Chapter 284: Chapter 256: Why Are You Touching Me?
Fu Zhen was stunned into silence; she didn’t expect this guy to be so shameless, taking advantage of her in front of everyone?
The Liang family members nearby couldn’t remain calm either. Flirting with their aunt in their presence, who would tolerate that?
Liang Zhi’s face turned stern: "Fifth brother, if you have something to say, just say it. Why are you getting handsy?"
Pei Zhan looked back calmly: "In ’Miss Fu’s’ eyes, I’m just a kid, a junior like Brother Xuan.
"Brother Xuan even holds hands with her, and we at least have the bond of helping each other. Supporting her isn’t a big deal, right?"
"Utter nonsense! Can you and Brother Xuan be the same? How old are you? How can you say such things without shame?"
Liang Zhi was convinced that he was just taking advantage of the situation. Pretending that no one had heard about their past affairs with Prince Rong’s Mansion and Yongping, he would bet that the Fifth Brother was showing off to flatter her!
Pei Zhan, however, said: "So what if I’m big? Am I not still ’Zhan Er’? I’ll be Zhan Er all my life, even when I’m seventy or eighty."
Everyone was taken aback.
Upon hearing this, Fu Zhen finally understood that he had overheard their previous conversation. And it was precisely this term of address that made him feel itchy all over!
She cleared her throat: "I misspoke earlier, why bother taking it to heart?"
Su Xinger tried to mediate: "We were waiting for you just now. Your timing is perfect, so why don’t you sit down and discuss business while I take Ah Zhen around?"
With that, she tugged at Fu Zhen’s sleeve, and the two walked out of the house.
As they left, they headed straight to the Hall of Peace and Joy, where Fu Zhen used to stay.
On the way, Su Xinger asked: "How’s married life? Are you pleased with our General Pingxi?"
Fu Zhen glanced at her mischievously: "What do you think?"
Su Xinger said: "I’m telling you, there isn’t another unmarried man as heroic as the Fifth Brother in the whole world. Seize the opportunity when you have it, don’t be fixated on revenge. Revenge is only temporary; the good days that follow, you have a lifetime of them!"
"That’s easy for you to say!"
Fu Zhen rolled her eyes.
She was well aware that revenge wasn’t the sole purpose of her life. Making this life better and ensuring the Liang family’s stable foothold in the Great Zhou Court were far more significant.
When Xu Yin killed her back then, whatever his true intentions were, one thing was certain: he believed the Liang family was in decline and would become a burden, which is why he acted without hesitation.
He was so heartless and profit-driven then, yet the more the Liang family prospered, the more it would slap him in the face.
Living this lost-and-found life better than before is also a form of revenge on him, isn’t it?
Fu Zhen kept a close watch on Xu Yin, not because she was driven by hatred, but because Xu Yin was responding swiftly and tactically at every step.
Dealing with this villain requires constant vigilance.
Moreover, only by swiftly eliminating him and removing this threat can Fu Zhen have the energy to focus on other matters.
Pei Zhan is a desirable catch, rare indeed, but merely to be admired, not consumed!
With a few words, they arrived outside the Hall of Peace and Joy.
Seeing the yard looking exactly as it did six years ago, Fu Zhen suddenly stopped: "I used to have many small items, all stored in several large camphorwood boxes left by my mother. Are those things still there?"
"They’re all there, untouched!" Su Xinger said as she asked someone to open the door. When everyone had left, she continued: "This yard has been regularly tidied up. Hong Ying and Lu Zhu, who used to serve you, initially refused to leave. Mother allowed them to stay here for a few months.
"But they were getting on in age, and Mother feared it would delay their marriages, so she kept them by her side and three years ago married them to some boys in the manor.
"After the marriage, they had children and returned to Mother’s side. This time, she was afraid that bringing them back would complicate matters, so she didn’t let them come back.
"But if they knew you were still alive, they’d probably be ecstatic!"
Hong Ying and Lu Zhu were maids who had been with Liang Ning since childhood. Both were skilled in martial arts and managed the affairs of the Hall of Peace and Joy efficiently.
Hearing this, Fu Zhen felt both sour and warm in her heart, and she unconsciously began to look forward to completing her revenge soon so that she could see them again!
The courtyard was spacious, even though her parents were no longer around, her brothers and sisters-in-law pampered her, expanding her original courtyard several times into a front-and-back small compound, nearly comparable to a small official’s residence.
Fu Zhen took just a glance at the front yard, then stepped towards the back yard. In the corner of the yard, a pomegranate tree was in full bloom, fiery red and dazzling under the sun. The annex behind the tree was locked, and Fu Zhen asked, "Where’s the key?"
"Here it is."
Su Xinger jingled a bunch of keys in her hand, opened the door, and they entered one after the other.
This was a place originally used to store miscellaneous items, now stacked with many wooden boxes of various sizes, and also some scattered weapons and armor.
Fu Zhen walked to the three large boxes by the window, opened one, and saw the items inside were indeed still arranged as she remembered, undisturbed.
She rummaged through them for a while and pulled out several notebooks with frayed edges.
"What’s this?" Su Xinger curiously leaned closer.
"This is where I record my daily life." Fu Zhen explained as she flipped them open, "I remember writing a lot about the outings with Xu Yin in the middle of these.
"In the winter month of the tenth year of Shengyuan, he disappeared for three days. That morning, he said he was going to town to buy some writing supplies, and coincidentally, that day I had to accompany my brother to the camp, so he left alone.
"But that day, suddenly there was a bandit disturbance in the town, with two shops catching fire, creating a chaos where the townspeople fled in all directions, and he wasn’t brought back until three days later.
"At the time, I thought it was just a false alarm, but thinking back now, the person who brought him back claimed to be a passing merchant who happened to hear that Xu Yin was from Tanzhou, his fellow townfolk, so he brought him back.
"I remember when I asked his name, he did tell me."
At this point, Fu Zhen showed her the page she was pointing to: "Indeed. Look, that merchant was called Zhou Yi. He said he was from Luokou Town in Tanzhou."
Su Xinger hesitated: "Tanzhou is hundreds of miles away from the northwest, and they can meet as fellow townsfolk?"
"Precisely!"
Fu Zhen frowned deeply, exhaling slowly, "Xu Yin said that all his family was gone. So if we can’t find anything else, we could at least investigate this Zhou Yi from Luokou Town."
Su Xinger understood: "Do you suspect they knew each other beforehand?"
Fu Zhen looked at her intently: "What if they did?"