Jade had always been a glutton. When Green Ring offered her some pastries to coax her out to play, she didn't mind at all. She took the pastries and went out the door, even wrapping two in a handkerchief and holding them in her hand to eat slowly.
Who would have thought that just as she left the courtyard gate and turned a corner, she "bumped" right into someone's arms.
The pastry in her mouth almost fell to the ground. She looked up angrily, only to see that annoying fellow, Yuanbao, again. Immediately, her eyebrows shot up. "What are you doing here!"
Yuanbao had been smiling cheerfully at first, but when he saw the pastries in her hand clearly, his expression suddenly changed. He quickly pulled her to a corner and asked, "Jade, did your young lady give you these pastries?"
Jade was on guard. "What do you want?"
Yuanbao's question really seemed like he was fishing for information. Although Jade was lively, she wasn't stupid. Naturally, she knew not to answer him casually.
Although Yuanbao didn't get an answer from her, how could he not guess?
The second young lady simply hadn't eaten the pastries the young master had given her.
Thinking of the gloomy look on the young master's face when he came out of the prison early in the morning, he couldn't help but pull a long face.
"Silly girl, if you want to eat, eat quickly. Don't let the young master find out."
Jade was shocked. "You..."
But Yuanbao sighed, waved his hand, and walked away.
At Baiqu Courtyard.
Hearing Yuanbao's reply, Chen Tingfeng paused in his tea - making. He lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Then send them again tomorrow."
Send them until she eats.
Yuanbao: "..."
His handsome face almost contorted into a big bitter melon.
Young master, this isn't how you show your kindness!
Thinking this in his heart, Yuanbao hesitated and asked, "Well, what if the second young lady never eats them?"
"There will always be a time when she wants to," he said, pouring the boiling tea into his teacup. A delicate fragrance of Longjing tea filled the study.
A few drops of tea splashed on his slender hand. Looking at the red mark, he suddenly thought of Fu Zhen's red - rimmed eyes from crying last night.
She was really like a rabbit, timid and prone to crying.
Then, inevitably, he thought of someone he had thrown to the dilapidated temple on the outskirts. His face couldn't help but turn gloomy.
When Fu Zhen first returned to the mansion, he had sent people to investigate her and naturally found Fu Mingde to inquire.
Fu Mingde was a money - grubber. Once he was paid, he would say anything.
It was also from his mouth that Chen Tingfeng learned that Fu Zhen had an affair with the hunting family next door.
Chen Tingfeng closed his eyes. If it weren't for Fu Mingde's words, which made him believe that Fu Zhen was two - faced, how would he have sneered at her when she first returned to the mansion, leading to such a difficult situation now!
The expression on Xie Yan's face last night involuntarily appeared in his mind. Having accompanied him for so many years, how could he not know what that expression meant?
He was determined to have Fu Zhen.
It was as if a pile of firewood had suddenly been set up in his chest, and a pot of hot oil was poured on it. The raging fire burned so fiercely that it seemed to hurt his heart, liver, spleen, and lungs.
Yuanbao carefully glanced at his ugly face and lowered his head, pretending to be invisible, still in shock.
Last night in the dungeon, Fu Mingde couldn't withstand the scare. After being whipped a few times, he confessed everything.
He said that he was instructed by a woman to find Fu Zhen and pester her.
Chen Tingfeng immediately sent Qian Tong to investigate. Then, for some reason, he suddenly asked about what had happened back then.
"Fu Zhen had an affair with the hunter?" He walked up to Fu Mingde, grabbed his hair, and forced him to look up. "Then why did he get married just one month after she left?"
A look of panic flashed across Fu Mingde's eyes. Someone had paid him to ask about Fu Zhen that day. He thought it was Fu Zhen's enemy, so he naturally made up the worst - case scenario. Who cared if it was true? Now that the truth was out, he realized that a great disaster was approaching.
"I, I didn't say anything wrong. She went to the hunter's house every day. What else could it be but to have an affair?" He stubbornly insisted. He couldn't admit it. Once he did, the other party would know he was lying, and he wouldn't have a way out!
Seeing that he still wouldn't tell the truth, Chen Tingfeng gave him a cold look, let go of his hand, took a few steps back, and waved his hand. The jailer's whip, dipped in salt water, lashed across his body, leaving a deep mark.
"Ah!" Fu Mingde let out a shrill scream. The jailer was extremely fast. In an instant, there were two more whips, making him tremble all over. The pain distorted his face. His stubbornness was long gone. He opened his mouth to beg for mercy. "Don't hit me anymore, don't hit me anymore! I'll confess, I'll confess everything!"
Chen Tingfeng raised his hand, and the jailer stopped and stood aside.
Fu Mingde gasped for breath, with tears and snot streaming down his face. "She went to the hunter's house just to learn embroidery skills. The hunter's mother was an old embroiderer with excellent skills. I never cared about her life or death before. Maybe she couldn't survive, so she went to that family for help."
"I, I originally saw that she was close to the hunter's family. And although the hunter's family didn't have a head, they were quite well - off. So I had an idea. I wanted to pester them and get Fu Zhen into their family," he swallowed hard. Seeing Chen Tingfeng's gloomy face, he was a little scared but didn't dare not to say. "But that girl was really stubborn. I only went to their house and made a scene once, and she dared to fight me with scissors. She was young and not as strong as me at that time. Seeing that she couldn't stop me, she turned the scissors and put them on her own neck, saying that if I had this idea again, she would kill herself..."
"At that time, all the villagers were there. I, although I'm not a decent person, still have some sense of shame. How could I dare to force my own daughter to death..." His voice got smaller and smaller. Under Chen Tingfeng's cold gaze, he didn't dare to say anymore.
Chen Tingfeng's chest heaved violently twice. What he had heard back then wasn't like this!
He had prided himself on being smart, but he had been fooled by such a stupid thing!
He sat still in the chair, constantly recalling his several interactions with Fu Zhen after she returned to the mansion. The more he thought, the more he hated Fu Mingde.
If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have targeted such a weak girl, resulting in a very bad relationship between the two of them. He wouldn't have been so passive when he found out about her and Xie Yan!
Now, neither of them could be persuaded. It was as if they were determined to oppose him. Seeing that the situation was about to get out of his control, how could he not be angry?
He sat there motionless in the chair until the moon sank in the west and the first rays of dawn appeared. Only then did he move his somewhat stiff hand.
After leaving the dungeon, he was so upset that he walked right up to the door of Zhuqing Courtyard. He wanted to push the door open several times but stopped his hand.
Don't be fooled by Fu Zhen's polite appearance. In fact, she was extremely distant and cold towards him in her heart. Thinking of the words he had said before, he rarely felt a bit of guilt.
It was his fault that he had rashly misunderstood her without investigating clearly.
Forget it.
From now on, he would just treat her as his younger sister and be nicer to her.
However, he would never agree to her being with Xie Yan!