In the evening, the carriage of Princess Jingning stopped at the gate. Hong Shen helped Lady Xin out of the carriage first.
Standing in front of the magnificent princess mansion, Lady Xin seemed at a loss. In the carriage just now, she had learned about the relationship between Princess Jingning and the Xie family. It turned out that Princess Jingning was the third daughter - in - law of her aunt who had married far away.
Lady Xin had heard of Princess Jingning. She was originally the only daughter of General Zhenyuan. Later, General Zhenyuan used his military merits to get the title of princess for his daughter.
Thinking that she was about to return home and see her mother, Lady Xin's eyes welled up with tears, and she even felt a bit scared. "Miss Hong Shen, has the princess told my aunt? Will my mother know soon?"
Princess Jingning also got out of the carriage. She stood beside Lady Xin and said softly, "It's great to be able to go home. Let's go in first."
Princess Jingning directly led Lady Xin to the front courtyard.
At this moment in the front courtyard, Shen Yunfeng, full of anger, kicked a stool hard, scaring Bai Xinrou to step back repeatedly.
"The poison I gave you was for half a month. Who told you to double the dose on He Qing!"
Out of trust, Shen Yunfeng had entrusted everything to Bai Xinrou, but he didn't expect her to tamper with it.
Shen Yunfeng had schemed so much for a good reputation and his son Shen Heqing.
Princess Jingning was calm and intelligent, with the General's Mansion and the palace as her backers. If Shen Yunfeng proposed a divorce, she wouldn't object. But Shen Yunfeng couldn't bear to give up Shen Heqing, a promising son.
Now that Bai Xinrou had given Shen Heqing a heavy dose of poison, Shen Yunfeng regretted it so much that he wished he could turn back time. If he had known Bai Xinrou would act like this, he would rather have done it himself.
While Shen Yunfeng was thinking about his plan, Bai Xinrou was pinching her handkerchief, her eyes filled with tears, looking weak and pitiful. "My dear Shen, I just misheard... I didn't do it on purpose. He Qing is your favorite child. I love him because I love you. How could I harm him!"
Since things had come to this, Shen Yunfeng didn't want to argue with Bai Xinrou. He was thinking about when he could find an opportunity to say that Shen Heqing was poisoned so that the Imperial Hospital could prescribe the right medicine.
Suddenly, the voice of the butler came from outside the door. "Princess, why have you come? The princess consort is reading inside..."
Shen Yunfeng and Bai Xinrou were both shocked at the same time. Listening to the approaching footsteps outside the door, their hearts were in their throats.
The moment Princess Jingning opened the door, Shen Yunfeng quickly pushed Bai Xinrou behind the screen in the study.
"Shen Yunfeng, are you even a father?" Princess Jingning didn't give Shen Yunfeng a chance to think and asked as soon as she entered the door.
Shen Yunfeng was feeling guilty because Bai Xinrou was in the room. He accused first like a villain. "Why does the princess say so? I've taken care of all of He Qing's affairs in the school. Is there any father more qualified than me in the world?"
Princess Jingning sneered. "A father? Do you mean bringing your mistress into the princess mansion and allowing her to give Baozhu the 'Poison of the Wistful Fool'?"
"If I hadn't kindly wanted to help her find her relatives, I'm afraid I would really have been deceived by you."
When Shen Yunfeng heard the words "Poison of the Wistful Fool", he almost lost control of himself. He wished he could just drag Bai Xinrou out and scold her.
Having a fool in the family was no good for either him or Shen Heqing.
But in front of Princess Jingning, Shen Yunfeng still had to cover for Bai Xinrou a bit. He pretended to be puzzled. "What mistress? What 'Poison of the Wistful Fool'? If I want to take a concubine, I can just bring her into the mansion."
"Xin'er is my cousin. There are official travel passes and household registrations to prove it."
This made Princess Jingning scoff. "It's true that there are travel passes and household registrations, but you shouldn't have deceived me just because the Xie family is far away in the south."
