"But during this period, the Prince of Xuanning has been frequently visiting Eldest Sister's boudoir. I suppose the father of that child is him, right?"
As soon as the words were out, even through the door, Bai Zheng could clearly sense that Bai Sheng's aura outside the door suddenly turned extremely menacing.
She asked coldly, enunciating each word:
"Have you been investigating me?"
Bai Zheng gave a nonchalant smile: "Eldest Sister and I haven't seen each other for a year. Eldest Sister has finally returned after learning her skills, but instead of sharing our sisterly affection, you're trying to take my life as soon as we meet.
This makes me curious about what exactly you've been through this past year outside.
Now I think, Eldest Sister must have studied under the Prince of Xuanning of the Western Liang, right?"
Bai Sheng didn't respond. She just stood quietly outside the door, silent.
Through the shadow, Bai Zheng could see that the woman outside slightly raised her head, as if looking into the empty sky, lost in memories.
After a long while, she slowly opened her lips, half with emotion and half with sarcasm: "You're indeed smarter than Di'er. No wonder she fell into your hands."
This was an admission.
Bai Zheng pressed on: "Was it Uncle's idea for you to become the Prince of Xuanning's disciple?"
"He doesn't know anything." Bai Sheng said indifferently.
"Then it was your own idea, Eldest Sister?" Bai Zheng asked in disbelief.
Bai Sheng was nonchalant: "So what if it was?"
Hearing this, Bai Zheng took a deep breath, her tone turning slightly cold: "Does Eldest Sister still remember your surname?"
This question made Bai Sheng raise her eyebrows slightly. She turned her head and stared directly at the person inside the room, as if waiting for her to continue.
"You're surnamed Bai."
"So what?" Bai Sheng was puzzled.
Bai Zheng lowered her eyes, and the room fell into silence for a moment. When she looked up again, her eyes were deep.
"Eldest Sister."
She said calmly.
"Our Bai family has been loyal for generations. Although we're not as well - known and popular as the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, we're still the pillars of the Great Zhou. We've sacrificed countless loyal souls for the foundation of the Great Zhou for hundreds of years.
Does Eldest Sister still remember what grandfather said when he called us grandchildren to his bedside before he passed away?
Grandfather said that our Bai family has always been a military family. Whether it's the men or the women, we should take it as our responsibility to protect the country and our family. We must never do anything that's sorry to the Great Zhou or our General's mansion in this lifetime."
"Yes!" This sentence seemed to anger Bai Sheng. She angrily waved her sleeve and shouted, "So you still remember what grandfather said back then? What have you done to our General's mansion during this period!"
Bai Zheng lowered her eyes and slowly tucked in her sleeves, rolling them up bit by bit, suppressing her emotions in her tone.
"What have I done? Eldest Sister, you should really ask yourself this question.
Uncle was stubborn and helped the Third Prince secretly raise troops. He has no loyalty to the king. This is the first sin;
To protect himself, he didn't hesitate to shift the blame to his own younger brother, ignoring family ties. This is the second sin.
The two daughters he raised, one colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, ignoring the common people, and the other is cruel - hearted, only caring about personal gain. As the saying goes, if the son is unfilial, it's the father's fault. This is the third sin.
These three crimes are all despicable. They violate our Bai family's ancestral teachings and grandfather's last words. If I didn't step in to stop them, I'm afraid Uncle would have committed even more heinous crimes, and would have dragged the entire General's mansion into an abyss.
By then, the century - old good reputation of our General's mansion would be ruined. If I just stood by and did nothing, how could I have the face to meet our ancestors in the underworld!"
Bai Sheng was taken aback.
But soon, she seized on a word in Bai Zheng's speech, raised her voice, and gritted her teeth as she asked:
"Who do you say colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country?"
Bai Zheng didn't back down: "Isn't it so? Eldest Sister studied under the Prince of Xuanning of the Western Liang. Everything you've done since you came back has been for the interests of the Western Liang. You've tried to split and divide our Great Zhou from within and undermine the stability of our Great Zhou's territory.
Eldest Sister, when you did these things, did you ever feel the slightest bit of guilt in the middle of the night? Did you ever think of grandfather, who held your hand tightly before he died and had high hopes for you?!"
"So what!" Bai Sheng instantly got excited. As if reminded of Bai Qiying's last moments by Bai Zheng, she closed her eyes and shouted hoarsely, "Grandfather was stubborn. He only wanted to be loyal to that heartless king, Feng Linche, for his whole life.
But does Feng Linche deserve it?!
You've married into the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion now, so you should also know that there was a hidden story behind the Battle of Yan City back then.
Just because the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion had made great military achievements and was popular among the people, Feng Linche couldn't stand it. In order to kill the old marquis, he was willing to let the innocent 100,000 Changping troops be buried with him.
Like the rabbit mourns the death of the fox, do you think that since the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion has fallen to this state, our Bai mansion will end up any better?
For the common people, what difference does it make who is the emperor? As long as they can eat and dress well, what does it matter to them whether this world belongs to the Great Zhou or the Great Liang? How are we sorry to the people of the Great Zhou!
Everything Father and I have done is to preserve the General's mansion and maintain its glory for the next century. How are we sorry to our Bai family's ancestors!
You don't understand. You simply don't understand!"
Bai Zheng sneered: "So, this is the reason for you and Uncle to go so far as to attack Father and me, to turn against us openly within the family?"
"It's an honor for you and your father to sacrifice for the next century of the Bai mansion." Bai Sheng said coldly.
This absurd and self - justifying logic made Bai Zheng laugh out of anger. She was too lazy to argue with Bai Sheng about the right and wrong of this matter anymore. She had already tied up her wide sleeves, making her movements much more agile.
Next, she began to tidy up her skirt, gathering it bit by bit.
While she was busy with her hands, her conversation with Bai Sheng never stopped for a moment.
"So Eldest Sister is better than the teacher. You went alone to become the Prince of Xuanning's disciple. After learning your skills and coming back, you've become a pawn placed by the Western Liang in the Great Zhou.
I suppose during this period, Eldest Sister must have done a lot of things according to his instructions, right?
I just wonder if the Prince of Xuanning knows about Eldest Sister's attempt to kill me, the wife of the Marquis of Dingyuan, today?"
"What if he knows? What if he doesn't? What, are you hoping that the Prince will come to save you or avenge you?" Bai Sheng sneered, as if she had heard a funny joke.
"If I were still the third young lady of the Bai mansion, it would surely be none of the Prince of Xuanning's business. But as Eldest Sister said, I'm now the wife of the Marquis of Dingyuan. The Prince and the heir are both in Yongding. If they rashly make an enemy of our marquis, it might cause some trouble, right?"
Bai Zheng's voice was steady.
If she died, Feng Linyuan would lose his beloved wife. With new and old grudges combined, he would surely make them father and son pay in blood.
This was Yongding of the Great Zhou, Feng Linyuan's home ground.
Even a powerful dragon can't overwhelm a local snake, let alone the fact that what they have to face is Feng Linyuan, who has been consumed by hatred for six whole years?