After Bai Zheng finished speaking, she slightly lowered her head and drooped her eyes. There was still a hint of grievance on her face, along with the panic and fear after being rebuked by Feng Linche.
Feng Linche stared directly at her, as if trying to see through her.
But he saw nothing.
On one side, Bai Di couldn't stand still anymore. She knelt down and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise! When did I ever snatch her dowry? It was she who ruined my face, but she refuses to admit it. I was really outraged..."
"I never ruined Second Sister's face. The Snow Skin Cream was perfectly fine. There was absolutely no tufang in it!" Bai Zheng retorted quickly, looking enraged.
Bai Di was extremely angry and emphasized repeatedly, "There was definitely tufang in it!"
"Since Second Sister is so certain, why are you afraid to make a bet with me?" Bai Zheng's eyes showed disdain.
"Who's afraid? Let's bet!" Bai Di was overwhelmed by anger and replied without hesitation.
Anyway, there was tufang in the Snow Skin Cream. What did she have to be afraid of!
Hearing this, a glint flashed in Bai Zheng's eyes.
"Fine! It's a deal!" She immediately stretched out her palm. "With His Majesty here today to witness for us sisters, if anyone goes back on their word, it's an act of deceiving the monarch."
Bai Di looked at Bai Zheng's fair and tender palm stretched out in front of her. She almost without hesitation slapped it and said viciously,
"If I go back on my word, it's an act of deceiving the monarch, and I'll deserve the punishment of having my entire family executed!"
A clear sound of clapping hands echoed in the main hall.
"Pop!"
The smile in Feng Linyuan's eyes deepened.
The Duke of Chen was greatly frightened by Bai Di's words about "execution of the entire family".
If he had known this woman would be so troublesome, he would never have allowed Jianzhi to marry her into the family!
On the other side, Huaimei's wound had been carefully treated by Imperial Physician Zhang.
Especially when the Snow Skin Cream was applied to the wound, Huaimei only felt a slight coolness at first. The pain gradually subsided, and the slight itching sensation that came with the pain also grew weaker. The urge in her hand to touch the wound, which had been bothering her, also faded away.
No wonder the Snow Skin Cream was so hard to come by! It really lived up to its reputation with such remarkable effects!
She sighed secretly in her heart.
But soon, Huaimei's heart started beating faster. Especially after the bet between Bai Di and Bai Zheng was made, she became extremely anxious.
May the heavens bless the Lady of the Marquis to win this bet.
She closed her eyes and silently prayed in her heart.
There mustn't be any tufang in the Snow Skin Cream.
After all, compared to receiving a great reward from the Queen of Chu once, she would rather stay by the Queen of Chu's side and enjoy the boundless glory and wealth for a long time. Only in this way could she bring honor to her parents and pave the way for her younger siblings!
After making the bet, Bai Di and Bai Zheng couldn't wait to get up and came in front of Huaimei.
Tufang was highly toxic. It was already very harmful to intact skin, and it took effect even faster on an open wound. Just now, out of the corner of her eye, Bai Di saw that Huaimei had been trembling when Imperial Physician Zhang was applying the medicine to her wound.
And Imperial Physician Zhang had been frowning all the time.
She thought the result would come out soon.
"How is it? How's the wound?" Bai Di asked with concern.
Huaimei couldn't see it herself, so she wanted to turn her face for Bai Di to take a good look. But just as she was about to move her face over, the coolness on the wound suddenly turned into a sharp pain.
Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain, and her hand subconsciously covered the wound.
"What's wrong?" Bai Di was eager to pry her hand away to check.
"It hurts so much..."
Huaimei gritted her teeth and managed to squeeze out these words from between her teeth after a long while.
As soon as she said this, there was an uproar in the hall.
There was indeed something wrong with the Snow Skin Cream!
Song Yiqing thought something was amiss. He looked at Bai Zheng uneasily, who was kneeling quietly in front of Feng Linche.
Feng Linche looked at the woman below with a shocked expression. Her head was down, and he couldn't see her face clearly. He subconsciously glanced at Feng Linyuan and saw that his brows were tightly knitted as he stared at Huaimei.
Only Bai Di, after hearing this, slowly put down the hand that was about to pry open Huaimei's wound. Her eyes were filled with undisguised joy. She said excitedly,
"Does it hurt a lot? Hahaha! It should hurt! That's tufang. Do you know what tufang is? It's a highly toxic substance. Your wound could still have been cured before, but now it's probably hopeless, just like me!"
Huaimei was greatly frightened. Her tears flowed even more fiercely. "Then... what should I do..."
Bai Di laughed. Her smile was so cruel. "Just look at my face. What do you think? There's no way out. It's hopeless! Your face will be just like mine in the future. It'll rot! Hahaha... It'll rot!"
Huaimei felt as if the whole world had collapsed. Her legs went weak, and she slumped to the ground.
"Rot?" she murmured.
Bai Di laughed so hard that she leaned forward and backward, and tears came out of her eyes.
She looked at Huaimei, who was as pale as death, and then at the people who were pointing at Bai Zheng. She was in a great mood, so much so that her steps became light.
She walked in front of Bai Zheng, looked down at her haughtily, and said word by word, "You've lost."
Bai Zheng lowered her head and didn't answer.
Bai Di couldn't stand Bai Zheng's calm appearance the most. It made her look like a crazy person.
She simply squatted down and forced Bai Zheng to look up at her. She shouted, "I said you've lost. Did you hear me! What's wrong? Are you too afraid to admit that you put tufang in the Snow Skin Cream, so you're just pretending to be deaf here?"
Bai Nianyin was also a little shocked by what was happening in front of him. He slowly opened his mouth and asked, "Zheng'er, did you really... put that kind of poisonous substance in the Snow Skin Cream?"
Bai Zheng was so angry at her elder brother that she laughed.
The corner of her lips curled into a cold arc, but she was looking at Bai Di. "I've lost? Where?"
"After Huaimei's wound was applied with the Snow Skin Cream, it festered! You're not going to say that Imperial Physician Zhang put poison in the Snow Skin Cream, are you? Bai Zheng, now that there are both witnesses and evidence, what else do you have to say!"
Bai Di shook Bai Zheng's arm excitedly. Bai Zheng was so dizzy from being shaken.
Seeing this, Feng Linyuan quickly stepped forward and pushed Bai Di away forcefully. His voice was as cold as ice. "Lady of the Chen Family, watch your behavior. If you dare to touch my Lady of the Marquis again, don't blame me for being rude."
Bai Di staggered from being pushed but managed to maintain her balance.
Her anger flared up immediately. She roared,
"Feng Linyuan! Have you been bewitched by Bai Zheng or have you lost your mind? This kind - hearted and vicious woman. At a time like this, you're still protecting her and still willing to recognize her as the Lady of the Marquis Mansion. Aren't you afraid that one day she'll go on a rampage and destroy your entire Marquis Mansion of Dingyuan!"
Feng Linyuan didn't even look at her. He just flicked his sleeve and said loudly, "The Duke of Chen's Mansion has managed to stay safe even after marrying a poisonous woman like you. What do I, the Marquis Mansion of Dingyuan, have to be afraid of!"
"Who are you calling a poisonous woman!"
Bai Di was almost mad with anger.
She just realized that this Feng Linyuan was really venomous - tongued! She had never met a man who could speak so hurtfully.