"I used to think that Young Master Chu was at least a gentleman. I thought his infatuation with my second elder sister was just due to her beauty. Now it seems that I really misunderstood my second elder sister."
Bai Zheng's voice drifted over leisurely. Chu Feng was about to say something when suddenly he felt a numbness in his waist. His whole body stiffened, and then he felt a sharp pain in his neck and immediately fell to the ground.
"If Your Lordship doesn't come soon, I might really be taken to the Prime Minister's Mansion by this guy," Bai Zheng said with a faint smile.
From behind the tree, a man in a cyan outer robe walked out. He smiled gently. "I'm late. I've frightened Miss Bai."
Seeing Feng Linyuan's extremely pale face, Bai Zheng remembered what she had just blurted out and said apologetically, "Your Lordship should have stayed in the warm pavilion to recuperate. You shouldn't have rushed here for my sake."
Feng Linyuan smiled calmly. "I can handle such small matters. Is everything taken care of?"
A black - clothed man knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "It's taken care of. But about Young Master Chu..."
Feng Linyuan glanced at Chu Feng lying on the ground and just looked at Bai Zheng without saying a word.
Bai Zheng said indifferently, "Young Master Chu lost his fiancée. Grief - stricken, he indulged in alcohol and spent the night in a brothel. What a disgraceful act!"
The black - clothed man was stunned for a moment. Seeing the faint smile on Feng Linyuan's lips, he quickly lowered his head and said, "Yes!"
Then he picked up Chu Feng and disappeared into the night.
Somehow, the carriage that had fallen to one side had been righted. Bai Zheng glanced at the badly - injured coachman and said, "Please take good care of this elder brother, Your Lordship."
Feng Linyuan nodded. "Miss Bai needn't worry. I'll surely order someone to treat him well." As he said this, he coughed lightly.
Bai Zheng stepped forward, a look of concern in her eyes. "It's very cold at night this time of the year. Your Lordship is only wearing an outer robe. Your back might catch a cold. Why didn't Young Master Song stop you from coming out like this?"
Feng Linyuan smiled gently but didn't say a word.
There was no need to tell Bai Zheng that Song Yiqing had rushed over as soon as he received the news. But of course, traveling in a carriage, his speed couldn't match Feng Linyuan's who had come here using light - body skills.
Feng Linyuan himself didn't know whether his concern for Bai Zheng at this moment was because he knew she was indispensable for stealing the Bone - Penetrating Herb tomorrow, or because deep in his heart, he felt a twinge of unease when he heard that something had happened to her.
"The city gates have been locked now. Let me take Miss Bai back to your mansion."
The city gates of Yongding City would be closed at the You hour every day. Only a small gate on the west side was left open for the late - returning nobles. As the daughter of a third - rank official with no special honors, Bai Zheng had no right to enter or leave through the small west gate after the You hour.
But if it was the Marquis of Dingyuan entering, the guards at the gate naturally wouldn't dare to stop him.
Bai Zheng looked at Feng Linyuan, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. Since meeting her today, had this Marquis of Dingyuan been through too much trouble?
As if knowing what she was thinking, Feng Linyuan had a faint smile on his lips. "Tomorrow's plan can't succeed without Miss Bai's help. So tonight, Miss Bai must return to your mansion safely."
Looking into Feng Linyuan's gentle but determined eyes, Bai Zheng suddenly understood something.
When Chu Feng came to kidnap her this time, he must have made other arrangements in the city. If the Song family had not only sent a coachman but also highly - skilled bodyguards to escort her, Chu Feng couldn't have been sure to kidnap her.
But as long as he could keep Bai Zheng outside the city gates, at this special time when everyone was watching her, an unmarried young lady staying out all night would be enough to ruin her reputation.
Biting her lips, Bai Zheng lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment. Then she looked up and said, "Thank you for seeing me off, Your Lordship."
Feng Linyuan had already walked to the carriage. "After you, Miss Bai."
Bai Zheng wasn't polite and nimbly got into the carriage.
With Feng Linyuan in the carriage, it suddenly became crowded. Bai Zheng shifted uneasily towards the inside. Not knowing where to look for a moment, she looked left and right and finally lifted the curtain of the window to look outside.
Feng Linyuan coughed a few times imperceptibly. Only then did Bai Zheng realize that since the curtain had been lifted, the cold wind from outside had blown into the already not - very - warm carriage, making it even colder.
Bai Zheng quickly put down the curtain and said embarrassedly, "It was thoughtless of me. Please forgive me, Your Lordship."
A glint of amusement flashed in Feng Linyuan's gentle eyes. Suddenly he said, "This Young Master Chu didn't have very good taste before."
Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows. "Now everyone's taste has improved, hasn't it?"
Thinking of tomorrow's plan, Feng Linyuan's lips curled up, making his whole face come alive. "Miss Bai is not modest."
Seeing Feng Linyuan's smile, Bai Zheng was a little dazed. Although his face was pale, his dark eyes were clear and bright. Under his straight nose were two gentle lips with a smile.
She hadn't met Feng Linyuan many times. In Bai Zheng's impression, this Marquis of Dingyuan always seemed leisurely and gentle. Even when he smiled, it was always faint. This was the first time she had seen him smile so genuinely, so... attractively.
No wonder Song Yiqing was so devoted to him...
"What are you thinking about, Miss Bai?" Seeing her staring at him absent - mindedly, Feng Linyuan asked.
Bai Zheng came back to her senses and smiled awkwardly. "Nothing. I was just thinking... about the Purple Capsule Fruit."
Feng Linyuan raised his eyes. "What's your opinion on the matter of the Purple Capsule Fruit, Miss Bai?"
"Liu Feng rarely touches other things with its claws. And it has always been by your side, so it's unlikely that someone could get close without being noticed. I'm thinking that maybe the Purple Capsule Fruit was placed on the road, or at the gate of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion, or at the gate of the Song family's mansion."
Hearing this, Feng Linyuan wasn't surprised. Instead, he nodded as if he had already thought of it. "Miss Bai is quite right. I've already ordered someone to investigate. They've also checked inside the mansion carefully."
Bai Zheng quickly asked, "Have they found anything?"
Feng Linyuan shook his head. "Not yet."
Just as Bai Zheng was about to continue speaking, the carriage suddenly stopped. The voice of the coachman came from outside. "How dare you! How dare you block the Marquis of Dingyuan's carriage? Are you tired of living?"
Bai Zheng quickly fell silent. Looking at the small carriage, her eyes finally landed on the cyan outer robe Feng Linyuan was wearing. Without hesitation, she moved behind Feng Linyuan. Feng Linyuan casually adjusted his robe, completely covering Bai Zheng.
Not to mention that a man and a woman traveling in the same carriage would arouse suspicion. Bai Zheng's late return on the eve of the matchmaking banquet would easily cause trouble for tomorrow's event.
If it were any other time, Bai Zheng wouldn't have cared about these things. But since they had to steal the Bone - Penetrating Herb tomorrow, they must ensure that the banquet went smoothly. So it was better not to let others see her.
They only heard the city - guarding officer outside say, "The Marquis of Dingyuan? Why is Your Lordship sitting in such a small carriage?"
Then he stepped forward and was about to lift the curtain.
"If you think my carriage is too small, you can also give me a bigger one."