Adoption brings disaster

This drama did not go the way I imagined. I can even say that by this point, all the spectators in the court were a little bored.

The plot is not very dramatic, and is even a bit bland. The performances of the leading actors also lack tension. The three of us, myself, His Royal Highness Prince Yong, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, are talking back and forth like close friends. There is no conflict at all. How can the audience be interested in continuing to watch?

It was okay for just a few of us, but the emperor was in poor health. He didn't say a word the whole time and just lay powerlessly on the dragon throne, almost becoming a background board.

The emperor could only squint his eyes and watch the people coming and going below, listening to their conversations. Not to mention interacting, he didn't even have any expression.

No one would like to watch such a play, but the court officials could not leave without killing the hostages, so they could only find something to do to pass this boring and uninteresting time.

Just as the Death Detective left the court in anger, I could hear the ministers chatting behind me.

At the beginning, everyone was still a little cautious, and only close officials would come close together in groups of three or four and whisper a few words. When they saw that no one was scolding them, they talked louder and louder, and now they are chatting openly.

One minister was heard saying indignantly, "I've long seen that Lord Zhang is not a good person. Look at his vulgar eyes and his rebellious behavior. He is definitely a treacherous villain. I was not wrong at all. He is indeed not a good person. He actually dared to commit such a heinous crime of deceiving the emperor."

Another minister, upon hearing this, also shook his head, expressing his disapproval. "The matter hasn't been finalized yet, isn't it a bit premature to speak so? I've seen that His Highness Qianqiu is incredibly handsome, with the appearance of an immortal. How could he be the son of a lowly servant? Furthermore, there are many good stories about His Highness Qianqiu, who has orchestrated and spurred action to bring peace to the people. It's absolutely impossible for the son of a lowly servant to do such a thing."

Another minister also said: "It's not all rumors. It is true that His Highness Qianqiu joined forces with His Highness Prince Yong to defeat the Prince of Zhenbei a few years ago."

How could one person be the only one to talk about such a show-off opportunity? Another minister, upon hearing this, quickly chimed in, "I have a friend who's a palace guard. He happened to be on duty near Qianqiu Pavilion at the time. The battle that took place there was truly breathtaking, with the earth eclipsed and the sun and moon trembling. The pressure from the three of them was immense. Fortunately, my friend's martial arts skills were also quite impressive, otherwise he would have ended up shitting and pissing on the spot."

After saying this, he cast another disgusted glance at Elder Zhang, whose life or death was unknown, and said, "Look at this Zhang, what a worthless person he is. Even calling His Highness Qianqiu's biological father is a bit of an insult to His Highness Qianqiu, let alone saying that His Highness Qianqiu is the son of his lowly servant. I think His Highness Qianqiu is definitely wronged."

Everyone ignored these words and continued to talk about the fictitious and shocking battle.

A man nearby glanced at the ministers with disdain and said, "That war truly shocked the world. Everyone in the capital knew about it. How dare you bring up something like this?"

Another minister sneered, "After all, you have only been in the capital for a short time. Some secrets can only be known by someone like me who grew up in the capital and has a solid foundation."

........................

My head was buzzing as I listened to what they said. They made up stories and spread rumors in front of the parties involved. Aren't they afraid that I would sue them for defamation after hearing what they said?

But they were so absorbed in the gossip that they naturally didn't notice my disgusted look at all. Of course, I believe that even if they saw it, they would pretend not to see it and continue to talk about the gossip with relish.

As expected, the man said smugly, "If we talk about His Highness Qianqiu's most famous battle, it has to be the fierce battle with the then-Seventh Prince when he first entered Qianqiu Pavilion."

When I heard this, my face turned black. I thought to myself, how could a fight between an older kid and a younger kid become a famous fight? I want to hear how outrageous this story can get.

"I don't need to tell you how skilled Prince Yong is in martial arts. Back then, both Prince Yong and Prince Qianqiu were young and full of energy, each wanting to be the boss of Qianqiu Pavilion. Prince Qianqiu was very eloquent and left Prince Yong speechless. In a rage, Prince Yong smashed Qianqiu Pavilion into dust with a single blow."

