Chapter 192: Final Chapter Part Three, Origins Part Three

Chapter 192: Finale (Part 2): Origins (Part 2)

"Your Majesty, my father had no part in this and was unaware of what I did. It was all my own doing. My father is utterly loyal to you—had he known, he would never have allowed me to act." Jie Yu Mei immediately defended Mei Chengwen.

Mei Chengwen said in anguish, "You foolish girl! How could you do such a thing? Even if you feared it might affect Your Majesty's succession, you should have spoken with him first."

Zhan Yu watched the father and daughter, their belated remorse met with cold eyes and bitter laughter.

"I never realized that the ministers of my court could outact even the performers in the theaters."

"Your Majesty, how can you doubt my sincerity? My loyalty to you is as boundless as the sky and as steadfast as the sun and moon!" Mei Chengwen swore, pointing to the heavens.

"You two are truly cut from the same cloth—refusing to admit guilt until faced with undeniable proof." Zhan Yu flicked his wrist dismissively. "Guards, bring forth the witness."

A rough-looking man with a scar across his face was brought forward.

"Speak what you know," Zhan Yu commanded.

The man said, "I was once a bandit from Wolong Mountain."

Upon hearing "Wolong Mountain," Bing Wengu studied the man intently. He didn’t recall ever seeing him before. With his memory, if he had encountered this man during the raid, he should have recognized him.

As Bing Wengu tried to recall the events of that day—whether he had missed anything—he suddenly felt someone watching him. He turned to find Nan Jinping staring at him.

Her expression was strange, as though she were observing him, confirming something.

Bing Wengu gave her a faint smile and winked. Nan Jinping silently looked away.

Mei Chengwen’s reaction to the mention of Wolong Mountain was far more obvious than Bing Wengu’s. He pointed at the man and said, "Your Majesty, don’t listen to his nonsense! The bandits of Wolong Mountain have long been wiped out—how could one appear now?"

"Mei Chengwen, enough!" Zhan Yu snapped. "Do not mistake me for a fool. I know exactly who this man is." He ordered the man to continue.

"I wasn't always a bandit. At first, I and some others were just idle troublemakers—local ruffians in Bianjing.

"One day, a man came to us with a hundred taels of silver, asking us to stage a performance. We were to dress in black, cover our faces, and pretend to be bandits attacking a young couple. The woman was heavily pregnant at the time.

"We didn’t know who the man was, but lured by the money, we agreed. We were told only to scare them, not to harm anyone—it was all an act. So we didn’t hurt them. Afterward, we took the money and planned to leave the city, but on the way, we were ambushed. A few of us managed to escape, and only then did we learn that the couple we had 'attacked' were none other than a royal prince and his wife."

The officials went pale. The assassination attempt on the prince (now emperor) was widely known. At the time, all other princes were suspects, and a royal heir had died in the attack. The prince had even knelt outside the palace, pleading with his father to investigate thoroughly.

The late emperor likely suspected the other sons but also disliked the prince, so the matter ended unresolved.

"Look around and tell me," Zhan Yu said, "if those involved are here today."

The man raised his head and scanned the room. His gaze locked onto Jie Yu Mei. "The pregnant woman back then was her. The man... was Your Majesty."

Jie Yu Mei protested, "Your Majesty, he’s lying! Even if he truly was one of the attackers, over twenty years have passed. My appearance has inevitably changed since my youth—how could he recognize me at a glance?"

"I’m not lying. You’ve aged, but barely—barely a wrinkle more. *How* could I not recognize you? The same goes for Your Majesty. For common folk, twenty years might change everything, but not nobles like you."

Jie Yu Mei fell silent. She had always prided herself on her beauty, boasting that she looked nearly the same as in her youth. Now, that pride sealed her fate.

"Continue," Zhan Yu ordered.

"When we realized we had attacked a prince, my companions and I knew we had committed a crime punishable by death, so we fled. By sheer luck, we made it to Wolong Mountain and turned to banditry."

