Chapter 12: The Secret of Identity

"Shuang'er, the nights are still chilly. Make sure Little Seven doesn't kick off the blankets," Bai Li Yuan reminded once more, unable to let go of her worries.

Ji Yin thought, Damn it, are they planning to raise her like some useless person?

After finally seeing everyone off, Ji Yin rubbed her stomach in discomfort.

"Young master, shall I help you bathe?" the servant asked.

"Mm," Ji Yin nodded.

Because of the connection to the original owner, Ji Yin wasn't unfamiliar with the Ji family. Her courtyard had the best layout and the most luxurious decorations in the entire estate.

Shuang'er led Ji Yin to the side hall, where a pool as large as a room steamed gently with wisps of white vapor.

Ji Yin jumped straight into the water, swimming around like a cheerful fish.

Suddenly, she thought of something and quickly tugged off her clothes.

"A woman? I'm a woman?" Ji Yin hurriedly reached for her neck; the Adam's apple was gone.

She immediately looked down at her reflection in the water.

"So I really am a woman!"

Shuang'er stared at Ji Yin in astonishment, rushing forward, "Shh!"

Ji Yin snapped her mouth shut. What now? Is her being a woman some unspeakable secret?

"Miss, how did you know you’re a girl?"

"How could I not know?" Ji Yin felt this question was so stupid! She just hadn’t had the chance to confirm it before.

Where did her Adam's apple go? She was certain it had been there before!

Shuang'er had served Ji Yin since childhood and knew the family's secret. Ji Yin had never really understood her own gender, always thinking she was a boy.

With the young lady suddenly realizing her true identity, Shuang'er was at a loss.

The young lady was nearly fourteen, often sneaking off to the brothel, much to Madam's anxiety.

She possessed the art of changing faces, so outsiders would never discover her real identity, but there was always the worry that she herself would continue to mistake herself for a boy.

Madam had privately instructed Shuang'er to let the young lady know she was a girl at the right time, but she hadn’t found the chance. Now, the young lady had discovered it herself.

Ji Yin was puzzled. Clearly a girl, so why raise her as a boy?

"Miss, let me explain. The reason you’re raised as a young master is because of something the late emperor said."

"What did he say?"

"At a state banquet, the late emperor personally told the master, 'Ji, if you bear a daughter, she shall be destined to become the mother of the nation.'"

"What does that mean?" Ji Yin was confused.

"It was a promise of marriage. If the master and madam had a daughter, she would marry into the imperial family. The late emperor has passed, and now the current emperor is twenty and has not chosen an empress. If your true gender is discovered, you’ll surely be made empress."

"They want me to marry?" Ji Yin exploded.

"No, no, miss, don’t be upset. The master and madam didn’t want you to marry into the imperial family, so they deliberately concealed your identity, raising you as their young son."

Ji Yin understood now—it was all because of this.

"Now that you're almost fourteen, your identity must not be exposed. If it is, the best outcome is the emperor making you empress, but the worst would be the crime of deceiving the monarch, which means execution of your entire clan."

"Execution of nine generations?" Ji Yin sneered coldly.

What a barbaric place!

On Liusha Star, the strong ruled, and the weak were prey—whoever was strongest could look down on all.

Given Ji Yin’s current strength, she was much more powerful than any emperor.

"Miss, the art of changing faces is a long-lost secret technique, but every full moon night, its effects fade. No one knows exactly when, but after an hour, it returns. On such nights, the master and madam always keep you locked at home, forbidding you from going anywhere."