Seeing Bai Zheng get up, Zhu Ling quickly stepped forward to attend to her grooming.
After Bai Zheng rinsed her mouth and wiped the water off the corner of her mouth, she said, "Lord Zhao, the grand councilor, and Lord Qing, the duke, have been entrenched in the officialdom for so many years. Now it's time to see their respective capabilities."
Actually, Bai Zheng was not a soothsayer. This time, out of desperation, she had borrowed the manpower from the general's mansion.
Although they were efficient under her command, they were not her own confidants after all. It was not that easy to ensure everything went smoothly. So she had secretly placed letters in the mansions of all the officials in Yongding.
By now, the entire court was probably in a panic.
"When will the master be back?"
Bai Zheng sat in front of the dressing table, looked at the charming beauty in the bronze mirror, and curled her lips. "Soon."
In winter, the sky dawned late. The sun slowly rose from behind the gilded clouds. Before long, the eastern sun shone with dazzling light.
Feng Linyuan was dressed in a moon - white and cyan fur coat, reading a scroll under a tree. The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling his handsome side face. His long eyebrows slanted into his temples, making him look as delicate as a painting.
"Hahaha... That third Miss Bai is truly an interesting person!"
A loud laugh came from afar and drew closer. Feng Linyuan looked up and saw that the owner of the laugh was dressed in a red brocade robe, standing out conspicuously against the background of ice and snow.
In his well - defined hand, he waved a silk fan that was out of place for the season. His long, ink - like hair fluttered in the wind as he waved the fan. He was truly a handsome and elegant man.
"I'm really grateful to you for sending someone to track this third Miss Bai. Otherwise, we might have missed such a wonderful show!"
The man walked up to Feng Linyuan, casually picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then sat down on the stone bench beside him. He continued with great interest, "But since she dared to act like this towards General Bai, it seems that General Bai Yinan has nothing to do with the 200,000 taels of silver. But then again, where will she get the 3,000 taels of silver she owes you?"
Feng Linyuan didn't answer. Instead, he looked at the fan that the red - robed man had just put away and smiled. "Aren't you afraid of the cold?"
The red - robed man selectively ignored Feng Linyuan's teasing words and was fully immersed in the previous topic. "Why don't you keep Mo Li following her? I really want to see how she can come up with 3,000 taels of silver. This is 3,000 taels!"
Feng Linyuan pretended to size him up. "You, Song Yiqing, the second young master of the Song family, the richest family in the Great Zhou, why are you so interested in such a small amount of 3,000 taels?"
"That girl is so bold and reckless. She dared to fabricate things out of thin air to slander important court officials. What if she sets her eyes on my family's wealth next and causes trouble for me?"
The Song family, where Song Yiqing belonged, was not only the richest family in the Great Zhou but also had shops all over the Southern Shu and Western Liang.
There was once a saying in the Jianghu that "wherever there are people, there are the Song family's businesses", which showed the vast wealth of the Song family.
Feng Linyuan recalled the first time he saw Bai Zheng.
At that time, she was lying in the snow, her lips pale and her delicate face bloodless. Her clothes were in a mess, obviously torn by tree branches and sharp stones during her fall. Large, hideous wounds were oozing blood.
Her blood - covered and dying appearance could be easily spotted in the snow - covered valley.
Feng Linyuan had only carried her back for treatment out of his friendship with General Bai. He didn't expect that this young woman would recover in just a few days.
Now she was even more quick - witted and ruthless in her methods.
As soon as her father was imprisoned, in this extremely urgent situation, she could come up with a plan to divert the trouble to others. The timing was so precise that it was really unexpected.
But the most terrifying thing was that she had even calculated human nature.
Since ancient times, emperors had been suspicious. They would never allow any potential threats. General Bai held military power and was extremely influential in the court. He must have been walking on thin ice.
This woman was really not simple!
Song Yiqing took a sip of tea. As if remembering something, he looked at Feng Linyuan and asked, "By the way, what are you going to do about the corruption case?"
Hearing this, Feng Linyuan's eyes instantly became extremely sharp.
The old couple who had filed the complaint had encountered many assassinations on their way. Fortunately, Mo Li had escorted them, so they could enter the capital smoothly.
Originally, they thought that Bai Yinan was involved. Now it seemed that it was the old couple's successful entry into the capital that had thrown the real mastermind behind the scenes into a panic. Bai Yinan was just a scapegoat.
If Miss Bai found out...
Thinking of this, Feng Linyuan tightened his fur coat. The sharpness in his eyes faded, and he returned to his usual gentle self. "Let Miss Bai handle this matter. I'm sure she will have a way to deal with it after she knows the truth."