Chapter 99 – Rebirth: The Poisonous Concubine (40) END
Traitorous ministers and rebellious scoundrels had brought calamity upon Jin, poisoning the Emperor and slaughtering the people—crimes deserving nothing but death. With the rebellion quelled, the Prime Minister’s trusted aides were dragged into the grand hall in chains, along with irrefutable evidence proving the switching of the imperial heir. At that moment, the Prime Minister knew his downfall was complete.
Yet, unwilling to accept his fate, he suddenly lunged forward, snatching the child from his wife’s arms and hurling him forcefully to the ground. Laughing maniacally, he declared that even if he were to die, he would take an imperial grandson with him to the grave.
His actions shocked those around him, and someone cried out in disbelief, condemning his cruelty toward his own grandson. One of the rescued princes turned to Lan Junchu, the young imperial grandson who had led the soldiers inside, demanding that the Prime Minister be torn apart by five horses to avenge the Lan family.
The Prime Minister, however, continued to laugh. He had killed the Emperor, poisoned the Third Prince, and slaughtered countless citizens. Now, in his final moments, he had managed to drag another member of the Lan family to the grave. Whether he killed one more or one less made no difference to him. In fact, seeing the anguish on their faces filled him with twisted satisfaction.
Just then, his wife, who had remained silent all this time, lifted her head and smiled strangely. Her words struck like a bolt of lightning: she asked him how it felt to have personally smashed his only biological son to death.
Her statement sent shockwaves through the hall, and the Prime Minister’s reaction was the most intense. He immediately dismissed her words as nonsense, but as he looked into her eyes and saw that eerie smile, a seed of doubt took root in his heart.
She began to laugh hysterically, declaring that since her daughter had died, his son had no right to live either. She had waited far too long for this day—this was his retribution.
Her bloodshot eyes burned with hatred as she glared at her husband and the concubine who had usurped her place. One was the man she had married, and the other was the lowly woman who had climbed over her to wield power. Now, their dreams were in ruins, and she relished the sight of their despair.
The concubine, in sheer disbelief, scrambled forward, unwrapping the child’s swaddling cloth with trembling hands. She frantically searched and found the birthmark—an unmistakable mark that both she and her son had. Her anguished scream shattered the last shred of hope the Prime Minister had. The child was truly his own son.
He had murdered his own flesh and blood. Retribution had come for him.
With a final burst of laughter, the Prime Minister lost his sanity. His entire family descended into madness. Those who witnessed the scene could only sigh—this was a tragedy so cruel, even the most dramatic opera scripts would not dare to write such a fate.
…
The Prime Minister’s attempt to switch the two children ultimately failed, and the credit for that belonged to his wife. Years ago, the late Emperor had struck a deal with her—if she assisted in eliminating the Prime Minister, she would be spared from punishment, and the child born to Wei Yuyan would be handed over to her.
It was only then that the Prime Minister’s wife learned that her grandson was not actually of the Third Prince’s bloodline. No one could say for certain who the child’s real father was. She harbored deep hatred toward the Third Prince—the man who had ruined her daughter’s life. When the Prime Minister poisoned the Third Prince, she had the power to warn him, but she chose silence instead. He had wronged her beloved Yuyan, so he could go to the underworld and atone for his sins before her daughter.
With the late Emperor’s secret decree as evidence, the Prime Minister’s wife was seen as having abandoned the darkness for the light, making amends for her past actions. She was thus spared punishment. The newly crowned Emperor, Lan Junchu, honored his predecessor’s will and entrusted Wei Yuyan’s son to Wei Lishi. Since the Prime Minister had been convicted of treason, his wife could no longer retain her former title and was instead referred to as Wei Lishi.
Wei Lishi was old, and her clan’s leader—her nephew—was merely a distant relative with whom she had little emotional connection. Rather than returning to her ancestral home, she took her dowry and moved to Jiangnan, choosing to live a peaceful life as a wealthy commoner, raising the child in obscurity.
