No, it was stated in chp 58 that Jinshi is actually the emperor's younger brother (born from the empress dowager and the previous emperor). The empress dowager feared for her newborn baby's safety let the rumour about him being switch (with the current emperor's son with ah-duo hi). Basically everyone who knows about Jinshi's identity as the emperor's younger brother is just the inner circle of emperor and empress dowager. Furthermore, Jinshi is the exact replica of the previous emperor so yeahh
My memories of the novel are pretty foggy now bc I read it years ago, and I'm not sure if this part is in the manga already, but....
Spoilers....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Wasn't there a part where Maomao drank with a high ranking consort who was like, the current emperor's first love/wife, and it was then that Maomao had the realization that Jinshi is that consort's son, which means he's the emperor's son? And him looking like the 'exact replica of the previous emperor' is not that unexpected whether Jinshi is the previous emperor's son or the current emperor's son, since they're still all blood relatives right?
I was pretty confused by Jinshi's true parentage bc, well, it was also confusing for my pea brain while I was reading the novel lmao
More spoilers
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Since I'm talking spoilers already, imma just say I'm happy the current emperor is the way he is. There won't be a bloodbath for the throne in his regime because he has been keeping it warm for Jinshi, who is either his brother or his son (I'm not sure anymore, I might have to reread the novel or look for other spoilers lol). When Jinshi reclaims his true position, his enemies won't be the current emperor (tho perhaps on the surface they'll pretend to be at odds, but from their interactions I've read, the emperor was getting him ready for the responsibilities of a ruler). Jinshi didn't even wanna do it but he was forced to use his other identity as prince to save Maomao from something. I think this part of the story is very near in the manga since all the characters involved in this arc have been introduced, but it could feel far bc of slow updates
Do take the spoilers I said with a grain of salt, I'd say I'm about 80-90% accurate with the spoilers I said. It's been a while since I last read the novel lol
Yes, that happened early in the chp. 17. By that time Maomao only assumed that Jinshi is Ah-Duo's child with the emperor because the similarity of Ah-Duo's appearance with Jinshi and the rumor about the sickly current emperor's brother. Even Ah-Duo was not sure why her child died, maybe she believed if they're switched at least her child is safe even if she can't see him again.
Back then I was convinced that Jinshi's is the current emperor's son, but it was proven wrong by chp. 58. A nice twist tbh. It will be predictable if he's the prince of the nation. All the effort to hide his identity makes sense if it's like that since there will be a fraction of people who probably wish to put Jinshi as puppet emperor (since he's young) if they know about the truth. Maybe that's why the empress dowager also let the rumor out so no one will touch her second kid.
Sorry for the late reply. I only open this site on weekend XD
I remember that scenes. I just don't know if it was on the rooftop, but Lady Ah-Duo and Maomao drank sake together, and that's when Maomao realized that Lady Ah-Duo remains of someone, which is Jinshi. It was also stated by Maomao's deduction, which I forget what chapter of the manga, that Jinshi is the biological son of Lady Ah-Duo. But, on the previous chapters on the manga they slowly reveals Jinshi's true identity that he's the former emperor's son with Lady Dowager. However, I also have a doubt about that.
Even if Jinshi himself said that 'he was thought that the current emperor was his father, when in fact he's his brother and former emperor was his biological father' I couldn't help but not to trust that lol. Nevertheless, the author gives his reader so much thinking about the Jinshi's parentage that it makes the story more intriguing.
Omg maybe jinshi is the emperors brother bc why should he go into an harem without being an actual munch