“What?!”
Everyone in the main hall let out a gasp at the same time.
Even Xiao Ao was so shocked he nearly stood up from the dragon throne.
Xiao Ao thought: I told you to agree to the marriage decree, not to make up a story!
And a story that could get people killed, no less.
Before Jiang Xingyan could speak, the commanders of the Vanguard Camp and the Raid Camp didn’t even care about proper court etiquette anymore. They stood up and retorted directly:
“Old Madam Huo, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want.
Everyone knows that Xiaoya is General Huo’s daughter. How could that be fake?”
“That’s right, Old Madam Huo.
The General may have led the army out right after his wedding, but he did share a room with the General’s wife in the end.
Xiaoya’s birth date lines up perfectly. How could it be fake?”
Old Madam Huo looked troubled, as if this matter was difficult to bring up.
Jiang Xingyan and Huo Ci were completely frozen in place, unable to understand how Old Madam Huo could say such a thing.
Xiao Ao reprimanded coldly: “Does the Old Madam know what the crime of deceiving the emperor entails?!”
Hearing this, Old Madam Huo shuddered and immediately slid from the grand tutor’s chair to the floor, then took the opportunity to kneel.
“This humble woman would not dare speak a single false word.
If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may perform a blood test to verify kinship!”
Jiang Xingyan was about to go mad. She dashed forward in one stride, grabbed Old Madam Huo by the collar, and questioned her fiercely: “What do you mean by this? What trick are you trying to pull?
If Xiaoya’s father isn’t Huo Ci, then who else could he be!”
Old Madam Huo had never seen her own son look at her with such bloodshot eyes and a face full of killing intent.
As if she were his bitter enemy, as if he wished he could hack her into pieces.
“What are you all standing there for?! Hurry and pull General Huo away!”
Seeing Xiao Ao’s expression growing darker and darker, Su Sheng quickly ordered the imperial guards to firmly restrain “Huo Ci” to prevent “him” from suddenly attacking and hurting someone.
Old Madam Huo was frightened and couldn’t speak for a long time.
Xiao Ao’s face was ashen.
This matter had escalated to such a point that it would be hard to bring it to a close without getting to the bottom of it.
Thud!
Xin Zhui knelt heavily on the ground, knocking her head loudly: “Your Majesty, please investigate clearly! You must clear General Jiang—the General’s name!”
“Please investigate clearly, Your Majesty!”
The three commanders of the Supply Camp, Vanguard Camp, and Raid Camp all bowed down together.
Out of the corner their eyes, they saw Huo Ci still standing there dazed. Two commanders reached out at the same time, grabbed his clothes, and forcibly dragged him down to kneel as well.
At this moment, Xiao Ao had no attention to spare for this deputy general’s odd behavior. All his focus was on Huo Li-shi and “Huo Ci,” mother and son.
His marriage decree had originally been meant to take back the scattered military power through a gentle approach.
Now, if he provoked Huo Ci’s resentment, wouldn’t that be gaining nothing and losing everything, achieving the exact opposite of what he wanted?
But now that the matter had been raised, if he didn’t give them the truth, he was afraid he would lose the loyalty of the entire Huo family army.
“Summon Imperial Physician Sun. Summon the Jiang family. Bring Huo Xiaoya to court as well.
Blood test to verify kinship.”
Jiang Xingyan couldn’t care about anything else now. Her eyes were fixed deadly on Old Madam Huo.
This old hag could treat her however she liked, but why did she have to say something bad about Xiaoya?
If Xiaoya wasn’t Huo Ci’s daughter, then she would be innocently branded with the crime of adultery. According to Western Zhou law, she would be drowned in a pig cage.
And Xiaoya?
Xiaoya would go from being a general’s daughter to the daughter of an adulterer.
She was only a little over two years old!
How was she supposed to live from now on?
Huo Ci was stunned too.
He forgot that at this moment, he was the “Jiang family member” Xiao Ao had mentioned.
He couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t remove his disguise. He could only kneel in the main hall as Deputy General Jiang.
But this worried the three commanders beside him to death.
Their foreheads were covered in cold sweat, but they simply couldn’t think of any good solution.
Although Xin Zhui was nervous, the thought that the State Preceptor was with Xiaoya reduced her anxiety somewhat.
