However, her little mouth seemed to have just bitten into something greasy, leaving yellowish oil stains on both cheeks.
With a nonchalant wipe of her other little hand, there was a “pat” sound as it grabbed onto Bai Zheng's dress.
“Whose little young master is this?”
The lady was also stunned and asked unpleasantly.
By now, Bai Zheng's dress was completely grabbed by the child. If she tried to pull Bai Zheng forcefully again, before they even got out of the main hall, the child might trip hard and cause some kind of incident.
A child who could come to the betrothal banquet of the Third Prince must be from a wealthy or noble family. How could one let such a child trip casually?
Thinking of this, she had no choice but to let go of her hand. She cast an annoyed glance around and saw a young woman in a light purple long dress painted with hibiscus flowers hurrying forward.
“Nuo'er! You naughty child, come back quickly! Oh, I'm so sorry. I really am. Lady Hou, it's all my fault for not watching the child well. I've ruined your good mood...”
As she spoke, the young woman picked up the child. Just as she was about to bow and apologize to Bai Zheng again, her expression became even more panicked when she caught a glimpse of Bai Zheng's dress.
“Oh no! Your dress... it's dirty!”
The child's hand that had just wiped her little mouth clearly left a greasy handprint on Bai Zheng's dress.
Bai Zheng smiled faintly. Without moving her eyebrows, she sized up the young woman. Judging from her slightly plump figure, she should be the child's mother.
Although she didn't know her specific identity, judging from her cautious manner, it was likely that her husband's official position was not very high.
As she was pondering, a young girl in a pink dress with a simple makeup and a flustered manner walked up behind the young woman.
“Sister-in-law, what's wrong with Nuo'er... Oh! You naughty child, you've caused trouble again!”
The pink-dressed girl immediately saw the glaring oil stain on Bai Zheng's dress. Instantly angry, she reached out her index finger and tapped Nuo'er on the forehead, scolding the child without any hesitation.
It seemed that this young girl had a straightforward personality.
Nuo'er clearly realized that she had caused trouble. She hung her furry head and pouted her little mouth aggrievedly.
Seeing this, Bai Zheng smiled and comforted the child, “The child is still young and doesn't know any better. It doesn't matter.”
Come to think of it, she should even thank this child for helping her out of a difficult situation just now.
“But your dress...” The young woman frowned.
It was obviously not presentable to be so dirty. If Feng Linyuan saw it, that wife-spoiling man...
“Rongrong, take Lady Hou to tidy up.” The young woman immediately made a decision.
At this banquet today, no one had brought their personal servants in. If Bai Zheng wanted to change her clothes, she could only seek the help of the servants in the Third Prince's Mansion.
But this young woman obviously wanted to make up for her mistake. Since she had to take care of her son and had no time to spare, she could only send her younger sister-in-law.
The pink-dressed girl named “Rongrong” naturally understood what her sister-in-law meant. Immediately, she bowed to Bai Zheng and said, “Lady Hou, let me accompany you out.”
Bai Zheng wondered if she was hallucinating. When this Miss Rongrong was speaking, she winked at her imperceptibly.
A sudden inspiration came to Bai Zheng and she seemed to understand something.
It turned out that the appearance of this mother and child was not an accident. They had come here deliberately to help her out.
Could it be that Feng Linyuan was worried about her and had given prior instructions to these people to protect her?
Thinking of this, a warm feeling welled up in Bai Zheng's heart.
She turned her head and said to the lady who was still waiting beside her, still stubbornly wanting to drag her to the kitchen, “I'm really sorry. My dress is dirty and it's not presentable. I need to go out and change it first. I'll come back later to teach you.”
After saying that, without waiting for the lady's response, she directly followed Rongrong out of the main hall.
If she stayed here any longer, Bai Zheng would surely not be able to escape the fate of being forcefully dragged to the kitchen by that lady.
Judging from the current situation, she wasn't sure how long it would take for Feng Linyuan to come back and rescue her. The Empress Dowager Chu wasn't around either. In this main hall, she was truly alone and helpless.
After weighing the situation, Bai Zheng almost immediately made a decision - to escape from this place of trouble as soon as possible.
Rongrong walked in front, leading Bai Zheng through the Third Prince's Mansion.
Bai Zheng closely followed Rongrong's steps and said gratefully, “Thank you, Miss Rongrong, for rescuing me.”
“My name is Sheng Qinrong. Lady Hou can just call me Qinrong or Rongrong,” Sheng Qinrong said crisply. Without stopping her feet, she walked quite fast. “That lady seems to have chased after us. Lady Hou, follow me.”
Bai Zheng couldn't help but look back and was a bit confused. After she had said so much, why was that lady still so persistent in chasing after her?
But looking at Sheng Qinrong's appearance, it didn't seem like she was faking it. She also remembered that the lady had approached her with other motives before. Naturally, her actions couldn't be judged by common sense.
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng nodded and quickened her pace.
This was the first time Bai Zheng had come to the Third Prince's Mansion. The scenery everywhere was extremely unfamiliar to her.
Sheng Qinrong walked very fast, leading Bai Zheng through several corridors one after the other.
Bai Zheng sized up the path they were taking. Looking at Sheng Qinrong, who walked very determinedly in front without any hesitation at any corner, a sense of doubt gradually welled up in her heart.
“Miss Sheng, where are we going? This doesn't seem to be the way out of the mansion?”
Just now, she had only been thinking about getting rid of that lady. Seeing that Sheng Qinrong had a straightforward personality, Bai Zheng hadn't been on guard against her.
But after walking for a while, Bai Zheng noticed something was wrong.
Her memory was still quite good. Although she wasn't familiar with other places in the Third Prince's Mansion, she had walked the way in and out of the mansion once just now, and it was definitely not the way Sheng Qinrong was leading her now!
Moreover... Sheng Qinrong walked too determinedly, as if she was very familiar with the Third Prince's Mansion.
As an ordinary young girl from a boudoir, how could she be so familiar with the Third Prince's Mansion?
If she was someone under Feng Linyuan's command, Bai Zheng would surely know. But this Sheng Qinrong, she had absolutely no impression of her at all.
Who... was she exactly?
“Lady Hou just follow me,” Sheng Qinrong said without looking back.
Hearing this, Bai Zheng squinted her eyes slightly and looked around fearfully, “How much longer until we get there? Why does it feel like we're going deeper and deeper into a remote place?”
Sheng Qinrong walked a few more steps forward, then let out a soft laugh and pointed to a small cottage in front, “It's not far. Lady Hou, don't be impatient.”
As soon as the words fell, Sheng Qinrong quickened her pace. She led Bai Zheng into a courtyard and walked around a corner. Suddenly, she disappeared from sight.
Bai Zheng's heart tightened and she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She looked up warily at this quiet courtyard without a single sound. A thick chill suddenly rose up her back.
Something was wrong! Hurry back!
Bai Zheng turned around resolutely and stepped out of the courtyard gate with one foot. Just as she was about to lift the other foot, suddenly everything went black in front of her eyes and she fainted.