Chapter 91 Perhaps it was fate that brought us together but we were never meant to be.

These are two complex yet contradictory emotions; how could they possibly coexist in her eyes at the same time?

Su Xuanmao asked himself honestly that he had never treated Shen Pingjin badly, so why would she... harbor resentment towards him?

But when Su Xuanmao thought of the lingering affection in her eyes, he knew that she was definitely reluctant to part with him.

"Chen Pingjin, I'll ask you one more time: do you still have me in your heart?"

The man's questions echoed in her ears again and again. The body's physiological reactions and memories of her past life intertwined and resisted each other.

Shen Pingjin stared coldly at Su Xuanmao, each word spoken solemnly, "I, Shen Pingjin, absolutely do not love you now. And of course, I never will!"

With red eyes, Shen Pingjin spoke these words, the pain in her heart growing stronger. She knew how much she loved Su Xuanmao in her past life, and that was why she hated him so much in this life.

She will not repeat the same mistake, she cannot repeat the same mistake!

The woman in front of him had bloodshot eyes, and he couldn't tell if she was about to cry or what. Su Xuanmao found it hard to believe that the girl had completely changed towards him ever since the day she was mistakenly married.

All the love she once had in her eyes had vanished, replaced by coldness and hatred.

Su Xuanmao didn't understand.

His left cheek was still throbbing. Seeing Chen Pingjin's condition, Su Xuanmao remained silent for a moment before letting go.

As soon as she let go, Chen Pingjin immediately stepped back.

Su Xuanmao looked at Chen Pingjin and said slowly, "Little Jin, I will not let go."

Upon hearing this, Shen Pingjin gave a mocking smile: "Your Highness, don't forget that I am now the Regent's Consort."

Su Xuanmao's gaze was firm: "So what if she is the Regent's wife? I am the future emperor. If I ascend the throne in the future, the first person I will kill will be Yan Jue."

His gaze grew increasingly somber. "At that time, you will no longer be the Regent's Consort, but Consort Jin."

Shen Pingjin had not expected that Su Xuanmao had already imagined things to this extent.

Her tone was sarcastic: "Your Highness, don't forget that the current emperor is in good health, and Dongyue is now open and prosperous. Although you are the crown prince now, you may not always be the crown prince."

"So what? I'll meet force with force and water with water. If anyone tries to dethrone me, I'm not a useless piece of trash like Yan Jue. Just you wait and see!"

Shen Pingjin smiled slightly: "Then I'll see what you look like when you fall to the mortal world."

Su Xuanmao was taken aback, but smiled slightly and said, "Xiao Jin, don't worry, that day will never come."

Little did he know that his palms were already clenched into fists.

He had already given others leverage by uttering those treasonous words, but he felt that since the person who heard them was Shen Pingjin, it wouldn't be harmful to him in any way.

Shen Pingjin said respectfully, "Since Your Highness is so confident, then I will just observe from the sidelines."

She won't let Su Xuanmao get away with it.

The phrase "watching coldly from the sidelines" was so jarring that it made Su Xuanmao feel uncomfortable.

But now he understands that if he wants to snatch Shen Pingjin away from Yan Jue, he has to do it slowly, step by step.

Su Xuanmao looked at Shen Pingjin and finally took a step back. His left cheek was burning with pain. He smiled sneer. This woman is really ruthless.

Seeing the coldness in his eyes, Shen Pingjin knew he had suddenly become resentful about slapping her. She immediately smiled and spoke respectfully.

“Your Highness, I am now your imperial aunt. Your actions of touching and disrespecting your imperial aunt are indecent. Your imperial aunt had no choice but to punish you. I hope Your Highness will forgive me.”

A slap is a small matter; he is the crown prince, and he can tolerate such trivial things.

"What are you saying, Your Majesty? How could I possibly be angry with you?"

Chen Pingjin feigned ease: "Then Auntie can rest assured."

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two had eased, Aunt Yuyan hurriedly stepped forward and said, "You two both hit six points, so I should take you to see the clothes."

As if remembering something, Aunt Yuyan said again, "Regent Princess, His Highness the Crown Prince, Young Master Lu and his wife, would you like to come and choose together?"

Shen Pingjin was more than happy to agree. She nodded and said, "That's perfect. I'll go out and bring Jiajia in."

Su Xuanmao snorted coldly: "If she didn't hit six, she didn't need to come in. Even if she did, she would only make a fool of herself."

Shen Ruixue, who had just been led inside by the embroiderer, paused upon hearing this, her movement of stepping over the threshold halted.

She raised her head, her bright, dark eyes dimming upon hearing these words, and met the gaze of Su Xuanmao, who was speaking casually and frivolously not far away.

Su Xuanmao was surprised to find Shen Ruixue standing at the door. He frowned, pretending not to know what he had said, and walked calmly toward Shen Ruixue.

Shen Ruixue curtsied slightly and said, "Brother Su."

No one knew that after hearing those words, she had already clenched her fingers into fists, her palms almost bleeding from the effort.

Su Xuanmao frowned: "You made six?"

Shen Ruixue suppressed her disdain and spoke softly and gently, "Brother Su, my luck is very strange. On the third try, I hit six."

"That's fine then. Come with me and pick out some clothes. I'll buy you that Water Peach Blossom dress."

"Okay," Shen Ruixue replied.

Shen Pingjin also came out of the door and saw Lu Qingjia standing alone outside. She felt a little sorry for her: "Jiajia, have you been waiting long? Come in with your sister."

Lu Qingjia was sitting alone on the ground, lost in thought, when he looked up and saw the beautiful older sister.

He was startled: "Pretty sister, why did you come out? Jiajia didn't make the six, so she can't go in."

"You're so honest!" Shen Pingjin explained, "Aunt Yuyan thinks we're a couple, so she specifically asked me to come out and bring you in with her."

Lu Qingjia suddenly realized, muttering to herself, "Aunt Yuyan is truly a beautiful and kind person!"

Shen Pingjin wanted to laugh when she heard this. This Jiajia really is a sucker for good looks!

After Shen Pingjin led Lu Qingjia inside, they followed the embroiderer to the clothing room that Aunt Yuyan had mentioned.

Upon entering, the first thing Shen Pingjin saw was the pink dress hanging in front of Su Xuanmao and Shen Ruixue.

Shen Pingjin was taken aback. She recognized this dress.

In her past life, Su Xuanmao gave her this dress, saying that when she wore it, she would look like a celestial being descended to earth, pure and ethereal.

She loved the dress so much that she wore it to the most important annual spring banquet, where she hosted the event as the Crown Princess.

Unexpectedly...

Shen Pingjin shook her head repeatedly, never expecting that this garment would come from Yujingfang.

But perhaps this garment is destined to be unattainable for her in this lifetime.

That's fine, that's fine too.