Zhong'er looked at the queen with pleading eyes. "While King Robert was still alive, I already knew I was his child. But at the Peach Inn, I could support myself, and I never thought of going to King's Landing to find him.
Now I truly have no choice. Last year I gave birth to a daughter, but there isn't a single grain of food left at home.
Not only is there no food, but Stonehall Town has also become very unsafe. The dead have arrived, and there are no guards left to stop them. I have to leave, take my daughter and go.
I don't hope to become some noble bastard. As long as I can get something to eat and avoid being taken by the Others, that's enough."
Barristan frowned. "We all came from the town and know how hard your lives are, but what's the point of coming to the Dragon Queen?
She has no way to prove you are Robert's child, and she is not on good terms with Stannis, so she cannot plead your case."
"I don't know. I have no other way. I heard the queen is like the Mother, saving the suffering and showing great compassion, so I came here," Zhong'er said blankly.
"Test her bloodline," Tyrion suggested in a low voice, his gaze darkening. "If there is power, give her the identity of a Baratheon bastard daughter."
Dany stared at him for a long time. Only when the dwarf shifted his gaze uneasily did she coldly say, "Acknowledge her identity, send her to King's Landing, and then you'll keep listening toward that direction, hoping to hear news that Stannis has committed kinslaying again?
Even if your appearance has changed, you are still the little demon."
"Your mind is truly dark!" the dwarf snapped in anger. "I only want to help this desperate mother. Her daughter is only one year old!"
He stressed the words "desperate," and both Zhong'er and Aiju's expressions grew dimmer.
"Did you hear what we said earlier?" Dany ignored the guilty-looking dwarf and turned to Zhong'er. "The bloodline of kings carries special magical power. Through a simple magical test, we can detect whether there is power in your blood.
If there is, you are most likely Robert's child, and I will issue you a certificate in the name of the Church.
But a king's bloodline is not just honor; it is also a dangerous burden.
Evil sorcerers love to use king's blood to sacrifice to dark gods, and right now King's Landing is filled with red-robed priests.
I am not trying to stir trouble between you and Stannis, but you must have heard certain rumors. Setting others aside, you should at least know about his biological daughter, Princess Shireen, right?"
"I heard Princess Shireen's greyscale relapsed and she died from the illness," Zhong'er said doubtfully.
"You believe that?" Dany replied calmly.
"Greyscale does not relapse after being cured. Not only does it not return, it grants immunity to most plagues," Barristan said solemnly.
"Princess Shireen's greyscale was never fully cured. It was only suppressed with medicine by the maesters," Zhong'er said, biting her thick lips.
"If the maesters truly had the ability to suppress greyscale, then during the great plague in Oldtown, the Citadel would not have lost three-quarters of its maesters," Dany said.
Zhong'er looked confused. She clearly knew nothing about the plague that occurred decades ago in Oldtown, nor its significance.
"Do you know Edric Storm?" Dany asked again.
Zhong'er was well informed and immediately nodded. "I heard from a knight who came from King's Landing that the High Sparrow intended to crown him king, but Cersei had him beheaded."
"I have said what needed to be said. The choice is yours," Dany sighed.
Zhong'er glanced sideways at Aiju and said, "I choose to go to King's Landing. I heard Mia's mother was just a peasant woman as well."
"Septon Nokamp, help Zhong'er test her blood. Use the 'Bloodline Identification Magic' bestowed upon you by the Mother," Dany said to the old priest.
The old man looked bewildered. Had the queen lost her mind? When had the Mother ever bestowed such a divine spell?
"The Mother has bestowed—" Before he could finish speaking, his mouth fell open, his eyes bulging as if they would pop out of their sockets.
In that instant, a divine spell and its instructions appeared in his mind.
Just like the day he knelt before the statue of the Mother and was suddenly granted the holy healing spell.
"This…" The devout old priest felt both confused and awed, his thoughts in turmoil, unsure whom he should revere, the Mother or the Dragon Queen.
Seeing the priest's expression change as if he were a Faceless Man shifting faces, Zhong'er grew frightened and called softly, "Master Nokamp, what's wrong?"
"I…" The old man came back to his senses, glanced at the calm Dragon Queen, and sighed. "Thank the Mother. The Mother is merciful!"
He then turned to the White Knight. "Ser Barristan, may I borrow your dagger?"
Barristan handed over the Valyrian steel dagger at his waist.
Cutting Zhong'er's middle finger, the old priest squeezed out two drops of dark red blood into his palm. He then spread his hand and chanted a few lines praising the Mother's mercy. A milky white flame floated above his palm.
The blood drops burned within the flame, quickly turning to ash, while a faint streak of blood-red appeared in the pure white fire.
"Interesting!" the dwarf said, glancing at Dany in surprise. "From now on, anyone who dares to imitate my whore of a sister and bear the king's bastard will likely meet a miserable end."
"The Mother's divine magic can even identify a child's father?" Aiju asked in shock.
Septon Nokamp shook his head and pointed at the flame in his palm. "You saw it. The sacred flame was originally pure white, but now it carries a trace of blood-red. This represents foreign magical power burning within.
