Suddenly, Bai Zheng seemed to think of something. She looked down at herself in astonishment.
There must be something wrong with herself!
She suddenly remembered Bai Di, who had almost rushed in to help her out before she left home just now.
Could it be her?
Bai Zheng instinctively looked up and saw Bai Di hiding behind the crowd. She had come to the main hall of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion with the wedding procession to watch the ceremony.
Bai Zheng had originally thought that the other girl had just come to make fun of her misfortune when she insisted on seeing her off. Now, it seemed that things were far from that simple.
Seeing Bai Zheng's eyebrows wrinkling deeper and her face showing a mixture of astonishment and confusion, Bai Di gave a sweet smile.
"Zheng'er," she said softly, parting her lips. "Do you like this gift?"
The hall fell into a sudden silence.
Feng Linyuan frowned in thought, and his gaze also lingered on Bai Zheng for a moment.
Everything that had happened today was full of oddities. The Queen Dowager's question was clearly a trap.
After all, no matter what the reason was, as long as he hadn't stepped forward to protect the emperor immediately when Feng Linche was in danger, he would have to take the blame.
Feng Linyuan remained silent, and his hand hidden in his sleeve tightened.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Marquis of Dingyuan? Can't you answer?" The Queen Dowager stared at Feng Linyuan and pressed on. "You are a subject of the Great Zhou. When the emperor was in danger, you only cared about yourself and didn't come to protect him. It's hard to believe that the emperor was so worried about your illness. Is this how you repay him?"
The Prime Minister Chu sneered. "Of course, the Marquis of Dingyuan wouldn't protect the emperor. After all, that evil wolf might have been instigated by him to break in."
The veins on Feng Linyuan's hand had bulged, but his face remained calm. He raised his eyes, and there was undisguised coldness in them. "Is the Prime Minister Chu doubting the loyalty of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion?"
Hearing the words "Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion", some of the old officials present immediately looked serious.
The King Wen, who had accompanied Feng Linyuan to the Bai Mansion when presenting the betrothal gifts, was the first to speak in a deep voice. "Your Majesty, Queen Dowager, in the old official's opinion, today's incident should just be an accident. The Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion has always shielded the Great Zhou from wind and rain with their own flesh and blood for generations. If it is said that the Marquis of Dingyuan has ulterior motives towards the emperor, then there may be no more good generals and loyal officials in our Great Zhou!"
"Yes. When the wolf rushed towards the new bride just now, the marquis tried his best and almost got hurt himself. If this incident was really instigated by the marquis, the wolf shouldn't have attacked the new bride, right?" Another official echoed.
"The old official also thinks that there is something fishy about this incident and it has nothing to do with the marquis."
"Maybe this wolf was stimulated outside and became so crazy that it rushed in. The Prince Yi said that he saw the marquis lock the door with his own eyes. The marquis must have been unaware of this."
Everyone chattered away, spontaneously pleading for Feng Linyuan.
The Prime Minister Chu's face turned ashen. He never expected that Feng Linyuan's simple words "the loyalty of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion" would have such a strong chain reaction.
Feng Linche sat high on the throne and didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Only the storm brewing in his eyes grew stronger and his expression became more and more terrifying.
It seemed that he had underestimated the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion.
Six years had passed, but the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion was still a special existence in the hearts of everyone in the Great Zhou.
Moreover, six years ago, Feng Zhen had died on the battlefield, and Feng Linyuan had fought back against all odds and won a great victory even though he had narrowly escaped death. Finally, there had been ten years of peace on the border. Everyone would never forget these things.
Now, there was actually someone who dared to pour dirty water on the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion. One mouthful of spittle from each person could drown him!
The more excited everyone got, the more their voices drowned out the Prime Minister Chu's refutations.
Taking advantage of this moment, Feng Linyuan gradually approached Bai Zheng and stood beside her.
"There may be something wrong with me," Bai Zheng whispered. "I don't know if it's the clothes or the jewelry."
Feng Linyuan nodded.
Since the last time Liu Feng had attacked her, Bai Zheng had never worn the yellow jade jewelry that would make Liu Feng go crazy again. It was the same today. But Liu Feng had still singled her out. It seemed that it shouldn't be the jewelry's problem.
Feng Linyuan's gaze carefully scanned every corner of Bai Zheng's body.
"You smell nice," Feng Linyuan suddenly sighed.
Bai Zheng blushed deeply at his sudden flirtation. "Mother scented this wedding dress with lingling incense all night... Hmm? Could it be..."
Bai Zheng opened her eyes wide and looked at Feng Linyuan in surprise.
Could it be the lingling incense?
Feng Linyuan frowned and quickly shook his head. "It's not the lingling incense."
People in the Great Zhou loved fragrance, and spices played a very important role in their lives. In more particular families, every aspect of daily life was inseparable from incense and spices.
Even Feng Linyuan himself had a faint smell of sandalwood on his clothes.
And the lingling incense on Bai Zheng's body wasn't particularly special. If he remembered correctly, Song Yiqing's mother often used this kind of incense, so sometimes Song Yiqing would also have a bit of it on him.
But Liu Feng had never shown any special reaction to Song Yiqing.
Feng Linyuan frowned and got closer to Bai Zheng. He sniffed gently. "There seems to be another smell on you, Zheng'er."
Bai Zheng's earlobes turned red. She lowered her head and asked, "Could it be because of the cosmetics on my face?"
Feng Linyuan turned his head and got closer to Bai Zheng's face to smell it carefully. As soon as he looked up, he happened to see her blushing earlobes, so he curled his lips.
He leaned close to Bai Zheng's ear and said in a low voice, word by word, "Yes, your face also smells nice."
"There are so many people here. What are you talking nonsense about!" Bai Zheng was so ashamed that she wished she could find a hole to hide in. "Can't you be more serious!"
Looking at the rare shy and angry look on the girl in front of him, Feng Linyuan thought she was extremely cute.
But he also knew that if he continued to tease her, he might really make Bai Zheng angry.
Feng Linyuan restrained his smile, but the tenderness in his eyes still overflowed.
He put his hand on Bai Zheng's waist and said in a good mood, "It seems that someone has put a kind of spice on you. It smells different from the things on your face. This fragrance is very peculiar. I've never smelled it before. It's probably not an ordinary incense."
"Really?" Bai Zheng looked up at her sleeve blankly and sniffed hard. Only then did she find that there was indeed a faint, strange fragrance she had never smelled before.
"This smell is very light. If I hadn't been this close to you, I might not have smelled it either."
As Feng Linyuan said, he looked at Liu Feng lying on the ground.
The fragrance on Bai Zheng's body was so faint that it was almost completely covered by the lingling incense, so no one else could notice it. Even Bai Zheng herself hadn't noticed anything strange.
But Liu Feng was different. It was a wolf, and its sense of smell was much more sensitive than humans. So it could smell this smell from afar, which was why it had rushed into the hall and attacked Bai Zheng.
Thinking of this, his eyes turned cold.
There was actually someone who dared to target Liu Feng and Bai Zheng again and again in front of him. How daring!