Chapter 4

By the time Shen Xinyi reached the top of the mountain the sun was long gone and the ink black darkness had started to spread naturally Shen Xinyi was way out of the time limit to submit her fire woods thus the incharge punished her to go without dinner .

This however didn't affect Shen Xinyi given she ate two bowls of pork shoulder and rice just a few hours ago without any complain Shen Xinyi retreated to her 'courtyard ' the courtyard however was only in name since it only had one room .

When Shen Xinyi entered her room nostalgia washed over her everything was as it was in her previous life a single shabby bed, to right facing the east was a worn down writing table and stool and a single measly brazier for winter use that Shen Xinyi secretly brought everything was same except one thing.

On the worn down table laid a purple pouch with golden thread lining for some unknown reason when Shen Xinyi saw this pouch she was remembered of the youth clad in purple robe sitting under the moss covered tree, one didn't know how that youth got his servant to sent this pouch but Shen Xinyi was clear of one thing even if in her past life she was caged in the prime minister mansion for half of her life and the remaining half was spent in the imperial palace and didn't got time to explore the outside world Shen Xinyi knew that the youth wasn't a simple character even if he tried to hide it that elegance and grandeur was hard to conceal. 

And sure enough when she opened the pouch instead of the usual silver taels or bank notes a handful of gold taels were seen, in the ancient China two of these golden taels were enough to get the family through the month easily.

In reality Shen Xinyi didn't helped him because she noticed that the youth was better off but because she saw the same resolute will to stay alive in his eyes that she too had in her past life when she was given the white silk linen but now that the youth had taken such measures to sent his goodwill Shen Xinyi wasn't going to complain putting the pouch filled with golden taels in her pharmacy space Shen Xinyi sat down on her bed and started recalling the activites of her previous life.

In her previous life nothing exceptional happened until she was called back to the capital

No! horrified Shen Xinyi stood up straight rushing to the writing table she pulled opened one if its drawers and there it laid a thick letter along with a single jade hairpin .

Shen Xinyi drew in gulps of cold air to calm her increasing heart beat taking out the letter She opened it at once to make sure whether or not it was the same letter and thankfully because of heavens blessings it was the exact same letter she wrote to her big brother Shen Qi that year.

In both her life Shen Qi was the only one who took care of her without any hidden intentions. Shen Qi was born in the family of scholars but Because of his straightforwardness and brute strength Shen Qi was much more inclined towards the military field. And with the help of Luo Yaxian( who cut off all the relationship with their mother but still was quite doting on his grandchildren )Shen Qi rose to the post of Vice General . 

In Ming Chu the reputation of scholars were better than military soldiers and generals but they were not better off in terms of economic conditions in contrast to it the military soldiers and generals didn't held great reputation but they were extremely well off in terms of money therefore in the Shen Mansion even though Shen Ping held an elegant and resolute reputation it was Shen Qi who took care of the family expenses given Shen Ping only had the monthly payment of a measly thousand silver taels.

This was all because the Emperor's most doted son the seventh prince Feng Tian Ming was a military General himself but these situations didn't remained for long.

Shen Xinyi eyes clouded and her hand clutched the letter harder it was as if the harder she held it the colder she will feel in her past life when she returned home the entire nation's was mourning the death of its heroic hero the seventh prince Feng Tian Ming.  However even now she didn't get to know the ins and outs of his death when she was married to Feng Tian Ye he was extremely secretive of his deals however as the Empress nothing could be hidden from her for long but the death of Feng Tian Ming was something that she never came closer to understand. 

But she knew that this matter was definitely related to her father and her husband of past life why? because while they showed their concern and grief in the court there were banquets after banquets inside the Shen Mansion walls ! and why will they wouldn't celebrate? Feng Tian Ming was the biggest road blocker and with him gone it didn't took long for Feng Tian Ye to spread his claws to the dragon throne after the death of Feng Tian Ming The Emperor was naturally weakened but he wasn't given  even a single day to rest when war broke out on the border and at that time the sixth prince Feng Tian Chen unwillingly rushed out with his younger brother's army to silence the enemy, The enemy was silenced but at the cost of the sixth prince life!

The corpse of sixth prince didn't even arrived in the capital when the news of the fifth and only princess Feng Tian Ge abduction and defilement arrived along with Feng Tian Ge committing suicide thus in such a way Feng Tian Ye 'gifted' The current Emperor  Feng Tian Han   the corpses of his three most doted children after the death of her three children the Empress hanged herself to death with her waist belt .

The love of The Emperor and Empress was known to the entire nation thus it didn't took long for the Emperor to fall sick and pass away and with this Feng Tian Ye was enthroned as the new Emperor and began his rampant!

The more Shen Xinyi thought the more she realized that everything was interrelated to her ! and her gaze hardened on the letter that year Shen Xinyi was still naive and full of willfulness in her mind she thought that she was sent here because she broke the vase but what she didn't realized that the trap was long laid ! 

Shen Qi was much tougher than her thus Shen Ping and Chen Chu Chu couldn't control him thus they long laid out a plan Shen Qi martial art was next to Feng Tian Ming thus if he remained alive Feng Tian Ye in no way could bring Feng Tian Chen to his death even after Feng Tian Ming passed away! 

And Shen Ping knew that if Shen Xinyi was Shen Qi biggest strength than she was even his biggest weakness thus he let nature take course and it did after a month of torture in Dong Lie nunnery Shen Xinyi wrote a letter full of grievances to her brother Shen Qi and when Shen Qi received her letter he at once sat to go back to capital but what she didn't realized at that time that this was all Shen Ping plan once Shen Qi returned home Shen Ping promised to bring Shen Xinyi back but he made Shen Qi to make an oath and that oath was to marry Chen Chu Chu's niece Chen Min Min and not to take any other concubine other than her nor could he divorce her. Shen Qi at once agreed and thus Shen Xinyi was brought back .

But this return wasn't joyous at all Shen Qi was brought to swallow a hard pill even though he married Chen Min Min but he didn't loved her thus without consummating the marriage he returned to the border but how could Chen Min Min take it lying down it didn't take long for her to fall in another man bed and not only did she did an illicit affair but she got herself caught too ! 

The once Formidable vice general Shen Qi became the joke of lunch time Because of his pride as a military General Shen Qi couldn't bring himself to break the oath abd couldn't divorce Chen Min Min thus in the end he drowned himself and died.

Shen Xinyi remembers that at the funeral of Shen Qi it was only her and her mother who cried no one else other than the third concubine and her daughter arrived at that time Shen Xinyi was so naive that she thought that her father was ashamed and didn't wanted to leave the mansion but who knew that Shen Ping was such a cold hearted bastard that he went ahead and sacrificed his only son for the third prince Feng Tian Ye! 

And Chen Min Min? how could such a chess piece that accomplished its mission be punished she was sent to the man house with whom she had the affair and lived her life in comfort and joy!

Rage surged through Shen Xinyi mind and she shredded the letter into pieces previously it was her who set things in motion and this time it will be her who will change the tides.  Tearing the letter into pieces she threw it in the flaming brazier taking out a paper and a brush Shen Xinyi sat to write.

If Shen Ping can use the oath to bind her older brother to Chen Min Min she too can use the oath to do the exact opposite.! 

Shen Ping just wait for this one your retribution is on the way!