The more he talked, the more curious he himself became about what this Miss Ruo Yue looked like. After hearing his description, Cheng Xiran even felt a bit tempted to go to the Huayan Pavilion with him to find out.
However, on one hand, she thought of the troublesome madam of the brothel, and on the other hand, she worried that if she returned home any later, she might suffer the same treatment as last night. So, after some thought, she gave up this idea.
This area wasn't very large, and this long street wasn't very long either. Those people one was meant to meet or was destined to meet would surely cross paths one day. All she could do was wait patiently, waiting for fate to unfold.
Because of the matter that Cheng Xiran had complained to him about this morning, Xue Lianyu first escorted Cheng Xiran back home, and then took a long detour to send Chu Liyin back to the Feiyu Villa.
Strangely enough, Chu Liyin didn't originally live in the Feiyu Villa. It was just that after his father had met her a couple of times, he took a fancy to her and treated her like his own daughter. He even spared no expense to have a new courtyard built within just two days and planted flowers and trees that were suitable for all seasons, all just to please her.
Chu Liyin got along quite well with his father, despite the big age gap between them.
So, during the days when Chu Liyin was around, his father didn't treat him the same way as before.
However, he wasn't envious or jealous at all. Instead, it gave him more opportunities to play freely outside.
After Cheng Xiran returned to the Cheng Mansion, fortunately, the servants hadn't closed the door yet, so she managed to return to her own courtyard smoothly.
Zhuque saw her coming from afar and quickly ran up to her. Then she invited her into the room and served her tea and pastries, leaving nothing out.
"I was about to go out to look for you, young lady. Fortunately, you came back in time. Otherwise, I was really afraid that they would lock the door and not let you in later. That would have been a big problem."
Zhuque let out a long sigh of relief. Cheng Xiran gave her a smile and noticed a thin layer of sweat on her forehead due to her previous nervousness. So she joked, "It's a pity you weren't with me today. Otherwise, you would have seen that wonderful show too."
"What show is the young lady referring to?" Zhuque was curious when she saw Cheng Xiran smiling so happily.
So Cheng Xiran told her the whole story in detail. After hearing it, Zhuque was first angry, and then let out a sigh of regret. "But it was so hard to rescue you back then, young lady. If you had woken up one day later, that Mrs. Liu would probably have sent someone to arrange your funeral."
After saying that, she couldn't help slapping herself on the mouth. "Young lady, I didn't mean it..."
"I know you didn't mean it. It's okay."
Cheng Xiran patiently comforted her.
The mistress and the maid chatted for a while, and somehow the conversation turned to Mrs. Liu and Cheng Zhiyue.
"Before the Lantern Festival, there will be a birthday banquet for General Cui. It is said that he has only invited three people from each family..." Zhuque paused for a moment and then continued, "And the old lady's headache has flared up in the past few days. She probably won't go then. It's said that the prime minister will take Mrs. Liu and her daughter to the banquet."
Cheng Xiran was as clear as a mirror in her heart. "It seems that Father is going to promote Mrs. Liu to the position of the main wife... That's why he is so blatant about taking his concubine with him."
Zhuque nodded in agreement. "The young lady's analysis is quite right."
Cheng Xiran composed herself, gently put down the teacup in her hand, and then asked Zhuque calmly, "If Mrs. Liu is promoted to the main wife, our days in the prime minister's mansion will be even more difficult... Zhuque, are you afraid?"
"If the young lady isn't afraid, Zhuque vows to protect the young lady to the death!"