Chapter 2 — The Voice of the Heart Unmasks the Fake

Tham Thanh Dao's movements stiffened in midair. She squeezed the tip of her bleeding finger and prepared to drop it into the bowl. Being stopped by my call, her eyes flashed with irritation.

“Confession to father.”

I knelt straight and pointed to the white porcelain bowl:

“There is something in the water.”

The whole main hall immediately stirred. Tham Thanh Dao's face suddenly turned pale. Tieu Thuan Tu trembled and almost dropped the tray. His father frowned, walked closer, bowed his head and looked into the bowl. I also watched. Sure enough, at the bottom of the bowl there was an extremely small layer of white residue, even finer than flour. If you don't know in advance, it's easy to see it as a blemish in the burning process and ignore it. His father observed three breaths, then stood up straight and laughed coldly:

“There are floating objects at the bottom of the water, it's really not clean.”

"Your Majesty forgive me! Servant... slave didn't look carefully, it was the slave's negligence! Servant immediately change!"

3 Tieu Thuan Tu knelt down, repeatedly bowing his head. His forehead hit the yellow tile floor with a heavy sound. Only a few times it bled.

“Change?”

His father's voice was not high-pitched, but it made the atmosphere in the main hall freeze. He did not look at Tieu Thuan Tu but turned to the great eunuch Phuc Hai next to him:

"Phuc Hai, you go. Bring both bowls of water here."

Phuc Hai replied "yes", carried the tray and walked out himself. Several eunuchs immediately followed to help. For a moment, only the sound of Tham Thanh Dao's suppressed breathing remained in the palace. She knelt on the spot, her face turning blue and white. Her heart sounded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: 【Useless thing! Even a little thing like that can't be done! I stuffed him with twenty taels of silver, but even the alum at the bottom of the bowl couldn't hide it! What's the point of raising him?】 【But how did that girl find out? From beginning to end, he kept his head bowed and knelt on the ground, unable to see the bottom of the bowl... Could it be that he also had a problem? No, it can't be. There cannot be a second time traveler in this world.】 【It's okay... There are only a few blood types. Who knows, maybe I will coincide with the old emperor? Who knows? There are only four types of ABO blood groups. As Hua Can Nuong's biological child, she only has a quarter of the chance to be like him. I, being a fake, also have a quarter of the chance. Who knows, maybe it's such a coincidence, what if my blood type and the old emperor's are the same?】 【We must get along, we definitely have to get along... If we just get together, I will be a princess, I will become someone who stands above ten thousand people... In modern times, I have endured enough lives of being a slave at work, being scolded by my superiors and not daring to argue back. It was very difficult to travel back to ancient times, and still have the status of a wandering folk princess. It's such a good start and if I can't grasp it, I'd rather beat my head to death!】 She prayed frantically in her heart, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her shirt. I can hear it. The king also heard it. I saw the hand clasped behind the father's back slowly clenching into a fist, his knuckles cracking. But the expression on his face was still as calm as water, as if he was watching a drama that had nothing to do with him. Phuc Hai quickly brought back two new bowls of water. Behind him were two eunuchs, bringing both bowls of "problematic" water and placing them in the middle of the main hall.

“Your Majesty.”

Phuc Hai bent down and reported:

“The old slave saw people scooping with his own eyes well water. The two bowls were also washed three times, absolutely clean."

The royal father nodded:

“Try it.”

Phuc Hai himself placed two new bowls of water in front of us. The white porcelain reflects the candlelight in the temple, the water surface shakes slightly. Tham Thanh Dao bit her lip and looked at the bowl of water, her eyes extremely complicated. She kept encouraging herself in her heart: 【It's okay, it's okay. I have a one in four chance, not low, really not low...】 ## 4 She gritted her teeth and squeezed a drop of blood from her fingertip into the bowl. The red blood mist dispersed, slowly spreading through the water, then gradually subsided. Don't mix together. Her face suddenly turned gray, as if her spine had been pulled out. Her whole body was limp and kneeling on the ground, her eyes stared at the bowl, her lips trembled, unable to utter a word. I still don't show my emotions. It's my turn. I pricked my finger, letting a drop of blood fall into the bowl. Blood quickly mixed with water, the red color spread evenly, as naturally as a drop of ink falling into a lake. Father stepped forward, picked up my bowl of water with his own hand, and held it up in front of everyone:

"Hua Can Nuong and I are compatible by blood."

His voice echoed throughout the great hall, each word strong:

“From today, Hua Can Nuong is my biological daughter, the eldest princess of Dai Chu.”

Tham Thanh Dao fell limply to the ground, as if all her strength had been drained, she couldn't even kneel. Her hands rested on the tile floor, her nails scratching the yellow tile surface, making a shrill sound. A suppressed sob escaped from his throat. The mother looked at me bewildered, her lips moved twice but could not make a sound. Then she suddenly stood up, staggered down to the phoenix seat, and hugged me tightly. Her arms squeezed very hard. Tears fell in large drops onto the hollow of my neck, hot. She didn't say anything, but her whole body was shaking. The gods in the palace all knelt down. The congratulatory sound resounded like ocean waves, so shocking that the glass tiles on top of the palace seemed to vibrate:

“Congratulations to your majesty on finding the eldest princess!”

His brother Crown Prince Hua Thua Yen was the first to run over. His eyes were red, he patted my shoulder forcefully, his voice so hoarse that he couldn't make a sound:

“Can Nuong, I am your older brother. Whoever dares to bully you in the future, I will be the first to not forgive him."

My shoulder was painfully patted by him, but I still couldn't help but laugh. The emperor's father did not allow the courtiers to stand up. The person bowed his head and looked at Tham Thanh Dao who was limping on the ground. His voice was so calm that it sent chills down people's spines:

“And you…”

Tham Thanh Dao suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of unwillingness and fear. There were still tears on her face, but in those tears there was no longer the pitiful look from before, only naked resentment remained.

“If you were also brought back from the common people, and were almost mistaken for a princess…”

The royal father said:

“Then stay in the palace and work as a maid next to the eldest princess. From today, you are called Thanh Dao, under the authority of the eldest princess. Without the orders of the eldest princess, you are not allowed to step out of Truong Xuan Palace."