Bai Zheng nodded.
The Song family's business was widespread, and the medical clinics they ran were well - known. It was normal for the General's Mansion to turn to a medical clinic under the Song family's name after something happened.
Bai Sheng was raised by Bai Yizhang after all. A daughter raised by her father was naturally not as delicate as one raised by her mother. It was normal for her not to take good care of her own body.
However, these were not what Bai Zheng cared about most. What she was most concerned about now was -
Bai Sheng's baby was almost two months old? Didn't that mean it was conceived around the time when she had just returned after her studies and before she arrived in Yongding?
She suddenly remembered the meeting with Princess Yunxi on the lake in the middle of the lake. Princess Yunxi had told her about Bai Sheng.
"We only know that in the past year, the eldest young lady has become a disciple of a mysterious person and has been living in seclusion in the mountains without showing up. And that mysterious person is extremely elusive. We have no idea about their name or where they come from."
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng asked, "How is my elder sister's mental state now?"
Song Yiqing recalled for a moment and then said, "Not good. After waking up and learning about this, she locked herself in the room and refused to see anyone."
Bai Zheng frowned.
This reaction made it hard to tell whether Bai Sheng had been forced to lose her virginity or if she had done it voluntarily. Was she sad because she had lost her virginity or because she had lost the baby?
"And then?" Bai Zheng tapped the handle of her fan and continued to ask.
"A Yuan sent people to check on Bai Sheng's whereabouts during this period, and there was nothing strange. However..."
"However what?"
When Song Yiqing said this, he leaned forward again, lowering his voice even more: "A few times, around the Chou hour at night, there was a shadow in Bai Sheng's room."
"A shadow?" Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows.
Song Yiqing nodded and sighed, "That shadow must have a great background. Everyone in the General's Mansion is a shrewd person. Miss Bai also knows this. For someone to be able to enter and leave the General's Mansion under their noses without being noticed shows how highly skilled this person is."
Hearing this, Bai Zheng frowned deeply.
The people in the General's Mansion had helped her deliver letters to the mansions of various officials in Yongding. It could be said that in the entire Yongding City, apart from the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion and the Marquis of Gaochang's Mansion, no one could rival the General's Mansion.
And the Marquis of Gaochang's Mansion had just lost their beloved daughter.
The Marquis of Gaochang and Princess Pingyang were in low spirits all day long and had no interest in anything. The entire Marquis of Gaochang's Mansion had once locked its gates and ignored worldly affairs. Even after Bai Zheng had saved Zheng Yan's coffin, they didn't even say a word of thanks.
Under such circumstances, it was naturally impossible for them to have any contact with Bai Sheng.
As for the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion, it was even more impossible.
So where did this shadow come from?
Bai Zheng suddenly thought of someone and immediately said, "Could it be the master she worshipped outside?"
Bai Sheng had gone out to learn skills from a master for a whole year, but the background of her master was a mystery.
Looking at what she had learned, such as music, chess, calligraphy, painting, military strategy, and formations, her skills were extraordinary.
What kind of master could teach her all these?
Song Yiqing looked at Bai Zheng. His usually playful eyes were serious for the first time and replied, "It's very likely."
"If this is a highly - skilled person within the Great Zhou, you should know something about their background." Bai Zheng stared at Song Yiqing.
Song Yiqing smiled: "If it were a highly - skilled person from the Great Zhou, we really couldn't not know. But this highly - skilled person is not from the Great Zhou."
Bai Zheng was shocked: "You mean that the master Bai Sheng worshipped is not from the Great Zhou?"
Song Yiqing nodded. The fan in his hand had been put down at some point, and he looked serious.
"After Bai Sheng had an accident, A Yuan sent people to secretly monitor the General's Mansion. Last night, that shadow went to Bai Sheng's room again. To avoid alerting the enemy, A Yuan's people didn't have a direct conflict with the shadow. Instead, they waited until after the Yin hour when the shadow came out of Bai Sheng's room and then followed it."
"Did they find out anything?" Bai Zheng asked eagerly.
Song Yiqing's brows furrowed even more tightly: "That person is really skilled. Normally, the people A Yuan sent are not good at other aspects, but their light - body skills are top - notch. Generally, they would never be noticed when following someone.
But as soon as they followed the person to the outskirts, they were discovered by the other party.
That person was very shrewd. As soon as they noticed something was wrong, they immediately turned around and shouted, 'Who's there?'
Fortunately, A Yuan's people were smart. Hearing this, they didn't have a direct conflict with him and just turned around and ran."
Bai Zheng finally put her heart at ease and nodded approvingly.
They were really smart.
The other person's skills were unfathomable. If they had made a rash move, they might not have found out the other person's details but instead put themselves in danger.
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng had already roughly guessed something and blurted out, "But was there something wrong with the accent in the person's words?"
Song Yiqing nodded repeatedly: "The person A Yuan sent didn't have high martial arts skills, but his light - body skills were excellent. Moreover, his memory was also extremely good. He could almost remember every word he heard. He imitated the words of that shadow. Others couldn't tell the accent, but A Yuan could tell immediately."
"Oh? An accent that the marquis could tell immediately. Could it be..." Bai Zheng quickly thought of a possibility and widened her eyes, "Could it be someone from the Western Liang?"
Apart from the Great Zhou, if there was a country that Feng Linyuan was most familiar with, the Western Liang, the sworn enemy of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion, would rank first.
He had been fighting against the Western Liang on the border with the old marquis since he was a child, so he must be extremely familiar with the accent of the Western Liang people.
Song Yiqing looked at her appreciatively: "Miss Bai really knows A Yuan very well."
Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows slightly and accepted the compliment: "The marquis and I are naturally in tune with each other."
Although it was not yet certain whether this shadow was Bai Sheng's master or the father of the baby in her belly.
It could at least be concluded that Bai Sheng had a close relationship with this shadow, that is, someone from the Western Liang.
Bai Zheng tapped her palm with her fan, feeling extremely troubled.
Logically speaking, people from the Western Liang wouldn't approach Bai Sheng for no reason. Even if they really had a cooperation with the General's Mansion, they should go to the room of General Bai Yizhang.
But after several days of surveillance, there was no sign of activity in Bai Yizhang's room, while there were people from the Western Liang entering and leaving Bai Sheng's room.
Bai Zheng's heart sank.
Bai Sheng actually had contact with people from the Western Liang! Did the things she had done in an attempt to disrupt the situation of the Great Zhou have something to do with the Western Liang?
And was the reason why Princess Yunxi couldn't find any information about Bai Sheng's master because this person's status in the Western Liang was higher than that of Princess Yunxi?
If such a high - ranking person was lurking in the Great Zhou without anyone in the Great Zhou knowing, not even Feng Linyuan, it seemed that the situation in the Great Zhou was much worse than expected.