After the shock, Fu Zhen leaned in his arms and pondered.
"Why did she say she came to you because she was at the end of her rope?"
Chen Tingfeng held her and gently stroked her face. "Her husband was conscripted."
Sooner or later, there would be a war between the court and the Xiongnu. Although the Xiongnu seemed quiet and well - behaved for now, military generals with a sensitive nose had already sensed that this was just the calm before the storm.
Chen Xuan himself knelt in the Golden Hall to plead for provisions. With the support of the Zhang family and the Duke's Mansion, even though the emperor was reluctant, he took out half of the silver from the national treasury to buy provisions and prepared to send them to the border. After all, if the country were to fall, his days as an emperor would come to an end. He was fond of pleasure, but he didn't want to be a subjugated king.
After sending the provisions, conscription naturally began. In case of a large - scale war, the number of soldiers in the court was still insufficient.
However, for this conscription, each household only needed to provide one able - bodied man. Unfortunately, the family that Liu Yihuo, the eldest daughter of the Liu family, married into had only one such man. Her father - in - law had passed away early, and her mother - in - law was blind. The whole family relied on him.
Although he was a farmer, he was intelligent and eager to learn. He had long apprenticed himself to a carpenter in the city and had saved a lot of money through this craft. If it weren't for the troubled times, the family would have lived a decent life.
But the conscription of the court really added insult to injury for this family.
He was the only able - bodied man in the family, so he had to answer the call to join the army. But there were only his blind mother and the incognito Liu Yihuo left at home, all of them old, weak women and children. One could easily imagine how much trouble the family would face after he left.
He worried day and night, and even grew white hair.
"Originally, he wanted Liu Yihuo to return to the capital. After all, in terms of family background, the Liu family was always much better than his. But Liu Yihuo refused."
They hadn't had a wedding ceremony yet, and Liu Yihuo's identity was still registered with the Liu family. Even if she wanted to get married, she couldn't go through the official channels. Although she had explained that day that she already had a husband, in fact, they hadn't consummated their marriage.
Liu Yihuo had suffered for so many years. She just wanted someone who truly cared for her. Even if the farmer's family didn't have a fortune, as long as he was devoted to her, she could make a good life with him even in poverty. She didn't mind such formalities.
But it was the farmer who refused.
He knew that life was difficult for women in this world. If something happened between them, Liu Yihuo would be completely tied to him for the rest of her life. Even if she returned to the Liu Mansion later, a deflowered woman would have no way out in a noble family.
He didn't want Liu Yihuo to suffer such hardships. So from beginning to end, although he regarded her as his wife, he never offended her.
If one day the truth came out and she regained her identity, she could claim that everything was forced on her, and her virginity would be the best proof.
Fu Zhen listened, feeling a complex mix of emotions.
"They're really two fools together," she said with a complicated expression.
As if knowing she was being sarcastic, Chen Tingfeng held her even tighter, as if trying to convey warmth through this embrace. "It's because they're so silly that I decided to help them."
If either of them was a heartless and fickle person, he wouldn't even spare them a glance.
But these two were able to help each other in adversity. Every move they made was for the other's sake, which slightly touched him.
"Liu Yihuo's identity is sensitive. Back then, Liu Zhengze indulged his second wife to bully her. The second wife's daughter beat and scolded her. She just wanted to go to the ancestral hall to burn some paper money for her mother on the anniversary of her mother's death, but Liu Peipei kicked over the brazier and locked her in the ancestral hall for three days of torture. And Liu Zhengze knew all this but never cared," Chen Tingfeng's tone grew heavier, and a hint of sneer flashed in his eyes. "Liu Zhengze is the most hypocritical person. Don't be fooled by his public image of being hen - pecked. In fact, he has complete control over his second wife. All that about being hen - pecked is just for show."
Fu Zhen sneered upon hearing this. "Such a man should be castrated, hanged upside down on the plaque for three days and three nights, and then his flesh should be cut off and fed to the dogs in the mass grave!"
She deeply hated such a hypocritical, fickle, and heartless man.
Hearing her extremely vicious words, Chen Tingfeng remained calm and just chuckled. "Even dogs would find the meat of such a vicious person too dirty."
"Back then, I saved her because I thought she was suspicious. After I found out her identity, I decided to keep her for a while, thinking that she might be useful someday," he said with a faint smile. "And now, isn't she useful?"
Fu Zhen turned to look at him. "Did you send her back to the Liu family to be your insider?"
"Yes and no," Chen Tingfeng lowered his head and kissed her. "What do you think?"
Fu Zhen blinked, and her mind started to work.
Chen Tingfeng never made a move without a purpose. He brought Liu Yihuo back, surely for something more important. And what was the most important thing now? It was the fight for the throne.
That involved the secret plans of Xie Guang's faction.
Thinking of the unusually quiet Xiongnu recently, she was shocked. "Collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country?"
She looked back at him. "I remember you told me about the bandit case. There were Xiongnu people involved. And I was drugged and kidnapped by Liu Peipei. So the Liu family may have been in contact with the Xiongnu for a long time!"
"Do you want Liu Yihuo to go back to the mansion to collect evidence of the Liu family's collaboration with the enemy and betrayal of the country?"
"Smart," Chen Tingfeng praised. Then his eyes suddenly turned fierce. "The Liu family once put you in mortal danger. I've always remembered this grudge and will never let them off so easily."
Fu Zhen felt a warm feeling in her heart. "Thank you."
When she was kidnapped, she had thought about teaching Liu Peipei a lesson. But later, Liu Peipei may have been scared and had been hiding in the mansion. It wasn't appropriate for her to go to the Liu Mansion to teach her a lesson, so she had to wait for the right opportunity.
Moreover, Jin Xianghuan had helped her trip up Liu Peipei more than once.
She just didn't expect that Chen Tingfeng still remembered this and was determined to avenge her.
"Why do you need to say thank you between us?" Chen Tingfeng frowned. "I should naturally help you with such things. If I don't in the future, you should scold me to my face."
Fu Zhen: "..."
Was this reasonable?
She said helplessly, "This is a special case."
Seeing Chen Tingfeng frowning and about to say something shocking, she quickly covered his mouth and coaxed him skillfully, "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. In the future, I'll definitely trouble you when there's something and won't be polite."
Only then was Chen Tingfeng satisfied. He took her hand and gently kissed it.
She changed the topic. "So you let Liu Yihuo attend the palace banquet to build her up?"
Showing her face on such an occasion would let all the noble families know that the eldest daughter of the Liu family had "recovered from her illness." In the future, if the Liu family wanted to harm her, they would have to think twice. After all, the impact of a person dying quietly was completely different from that of a person dying suddenly.
He was trying to make the Liu family afraid to touch her.
"Liu Yihuo is a smart person. She came up with this idea," Chen Tingfeng said indifferently, clearly not interested in her. "I only care about the value she can bring to me. As for other things, that's her own business to handle."