Later, the boss somehow found out that the one who hired us to act was none other than Chancellor Mei from the court. He managed to contact Mei and used this matter to threaten him, ordering the local authorities not to send troops to suppress the bandits. That’s how we grew stronger day by day. Otherwise, with our limited skills, how could we possibly stand against the imperial soldiers?"

Mei Chengwen’s face turned as pale as paper. "Your Majesty, these are lies! This man is spouting nonsense. The bandits on Wolong Mountain have already been wiped out—every last one of them!"

"Your Majesty, that day, I happened to go down the mountain to visit a brothel in the nearby town. I stayed the night there, and the next day, I heard Wolong Mountain had been raided. I didn’t dare return, which is how I barely got away."

Mei Chengwen kept denying everything. "Lies! All of this is lies! If you want to accuse me, then show proof!"

"I truly have no evidence, but every word I speak is the truth. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can haul in the local magistrate for questioning. Then you’ll know whether he has been following someone’s orders to shelter the bandits on Wolong Mountain all these years. If Lord Mei had no connection to us, why would he order the magistrate to protect us?"

"Mei Chengwen, that magistrate is currently in the Ministry of Justice. Should I have him brought here to confront you?" Zhan Yu asked coldly.

Mei Chengwen knew there was no use denying it anymore. "Your Majesty, everything I did was for you! If the late emperor had learned that you fathered an inauspicious Imperial Shuang, how could you have become emperor?

Though I was the one who hired those assassins, I had already shown them Your Majesty’s portrait beforehand and ordered them not to harm a single hair on your head.

As for the assassination attempt, it wasn’t solely to conceal the gender of the child in the consort’s womb. It was also to frame the other princes, clearing the obstacles from Your Majesty’s path to the throne. It was a plan to kill two birds with one stone—all for Your Majesty’s smooth succession!"

The court officials erupted in shock. No one had expected Mei Chengwen to be so recklessly daring.

Back then, when Mei’s son was disguised as a girl, the courtiers thought Mei Chengwen was outrageously bold. Then, upon learning that Consort Mei had schemed to give birth to an Imperial Shuang, they believed it couldn’t get worse—yet the Mei family had even more audacious deeds to reveal.

The Mei family truly had no limits—even "reckless" doesn’t cover their audacity.

"So, do I owe you thanks?" Zhan Yu asked sarcastically.

"I wouldn’t presume, but everything I did was truly for you."

"Silence! I see now that everything you did was for yourself. I was merely a front for your schemes."

"Guards! Strip Mei Chengwen of his official cap and execute him immediately at the Meridian Gate. The men of the Mei family shall be enslaved and exiled to Ningguta, while the women shall be sold into brothels."

"No, no, Your Majesty!" Consort Mei collapsed at Zhan Yu’s feet, clutching his robes in desperation.

"Father, the Mei family is my maternal family! How can they be reduced to slavery? How can I show my face after this? I beg you, for my sake, spare the Mei family!" Zhan Fuxian pleaded as well.

"You’d better worry about yourself first. If you weren’t my son, given the crimes you and the Mei family conspired in, I would punish you just the same. Once this matter is settled, you will leave for your fiefdom tomorrow. I will issue an edict naming you a prince."

This was a total removal of the fourth prince’s claim to the throne. Zhan Fuxian sat on the ground, stunned.

Suddenly, Consort Mei remembered something—like a drowning man clutching at straws. "Your Majesty, you said that child is still alive! Where is he?"

Her only hope now was to use that child. The emperor felt guilt toward him—if he spoke up, he could surely save the Mei family.

Zhan Yu looked at Nan Jinping. "You can’t even recognize your own child? I recognized him at first glance."

Following the emperor’s gaze, Consort Mei saw Nan Jinping. "How is this possible? How could it be him? He looks nothing like me or Your Majesty!"

"That’s because he resembles my imperial brother." Zhan Yu brought out a portrait of his elder brother for all to see. Not a single person who saw it denied the resemblance.

