The plum blossoms in the palace. Xia Lin thought of the plum blossoms in the General's Mansion. He wondered which ones were more beautiful and eye - catching.
On his way to the Plum Garden, Xia Lin looked around curiously all the way. Although the original owner of this body had come to the palace since childhood, this was truly his first time here. It wasn't as grand and luxurious as the palace in the first world when he was the queen, nor was it as large. However, they were not comparable, after all, one was a high - tech world and the other was an ancient society. The buildings inside the palace represented the top - level architectural skills of this era.
"Hey, isn't this Master Xia Lin, the second legitimate son of the General's Mansion and the son of Princess Zhaoyan?"
Xia Lin heard a soft and beautiful female voice. He turned his head and saw a concubine in her twenties. She was very beautiful, of the same type as Imperial Concubine Xuan. But compared with Imperial Concubine Xuan's nobility, domineering, and mature charm, this young concubine gave Xia Lin a sense of being petty.
The maid of the Empress Dowager saluted and said, "Your servant pays respects to Lady Shupin."
Shupin pretended to be intimate and personally helped the maid of the Empress Dowager up. "Isn't this Aunt Cuiying beside the Empress Dowager? Aunt, there's no need to be so polite. I just saw Master Xia Lin and felt curious, so I came over to say a few words."
So she was a concubine of the pin rank. No wonder Xia Lin hadn't seen her at the noon banquet. But it was already quite good for someone so young to reach the pin rank. Presumably, she had a good family background and was quite favored.
Xia Lin had no interest in this concubine at all. In fact, he thought that getting involved with concubines meant trouble, and he didn't want to bring trouble to his current peaceful days.
"Paying respects to Lady Shupin. May I ask what Lady Shupin wants from me?"
Shupin covered her mouth and laughed. "I wonder if I can talk to you alone?"
The maid beside the Empress Dowager frowned and was about to stop her. Shupin quickly leaned over to Xia Lin's ear and said a sentence in a voice that only Xia Lin and she could hear.
Seeing Xia Lin standing there in shock, the maid felt something was wrong. She was just about to take Xia Lin away a bit forcefully when Xia Lin spoke up himself. "Aunt Cuiying, you go to the Plum Garden first and wait for me. I'll talk to Lady Shupin for a while and then come over!"
Cuiying had no choice but to leave, deciding to report to the Empress Dowager immediately after she got back.
After walking behind a remote palace wall and Shupin also sent away the maids and eunuchs around her, she said, "I wasn't lying just now, Master Xia Lin. You are indeed the Emperor's son. You are the Third Prince!"
Xia Lin only felt his head buzzing. He couldn't accept such a clichéd plot for a while. What was going on? Wasn't his setting the second legitimate son of the general, a noble who used to be a playboy but had now become sensible? How could his identity be upgraded to that of a prince?
"You're lying to me?" Xia Lin's tone was very blunt, but Shupin wasn't angry. "I'm your aunt. How could I lie to you?"
"What aunt!"
Then Shupin told Xia Lin his real family background. It turned out that back then, Princess Zhaoyan, who was pregnant and about to give birth, entered the palace to attend a palace banquet. She encountered an assassin's assassination attempt, and the princess gave premature birth. Coincidentally, Lady Ningpin was also going to give birth that night. So, Princess Zhaoyan and Lady Ningpin gave birth on two beds in the same pre - arranged delivery room.
However, the imperial physician asserted that Lady Ningpin's child wouldn't live past one year old when it was just born.