The cold - glinting swords and daggers were instantly pointed at her eyes. Fu Zhen couldn't help but close her eyes and struggled to tilt her head back.
The young man grinned hideously and raised his dagger. Just as the tip of the dagger was about to slash across her face, suddenly, an arrow came flying through the air with tremendous force. In the blink of an eye, the arrow pierced through the man's shoulder blade and pinned him firmly to the tree behind!
Fu Zhen only felt a strong gust of wind approaching. Her arm was yanked hard by someone, and she stumbled into someone's embrace. The next second, her waist was tightly clasped.
She heard a pounding heartbeat in her ear. Her eyelashes trembled. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Chen Tingfeng's tense jaw.
Seeing that things were going badly, the middle - aged man gritted his teeth and took out a dagger from his sleeve, then rushed towards them.
Chen Tingfeng stepped back, but his hand still tightly held her waist. He simply hugged her and kicked the man flying!
The moment the man flew out, he opened his right hand and quickly sprinkled a bottle of powder at them. Chen Tingfeng immediately covered her nose and mouth and flew back. He immediately lowered his head to look at her, his eyes filled with an unprecedented anxiety: "Zhenzhen!"
Fu Zhen only felt the world spinning. Her vision instantly blurred. She opened her mouth to say something, but only murmured a sound, and then the world plunged into darkness again.
Chen Tingfeng tightened his grip on her. He reached out to feel her pulse. Seeing that she had just fainted, he felt relieved. He took out a jade bottle from his sleeve, poured out a black pill, gently pried open her mouth, and put it in.
Seeing that she was in a deep coma and didn't even have the strength to swallow, his hand on her face paused. The next second, he tilted her head back and pinched her throat. The pill that was already in her throat instantly rolled down.
There was still a warm feeling on his hand. Chen Tingfeng looked down at her. It seemed like a long time had passed, but also like just an instant. He let out a soft sigh and bent down to pick her up.
The two bandits had already slipped away.
But Chen Tingfeng didn't feel sorry about it. It was already too late for them to run. A bunch of rabble - rousers were not far from their death.
He looked up. The sky was overcast. It was about to rain.
Fu Zhen was still in a coma. Even if they got down the mountain, they couldn't find a carriage to take her back. Moreover, she was in poor health. She had been frightened today. Thinking of the previous times when she had fever due to being frightened, how could he rest assured to leave her behind?
Chen Tingfeng looked down at the person sleeping unconsciously in his arms. He couldn't help but tighten his hold on her.
She was clearly so timid that even the slightest movement would scare her, but sometimes she was so brave. Facing two ferocious bandits, she dared to run away right under their noses. Even when threatened and scratched on the face, she didn't utter a sound...
She really made him not know what to do with her.
He picked her up and turned to walk into the mountain.
Before, he had found a cave in the mountain, which could barely provide shelter. He would temporarily place her there.
*
In the mansion.
There was poison on Chen Xuan's shoulder wound, but fortunately, he had taken the antidote pill brought by the imperial physician and his wound had been treated by Chen Tingfeng, so he was not in serious condition. However, the wound was really deep and he had lost too much blood, so he was greatly weakened. He was lying in bed recuperating.
After Mrs. Bai came back from the temple, she had been guarding him. On the one hand, she ordered people to continue investigating in the Buddhist temple. On the other hand, she held a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her unconscious husband's face in bed.
He had a slight fever, but the doctor had instructed not to use medicine at this time. He was seriously injured. If he took medicine to force down the fever at this time, it would damage his internal organs. It was better not to use it. Just wipe him with warm water.
Nanny Li gently placed the food box on the table. She took out a bowl of porridge from it and handed it to Mrs. Bai, coaxing her carefully: "Your Grace won't wake up for a while. Madam, you'd better have some porridge first. It's been a whole day. How can you not eat anything?"
Mrs. Bai took a deep breath. The corners of her eyes were slightly red. She didn't know how many tears she had shed this afternoon. She was worried about her injured husband and couldn't help but be anxious about her missing niece. How could she have any appetite?
She shook her head and gently tucked the corner of the quilt for Chen Xuan: "Put it there first. I can't eat now."
She interrupted Nanny Li, who still wanted to persuade her, and asked her in a low voice: "Do you have any news about Zhenzhen?"
Nanny Li shook her head heavily: "The servants searched all afternoon but found nothing. Fortunately, a maid was smart. She saw traces of yellow mud on the lotus platform. This yellow mud is only found on the mountain. There is a mountain behind the lotus platform. If you cross the mountain, you will reach the outskirts of the capital. She guessed that it was very likely that Zhenzhen was taken away by the people on the mountain..."
Mrs. Bai tightened her grip on the handkerchief. Suddenly, she grabbed Nanny Li: "It's the bandits! It must be them!"
Although she didn't know how the bandits had sneaked in, in this situation, her husband and son had gone out to suppress the bandits. How could it be such a coincidence that her niece disappeared at this moment!
It must be their doing!
"I shouldn't have gone out," Mrs. Bai burst into tears instantly, feeling a sharp pain in her heart. "It's all my fault. How could I be so careless..."
Just thinking about how the gentle and weak Zhenzhen would suffer all kinds of torture in the hands of those villains, she felt unbearable pain in her heart: "If it weren't for me, Zhenzhen would still be safely staying in her yard. How could I be so stupid to go out at such a time!"
She buried her head in Nanny Li's arms and sobbed in a low voice. Her husband was injured, her son's news was unknown, and her niece was missing. So many changes had happened in one day, which had already exhausted her.
"Ruochu... Don't cry," a very soft consolation suddenly came from behind. Mrs. Bai was stunned. She immediately turned around and met Chen Xuan's weakly opened eyes.
She let out a sob and quickly leaned over to look at him: "You, you're awake... You scared me to death! You..."
She wanted to reach out and hug him, but was afraid of touching the wound on his arm. She could only lie on him and sob softly.
Chen Xuan relaxed his eyebrows and gave her a soft smile. He raised his hand and gently stroked her face: "Don't be afraid. I'm fine..."
"Fine, my foot!" Mrs. Bai slapped him and scolded him tearfully. Then she remembered the missing Fu Zhen. Her eyebrows, which had just relaxed a bit, frowned again. She choked and said to Chen Xuan, "It's all my fault. It's all my fault that I had to go to the Buddhist temple to offer incense. Zhenzhen, Zhenzhen is missing!"
Chen Xuan just looked at her with a gentle look in his eyes. Hearing this, his expression changed. He couldn't help but want to sit up, but was pressed down on the bed by Mrs. Bai. He had no choice but to sigh: "Tell me what happened at that time."
Mrs. Bai told him everything in detail. When he heard about the bandits, his wrinkled eyebrows relaxed slightly. He held Mrs. Bai's cold hand and comforted her: "Shao Chuan and the Second Prince are still on the mountain. If the bandits have kidnapped Zhenzhen, they must want to use her to threaten them."
"Don't worry. With Shao Chuan there, Zhenzhen will be fine."
Mrs. Bai stared blankly at him, as if digesting this news. After a while, she lowered her head and lay on Chen Xuan's body: "That's good. That's good."
In her opinion, although Chen Tingfeng and Fu Zhen didn't get along well, she knew her own son well. Although he looked as cold as ice, he was actually the kindest person. If he really saw Zhenzhen, he would never leave her alone.