Even Nan Jinping himself thought they looked identical. Though he had long suspected his origins, he pretended to be shocked and bewildered, acting as if he was completely shattered.

"This can’t be! Your Majesty must be mistaken. I’ve lived in Shanghe Village since childhood—I am my parents’ true child. They even said my faint birthmark was due to our poverty, that my mother had nothing to eat while pregnant." Nan Jinping deliberately mentioned this to pour salt on the wound.

After speaking, he reeled backward as if unable to accept the truth.

Both Bing Wengu and the crown prince moved at the same time, rushing to catch Nan Jinping.

The Crown Prince was closer to Nan Jinping and immediately reached out to support him. By the time Bing Wengu approached, the Crown Prince pushed Bing Wengu’s hands away. However, Nan Jinping refused the Crown Prince’s help and struggled to throw himself into Bing Wengu’s arms.

Zhan Yu silently observed this scene, finding it irritating. Once, he had admired Bing Wengu in every way, but ever since learning that he was the spouse of his son, Imperial Shuang, everything about him seemed disagreeable.

Even Bing Wengu’s resourcefulness came under suspicion—had there been scheming involved when his Imperial Shuang, unwilling at first, ended up marrying him?

Zhan Yu pretended not to notice the intimate display between the couple. “Jin Geer, there is no mistake. Your faint fertility mark was not due to prenatal deficiency but was caused by the birth-hastening drug given back then.”

Zhan Yu then addressed the woman from earlier: “When you discovered that Imperial Shuang wasn’t breathing and changed his clothes and swaddling, did you notice any unique birthmarks on his body?”

“There were three moles on his buttocks, arranged in a distinct triangular pattern,” she replied.

Nan Jinping indeed had such moles. Dazed, he protested, “I will not listen to them. I want to hear it from my parents. I do not believe any of this.”

Pretending to be overwhelmed, Nan Jinping even forgot his proper titles.

Zhan Yu’s heart ached. “Very well, Your Majesty shall call for your foster parents.”

At that moment, Miao Shi and Nan Jinping’s father, along with the rest of the Nan family, had just received news of Nan Jinping’s achievement as the top scholar and were joyfully distributing tokens of celebration.

Suddenly, a squad of imperial guards arrived. “Are you the parents of the newly crowned top scholar, Nan Jinping?”

Miao Shi, confused, replied, “I am.”

“Please accompany us to the palace,” the guards said politely.

“What? Has something happened?” Miao Shi asked.

The guards gave her a pensive glance. “It is not bad news. You will understand once you arrive.”

Reassured, Miao Shi and Nan’s father followed without further questions.

Upon entering the throne room, they immediately spotted Nan Jinping and Bing Wengu and hurried over.

“Jin Geer, what is going on?” Miao Shi, ever observant, noticed Nan Jinping’s tears.

“Mother-in-law, you should greet His Majesty first,” Bing Wengu gently reminded.

Startled, Miao Shi and Nan’s father hastily bowed. Zhan Yu did not fault them.

“Rise, please. I must thank you both for raising my child so splendidly.”

Miao Shi paled. “Your Majesty, what do You mean? This humble woman does not understand.”

Zhan Yu explained briefly. “I know everything now. Could you tell me how you saved Jin Geer?”

Realizing the truth was out and that Nan Jinping was of royal blood, Miao Shi saw no reason to hide anything.

“I was indeed pregnant, but the infant was frail and passed away the night he was born. In our custom, children who die shortly after birth must be placed in a basket covered with red cloth and taken to the back mountain, or their souls cannot be reborn.

“My dear, fearing my grief, took the baby to the mountain that very night.”

Here, Miao Shi wept as she looked at Nan Jinping. “On his way down, my dear heard a baby’s cry and followed it, finding a Shuang Er. Though weak, the child was alive.”

Nan’s father, recalling the moment, also teared up. “Having just lost our own child, we believed the heavens had gifted Jin Geer to spare us the pain. It was fate. We took him in, and since it happened at night, no one knew the child had been replaced.”

