Chapter 55: Testing Bones with Blood
On the Golden Throne Hall, the atmosphere was as stiff as ice.
Liu Biao, Chen Yong, and Chen Lishi were dragged in like dead dogs by the imperial guards and thrown in the center of the hall.
At the sight of this, Chen Yong’s ample flesh trembled uncontrollably. He scrambled forward on his knees, wailing loudly in the direction of the dragon throne.
“It’s an injustice! Your Majesty! This commoner is more wronged than Dou E!”
His wife, Chen Lishi, also a skilled actress, immediately joined in with piercing, shrill cries.
“Please, Your Majesty, look into this! My husband and I earn our living honestly by firing kilns—we’ve never even killed a chicken! How could we possibly harm anyone?”
Only Liu Biao, somewhat seasoned in officialdom, forced himself to remain calm and kowtowed towards Wu Mingkong.
“Your Majesty, I, your servant, dare to stake my own life on this matter. This has nothing to do with me! Surely this crazed woman, unable to find her husband, has lost her mind and is making baseless accusations!”
The three of them echoed each other, playing the role of the “wronged” to perfection.
Chen Ziang watched this and was half convinced.
He stepped out from the ranks and bowed deeply.
“Your Majesty, as you can see, the matter is clear. How can the ravings of a madwoman be taken as testimony? These three are loyal subjects of our great Zhou. How could they be interrogated in court over such absurdities? This is a disgrace to our laws!”
What a grand accusation.
“Oh?” Zhao Yi lazily emerged from behind his father. “Minister Chen’s words almost convinced me.”
He approached the three, not even glancing at them, but instead gestured to Wu Mingkong.
“Your Majesty, judging a case is actually quite simple.”
“Trying to reason with these hardened criminals is useless.”
“You need to use methods.”
He then turned and called out to a eunuch outside the hall.
“Bring me a basin of water! Clean water!”
The court erupted in murmurs.
A basin of water?
What was this for? Was he so thirsty from judging the case that he needed to wash his face or drink water on the spot?
“Pfft!”
Chen Ziang was the first to burst into laughter.
“Minister Zhao, I’m truly enlightened. For such a sensational case, you neither question nor investigate, but instead ask for a basin of water.”
His face was full of undisguised sarcasm.
“What? Do you perhaps have some kind of magic to make the water in the basin speak during the trial?”
Chen Yong and his wife were stunned, then secretly delighted.
This Zhao Yi was truly a fool!
Chen Yong even managed a flattering smile.
“Minister Zhao, you are wise! This commoner believes you will clear our names!”
Zhao Yi barely acknowledged them, glancing sideways at Chen Ziang.
“Old man, are you laughing at your mother?”
“This method of mine—do you think a fool like you can understand it?”
“You!” Chen Ziang’s beard bristled with rage. “Zhao Yi! How dare you insult an imperial official in the hall!”
“What if I insult you?” Zhao Yi scratched his ear. “Not only that, I want to make a bet with you.”
“Today, if I use this basin of water to extract every detail of the truth, you, Chen Ziang, must kowtow to me three times in front of the entire court and call me your ancestor.”
“On the other hand, if I fail…”
Zhao Yi paused, a wicked smile spreading across his face.
“I’ll recognize you as my ancestor instead. How’s that?”
“Outrageous!” Chen Ziang trembled with fury. “It’s a bet! I’m not afraid!”
“If you can’t produce results, you shall guard the tomb of the Taizu Emperor for all eternity and never return to the capital!”
“Agreed! It’s a deal!”
At that moment, a trembling eunuch carefully placed a large basin of clear water in the center of the hall.
The crystal-clear surface reflected the dome of the Golden Throne Hall, as well as the scheming faces of everyone present.
The entire hall fell silent.
All held their breath, watching Zhao Yi.
They wanted to see what trick he planned to play.
But Zhao Yi did not immediately approach the basin.
Instead, he turned and walked step by step to the faintly breathing woman lying on the soft couch.
He crouched down, shedding his usual cynical demeanor for an unprecedented gravity.
“Madam Qin.”
“This is my last question to you.”
“Are you certain?”
“Are you sure that in this black basin lies the remains of your husband? Do you dare stake your life and your daughter’s life on this?”
His words cut like a knife straight into her heart.
Qin’s body trembled violently.
She slowly opened her eyes, those nearly unfocused eyes meeting Zhao Yi’s gaze.
She said nothing, but summoned all her strength to nod heavily.
That nod seemed to drain her entire life force.
“Good.”
Zhao Yi stood and took a deep breath.
He walked to the center of the hall, bent down, and with great solemnity lifted the black basin from the ground.
“Madam Qin, I’ll borrow this for a moment.”
His voice was quiet but clear to every ear.
“Today, I will let you see with your own eyes.”
“How evil men meet justice!”
He turned, raising the basin high, facing the assembled officials.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Your Majesty!”
“The crux of this case is actually very simple!”
“It does not lie in the testimony of that woodcutter, nor in the confessions of these fools!”
“But in one thing!”
“That is, can we prove that this black basin was indeed made from the ashes of the deceased Qin San’s bones, mixed with clay and fired?”
Minister of Justice Li Zheng frowned and stepped forward.
“Minister Zhao, isn’t this nonsense?”
“The dead are buried, and bones can be exhumed and examined.”
“But these bones were mixed with clay and fired at over a thousand degrees, turning them to ash! Even a deity couldn’t tell what’s inside!”
“This case is a dead end!”
Li Zheng spoke the truth weighing on everyone’s hearts.
Indeed, how could one prove it?
It was simply impossible!
A victorious smile appeared on Chen Ziang’s face.
Zhao Yi, you’re doomed!
Yet Zhao Yi smiled back.
He looked at the assembled officials’ faces—some skeptical, some mocking, some confused—and shook his head.
“Who says… it can’t be distinguished?”
He paused, each word striking like a hammer on their hearts.
“In ancient times, there was a wondrous technique called ‘Blood Test for Kinship.’”
“And I, unworthy as I am, happen to know another unique skill.”
He grinned, revealing white teeth, a smile as grim as a ghost’s.
“This art is called…”
“Blood! Drip! Bone! Test!”
(The earliest and most authoritative record of the “blood test for bones” method dates back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, specifically in the “History of the Southern Dynasties” by Li Yanshou of the Tang Dynasty, recorded in Volume 51, concerning Prince Yuzhang Xiao Zong. This story occurred in the early 6th century during the Southern Liang dynasty. Although the Southern Song’s “Collected Records of Washing Away Wrongs” systematized it for forensic use, the “History of the Southern Dynasties” provides its earliest and most famous historical source. Of course, like the blood test for kinship, it lacks scientific basis.)