That person would definitely not let A-Xing and Xiaoya suffer even a little.
Before long, Imperial Physician Sun arrived.
Ever since “Huo Ci” entered the capital, his right eye had been twitching nonstop.
He had already prepared for the worst. At most, it would just mean his granddaughter couldn’t come back.
Unexpectedly, after the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Sun Yaxiang came back bouncing and skipping.
“Grandfather! I came back alive!”
Sun Miao rushed over and gave his granddaughter a knock on the head.
“You—keep your voice down!”
Before he even finished speaking, his voice had already become choked.
Sun Yaxiang quickly knelt before her grandfather: “Your unfilial granddaughter Yaxiang has made you worry. This is utterly wrong!”
Sun Miao quickly pulled his granddaughter up and looked at her carefully: “You’ve gotten thinner, and tanner. Grandfather newly developed a pearl powder that has whitening and youth-preserving effects. Come try it quickly!”
Though he was excited, the unease in his heart hadn’t faded in the slightest.
His granddaughter had returned safely. The only one who might be in trouble was “Huo Ci.”
Could it be that their identities had been discovered by His Majesty?
In less than half an hour, a palace eunuch came to summon him into the palace.
He agreed while giving his granddaughter a meaningful look.
But Sun Yaxiang looked completely bewildered: “Why would the Emperor suddenly summon Grandfather into the palace? Is some noble in the palace feeling unwell?”
The eunuch delivering the decree kept his mouth shut: “Imperial Physician Sun will know once he arrives. It is extremely urgent and must not be delayed!”
Imperial Physician Sun quickly grabbed his medicine box and hurried into the palace.
Along the way, he prayed endlessly in his heart: Please, nothing bad must happen!
You have to understand, a soul swap was essentially becoming a different person. Add to that the act they had put on for the Emperor, and it was enough to be sentenced for the crime of deceiving the emperor, which carried punishment of nine familial exterminations!
His mind was a tangled mess. Step by step, he followed the eunuch delivering the decree to the Taiji Hall.
With just a brief glance, he saw eight imperial guards pinning “Huo Ci” firmly to the ground, making “him” unable to move.
“Huo Ci” had bloodshot eyes, staring straight at Old Madam Huo, who knelt to the side with her head lowered.
There were also the three commanders and two deputy generals of the Huo family army.
What on earth had happened? His heart grew more and more uncertain.
“This humble official greets Your Majesty, my Emperor—”
“Enough! Sun Miao, I ask you, is there such a thing as a blood test to verify kinship?”
Sun Miao’s heart pounded wildly.
Could it be that the imperial bloodline had been confused?
But even so, that shouldn’t be discussed in front of outsiders!
“There is indeed such a thing.
For blood relatives, the blood immediately merges. For those without blood relation, the blood will not merge the moment it is dripped in.
But this method must guard against tampering.
If alum is added, then no matter whose blood it is, it will merge.
If clear oil is added, then even a biological father and son’s blood will not merge.”
Sun Miao explained all the details clearly.
First, to explain to His Majesty that this method carried risks and was easy to use for framing others. No matter what the result was, it should be handled cautiously.
Second, to stall for time, letting everyone present calm down if they needed to calm down, think if they needed to think. Maybe a flash of inspiration would bring a way to respond.
Imperial Physician Sun was worthy of being an old hand in officialdom, a veteran minister who had stood through three reigns. Without some keen insight, he wouldn’t have survived.
Jiang Xingyan, reminded by Imperial Physician Sun, also came to her senses.
Though she was restrained and unable to move, she still roared at Old Madam Huo: “You’re trying to frame me and Xiaoya, aren’t you!”
With one sentence, Sun Miao felt a thunderous boom in his head, and his ears began to ring.
What?!
The ones to be tested were actually “Huo Ci” and Xiaoya?
No wonder she was fighting Old Madam Huo for her life.
Xiaoya was her life!
What kind of madness had gotten into this old hag today?
Although Old Madam Huo was visibly nervous, her tone was firm: “No. This humble woman will not touch anything. Everything will be arranged by Your Majesty.”
She touched her forehead to the ground, as if she had made a great resolution to reveal everything.
Everyone’s hearts were unsettled.
Xiao Ao waved his hand: “Imperial Physician Sun, go and prepare. I only trust you.”
