Since she wasn't afraid, there was nothing left to fear.
Over the next two days, she hardly saw Xue Lianyu or Helian Duo. They weren't at the newspaper office, nor at the prince's mansion. Feiyu Mountain Villa was too far away, so she didn't go there to look for them. She had thought Xue Lianyu would come to find her because of Ruoyue's incident, but unexpectedly, he didn't.
As for Cheng Zhiyue and Gu Yuanqing, their relationship seemed to be developing smoothly. Consequently, Mrs. Liu had been in a good mood these days and hardly ever came to her yard to pick on her for no reason.
Anyway, since Cheng Xiran would see Gu Yuanqing at every meal, most of the time she would just take a few bites and finish quickly, just to avoid staying with them for a moment longer.
Because the old lady was in poor health, Cheng Xiran would basically accompany her after finishing writing her manuscripts. Naturally, she was unaware of the public opinion outside. She had no idea that there were rumors outside saying that she and Xue Lianyu were deeply in love and very close, that she visited Huayan Pavilion late at night just to find Xue Lianyu, and that she questioned her lover Xue Lianyu under the moonlit night why he broke up with her...
Zhuque told her all these things when she had just finished feeding the old lady the medicinal soup.
She had just left the old lady's yard and was about to go back to her room for a nap when she saw Zhuque running towards her in a hurry and telling her all this. She had been unaware of it before. It was just that this morning when she and Yun'er went out to the pharmacy to buy medicinal herbs according to the doctor's instructions and came back to decoct the medicine, she heard the young and old on the street talking about it.
Cheng Xiran was really speechless after hearing all this. "How could I ever fall for Xue Lianyu? He's such a philanderer!"
No, she had to do something to change her current situation. She couldn't let herself be gossiped about like this anymore.
After much thought, she gave up her nap and rushed all the way to the newspaper office. She planned to write a notice in tomorrow's newspaper to avoid the spread of misinformation. Public opinion was a terrible thing. It spread from one to ten and from ten to a hundred. Maybe in a short time, the whole capital would think there was something between her and Xue Lianyu.
However, to her surprise, the entrance of the newspaper office was surrounded by people. Helpless, the shopkeeper had to close the door tightly.
Since Cheng Xiran had noticed from afar, she stopped in time and then circled around to the back of the building, thus successfully entering the newspaper office. The shopkeeper was pacing back and forth anxiously in the hall. When he saw her coming, he seemed to have grabbed a life - saving straw and quickly ran up to her, looking troubled. "Miss, there are so many people outside now. I really don't know what to do."
"Is it all because of the matter between me and Xue Lianyu?"
Cheng Xiran led the shopkeeper to a quiet place on the upper floor and then asked in detail.
The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly. "Yes, they're all saying why you, Miss, were getting along well with the regent but suddenly fell for someone else. But it's really strange. At first, there were only a few people. I explained it to them, but then suddenly a lot of people came, as if they had been called here by someone."
He had no other choice but to close the newspaper office. Some people left, but there were still some left, and they were knocking on the doors and windows.
Such a stir was probably instigated by someone behind the scenes. Otherwise, there couldn't have been such a big reaction.
Cheng Xiran was a bit helpless but had no choice but to give in. "Let them knock then. I've already written a public notice in my latest manuscript, making public the relationship between me and Xue Lianyu."
As she said this, she started writing. Although the meaning was the same, she always had to find a proper reason.