"explain."
The Dowager Princess cried out in a fit of rage. She had always doted on Prince Zhaoyang, but she never expected that someone would tell her that Prince Zhaoyang might not be her son. The thought of this made the Dowager Princess's face turn pale.
“At that time, we servants were asleep for a while. We thought we were just tired and fell asleep. If this matter were to be revealed, we servants would surely die. So we all kept it a secret.”
As soon as Granny Qingzhu finished speaking, Consort Jinlan's fingers trembled violently, her face turned ashen white in an instant, and she couldn't utter a single word. Her chest heaved, and she looked like she was about to faint. She simply couldn't bear such shock. The son she had loved and cherished for so many years was not her son. Then where was her son?
Upon seeing the Empress Dowager's condition, Hai Ling quickly reached out and touched the Empress Dowager's chest to help her catch her breath, and hurriedly called out to her.
"Your Highness, Ling'er knows who your son is and where he is now. Please don't faint, please don't faint!"
As soon as Hai Ling spoke, Consort Jinlan, who had almost fainted, was able to catch her breath.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she grabbed Hailing's hand, crying, "Where is my poor son now? Where is he? I'm so sorry for him, I must repent to him."
"Don't be sad, Your Highness. In fact, your son is the current Emperor Ye Lingfeng. He is your true son, while Prince Zhaoyang is the Empress Dowager's son."
Upon hearing this, both the Dowager Consort and Qingzhu were startled. The current emperor was the Dowager Consort's son, while Prince Zhaoyang was the Empress Dowager's son. So why would the Empress Dowager allow the Dowager Consort's son to become emperor? The two women reacted quickly, the Dowager Consort utterly terrified.
"How is this possible? How could the Emperor be my son?"
She had thought about her son being dead, or that he had fallen into poverty and lived among the common people, but she never imagined that the current emperor was her son. The more she thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed, and she shook her head repeatedly.
"How could that be? The Emperor is my son."
The Dowager Consort didn't believe it outwardly, but she was seriously thinking about it in her heart. However, to be honest, she liked the Emperor and Empress very much when she first met them. But could that prove that the Emperor was her son?
"Actually, to verify whether the Emperor is the son of the Dowager Consort, all we need to do is a blood test."
Chapter 119 Prince Zhaoyang Commits Suicide, Sima Yuan is Killed [Handwritten Update]
In a side hall of Liuyue Palace, the Dowager Consort looked at Hailing with a look of shock. This was a blood test with the Emperor. If she was not careful, not only her, but also the entire Zhaoyang Prince's Mansion would be executed. However, she then remembered that Zhaoyang Prince Ye Ranyi was not her son, and tears welled up in the Dowager Consort's eyes.
Her son was switched at birth; how could she bear this? Why did God treat her like this?
The Dowager Princess burst into tears. The thought of her son leaving her when he was young caused her great pain. This was an especially cruel thing for a mother to discover that the son she had loved for so many years was not her son, and that her son had never enjoyed her maternal love for a single day.
Hai Ling quickly reached out and took the Empress Dowager's hand to persuade her.
"Your Highness, please don't be sad. Actually, Your Highness probably doesn't know something else. Prince Zhaoyang is not the late Emperor's bloodline. He is the son of Sima Yuan, the Right Chancellor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Do you remember more than twenty years ago when Sima Yuan was sent as an envoy to Northern Lu? I heard from the Empress Dowager that she and Sima Yuan got drunk that year and ended up together. She later became pregnant. Now that the Emperor has captured Sima Yuan, the Empress Dowager actually said that the Emperor is her and Sima Yuan's child and is not of royal blood. If the Emperor is really Your Highness's son, how can Your Highness bear to let the Emperor suffer like this again?"
After Hai Ling finished speaking, the Empress Dowager's face turned green. Especially when she heard Hai Ling say that the Empress Dowager had an affair with Sima Yuan back then, her face turned green with anger. She never expected that even after the late emperor died, she would still have to suffer this woman's insults.
"No wonder there were rumors circulating in the palace back then that she wasn't carrying the late emperor's son; it turns out it was true! How despicable!"
After the Dowager Consort finished her tirade, she thought about how the Empress Dowager had spoken to the Emperor in such a way. The Emperor was not only young, but also a wise and virtuous ruler of Beilu. Regardless of whether he was her son or not, she did not want anyone to insult him. Moreover, she was genuinely afraid that the Emperor was her son. She had never done anything for her son, and if her son were to suffer such harm again, wouldn't she be guilty? With this thought in mind, the Dowager Consort's face darkened, and she spoke directly.
“Ling’er, I am willing to have my blood recognized by the Emperor.”
"good."
Hai Ling immediately nodded, called to Shi Mei outside the door, and instructed Shi Mei to go to the palace to invite the emperor over.
