In the capital.
Fu Zhen stared blankly at the various gift boxes in front of her. "Aunt, what are these?"
Madam Bai was also a bit puzzled. "Do you know Lord Chu from the north of the city? These were all sent by him as tokens of gratitude."
The gifts were rather generous. Hearing that she was in poor health, half of them were medicinal herbs, including several boxes of bird's nests.
The other half consisted of porcelain and silk. For a fourth - rank official who had just returned to the capital, being able to present such gifts indicated that his family had quite a bit of fortune.
Fu Zhen immediately recalled what had happened that day. She explained, "He's the one who lost his child on the street when I ran into him."
Madam Bai suddenly understood. At that time, Fu Zhen had only mentioned that an official who had just returned to the capital had lost his child, without going into details. She looked down at the gifts. For some inexplicable reason, she always felt that there was something off about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
It was normal for someone to send gifts to express gratitude, and more generous gifts only showed that his family was well - off. There was nothing suspicious at first glance.
Fu Zhen frowned slightly. "These gifts are too valuable. We'd better return some of them."
That meant they needed to send back gifts in return.
Madam Bai thought for a while and asked someone to take out several sets of excellent writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones bestowed by the imperial court from the warehouse. "Since he's a scholar, these gifts are appropriate. Nanny Li, go and make a trip. Explain things properly on the way so that he won't misunderstand."
Nanny Li readily agreed and left the mansion with a maid.
This matter should have ended there. The Chu family and the Marquis's Mansion were not close. However, two days later, Lord Chu came to the mansion in person.
Madam Bai was quite puzzled but didn't want to ask directly. So she chatted with Chu Qiwen for a while.
After the pleasantries, Chu Qiwen said, "I sent the gifts the other day just to express my gratitude to the young lady for her great kindness. To be honest, my parents and wife have all passed away. Only Kang'er and I depend on each other. Maybe what the young lady did that day was just a simple act of kindness, but it was truly a great favor to me. Such a debt of gratitude can never be fully repaid, no matter how valuable the gifts are. The servant who came that day might have been clumsy in his explanations and made the madam uneasy, so you sent back gifts. After much thought, I decided to come and explain in person. I hope the madam won't misunderstand."
Scholars often carried a sense of pride, but there was no such arrogance in Chu Qiwen. Standing upright in the hall, he bowed with his hands clasped. His skin was as fair as jade, and a small mole on his nose made him look extremely handsome. He was the very embodiment of a gentleman.
Madam Bai had originally treated him indifferently. After hearing his words, she felt relieved and her attitude became warmer. "I understand your feelings, Lord Chu. This matter is in the past. Don't worry about it anymore. Please sit down."
Only then did Chu Qiwen take his seat.
He had served as an official in other places for many years and had developed the ability to read people's expressions. Since he was here to express his gratitude, he was extremely considerate. He never let a single word from Madam Bai go unnoticed. His conversation was so pleasant that Madam Bai grew more and more fond of him as they talked.
Just then, a young maid came to report, "Madam, the second young lady is here."
The smile on Madam Bai's face froze. She looked at the sky. Chu Qiwen had come early, and it was indeed the time for Fu Zhen to come and pay her respects.
Chu Qiwen stood up and said gently, "Since I've explained everything clearly, I won't bother you anymore, Madam. I'll take my leave."
He was truly considerate. With just a glance, he knew it was time to go.
With the young lady of the mansion present, it was inappropriate for an unfamiliar outside man to stay.
As he stepped out of the main courtyard gate, he brushed past Fu Zhen. His eyes slid across her smiling face, flickered for a moment, and then he quickly lowered his eyes.
"Aunt."
Madam Bai led her to sit down and explained, "Lord Chu came just now because of the gifts we sent back. He was afraid that we might misunderstand his good intentions. He's really a man who knows how to repay kindness, and he's good at conversation."
Fu Zhen smiled. "Aunt seems quite satisfied with him."
Madam Bai nodded and gave her a sidelong glance. "If it were before, I would have chosen a family like his for you as a husband - to - be."
"..." Fu Zhen suddenly understood. Lord Chu came from a noble and upright family. Although he said he had severed ties with his family, it was just a gesture. With his abilities, his family would never let him go.
Moreover, he was handsome and gentle. From the way he had won Madam Bai's favor with just a few words, it was obvious that he was excellent at dealing with people. His family was also simple. Apart from a son, there was no one else.
