Mrs. Lin immediately frowned tightly.
Bai Zheng, however, remained calm, merely raising her eyes slightly.
Only then did she notice that a young girl in a pale-yellow dress had somehow gotten out of the carriage behind Feng Jingyang.
It was Zheng Yan, whom she hadn't seen for many days.
The moment Zheng Yan saw Bai Zheng, a flash of hostility crossed her eyes. She walked up to Feng Jingyang, lifted her chin, and said to Bai Zheng, "Third Sister? Miss Bai, you really do have a high talent for seducing men! Even though you're already engaged, you still cling to our Fourth Prince!"
Seeing Zheng Yan looking so jealous, Bai Zheng felt a surge of impatience.
Judging from Zheng Yan's performance when dealing with Su Muxiao last time, this girl clearly inherited the intelligence of her parents. So why did she lose all her senses whenever it came to Feng Jingyang?
She was like a rabid dog, biting anyone she could.
Bai Zheng had already explained the situation to her last time, and Zheng Yan knew it was Bai Di and Su Muxiao who had framed her.
Now, with just a warm "Third Sister" from Feng Jingyang, all the hostility Zheng Yan had towards Bai Zheng, which had just subsided, flared up again.
It was just that Feng Jingyang was ill-intentioned and always dragged Bai Zheng into trouble.
Sure enough, before Bai Zheng could say a word, Feng Jingyang frowned and spoke first, "Yan'er, don't be rude. Third Sister knows her boundaries and is well-mannered. She is gentle and understanding. Don't bully her."
These words only added fuel to the fire.
Zheng Yan immediately exploded.
"Who are you saying is bullying whom? It was clearly her carriage that rammed into ours. Instead of scolding her, you're blaming me? Has the world changed so much that it no longer matters who is in the right, but only who can seduce men?"
Zheng Yan raised her voice, and her eyes were filled with jealousy as she looked at Bai Zheng.
"What kind of sister is she to you? Or is it that after you took Su Muxiao as your concubine, you've started to dote on her cousin as if she were your own?"
Mrs. Lin was so angry that her whole body trembled.
Bai Zheng gently held Mrs. Lin's arm to comfort her and gave her a reassuring look, which made her calm down a bit.
By now, the area around them was already filled with people attracted by Zheng Yan's scolding, blocking the entire street.
This place wasn't as spacious as the entrance of Xinrui Hall. If they really confronted each other, it would be impossible for anyone to pass on the street.
Moreover, Zheng Yan was different from Princess Yunxi. Bai Zheng still felt a bit of pity for this woman who was blinded by love.
Therefore, in the face of Zheng Yan's outburst, Bai Zheng didn't say a word in response.
Anyway, someone would surely resolve this matter.
As if to prove Bai Zheng's thought, seeing more and more onlookers, including many high-ranking officials and nobles from Yongding, Feng Jingyang immediately stepped forward with a dark face.
"Enough! Aren't you ashamed enough? Do you really have to ruin Third Miss's reputation to be satisfied?"
With that, he pulled Zheng Yan hard and dragged her towards the carriage.
Zheng Yan was even more enraged by these words. She raised her voice and shouted, "Reputation? A slut who seduces other people's fiancé, what kind of reputation does she have!"
"You're making a fool of yourself. Shut up!" Feng Jingyang lifted her up forcefully and got into the carriage with her. Then he coldly ordered, "Hurry up and go."
From inside the carriage, Zheng Yan's scolding still came out intermittently: "Feng Jingyang... You're heartless... You actually... use force on me... for that slut..."
The guards pushed the crowd aside with difficulty and made a way.
The carriage gradually drove away, and Zheng Yan's voice faded away in the wind.
All that was left were the onlookers who hadn't left yet, pointing at Bai Zheng and looking at her with contempt.
Bai Zheng seemed not to notice this at all. She just looked in the direction where Feng Jingyang and Zheng Yan had left, with a faint, half-smile on her lips.
"Zheng'er?" Mrs. Lin looked at her worriedly.
Hearing the call, Bai Zheng came back to her senses. She glanced at the onlookers indifferently and then smiled at Mrs. Lin. "Mother, I'm fine. Let's get in the carriage."
Mrs. Lin nodded repeatedly. "Alright. Let's get in and go back. You were right just now. We can just let the tailor shop send some clothes over. It'll save us the trouble of coming out."
Bai Zheng's long eyelashes fluttered. She was about to refuse but then remembered that her mother was always timid. Although she didn't care about the gossips of others, Mrs. Lin couldn't stand such stimulation.
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng obediently nodded.
"What exactly happened just now?" After getting into the carriage, Bai Zheng's expression returned to coldness. She asked Qing Shao, whom she had pulled into the carriage.
The street they were on was quite wide, and the horses from their mansion were always gentle. There was no reason for the horse to go crazy and ram into Feng Jingyang's carriage for no reason.
Qing Shao lowered her head and replied, "I don't know what happened. A dog suddenly ran out on the road and startled our horse, so..."
"What about the dog?"
Qing Shao shook her head. "It's long gone."
Bai Zheng smiled slightly. "It sounds like an accident."
"Miss, do you mean they did it on purpose? It was just a dog. Our speed was slow, and it couldn't have overturned our carriage." Zhu Ling couldn't help but interrupt. "Could it be that they just wanted Miss Zheng to fly into a rage and scold you?"
Bai Zheng didn't answer. She just lifted the curtain and looked up at the gloomy sky outside. She sighed, "I wonder if it's going to rain or clear up."
Zhu Ling poked her head out and took a look. "The weather in March is the hardest to guess. Who knows?"
"Yeah." The corner of Bai Zheng's lips twitched slightly, and she said indifferently, "Who knows?"
In the following days, since Mrs. Lin no longer dared to think about going out, everything was quite peaceful.
Mrs. Lin picked out a set of clothes sent by the tailor shop for Bai Zheng.
Two days later, Feng Linyuan also sent a set.
Bai Zheng devoted herself wholeheartedly to her several shops that were nearing completion. She was so busy that she hardly had time to rest, so she simply put that little incident behind her.
If it weren't for seeing the brocade box carried by Bai Fu at this moment, Bai Zheng would have almost forgotten the conflict on the street that day.
"Uncle Fu, you said this was sent by the Fourth Prince?" Bai Zheng narrowed her eyes and stared closely at the brocade box in Bai Fu's hand.
Bai Fu also looked embarrassed. "The Fourth Prince specially sent someone to deliver these clothes and jewelry to the Bai Mansion. He said that he had interrupted Miss's pleasure of shopping for clothes that day and came to apologize to Third Miss."
Hearing this, Bai Zheng couldn't help but laugh. "This Feng Jingyang is really interesting. Now that Zheng Yan isn't here, who is he acting for?"
Zhu Ling, who was quick to speak, said, "Could it be that the Fourth Prince has really taken a fancy to our miss?"
"Does he seem like someone with such taste?" Bai Zheng sneered. She leaned back against the chair, propped up her chin lazily with her right hand, and glanced indifferently at the brocade box. "What else did the Fourth Prince say?"
"The Fourth Prince also said, said..." Bai Fu looked at the lazy but graceful girl in front of him and hesitated for a long time before saying, "He said that if Miss refused to wear these clothes at the engagement banquet tomorrow, it would mean... it would mean..."
"Mean what?"
Bai Fu hesitated for a moment and said with an ugly expression, "It would mean that Miss, you are arrogant and refuse to forgive the Fourth Prince and Miss Zheng."