Fu Zhen suddenly stood up, startling those around her.
Cui Huan also saw the man. She quickly got up and stepped in front of Fu Zhen, looking at him warily. She shouted, "Who are you!"
The man let out a "heh heh" laugh. He grabbed a handful of his long, grayish-white, dry and straw-like hair that was covering his face and walked closer with a smirk. "What? It's only been half a year, and you don't recognize the father who raised you with great hardship since childhood?"
Cui Huan was stunned and suddenly lost her voice.
Fu Zhen stared intently at him, and gradually a hint of hatred welled up in her eyes.
Since her mother's death, every time she saw this ungrateful scumbag, she couldn't help but hate him.
She hated him for deceiving her mother and then abandoning her. She hated him for giving birth to her but never showing any love for even a single day!
"How did you find me?" Fu Zhen pushed aside Cui Huan in front of her and stared at him firmly.
Fu Mingde sat down swaggeringly. "Hey, bring me a bowl of wontons too! No, bring three bowls!"
Fu Zhen suddenly threw the teacup in front of him onto the ground. "I'm asking you how you found me!"
When the people from the Marquis Mansion came to pick her up, he wasn't even at home. Cui Huan and the others didn't reveal any other information either. They only said that it was a wealthy relative from her mother's side who took pity on her and wanted to take her away.
Even if Fu Mingde guessed that it was the Marquis Mansion that took her away, how did he know exactly where she was tonight?
Judging from the way he walked straight over just now, he must have known her whereabouts clearly!
"Hey!" Fu Mingde stood up, pointed at Fu Zhen and scolded, "You ungrateful girl! What? Now that you've become rich and noble, you've grown bold too? How dare you talk to your father like this! I'm telling you, even if you become successful, you still have to serve your father well!"
The old woman making wontons was scared when she saw the conflict between them. She quickly hid in a corner and didn't dare to come out.
Fu Zhen took a deep breath. She asked Cui Huan to put some money on the table and gave Bi Yu a look. Then she coldly looked at Fu Mingde. "You may have no shame, but I do. I'm too lazy to entangle with you."
Saying that, she quickly walked towards the forest.
How could Fu Mingde let the duck that was almost in his hands fly away? He immediately limped after her and quickly grabbed Fu Zhen's sleeve. "You unfilial thing! Your father has come to find you, and you want to run away without even having a good talk with your father? I'd like to see where you can run!"
Fu Zhen struggled a few times. Cui Huan helped her shake off Fu Mingde's hand, but he was very strong. Even though he was limping, he still held onto Fu Zhen tightly.
While the three of them were tugging, they walked into the dark forest. There was no one else in sight. Only the bright moonlight shone through the gaps in the trees onto the ground.
When there was no one around, Fu Zhen stopped. Seeing that he still held tightly to her cuff, she lifted her foot and kicked him hard.
Fu Mingde wasn't prepared and was really kicked to the ground.
"You, you unfilial thing! Ouch!" Fu Mingde covered his stomach and lay on the ground. He didn't get up. Instead, he lay there, pointing at Fu Zhen with his finger and scolding non-stop, "Do you think that just because you've become a noble lady now, I can't deal with you? I'm telling you, it's impossible! You'll never be able to get rid of me in this lifetime!"
Fu Zhen sneered. "There's no one around. Even if I kill you right now, who would know?"
Saying that, she suddenly pulled out the gold hairpin from her hair and pressed it against his throat. "Just like this. If I stab it in, do you think you'll still be alive?"
Fu Mingde didn't expect her to be so bold. For a moment, he was also frightened by the cruelty in her words. He couldn't help but soften his voice. "You... Let's talk things over nicely, Zhenzhen. I'm your father, your real father, your only relative in this world!"
"Spit!" Fu Zhen's eyes instantly turned red. "What kind of relative are you! You're a heartless and ungrateful thing. I wish I could cut you into pieces with a knife and feed you to the dogs! Even if you die, I'll only laugh at your grave. I won't shed even a single tear for you!"
Fu Mingde gasped for breath and didn't dare to look her in the eye. He naturally knew what kind of life she had lived in his hands, but he didn't care at all. Even now, all he cared about was himself.
