Although the two hadn't seen each other for over a year, they got along as familiarly as before.
Hunter Li had gone hunting in the mountains. Only the widow and his wife were at home.
His wife was an honest and decent woman. Although young, she was perceptive. She had met Fu Zhen a few times before. Back then, Fu Zhen was a thin and helpless woman, which was greatly different from now.
She held the baby and cooed softly, only occasionally casting a smiling glance over but not stepping forward to talk. She left everything to her mother - in - law.
Fu Zhen sighed softly to herself. This was a good family, honest and hard - working. Their life would surely be good.
Before leaving, she gave the widow a pair of gold bracelets. They were made of pure gold and inlaid with gemstones, looking extremely precious.
The widow's face changed and she was about to decline, but Fu Zhen stopped her. "I came in a hurry today. I didn't know there was a new addition to your family. It was impolite of me to come empty - handed. Consider these bracelets a gift for your grandson. Please accept them. Don't decline anymore."
The widow's eyes welled up with tears again. "You sent me silver through someone when you went to the capital. I've always remembered it. The little kindness I showed you before has already been repaid by the silver. How can I accept such a precious gift? Country kids are tough. You could have given anything..."
"Aunt Zheng, what are you saying?" Fu Zhen disagreed. "You helped me when I was poor. Now that I'm doing well, it's only natural for me to help you in return. How can human feelings be calculated with just a little silver? Please accept it quickly. Otherwise, I won't dare to visit you in the future."
Aunt Zheng hesitated for a while, but finally she couldn't resist and accepted it.
Chen Tingfeng had been following Fu Zhen all the time. He didn't say a word, just accompanied her.
Before they left, Aunt Zheng glanced at him a few times and whispered to Fu Zhen secretly, "Is this your fiancé? Is he good to you?"
Although Chen Tingfeng hadn't said a word from beginning to end, the intimacy between him and Fu Zhen in his every move couldn't be hidden.
Aunt Zheng didn't know why it wasn't Fu Zhen's relatives who accompanied her for the tomb - relocation, but she didn't care about these things. She only cared about whether Fu Zhen was doing well.
Fu Zhen was stunned for a moment and couldn't help looking at Chen Tingfeng beside her. She happened to meet his eyes.
He had been looking at her.
She turned back and smiled gently at Aunt Zheng. The former gloom in her eyebrows and eyes was swept away, replaced by a touch of girlish brightness and tenderness. "He's very good to me."
No other gentleman would be as good to her as he was.
Aunt Zheng said reassuringly, "That's good, that's good."
It was the best thing that she could live a good life.
After everything was done, it was time to return to the capital.
In the capital.
Xie Guang waved his subordinate away and frowned slowly. "Chen Tingfeng has left the capital?"
The queen was still very weak. Leaning against the head of the bed, her face was pale. Hearing this, she frowned and thought, "Do we know where he's gone?"
Xie Guang shook his head. "Chen Tingfeng is extremely vigilant. My man was knocked out halfway."
It was impossible to detect Chen Tingfeng's whereabouts unless he let them.
"However..." Xie Guang was a bit confused. "He went with the young lady from his mansion, his cousin."
"Cousin?" The queen remembered. "Is it that girl who ruined my plan last time?"
He nodded. "It's her."
The queen sneered. "She's quite smart."
Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. She said hesitantly, "Isn't the relationship between Chen Tingfeng and her too close?"
The two of them had held hands in the imperial garden last time.
Hearing this, Xie Guang also remembered. At the polo field last time, when the horse went crazy and threw her off, it was Chen Tingfeng who rushed to save her first and carried her down with his own hands.
Could there be something between the two of them...
He couldn't help hesitating. "Could it be that Chen Tingfeng has taken a fancy to her?"
He found it hard to believe. A man like Chen Tingfeng would fall for a woman? And a low - status cousin who was only temporarily staying in the marquis's mansion?
It couldn't be true.
But the queen shook her head slowly, looking cold. "That girl is really good - looking. Besides, she's smart and has means. It's quite possible that a man like Chen Tingfeng who has never experienced love could be charmed by her for a while."
She had come from her youth and had seen more men than others. Naturally, she knew the weaknesses of men.
They were just a bunch of lechers.
"Moreover," the queen sneered. "What if that cousin deliberately seduced him?"
After all, the wealth of the marquis's mansion was enough to blind people's eyes.
Xie Guang pondered to himself. After a long while, he slowly relaxed his brows and said thoughtfully, "This is a good opportunity..."
He exchanged a glance with the queen. Everything was understood without words.
The tomb - relocation took more than half a month. With the coffin burial, the invitation of monks for the超度 and so on, the commotion was inevitable. After all this and with the marquis's mansion deliberately letting Chen Peizhu recognize her ancestors, almost all the powerful and noble people in the capital knew that Fu Zhen's mother was actually the marquis's daughter who had eloped back then and Chen Xuan's younger sister!
Everyone was shocked. But thinking of Chen Xuan's way of handling things like a bandit leader, no matter how excited or eager to laugh at him they were, they had to hold it back. On the surface, they still pretended to have no rift with him.
As for how they discussed it in private, that was unknown.
Zhang Lan and Jin Xianghuan chose a day to visit. Zhang Lan was still calm, but Jin Xianghuan was almost jumping up in anxiety. "What's going on with your background? Calling the marquis uncle, so he's really your uncle now?!"
Although it seemed not a real one, this couldn't be said out loud. Fu Zhen could only say helplessly, "You've heard about it?"
Jin Xianghuan sat down beside her. "Heard about it? This news has spread all over the capital! You don't know how those people are talking about you behind your back. They're saying that you..."
"Xianghuan." Zhang Lan frowned and didn't let her continue.
Jin Xianghuan was stunned for a moment and immediately realized her mistake. She looked a bit embarrassed.
Instead, Fu Zhen comforted her. "It's okay. I can guess what they're saying. I don't care."
Since she decided to relocate the tomb, she knew that her background couldn't be hidden.
Bastard, fatherless, dirty and cheap... She could guess how contemptuously those people were talking about her behind her back.
Seeing that her face was okay and she really seemed not to care about these words, Zhang Lan slowly put down her worried heart. "It's good that you're okay. Xianghuan is just too worried."
Fu Zhen smiled. "I know. Don't worry. I don't care."
Since she said so, Jin Xianghuan naturally understood her attitude. She couldn't help sighing and looking a bit worried. "It's good that you don't take it to heart... But in this way, your reputation is ruined. How can you get married in the future?"
She was really worried about Fu Zhen.
Nowadays, the most important thing in marriage was a woman's reputation. If a woman had a bad reputation, no good family would let their son marry her.
Fu Zhen's marriage had always been difficult, and now it was even more so.
If it were before, Fu Zhen would have been anxious about this matter. But now, the thing she worried about the least was marriage.
She smiled lightly. "You used to avoid talking about marriage before. Why are you talking about it all the time now? Do you want to get married yourself?"
Hearing her teasing words, Jin Xianghuan blushed. She was angry and anxious. "Why are you bringing me into this? I'm being serious! Don't you have any ideas?"