Spoiler Warning
This article contains major light novel spoilers through Volume 15: Jinshi's biological parents, the infant exchange, Ah-Duo's confession to Maomao, and the later imperial family conversation.
Does Jinshi Know Ah-Duo Is His Mother?
There is no clear confirmation in the scenes covered here that Jinshi has learned the truth. Volume 13, Chapter 14 confirms his parentage to Maomao, not to him. In Volume 15, Chapter 20, Maomao still does not know whether he has worked it out. Ah-Duo being his mother is established; Jinshi personally knowing it is a separate, unresolved question.
When Is the Truth Revealed, and to Whom?
The word reveal can describe three different things: a clue the audience notices, something Maomao deduces, or a fact someone tells Jinshi. Keeping those apart resolves much of the apparent disagreement about this story.
| Novel checkpoint | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| Volume 1, Chapter 30 | Maomao connects the infant case and Ah-Duo's resemblance to Jinshi. This is an early inference, not a confession to him. |
| Volume 13, Chapter 14 | Ah-Duo tells Maomao that Jinshi is her biological son and confirms the exchange planned with Anshi. |
| Volume 15, Chapters 14–16 | The family gathers before the Emperor's surgery. Maomao understands the hidden relationships, but the meeting does not give Jinshi an explicit parentage announcement. |
| Volume 15, Chapter 20 | Maomao reflects that the anticipated confession did not happen and that she cannot tell whether Jinshi has noticed the truth. |
That last passage prevents a confident “yes, he knows” based only on meaningful looks, resemblance or political intelligence. It also does not prove that he has never suspected anything. The supported distinction is between confirmed parentage and unconfirmed personal awareness.
Who Are Jinshi's Biological Parents?
Jinshi is the biological son of Ah-Duo and the current Emperor. His public royal identity is the Emperor's younger brother, supposedly born to the former Emperor and Anshi. His eunuch persona is another layer of concealment and should not be confused with that official royal genealogy.
The name used for his royal identity is Ka Zuigetsu. Knowing his name or that he is the imperial younger brother does not, by itself, disclose the baby swap.
How the Baby Swap Changes the Family Tree
Two births in the previous court created the opportunity for an exchange. Anshi's child was the former Emperor's son. Ah-Duo's child was the future reigning Emperor's son. Ah-Duo and Anshi arranged for the infants to occupy each other's official positions.
- Ah-Duo's biological son: survives as Jinshi, raised publicly as Anshi's son and the Emperor's younger brother.
- Anshi's younger biological son: is presented as Ah-Duo's child and later dies in infancy.
It is therefore inaccurate to say that Ah-Duo's own biological son died. The loss in her household was real, but the child's public identity concealed his birth parents. The Anshi family guide explains the resulting distinction between Jinshi's official mother and biological grandmother.
Who Fed the Baby Honey?
Fengming, Ah-Duo's head attendant, fed the infant honey. Lishu did not. Volume 1, Chapter 29 has Maomao confront Fengming about using it as nourishment while caring for the baby. Fengming did not understand that something she could consume safely could endanger an infant.
Lishu matters to the investigation because her own childhood experience with honey gives her knowledge Fengming fears could expose the earlier death. That makes her a threatened witness to the danger, not the person who fed the infant in Ah-Duo's household.
In modern medical terms, the relevant risk is infant botulism from spores that may be present in honey. The novel's investigation explains the danger using its own medical vocabulary. The important plot point is the mistaken belief that a substance safe for an adult must also be safe for a baby.
Does Ah-Duo Know Jinshi Is Her Son?
Yes. In Volume 13, Chapter 14, Ah-Duo directly tells Maomao that Jinshi is her biological son. Her knowledge is explicit.
That chapter also shows her considering Maomao's freedom as well as her son's happiness. She offers Maomao a way out if she does not want the life attached to Jinshi. This is a more revealing expression of maternal concern than assuming every warm exchange is a secret confession.
Does Maomao Know? Suspicion Becomes Confirmation
Maomao notices physical resemblance and the implications of the infant case early on. Those observations allow a hypothesis. When Ah-Duo speaks directly in Volume 13, Maomao can no longer keep the possibility at a safe distance.
The distinction changes the emotional weight of the scene: Maomao is not simply solving a puzzle. She is being made responsible for knowledge that could affect succession, Ah-Duo, Anshi and her own future with Jinshi.
Does Knowing His Father Follow Automatically?
The biological family tree points to the current Emperor as Jinshi's father. It does not follow that Jinshi has personally accepted that fact. His behavior toward the man he publicly calls his brother cannot substitute for a disclosure scene or an explicit account of his thoughts.
For the wider political relationship, continue with whether the Emperor treats Jinshi as a brother or son.
Why the Secret Matters to the Succession
Changing Jinshi from the Emperor's younger brother to his eldest biological son would alter how powerful families could use his claim. Volume 13 explicitly places that issue alongside Gyokuyou's young son, the crown prince, and the interests surrounding other imperial children.
Concealing the Truth Is Not the Same as Knowing It
The adults who arranged the exchange have reasons to preserve the official story. Jinshi's own resistance to becoming Emperor is a related issue, but it cannot be used as proof that he knowingly hides his biological parentage. The people keeping a secret and the person protected or constrained by it need not possess the same information.
Ah-Duo's departure from the Rear Palace also should not be reduced to a single unspoken plan to protect Jinshi. Her inability to bear more children, the loss of Fengming and the replacement of her consort position belong to that earlier court context. Her later account adds a personal cost: leaving the Rear Palace did not give her the freedom to leave the Emperor's world.
How to Compare Anime and Novel Answers
An answer about the early anime may stop at resemblance and the infant mystery. A novel discussion can add Ah-Duo's direct confession, but must still identify its listener. Compare the same story stage before deciding that two explanations contradict each other.
What Can Be Said with Confidence?
Ah-Duo is Jinshi's biological mother, and Maomao receives explicit confirmation. Jinshi's awareness is not established by that confession. Through the Volume 15 scenes discussed above, the text leaves Maomao unable to say whether he has figured it out. That uncertainty is part of the family drama, not a gap that needs filling with a confident guess.
Scene Locator
These references follow the light novel chapter numbering used here; titles and numbering may vary by edition.
- Volume 1, Chapters 29–30: Maomao confronts Fengming about feeding the infant honey, then connects Ah-Duo's resemblance to Jinshi with a possible exchange.
- Volume 13, Chapter 14: Ah-Duo tells Maomao that Jinshi is her biological son and describes the exchange planned with Anshi. Jinshi is not the listener.
- Volume 15, Chapters 14–16: The family gathers before the Emperor's surgery without an explicit parentage announcement to Jinshi.
- Volume 15, Chapter 20: Maomao reflects that the anticipated confession did not happen; she cannot tell whether Jinshi has noticed his biological parentage.
Use the Scene Locator to browse related chapter references.
Volume-level entry only. The source is community-hosted; availability and rights status may vary.
Volume-level entry only. The source is community-hosted; availability and rights status may vary.
Volume-level entry only. The source is community-hosted; availability and rights status may vary.