After Rebirth, She Becomes the Revenge Queen
Chapter 43 - 042 What does a meeting between a man and a woman have to do with you?

Chapter 43: Chapter 042 What does a meeting between a man and a woman have to do with you?

Fu Zhen pondered for a moment, then walked to the desk, picked up a pen and paper, and drew a diagram before sitting down beside him: "General Pei, with your vast knowledge, have you ever seen this pattern?"

Pei Zhan glanced sideways, and when he saw the pattern clearly, he took the paper. "What is this?"

"On the night of the murder, Miss Liang from the Liang family saw this symbol at the crime scene."

The symbol was on the dagger. Although she hadn’t seen it before, it looked significant at first glance. She had played with the dagger for several days, so naturally, every detail was imprinted in her mind.

At the time of the incident, Pei Zhan was on the frontier battling enemies, and several members of the Pei family had consecutively sacrificed themselves. His mind was on the war, so his connection to this murder case was likely negligible.

Revealing it was risky, but since she hadn’t mentioned the dagger itself, the risk was still within a controllable range.

"Since she saw it, why do you have it?"

Pei Zhan’s eyes suddenly gleamed sharply as he stared directly at Fu Zhen, like an Arhat Bodhisattva in a temple, refusing to let any evil slip away.

"Because, coincidentally, my mother was nearby as well, and she let my mother see it."

Fu Zhen hesitated, spinning a tale.

"That night, my mother was in the loft beside the alley, and she went to seek Vice Minister Xu—of course, that’s what she later told my mother. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know why she passed by there—"

"What was she doing seeking Xu Yin in the middle of the night?"

Pei Zhan interrupted her before she could finish.

She choked for a moment, then said, "How should I know? Isn’t it rumored that they are engaged? Even if she went to find him in the middle of the night, what’s the matter?

"In Great Zhou, customs are open, women can also go to the battlefield and kill enemies. It’s common for young men and women to associate openly, so it’s none of anyone else’s business."

Aside from Liang Ning, no one else in the world knew Xu Yin’s true nature, and with his power so great and the backing of Prince Rong’s Mansion, the Fu family was like nothing before him.

Now, his association with the Liang family was just as it was before, so he must be maintaining contacts with the other four General’s Mansions as well.

Without absolute confidence, she naturally couldn’t show any inkling of her true attitude toward him.

"Unmarried, one must maintain etiquette. Solitary man and woman meeting at night naturally implies a connection!" Pei Zhan clattered his cup, his face stern.

Fu Zhen was caught off guard by his anger!

Who was he talking about?

He was talking about her!

She had been dead for six years and still had to be taught how to behave by him?

She said, "Even if it has to do with etiquette, what’s it got to do with you? The man has feelings, the woman has intentions; if she hadn’t died, they might have married, with kids running everywhere by now!"

As soon as her words dropped, Pei Zhan slammed his hand on the table.

The teacup on the table jumped up.

He looked at Fu Zhen coldly, "Are you finished?"

Fu Zhen was stunned, feeling an internal burst of "his great-grandmother..."

If it weren’t for Brother Pei and Sister Pei being so kind to her in the past, she would have cursed all his ancestors!

After all, did she say anything wrong just now?

Wasn’t he the one who first questioned why Liang Ning sought Xu Yin?

She merely answered his question, so how did it become her not stopping!

She took a deep breath and nodded, "Why don’t you continue?"

Can’t provoke, can’t provoke!

This child lacked manners from a young age and now was so unreasonable. She must find a chance to talk to his parents about this in the future!

Pei Zhan averted his eyes, looking ahead: "Those words just now, have you told anyone else?"

"No!" Fu Zhen stared straight at him, "I’m not nuts, spreading this kind of thing around!"

"Good." He raised his tea again, "In the future, except for me, you’re not to tell anyone else."

Ha!

Truly domineering.

But does he know who is sitting in front of him?

If he pushed her too far, she’d roll him into a dumpling if he annoyed her enough!

As he was pulling too outrageously, Fu Zhen did nothing. She merely glanced sideways, her fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"I need to know everything about that thing you talked about."

Fortunately, he knew to return to the main topic. At this moment, his eyes were like ice as he stared at her and started speaking: "Should I bring your mother for a meeting, or will you inquire and reply to me yourself? You choose.

"As long as you can speak convincingly, I can overlook the matter outside the Liang Mansion that night."

Fu Zhen stopped her tapping: "That’s not a problem! It’s just that I’m not very clear on some details. If you come with me to the Fu family now, I’ll inquire and come back to report!"

If he made any other demands, it might be tricky, but for this matter, what could be clearer than she and Mrs. Fu?

Liang Ning’s seen and heard were clear to her mind, but she wasn’t certain what Mrs. Fu had seen, so she had to fully understand before she could avoid exposing herself.

In any case, as long as he let the matter of the Liang Mansion pass, and believed her explanation of her connection with Liang Ning, she would have no problem even if it meant detailing the events of that night as detailed as a book and presenting it to him.

The strength of Miss Fu was too weak, to topple Xu Yin, she needed to strategize patiently.

But discovering that Mrs. Fu, who had once saved her, had become her mother, she realized that all the good karma Liang Ning formed in her lifetime could still help her.

For instance, Mrs. Fu became her mother, providing a body for her soul to return to within the daughter’s flesh, and Li Yi generously gave her a guard.

In the future, she could surely continue to seek such opportunities.

The case behind the dagger was clearly a significant juncture. Even if Liang Ning hadn’t died, the truth of this matter was worth revealing.

Pei Zhan has not much involvement with Liang Ning, but his power was ample. Even if he did not intervene, having one more person believing the matter’s existence was naturally good.

Otherwise, among the only two witnesses, Liang Ning was already dead, leaving only Mrs. Fu, who even if she stepped forward to testify, would be like a lone hand clapping, lacking persuasiveness.

At this point, she recalled the dagger she had hidden in the temple’s shrine.

Since finding the dagger, she carried it with her until she hid it beneath the floor tile under her two brothers’ portraits at Baihe Temple, which saw many people passing through.

At that time, she hid it quite securely, prying the floor tile open and inserting it under the foundation to ensure it wouldn’t be discovered by anyone.

Though the investigators from Dali Temple were thorough in their work, since no further analyses of this case were reported, and the key was that the Liang family was present too but didn’t leak any news, it was likely they didn’t discover the dagger beneath the ground.

"By noon tomorrow, I’ll be waiting for you in front of Yang’s Tofu Shop in Yuji Square. If you fail to show up on time, you know the consequences."

At this point, Pei Zhan put down the cup, stood up, and looked at her coldly, like an experienced hunter focusing on his prey.

After a deep pause, he walked out the door.

Fu Zhen turned and peeked her head out of the window, seeing indeed outside a large crowd of guards rushing towards him, and the Great General mounted his horse, the hem of his brocade robe forming a perfect arc in the air—truly an impressive display!