There was no doubt in Chen Tingfeng's mind that such a vicious scheme could only be the work of the Queen.
As his sanity gradually returned, Chen Tingfeng didn't let go of Fu Zhen's hand. But being a proud man, he felt ashamed to face her after shedding tears in front of his beloved. So he buried his head on her shoulder, pretending as if his momentary show of emotion had never happened.
Fu Zhen found it a bit amusing but didn't expose him. She just asked, "Is there anything else you want to confess to me?"
Chen Tingfeng replied sullenly, "I know I lost my head, but... I've always been so insecure. I was afraid that if you got too close to me, you might die, and I was also afraid that you didn't have any feelings for me at all."
That's why he took this opportunity to test her.
It seemed he had messed things up a bit.
He buried his head guiltily in the crook of her neck, hardly daring to breathe. He only dared to rub against her furtively, hoping to arouse a bit of her pity.
Fu Zhen said coldly, "If I didn't have feelings for you, would I be getting so close to you? What would I gain from it? Your good looks or some fortune from kissing you?"
Chen Tingfeng froze. Only then did he realize how stupid he had been. He couldn't help but bury his head even deeper.
Fu Zhen's presence was the best proof that she had feelings for him.
He was too guilty to say a word. Fu Zhen found him a bit annoying and said, "Get up. You're so heavy."
Chen Tingfeng got up from her. His eyes were still red. With his naturally cold expression, he actually looked a bit pitiful.
Fu Zhen shifted her gaze.
To be honest, his good looks had a lot to do with her getting involved with this man for two lifetimes.
The two of them stood face to face. Fu Zhen didn't look at him, but Chen Tingfeng stared at her intently, as if she would disappear if he took his eyes off her for a moment.
The incense burner beside them was still burning incense diligently. The fragrant smoke curled up, filling the room with an ambiguous atmosphere.
It was a pity that all his longing looks were wasted on someone who didn't seem to notice.
Fu Zhen coughed softly and was about to leave first, afraid that someone might come in and catch them by surprise.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, there came a rush of footsteps outside. Fu Zhen was startled and immediately looked at Chen Tingfeng.
Chen Tingfeng frowned instantly. He pulled Fu Zhen behind him. Squinting his eyes as he listened to the footsteps, he suddenly relaxed and said, "It's Xie Yan."
The door was quickly pushed open from the outside. A fragrant smell filled the air. Xie Yan immediately stopped his hasty steps. Looking up, he met Chen Tingfeng's cold eyes.
He sized Chen Tingfeng up and down, looking a bit anxious. "Are you okay? I came here as soon as I got the news. Don't worry. I've sent someone to stop Xie Guang, and I've also asked Mother Concubine and the Eldest Princess to stop the Queen. No one will come for the time being."
He had many informants in the palace. Naturally, someone noticed something was wrong when Chen Tingfeng walked in. So they rushed to report it to Xie Yan.
Xie Yan was shocked. In an instant, he knew that today's scheme must have been set up by Xie Guang and the Queen, specifically targeting Chen Tingfeng.
These two crazy people only knew how to use such underhanded means!
In his anxiety, he didn't notice that there was someone standing behind Chen Tingfeng. When Fu Zhen came out from behind him, he took a closer look and his face immediately changed. "Zhenzhen, why are you here too? Could it be that you..."
Fu Zhen glanced at Chen Tingfeng. Chen Tingfeng took out a detoxifying pill and handed it to Xie Yan. "Take this first."
Xie Yan took it without hesitation and swallowed it. He had just arrived and had only smelled a little of the incense. He only felt a faint heat in his body, but he thought it was because of his hasty run on the way.
Chen Tingfeng took Fu Zhen's hand and walked out. He said to Xie Yan, "The incense burning in the burner inside, when mixed with the wine we drank just now, will turn into a very strong aphrodisiac."
With just this one sentence, Xie Yan immediately understood. His face turned extremely ugly. "They wanted to ruin your reputations?"
The insidious part of this scheme was that if it was just the wine or the incense alone, there would be no problem at all. Only when the two were mixed together would they produce a very strong medicinal effect.
But this scheme was not invincible.
Xie Yan frowned. "If that's the case, why did you come to this Linyin Pavilion? Did someone lead you here?"
In his opinion, Chen Tingfeng was not such a careless person. He must have been lured here by someone. He glanced at Fu Zhen, who was standing very close to Chen Tingfeng. Suddenly, he seemed to understand. Could it be that someone had lured him here by using Fu Zhen's name?
He knew how much Chen Tingfeng cared about Fu Zhen. If other means were used, he might immediately know that there was a trick. But only by using Fu Zhen's name would he be willing to step into the trap even if he knew there was something wrong.
He rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. He just suddenly felt a bit absurd.
In the past, it was always Chen Tingfeng who told him to be polite and stay away from women. Now, it seemed that this advice should be given by him instead.
Chen Tingfeng coughed and didn't answer. He just said, "Let's go first. This is not a place to stay for long."
Actually, the difficulty of making this scheme work was how to lure both of them here. In the previous life, Fu Zhen wanted to drug Chen Tingfeng. But perhaps before she could do it, someone had included her in the scheme. Maybe she was knocked out and brought here. Anyway, she had no idea how she got here. She only knew that when she woke up, she had already had sex with Chen Tingfeng.
And perhaps because Fu Zhen was here in the previous life, Chen Tingfeng was lured here.
Everything in the previous life had happened smoothly just as the mastermind behind the scenes had planned.
But this life was different. This time, they had come here on their own. Maybe the person who wanted to plot against them hadn't even had a chance to act yet. They might be hiding in the dark, stunned to see them getting together on their own.
Chen Tingfeng was a bit influenced by his memories of the previous life and ended up here by accident. And Fu Zhen had learned in advance that something like this would happen today. When she looked up and found that Chen Tingfeng was not in his seat, she thought that he had fallen into the trap as in the previous life, so she rushed here in a hurry.
In short, this scheme shouldn't have worked today. But due to various coincidences, it still did.
But these details were not convenient to tell Xie Yan, an outsider.
The Hundred Flowers Banquet was still going on. Xie Yan had to suppress his curiosity and return to their seats with them.
Xie Guang was being toasted by people one after another. Under his smiling face, there was a hint of anxiety. But he was really entangled by these noble sons and couldn't get away!
One after another came to toast him. He simply couldn't break free!
He was annoyed in his heart. He had never seen these people being so enthusiastic about him before. But today, they were like they were possessed, insisting on "drinking like brothers" with him!
He kept looking towards the Queen. But to his surprise, the Queen was also entangled by Concubine Rou's words. And with the Eldest Princess smiling sweetly and secretly making things difficult for her, the Queen was in the same situation as Xie Guang. Behind her faint smile was uncontrollable shock and annoyance.
When they saw Chen Tingfeng and Fu Zhen return to their seats unharmed, they glanced at each other. Their hearts sank instantly, and their faces turned so bad that Concubine Rou almost burst out laughing.
Concubine Rou looked at Xie Yan with a smile. Xie Yan grinned at her.
Well done, Mother Concubine!