Chapter 14: Shocking! A Certain Marquis Publicly Admits He’s a Cuckold!

Xie Luoshui suddenly felt countless eyes fixate on her, making her very uncomfortable.

Why are they all staring at me? Are they mocking me?

She wiped the blood from her face, stubbornly meeting their gaze, her lips pressed tightly together.

Then she heard…

“Madam Du.” The old emperor’s tone was calm and mild, “This business of switching the real heir with a fake, was it your idea, or the Marquis of Kuaiji’s?”

Madam Du looked utterly shocked and immediately turned to the Marquis of Kuaiji, her brows furrowing sharply. “Switching the heir? Wei Jin! Explain this to me! How did this happen? Did you switch my child?!”

Beside her, the heir to the marquisate shook his head in disbelief, “Mother! What are you talking about! What do you mean, switching heirs! Father, there must be some misunderstanding with His Majesty!”

The Marquis of Kuaiji: “This… must be a slander by the Royal Guards! Dalang is indeed my son! How could I commit the crime of switching heirs? That’s a crime of deceiving the emperor! A capital offense!”

Three voices spoke out, each with a different tone: one sharp, one urgent, and one lacking confidence, creating a chaotic noise.

Oh, and there was a fourth voice.

【Tsk, tsk, birds of a feather flock together. Look at Madam Du, distancing herself with just a few words. This was clearly a scheme she and the Marquis of Kuaiji plotted together, yet she’s acting like she knew nothing about it.】

【And the Marquis of Kuaiji isn’t any better. Back when Madam Du was pregnant, he subtly pressured her, making her worry about not bearing a son to inherit the title. After the birth, he kept sighing and hinting that he had a mistress who bore him a son and that he was thinking of bringing them into the household. But he’s infertile! If he really had a son, he would’ve been overjoyed and brought him home long ago.】

【He tricked Madam Du into suggesting the baby swap herself. He just stayed silent, puffing on his pipe, pretending to be a helpless fool. But in reality, he fully approved of the plan while avoiding moral responsibility, making it seem like it was all Madam Du’s stubbornness and that he was powerless to stop her.】

Xu Yanmiao’s revelations left the officials thoroughly astonished.

One by one, they were amazed.

What a nest of vipers the Marquis of Kuaiji’s household is! Even that so-called heir… Oh wait, the fake heir… was involved in kidnapping a commoner girl.

One official murmured, “Are they really not blood relatives?”

They look too much alike!

“It’s a pity for that legitimate daughter… With her status as the rightful heir, and considering the emperor’s usual generosity towards the children of his loyal subjects, she would’ve surely been granted the title of a princess. But her parents ruined everything.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

“If you ask me, the Marquis of Kuaiji is truly heartless. Even a tiger doesn’t eat its own cubs.”

The Marquis of Kuaiji had quite a thick skin.

Say whatever you want, I’ll just insist I didn’t do it!

He turned to the emperor, firmly declaring, “Your Majesty! This matter requires evidence. How could I commit such an act of confusing bloodlines? If this were true, I could’ve kept my daughter, pretended she was a twin, so why would I abandon her? Someone must be framing me! Please, Your Majesty, see through this injustice!”

Everyone knew Xu Yanmiao was telling the truth.

Everyone knew the Marquis of Kuaiji was just stubbornly denying it.

Even though the emperor was decisive and authoritative, he couldn’t convict the Marquis of Kuaiji’s family based solely on Xu Yanmiao’s inner thoughts, as that would seem like a baseless accusation to the public.

For a moment, the court fell into a strange silence.

The Marquis of Kuaiji, not hearing a response from the emperor nor any new inner thoughts from Xu Yanmiao, allowed a subtle, triumphant smile to cross his lips.

He had won his gamble.

The emperor wanted to be a wise ruler and couldn’t just rely on Xu Yanmiao’s inner thoughts to determine guilt or innocence.

And Xu Yanmiao… even though he knew the truth, and even if all the officials were aware of the Marquis’s deeds, without evidence, it was all meaningless.

The only thing that displeased him was…

The Marquis of Kuaiji discreetly studied the now-grown Xie Luoshui.

Didn’t I hint back then that the baby girl should be killed to avoid any future trouble? Could it be that Du softened and spared her life? Hmph! Foolish woman, nearly bringing disaster to the Marquis’s household!

—If caught cheating to gain a title, that’s treason! A major offense punishable by death!

Just then, the Minister of Justice spoke slowly, “Since Your Majesty has declared that there was a baby swap, then you must know where the real child is. Why not bring them here and conduct a blood test to prove the relationship?”

