"Direct descendant of the Third Prince?"
The area beneath the Questioning Dao Platform erupted into chaos.
Several Imperial guards rushed up the steps and shielded Ji Jingyao. An envoy clerk opened the Kin-Seeking Document, flipped to the Third Prince's lineage, and prepared to register Li Sanshun's name.
Bai Chongshan closed the Genealogy Jade Book.
"The Blood Mirror has already given its result. Testing with all three disks merely adds another step to the procedure. According to the old Imperial rules, a direct descendant who has been living outside the capital must return with the envoys today."
He took out a gold-edged document and laid it on the table.
"Li Sanshun, sign your name."
Li Sanshun didn't take the pen. His eyes remained fixed on the left side of the Imperial Verification Disk's base.
Just now, when the drop of blood had fallen into the Ancestral Blood Slot, the disk's surface hadn't reacted, but the red light inside its base had come on first.
Only after the three pillars of blood appeared had the red light gone out.
The order was backward.
With a normal Blood Appraisal, the Ancestral Blood Slot should test the blood first, then the Genealogy Seal should search for a matching bloodline. But the thing hidden in the base had moved before the Ancestral Blood Slot.
That old bastard had written the answer in advance!
"What's the rush?"
Li Sanshun walked to the Imperial long table and pointed at the bottom of the Verification Disk.
"Take the base apart."
Bai Chongshan blocked the table.
"The secret text of the Ji clan's genealogy is hidden inside the base. Outsiders may not inspect it. His Highness already granted permission to waive the inspection. Are you trying to go back on that in front of everyone?"
"The blood hadn't been tested then. Now the disk has produced a direct descendant of the Third Prince, so of course we have to take it apart."
"The Imperial Blood Appraisal is complete. No one may damage the apparatus."
Bai Chongshan reached to put away the wooden case.
Li Sanshun got there first and gripped the edge of the Verification Disk.
Two guards drew their sabers and stepped forward. Gu Qinghe led the Law Enforcement Peak disciples to block both sides of the long table.
Ji Jingyao pressed a hand on the Kin-Seeking Document.
"Li Sanshun, what evidence do you have?"
"Before the blood was taken, I could smell Imperial Cinnabar inside the base. As soon as the blood dripped, the seam on the left lit up first. Only afterward did the disk's surface change."
Bai Chongshan gave a cold snort.
"The Genealogy Seal is drawn with Imperial Cinnabar. It's normal for the base to light up first when the Verification Disk activates."
The senior alchemist picked up the cleaning record.
"The Verification Disks used by Tai Xuan Sect and the Alchemy Alliance both react first at the Ancestral Blood Slot. Imperial apparatus may have a different structure, so we can't conclude there's a problem just from that."
"That's why we should take it apart."
Li Sanshun took a fresh inspection form.
"Let six witnesses sign it. After we open it, we'll only look at the left side. If there's nothing inside, I'll accept that I'm a direct descendant of the Third Prince. If the envoys tell me to leave right now, I won't cling to this place."
The crowd below quieted considerably.
Bai Chongshan gripped the edge of the wooden case.
"Who'll be responsible if the base is damaged?"
"I will."
"You're an outer-sect odd-job disciple. Can you afford to pay for an Imperial Blood Appraisal Disk?"
"If we find something, you'll pay with your life."
Bai Chongshan said nothing more.
Li Sanshun turned to Ji Jingyao.
"Does Your Highness dare to investigate?"
Hundreds of disciples were waiting.
If Ji Jingyao refused, the result they'd just obtained would become a laughingstock.
"Take it apart."
The Imperial clerk brought over a special copper key. After the six witnesses inspected it, they each signed the inspection form.
Bai Chongshan still tried to unlock it himself, but Ji Jingyao handed the copper key to the Alchemy Alliance alchemist.
They turned the Verification Disk over. A sheet of purple copper covered its bottom. Four locking pins were hidden inside the clan crest, their surfaces sealed with cinnabar.
The alchemist first picked out the pin nearest the top.
The second was fine too.
When he reached the third pin on the left, the instant the copper needle probed inside, a small amount of red powder fell out of the keyhole.
Li Sanshun drew in a breath.
[Remnant aura of Blood-Revealing Talisman detected.]
[Talisman pattern activated.]
[Revealed text: Direct descendant of the Third Prince.]
So it really had been written in advance.
"Wait."
Li Sanshun pointed at the keyhole.
"There's a Blood-Revealing Talisman hidden inside. Its text says 'direct descendant of the Third Prince.'"
Bai Chongshan reached for the Verification Disk.
Gu Qinghe knocked his hand away with her scabbard.
"The inspection isn't over. No one touches it."
"Absurd!" Bai Chongshan retreated behind the Imperial long table. "The talisman pattern is hidden inside the base. He hasn't even opened the copper plate. How could he know what it says?"
