"Who could have thought they'd be so brazen? They even came up with such a scheme to compete with us."
The shopkeeper heaved a series of sighs and continued to fiddle with the abacus in his hand. This time, the losses were bound to be substantial.
"Has Young Master Xue come to check?"
Cheng Xiran asked casually. The shopkeeper was first taken aback, then shook his head with a troubled look and said, "I sent someone to invite him, but Miss Chu from Feiyu Mountain Villa said he came back drunk early this morning. He's probably still passed out."
After all, she was just a woman. She couldn't fight, only write. But those people on West Street clearly only respected force. She had to show them some strength and let them know she had powerful backers. If they dared to cause trouble again, they'd surely suffer.
But if she waited for Xue Lianyu to wake up, it might take ages. Moreover, he was always straightforward and probably wouldn't come up with a good way to deal with this. After much thought, the only person she could turn to was Helian Duo.
After all, he was the biggest shareholder behind the newspaper. When the newspaper was in trouble, who else but him should step forward?
With that in mind, Cheng Xiran got up and headed straight for the prince's mansion.
When she arrived at the prince's mansion, she saw Zuo Yan standing at the door, holding an envelope with a troubled look on his face.
Cheng Xiran walked up to him amiably and deliberately struck up a conversation: "Zuo Yan, what's that in your hand?"
Zuo Yan was startled. Seeing it was Cheng Xiran, a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes. "It's Miss Cheng, the eldest daughter of the Cheng family... Oh, this is a letter from Miss Su, sent from her hometown to the prince. I'm hesitating whether to give it to him or not."
Cheng Xiran glanced at the delicate and small handwriting on the envelope and couldn't help muttering, "Since Miss Su still has feelings for your prince, you should help her out, right? After all, they have some emotional foundation. It's not like others. Have you ever seen any girl get close to him? It's rare to meet one now..."
Before Cheng Xiran could finish her sentence, Zuo Yan interrupted her directly, "As far as I know, aren't you and the prince quite close?"
Seeing that his expression remained unchanged and he even smiled more cheerfully, Cheng Xiran quickly defended herself, "It's different. I'm just in a cooperative relationship with him. Don't get the wrong idea."
Zuo Yan smiled helplessly and then said, "Previously, the prince said that he didn't want to have anything to do with anything related to Miss Su."
"That makes it even simpler..." Cheng Xiran snatched the letter and tore it into pieces in a few strokes. "There, problem solved! Anyway, there's no chance for them anymore. Why do you have to struggle here alone?"
Zuo Yan looked at her with admiration and then led her inside.
"The prince is currently busy with official business in the study. Would the young lady like to wait in the side hall for a while?"
She didn't dare to disturb the regent prince while he was working, so she agreed. But just as she sat down in the side hall and the maid served the new tea, and she picked up the white jade teacup, she saw Helian Duo walking towards her gracefully.
The weather was nice today, and even he seemed to be touched by the warmth.
Cheng Xiran looked at his expression. It wasn't as tense as last night, so she let out a sigh of relief, got up, and saluted him. "Greetings, Your Highness."
Helian Duo walked past her and sat in the main seat. There was no discernible emotion in his words. "Aren't you always the least formal? Why are you being so polite now?"
Cheng Xiran thought it was better not to argue with him. After all, her livelihood was still in his hands.