Fu Zhen's wing-room was in a small courtyard surrounded by a low wall. Since there were female relatives there, the courtyard gate was closed. Outside, a small stone-paved path wound its way towards the Taoist temple.
The sound came from the courtyard gate.
Fu Zhen exchanged glances with her maids. Her heart skipped a beat. She stood up and was about to go out to take a look.
The Taoist temple was a frequent destination for the Marquis of Wuan's Mansion, so it was naturally a safe place. Therefore, Fu Zhen didn't bring any male servants. The courtyard was extremely quiet. Only she and two maids were there.
Seeing that she wanted to go out, Cui Huan quickly stopped her. "Miss, we don't know what's out there yet. Let this servant go and check first."
With that, she quickly walked towards the door and slightly opened a crack to peek outside.
She saw a figure lying on the ground. It seemed that the person had fallen hard and was a bit dazed. After struggling on the ground for a while, the figure slowly got up.
Seeing this, Cui Huan shook her head towards the room and whispered, "It's not a bad person. It's a woman."
"A woman?" Fu Zhen was puzzled.
She stood up and walked towards the door. "The noise just now must have been made when she climbed over the wall and fell to the ground. A woman climbing over the wall into this mountain forest must have encountered some difficulties. We might as well meet her."
Cui Huan opened the door. The mistress and her two maids walked out of the room. Just then, they saw the woman staggering towards the wing-room with a panicked look on her face. She seemed to be hesitating whether to come in.
At the sight of them, she was so scared that she stepped back. She was like a cat that had been abused by humans and was wary of everyone.
She kept her head down, but her eyes constantly glanced at them from the corner, as if assessing whether they were harmless.
Fu Zhen didn't consider herself a soft-hearted person. But seeing the woman's panicked look, which somewhat reminded her of the time when she was all alone, she felt a bit of pity.
She slowly approached and comforted her gently, "Don't be afraid. There are only the few of us here. Have you encountered any difficulties, madam? Why not come into the house with me, have a cup of tea and talk. If there's anything I can do to help, I will surely offer my hand."
The woman hung her head, and her right hand unconsciously rubbed her left wrist. Fu Zhen took a closer look and saw that the wrist was bruised and there were several broken skin areas oozing blood. She immediately knew that it was caused by being tied up.
She was shocked and thought that this woman might have escaped from somewhere. Her hair was in a mess and she was injured, but judging from her clothes, she didn't seem to be from an ordinary family. Could she be a maid of some family?
It was a serious crime for a slave to escape. If it was known that she had sheltered a runaway slave, she herself would be in danger.
But the words had already been spoken. Moreover, the woman looked so pitiful. It was not certain whether she was a runaway slave or not. She couldn't bear to leave her alone. Seeing that the woman was still hesitating, she took a few steps forward and said, "I'm the cousin of the Marquis of Wuan's Mansion. I'm not a bad person. I can see that you seem to be avoiding someone. Why not come to my wing-room first? With the Marquis's Mansion here, those people won't dare to come near."
The woman was stunned and slowly raised her head.
In order not to be recognized when she was running away, she smeared some mud on her face. But although her appearance was dirty, her good looks couldn't be hidden. When she raised her head, her bright eyes immediately caught people's attention.
After seeing her face clearly, Fu Zhen suddenly stood still on the spot. It was as if a thunderbolt had struck her hard in the head, making her eyes sparkle and her head dizzy.
This woman... this woman was clearly the one Chen Tingfeng had brought back to the mansion in her dream!
"You..." Before she could say anything, she heard some noises on the path outside the courtyard, mixed with a few whispers. It was Lady Bai and her entourage.
Hearing this, the woman immediately covered her face with her sleeve. She quickly looked around. Seeing that there was a small door in the courtyard leading to the mountain forest, regardless of her injured foot, she staggered towards the small door. She quickly unlocked it, pushed it open, and disappeared into the dense forest in a few steps.