If she married into his family, she would be in charge of the household right away. She wouldn't have to serve her in - laws, and there would be no concubines to cause trouble. Except for having a step - son, everything else was perfect.
No wonder Madam Bai had thought of saving such a family for her.
A sense of melancholy suddenly welled up in Fu Zhen's heart. Madam Bai always thought of the best for her. Unfortunately, due to a series of coincidences in her previous life, she had never even known this Chu Qiwen. When she was involved with Chen Tingfeng, Chu Qiwen might not even have returned to the capital.
"But I think," Fu Zhen said with a smile as she leaned on her aunt's shoulder, "it's also great like this now."
Being able to spend a lifetime with this family was truly wonderful.
Even a fortune couldn't buy this.
Madam Bai stroked her head. "It's Shaochuan's good fortune to have won your favor."
The two leaned against each other, exuding a gentle warmth.
However, no one expected that trouble would come so suddenly.
When Chu Qiwen came to the mansion that day, someone saw him and spread the news. Soon, it was rumored in the capital that the newly - returned Lord Chu had taken a fancy to the young lady from the Marquis's Mansion and that he had come to propose marriage that day.
After all, the fact that his parents and wife had died at the hands of bandits couldn't be hidden. It spread throughout the capital within a few days.
Hearing this news, Jin Xianghuan lifted her skirt and rushed to the Marquis's Mansion. She was extremely surprised, her eyes wide open as she asked, "Is it true? Did he really come to propose marriage to you? Then what about your cousin?"
Fu Zhen was exasperated. "No! He came that day just to thank me for saving his son. He didn't say anything else. How could such a ridiculous rumor spread?"
Jin Xianghuan relaxed. "That's good. I was really afraid that your cousin would rush back to the capital overnight and storm into his house if he heard about it."
Fu Zhen couldn't help but laugh and cry. "Is it really that exaggerated?"
But deep down, she wasn't sure. After all, Chen Tingfeng was extremely jealous. If this news reached his ears through the wrong people...
Now was a critical moment, and Fu Zhen didn't want such things to distract him.
She frowned slowly. It seemed that she still had to go and talk to Chu Qiwen to make things clear.
In the northern border, the war was raging.
Chen Xuan fought on the battlefield with injuries. He was entangled by Helian Zhen. Helian Zhen was in his prime and full of strength. After a few rounds, Chen Xuan was being pushed back and completely on the defensive.
This time, Helian Zhen was smarter. He didn't let Chen Xuan lead him around. Instead, he had several warriors protect him and forced Chen Xuan into the trap he had set.
Helian Zhen keenly noticed the trembling of Chen Xuan's hands. His eyes immediately lit up with excitement. He threw back his head and laughed three times. "This day next year will be your death anniversary! All of you so - called Marquises of Wuan will become the souls under my Helian Zhen's sword!"
With that, he swung his sword down towards Chen Xuan!
Chen Xuan quickly raised his spear to block the sword. But suddenly, he felt a chill behind him. He was startled. With a kick of his feet and a twist of his waist, he instantly leaped into the air from his horse.
He narrowly avoided the rain of sword strikes, but he was forced to retreat continuously, and his hands completely lost their strength.
He stabbed his spear into the ground and kicked away a charging warrior with a flying kick. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw Helian Zhen holding a bow, pulling it to a full moon. An arrow, carrying tremendous force, shot towards him!
In that instant, his mind went almost blank. He had nowhere to hide. Gritting his teeth, he was even prepared to take the arrow head - on.
In the blink of an eye, he suddenly heard a powerful whistling sound, like a thunderclap in the night, exploding in his ear!
"Reinforcements are here! Brothers, charge!!"
Someone shouted this, and Chen Xuan's hazy ears suddenly became extremely clear, as if he had emerged from underwater.
The sound of horses' hooves resounded through the sky!
Looking closely, the arrow shot by Helian Zhen was like a broken bird, instantly pierced through by a black - iron arrow like an eagle!
"Father! Get on the horse!"
Chen Xuan turned his head and saw the rider getting closer. He suddenly burst into laughter and reached out to grab the young and strong right hand that was stretched out to him!
He was old, but his son was in his prime.
Sitting behind Chen Tingfeng, he watched as his son took his long spear and swept through the enemy troops. A sense of invincible pride suddenly welled up in his heart.
Suddenly, he remembered a remark made by Lord Zhang when Chen Tingfeng was young.
He had said, "The latent dragon in the deep pool is born extraordinary."
"With such a son, the Marquis's Mansion of Wuan can be protected for three generations."
Now, it was truly coming true.