Chapter 54: Test

Fresh red blood was collected along the jade needle into a jade box; after roughly three drops had coalesced, Eunuch Shen said:

“That’s enough.”

He retrieved the jade box, sealed it, then returned to Guard Commander Fu Qiwén’s side and bowed, offering it with both hands.

Fu Qiwén nodded slightly, took the jade box in one hand, and studied it briefly.

Instantly, Yu Jin and Sun Changyu snapped their heads up, their spirits jolting sharply.

They felt the surrounding heavenly qi of the entire hall suddenly boil over.

Centered on Fu Qiwén, an invisible vortex surged upward, rapidly sucking and devouring the surrounding heavenly qi.

Even the qi within their meridians and dantians stirred restlessly, threatening to be pulled away at any moment.

Both instantly turned pale with alarm and urgently activated their cultivation techniques to stabilize their internal qi.

At the same time, the wind and rain above the entire hall ceased abruptly.

The gathering heavenly qi seemed like an invisible giant hand, parting the torrential downpour from above and stirring the gales to detour around the entire Tianjinwei Headquarters.

Inside the hall, the jade box in Fu Qiwén’s palm shimmered with emerald light, spinning at a speed too fast for the naked eye to track, as if breaking the sound barrier.

Yet despite this, the jade box—whose true form remained obscured, leaving only fleeting afterimages—remained locked in Fu Qiwén’s grip, never shifting an inch.

Could this be… a flesh-powered centrifuge?

Li Muxian stared unblinkingly at the Tianjinwei Guard Commander Fu Qiwén, silently marveling in his mind.

To be honest, he now found himself oddly convinced by this paternity test.

But Li Muxian’s gaze shifted, settling on one of his own fingers.

When the jade needle had drawn his blood, he noticed a thread of poison entering his body through the wound.

That poison had an extremely peculiar nature—it wouldn’t kill him outright, but would lie hidden and dormant within him.

Of course, no matter how unusual the poison, it posed no threat whatsoever to Li Muxian, who possessed the Indestructible Golden Body.

“Interesting. I haven’t even stepped into the palace yet, and the intrigue has already begun.”

Li Muxian raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, the jade box came from the Great Li Imperial Palace; the one who poisoned the jade needle must also be from within the court.

But who was the poisoner?

It could be the Eunuch Shen standing before him—or someone else entirely.

Li Muxian had no leads, and no real desire to investigate further.

After all, those meant to reveal themselves would inevitably do so in time.

He had no interest in court intrigues; right now, he only wished to be a lazy farmer waiting by a tree stump.

At that moment, the heavenly qi throughout the hall abruptly stilled, and the spinning jade box in Fu Qiwén’s hand came to a halt.

The outside scene of wind and rain ceasing vanished; the storm returned with full force.

Raindrops struck the hall’s tiled roof, gradually forming a soft patter.

Fu Qiwén gazed at the jade box in his hand for a moment, his expression calm, then looked up at Li Muxian and said:

“I must enter the palace. Young Master Li, please wait here for a while.”

Li Muxian nodded without objection.

Watching Fu Qiwén prepare to leave, he knew his imperial prince status had been confirmed.

But at that moment, Sun Changyu from the side of the hall stepped forward, bowed, and said:

“My lord, I have something to report.”

Fu Qiwén halted and turned to him, nodding slightly to signal him to speak.

Sun Changyu stole a glance at Li Muxian, then silently transmitted his words via qi to Fu Qiwén.

Soon after, Fu Qiwén’s eyes narrowed slightly as he fixed a deep look on Li Muxian, then waved his hand and said:

“I am already aware of this matter.”

Then he instructed Yu Jin from the side of the hall:

“Go fetch Han Li. Have him accompany Eunuch Sun.”

With that, Fu Qiwén made no further pause and vanished into the vast downpour beyond the hall.

At that moment, Eunuch Shen glanced at Li Muxian, his gaze flickering slightly, and said:

“I must return to the palace to report this matter to Imperial Consort Wang.”

Having finished speaking, he immediately followed Fu Qiwén out the door.

The remaining Yu Jin in the hall dared not delay; he quickly summoned a thin-faced middle-aged man.

Han Li, as Fu Qiwén’s most trusted subordinate, obeyed his orders without question; after a brief exchange with Sun Changyu, he hurried off with him.

……

The Great Li Imperial Palace.

Palaces stood in orderly arrangement, their roof ridges adorned with glazed ceramic beasts of varied forms; rain streamed down golden glazed tiles, forming continuous lines of pearl-like curtains.

Guard Commander Fu Qiwén passed through towering vermilion gates, accompanied by a young eunuch, ascending layers of white jade steps into a vast, imposing palace.

Tianqian Palace—the residence of Emperor Yuanwu.

The polished floor gleamed like a mirror; crimson pillars carved with exquisite cloud and dragon patterns supported the grand ceiling, radiating an aura of solemn authority.

Fu Qiwén walked through the solemn main hall to the side chamber, where a bamboo curtain blocked the view of a purple sandalwood bed.

“Your Majesty, the Seventh Imperial Prince has been found.”

Fu Qiwén bowed before the bamboo curtain, withdrew the jade box from his sleeve, and handed it to an elderly, white-haired eunuch at the front of the hall, who presented it to Emperor Yuanwu behind the curtain.

Emperor Yuanwu behind the curtain remained silent; beneath the bright candlelight, only a faint silhouette of a seated figure could be seen.

The figure glanced at the jade box in the eunuch’s hands and said, toneless:

“This paternity method originates from the Western Regions’ Medicine King Valley, refined over generations by their physicians—it should be flawless.”

Then the figure gestured for the eunuch to remove the jade box, and through the bamboo curtain, fixed his gaze on Fu Qiwén:

“Qiwén, tell me—what is your impression of my son?”

Fu Qiwén clasped his hands, bowed his head, and after a moment’s thought replied:

“I have reviewed the Seventh Prince’s dossier. He was found by a female constable of the Six Gates Bureau in a small town in Wanzhou. His twenty-year history is unremarkable; before arriving in Shangyang City, he spent all his time as an apprentice in a small martial arts school.”

Hearing this, the figure behind the curtain nodded slightly, as if already familiar with Li Muxian’s background, and merely said:

“Continue. I wish to hear your personal assessment.”

I met the Prince today for the first time. I observed him closely, yet it is strange—the dossier claims he possesses the martial realm of a Xiantian martial artist, yet I detected no trace of martial qi within him.

Fu Qiwén’s voice remained calm, revealing no hint of any other emotion.

Emperor Yuanwu behind the curtain said nothing. After a pause, he asked slowly:

“What do you suppose is the reason?”

(End of Chapter)