Chapter 38 Do you resent it?

She vaguely remembered that in her previous life, after her birth mother died, Concubine He, who was originally unknown, suddenly rose to prominence among the many concubines in the backyard. At that time, there were many affairs in the mansion, and her father was considering which concubine to hand over the power of management so that he could concentrate on the affairs of the court.

The sudden rise of Consort He made Master Shen reconsider his feelings towards her.

But for some reason, Master Shen remained hesitant. Aunt He, having stayed in the Shen household for a long time, guessed something and pointed the finger at Shen Pingjin.

At that time, Shen Pingjin was naive and ignorant of the ways of the world. After Madam Shen died, she cried uncontrollably. Just when Shen Pingjin thought that she had no mother and no one loved her like her mother did, Aunt He appeared in front of her.

Aunt He was incredibly kind to her back then. When she caught a cold on a rainy day and refused to drink ginger soup, Aunt He coaxed her and fed her candied fruit.

Whatever she wanted or did, Aunt He would help her and indulge her.

Master Shen saw all this and soon handed over the management of the mansion to Concubine He.

Later, although Aunt He was still kind to her, she was not as enthusiastic as she had been at the beginning. In fact, Aunt He even indulged her when she wanted to do some bad things.

She thought Aunt He was really good to her at the time, but now she probably just wanted to see her become arrogant and domineering, and accomplish nothing.

Unexpectedly, instead of becoming arrogant and domineering, she displayed exceptional talent and outstanding appearance in this environment.

Because she had fallen in love with Su Xuanmao at the time, she was very strict with herself and absolutely could not be arrogant, domineering, or a good-for-nothing playboy.

I'm grateful to my younger self for acting impulsively back then.

Shen Pingjin's gaze grew colder as she looked at Aunt He. "Hmph, in your past life, you rose to power by relying on Shen Ruixue, and watched your entire family die unjustly on the execution ground. In this life, I will personally witness your rise to power and your fall!"

Aunt He seemed to realize that someone was watching her, and turned around with some confusion.

Turning around, he found himself face to face with Shen Pingjin.

Aunt He's unease lessened somewhat. She looked at Shen Pingjin with a broad smile, "Pingjin, now that you're married to the Regent, are you living a good life? Come, let Aunt He take a good look at you."

Shen Pingjin walked over with a calm expression, letting Aunt He touch her face.

Aunt He's concern seemed genuine. "Oh dear, look at you, you seem to have lost a lot of weight since marrying the Regent."

Shen Pingjin was a little puzzled: "What are you saying, Aunt? Pingjin clearly feels that she has become quite plump. If we're talking about being thin, she's not as thin as my sister. After all, she has been thin since she was little, and everyone always praises her for looking good in clothes."

“This…” Aunt He paused slightly.

The smile on her face seemed to freeze. "Pingjin, your aunt was just worried about you. You're acting so strangely now, are you blaming your aunt for not checking the bridal sedan properly and letting you marry the wrong person?"

Seeing that Aunt He was about to burst into tears, Shen Pingjin sneered inwardly, but shook her head with a blank expression. "Aunt, what are you saying? That night, it was clearly Sister Ruixue who poisoned the plum and then put me in the Regent's bridal sedan chair. This matter is clearly not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it is Sister Ruixue."

Aunt He was taken aback, her brows furrowing slightly. So this girl knew about Shen Ruixue's scheme?

She suddenly became a little anxious. Could it be that Ruixue was too impatient and couldn't help but show off, accidentally revealing the matter?

Furthermore, Uncle Chen only went out to buy food, and he hasn't come back for several days. Could it be...?

One question after another made Aunt He's heart tremble. She stared intently at Shen Pingjin's expression and, seeing her bewildered look, couldn't help but probe, "Pingjin, who told you about this?"

Chen Pingjin blinked her watery eyes and said, word by word, "Auntie, it was my sister who told me. She said she was in love with His Highness the Crown Prince, and she had no choice but to do it..."

As she spoke, Shen Pingjin's expression became increasingly inscrutable, and she gestured for Du He's aunt to be quiet. "Aunt, don't tell anyone about this. The Emperor said that this matter is over and that my sister is now the Crown Princess. He told me not to hold it against her."

Aunt He was shocked. She gripped Shen Pingjin's shoulders tightly, wrinkling the newly made royal clothes. "You're saying the Emperor already knows about this?! Are you telling me the truth?"

Shen Pingjin's brows furrowed as she was pinched, tears welling in her eyes. "Auntie, when has Pingjin ever lied to you? Pingjin has always told the truth!"

Aunt He was completely flustered. If the Emperor found out about this, wouldn't that mean...?

Aunt He suddenly understood why His Highness the Crown Prince had been so unfriendly to her.

But why did he answer when Ruixue called him?

Aunt He was both puzzled and terrified. She knew that Shen Pingjin and Su Xuanmao were in love, but now...

Aunt He watched Shen Ruixue and Su Xuanmao's retreating figures with admiration in her eyes.

As expected of her daughter, her methods for capturing a man's heart are quite sophisticated.

Aunt He looked at Shen Pingjin, her gaze revealing undisguised ruthlessness. "Pingjin, do you know how this was discovered?"

Shen Pingjin blinked and said without hesitation, "It was Uncle Chen who said it. Uncle Chen said that you treated him harshly in the mansion, and he said he didn't want to hide this from you anymore because his conscience was bothering him. So he specially asked Ye Ting to take him to the palace and report this to the Emperor."

Aunt He only felt a whimpering sound in her ear.

She felt as if the whole world had fallen silent, with only those five words spoken by Uncle Chen echoing in her ears.

She grabbed Shen Pingjin's sleeve again, almost in disbelief, her pupils wide. "You mean, it was Uncle Chen who told everyone about this?"

Shen Pingjin felt a little pain from being gripped, and nodded with a fearful look in her eyes.

No one noticed the well-hidden coldness beneath her eyes.

Aunt He knew that Shen Pingjin had always trusted her and would never lie to her. Hearing this affirmative tone, her burning heart felt as if it had been doused with a bucket of cold water, turning it ice-cold.

She never imagined that Uncle Chen would betray her.

She had even used her own savings to send people to search for Uncle Chen these past few days, but she never expected him to...

Aunt He smirked coldly. "Hmph, she'd better not let her people find him!"

Shen Pingjin observed Aunt He's expression and reaction. She never expected that it would be so easy to sow discord between the two of them.

Knowing what she wanted to know, Aunt He bent down and smiled at Chen Pingjin, "Thank you for telling me all this, Pingjin. Do you resent the Emperor's advice to you?"

Although Aunt He was smiling, her smile seemed to be poisoned. As long as Shen Pingjin's words did not satisfy Aunt He, the poison seemed to spread freely into Shen Pingjin's heart.

Shen Pingjin was stunned for a moment, then shook her head. "Aunt, Pingjin doesn't hate him. The Regent has been very good to me."