Everyone did not think this was outrageous, but agreed and said: "Wow, with this kind of skill, no wonder the two of them can fight the King of Zhenbei to a draw."

Seeing everyone's shock, the man felt even more proud and sneered, "Oh, you're too early. His Highness Qianqiu saw this and simply smiled softly. The Qi in his hands surged, and in an instant, Qianqiu Pavilion was restored to its original state. His Highness Prince Yong was convinced of his defeat and still respects His Highness Qianqiu to this day."

After hearing these words, I was powerless to complain in my heart. This is a world of high martial arts, not a world of cultivating immortals. Can you people stop spreading such outrageous stories? However, the crowd could not hear my complaints in my heart. Instead, they talked about these bizarre rumors even more excitedly.

...............................

"I read a very interesting book a while ago. I heard that it was written casually by His Highness Qianqiu when he was bored. It's called 'The Scholars'. The writing is sharp, the plot is interesting, and it's quite educational. At the time, I didn't believe he could write such a good story. From what you said, I was judging others by my own standards."

"I've read this novel, too. It's a truly excellent piece of writing. It's a shame it's just a storybook, and it's hardly worthy of being published in a prestigious publication."

"It's certainly not something that's worthy of being read in a high-brow setting, but it's quite entertaining to watch in your spare time. I've watched the part where Fan Jin gets the imperial examination and becomes obsessed with his phlegm five or six times in a row."

When the man mentioned Fan Jin's success in the imperial examination, everyone had some ideas in their minds. One person said, "Do you think there is a possibility that His Highness Qianqiu is really Zhang Ge Lao's biological son, but seeing that his position as Zhang Ge Lao is in danger, he is extremely sad and heartbroken, just like Fan Jin, and his mind is bewildered, so he said these nonsense."

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally noisy court suddenly became quiet.

The Crown Prince and Prince Yong both glanced at the man at the same time, their eyes full of murderous intent, but they just glanced away and turned away, and no one, including me, noticed this.

Everyone had new topics to talk about, so they naturally started discussing it happily.

"It's not impossible. I vaguely remember that not long after he entered the cabinet, there were rumors that Zhang Ge Lao had gone mad and was cured after being tortured for most of the night at the mansion. I just thought it was a joke at the time, but now I think Zhang Ge Lao must have been confused by phlegm."

"Why not call an imperial physician to take a look? If he is truly confused by the phlegm, curing him would be justice for His Highness Qianqiu."

"That makes sense. Go get the doctor quickly."

..........................................

"There's no need to be so troublesome. I'm afraid you all have forgotten that the easiest way to verify whether two people are father and son is to do a blood test." Prince Gong said casually when he saw that everyone was going to ask for the imperial physician.

Prince Gong said it casually, but the Crown Prince and Prince Yong were nervous and exclaimed at the same time: "No."

This cry frightened everyone. Some of them, fearless enough, were still muttering, "Blood testing is indeed the best way. Why not? Could it be that what Zhang said is true, but the Crown Prince also said it is not possible? What's the reason?"

After saying this, His Royal Highness Prince Yong was so angry that he turned around and glared at the man fiercely, scaring the man so much that he took two steps back and fell to the ground.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was not so ferocious. He simply spoke slowly, "His Royal Highness Qianqiu is your father, and his status is noble. Without solid evidence, a blood test would be somewhat insulting."

"To insult His Highness Qianqiu is to insult me. Ministers, please think carefully." His Highness Prince Yong glanced at everyone fiercely, and the threat was self-evident.

Except for a few very stubborn loyal ministers, the rest of the ministers were there to watch the fun. No one wanted to watch the fun, but instead they became the fun. Naturally, they would not get into trouble. They all pretended not to hear and just lowered their heads and said nothing.

However, it was different for those upright and honest ministers. Seeing that His Royal Highness Prince Yong was defending him so much, they became suspicious. They looked at each other and were ready to come out to uphold justice.

As expected, before His Royal Highness Prince Yong had finished speaking, a man immediately stood up and shouted, "Your Highnesses are wrong. If what Elder Zhang said is true, then His Royal Highness Qianqiu is not your father, but the son of a lowly slave, and has no relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Yong. Of course, there is no such thing as insulting His Royal Highness Qianqiu being an insult to His Royal Highness Prince Yong."

