Am I Not a Male Emperor? - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When my mother gave birth to me, the entire court and inner palace were waiting with bated breath.

Half of them hoped I would be a boy. The other half hoped I would be a girl.

As for the remaining bastards, they barely counted as human. They hoped I would die.

I was my father’s only hope. One day, while playing polo, he had injured himself in a rather vital place and would never be able to have another child.

The ministers in court dragged out all that stale, pedantic nonsense about rites and succession, insisting that he adopt my uncle’s son-my cousin, who was as dull as a pig.

Just when my father had fallen into despair, news of my mother’s pregnancy saved him from the fate of having no heir, like a general amnesty proclaimed across the realm.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on my mother’s belly.

She had been only a minor palace consort, yet all of a sudden, she became the hottest person in the palace.

The Empress came to look after her in person. She sent people to guard my mother’s palace so tightly that not even a fly could get in. What my mother ate, what she used, whom she met-the Empress personally asked about every detail.

Eight months later, I came squalling into the world.

Inside the delivery room, my mother, the midwife, and the Empress all fell silent.

The Empress spoke first. “If I remember correctly, the wet nurse’s son was born only ten days ago.”

She placed particular emphasis on the word son.

My mother lifted her head, trembling, tears in her eyes. “Your Majesty, my daughter’s life is still a life!”

The Empress froze for a moment, then realized what she meant. “What in the world are you imagining?”

She borrowed the wet nurse’s son and paraded him once before the ministers and the emperor. The emperor was beside himself with joy, while my eldest uncle’s plan fell through so spectacularly that his mouth nearly twisted out of shape from anger.

Fortunately, all those people were men.

A ten-day-old baby and a newborn baby are already quite different, but men’s eyes can truly be blind sometimes.

If even one female official had been present-

Then there would have been no need to hide the fact that I was a girl.

After that, the Empress returned the infant to the wet nurse.

She picked me up and looked at my mother with unwavering eyes. “Consort Qin, from this day forward, only I and your personal attendants will know of this matter.”

My mother still had not fully processed what had happened, but she knew she and the Empress were now grasshoppers tied to the same string. So she nodded even more firmly.

From then on, I was Ji Jue, the emperor’s only son. At three, I knew a hundred characters. At five, I wrote essays. At eight, I was named Crown Prince.

I was gifted, diligent, self-disciplined, and noble in character. My existence reduced my father’s regrets regarding heirs to the bare minimum.

My tutors were full of praise for me. My respect for teachers and reverence for learning gave them the satisfaction of being true models for their students.

My life went exceedingly smoothly-until the day several noble boys around my age came to the Empress’s palace.

The one leading them was Xue Lingxiao, the son of General Xue.

They respectfully bowed to me, then obediently withdrew from the hall.

I circled around from the back and slipped out, just in time to hear them whispering among themselves.

“There are tons of bird nests in Shanglin Park. Let’s go raid one.”