Chapter 115: The Revelation of Origins
Night at Autumn-Cutting Pavilion was hushed and serene, disturbed only by the steady sighing of the wind.
Autumn had deepened, and there was a chill in the air, especially in the mornings and evenings. Even so, He Yu still liked to keep the windows open, and she enjoyed sitting in the attic on the second floor, gazing into the distance.
From a higher place, one could see farther—and perhaps even catch sight of the person one longed to see.
Liu Li had come again. Several days and nights had passed, yet he had once more made his way toward Autumn-Cutting Pavilion. Unlike last time, he had brought Gao Hai with him. From the expressions on their faces, He Yu knew what preparations were required.
Fragrant tea and cosmetics were entirely unnecessary. His thoughts lay elsewhere.
There was nothing on the table except a plate and a bowl. The bowl held clear water, while two silver needles rested on the plate.
When Liu Li and Gao Hai saw the arrangement, a flicker of confusion crossed their faces, but they forced it down. This journey was of the utmost importance to them—and to He Yu as well.
Liu Li stared fixedly at the bowl on the table. The scene resembled the ancient ritual of testing kinship through blood, and his heart tightened painfully.
“Since you have chosen to come, let us begin.”
He Yu walked to the table and set the candle in her hand upon it.
The flame fluttered but did not go out. Its wavering form resembled the uneasy hearts of those gathered there.
Unwilling to watch Liu Li suffer and unwilling to waste time, He Yu placed one of the silver needles over the flame twice.
Then she took it away and walked to Liu Li’s side, studying his grave expression.
“Your Majesty.”
“Give it to me.” Liu Li extended his hand.
He Yu hesitated, then reached out and took hold of his finger.
“This technique is different. I must perform it myself. It will hurt a little, so please endure it.”
“Very well.”
Liu Li nodded. A moment later, a piercing pain shot through him. It was as if the agony could drive away the bitterness in his heart, and the sensation was so fierce that it was almost exhilarating.
He Yu used another form of acupuncture because she wanted to preserve half of Liu Li’s blood rather than use it solely to test their kinship. He need not have endured such pain, but she wanted him to remember every minute and every second of this night with absolute clarity.
Liu Li did not look, yet he felt as though the needle had pierced halfway through his hand.
“I’m sorry,” He Yu murmured.
By then, she had already withdrawn the needle.
Liu Li saw that not a trace of blood clung to it, and his hand bore no mark at all. He could not help feeling astonished.
“How is that possible?”
“It is a special technique. It leaves no mark, causes no lingering pain, and, more importantly… produces the most accurate result.”
Liu Li’s gaze shifted to the tabletop.
“Then what use is the bowl of water?”
“It resembles the blood-kinship tests you often speak of, though the phenomenon is different.”
He Yu glanced at the silver needle in her hand and thought privately, Even if the Empress Dowager possesses countless secret methods of concealment, she is still only human. She cannot escape the judgment of my needle. Besides, I believe Lord Gao will lend us his assistance.
“Can you explain the general principle?”
“This silver needle is specially fashioned. It can preserve what it draws and prevent alteration. In an ordinary blood test, the quality of the water or changes within the body may produce different results. Since the only observation is whether the blood merges or remains separate, the method is not entirely reliable. This technique can reveal many different conditions, each corresponding to a different degree of kinship. Whatever the relationship between two people, it can be determined.”
“Is that truly so?”
Liu Li’s emotions warred within him—grief and hope intermingled.
“Why would I deceive you? This method was personally verified by the Medicine King and has circulated throughout the martial world. There are medical texts that can attest to it as well.”
He Yu glanced at Gao Hai and smiled.
“Lord Gao has already found one of those texts. Besides, if you distrust the water, you may fetch a bowl yourselves.”
Liu Li shook his head, his face expressionless.
“No need. Begin the test.”
“Wait.”
Gao Hai placed the book on the table, then picked up the bowl of water.
“Your Majesty, Noble Lady, allow me to fetch another bowl of clear water.”
“Gao Hai!”
Liu Li looked at him awkwardly, motioning for him to put it down. He was afraid Gao Hai’s actions would wound He Yu’s feelings.
