"Yes!" Mrs. Zhao said hatefully. "On that day, Di'er was so badly injured, yet she still had Di'er thrown all the way from the west end of the city to the east end. Even when Zisu begged you so hard, you were still relentless. How cruel and cold - blooded you are!"
"Have you ever thought that she is your elder sister?" Mrs. He trembled her lips. As if recalling Bai Di's situation at that time, she tightly closed her cloudy old eyes. "There is no such evil girl in our Bai family!"
Mrs. Lin was like a mother hen protecting her chicks. She spread her wings as hard as she could to protect her daughter. For the first time in her life, the usually timid and submissive woman showed such courage. Standing upright, she replied, "When Di'er slandered and wronged Zheng'er in front of so many people, did she ever think that Zheng'er was her younger sister?
Moreover, it was clearly Di'er who forced Zheng'er to make a bet in front of the emperor. From beginning to end, it was our Zheng'er who was being led around.
Since they made a bet in front of the emperor, if the loser didn't fulfill the promise, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor, and the whole family would be implicated! By then, not only the Duke Chen's Mansion but also the General's Mansion would not be spared!
Di'er is a good girl. She surely wouldn't want to implicate you all. Maybe at that time, it was she who forced herself to kneel despite her illness. What does it have to do with our Zheng'er?"
Mrs. He didn't expect that the usually weak and easy - to - bully Mrs. Lin would become so articulate. She was momentarily at a loss for words, her old face flushing with anger. Her mouth opened and closed like a carp out of water. After a while, she angrily shouted, "You shrew! How dare you talk to your elder sister - in - law and me like this? Kneel down right now!"
Previously, Mrs. He had always been shouting for Bai Zheng to kneel down, and Mrs. Lin had whole - heartedly protected her.
But now, the old lady was also angered by Mrs. Lin. In a fit of rage, she directly turned her anger towards Mrs. Lin.
Mrs. Lin was caught off guard. Her face turned pale with fright, and her knees went weak as she was about to kneel.
"Mother."
A clear and melodious voice rang in her ear.
At the same time, a pair of slender hands firmly supported Mrs. Lin's tottering body, stopping her from kneeling and pulling her up.
After helping her mother up, Bai Zheng raised her eyes. Her calm gaze carried a hint of coldness as she looked at Mrs. He. "I wonder what wrong words my mother said to make you so angry, Grandma, that you want her to kneel here in front of us juniors?"
"Wrong words? How dare you ask!"
Mrs. He trembled with anger, her finger pointing straight at Bai Zheng and Mrs. Lin.
"Bai Zheng, do you have a heart at all? You and your heartless mother have not only ruined my son and the General's Mansion but also killed Di'er!
You... You have done so many evil things. How dare you still ask me what's wrong?
These days, aren't you at all conscience - stricken? Aren't you afraid of evil spirits coming for your life in the middle of the night?"
Mrs. He was both stern and angry.
Bai Zheng slightly raised her eyebrows, with a lingering coldness on her lips.
"Grandma is right. After all, as the saying goes, 'Heaven watches as man acts'. Those who do wrong will surely be punished. It seems that this saying has really come true. In that case, what do you have to worry about, Grandma?"
"You... What do you mean!" Mrs. He was so angry that she felt a rush of blood to her head.
What did she mean by those who do wrong will be punished? And what did she mean by it has come true!
Who on earth was she scolding indirectly!
Bai Zheng was too lazy to answer. She just reached out and pulled Mrs. Lin behind her. Then she stepped forward in front of Mrs. He, bent down to look her in the eye, and said with a strange smile, "Grandma, for so many years, I respected you as an elder. No matter what foolish things you did or said, I was too lazy to argue with you.
But don't think that I'm a soft - hearted person who can be easily bullied. Don't keep bullying our Bai family.
My father is filial. No matter how much you act up, he will still recognize you as his mother.
But I don't have such a good temper as my father. If you really anger me, I might just turn my back on you. Then who are you going to show your authority to? Hmm?"
Mrs. He was stunned.
She had never seen Bai Zheng show such an expression.
She was smiling, but her black - and - white eyes were full of coldness. Her voice was not loud, and her tone was very calm, but the words she said made Mrs. He's heart skip a beat.
With that "Hmm?", Bai Zheng leaned forward again, and the smile on her face disappeared instantly.
Mrs. He instinctively took a step back and shrank into her chair.
When she realized that she had been intimidated by the granddaughter she had always looked down on, Mrs. He was instantly enraged.
"How arrogant!" Mrs. He slapped the back of the chair hard, bouncing herself out of the chair. "You... Do you really think that just because you've married the Marquis of Dingyuan and become a marquis's wife, you have someone to back you up and can talk to me like this!"
"Yes."
Bai Zheng stood up straight and replied casually.
Mrs. He never expected that Bai Zheng would not deny it at all but admit it so directly. Her matter - of - fact attitude was really infuriating.
Her whole body trembled like a sieve due to extreme anger. "Good... Good... Good..."
After saying three "good"s in a row, she shouted, "Since you're so presumptuous, let's see if you can still hold the position of the Marquis of Dingyuan's wife today!"
"Does the old lady of the Bai family have any dissatisfaction with my wife?"
A cold voice sounded outside the room.
Bai Zheng stood up and turned around. She saw Feng Linyuan standing at the door. His gaze passed through the crowd and stared directly at Mrs. He. His eyes were as dark and unfathomable as the abyss.
As he spoke, he stepped into the room, exuding a power that Bai Zheng rarely saw on him.
"Or does the old lady have some dissatisfaction with the marriage bestowed by the emperor? Do you want to change the emperor's mind and find a new wife for this marquis?"
These words were so heart - piercing that the room instantly fell silent.
Even Mrs. Zhao, who had been shouting and scolding all the time, stopped after hearing these words and stared blankly at Feng Linyuan.
And Bai Sheng, who had been silent all this time, also showed a slight change in his expression when he saw Feng Linyuan. His eyes became even darker and more profound.
Mrs. He trembled all over and quickly defended herself subconsciously, "I didn't!"
Feng Linyuan didn't look at her anymore. He walked straight behind Bai Zheng, put his arm around her waist, and snorted, "Whether the old lady of the Bai family has any dissatisfaction with the emperor in her heart or not, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, there is no place for you, a subject's wife, to casually criticize the emperor's edict!"
Mrs. He's face turned deathly pale. Her lips moved for a long time, but she couldn't say a single word.
"Your Excellency has misunderstood."
In the silent room, Bai Sheng, the only one who had been watching coldly, spoke softly.
"Our General's Mansion has always been loyal to the emperor and has never had the slightest bit of dissatisfaction. It's just that today, Zheng'er and her second aunt offended Grandma. There should be respect for the elderly. Grandma was just so angry that she wanted to scare the juniors in the family."