"Shen Yunfeng, is Xie Xin'er really your distant cousin or the third young lady of the Xie family, the daughter of your uncle?"
Shen Yunfeng's face turned pale, and he unconsciously pinched his palm.
He didn't expect Princess Jingning to be so fast. In just six days, she had found out Xie Xin'er's real identity and even her ranking in the family.
But Shen Yunfeng wouldn't admit it easily. In an instant, he made up another lie. "The princess doesn't know. It's a long story."
"Xin'er is indeed the daughter of my younger uncle. But she was ignorant when she was young and eloped with someone. Later, she found that the man was heartless. She was too ashamed to go home, so she came to the Shen family."
"Mother wanted to send her back, but she threatened to kill herself..."
In just a few words, he shifted all the blame to Xie Xin'er.
Princess Jingning had a strange look on her face. She just stared at Shen Yunfeng as he made up lies.
After Shen Yunfeng finished speaking, Princess Jingning smiled faintly. "Really? Hong Shen, bring Miss Xie in."
Just now, Hong Shen had led Lady Xin to hide on the side, deliberately avoiding Shen Yunfeng's sight. All the conversations in the study had fallen into Lady Xin's ears.
Knowing that someone had stolen her identity, Lady Xin bit her lower lip and rushed directly into the study. She cried out, "Cousin, I'm Xin'er. Someone has stolen my identity!"
"I've known I was wrong for a long time and wanted to go home. But I was short of money. I wanted to come to the capital to find my aunt, but I didn't have a household registration or a travel pass.
"I also tried to report it to the government, but no one believed that I was the third young lady of the Xie family. I could only make a living by selling tea outside the city.
"At first, I was still wondering why the government officials said I was talking nonsense after I revealed my identity. Now I understand. It turns out that someone has stolen my identity and lived a life of luxury in the capital."
Normally, the government should have found Lady Xin's relatives and sent her back. But there was already a "Xie Xin'er" in the capital, and this "Xie Xin'er" lived in the princess mansion and was recognized by the Shen family. So the government officials ignored Xie Xin'er and just thought she was talking nonsense.
Lady Xin tightly grabbed Shen Yunfeng's sleeve, her eyes full of hatred.
She always thought her misfortune was because of her own ignorance when she was young. Now that she suddenly knew the truth, she couldn't control her anger.
From these words, Shen Yunfeng also recognized Lady Xin. He blurted out, "You're still alive?"
These words hit Lady Xin's sore spot. She was no longer the pitiful girl she used to be. Instead, she fiercely grabbed Shen Yunfeng. "What did you say? I knew it. I knew you all wished I was dead, afraid that I would ruin the reputation of the Xie family..."
Lady Xin's slightly crazy appearance scared Shen Yunfeng. He kept backing away until he hit the screen.
The screen was knocked down, and Bai Xinrou's figure was exposed. She appeared in everyone's sight.
Hong Shen's voice rang out just in time. "Miss Cousin, why are you here?"
"Hong Shen, she's not Miss Cousin. She's a villain who has stolen Miss Xie's identity." Princess Jingning gently patted Hong Shen and kindly reminded her.
Knowing that the delicate and charming woman in front of her was the one who had stolen her identity, Lady Xin squinted her eyes slightly.
Seeing Shen Yunfeng being bullied, Bai Xinrou immediately stepped forward to pull Lady Xin.
Her slender and fair fingers were in sharp contrast to Lady Xin's chapped and thick fingers.
Lady Xin said sarcastically, "What a pair of adulterers! They're having a tryst here. Good, very good!"
"But why did you use my identity? Why!"
Princess Jingning led Hong Shen out of the study and thoughtfully closed the door.
The butler heard Shen Yunfeng's shrill cries and wanted to go in, but was stopped by Hong Shen. "Butler, the princess consort is catching up with Miss Cousin. Let's go in later."