With Emperor Tianhui having spoken, what choice did Jun Beichen have? He immediately stepped forward!

He was, after all, Emperor Tianhui’s own biological son—he had nothing to fear!

He raised one hand, glancing around at everyone present, then slowly lowered it and handed it to Prince Baxian.

Once again, every eye in the room converged, even more intently than before—no one dared even to blink, for fear of missing a single detail!

Gu Suying didn’t dare stand too close, but she leaned forward eagerly. She was one hundred percent certain that with so many eyes watching, and with Han Ziqing and Jun Beiyue standing so far away, there was no way anything could go wrong!

Any moment now! Any moment now, Jun Beiyue’s true parentage would be exposed!

That vile pair of lovers had dared to leave her with no home to return to, had even branded her with the mark of a servant and cast her out of the Gu clan—well, now she would make them taste the bitterness of being cast out too!

The sharp dagger lightly grazed Jun Beichen’s finger, and a bead of blood immediately welled up. In that instant, the entire world seemed to grind to a halt, an absolute silence descending!

Every heart in the room hung suspended, pounding faster and faster as that drop of blood slowly fell.

In the silence, even the soft “plop” of the blood hitting the water’s surface rang out with startling clarity. In that moment, every heartbeat in the room nearly stopped!

It was unbearably tense! The blood had truly fallen! Whether it would merge would be decided in this very instant!

Even Prince Baxian couldn’t help but grow tense, the hand holding the porcelain bowl trembling faintly. He had no choice but to cradle it with both hands, staring fixedly at the two drops of blood at the bottom of the bowl, forgetting entirely to show it to everyone else. Yet everyone leaned forward regardless—Gu Suying practically threw herself against Jun Beichen’s side, craning her neck, holding her breath, staring intently. Emperor Tianhui and Consort Yi had both risen to their feet. For a moment, the entire hall was silent, yet utterly chaotic all at once!

Even Jun Beiyue watched without blinking. Only Ziqing wore an expression of perfect calm, waiting silently.

Would the blood merge, or wouldn’t it?

The result would come any moment now!

Time trickled by, second by second. The two drops of blood resting side by side in the water seemed to show no reaction at all.

Weren’t they going to merge?

No! Just wait a little longer!

But still, nothing happened!

Wait a little longer still!

Finally, a flicker of tension crossed Ziqing’s eyes—she was gambling, gambling on this man’s luck!

If they had used Emperor Tianhui’s blood directly, there would have been absolutely no room to retreat—if the luck held, everything would turn out fine, but if not, judgment would follow immediately, with no chance even to argue!

But by using Jun Beichen’s blood instead, if it merged, all would be well and good. And if it didn’t merge, they would still have one more chance!

She could then accuse Jun Beichen himself of being Consort Yi’s illegitimate son, and only then request Emperor Tianhui’s own blood to test against both Jun Beiyue’s and Jun Beichen’s, to see what result that produced.

If luck favored them, Jun Beiyue’s blood would merge with Emperor Tianhui’s, and Jun Beichen would become the illegitimate one.

If luck didn’t favor them, then Jun Beichen’s blood would merge with Emperor Tianhui’s, and Jun Beiyue would become the illegitimate one.

And there was also the possibility that neither Jun Beiyue’s nor Jun Beichen’s blood would merge with Emperor Tianhui’s at all—in which case, matters would grow far more complicated!

Luck, whether great or small, was determined by fate—it couldn’t be begged or bought.

But opportunity was something one could seize for oneself. One more chance meant, perhaps, one more portion of luck!

Time continued to trickle by. Jun Beiyue couldn’t help but glance toward Ziqing, and Ziqing was looking back at him at the very same moment. Both wore expressions of perfect calm, yet neither could see through the storm raging within the other’s heart.

Then, at that very moment, Prince Baxian suddenly cried out in astonishment, “They’ve merged!”

Ziqing and Jun Beiyue both turned their heads at once to look, and there—there, the blood at the bottom of the bowl was slowly drawing together, merging, until in no time at all it had become a single, unified mass, utterly indistinguishable as having come from two different people!

