"I think you've burned your brains out," Fu Zhen said speechlessly. "Well, since cousin has sneaked out, why not go back to your own yard and take a rest first?"
"There's still some fever - reducing decoction in my yard. You can ask Yuanbao to take it back."
Chen Tingfeng seemed to let out another soft laugh and murmured, "With cousin's words, I can endure even the most difficult illness."
Fu Zhen blushed with anger. "Shut up! Get out of here quickly!"
Seeing that she was really angry, Chen Tingfeng decided to stop while he was ahead. He smiled and said, "Cousin, rest well. Remember to come and see me tomorrow."
After saying that, Fu Zhen only felt a blur before her eyes and a soft sound by the window. Then he disappeared.
Fu Zhen suddenly let out a sigh of relief. The melancholy that had arisen from her dream had long since vanished under Chen Tingfeng's banter.
Thinking of what he had said before leaving, she gave a soft snort. "Who wants to see you."
However, instead of going back to his own yard, Chen Tingfeng who had jumped out of the window turned back to the ancestral hall. He took off his cloak and knelt straight there.
The candles in the ancestral hall burned all night. Compared with the pitch - black night outside, it was so bright that it hurt one's eyes.
A moment later, the door of the ancestral hall opened softly, and a cold wind blew in.
A figure walked in slowly. With steady steps, he stopped three inches behind Chen Tingfeng.
"Father," Chen Tingfeng opened his eyes and said calmly.
Chen Xuan took two steps forward. The candlelight illuminated his eyebrows.
Since he had withdrawn from the court, he had never been serious all day. He always wore a smiling face when seeing anyone, which made people forget that he was not such a kind - natured person before.
Now, without a smile on his face, there was a hint of cold and imposing sternness.
"You good - for - nothing," Chen Xuan scolded him lightly.
In such a situation, Chen Tingfeng could still manage a smile. "Father scolds me well."
If he weren't a good - for - nothing, how could he have secretly disrupted cousin's marriage plans time and time again?
Chen Xuan glanced down at him. This young man actually took his scolding as a compliment. He gave a soft snort. "You brainless fool. You don't have a bit of my charm back then."
Chen Tingfeng clearly knew about his father's amorous affairs in the past. He raised his eyebrows slightly. "If father agrees, I can go and propose marriage right now."
He said it as if he were not Chen Xuan's own son but an outsider trying to court his precious daughter.
Chen Xuan kicked him and sneered. "If you have the guts, don't beg for Zhenzhen's forgiveness later."
These words directly hit Chen Tingfeng's weak spot, leaving him speechless.
If it weren't for considering Fu Zhen's feelings, he would have snatched her away long ago.
Only this delicate cousin could make him so hesitant and unable to act. Even when it came to confessing his feelings, he had to proceed step by step, being neither too hasty nor too slow. Otherwise, who knew which arms that vigilant rabbit would jump into.
Thinking of this, Chen Tingfeng's eyes darkened. There was still the heir of the Duke's Mansion out there, eyeing them covetously.
When he had the time, he would surely teach him a good lesson.
"Father, leaving mother alone in the room in the middle of the night. Be careful that mother will be angry with you tomorrow," he said softly.
Chen Xuan let out a snort of laughter, with an indescribable pride. "Do you think I'm like you?"
If he claimed to be the second best at coaxing his wife, no one would dare claim to be the first.
"Forget it. Why am I arguing with a young fool like you?" Chen Xuan, feeling superior, took the opportunity to cut off the conversation. "Don't make the relationship with the Duke's Mansion too tense. That old man may be muddled in family matters, but he's very shrewd in the court. Offending him won't do you any good."
How could Chen Xuan not suspect when Chen Tingfeng suddenly went crazy for no reason? He had found out the clue in just one day.
After all, the people from the Duke's Mansion hadn't hidden their tracks very well when they came to deliver things.
Chen Tingfeng said coldly, "Wei Yuan is Wei Yuan, and he is he. I know what I'm doing."
"You know what you're doing?" Chen Xuan said as if he had heard a joke. "If you did, you wouldn't have caused such a commotion today."
There were clearly more subtle ways, but he had to go straight to Madam Bai and kneel down firmly. Now he had been whipped twenty times and was punished to kneel in the ancestral hall. Who wouldn't sigh when they saw this?
... Wait.
"Did you do this on purpose?" Chen Xuan frowned. Associating it with Fu Zhen, the sense of unease immediately disappeared. He was a bit incredulous. "Are you using the ruse of feigning defeat?"
Chen Tingfeng was silent for a while. Then he let out a soft laugh. "What are you talking about, father? Your son is stupid and doesn't understand."
"You!" Chen Xuan pointed at him. After a moment, he kicked him again with a dark face. "You good - for - nothing!"
After saying that, he left angrily, flicking his sleeves.
He really had good intentions with nowhere to go. He must have been out of his mind to be afraid that this young man would get stuck in a dead end and come to console him in the middle of the night.
Who would have thought that he would only get angry!
Chen Xuan didn't hold back his strength with that kick and kicked Chen Tingfeng to the ground.
Chen Tingfeng slowly got up from the ground. He seemed not to feel the pain on his body at all. There was even a smile on his face.
Yuanbao sneaked in from outside. Holding the medicine bowl, he hesitated to speak when he saw Chen Tingfeng's creepy smile. Chen Tingfeng gave him a sideways look and scolded him lightly. "You stupid fool."
Yuanbao: "..."
This job is really not for humans!
Chen Tingfeng took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. He took the clothes from Yuanbao's hand and said casually, "Get out."
He was in good health, and these injuries were nothing. But the decoction from cousin's yard always had a special taste that he couldn't resist.
Wrapping himself in the thick clothes, the warmth gradually warmed his cold body, and he slowly let out a breath.
It was already late at night. The wind and snow outside had stopped. Even in the ancestral hall with the memorial tablets, there was a hint of tranquility.
It was true that he wanted to know whether there was a blood - related relationship between him and cousin, and it was also true that he wanted to express his feelings through the ruse of feigning defeat. How could he, who was always so calculating, just take those twenty whips for nothing?
Since he had found out the clue, he had faintly known that the blood - related relationship was probably false. But to be cautious, he still had to ask Madam Bai himself and confirm it before he could feel at ease.
Sure enough, when he saw his mother stammering and scolding him but never saying anything no matter how he asked, he finally understood completely.
He and cousin were a match made in heaven, a pair that was destined to be together by fate.
Cousin was soft - hearted. She would never watch him being so embarrassed under the family law without coming to see him.
It was truly a god - given opportunity.
There was no better time than now to express his feelings.
In this late night, when there was no one around, Chen Tingfeng finally showed a relieved and self - satisfied smile.
Even when he had passed the imperial examinations with top honors before, he wasn't as happy as he was now.
Breaking through the clouds to see the sun, it was just like this.
However, cousin still had some barriers towards him, and those barriers were beyond his reach for the time being.
Chen Tingfeng lowered his eyes calmly.
It didn't matter. He had already caught her halfway into his den. Eliminating those barriers would only take a moment. He could wait.