A gentle breeze blew across the lake, lifting the gauze curtains and making them flutter. Several maids filed in one after another as the curtains fell, making Bai Zheng, who had just gotten used to the dim light in the room, feel a bit dazed for a moment.
Bai Zheng raised her hand and placed it across her forehead like a bridge to block the blinding light that came in with the maids.
Only then did she see clearly that the maids were carrying a lot of things in their hands.
Princess Yunxi got up. After the maids stood in a row, she walked over, her voice filled with emotion.
"To be honest, before I met you, my dear cousin, I thought that such things as family members harming each other only happened in our royal family. I thought that siblings in your common people's families all loved each other."
As if her memory box had been opened by Princess Yunxi's words, Bai Zheng suddenly remembered that in her childhood, she and Bai Di seemed to have gotten along lovingly like ordinary sisters.
At that time, their grandfather Bai Qiying hadn't passed away yet, and Bai Yinan hadn't moved out of the mansion. So Bai Yinan's family still lived in the General's Mansion.
Compared with her eldest sister Bai Sheng, who was taught personally by Bai Yizhang from a young age and was rarely seen, and whose cold personality made people afraid to get close to her, Bai Di, the second sister who had always grown up in the General's Mansion by their grandmother and mother's side, was obviously much easier to get close to.
Moreover, different from the delicate and helpless young lady she was now, when she was a child, Bai Di was naturally lively and cheerful. She always took Bai Zheng around to cause trouble.
Bai Zheng grew up with her, just like a little tail sticking behind Bai Di.
Deep in her memory, there seemed to be such a scene.
It was the Lantern Festival one year. Greedy Bai Di took Bai Zheng to sneak out to eat the candied haws sold by an old man on the street corner in the east of the city.
On their way back, the two little girls were licking their candied haws happily when a child suddenly rushed out of nowhere and snatched the one in Bai Zheng's hand.
Bai Zheng immediately burst into tears out of grievance.
Seeing this, Bai Di immediately ran after the child, beat him up, and managed to get the candied haws back.
Even now, after nearly ten years, Bai Zheng still remembered clearly.
During the Lantern Festival, the streets were bustling with people, and all kinds of lanterns were hung everywhere. It was just getting dark, and the dim yellow light shone on Bai Di's face with two round buns on her head. She was smiling.
"Zheng'er, don't cry. Look! Second sister has gotten the candied haws back for you."
That crisp and somewhat proud voice resounded on the childhood street and deep in Bai Zheng's memory.
Bai Zheng frowned.
These things had happened so long ago that she had almost forgotten that Bai Di had once had a time when they were as close as sisters.
Then when did it start that she inexplicably drifted apart from her and even had malicious intentions towards her?
Princess Yunxi's voice continued.
"When I first came to your Eastern Zhou, when I heard that the Marquis of Dingyuan was engaged, I sent someone to investigate Miss Bai San.
Unexpectedly, the investigator didn't even have to spend much effort to find out that in Yongding City, almost everyone knew that there was a third young lady in the Bai Mansion who was talentless, immoral, and didn't know etiquette.
Therefore, although Miss Bai San's grandfather was a great general and her father was a third - rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, and her family background was innocent.
She herself had always been law - abiding and never done anything out of line, but she still somehow got such a bad reputation."
Bai Zheng smiled faintly. She didn't even need to guess who had spread this bad reputation about her.
Sure enough, seeing the unsurprised expression on Bai Zheng's face, Princess Yunxi stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "I found out that Miss San's bad reputation first spread from the General's Mansion."
Previously, Bai Zheng was a timid and cowardly person. She always cowered behind Bai Di.
When attending banquets, whatever Bai Di told her to do, she would do stupidly, thinking that this elder sister wouldn't harm her.
As a result, she inadvertently left countless handles for others to talk about.
Bai Zheng lowered her eyes, a sneer on her lips.
"Obviously, Miss Bai San should also be aware of this. Since I've taken the trouble to find a witness, it would be a waste if I didn't show the evidence to Miss San."
As Princess Yunxi said, she picked up a piece of paper from a maid's tray.
"This testimony is from a third - class maid named Xiaoyu who is in charge of cleaning in the General's Mansion.
She can prove that the second young lady of the General's Mansion once asked several of her personal maids in her room to tell the personal maids of the young ladies from other mansions about the misdeeds of the third young lady of the Bai Mansion when they went to banquets. If there were no misdeeds, they were to fabricate them.
She made these maids spread the word from mouth to mouth, which ruined Miss San's reputation."
Bai Zheng nodded, took the testimony that Princess Yunxi handed over, and glanced at it roughly. She understood immediately.
Bai Di had always been a smart girl since childhood and was quite good at scheming when it came to harming others.
For example, this time, instead of speaking ill of her younger sister herself, she spread the rumors through the maids. In this way, she could neither damage her own image nor achieve the goal of slandering Bai Zheng.
It was really ingenious.
Bai Zheng praised with admiration, "At such a young age, she has such a calculating mind. I, Bai Zheng, have nothing to say for losing to my second sister."
Seeing that Bai Zheng was not only not angry but also praising Bai Di, Princess Yunxi immediately frowned and couldn't wait to pick up the paper in front of another maid and said,
"Miss San is really broad - minded. I wonder if Miss San could still say such words of praise if she knew that her former fiancé, Chu Feng, was also lost because of your second sister."
Bai Zheng's face remained calm as she said, "He always liked my second sister."
"Miss San really doesn't know your former fiancé well," Princess Yunxi sighed. "You probably don't know that at first, when your grandfather Bai Yizhang went to the Chu Prime Minister to arrange a marriage for the younger generation, it was Chu Feng who actively asked to marry the youngest sister of the Bai family, saying that he liked her."
Hearing this, Bai Zheng was quite surprised.
At first, Chu Feng actually liked her?
Seeing the undisguised surprise in Bai Zheng's eyes, Princess Yunxi continued satisfactorily,
"This is the testimony of an old servant of the Chu family. He was there at that time and witnessed what Young Master Chu said personally when General Bai and the Chu Prime Minister were arranging the marriage -
'I like the youngest sister of the Bai family the most. She is kind - hearted, charming, gentle, and respectful.'
But why did Young Master Chu's attitude towards the youngest sister of the Bai family he had chosen change so much in just a few days?"
Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows. "Did my second sister do something again?"
Princess Yunxi nodded but instead of answering, she asked, "Does Miss San still remember that when you were a child, once you chased after General Bai, who was going out to fight, and slipped out of the mansion alone? As a result, you didn't catch up with him but got lost accidentally."