Fu Zhen gently stroked his head. "It's not your fault," she said.
She herself hadn't expected that in this life, she would drive Concubine Su to administer such a deadly poison. "How is she?"
"She tried to commit suicide," Chen Tingfeng lifted his head, his voice cold. "But she's still hanging on."
Fu Zhen was stunned. Could the "bang" sound she heard in her dream be the sound of Concubine Su's suicide attempt?
"Did she ram into a pillar?"
Chen Tingfeng nodded. "Yes. She didn't intend to hide the fact that she tried to poison you. When Mother interrogated her, she didn't say a word. Then, when no one was paying attention, she rammed her head into a pillar."
Fu Zhen frowned slightly. "She really doesn't value her own life."
"I've already sent someone to arrest Yuanyang," he said. "Regardless of Concubine Su's fate, as her personal maid, Yuanyang is surely implicated."
"What about Qin'er?" Fu Zhen couldn't help asking. Previously, she had sent Biyu to get close to Qin'er. After some interaction, she found that Qin'er was just a simple girl, whole - heartedly devoted to her mistress without any ulterior motives. If Qin'er suffered because of this, Fu Zhen would feel really guilty.
Chen Tingfeng looked at her and sighed. "I know you're soft - hearted, so I spared her. When Concubine Su was punished to kneel before, Qin'er's health hasn't fully recovered. She hasn't even had the chance to get close to her mistress recently. However, although the death penalty can be waived, she still has to be punished. I've sent her to take care of the estate."
Taking care of the estate is a simple life, only a bit poorer than in the Marquis Mansion. Maybe such a quiet life is more suitable for a simple girl like Qin'er.
Fu Zhen felt relieved. She gently stroked Chen Tingfeng's smooth long hair and whispered, "You don't have to feel guilty about this. It was my decision."
"At least, it made me completely understand why Concubine Su hates me so much."
The reason for her hatred was that Fu Zhen had disrupted the balance in the Marquis Mansion.
Before Fu Zhen returned, Chen Luobing was the only second young lady in the mansion. Even in the previous life when Chen Luobing died early, she was still the only young lady in the Marquis Mansion.
She had no objection to giving the best things to Chen Tingfeng. After all, in this world, boys were always more precious than girls, especially since Chen Tingfeng was the only son in the Marquis Mansion.
The wealth of the Marquis Mansion would be passed on to Chen Tingfeng first, and then to Chen Luobing.
But when Fu Zhen came, everything changed. The relationships in the mansion were completely turned upside down.
Chen Luobing was no longer the only young lady. Suddenly, she had an elder sister who shared the love and status that originally belonged to her. In Concubine Su's eyes, even if Chen Luobing died, these things should still be hers!
There could only be one young lady in this mansion!
But Fu Zhen had already returned. If she wanted to restore the previous balance, what could she do?
And then, Yuanyang appeared.
She whispered, "She was jealous and afraid, so she had no choice but to resort to such a drastic measure."
She just didn't expect that the changes in this life would drive Concubine Su completely crazy.
... No, maybe there was another possibility.
Fu Zhen's hand on Chen Tingfeng's hair suddenly stopped. Chen Tingfeng looked at her sharply. "What's wrong?"
"I just suddenly thought of something," Fu Zhen frowned. "Has Concubine Su been acting a bit strange recently?"
"Strange?" Chen Tingfeng immediately understood. "You mean the fact that she's become irritable?"
Concubine Su had always been inconspicuous in the Marquis Mansion. Except for the main courtyard and her own small courtyard, she rarely went out. The servants in the mansion were not very close to her. They just did their jobs.
She used to be gentle. If there was any strange behavior, it was only that she had been prone to losing her temper recently.
Before today, everyone thought it was because she had lost her beloved daughter, so her personality had changed.
Fu Zhen's expression gradually became solemn. "If I'm not mistaken... her state is exactly the same as mine when I was stupid in my previous life."
There must be someone behind this who drugged her.
"Actually, I've always been a bit suspicious. Why was I so reckless and out of control in my previous life? I even poisoned others. At the beginning of this life, I even wondered if I was just such a stupid person."
Chen Tingfeng stood up and gently pinched her cheek. "If you're stupid, how can others live?"
Although Fu Zhen was not as wise as Zhuge Liang, she was extremely intelligent.
Moreover, she was very good at dealing with people. No one who met her would really think she was stupid.
Fu Zhen smiled. "Since you said so, I completely understand."
"In my previous life, someone must have drugged me with something that made me lose my mind, forcing me to do stupid things. You had no choice but to keep me away from you," Fu Zhen's expression turned cold. "Then, taking advantage of the moment when you couldn't take care of me, she gave me a slow - acting poison, making me die in great pain."
Chen Tingfeng tightened his arms around her. The anger that had not completely subsided in his chest flared up again.
His chest heaved violently. His eyes were bloodshot, like a crazy wolf about to take revenge on his enemy. "The Queen!"
Xie Guang didn't have such a scheming mind. Only the Queen could have laid out such a well - calculated and relentless plot.
The Queen, the Queen!
Fu Zhen grabbed his hand, as if holding the kite string of his rationality. At this moment, she still had the mood to smile. "Now that we know who our opponent is, are we still afraid of them?"
Before, the enemy was in the dark and we were in the light. Now the situation is completely reversed. What do we have to be afraid of?
We have plenty of time to plan carefully. We should also let them experience what it means to be the hunter but end up being hunted.
Chen Tingfeng suddenly hugged her tightly. His voice seemed to be squeezed out of his throat. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
If he had noticed something wrong earlier in the previous life, if he had kept Fu Zhen by his side... she wouldn't have died such a painful death!
He would rather it was him who died in pain.
Fu Zhen also reached out and hugged him, gently patting his back. "You've already said these words to me. I've also said that I don't blame you in this life."
No matter how smart Chen Tingfeng was, he couldn't know everything. There must be times when he couldn't take care of everything.
Moreover, in the previous life, she had been so troublesome. If it had been any other man, seeing his wife being unreasonable again and again, he might have left her aside and even forgotten about her.
"You've done enough. You don't have to blame yourself for these things," she soothed gently. "If we have to blame someone, it's those behind - the - scenes manipulators."
Chen Tingfeng just hugged her tightly. After a long time, he said sullenly, "I just feel sorry for you."
Fu Zhen's nose twitched. All the love she had lacked in her previous life was being compensated for in this life.
At this moment, being held tightly in his arms, she felt an indescribable sense of contentment.
At the moment when she coughed up blood, she suddenly remembered the scene of dying alone in the dark in her previous life.
She seemed to be back in that moment, with a sharp pain in her abdomen and malicious laughter ringing in her ears.
She was all alone. No one was with her, and no one came to save her.
But at this moment, she heard someone calling her.
Zhenzhen, Zhenzhen.
The calls were urgent, like summer raindrops, impatiently hitting the door of her heart.
At that moment, the only thought in her mind was -
You've come to save me.
Chen Tingfeng.