However...
Bai Zheng turned around and looked at the black-clothed man kneeling beside her. "Then how did you get in?"
It couldn't be that he just happened to be hiding inside the formation barrier, could it?
The black-clothed man lowered his eyes and replied calmly, "The formation set up by Miss Bai may seem profound, but it's not actually that complicated. It's not difficult to sneak in without anyone noticing and without breaking the formation."
His voice was extremely calm, as if he were just saying that he had eaten steamed buns for breakfast.
But his words shocked Bai Zheng greatly.
Bai Zheng knew well about Bai Sheng's skills in formations. She had really suffered because of them in the palace.
At that time, even beside Feng Linche, the emperor of the Great Zhou, there was no formation master who could match Bai Sheng.
Now, among the secret guards casually sent by Feng Linyuan to protect the Bai Mansion, there was actually a master who could easily break Bai Sheng's formations?
Perhaps the confusion in Bai Zheng's eyes was too obvious, so the black-clothed man explained.
"I was originally the first-rank personal secret guard beside the marquis. After the young mistress almost got hurt by a formation in the imperial garden during the third prince's engagement banquet last time, the marquis was worried and sent me here to be the young mistress's secret guard."
Feng Linyuan... It was really him.
A warm feeling that was hard to describe welled up in Bai Zheng's heart.
Even she herself had not taken that incident in the imperial garden seriously after that, because Zheng Yan's death was too shocking.
But Feng Linyuan had sent a formation master here without saying a word.
And she had been completely unaware.
Bai Zheng lowered her head and couldn't help smiling.
This fool.
The black-clothed man continued, "Generally, formations can only isolate the surroundings and are difficult to isolate the upper and lower directions, just like what happened to the young mistress in the palace last time.
A formation like today's that can completely isolate sound is rare for me. It seems that Miss Bai has quite high attainments in formations, but this time..."
She had lifted a rock only to drop it on her own feet.
Hearing this, Bai Zheng looked up at the struggling old woman and the young girl in the lake. The smile on her lips grew deeper.
The lake was not very deep, and fortunately, there were lush plants in it. The old woman and the young girl were entangled by the stems and leaves, so they didn't fall into the water completely.
But no one knew what was strange about the water. The faces of the two had turned from pale to bluish-purple, their teeth were chattering continuously, and their cries were getting weaker and weaker. It was obvious that they were about to run out of strength.
The old nanny on the shore reached out for a long time but couldn't reach He Shi at all. She became even more panicked.
Turning around, she saw that Bai Zheng was just standing there watching coldly. She neither stopped her nor showed any intention of pushing her into the lake.
The impression of Miss Bai San being submissive in her memory took over again.
The old nanny simply stood up, put her hands on her hips, and shouted at Bai Zheng sharply,
"Miss San, why did you push the old mistress and Miss Bai into the lake? They are your relatives! Hurry up and tell that guy to save them! If anything happens to the old mistress and Miss Bai right in front of you, can you bear the consequences?"
"I pushed them?" Bai Zheng completely ignored the second half of her words and just asked with a faint smile, "Which eye of yours saw me push them?"
The old nanny widened her eyes. She obviously didn't expect Bai Zheng to lie so boldly. She became even angrier and said, "This old servant saw it clearly with both eyes!
It was you! You personally pushed the old mistress into the lake and even told that evil servant to throw Miss Bai into the middle of the lake.
When the second master comes, this old servant will report the truth to him! Let him know what a heartless and merciless woman his own daughter is!"
"Really? I'm heartless and I pushed them?" Bai Zheng smiled lightly, "Why would I push them?"
The old nanny had served He Shi for a long time and was quite prestigious among the servants in the general's mansion. She was very good at arguing. She sneered and shouted,
"Why? Isn't it because the old mistress mentioned Miss Bai Er in the room and made things a little difficult for you just now? You held a grudge and pushed her into the lake!"
Bai Zheng was already used to being splashed with such dirty water. Moreover, He Shi was indeed pushed into the lake by her in a hurry.
She shrugged indifferently. "So what?"
"Huh?" The old nanny was stunned. Then she heard Bai Zheng continue to ask with a smile, "Do you think others will believe you?"
"What... What do you mean?" The old nanny blinked blankly.
"What do I mean?" The smile on Bai Zheng's face suddenly disappeared. Her face turned cold all of a sudden. Pointing at the old nanny, she suddenly raised her voice, "You naughty servant! It was clearly you who didn't support the old mistress well and let her accidentally slip into the pond.
Now you are even slandering me?
You're not so quick when it comes to serving your master, but you're really good at splashing dirty water. You're really capable!"
"You!" The old nanny didn't expect Miss San, who used to be shy and cry at every turn, to become so articulate. Her wrinkled old face turned red with anger, and she couldn't say a word for a long time.
After scolding the other person happily, Bai Zheng felt that the depression in her chest had dissipated a lot. She frowned and looked around.
The formation would eventually be broken. This matter today still needed a good ending.
"You go and check... By the way, what's your name?" Bai Zheng looked at the black-clothed man.
"My subordinate is Mo Tong." The black-clothed man replied respectfully.
"Mo Tong." Bai Zheng nodded and remembered the name in her heart. Then she continued, "You go and check what's so strange about this water. The sooner the better."
Hearing this, Mo Tong didn't respond with a crisp "Yes" as he did before. Instead, he lowered his head and said somewhat embarrassedly,
"Just now... Just now, when my subordinate broke into the formation, I had someone fetch a bag of water and send it back for inspection..."
"You've done a good job, haven't you?" Bai Zheng was a little confused by his attitude.
Then she saw Mo Tong suddenly kneel on both knees and kowtow heavily to Bai Zheng. "Please forgive me, young mistress! Just now, while my subordinate was giving instructions to others, something happened to you here. That's why I came late to rescue you. I'm sorry for making you almost in danger. It's my dereliction of duty!"
Hearing this, Bai Zheng couldn't help smiling and waving her hand. "I'm fine, aren't I? It doesn't matter."
Mo Tong said gratefully, "The young mistress is magnanimous, but my subordinate is indeed wrong. I will accept the punishment when I get back."
Letting his master be in danger was a dereliction of duty for a secret guard like him. No matter how forgiving Bai Zheng was, he still had to bear the consequences.
This was the rule of the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.
Bai Zheng didn't know how to feel for a moment. After a while, she just sighed and said, "You're right. Then you should be punished. But since you're following me, I should be the one to decide the punishment."