It had worked!

Disaster averted—for the first time in this very hall, the two of them had joined hands and turned the tide together!

Ziqing remembered clearly—she had been wronged twice in this very hall. The first time, Jun Beiyue hadn’t been present. The second time, he had been there, and she had ended up plunging a blade into his heart!

But this third time, this man had placed his complete trust in her, letting her handle the matter herself, standing firmly behind her as her most reassuring support.

Ziqing cried out silently within her heart, the corners of her mouth curling upward despite herself—what luck! Jun Beiyue and Jun Beichen shared the same blood type!

Had it not been for everyone watching, had the matter not still been unresolved, she would already have thrown herself into Jun Beiyue’s arms!

Prince Baxian, overjoyed, finally recovered himself and lowered the bowl, letting everyone see clearly, one by one.

Gu Suying, meanwhile, had already collapsed to the ground, staring in blank astonishment. How could this be? She refused to believe it!

Jun Beiyue was the Gu clan’s own son, the bastard child of her father and Consort Wan! How could this be happening—how could his blood have merged with the Second Prince’s?

No… something had to be wrong somewhere!

“No! It can’t be! I didn’t slander him falsely—he really is the Gu clan’s son!”

She shook her head fiercely, then suddenly shrieked, “That’s not it! Han Ziqing tampered with it! She knows poison, she must have done something!”

Seeing this, the Second Prince stumbled back several steps, nearly stepping on Gu Suying, and scrambled hastily back to Consort Yi’s side, not daring to utter a word, just like her. Emperor Tianhui too stood frozen, dumbfounded!

Once before, in this very hall, they had been thoroughly humiliated—Emperor Tianhui was little more than a puppet; Han Ziqing and Prince Baxian were the true holders of power!

But this time, Jun Beiyue’s parentage, and Prince Baxian’s insistence on getting to the truth, had given them a rare opportunity—otherwise, how would they have dared to stand against Prince Yao so easily?

Now that the truth had come to light, who would dare speak a single word against Jun Beiyue? They only wished they could pin the entire crime of false accusation onto Gu Suying alone!

“Gu Suying, in full view of everyone, you have clearly slandered Prince Yao with baseless lies—do you still refuse to admit your crime?” Prince Baxian said coldly.

How could Gu Suying possibly know that Ziqing had relied on medical knowledge from a thousand years in the future, combined with a bit of luck?

The very evidence that should have left Jun Beiyue unable to defend himself had instead become evidence that left her unable to defend herself. She could offer no explanation at all, only crying out again and again that she’d been wronged, insisting over and over that Ziqing had tampered with something!

Finally, Jun Beiyue spoke coldly. “Prince Baxian, now that the truth has come to light, shouldn’t this matter be left to my wife and me to handle?”

At these words, let alone everyone else—even Prince Baxian himself couldn’t help but shudder. He too bore responsibility for this false accusation!

But if it meant proving that Beiyue truly was a son of the Jun clan, he was willing to let his lifelong reputation be ruined in an instant!

He bowed respectfully to Jun Beiyue and declared loudly, “This subject humbly welcomes Prince Yao and Princess Yao back!”

Yet unexpectedly, Jun Beiyue did not press the matter against Prince Baxian at all, saying only flatly, “Prince Baxian has worked hard during this time.”

Hearing Jun Beiyue’s words, Ziqing couldn’t help but feel a swell of admiration. Prince Baxian’s suspicions were understandable—had he not devoted himself so tirelessly to Great Zhou during this period, how could they possibly have remained at ease on the Isle of Immortal Retreat?

This man, Jun Beiyue, no matter how deeply he might harbor resentment, had never once been a narrow-minded, petty person.

As for herself—well, she was perfectly happy to be narrow-minded. What of it?

She’d leave this matter here for Jun Beiyue to handle. Ziqing said flatly, “Someone, bring the Tenth Prince and Gu Suying along—come with this consort!”

…