Miao Shi added, “We were poor then—I delivered at home without a midwife, so no one knew whether I had borne a son or a Shuang Er.”

Nan Jinping suddenly threw himself into Miao Shi’s arms. “Mother, why did you take me in? Because I was a Shuang Er, you endured years of gossip, accused of bringing the family ill luck. You and Father lived in shame, bearing the village’s contempt. Why didn’t you tell them I was adopted? You could have avoided the cruelty and lived with dignity!” *Note: "Shuang Er" refers to a cultural term for an intersex or dual-gendered individual.*

The End

"Foolish child, the villagers already bullied you for being a Shuang Er [intersex child]. If they found out you were adopted, wouldn’t they walk all over you?" Miao Shi said tenderly, holding Nan Jinping in her arms.

Father Nan also lovingly stroked Nan Jinping’s back. "The night we carried you down from the back hills, your mother and I decided to raise you as our own child. If not for today’s unavoidable circumstances, we would never have told you the truth of your origins."

Suddenly, Miao Shi knelt before His Majesty. "We never kept Jin Geer out of greed for a royal heir. At the time, we truly had no idea of his noble lineage."

Father Nan followed suit, kneeling as well. "In our village, Shuang Er are seen as ill omens. Many are abandoned in the mountains after birth. When we found Imperial Shuang that night, he was wrapped only in a simple red cloth with nothing else. We thought he had been discarded by another family who feared the bad luck. Had we known his true identity, we would never have dared to conceal it, keeping father and son apart."

"Pa, Ma, how could this be your fault? Without you, I would have died in the mountains long ago." Nan Jinping knelt as well, embracing the couple in tears. "You raised me as your own. Being your child is the greatest blessing of my life."

Seeing the three of them weeping, Zhan Yu felt a pang in his heart. He did not blame Nan Jinping for his closeness to Father Nan and Miao Shi. Despite their poverty, they had done their utmost to raise him with love.

And Nan Jinping, even after learning of his noble birth, held no grudge for their humble circumstances. Instead, he was all the more grateful for their care. This showed his virtuous nature—a child who repays kindness.

Such character only deepened Zhan Yu’s affection for him.

Perhaps what one lacks is what one values most. In the imperial family, pure familial bonds were rare, making Zhan Yu cherish them all the more.

Zhan Yu personally stepped forward to help the couple rise. "You two are the ones who raised Imperial Shuang. I will not be the villain who tears you apart. I am merely joining your family—one more person to love Jin Geer."

"Pa, Ma, you will always be my parents," Nan Jinping wept.

The couple held him tightly. "Good child, we didn’t love you in vain."

Nearby, Mei Jieyu rushed over and grabbed Nan Jinping’s leg. "You’re so filial—surely you wouldn’t let your maternal family be destroyed because of you! Beg His Majesty to spare the Mei family!"

Zhan Fuxian, clearly desperate, added, "Nan Jinping, speak up!"

"Jin Geer, do you wish to plead for the Mei family?" Zhan Yu’s gaze fixed on Nan Jinping.

All eyes turned to him, awaiting his answer.

It was a dilemma. A wrong response would brand him as unfilial or disloyal.

The Mei family was his maternal kin. Not pleading for them would make him seem cold-hearted. Pleading would betray the empire.

Nan Jinping bowed deeply to the Emperor. "As a junior to Lord Mei, I owe him my life, whether he abandoned me or not. But his hiring of assassins to kill Your Majesty—then still a prince—is an unforgivable crime. Even if it was staged, blades have no eyes. Had you been harmed, the empire would have lost a wise ruler. Countless lives would have suffered, and the nation’s fate might have been altered."

"Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety are hard to balance. For the sake of the empire, even if it meant my own life, I would gladly give it. I pray only for the eternal prosperity of the empire."

"Good!" Zhan Yu patted Nan Jinping’s shoulder approvingly. "Truly the top scholar I chose—a child who knows what matters."