Shi Mei responded and walked out, but after only a few steps, she heard footsteps coming from the side hall. The people inside looked over at the same time and saw the Emperor standing at the entrance of the main hall, his deep, dark eyes fixed on Consort Jinlan without moving. Consort Jinlan was also looking at the Emperor, carefully examining his features to see if he was really her son. After looking closely, she found that her son looked very much like her younger brother, Lu Jinyuan. Children often resemble their uncles, so the Emperor might indeed be her son. Thinking this, the Consort trembled and slowly stood up, calling out, "Your Majesty."
That cry was filled with many meanings: guilt, remorse, and sorrow. If the emperor was indeed her son, she had failed him, causing him to be separated from the palace from birth. He must have suffered a lot over the years.
Ye Lingfeng snapped out of his reverie at the Empress Dowager's call, nodded, and walked over.
Hai Ling instructed Shi Mei to go out and guard the gate, preventing anyone from entering. Then she turned to Ye Lingfeng and asked, "Ye, do you agree to the blood test to confirm your kinship with the Dowager Consort?"
Only in this way can we determine whether he is the son of the Empress Dowager. If the Emperor is indeed the son of the Empress Dowager, then Prince Zhaoyang is the son of the Empress Dowager, which is also the son of Sima Yuan.
Ye Lingfeng naturally wanted to prove that he was not Sima Yuan's son, but the late emperor's child, so he nodded heavily. Hailing then called Shimei in and asked her to prepare a few things for the emperor and the dowager concubine to use for the blood test to confirm kinship, but not to disturb anyone except her.
"Yes," Shi Mei replied and quietly walked out.
Inside the main hall, no one spoke. Both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were preoccupied with their own thoughts, and they were both afraid of the outcome. If the Empress Dowager was indeed the Emperor's mother, then everyone would be happy. If the Empress Dowager was not the Emperor's mother, then where had the Empress Dowager's son gone, and whose child was the Emperor?
Not only the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, but even Hailing was on tenterhooks, fearing that the outcome would not be what she expected.
For a moment, no one spoke, and the hall was silent until Shi Mei brought in the prepared items and presented them to the Emperor. Ye Lingfeng glanced at them, then reached out, took a sharp knife, and pricked his fingertip, letting the blood drip into the bowl.
Shi Mei carried the bowl and walked to the Empress Dowager. Ye Lingfeng, sitting at the head of the hall, clenched his fists and unconsciously held his breath. This person, who was usually fearless and undaunted, dared not look at the ending. He lowered his eyelids slightly and waited.
The Empress Dowager was also somewhat frightened, but she desperately wanted to know if the Emperor was her son. If he wasn't, then where was her son? She was determined to find out.
With that thought in mind, the Dowager Consort resolutely stabbed her fingertip with a knife. Blood dripped into the bowl, and several pairs of eyes stared at the bowl at the same time. Slowly, the blood mingled together.
Tears of emotion immediately welled up in the Dowager's eyes, and Hailing breathed a sigh of relief.
Born in modern times and being a doctor, she knew that this blood test for kinship might not be scientific. However, for now, it was a way to get Ye to open up. Later, she would find a way to expose the Empress Dowager's true colors, making her nowhere to hide and forcing her to admit that Prince Zhaoyang was her son. Hai Ling's lips curled into a cold smile, and then she looked at Ye at the head of the hall with a look of joy.
"Night, your blood has merged with that of the Dowager Consort, merged completely."
Inside the hall, Shi Mei and Qing Zhu looked at the Emperor and then at the Dowager Consort, before kneeling down: "Your Majesty, your blood and the Dowager Consort's blood have become intertwined."
Inside the main hall, the Dowager Consort stood up again, and Ye Lingfeng, who was sitting at the head of the hall, suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils shone brightly, and joy filled his eyes. He looked at the Dowager Consort, slowly walked down from the head of the hall, and walked step by step to the Dowager Consort. Then he slowly spoke.
"Mother."
This call caused the Dowager's tears to flow again, and she choked out, "Ye, don't you blame your mother? It's all my fault. I didn't even know that my child had been switched at birth. I deserve to die."
She said she wanted to kneel down and repent to Ye Lingfeng, that she was unworthy to be a mother, unworthy of such an outstanding son. Ye was excellent, and her son was so outstanding. If he had stayed in the palace all those years ago, the late emperor would have liked him very much, and perhaps he would have been made crown prince long ago.
Ye Lingfeng didn't want the Empress Dowager to kneel down, so he quickly helped her up.
This matter is not the fault of the Consort Dowager, but the fault of the Empress Dowager. She had the audacity to switch him with her, making her suffer outside while her son enjoyed wealth and honor in the palace. She was truly despicable. All those years of respect and filial piety he had shown her were in vain. It turned out that he had been her pawn from the very beginning.
Ye Lingfeng's face was gloomy, and his whole body was filled with murderous aura.