If there is no power in the blood, the sacred flame cannot be tainted. For ordinary people, this method is almost useless."
"Then is Zhong'er really Robert's child?" Aiju asked anxiously.
"There is magical power in Zhong'er's bloodline. She likely has king's blood," the old priest nodded.
"That's wonderful!" Aiju's aged face twisted with excitement as she grabbed Zhong'er and shouted, "Zhong'er, you really are King Robert's child! You're a princess! The Mother can testify!"
"So I really am a princess…" Zhong'er grinned foolishly.
Hearing this, the old priest grew anxious and waved his hands repeatedly. "The Mother does not testify. I cannot represent the Mother, and the Church does not involve itself in power struggles."
"You used the Mother's divine magic," Aiju insisted.
"Aiju, you must understand. The identification only proves that Zhong'er has a faint trace of king's blood. It does not confirm that she is King Robert's daughter," Septon Nokamp said, stamping his foot.
"What are you saying? If she has king's blood, how can she not be Robert's child?" Aiju asked, confused.
Nokamp looked to the Dragon Queen for help, but she sat on her high-backed chair with her eyes closed, holding a ball of flame in her right hand, as if she had no intention of interfering further.
The old priest then looked at the curious dwarf and cautiously said, "You also have king's blood, don't you? Why not try it?"
The dwarf's expression darkened.
The old man quickly explained, "I mean no offense. I just want Aiju and Zhong'er to understand that king's blood cannot prove a father's identity."
"It's just a drop of blood," Barristan added.
"You can try it yourself. Dark gods prefer nobles over commoners, which shows that noble bloodlines are superior," the dwarf said.
Barristan gave him a calm look, then truly cut his finger and squeezed two drops of blood into the priest's palm.
With a soft whoosh, the same milky white flame appeared. The blood burned to ash, and under everyone's astonished gaze, the white flame turned a faint shade of green.
"What is going on? Is Ser Barristan's king's blood even stronger than Zhong'er's?" the old priest exclaimed first.
"Could the divine spell be flawed?" Barristan asked.
Afterward, Aiju and the old priest each tested themselves once. Aiju's flame showed no change, while the old priest's flame did not change color but grew slightly larger.
This time, the old priest remained calm and explained to the puzzled onlookers, "I have no king's blood. This is the Mother's power. There is divine power bestowed by the Mother within me."
"Let me try," the dwarf said, unable to resist any longer.
With a burst, the flame shot up to the height of a finger, glowing pale gold.
It was astonishing, though not unexpected to the dwarf.
"It seems the divine spell is not the problem. But why is the power in Ser Barristan's bloodline stronger than Zhong'er's?" he turned to the Dragon Queen.
Dany said calmly, "Bring the people around me to test, and you'll find that Jiqi and Illy and the others all possess bloodline power."
"Because of you?" Tyrion was first shocked, then thoughtful. "A beneficial infusion of high-energy magic, similar to the curse of the Valyrian ruins, but with the opposite effect."
"Besides high-level magical forces, there is also status. Selmy is originally an old noble of the Stormlands.
Now Ser Barristan is effectively my Hand. It would be abnormal if his bloodline showed no such effect.
The correct way to use this identification method is to take blood from both father and child and burn them together.
If they are truly related, the flame will show only one mixed color. If they are unrelated, the flame will display two different colors."
Dany cast a subtle glance at the dwarf before continuing, "It works not only for father and child but also for mother and child.
If both parents are great nobles, like Cersei, Robert, and Joffrey.
Whichever bloodline is stronger determines the color.
If Cersei is green and Robert is dark red, mixing Joffrey's blood with Robert's will produce both green and red, while mixing with Cersei will produce only green.
If Joffrey were truly Robert's child, then mixing his blood with Robert's would produce dark red, and mixing with Cersei would also produce dark red, because the Lannister bloodline is inferior to the Baratheon's."
"Why inferior? Just because Robert became king?" Tyrion protested.
"How many extraordinary individuals have appeared in House Lannister? Not one. Do you know from whom the Baratheon bloodline descends?
First, House Baratheon is a branch of the Targaryens. Second, the first Storm King, Durran Godsgrief, was an immensely powerful demigod who lived for thousands of years. Finally, Durran's wife was the daughter of a true god, an original divine descendant.
Tell me, what do you have to compare?
Your ancestor, that 'clever' Lann, was most likely just an ordinary man who relied on tricks, far inferior to the Starks, the Gardeners, or the Durrandons."
Among the Westerosi ducal houses with histories of more than eight thousand years, the Lannister bloodline was probably the weakest.
House Tully of the Riverlands was not originally a ducal house, and House Arryn of the Vale only crossed the sea six thousand years ago as Andal raiders, so they were not counted.
The Martells of Sunspear and the Greyjoys of the Iron Islands both had stronger bloodline power than the Lannisters.
The Martells were originally ordinary, but two thousand years ago they mixed with Nymeria's bloodline.
The Greyjoys were even more impressive.
Their ancestor, the Grey King, was also a demigod who slew the first sea dragon in the world, Nagga.
This was not just a legend. Nagga's fossil still lies on the Iron Islands today.
(End of Chapter)
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