He Yu, however, did not mind in the least. She smiled calmly.
“It is no matter. You may replace it if you wish. This bowl has been sitting here for quite some time, so naturally there may be something amiss. Replacing it is for the best.”
Gao Hai nodded and carried the bowl downstairs.
“This… he…”
“Your Majesty need not concern yourself. I am not offended.”
He Yu smiled faintly, secretly delighted.
Before long, Gao Hai returned with a bowl of clear water.
“This water was drawn from a well. You may both rest assured.”
He Yu nodded and accepted the bowl.
“We watched Lord Gao draw it himself, so there can be no mistake.”
With that, she placed the two silver needles into the bowl and withdrew them after blood had appeared.
The three of them gathered around the table, watching the changes in the water with tense attention.
The drops of blood spread through the water, curling like wisps of incense smoke—formless, light, and graceful. From opposite sides, they drifted toward one another, yet never touched. Then, all at once, they sank into the water, each remaining peacefully apart.
A quarter of an hour passed. The color of blood had faded from the bowl by more than half, and there was still not the slightest sign of fusion.
Liu Li stood stunned before the table. Without realizing it, he felt a bitter flood of astonishment and sorrow pour through his heart, leaving him utterly exhausted and bereft of all joy.
Could the woman who had accompanied him through twenty years of life truly not be his birth mother? That would explain everything she had done. But why, then, had she raised him to adulthood? Who was his real mother, and where was she now? What connection did all this have to the events of the past?
“Are you all right?”
“Your Majesty.”
Faced with He Yu and Gao Hai’s concern, Liu Li took one last look at the bowl before turning away.
“I am fine.”
He glanced out the window and composed himself, adopting an air of calm as though nothing had happened.
“Only the three of us know of this matter. You need not worry about me.”
After thanking He Yu, Liu Li left with an impassive face.
He Yu went to the balustrade and watched his solitary, austere figure depart. A pang of tenderness and sorrow seized her heart. She pitied the hardships and reversals that had marked his life, and she grieved because she could not remain at his side in this moment of loneliness and pain. Yet who was the person he most wished to see now?
No matter how strong and self-reliant a person might be, no matter how detached from worldly desires, once they became entangled in human affairs, they could never remain untouched. If one formed a deep and enduring bond with another, a calamity was bound to follow—perhaps a calamity of the heart, perhaps one of love.
When midnight dreams awakened the soul, or when sorrow and disappointment took hold, beside whom did one most long to be?
That night, beneath a moonless sky and a restless wind, Liu Li leaned against the railing and drank himself into a lonely, bitter stupor.
He dismissed everyone, Gao Hai included. He wished only to digest everything slowly on his own.
He had drunk no more than a single jug of wine when memories seized control of him. Liu Li desperately summoned every detail, searching through those bygone years for some fragment of beauty…
Had Liu Li been less observant and less clever, he might have found a measure of warmth by beautifying his memories—some kindness from the Empress Dowager untouched by self-interest. But he was not. He understood perfectly that the woman he called “Mother Empress” was not truly his mother, and that the distance between himself and the First Prince had never narrowed by even the slightest degree.
“Mother Empress, this is the last time I will call you that with sincerity. From now on, I will remember only the kindness you showed in raising me. As for the cause of Father’s death and the whereabouts of my birth mother, I hope you had no part in any of it. Otherwise…”
Liu Li’s tears slipped onto his lapel and accidentally touched the ancient jade pendant there, soaking the Blood Moon Divine Pearl for an entire week.
Suddenly, the pearl began to emit faint crimson sparks, drawing Liu Li’s gaze.
“Can you sense my pain?”
He held it in his hand and stared at it in a daze.
All at once, the pearl released a pale red beam that shot straight toward the heavens.
Following its direction, Liu Li looked up. The darkness had taken on a faint hue, and among the countless stars, one crimson star shone with dazzling brilliance.
That star had awakened. Against the black night, it was extraordinarily conspicuous, its radiance inspiring wonder.
“Could it be that you share some connection with that star-stone?”
Liu Li sighed softly.