Upon hearing this, Fe Mama felt increasingly ashamed.
"This is all my fault, this old servant's mistake."
After a pause, Fe Mama continued: "In fact, Prince Qi is not Concubine Yuan's biological son, but my useless nephew."
Hearing this, Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran's eyes widened at the same time.
This news was too shocking for them, and for a time they still had some trouble digesting it.
However, soon, the two's minds became clear, and the first thing they thought of was that the real Third Prince was likely Fei Nanyu.
Of course, this was just their guess, and they still had to listen to Fe Mama’s explanation for the specifics.
Fe Mama sighed, and continued: "Twenty-one years ago, a master told Concubine Yuan that the child in her belly was a girl.
In order to consolidate her position, Concubine Yuan came up with the idea of switching the baby. At that time, she ordered people to secretly find many pregnant women whose expected delivery times were close to hers.
She was thinking that when her little princess was born in her belly, she would find a family who had given birth to a boy and switch their babies.
Who knew that Concubine Yuan ended up having a premature birth due to some unexpected accidents, and those pregnant women who had been prepared in advance did not come in handy.
Coincidentally, on that day I received news that the Old Duke’s wife had given birth to a baby boy early in the morning, who is now you, Duke.
In a hurry, Concubine Yuan turned her attention to the Mo Family.
At that time, along with Xu Lady, I bribed the midwife who was helping Concubine Yuan give birth, and told her not to announce the good news after the Empress gave birth, but to hand the child directly to us.
Then I took the newborn young master and sneaked out of the palace with others, intending to go to the Mo Residence to switch the babies."
Speaking up to now, Fe Mama looked increasingly uneasy.
"It was all because of my selfishness that I had crooked thoughts. I thought that my sister-in-law had just given birth to a boy the day before, so I could let my nephew become a prince and enjoy wealth and prosperity. I could also live up to the expectations of my Fe ancestors.
So after leaving the imperial palace, I sent those guards away and told them that I had my own way to get a baby from the Mo’s.
Perhaps those guards thought that with the tight security at the Mo Residence, it would be difficult to succeed, so when they heard me say that, they were relieved instead.
After the guards left, I took the young master back home. After explaining the situation to my brother and sister-in-law, I left the young master there and took away my nephew, who is now Prince Qi.
When I returned to Concubine Yuan's palace, I did not tell her the truth. She only thought that I had brought back a baby from the Mo’s.
After everything was properly arranged, I sent someone to inform His Majesty the Emperor that Concubine Yuan had given birth to a little prince.
Upon receiving the news, the Emperor came over immediately with the Empress and Grand Empress to see the little prince.
Concubine Yuan ordered me and Xu Lady to silence the midwife. Just as we covered her head with white silk, she laughed loudly and told us that what Concubine Yuan had given birth to was originally a little prince, and we were foolish to take such risks.
I thought the midwife was just saying that to taunt us, but to verify the truth of her words, I found an excuse to go back home the next day.
When I saw the baby in my sister-in-law's arms, I could completely confirm that what the midwife said was true - Concubine Yuan did indeed give birth to a little prince.
In order to make up for my guilt, I suggested that my brother give the Third Prince a name with the character “Nan”. My brother considered that the surname “Nan” was too alarming to others, so he replaced “Nan” with the homophone “Nanyu”, finally naming him “Fei Nanyu”.
Only me and my brother and sister-in-law know about this. We also discussed that we would not mention it to anyone in the future.
After finding out the truth, in order not to bring disaster upon myself, I hurriedly asked my brother and sister-in-law to take away the real Third Prince overnight. There has been no news until now.
Concubine Yuan later learned that the Ninth Young Master of the Mo Family was still a boy, so she knew that she had been deceived by that master.
However, the Emperor and others had already seen the Third Prince’s appearance with their own eyes, so at that point, it was impossible to switch him back.
Concubine Yuan has always believed that you are her biological son. The Duke must also be clear that Concubine Yuan's attitude towards you is particularly different."
What Fe Mama recounted was something that He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye had never imagined before.
Now, in the light of the truth, Fei Nanyu was the real Third Prince, Concubine Yuan's biological son.
So a new question came again.
"How did Nan Qi get to know about this?" Mo Jiuye asked.
Since Fe Mama had revealed such a big secret, she had no intention of concealing anything else.
"Earlier this year, when Concubine Yuan heard that the Duke had returned triumphantly, she called me and Xu Lady to discuss what excuses could be used to summon you into the palace to meet. It was then that our conversation was overheard by Prince Qi, who had come to pay his respects.
He threatened Concubine Yuan not to reveal a single word of this matter, otherwise even if he died, he would pull down Concubine Yuan's maternal clan with him as a cushion underneath.
What's worse is that Prince Qi took Xu Lady away for severe interrogation a few days later. Fortunately I came back late from going out of the palace to run errands that day, otherwise when I heard Xu Lady had been taken away by Prince Qi's people, I would have had a bad premonition right away.
So I packed some valuables and fled the imperial palace overnight.
For more than half a year after that, I was always on the run, evading pursuit by Prince Qi's men. It took a great effort for me to escape here, but I met those local ruffians who wanted to rob my belongings. "
Speaking to here, Fe Mama was still a little scared in retrospect.
"If the Duke hadn't saved me today, I'm afraid I would have lost my life to those people."
Regarding Fe Mama's deception and concealment, Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran felt no sympathy for her at all.
However, they knew Fe Mama must stay alive.
Only with her alive would there be a day when Prince Qi’s identity could be exposed.
Now they were on the way to exile and could not take Fe Mama with them. Once discovered by Prince Qi's people, it would become a disaster.
They were not afraid of Nan Qi, but who wouldn’t want peaceful days?
Especially now that the Mo Family had nothing to do with the mountains and rivers of Da Shun, Mo Jiuye did not want to wade into these muddy waters.
Thinking of this, Mo Jiuye felt that the person who most wanted Fe Mama to survive was Fei Nanyu.
In that case, why not do him a favor?
Fe Mama would surely survive once she was in Fei Nanyu’s hands.
"Fe Mama, do you want to see Fei Nanyu?"
Fe Mama's eyes widened, and she asked uncertainly, "Does the Duke know Nanyu?"
Mo Jiuye nodded. If I'm not mistaken, he should be in the Capital city now.
Then he saw Fe Mama solemnly kneel down before Mo Jiuye.
"This old servant has told the Duke everything she knows. I trust the Duke's character not to spread this matter out, and since you know the whereabouts of the real Third Prince, this old servant intends to find him and make things clear."
After speaking, Fe Mama got up and was about to leave.
Mo Jiuye stopped her and said, "Wait, it's not safe for you to go back to the capital alone. I can send people to escort you."