No matter who his father was, the boy was her daughter’s flesh and blood—her only remaining link to her lineage. She knew that the new Emperor would never fully trust her and would have people monitoring her every move. But that was fine. In fact, being watched ensured her safety, offering her a measure of protection.
At noon, the Prime Minister and his followers were beheaded in the marketplace as a public spectacle. However, Yu Chenyì did not bother to witness the execution. Instead, he bid farewell to the new Emperor. After being away from home for two months, he longed to see his wife. Bai Zhu felt the same and not only declined the Emperor’s rewards but also voluntarily relinquished his military power.
Throughout history, power struggles had always led to chaos. Bai Zhu’s father had already retired to the countryside, and he himself had no desire to cling to military authority, which could only breed the new Emperor’s suspicion. Instead, he chose to hand it over willingly.
There was one more thing he didn’t voice—once the Emperor settled on a trusted official to take command of the Northwest Army, he planned to resign from his post entirely and return home to care for his aging parents.
Mo Mo had no heirs, so the responsibility of continuing the Bai family line fell upon Bai Zhu’s shoulders. It was a heavy burden, one that he could not take lightly.
Their willingness to relinquish power greatly reassured the new Emperor. He couldn’t help but sigh—if only Jin had more loyal ministers like Yu Chenyi and Bai Zhu, not only would his rule be far less worrisome, but it would also be a blessing for the common people.
…
Although both men were highly capable, ruling as Emperor was vastly different from the days when Lan Junchu could conceal his talents as a mere imperial grandson. Understanding this, he did not try too hard to persuade them to stay. After a few token words of encouragement, he readily granted their departure, even bestowing upon them generous gifts of gold, silver, and jewels—securing for himself a reputation as a benevolent ruler.
Yu Chenyi and Bai Zhu expressed their gratitude, accepted the rewards, and set off for home.
Beneath the blooming peach trees, a young boy cradled a babbling toddler in his arms, playfully coaxing him to call him “Brother.” Hurrying back from his long journey, Yu Chenyì arrived just in time to witness this heartwarming scene. In an instant, all his exhaustion melted away.
He dismounted, leading his horse by the reins, his voice gentle as he called out, “Mo Mo.”
Hearing his name, the young boy lifted his gaze. After entrusting the child to a nursemaid, his eyes lit up, and he eagerly dashed toward the man.
“Brother Chenyi, you’re back~”
“Mm, I’m back.” Yu Chenyi gently stroked the boy’s back, his once-empty heart now filled by the presence of Bai Mo.
I will never leave again.
…
The main storyline of this world had come to a close. Aside from helping Mo Mo take care of the children, there was nothing much left to do.
But don’t underestimate the challenge of raising kids—it was no easy task, especially with three of them. The little girl now had a proper name: Yu Chenyu.
Meanwhile, Bai Zhu had peacefully retired from his post at the border and returned home to marry and start a family. His firstborns were twins—a boy and a girl—much to the overwhelming joy of Master Bai and Madam Bai. The boy was named Bai Bocai, and the girl Bai Boyi, symbolizing their hope that the children would be talented and versatile. They were raised with an emphasis on literature and the arts, steering away from their father Bai Zhu’s dangerous path of warfare and combat.
With three little troublemakers running around, the elders soon found themselves overwhelmed. Eventually, they handed them over to the one person who had the best way with children—Bai Mo. Of course, Bai Mo’s ability to handle kids was thanks to a little divine help from the broadcasting system.
Children, being children, often quarreled over trivial matters. Yu Chenyi took on the role of mediator, while Bai Mo was in charge of playing with them. Their teamwork was unexpectedly effective—one playing the strict role and the other the kind one. Seeing how well they managed, the elders quickly decided: Since you’re both so good at it, you might as well take full responsibility.
And so, any remnants of Yu Chenyi and Bai Mo’s romantic world as a couple vanished, replaced by the chaos of raising three mischievous kids.
Yu Chenyi initially tried to instill in them a love for reading and quiet study, hoping they would become more refined. But with Bai Mo, the “big boss” leading the way, tranquility was out of the question. In particular, Yu Chenyu and Bai Boyi—both girls—were the most unruly.