The emperor smiled, “Minister, you are indeed wise.”

The Marquis of Kuaiji’s expression darkened.

He had completely overlooked the possibility of a blood test!

But fortunately, he knew a secret trick: vinegar could prevent related blood from mixing. As long as he found a way…

【Huh? A blood test?】

Xu Yanmiao’s inner thoughts echoed again.

【But… blood tests are fake.】

【As long as there’s no vinegar involved, any person’s blood can mix in a bowl of water.】

The emperor’s face darkened.

The Marquis of Kuaiji smiled.

The officials… were in disarray.

“Blood tests don’t work?!” one official exclaimed in shock. “After the chaos, I found my father using a blood test…”

If blood tests are fake, then who have I been calling father for the past twenty years?!

Another official turned pale, “My wife said the child was mine, and we even did a blood test.”

The official next to him tried to comfort him, “Maybe the child really is yours…”

The pale official interrupted angrily, “I was away for two years, and when I came back, there was a one-year-old child. She said the child was conceived in a dream when we were reunited.”

The comforting official: “……”

Uh… This… is probably not your child.

The Minister of Justice, who had started this whole court upheaval with the suggestion of a blood test, was suddenly filled with relief. “Thank goodness I don’t have any children, and my real father was never lost.”

The other officials: “……”

Do you hear yourself?!

The Minister of Justice cleared his throat, trying to salvage the situation. “Your Majesty, on further reflection, those methods are all folk remedies and unreliable. I, with my limited knowledge, have rashly suggested them, which was inappropriate.”

The emperor couldn’t help but feel a bit of sympathy.

These are all methods tested over thousands of years, but every time he mentioned one, Xu Yanmiao would refute it, so it’s no wonder his mindset has completely collapsed now.

“My loyal subject,” the old emperor said sincerely, “you truly cannot be blamed for this.”

It’s all Xu Yanmiao’s fault and his cursed mouth!

[So next, should the Royal Guards show up and present the decisive evidence?]

Xu Yanmiao’s thoughts remained as enthusiastic as ever.

[In Xie Luoshui’s household, there’s a washing basin, which she lay in as a baby while drifting down the Luoshui River. This basin was also the washbasin in Madam Du’s room. At that time, things were so urgent that they had to get Xie Luoshui out of the residence without being seen, so they put her in the basin.]

[The bottom of the basin even has the craftsman’s mark engraved on it! Made on a certain year, month, and day. The craftsman’s records and the accounts from the Marquis of Kuaiji’s residence match up perfectly.]

The Marquis of Kuaiji clenched his jaw, having already prepared an excuse in his mind—he’d just claim that his wife wanted to replace the old basin with a new one and had thrown the old one away long ago.

[Oh, and also, in the nearby Luoyang County, the official records mention a fire that occurred eighteen years ago, where a couple perished. The strange thing was that there were only two bodies found, and the infant son of the household mysteriously disappeared.]

A thin layer of sweat appeared on the Marquis of Kuaiji’s neck.

But he had also thought of a way out.

It was just an unsolved case, after all, and claiming that the missing infant was now the heir to the marquisate would be too far-fetched.

[Oh right! The Royal Guards must have also prepared the household records for Luoyang County. These records are updated every twenty years and include details such as names, genders, ages, amount of land, location, taxes due, type and number of houses, livestock numbers, and even likenesses, both drawn and written.]

[How convenient! It turns out the fisherwoman from Luoshui bears a resemblance to the Marchioness, and the heir to the marquisate looks somewhat like the head of a farming household in Luoyang County!]

[Tsk, tsk.]

[The evidence is irrefutable~]

Nonsense!

Where is the irrefutable evidence?

The Marquis of Kuaiji suddenly grew resolute. “Your Majesty!”

He shouted, “At this point, I have no choice but to speak!”

The old emperor instinctively responded, “What?”

“My wife! Twenty years ago, she had an affair with a farmer in Luoyang County! It went on for two whole years!”

His words were sharp and resolute.

“Your Majesty, I didn’t understand why you mentioned ‘swapping the dragon for the phoenix’ earlier, which is why I firmly denied any wrongdoing. But now, I realize Your Majesty suspected something because the heir looks nothing like me or my wife. It was only due to the crisis today that I started doubting as well.”

“It turns out, Your Majesty, I have been a cuckold for twenty years, raising another man’s son for eighteen years!”

As he spoke, the Marquis of Kuaiji’s eyes actually grew moist. He raised the corner of his sleeve and gently wiped away a tear.

The ministers were stunned into silence.

To avoid being accused of falsely claiming a title, you sure are desperate.