"The last time I encountered these bandits, it wasn't an accident."
Apparently, they recognized Bai Zheng.
No matter how good someone's memory might be, in the pitch - black mountain at night, when they met a panicked young girl, had only a few brief encounters, and then watched as the girl fell off a cliff, it was already quite difficult to accurately remember the girl's face.
Moreover, Bai Zheng now was completely different from the night of the attack, whether in terms of her attire or her complexion and temperament.
Yet the leading man recognized her at a glance.
There were only two possible explanations for this result.
The first was that the leading man had a memory and an ability to recognize people far beyond the ordinary.
Bai Zheng recalled the leading man's performance when talking to Feng Linyuan and quickly shook her head, dismissing this possibility.
If he had such abilities, he would never have been a mere bandit leader in a bandit den.
That left only the second possibility, which was—
They already knew Bai Zheng.
The last attack might very well have been a conspiracy. Someone had colluded with these bandits, attempting to ruin Bai Zheng's innocence. But Bai Zheng had resisted to the death, which had led to her falling off the cliff.
At this thought, flames danced in Bai Zheng's eyes. Her slender fingers were pressed so tightly that the tips turned white.
Who on earth was trying to kill her again and again?
"Zheng'er." Looking at Bai Zheng in front of him, Feng Linyuan couldn't help but reach out his hand. His broad and warm palm enveloped Bai Zheng's clenched fist. A strange sense of warmth and calmness spread from his fingertips, causing her tense body to relax.
Remembering the blood - covered young girl he had first seen in the valley, Feng Linyuan's eyes were as gentle as water, and his words carried a tenderness he himself didn't even notice: "This time, I won't let them harm you in the slightest."
"I trust you. After all, it was you who saved me last time." Calmed down, Bai Zheng also remembered this and looked up, showing a big smile.
Feng Linyuan was slightly stunned. He had never deliberately tried to hide this matter from Bai Zheng, but he had also never thought of bringing it up on his own initiative. Now that Bai Zheng already knew, there was no need to keep it a secret.
He tightened his grip on Bai Zheng's hand again. The corners of Feng Linyuan's lips lifted slightly, with a cool smile: "Since their schemes started last time, we can't just accept their 'gift' in vain. We should send them something in return to show our gratitude."
"You've also guessed who it is?" Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows.
"Isn't the answer obvious?" Feng Linyuan smiled faintly.
At present, there were indeed many people in Yongding who had grudges against Bai Zheng and Feng Linyuan. But at that time, Bai Zheng was not yet Feng Linyuan's future marquis's wife and was not as prominent as she was now.
She was still the fiancée of Chu Feng, the young master of the prime minister's mansion, and the daughter of a third - rank assistant minister, known for being talentless, virtueless, and plain - looking. In Yongding City, there were only a few people who had grudges against her and wanted to harm her.
Although Chu Feng had looked down on her at that time, his nature was not bad, and he was not cruel enough to do such a thing.
That left only her good cousin, Bai Di.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, the door of the room was kicked open from the outside.
Bai Zheng's train of thought was abruptly interrupted. Before she could react, she felt her body lighten, and everything around her spun.
When she steadied herself, she was already standing behind Feng Linyuan.
Feng Linyuan stood in front of Bai Zheng, staring coldly at the three burly men who had suddenly barged in. He calmly asked, "What do you want?"
The three burly men completely ignored Feng Linyuan's question. They looked at Bai Zheng, who was protected behind Feng Linyuan, with great interest. One of them tilted his mouth and said loudly, "Boss, although this little beauty is dressed shabbily, her looks are really good."
Another nodded in agreement. "The one that can make the big boss go out in person and bring back can't be a bad one. But..." After his sight was completely blocked by Feng Linyuan's raised sleeve, he frowned and gave Feng Linyuan a disgusted look. "When did our stockade start having the rule of locking two prisoners together?"
The leading strongman rubbed his hands and sneered wickedly, "I heard that the big boss couldn't beat them, so he had to lock these two together."
"The big boss can't beat them? Hahaha..." Hearing this, another man burst into laughter, looking up at the sky. "With such a beautiful and delicate girl in front of him, one should fight to the death to win, right?"
The leading strongman nodded repeatedly. "Locking such a beauty here is really a waste. Little beauty, the night outside is lovely. Do you want me to take you out for a stroll?"
Seeing that the three men completely ignored Feng Linyuan and joked about Bai Zheng boldly, Feng Linyuan's patience was instantly exhausted. His hand hidden in his sleeve formed a claw, and he was about to strike at the three men.
Suddenly, a slender hand grabbed Feng Linyuan's arm.
Feng Linyuan frowned slightly and followed the slender hand to look at Bai Zheng.
Bai Zheng didn't say a word. She just made a reassuring gesture to Feng Linyuan under the cover of his tall figure, then walked out of his protection circle and asked the three smiling wickedly strongmen, "Really?"
Feng Linyuan's eyebrows knitted even tighter.
He knew what Bai Zheng meant.
Indeed, Bai Zheng wanted to go out to find evidence but had no chance. If she could really "go out for a stroll" with these three strongmen, it would be perfect.
But... How could Feng Linyuan rest assured that Bai Zheng would go out with these three scheming men rashly?
"Second boss, you can't touch these two!" Suddenly, a one - legged man rushed in and said to the leading strongman.
The leading strongman snorted immediately. "In this stockade, is there anyone I can't touch?"
"These two are worth a hundred thousand taels of silver. The big boss has ordered that no one in this small hut can be touched, no matter who they are."
"A hundred thousand taels?" The leading strongman's turbid eyes suddenly lit up. His gaze swept over Feng Linyuan and Bai Zheng again, and he clicked his tongue in admiration. "I didn't expect this little beauty to be so valuable. It's really hard to make a move."
"Yes, this hundred thousand taels can feed our stockade for several years." The one - legged man said repeatedly. "There are also beautiful women in our stockade. Second boss, how about I arrange Cuiyun for you?"
"Cuiyun?" Disgust immediately appeared on the leading strongman's face. "Compared with this little lady in front of me, what is Cuiyun?"
It would have been fine if the one - legged man hadn't mentioned Cuiyun. But now that he did, the leading strongman found Bai Zheng even more attractive the more he looked at her.
People were always like this. The more difficult something was to obtain, the more they wanted it.
He looked at Bai Zheng, his eyes full of lewdness: "Alright, I won't touch her. I'll just take this little beauty out for a stroll. It won't affect the big boss getting that hundred thousand taels."