"Nonsense," Fu Zhen tugged at his hair and complained discontentedly. "If I didn't want to know, why would I ask you?"
Chen Tingfeng couldn't help laughing, but he hesitated a bit, thinking about how to put it more euphemistically. "Do you still remember Fu Mingde?"
Fu Zhen was stunned. She would remember this name even if she died, was buried in the coffin, and her bones turned to ashes.
She frowned. "What about him?"
Back then, when Fu Mingde came to pester her and Chen Tingfeng took him away, he completely disappeared without a trace. She didn't even know whether he was dead or alive, and she didn't care.
"Did he come to look for you?" She sat up from his embrace, her expression gloomy.
"No," Chen Tingfeng replied immediately. He rubbed her furrowed brows and pulled her back into his arms. "He's dead."
"..." Fu Zhen froze. She was silent for a long time. Just when Chen Tingfeng thought she still cared about the other person, he heard Fu Zhen suddenly sneer. "Good riddance."
She just didn't react in time when she suddenly heard the news. It didn't mean that she still had any sympathy or pity for him.
Such a heartless scumbag deserved to die early.
Chen Tingfeng's heart, which had been lifted halfway, slowly settled back. He hugged her and sighed softly. "You have me now. You don't have to worry about him."
Fu Zhen rubbed against him in his arms. "I'm not worried."
She was more than happy.
However... She asked, "How did he die?"
Suddenly, Chen Tingfeng remembered that when Fu Mingde died, he was tied up with the matter of the bandits. After the matter was settled, he was jealous and annoyed because of the deepening relationship between Xie Yan and Fu Zhen. He had long forgotten about this matter.
He touched his nose. "I took him away that day and locked him in the dungeon to torture him for two days. Later, I thought killing him would soil my hands, so I let him go. But he was a gambler. He already owed debts in the gambling house before. After being released, he still went to the gambling house every day. The amount he owed got bigger and bigger. In order to get back the silver and to deter others, the gambling house... cut off his hands and feet..."
Hearing this, Fu Zhen already understood.
It was not strange for him to die after having his hands and feet cut off and no one to treat him.
She felt a complex mix of emotions. On one hand, she was glad that he was dead. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy.
With his death, her connection with that village was completely over.
The courtyard fell silent, only the rustling sound of the wind through the treetops could be heard.
After a long while, she asked, "Did you interfere?"
Chen Tingfeng pursed his lips. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether she had guessed or seen something. How could she be so smart?
He sighed softly. "Yes."
Fu Mingde had pestered her and made her sad and feverish. How could he let the other person go easily?
"I just led him to the gambling house a bit," he said.
It didn't take much effort to deal with a gambler like Fu Mingde. With just a little manipulation, he could kill himself.
Fu Zhen knew that he had done something. She snorted. "Cousin, were you trying to hide it from me if you didn't say anything?"
Chen Tingfeng rubbed the top of her head. Smelling the fragrance of her hair, he said silently, "I was just afraid that you would think I'm cruel."
After all, he knew that the methods he used were often shady. He was fine with them and didn't think he had done anything wrong. But in front of his beloved, he still couldn't help but worry that she would be afraid of him.
Fu Zhen looked up at him in confusion. "I seem to have heard a lie. Did you hear it just now?"
Chen Tingfeng looked down at her. Suddenly, he reached out and pinched her soft cheek. A smile appeared on his face. "I knew cousin has me in her heart."
Fu Zhen bit his hand. "Don't you remember that I'm not a good person either? Bad people won't dislike other bad people."
After all, in her opinion, the two of them were just colluding with each other.
They both knew what kind of people they were. Where did his worry come from that she would dislike him?
Even if she had done it herself, she would definitely have started from the gambling house.
Thinking about it, they were really two of a kind.
Chen Tingfeng was stunned for a moment and then suddenly laughed. "A couple of villains? It's quite interesting."
He never thought he was a bad person before. After all, everything he did was for the good of others and was justifiable.
But since Zhenzhen wanted to be a bad person for fun, he would definitely accompany her.
"However..." Fu Zhen pondered for a moment. She looked up at him several times. She seemed a bit guilty, but then she felt that she was right and couldn't help but speak up bravely.
Chen Tingfeng raised his eyebrows slightly and rubbed her chin. "Is cousin already thinking about doing something bad?"
Fu Zhen smiled at him. "Don't be angry when I tell you."
Chen Tingfeng had a bad premonition in his heart, but on the surface, he still looked calm and interested. "Tell me. I won't be angry."
You said so yourself.
Fu Zhen rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. "I used to think that it was the Second Prince who helped me deal with Fu Mingde."
Chen Tingfeng's face turned green instantly. He couldn't believe it. "Xie Yan?!"
The person was in his hands. How could it be related to Xie Yan?
Fu Zhen quickly hugged him to comfort him. "You said you wouldn't be angry!"
Chen Tingfeng took a few deep breaths and said in a hoarse voice. "Why did you think it was him who dealt with him? You know the person was in my hands!"
No wonder she was so attentive to Xie Yan during that period. So this was the problem!
Fu Zhen scratched her head and said guiltily, "After the bandit incident, I met the Second Prince. We were chatting and the topic turned to Fu Mingde. He assured me that Fu Mingde would never appear in front of me again. So I thought..."
Chen Tingfeng's face turned completely black. He tried hard to hold back, but he still couldn't suppress the anger in his heart. "It was me who dealt with him!"
Xie Yan had just come to take a look once. He saw Fu Mingde being interrogated and tortured by him, and then he left and never came back.
It was always him who had helped Fu Zhen!
Seeing that he was even more angry after knowing the truth, and feeling his rapid heartbeat even when hugging him, Fu Zhen couldn't help but hiss in her heart. She quickly hugged him to comfort him. Seeing that he was still angry, she gritted her teeth and kissed the corner of his mouth.
Chen Tingfeng's anger suddenly stopped. Seeing that he was stunned, Fu Zhen thought he was still angry. She had to hold his face and kiss him several times like a chick pecking at rice. While kissing, she said, "Okay, okay, don't be angry. I know everything now. Besides, Xie Yan and I are already over. Just take it as a joke. Don't be angry."
Chen Tingfeng stared at her for a few seconds, snorted, and kissed her hard on the lips before stopping. Only the hand across her waist tightened a bit more.
After a long while, he said faintly, "If I had known that I would be crazy about you one day, I should have treated you well when you returned to the mansion. Then what would Xie Yan have to do with it?"
Fu Zhen found it both funny and absurd. Even if he had treated her well from the beginning, she would still have that prophetic dream and would still avoid him like a snake or a scorpion. How would things be different from now?
But it was not appropriate to say this out loud. Fu Zhen had no choice but to comfort him. "Yes, yes, yes. You're the best."
Suddenly, she remembered the extremely bad attitude Chen Tingfeng had towards her when she first returned to the mansion. Before, she was blind and only thought that he just didn't like her. But now that the two of them were together and he loved her so much, her previous thought didn't hold up.
She tugged at Chen Tingfeng's black hair and said threateningly, "Speaking of which, cousin, don't you think you should explain why you didn't like me at first?"
Chen Tingfeng immediately froze.