Pin Shanhe

He looked at the man in front of him, and his heart sank.

No wonder he looked somewhat familiar when I first saw him; I thought it was just my imagination.

Looking back now, it was no coincidence at all!

The Dongyue Imperial Palace has a pavilion called Canghai Pavilion, which only emperors and crown princes were qualified to enter.

The pavilion contains not only secrets of the royal family over the past hundreds of years, but also records of the life experiences, rises and falls of successive royals, and even their portraits.

He had seen all those portraits when he was made crown prince.

There was only one painting that left a deep impression on him!

It was a portrait of a woman.

When people describe a woman's beauty, they usually use phrases like "unparalleled beauty" or "stunningly beautiful," but all the words used to describe a beautiful woman seem pale and powerless when applied to her.

Her eyebrows are like distant mountains, her eyes like autumn water; her gentleness conceals her noble spirit, her beauty is exquisite, enough to captivate all eyes.

If even a single portrait is so stunning, one can only imagine how incredibly beautiful the real person must be.

The man before me bears a striking resemblance to the woman in the painting, with his eyebrows and eyes bearing a five-point resemblance!

At the same time, a long-forgotten story also came to mind.

His grandfather, the previous Eastern Emperor, was originally just a member of a collateral branch of the clan and was not qualified to inherit the throne.

The emperor at the time had no interest in the country and was extremely devoted to love. He had only one wife, the empress, and abolished the six palaces for her sake.

The emperor and empress were deeply in love, but they only had one daughter after their marriage.

She suffered a physical injury during childbirth and was unable to have children for many years afterward.

Even so, the emperor had no intention of taking a concubine. Instead, he accepted his fate and chose a virtuous person from his clan to abdicate the throne.

This person was his grandfather!

After my grandfather succeeded to the throne, he was grateful for the abdication of the late emperor and honored them as the retired emperor and retired empress, and even built a palace for them.

Their daughter was the most esteemed princess of Dongyue.

Time flies, and the princess grew up, blossoming into a graceful and beautiful young woman.

She was naturally free-spirited and unconventional, and tired of the dull and monotonous life within the palace walls, she often disguised herself as a man and went out of the palace to travel.

Unexpectedly, during a sea storm, the ferry she was on sank, and she was never heard from again.

The Empress Dowager was weak and exhausted for many years after giving birth, and relied entirely on herbal medicine for recuperation.

Upon hearing the news of his only daughter's accident, he was unable to accept the devastating news and fell seriously ill, spending his days in bed until he passed away just six months later.

The retired emperor faced the loss of his beloved wife and the disappearance of his beloved daughter, and eventually died in despair.

In order to protect the princess's reputation, the royal family did not choose to make a public statement.

The official statement was that the eldest princess, unable to bear the pain of losing her parents, had renounced worldly life and chosen to leave the palace to become a nun.

It was common for women born into the Dongyue royal family to remain unmarried for life, and no one would doubt that.

Moreover, due to the perilous storm that year, they never found the princess's remains, and the royal records only noted "missing".

Thinking of this, Chu Lingyu could no longer help but ask aloud:

"Who are you, and why are you asking these questions?"

Seeing the other person's reaction, the man knew he had come to the right place.

He did not choose to hide it, but frankly told them, "I just want to investigate my mother's whereabouts."

His mother!

The time when the eldest princess went missing and encountered danger was twenty-five years ago.

Then, thinking of his resemblance to the man in front of him, she immediately became wary.

Could it be that... the eldest princess didn't die back then, but was rescued and lived in seclusion, raising her own child under an assumed name?

And the person before them was the son of that princess!

Although Chu Lingyu was excited, he did not lose his rationality or vigilance.

"Based on just these two sentences, I cannot determine who you are referring to. Are there any other clues?"

The man has come here today to unravel the mystery of his origins, and naturally he will be fully prepared.

He then took out a scroll from his bosom.

This is a portrait that my father painted for my mother, which has always been treasured in the secret chamber of the underworld.

The woman in the picture is clearly married, with her hair styled in a married woman's bun, but her face is exactly the same as the portrait Chu Lingyu saw in the Canghai Pavilion!

Chu Lingyu could no longer contain her excitement.

During his trip to Dongyue, he not only found his imperial sister, but also received an unexpected "surprise"!

"Now I can answer your question. The person you mentioned is the former Princess Dongyue. According to seniority, I should indeed call her my aunt."

Shen Fu was completely stunned.

Previously, he had never revealed his identity or background, and whenever asked, he would always joke that they would know when they got married.

She thought that the fact that Meng Wan was the Princess of Dongyue was outrageous enough, but she never expected to witness such a large-scale "family reunion" scene today.

Life is full of coincidences!

They've finally reunited, and they must have a lot to say. It would be inappropriate for me to stay here.

Having come today, she has at least solved the biggest mystery in her heart.

As for why Chu Lingyu, knowing full well that Meng Wan was an imposter, still helped her conceal her identity and claimed that she was the Princess of Dongyue, let's ask that another day!

So, she wisely chose to leave.

Before they could even leave the plum grove, a sudden gust of wind came from behind them.

Immediately afterwards, she was enveloped in a very warm embrace.

The man's cloak wrapped tightly around her, thick and warm, with a firm chest pressed against her front.

Shen Fu looked up and was met with that stunningly beautiful face that could captivate anyone.

She was stunned for a moment, then began to struggle.

"Let me go!"

"After all this time, are you sure these are the only three words you want to say to me?"

In her haste, Shen Fu blurted out, "Didn't you pretend not to know me first?"

She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth.

She should have said that they had long since severed ties and had no further connection, and that their meeting today was purely accidental.

For some reason, that's what came out of my mouth.

At first glance, it sounds as if she's sulking with him.

The man, just as she had expected, successfully "misunderstood" and chuckled, "Didn't you say you didn't want anyone to know about our relationship? You could only come to me after things were resolved."

Shen Fu flung his hand away and glared at him angrily.

"First of all, there is absolutely no relationship between us!"

"Secondly, haven't you and the Crown Prince of Dongyue already recognized each other as family? He's your family, and I'm the outsider!"

"Third, don't come looking for me again. Just pretend we never met today!"

The man followed suit and gave her answers in her own way.

"First, if we really have no relationship, how did you get this child?"

"Secondly, it's hard to say whether someone is truly close or not! I've only just met him, we're still strangers, but the baby in your womb is my true blood relative."

"Thirdly, I did keep my promise and, as you wished, did not come looking for you again. Wasn't it you who took the initiative to appear before me?"