Chapter 80

Helian Zheng brought forth an old man wearing Hu Zhuo garb, the Hu Zhuo Tribe’s Grand Physician, an elder who had served his family for many generations. The old man tottered forward, explaining:

“Your Imperial Majesty, Dazaer was poisoned by the rare poison “Fragrantless” from the Qin Zhuo Snow Mountain by the border of Da Yue. The poison is odorless and colorless, and the toxic will only show on the liver six hours after death. A coroner will usually perform an autopsy immediately after a criminals death, so naturally they would not discover this matter. This poisons is incredibly rare and is only ever found in Da Yue; this commoner only saw it once in his youth.”

“Please, Your Majesty, bring forth the Imperial Academy’s Physician to examine this.” Helian Zheng requested.

Director Liu from the Imperial Academy of Medicine quickly rushed forward accompanied by the best coroner from the Three Judicial Departments. The coroner carefully examined the body by the stairs and finally turned to report: “Your Majesty, it is indeed Fragrantless.”

Whispers filled the court as worried expressions crossed the faces of Yao Ying and Prince Chu’s other followers; all of them were secretly wondering whether Prince Chu really had been so plagued by this case that he really had sent an assassin.

“I’ve never heard of this Fragrantless poison.” The Second Prince announced, smiling. “But now that I think of it, Sixth Brother’s Mother was from Da Yue?”

The words sent shock through the court as everyone remembered that Ning Yi’s late mother really had been from Da Yue. She had been a small tribes princess, captured during a war between Tian Sheng and Da Yue, but she had passed away so long ago and at such an early age that she had long since become a taboo topic, with even the Tian Sheng Emperor forgetting her.

The Tian Sheng Emperor’s face fell more and more, a sense of dread filling the court, swallowing all sound.

Now that things had progressed to this point, the case was no longer about finding the murderer; an icy heaviness fell upon the court.

Da Yue and Tian Sheng were preparing for war, and Hu Zhuo Tribe’s involvement was of incredible importance. When this news reached the Hu Zhuo tribesmen, they might directly turn their weapons and strike into the Central Plains, at a time when simply standing by or obstructing would severely damage the Tian Sheng armies!

Now that the Second Prince had brought up Ning Yi’s origins and reminded everyone of his mother’s mysterious early death, the thought came unbidden to all minds — could Ning Yi have turned to his Da Yue background and colluded with the enemy? Had he intentionally killed the Hu Zhuo Tribe’s warrior and enraged their ally to help Da Yue?

This matter had transformed from a matter of injustice to treason, and the consequences of such an accusation were horrifying and deadly to anyone involved.

Feng Zhiwei examined Ning Yi — as soon as the Second Prince had brought up his mother, Ning Yi had seemingly lost all will to speak; his long lashes were turned down and obscuring his eyes, hiding his expression even as the air around him seemed to freeze.

“Your Majesty.” Director Liu of the Imperial Academy of Medicine said carefully. “Fragrantless is no ordinary poison and no ordinary Da Yue citizen could have access to it. This poison originates from the Snow Mountain’s Luo Ri[1] Tribe, and in order to successfully produce it, a member of the Luo Ri royal line must cultivate it with their blood essence…”

“The Luo Ri Tribe…” The Emperor muttered, narrowing his eyes as he tried to remember his dead concubine’s background, but that woman had passed so many years ago and had been like a floating cloud, here and then gone. He could not even remember her face, how could he remember her tribe?

And her death was an old matter he did not wish to face… the Emperor furrowed his brows, his heart somewhat chaotic.

“The royal line of the Luo Ri Tribe has a legend: according to them, they are the descendants of the sun god Gema, and the blood of their royal family has the pure gold color of the sun.” The Hu Zuo Grand Physician suddenly announced. “A test will show the truth.”

Helian Zheng smiled and agreed: “Yes, a test will show the truth.”

The palace went silent; testing blood in front of the court was an insult that passed into humiliation for the powerful Dynasty Prince Ning Yi — Imperial Majesty could not be profaned, and this matter even involved the Imperial Harem and the reputation of a deceased prince-mother. If this test was allowed to take place, incontrovertible damage would be done between Emperor and son.

Everything depended on his Imperial Majesty and whether or not he would trust and protect his son, and whether or not he could resolve this matter with a light touch, balancing his rule with his son’s dignity.

The court stared at the Emperor nervously as Feng Zhiwei stared at her feet.

“This is not poison.” Shao Ning’s words echoed in her ears, “It will only have effect when the right moment arrives…You can also take his pulse and rub the powder into the skin around his veins.”

Everything was falling into place.

The medicine and the green pill Shao Ning had asked her to apply to Ning Yi’s were not poison, but they had thrust Ning Yi under the accusations of treason, dooming him to a hopeless death!

Shao Ning had lied to her. She did not simply wish for Ning Yi to lose the Emperor’s affection; she had concocted a crime of treason, utterly destroying Ning Yi’s base and setting him up for a fate without redemption.

With the influence of the two medicines she had applied, the conspirators could guarantee that Ning Yi’s blood show gold.

In the silent court, Ning Yi looked upwards at his father. The Emperor’s face was grey, his expressions transforming as he diligently avoided meeting his son’s eyes.

Finally, the Tian Sheng Emperor nodded, gesturing impassively: “Then test it.”

The words plowed through the court like a raging tornado, the ministers unable to keep silent any longer. As the uproar went up around him, Ning Yi looked away from the Emperor.

His eyes were calm, but the light within them flickered and trembled like a candle in the wind, finally going out. In the darkness that followed, he was alone, only lonely light accompanying him on the stage.

Feng Zhiwei watched his light go out and felt as if her heart had been cut by knives.

In that moment, she was brought back to that day her mother had chosen Feng Hao over her, accepting her banishment from the Qiu Mansion. On that day, had she had such desolate eyes?

She bit her lip and looked up again, meeting Ning Yi’s gaze. His eyes were impossible to read, and her heart jumped.

A servant brought forth a gold basin and placed it on the Imperial Table. All ministers retreated while Helian Zheng remained rooted to the ground, narrowing his eyes at Ning Yi.

Ning Yi walked forward, examining the silver knife and golden basin before him. He smiled calmly and rolled up his sleeves; everyone around him had fallen away and he stood alone, facing his fate, his shoulders cold and lonely.

“Your Majesty, please allow this minister to administer Prince Chu’s blood test.”

Every head turned in surprise as Feng Zhiwei stepped forward, bowing calmly before the emperor.

“His Highness’s heart is disturbed and the test requires he extract his wrist blood. This minor minister is afraid that a self-administered test is not the most suitable. This minister’s hands are skilled and steady, please allow this minor minister to help.”

[1] 落日 setting sun

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