return. 

　All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com  　

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