One time, when they encountered some street thugs, they grabbed two willow branches and thrashed them so fiercely that the men howled in pain, chasing them across three streets before ultimately surrendering themselves to the authorities just to escape.
Yu Chenyi was utterly exasperated. Girls shouldn’t be fighting! But when he tried to reason with them, they refused to listen—worse, they even had their own arguments ready.
“Uncle/Brother-in-law said that girls should learn some self-defense! That way, if bad guys try to kidnap us, we can fight back and drag them to the authorities ourselves!”
Their righteous confidence only gave Yu Chenyi an even bigger headache.
“They’re absolutely right! We don’t bully others, but we also won’t let anyone bully us.” Bai Mo, proud of his educational influence, nodded in satisfaction. In this era, life was unfair to girls—learning a bit of self-defense could only be beneficial.
“Mo Mo, you’ve taught them well,” Yu Chenyi said.
“Of course!” Bai Mo beamed, oblivious to the gritted teeth behind Yu Chenyi’s smile.
“Since Mo Mo still has the energy to train the girls in martial arts, that must mean he’s full of vigor. How about we have a little… sparring match tonight?” Yu Chenyi’s expression turned dangerously playful, making Bai Mo instinctively retreat.
“T-that’s not a good idea… The ancients said early to bed, early to rise is best for health. We should get some rest!”
Once a shameless little flirt, the snow-white ferret-turned-human now found himself slightly afraid of his affectionate husband.
Ever since Yu Chenyi resigned and had too much free time on his hands, they had spent a rather long honeymoon period—so much so that Bai Mo often found himself sore and exhausted. In fact, three out of five nights were spent in the bedroom.
It was fun, sure—but he’d really rather not spend his entire life collapsing on the bed like a corpse.
“I’ll listen to Mo Mo. Tonight, we’ll go to bed early.” Yu Chenyi smiled mysteriously before shooing the two little girls off to Bai Zhu’s place for dinner.
Since the Yu and Bai families were in-laws, and the three children often played together, their families had grown incredibly close. The kids frequently ran back and forth between both households, sometimes even staying over.
Yu Chenyu and Bai Boyi exchanged knowing smiles. “Yay~”
“Alright, we’ll have Nanny Li take us over. Brother/Yi-shushu, you don’t need to worry!” The two girls spoke in perfect unison before dashing away, laughing as they ran.
For our happiness, Brother-in-law/Uncle will just have to suffer a little. Love you~
…
Several years passed, and the three children had all grown up.
Yu Chenyu eventually got married—to a man she chose herself. During one of her outings, she had saved a young scholar from a bandit attack.
The young scholar worked at the town’s bookstore, copying texts for a living. Yu Chenyu, who loved reading storybooks, frequently visited the shop. Over time, the two became familiar with each other. The scholar was shy, while Yu Chenyu was lively and playful, often teasing him until his face turned bright red.
One day, she stopped visiting the bookstore altogether. The scholar later heard that the Yu family was arranging a marriage for their youngest daughter. He came from a poor family, but after much internal struggle, he mustered up the courage to bring his meager savings of two taels of silver and propose. He braced himself for rejection—perhaps even humiliation.
But to his surprise, the Yu family was nothing like he expected. They cared not for wealth or status, only for their daughter’s happiness and the man’s character. And his character was beyond question—he was as honest and sincere as they came. In the end, the match was made.
After marriage, just as the Yu family had planned years ago, the young scholar and Yu Chenyu moved into a new home. As for their children, the firstborn carried the Yu surname, while the second followed the scholar’s family name.
…
Meanwhile, Bai Bocai grew into a steady and reliable man. He, too, found a woman he loved, married, and had children.
However, Bai Boyi took after her father. Unlike most girls who adored fine clothes, she had no interest in feminine attire—instead, she loved wielding weapons. Disguising herself as a man, she secretly enlisted in the Northwest Army.
Time and again, she uncovered enemy plots, thwarted their schemes, and led troops to victory. Eventually, Bai Boyi made history—becoming the first female general of Jin since its founding.