"I know you don't want me to bother you. Actually, if you want me to leave, it's okay," Fu Mingde put on an obsequious look and held up a finger. "As long as you give me a thousand taels of silver, just a thousand taels. I'll leave right away and never bother you again. What do you think?"
Fu Zhen looked at him coldly. It was so quiet around them that it was terrifying. It seemed that only their breathing could be heard. After a while, she suddenly laughed. "Father, do you still remember the first thing you taught me when I was young?"
Fu Mingde was stunned. His mind had long been ruined by drinking, whoring and gambling. How could he still remember his relatives, let alone such a small thing. He smiled awkwardly. "Is this really important?"
"Of course," Fu Zhen stood up and looked down at him. "The first lesson you taught me was never to believe the words of a gambler, even if he is your father!"
"You want a thousand taels? You don't deserve it!"
Fu Mingde's face suddenly turned red. Fu Zhen had put away the hairpin just now. Without any restraint, he immediately got up from the ground and pounced on Fu Zhen. His face was twisted as he shouted angrily, "You bitch! How dare you play with me!"
"Miss, be careful!" Cui Huan suddenly pounced over and pulled Fu Zhen away. But she herself was knocked to the ground hard.
Fu Zhen staggered a few steps. Seeing that Fu Mingde got up again and pounced towards her, a hint of cruelty flashed in her eyes.
"You ungrateful girl! You won't accept an offer of toast but insist on a forfeit. Let me see how I'll deal with you!" Fu Mingde's face was twisted as he quickly moved towards her. Fu Zhen's eyes turned cold. Just as she was about to make a move, out of the corner of her eye, she seemed to see a light gradually approaching outside the forest.
Her expression changed. But Fu Mingde was already in front of her. She saw him raise his hand high. His eyes were full of hatred. It seemed that the person in front of him wasn't his daughter but his sworn enemy!
Seeing that Fu Zhen didn't dodge or avoid him and seemed to be scared silly, he slowly grinned. It seemed that he had the victory in hand. Who would have thought that the next second, a shrill scream suddenly came out of his mouth!
Someone quickly leaped over from that side. The second after Fu Mingde let out a miserable scream, he was kicked hard and flew out. He hit a thick tree trunk and fell to the ground unconscious.
Fu Zhen's face was as white as a sheet. All this happened so fast that this sudden change almost made her unable to stand. She staggered a few steps and then collapsed to the ground.
The person beside her quickly grabbed her when he saw this. Frowning tightly, he asked anxiously, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
It was Xie Yan.
But she didn't answer. She only slowly lowered her head and looked at the blood-stained gold hairpin in her hand.
The blood beads slowly dripped down from the sharp end of the hairpin and disappeared when they hit the hard ground.
Seeing her distraught look, Xie Yan was very anxious. His usually amorous peach blossom eyes now only reflected her disheveled figure.
He reached out his hand and carefully held her right hand that was stained with blood. He softly coaxed her, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Come on, let go."
Suddenly, tears welled up in Fu Zhen's eyes. Her hand loosened, and the gold hairpin fell into Xie Yan's palm.
"Don't, don't cry," Xie Yan's usual glib tongue had all disappeared at this moment. He just casually stuffed the gold hairpin into his pocket and clumsily coaxed her. "It's okay, it's okay. That man has been driven away by me."
"I..." After a while, Fu Zhen said hoarsely, "I didn't mean to hurt him, but, but I hate him!"
"I hate him!"
Suddenly, she raised her eyes. Her eyes were as red as a rabbit's. There was grievance, fear and a hint of eagerness in them.
She was eager to seek someone else's recognition, to recognize that she had done nothing wrong, even if the person who was stabbed was her blood relative, her own father.
"Yes, I know, I understand," Xie Yan squatted in front of her. He reached out his hand and gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eye. There was a rare hint of tenderness on his face. "You didn't do anything wrong. You did the right thing."
"He is hypocritical and unkind. He doesn't deserve to be a father." He said softly. His eyes were always on her, who was downcast but still as beautiful as jade. "You are very brave and don't need to feel guilty about this."
"After all, in this world, not everyone is qualified to be a father."