After handing the manuscript to the shopkeeper, she left the newspaper office. Before returning to the mansion, she had a bowl of wontons and two sesame seed cakes. She had a hunch that she might miss the evening meal when she got back, so it was better to fill her stomach first.
Sure enough, as soon as she returned to the prime minister's mansion, she was locked up in the courtyard. If she hadn't learned from Zhuque that Xue Lianyu had taken her out without even getting Prime Minister Cheng's permission, she wouldn't have believed it.
"That Xue Lianyu actually set me up..."
Naturally, she was indignant. Although Xue Lianyu had a certain status, he didn't think about her situation. In the prime minister's mansion, apart from the old lady, she was isolated. Those people were just waiting to catch her mistakes, yet he still deceived her. It was really annoying.
"You've just been punished and aren't allowed to leave the courtyard. After all, the prime minister has the final say in this mansion, doesn't he?"
Even Zhuque had lost hope in her own father, which showed how extreme her father was.
Well, it was not all bad. Through these incidents, she understood that her father was just eager to oppose her. He was in cahoots with Mrs. Liu, so naturally he didn't want her to have a good life. In that case, why should she try to persuade him to side with the crown prince?
Or perhaps her father had already secretly joined forces with the empress dowager. If she really expressed her intention to support the crown prince now, she might lose her life here very soon.
It seemed that she really should thank that night and Mrs. Liu's "service".
It seemed that she needed to be more careful in the future to deal with any unexpected changes.
She originally thought she wouldn't have the evening meal, but unexpectedly, she was just simply placed under house arrest. Although she really didn't want to dine with those "jackals and tigers", for the sake of filling her stomach, she had to endure it for the time being.
At the dinner table today, Prime Minister Cheng was unusually talkative. At first, Cheng Xiran didn't pay much attention. He just said that in a few days it would be the Lantern Festival and the mansion would hold a grand celebration. He also mentioned that Cheng Zhiyue was old enough to get married and it was time to choose a husband for her. They might as well take advantage of the Lantern Festival to make a good choice.
Later, Prime Minister Cheng started talking about the empress dowager. Although his words were ordinary, Cheng Xiran was always sensitive to such things. So as soon as she heard him, she had a bad feeling. It was very likely that Prime Minister Cheng had already joined the empress dowager's camp.
"Cheng Xiran, I'm telling you. As a young girl, even if the regent hasn't said anything, you should still be self - respecting. After all, you're old enough to know what you can and can't do, what you should and shouldn't say. I think you should be very clear about this, right?"
It was rare for him to say so much nonsense to her. All these words must be related to the empress dowager. After all, he was the pillar of the Cheng family. If he took the lead in supporting the empress dowager, how could the female family members below object? They could only follow.
So the words he said to her today were probably a warning for her not to have too much contact with Helian Duo.
Cheng Xiran understood, but still pretended to be stupid: "Daughter is stupid. I hope father can make it clear."
Cheng Zhiyue, who had been chatting and laughing with Mrs. Liu, sneered: "Don't you even understand this? Have you become stupid again like before?"
Cheng Xiran forced a smile: "It seems that younger sister understands. Why don't younger sister explain it to me and clear my doubts?"
Cheng Zhiyue disdained: "Father means for you to stay away from the regent. Don't daydream all day long, thinking that you'll become the regent's wife one day."
The night was gloomy, like an inkstone overturned. The moonlight was faint, and her heart was in a mess.
In contrast to the liveliness inside, Cheng Xiran found that the solitude outside was what she really needed.
"Whether I can become the regent's wife is not up to you. You can't bear the crime of randomly discussing the royal family."
Cheng Xiran said calmly. Mrs. Liu on the side snorted and retorted: "You have the nerve to say us. Why don't you think about yourself? You're the one who randomly discussed the royal family. You even had the nerve to make your private affairs with the regent public. Isn't it obvious that you want to force the regent to give in one day?"
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a rustling sound outside the house. Listening carefully, they found it was the sound of orderly footsteps, even mixed with the crisp sound of weapons colliding!
The atmosphere immediately became tense.