Mei Jieyu, enraged that Nan Jinping would rather bear the stigma of unfiliality than plead for the Mei family, screamed, "You heartless beast! I was right to abandon you! My only regret is not strangling you at birth—then this disaster would never have happened!"

Nan Jinping lowered his eyes, enduring her tirade in silence.

But Zhan Yu would not tolerate it. "Mei Jieyu, I have yet to settle accounts with you! Did you think abandoning Imperial Shuang and conspiring with the Mei family to assassinate me would go unpunished?"

Mei Jieyu stared in disbelief. "You’ve already destroyed the Mei family—what more do you want?"

Her utter lack of remorse ignited Zhan Yu’s fury. "Guards! Demote Mei Jieyu and confine her to the cold palace!"

"No! Father, please! Mother was just momentarily misguided. She erred, but her intentions were for your sake!" Zhan Fuxian begged tearfully.

"Silence! Were it not for the fact that you were not yet born and ignorant of these schemes, even you would not be spared."

Zhan Fuxian knew the Emperor had completely abandoned them. Unable to move the Emperor, he turned to Nan Jinping and said, "If you won’t beg mercy for the Mei family, won’t you at least beg mercy for your own birth mother? No matter what, she spared you at birth—you owe her at least that."

"If I plead for Her Ladyship, what would that make the Emperor? The one she schemed against was none other than our own father," Nan Jinping replied softly.

His words struck a chord with Zhan Yu, resonating deeply. Though the deposed Mei consort was their mother, he was also their father.

"Guards, escort the Fourth Prince out and confine him to his quarters to reflect on his actions. Take Mei Chengwen to the dungeons, and lock the deposed Mei consort in the Cold Palace."

The palace attendants led the Mei family away, and the hall fell eerily silent.

Zhan Yu looked at the defiant Nan Jinping. "Nan Jinping is of royal blood. His royal status is hereby restored, and he shall be recorded in the imperial genealogy, resuming the imperial surname—henceforth known as Zhan Jinping.

Having passed the imperial examinations as the principal graduate, he is hereby granted an official seventh-rank position as Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy.

For his contributions in suppressing the Xiongnu incursions, Zhan Jinping is bestowed a noble title."

As Nan Jinping’s adoptive parents, the Nan family received rewards from the Emperor. Finally, Bing Wengu was promoted to Minister.

Though the officials disapproved of a dual-gendered person holding office, this one was different—he was of royal blood. More importantly, after the day’s dramatic court spectacle and with Zhan Yu still seething, opposing him now would be suicidal. None dared voice dissent, biting back their objections in silence.

Zhan Yu also remembered the injustices Nan Jinping had suffered in Shanghe Village and specifically sent imperial envoys to investigate.

Naturally, Li Ye, who had once attempted to make Nan Jinping his concubine, was not overlooked. The audacity of this man, who dared to lay claim to an imperial dual-gendered heir, was an insult to the throne. He was promptly thrown into the dungeons.

Li Ye never imagined that his past desire to take a lowly dual-gendered person as a concubine would not only ruin his career but also cost him his life.

Frantically, Li Ye pointed at Zhou Shi and Zhou Nan Shi, hurling curses: "You two are nothing but jinxes! If not for you, I’d already be a respected scholar-official. You ruined my future and now my life! I never even wanted a concubine—it was you who suggested it. I thought he was willing—who knew you’d dare force him? My lord, they’re the masterminds! Arrest them—"

In the end, Zhou Nan Shi and Zhou Shi were also imprisoned.

The entire Shanghe Village learned that Nan Jinping was, in fact, an imperial dual-gendered heir who had accidentally ended up among commoners.

No one regretted it more than San Lang. Had he not severed ties with that family, he would now have an imperial kinsman—an unimaginable honor.

They all kicked themselves in regret, wishing they had treated the Nan family and Nan Jinping better.

Some even fantasized about how they’d have risen in status had they secured Nan Jinping as their own.