"Open it and see."
The alchemist removed the third locking pin, and more red powder spilled out.
The purple copper plate lifted half an inch. Inside was a thin talisman, more than half burned away. The paper was only two fingers wide, its edge pressed beneath the Genealogy Seal and its outer side connected to the Ancestral Blood Slot.
Once blood entered the Verification Disk, it would trigger this talisman.
The alchemist removed the remnant with silver tweezers and soaked it in revealing solution.
The scattered cinnabar gathered together again.
Four lines of tiny writing appeared.
The Ji clan's genealogy.
Third branch of the Jing generation.
Direct paternal descent.
Bloodline of the Third Prince.
The crowd below fell into an uproar.
The result had already been tucked inside the base before the blood was even taken.
Whoever Li Sanshun was, as long as his blood went in, the disk would display that he was a direct descendant of the Third Prince!
"All six Image-Recording Arrays are running."
Li Sanshun picked up the remnant talisman and held it in front of one of the arrays.
"Elder Bai, are you still going to say it's just maintenance medicine?"
Bai Chongshan stepped back half a pace.
"The Blood-Revealing Talisman is part of the Verification Disk. It helps the Genealogy Seal reveal its text. The disk judged that he has the Third Prince's bloodline. This talisman has nothing to do with that."
The senior alchemist turned over the remnant talisman.
"Ordinary Blood-Revealing Talismans have no prewritten text. They only draw out the Genealogy Seal's writing. This one was prewritten with the Third Prince's lineage, and a Blood-Drawing Thread connects it to the Ancestral Blood Slot."
He removed a fine thread and placed it in a jade dish.
"Li Sanshun's blood only activated it. The result had been decided long ago."
Gu Qinghe sealed the remnant talisman, Blood-Drawing Thread, and locking pin separately.
"Bai Chongshan was responsible for safeguarding the Verification Disk. The seal on the wooden case is intact, yet the base contained a talisman that falsified the Blood Appraisal result. The private Kin-Seeking Document seal under Du Heng's control and Grey Feather Talisman Paper were also found in his alchemy furnace."
She took out the Major Case Order.
"Bai Chongshan, you're suspected of falsifying an Imperial Blood Appraisal and interfering in the Old Infant Case. Please remain on the Questioning Dao Platform while the Law Enforcement Hall investigates."
Eight Imperial guards formed a line in front of the long table.
Bai Chongshan looked at Ji Jingyao.
"Your Highness, this is Tai Xuan Sect. If you let them detain an attendant of the Imperial Envoy Group, what will become of the Imperial family's dignity?"
"Is stuffing fake results into a Verification Disk what you call Imperial dignity?"
Li Sanshun tossed the Kin-Seeking Document back onto the table.
"You kept saying you were taking me back to the Imperial City. If I really walked through the envoy group's door, how many days would I stay alive?"
Bai Chongshan took a custody token from his sleeve.
"Many people handled the Blood Appraisal Disk along the way. The talisman inside the base may not have been placed there by me. Even if the Imperial Disk produced a false result, the disks of Tai Xuan Sect and the Alchemy Alliance are still running."
He pointed to the other two long tables.
"As long as either disk confirms the bloodline of the Third Prince, the envoys can still take him according to the old rules."
His words reminded everyone.
The red pattern on Tai Xuan Sect's Verification Disk had already reached the fourth ring.
The writing on the Alchemy Alliance's jade disk was nearly complete too.
Falsifying the Imperial Verification Disk only proved that Bai Chongshan had a problem. It didn't prove Li Sanshun had no Imperial bloodline.
If the other two disks gave the same result, the envoys could still force him to return to the capital.
Li Sanshun took out the remaining three bottles of blood samples and placed them between the six witnesses.
"The Imperial Disk is compromised. The results from the other two disks need to be rechecked too."
Bai Chongshan pressed down on the custody token.
"Fine, recheck them. The Imperial Envoy Group must supervise. If the results are the same twice, you can't make excuses and drag this out."
Beside the Tai Xuan Sect Verification Disk, a steward suddenly stood up and picked up the blood-pattern record that had just formed.
The Alchemy Alliance alchemist also made a rubbing of the first result from the jade disk.
They compared the contents but didn't announce them.
Ji Jingyao took the two records and paused for a long while.
Bai Chongshan urged him, "Your Highness, did both disks identify the paternal line as belonging to the Third Prince?"
Ji Jingyao laid the records on the table.
"Seal the remaining blood samples and repeat the tests at once."
Bai Chongshan reached for the records.
"What exactly were the results?"
Li Sanshun snatched one of the records first. After reading it, he pushed the bottles of blood for retesting toward the alchemist.
"Elder Bai, those two disks don't recognize the father you picked out for me."
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