Bi Yu glanced at Fu Zhen. Seeing that her face was pale and her expression was gloomy, she guessed that Fu Zhen might know the woman. And seeing that the woman ran away at the sight of people, she knew that she might not be willing to be seen. So she winked at Cui Huan and asked her to support Fu Zhen back into the house. She gritted her teeth and quickly ran to close and lock the back door. After looking around the courtyard and seeing that there was nothing unusual, she opened the courtyard gate to welcome Lady Bai.
Lady Bai and her entourage didn't walk very fast. Bi Yu opened the courtyard gate and waited for a while. When she saw that Lady Bai was about to reach the door, she greeted her with a smile.
Lady Bai had drawn a good fortune-telling stick and saw that her stepdaughter was practicing Taoism peacefully. She was in a great mood and the smile on her face never faded. Seeing Bi Yu at this moment, she asked with a smile, "Where's your miss?"
"Miss is resting in the wing-room. Just now this servant and Cui Huan were heating the tea. Miss also said that the scenery in the mountains is beautiful and she wanted to go out to enjoy it." Bi Yu led Lady Bai towards the wing-room while answering briskly. Her voice was also a bit louder than usual.
Inside the room, Fu Zhen calmed herself down. Hearing the sound, she walked to the door and said with a smile, "I was just talking about you, aunt. You came right away. It shows that we have a telepathic connection."
Lady Bai affectionately tapped her on the nose and sat down with her arm in arm. "Zhenzhen's mouth is getting sweeter."
Cui Huan served a cup of tea. Lady Bai picked it up and took a sip. Looking at Fu Zhen, she said, "It's your first time on this mountain, so you must find everything novel. But the mountain forest is lush and the bushes are thick. Even a strong adult man would be hard to find if he hides in it. If you want to enjoy the scenery, don't go too far. You'd better ask a few strong young servants to accompany you."
Fu Zhen was naturally very touched by this caring speech. "Yes, aunt. Zhenzhen remembers."
Then she couldn't help but think of the woman she had just met and hesitated for a moment.
She wanted to avoid the inevitable ending, so she naturally wanted to keep away from that woman. She even wished she hadn't met her.
But by chance, she had met her today, so she couldn't help but think more.
In her dream, she was too paranoid. When she drugged the woman, she didn't even bother to find out which family's young lady she was. She just wanted to harm her wholeheartedly, but she didn't expect that now she knew nothing and was completely confused.
Forget it.
She thought that she had wanted to help the woman when they met by chance today, so it could be regarded as a good deed. As long as the woman didn't provoke Chen Tingfeng, she probably wouldn't be so bored as to harm her in return.
Thinking like this, Fu Zhen felt more at ease and her expression became a bit more relaxed. Lady Bai thought that she really liked the scenery in the mountains and said, "Shao Chuan is free today. How about letting him accompany you to enjoy the scenery?"
Fu Zhen immediately shook her head to refuse. How could she enjoy the scenery with Chen Tingfeng around?
"Brother Shao Chuan is usually very busy with his studies. The quiet environment in the mountains is just suitable for him to relax. Zhenzhen doesn't want to disturb him. It's enough to have Cui Huan and the others accompany me."
Seeing this, Lady Bai agreed and just told her, "Don't go too far."
She sat for a while and chatted with Fu Zhen for a few words. Fu Zhen saw that her eyebrows looked a bit tired and asked with concern, "Are you tired, aunt?"
Lady Bai rubbed her forehead and said, "I'm a bit tired. I'll go to the next wing-room to rest for a while. If you have anything to do, just tell Nanny Li. She always knows what to do."
Fu Zhen supported her to stand up. "Zhenzhen understands. Take your time, aunt."
She saw Lady Bai off at the door. After seeing her go in, she turned around and motioned for Cui Huan to close the door. After sitting down, when the surroundings became quiet, she slowly let out a breath and completely relaxed.
She turned to look into Bi Yu's eyes and slowly smiled. "I said, Bi Yu is the smartest."