When the guests had all dispersed and the coffin had been destroyed, Zheng Yan's funeral came to an anticlimactic end.
Walking on the path leading to the main gate of the Marquis of Gaochang's Mansion, Bai Zheng pulled her dress tighter around her as she surveyed the mess in the mansion caused by the sudden gale. She let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
"Zheng'er," called Bai Yinan, who had been waiting at the gate for his daughter to come out.
Seeing her father, Bai Zheng quickened her steps and ran towards him.
"Are you hurt?"
Bai Yinan could hardly remember how many times he had been so terrified and worried about his beloved daughter since Bai Zheng had bailed him out of the Dali Temple.
Every time he saw his daughter in danger, he would think that he must scold and discipline her properly.
But after the long wait, when he saw Bai Zheng appear safe and sound, all his reproachful emotions would turn into just one question on his lips - "Are you hurt?"
Bai Zheng looked apologetic and lowered her head. "I'm fine, Father. I've made you worry."
"That's good. It looks like it's going to rain soon. Let's go back to the mansion quickly," Bai Yinan said after carefully checking to make sure Bai Zheng's clothes were neat and there were no signs of injury. Then he glanced at the sky.
Bai Zheng turned around. By now, the lightning and thunder on the horizon had gradually subsided. Although the wind was not as strong as when the Taoist priests were performing the ritual, it was still quite blustery. As it blew head - on, the clothes of the passers - by fluttered.
A cold smile played on Bai Zheng's lips.
She didn't know if the Taoist priests were good at performing rituals, but their ability to predict the weather was truly extraordinary.
Inside the carriage, Bai Yinan frowned deeply, looking preoccupied.
Bai Zheng withdrew her gaze from outside the carriage and lowered the curtain. Seeing her father's expression, she asked softly, "What are you thinking about, Father?"
"Hmm?" Bai Yinan looked up. Seeing his daughter's concerned eyes, he couldn't help but smile faintly. "I was just sighing that Miss Zheng was so young. Because she had a bad encounter with a man, she ended up in such a tragic state."
After saying that, he lowered his eyes somewhat embarrassedly and added, "This is the first time in my decades of life that I've seen a vengeful ghost causing trouble with my own eyes."
Hearing this, Bai Zheng smiled gently. She leaned forward towards Bai Yinan and said, "Do you really think it was because Miss Zheng turned into a vengeful ghost today?"
Bai Yinan was taken aback. "That young Taoist priest almost strangled Princess Pingyang. It can't be that the young Taoist was acting, right?"
Bai Zheng sat back straight and tapped her knee lightly with her finger. "I think the young Taoist's acting skills were quite remarkable."
"You mean..." Bai Yinan opened his eyes slightly, looking incredulous. "Those Taoist priests did it on purpose?"
"Someone wanted to cure the Fourth Prince's illness and came up with the idea of making Miss Zheng's soul disappear forever. But on normal days, the Marquis of Gaochang and Princess Pingyang guarded her too strictly. So they had to take action during the funeral when there were many people around and it was easy to cause chaos," Bai Zheng explained briefly.
Judging from today's scale, it was obvious that Concubine Zhao had put a lot of effort into this day.
She had bribed the servants of the Marquis of Gaochang's Mansion, transferred the most elite and loyal guards of the mansion to guard Zheng Yan's mausoleum, predicted through the weather that there would be thunder and rain today, and asked the Taoist priests to suggest to the mansion that the funeral be held today.
Although Concubine Zhao was deeply concerned about her son, it would have been difficult for her to accomplish this alone. Presumably, Feng Linche, who also loved his son dearly, had also contributed a great deal.
In any case, for the sake of the Fourth Prince Feng Jingyang, Feng Linche and Concubine Zhao's attempt to destroy Zheng Yan's physical body and make her soul disappear forever had completely offended the Marquis of Gaochang's Mansion.
If Zheng Yan's death was only the fault of Feng Jingyang, which had seriously affected the relationship between the Marquis of Gaochang and Feng Linche, then today's incident had directly wiped out the last bit of affection between the Marquis of Gaochang's Mansion and the royal family.
Obviously, Bai Yinan also understood this after Bai Zheng's brief hints. His eyebrows furrowed even deeper.
"Father, actually this has nothing to do with our Bai Mansion. I just hope that Father will be law - abiding. No matter how the situation in the court changes, our Bai Mansion will not be in great trouble," Bai Zheng said as she placed her hand on Bai Yinan's and patted it gently.
Bai Yinan looked up and met his daughter's eyes.
Bai Zheng's eyes were as clear - cut as his when he was young. He couldn't help but smile.
"I understand the principle of keeping oneself out of harm's way."
Bai Zheng nodded and showed a cute smile to Bai Yinan.
She was about to marry into the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion soon and fight against the world with Feng Linyuan. The things she had to do were too dangerous. She really didn't want to involve her family.
As long as her family was safe and sound, it didn't matter if she had to work harder.
The carriage swayed as it carried the father and daughter, who had different thoughts, back to the gate of the Bai Mansion.
Before they got close, the noisy voices at the gate reached the carriage.
Bai Zheng was about to lift a corner of the curtain to look outside when the coachman said in a panicked voice, "My lord, Miss, it seems that someone is causing trouble at the gate."
"Who is it?" Bai Zheng and Bai Yinan exchanged a look and asked loudly.
Although she asked this question, her mind was quickly turning, but she couldn't think of who the trouble - maker could be for a moment. So she pricked up her ears and listened carefully.
It seemed that there was a woman sobbing outside, and the onlookers seemed to be consoling her kindly.
Although the woman was choking with sobs, the charm in her voice was still obvious.
"If it weren't for protecting me, Yinghan wouldn't have died so early... Now in this world, she only has her elder brother left. Her elder brother... is my elder brother. If I can't protect my elder brother well, how can I have the face to see Yinghan after I die?"
Yinghan?
Bai Zheng frowned.
She seemed to have never heard this name before. Why did this woman come to the gate of the Bai Mansion to cause trouble and look for her elder brother?
Wait, elder brother?
Bai Zheng suddenly looked up, and three words popped into her mind.
Yicui Pavilion.
That's right. On the bandit mountain, when the second - in - command had an argument with the leader, he had said that the leader's younger sister had entered the Yicui Pavilion.
Now the leader had been taken away by Feng Linyuan. She had told Bai Di about this personally this morning.
She didn't expect Bai Di to act so quickly.
Bai Zheng couldn't help but admire her cousin, who had excellent efficiency.
As soon as she had told her about the capture of the two leaders on the bandit mountain, Bai Di had sent someone to cause trouble at the gate.
Now that Feng Linyuan was not in the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion and the mansion was heavily guarded, it was likely that the trouble - maker would be driven away before getting close.
But the Bai Mansion was different. After all, one should pick on the weak.
Amid the comforting voices of the onlookers, the woman's complaints continued. "The Bai Mansion is a noble family. Without saying a word, they arrested my elder brother. Now his life or death is unknown. I... I really have nowhere to turn..."