Fu Zhen quickly stepped aside. "Lord Chu, there's no need for such formalities. It's your son who is smart and managed to run out on his own."
From these brief words, Chu Qiwen roughly understood what had happened. He got up and still bowed to her. Then he said, "If Kang'er hadn't been lucky enough to meet the young lady, he might have been captured and taken back by now. Your great kindness, I will never forget."
Seeing his stubbornness, Fu Zhen let him be and stood there to accept his bow.
Some of the burly men on the ground woke up from their unconsciousness and groaned. Chu Qiwen lowered his head, and the warmth in his eyes instantly turned cold. He turned around and said a few words to the soldiers. Then several soldiers stepped forward and detained all these burly men.
"Thank you," he said to the soldiers.
The soldiers quickly waved their hands. "My lord, you're being too polite."
They escorted the men away. Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, the people on the street also dispersed one after another, leaving only Chu Qiwen and his son standing in front of Fu Zhen.
He looked at Fu Zhen and said gently, "I'll remember your kindness today, miss. If you ever need my help in the future, you can send someone to look for me at the Chu family mansion in the north of the city. I will surely repay you a hundredfold."
Fu Zhen saw that he spoke in a gentle and cultivated manner. Coupled with the fact that the soldiers just now addressed him as "my lord", she guessed that he must be an official. It would be better to make friends with him at this time. So she said calmly, "Then I'll thank Lord Chu."
This incident was really sudden. Who would have thought that there would be kidnappers abducting people in broad daylight.
Chu Qiwen opened his mouth to explain, "I used to be an official in a foreign land. This group of people abducted a child. I sent people to chase them for several days and nights before I retrieved the child and captured some of them. But these people are really slippery and good at hiding. My power was not enough, and I really couldn't catch them all. I sent a letter to my superiors, but unfortunately..." These days, my term of office ended, and I returned to the capital. Who would have thought that Kang'er suddenly disappeared right in front of our house. I was extremely worried for several days and almost went outside the city to look for him. I didn't expect that this group of people was still hiding in the capital."
It was really a coincidence. Today, this group of people should have quietly left for outside the city. But who would have thought that they happened to meet Chen Tingfeng leading his army to go on an expedition. It would be suicidal to take the abducted child out of the city at such a time.
They had no choice but to hide back again. Who would have thought that this child was so smart and brave that he managed to run out while these people were not paying attention.
After listening, Fu Zhen felt quite lucky and showed a smile on her face. "It really takes the right time, place, and people. It's good that the child is okay."
However, the Chu family?
She had been in the capital for two years and had a general understanding of the powerful and noble families in the capital. She seemed to have never heard of this Chu family before. Could it be that he was not from the capital?
Chu Qiwen was extremely good at observing people's expressions. Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, he knew what she was thinking. He opened his mouth to explain, "I'm from Western Sichuan. I passed the imperial examination and became an official. Then I was sent to a foreign land. These days when I returned to the capital, I used my savings to buy this house. It's not very big, but at least I have a place to stay in the capital."
"It's a pity that the house is in a state of disrepair. These days, I've been busy tidying it up and neglected Kang'er for a moment. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen..."
Fu Zhen's eyebrows moved, and she asked hesitantly, "Kang'er's mother..."
Chu Qiwen lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Kang'er's mother was weak and passed away."
Fu Zhen paused. "I'm sorry."
Just now, his words revealed that he was the only one taking care of the child. If his wife were still alive, how could the child disappear in the blink of an eye while playing in front of the door?
"It doesn't matter," Chu Qiwen shook his head, stroked Kang'er's head, and a gentle look welled up in his eyes. "I was once young and impulsive. When I was an official in a foreign land, I offended many people. Later... there was an accident, and my parents and Kang'er's mother all died in that accident."
He passed the imperial examination all the way to the capital at a young age. Although he was sent to a foreign land to be an official, it was obvious to everyone that he was there to gain experience. Once he achieved something, he could take a step up after his term of office ended.
Such a bright future was like ascending to heaven in a single step.
The still inexperienced him was naturally overjoyed and even more eager to make achievements quickly.
But in this current world, officials colluded with merchants, and officials protected each other. When he first took office, his three fires of a new official burned at others' interests.
His family was originally a small and clean family. But after that accident, when he investigated to the end, he unexpectedly found that someone in his family had colluded with those who wanted to harm him.
Disheartened, he directly removed his name from the family genealogy and never returned to his hometown again.
Fu Zhen felt a complicated emotion in her heart. Looking at him, she thought that this person had suffered many hardships at a young age but still managed to achieve such success. He was really a capable person.
She always admired capable people.
She lowered her head and glanced at Kang'er, who was quietly playing with his fingers beside them. When the child saw her looking over, he suddenly raised his face and smiled at her.
This child was raised very well by Chu Qiwen. He knew that they were talking. After his father was by his side, he felt at ease and didn't make any noise. He just rolled his big eyes, looking extremely smart and cute.
Fu Zhen didn't really like children. But Kang'er was really well - behaved, and her heart couldn't help but soften. "Kang'er must have been frightened these days. After you get back, you should invite a doctor to take a good look at him. Children are prone to have a fever after being frightened."
Although the child was well - behaved, one could still see the tiredness between his eyebrows.
Moreover, this was still on the street. She didn't want to talk to Chu Qiwen anymore, so she found an excuse and left.
Chu Qiwen watched her back and was silent, not knowing what he was thinking.
Suddenly, Kang'er pulled his hand. Chu Qiwen lowered his head and said gently, "What's wrong, Kang'er?"
Kang'er seemed to have seen through his father's thoughts and said straightforwardly, "Like sister."
Chu Qiwen's heart skipped a beat.
After Fu Zhen returned, she saw Mrs. Bai sitting in the courtyard, absent - mindedly flipping through the account books. It took her a long time to turn a page. She paused for a moment and then stepped forward to talk to her.
After making Mrs. Bai laugh a few times, she told her about what had just happened.
As soon as Mrs. Bai heard it, she immediately grabbed her hand nervously and asked, "Are you hurt?"
Fu Zhen shook her head and said gently, "No. The people my cousin sent for me knocked them all down."
Mrs. Bai let out a sigh of relief. "That's good..."
"However," Mrs. Bai said with a bit of amusement, "I don't know what's wrong with your luck. Every time you go out, it seems that you'll encounter some things. Originally, I thought that at least in the capital, with those soldiers patrolling every day, there wouldn't be any villains. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen."
It was really a coincidence. Although the current world was a bit chaotic, the capital was at least under the feet of the emperor. Logically, there shouldn't be any extremely vicious people. This was also the reason why Mrs. Bai dared to let Fu Zhen go out with confidence.
Who would have thought that such a thing would happen? She didn't meet any bandits but instead met kidnappers.
Even Fu Zhen herself felt a bit confused. Could it be that she had offended some god and had bad luck? Should she step over a brazier to ward off evil spirits another day?