Yet none considered that without Bing Wengu’s ability to bring Nan Jinping before the Emperor, his royal identity would never have been restored. He would have remained trapped in tiny Shanghe Village, toiling day and night, while the Emperor lived unaware of his existence.

From then on, a rift grew between San Lang and Qian Shi. As the Bing family prospered, San Lang’s resentment toward Qian Shi deepened. He blamed her viciously, even taking a concubine.

As for Aunt Bing’s former in-laws, their endless regret and quarrels mattered little—their household became a battleground.

Though the deposed Mei consort was confined to the Cold Palace, Zhan Jinping still visited her, bringing food.

Consumed by hatred, the deposed Mei consort slapped him, screaming, "Get out! If not for you, I wouldn’t be in this state. I should have smothered you in your cradle—then this disaster would never have happened!"

Bing Wengu shielded Zhan Jinping, but a slap still landed on him.

Enraged, Bing Wengu retorted, "You’re wrong. The disaster was never my husband’s doing. It was you and the Mei family—you pushed away your own fortune, spurning the very star that could have blessed you."

The deposed Mei consort glared venomously at Wen Gu. "Your talk of fortune-bringers might deceive others, but not this consort!"

"You still don't understand why the Emperor favors my husband so much even now? The Emperor certainly doesn't lack sons. He loves my husband because he looks exactly like the Emperor's elder brother, who died saving the Emperor’s life."

"What!" Disgraced Mrs. Mei sat stunned on the ground, muttering to herself, "How could this happen? How could this happen! Pitiful that I and the Mei family schemed our whole lives, only to push away our greatest asset with our own hands. Hahaha..."

Mrs. Mei had gone mad.

Bing Wengu turned around and went to visit Mei Chengwen in prison. When Mei Chengwen saw it was Bing Wengu who had come to see him, he simply shut his eyes and refused to look.

Bing Wengu didn’t mind. He dismissed the guards and moved closer to Mei Chengwen. “After all, you are my husband’s maternal grandfather. I don’t want you to die without understanding the truth, so I came especially to tell you—It was I who discovered the truth about Lady Mei’s dual-gender nature and secretly informed the Left Chancellor.”

“It was you.” Mei Chengwen’s eyes flew open, glaring daggers at Bing Wengu.

Bing Wengu said, “Minister Mei, have you forgotten that I am not merely a scholar, but also a general who has conquered the Xiongnu and Wusun? With my abilities, investigating the home of a mere Right Chancellor was child’s play.”

Mei Chengwen looked at Bing Wengu as if he wanted to tear him apart.

“You’ve got no one to blame but yourself for provoking me. If you hadn’t tried to antagonize me back then, perhaps none of this would have happened.”

Mei Chengwen closed his eyes. Why had he taken a liking to Bing Wengu in the first place, wanting to bring him in as a son-in-law?

It was because he had recognized Bing Wengu’s talent. Time proved him right—Bing Wengu indeed had ability, rising to the position of Minister within ten years through his own ability and bringing down the Right Chancellor.

But a man like that couldn’t be controlled so easily.

Had he not been too arrogant and made an enemy of Bing Wengu, even if things had been exposed, Bing Wengu and Nan Jinping might have spoken up for him, allowing him to live out his days in peace.

Alas, there is no cure for regret in this world. In the end, everything stemmed from that dual-gender child of his.

Soon after, Shen Qinghe returned to the capital. The Silk Road officially opened, marking the beginning of Great Yong’s golden age.

For this achievement, Shen Qinghe was appointed to the Grand Secretariat. This matter had been led by Bing Wengu, who also benefited and was promoted to Right Chancellor.

Nan Jinping thrived at the Imperial Academy, his students spreading far and wide, making him a great scholar of the age.

As the pioneer of dual-gender officials in Great Yong, by the time the Crown Prince ascended the throne, women and dual-gender people were already allowed to take the imperial examinations, enter government service, and participate in state affairs.

Author’s Note:

There will be several chapters of interstellar extras.

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