Chapter 35 is a prologue.

She opened the lunchbox, placed the steaming hot food she had just taken from the kitchen on the table, then set out the bowls and chopsticks. She took out a gray pill from her sleeve, raised her hand, and slowly put it into Uncle Chen's mouth.

"Young...Young Miss..."

Uncle Chen's eyes were filled with terror, but before he could finish speaking, everything went black and he fell into a deep sleep.

After finishing these tasks, Shen Pingjin seemed relieved, slowly pushed open the door, and walked out of the room.

She has repaid this favor.

As the night deepened and the dew grew heavy, the embroidered shoes of Chenpingjin made a soft sound as they stepped on the ground.

She had just asked Yan Jue for the antidote to the poison. Yan Jue asked her why she would save the life of someone who had framed her, but she did not answer.

But Yan Jue still gave his Uncle Chen the antidote without any reason.

Shen Pingjin couldn't understand why Yan Jue liked her so much that he would grant and indulge her almost any request she made.

She really didn't know.

All she remembered was that when she first attended a spring banquet as a child, she accidentally fell into a lotus pond because she was playing.

She struggled desperately in the water, trying to shout, but it felt like a fishbone was stuck in her throat, and she couldn't make a sound.

The icy water slowly flowed into her lungs from her throat, pharynx, and nose, threatening to engulf her entirely.

She closed her eyes as if resigned to her fate and fell into a deep sleep.

But before she fell into a deep sleep, she heard an even louder splashing sound, and she felt someone pull her out of the water.

She thought it was just a dream, but it turned out to be something else entirely.

She really was rescued.

Shen Pingjin would never forget that when she had just woken up, the person in front of her was gentle and refined, with a warm smile on his lips, and asked her softly how she was feeling.

She felt her heart pounding and nodded.

From that day on, she frantically sent people to find out who the man was.

After learning that the man was the Crown Prince, Su Xuanmao, she made up her mind that from now on she would only love him.

She never mentioned this matter to Su Xuanmao again, and it was precisely because of this that she lost the opportunity to know the truth.

But that time in front of the tombstone, Yan Jue admitted that it was he who saved him...

Tears slid down her cheeks and into her clothes.

Shen Pingjin vaguely remembered that in her previous life, she first met Yan Jue on the day she returned to her parents' home with Shen Ruixue.

His demeanor was arrogant, but the coldness and aloofness in his eyes were shocking.

She and Yan Jue didn't exchange any words; the only exchanges they had were greetings and bows.

She had no idea that this very man had always loved her.

From the moment she was reborn after a wrong marriage until now, everything she has done for Yan Jue has been a test.

She wanted to know just how much Yan Jue liked her.

When Yan Jue heard her call him "husband," and saw the deep shock and confusion flash in his eyes, Shen Pingjin could roughly guess that Yan Jue already liked her.

But having been given a second chance at life, she no longer wanted to be deceived, betrayed, or used. She wondered suspiciously if the man before her was merely putting on an act.

So when Shen Pingjin stood in front of the Emperor in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, pretending to be very resolute, solemnly declaring that she had no regrets about marrying the Regent Prince, she was actually secretly observing Yan Jue's expression.

She would never forget the man in purple, with his arrogant and unrestrained demeanor, the shock and determination that flashed in his eyes again... and that fleeting sadness that she deliberately caught.

What is he sad about?

Chen Pingjin couldn't understand it.

She really didn't know what Yan Jue liked about her.

But even the coldest, hardest heart will one day be melted.

That day, after her confrontation with Luo Xi at Zuixianglou, she returned to her residence. She never expected that the first question Yan Jue would ask her would not be why she went to Zuixianglou, but rather... why she didn't fight back after being wronged.

There seem to be only two people in the world who treated her this way.

One was her muddle-headed, honest, and well-read father, and the other was her brother, who was obsessed with martial arts and wholeheartedly wanted to win glory for the country.

Whenever Shen Pingjin thought of these two people, she couldn't help but imagine them being slowly sliced ​​to death on the cold execution ground.

She hated herself.

Even if she were to be reborn, she would never be able to forgive herself for her past life.

Yan Jue didn't notice her absent-mindedness at the time; he was still asking her what had happened between him and Miss Luo.

Her feigned sincerity was mixed with genuine feelings that she couldn't help but reveal.

Shen Pingjin casually took out a purse embroidered with mandarin ducks from her sleeve. She raised her hand and slowly untied the purse, revealing two strands of hair intertwined inside.

"We became husband and wife, and our love will never waver."

Joy fills this evening, a time of tender beauty and perfect timing.

As Shen Pingjin slowly uttered these two sentences, time and space seemed to shatter, returning to the moment when Shen Pingjin transformed into white light and saw Yan Jue kneeling in the snow, uttering these two sentences in the same tone as her.

She secretly cut off this lock of hair while Yan Jue was asleep.

But she was a coward; she dared not reveal her true feelings. Her charming and alluring exterior was merely a facade forced upon her by her broken heart.

While she was arguing with Yan Jue, Su Xuanmao, and Shen Ruixue, she also made sure to notice Yan Jue's expression.

When Yan Jue said he wanted to marry both her and Shen Ruixue into the household, she couldn't help but tremble violently inside.

She knew he wanted to solidify his image as a scumbag in front of Su Xuanmao, and at the same time, he wanted to vent his anger on her behalf in front of Shen Ruixue.

She just felt a warm feeling in her heart at that moment.

But she felt that her cold, broken heart could no longer be pieced together into a complete, sincere heart.

She can't stand such jokes.

Countless people died for her in her past life.

The person she trusted caused her to die with resentment.

She had hoped to be reborn, to marry Yan Jue, and to seek only peace and health, and to avenge herself without repeating the same mistakes.

She never imagined that one day she would actually fall in love with him.

Having spent only two days with Yan Jue, she felt completely enveloped in his respect and trust.

She thought, maybe I should give it a try?

She thought, perhaps if she gave her heart, she wouldn't repeat the same mistake?

She thought, in this life, perhaps someone will be willing to fight alongside her?

Just as she was meeting Uncle Chen, Shen Pingjin suddenly understood.

She will eventually come to an end with all the love, hate, and grudges from her past life.

In this life, fortunately, she has been blessed by heaven and should open her eyes again, embrace all those who love her.

She wants to shed her hypocrisy and reconcile with herself.

All the previous tests of Yan Jue were merely the prologue.