I could sense that His Royal Highness Prince Yong was on the verge of a rage. Then another fearless and loyal minister stepped forward and said, "This matter concerns the foundation of the country. We must get to the bottom of it. I believe that His Royal Highness Qianqiu will definitely not refuse."

His Royal Highness Prince Yong was about to start a conversation with a murderous look in his eyes when he saw someone walk in from outside and taunted him, "If you believe it, why do you need to verify it? If you need to verify it, then you don't believe it. What you said is nothing but flattery. Why do you have to be a whore and then pretend to be a saint? Doing such a shameful thing for a scholar."

The man, filled with fighting spirit, stared at everyone intently and continued, "I am willing to guarantee with my own head that if this is true, I am willing to die with His Highness Qianqiu. I wonder if you dare to acknowledge it. If this is false, I have insulted His Highness Qianqiu and His Highness Prince Yong, and I will die as an apology."

"This man is indeed loyal and righteous. After the Qianqiu plague incident, I tried every possible way to save his life." His Royal Highness Prince Yong said admiringly in my mind.

No one is not afraid of death, let alone this kind of dispute of arrogance. The two who stood out also wanted to back down. However, if they retreated like this, it would be extremely embarrassing. They could only stiffen their necks and say, "You are the only one who guarantees, why do you want us to bet our lives on it?"

"If you feel it's unfair, I am willing to guarantee His Highness Qianqiu. If this is true, I will die with His Highness Qianqiu."

After saying this, Historian Chen took off his official uniform, walked straight to me, knelt down, and respectfully called out, "Greetings, Father! I haven't been filial to you for many years. I beg for your forgiveness."

"It turns out that I was too sentimental. Qianqiu has more than one good son." His Royal Highness Prince Yong said sarcastically in his mind.

I was also a little confused. I could only help Historian Chen up, scratched my head, and said embarrassedly, "I don't know you at all. How can I call you father?"

Seeing that I didn't know, Historian Chen was even more moved. He choked up and said, "Father, your virtue is unparalleled. He is the kind who shows kindness without expecting anything in return. Naturally, he doesn't remember me, his adopted son. But I will never forget your kindness. Today, I finally have the opportunity to repay you."

The more he talked, the more confused I became. Later, after Chen Shiguan explained it to me, I realized that he was the adopted son I adopted at the manor.

Li Er has been taking care of these people over the years, so I really don’t know them.

Seeing these two children determined to stand by my side, I felt warm inside, but my worry only grew.

None of the powerful people in the capital are fools. Since the Prince of Zhenbei had already decided that I would be the minister of the Seventh Prince, it is impossible that the Queen, her mother's family, Prince Gong and other relatives did not plant people around me, and they would definitely not be unable to produce any solid evidence.

Moreover, judging by the reaction of His Royal Highness Prince Yong, today's incident is an extremely urgent matter, so urgent that I have to leave the capital and seek refuge. However, after arguing for half the morning, there is no threat to me at all.

There were not as many clever strategies as imagined, nor as much verbal sparring as imagined, and there was not even any back-and-forth confrontation.

This situation really made me a little confused. I felt more and more that there was a big trick behind it, just waiting for the moment to be revealed.

However, with the current state of science and technology, they are unable to produce any truly conclusive evidence. As for other seemingly conclusive evidence, I have been dealing with students for many years, and although my ability in sophistry is not top-notch, it should be enough to deal with this situation.

The only real conclusive evidence is actually DNA testing, but that is not available in this era.

The only thing that can be used is the blood test, but this thing is not accurate. I have also made preparations early, so I don’t care much.

Prince Gong has already brought up the blood test, but judging by the situation, it doesn't look like it was done on purpose, and looking at the expression of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, there doesn't seem to be any conspiracy either.

I couldn't help but wonder in my heart, could it be that this was really as they said, and that Lord Zhang had caused trouble because he was too sad and confused.

But no matter whether it was an accident or someone really set up a trap to harm me, it is always better to get this matter over with, so that no one will make a fuss about it in the future.

Predict what will happen in the future, and listen to the next decomposition.