Hearing this, Bai Zheng shyly lowered her head. A blush spread from her earlobes to her cheeks. She only stole a glance at Feng Linyuan from the corner of her eye before falling silent.
Seeing this, Feng Jingxuan and Feng Linhuai exchanged a knowing look. Feng Linhuai burst into even louder laughter.
"Xuan'er, you're so tactless. Why bother these lovebirds here?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Feng Jingxuan replied. "By the way, Uncle Yi, I heard that there's a new chef with excellent cooking skills in Baocu Hall. They've launched quite a few new dishes. How about I treat you to a meal there today?"
Feng Linhuai looked at the sky. The sun was directly overhead. The matter of reporting the misdeeds had been delayed for a long time, and now it was almost noon, the lunchtime.
"Why didn't you say so earlier? We'd better hurry. If we're late, we might not get a good seat." With that, he pulled Feng Jingxuan out of the door.
As soon as they left, the shyness on Bai Zheng's face vanished instantly. She stared coldly at Feng Linyuan with a straight face.
Seeing this, Feng Linyuan quickly put on an ingratiating smile and said softly, "Zheng'er, are you hungry?"
"No." Bai Zheng replied coldly and turned to walk out of the main hall.
At the gate of the yamen, the on - lookers had already dispersed. Only the carriage that Bai Zheng had taken in the morning was waiting there.
Bai Zheng looked around and frowned. "Where's your carriage?"
Feng Linyuan, who was following closely behind, replied in a low voice, "I came in a hurry just now. I rode my horse to Uncle Yi's mansion and then took his carriage here..."
"Rode a horse?" Bai Zheng's willow eyebrows shot up in anger. "Your health can't stand the jolts of horseback riding!"
Feng Linyuan lowered his head aggrievedly and dared not say a word.
Bai Zheng let out a long sigh. "I'll take you back. Get in the carriage."
Feng Linyuan quickly replied, "Okay."
The noon sun shone evenly through the carriage window and onto their bodies. The whole carriage was filled with warmth, but Bai Zheng's cold face seemed out of place.
Feng Linyuan stole a few cautious glances at her and finally broke the silence. "Zheng'er, are you angry?"
"What do you think?" Bai Zheng glared at him.
"I know. Zheng'er is blaming me for not taking care of my own health." Feng Linyuan said helplessly. "But Zheng'er, you should tell me before you do anything next time."
"You should also tell me before you go out without taking care of your health next time." Bai Zheng replied expressionlessly.
Feng Linyuan was silent for a long time and finally lowered his head. "Sorry."
Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows and quietly looked at Feng Linyuan. She let out a long sigh. "I thought we trusted each other enough."
She raised her eyes, and there were glimmers of light in them. "You should trust me. I'm not a person who acts without thinking about the consequences."
"Zheng'er, I naturally trust you." Feng Linyuan looked back at her. The corners of his thin lips curled up slightly. "But, after all, I'm your man."
Bai Zheng was slightly stunned, and then heard him say, "I hope you can give me a chance to show myself when you encounter difficulties. Although it's really worry - free to have a fiancée who can do everything, I won't have a sense of achievement in that case."
"A sense of achievement?" Bai Zheng turned her head.
She had been a tomboy for nearly thirty years in her past and present lives, and she really hadn't thought about this problem.
"I'm your future husband. If I can't protect my wife and she has to solve all the difficulties by herself, then I'll be such a useless husband. Moreover..."
There was a look of confusion on Bai Zheng's face. "Moreover what?"
"Moreover, if you deal with them alone, you always have to pay a price."
Bai Zheng gave a relieved smile. "Those prices are nothing. Sometimes, I only need to get a scratch to deal with them..."
"Even if it's just a scratch," Feng Linyuan interrupted her. His glass - like eyes stared at her firmly. "I'll feel heartache."
Bai Zheng paused. Her eyes darted around in a flurry, and then she lowered her head. Her fair earlobes were tinged with a faint red under the sunlight.
"All the so - called opportunities to show myself and sense of achievement can't compare to a single injury on you. Zheng'er," Feng Linyuan's voice was gentle. He reached out his hand and gently brushed the hair beside her ear, tucking it behind. "I hope you can understand my heartache."
Feng Linyuan smiled. The smile seemed brighter and warmer than ever.
Bai Zheng was a little dazed.
She felt a slight tingling sensation on her cheek, like an electric current hitting her heart. The delicate touch of his fingers seemed to linger, and Bai Zheng's mind went blank for a moment.
Then she heard Feng Linyuan's laughter ringing in her ear. "So, Zheng'er, don't be angry with me, okay?"
"Okay..."
As soon as the words came out, Bai Zheng felt a little annoyed.
What was wrong with her? Why did her usually proud reaction ability always come to a halt uncontrollably whenever she met Feng Linyuan? The scolding words she wanted to say were swallowed back, turning into gentle instructions.
"Then you promise me first to take good care of your health so that you can always protect me."
Feng Linyuan smiled. "Okay."
In the early spring, all the cold gradually melted away.
As everything started anew, it seemed that something had taken root in the soil and sprouted fresh buds.
Perhaps because of Bai Zheng's active plea this time, the Chu family didn't receive too much blame from Feng Linche for this incident. After they bought a merman pearl for 150,000 taels of silver at the auction in Jizhen Tower and returned it to Feng Linyuan, everything was fine.
As for Chu Feng, because he had worn wet clothes for too long that day and was also extremely angry, he fell seriously ill after returning home and didn't go out for a whole month.
However, the news that Chu Feng had spent several nights in Yicui Pavilion and Baima Courtyard spread like wildfire in the town. Since then, Bai Di completely cut off all ties with him.
A few days later, there was news that Feng Jingxuan had proposed to the second miss of the general's mansion to be his principal wife.
Feng Jingye and Prime Minister Chu were busy cleaning up the mess left by Chu Feng, and Feng Jingxuan and Bai Di were busy with their engagement banquet. For a while, no one came to trouble Bai Zheng.
Therefore, during this period of undisturbed days, besides going to the Song Kiln to study porcelain and accompanying the papermaking workshop, Bai Zheng focused on setting up her own industries with the 150,000 taels of silver that Feng Linyuan had given her.
Although Yongding was the capital city, the Great Zhou Dynasty was now facing both internal and external troubles and setbacks, looking rather in a state of decay waiting to be rejuvenated. Many shops in the city began to sell at low prices.
Bai Zheng had a large amount of money at hand, so she was even more generous.
Every day, as soon as she got the news, she would change into men's clothes and go out with Qing Shao to check out shops and restaurants.
After seven or eight days, she finally bought more than a dozen shops and two restaurants. Then she immediately invited craftsmen to redecorate the shops and restaurants according to her wishes.
At the same time, she also went out of the city with the steward found by the Song family to look at the fields. She bought a thousand mu of fertile farmland and five hundred mu of land outside the city. She also bought a large kiln outside the city and asked the craftsmen to build a forging furnace near the kiln.