Just as she was full of doubts, she suddenly felt her vision go dark, and a stream of unknown liquid flowed all over her body.
She sniffed it. It smelled like ink.
Moreover, it was that kind of cheap ink, reeking to high heaven.
Even though Mu Li acted quickly enough, she still failed to shield Cheng Xiran in time. Instead, she got some ink on herself too.
Zuo Yan, who was sitting there drinking tea, reacted the fastest. He led a group of people and chased after the culprit.
The shopkeeper quickly handed over a handkerchief. But then he thought that it would only make things worse by rubbing, so he called a maid and hurriedly ordered, "Go to the backyard and boil some hot water. Prepare two sets of new clothes too!"
"Who on earth would still play such childish tricks?"
Cheng Xiran didn't know whether to laugh or to be angry.
The shopkeeper looked full of guilt. "I noticed that guy just now. He was sneaking around at the door, walking back and forth as if he was confirming the location. I was going to tell you, but then he took action right away. I really didn't expect him to pour ink."
Cheng Xiran's face darkened slightly. While wiping with her hand, she sneered, "There are only a few people who would do this. Besides them, no one else would be so bored."
Then she turned her head and saw Mu Li covered in ink with a bit on her face. Seeing that Mu Li seemed to have something to say, Cheng Xiran interrupted directly, "I know what you're going to say, but I don't want you to say it. And isn't this quite fun? It's just a bit smelly."
Mu Li looked at Cheng Xiran in surprise. She didn't expect that Cheng Xiran still had the mood to joke at this moment.
She had thought that Cheng Xiran would fly into a rage.
When Zuo Yan came back, just by looking at his gloomy face, one could tell that he hadn't caught up with the culprit.
Cheng Xiran's eyebrows twitched, and a hint of gloom flashed across her eyes. "He's not stupid. He came prepared. And there were so many people on the road at that time. It's normal that we couldn't find him for a while."
Zuo Yan proposed to expand the search scope, and Cheng Xiran left it all to him to arrange. As for herself, she dragged Mu Li to the backyard. Each of them got a small courtyard. Cheng Xiran took this opportunity to take a good bath.
But after dressing up again, she always felt that there was still a lingering smell on her body.
So she asked the shopkeeper to light some sandalwood. She sat beside the incense burner and let the fragrance soak into her for a while. She didn't stop until her head felt dizzy.
Since the Cheng Mansion was no longer very safe, she went to her small private room on the second floor to take a nap.
When she woke up, it was almost dusk. The twilight was dim, and the various small shops lined up on both sides of the street were gilded with a layer of gold. Her heart also felt warm. But her head still felt a bit heavy. It must be because of the sandalwood.
After going downstairs, she saw Zuo Yan writing a letter there.
Before she could ask, he confessed on his own initiative, "The prince asked me to report the general situation every day."
Cheng Xiran calmly poured herself a cup of tea. Seeing that it was about time, she said lazily, "Alright, let's go to the Drunken Immortal Tower for dinner first, and then go back to the Cheng Mansion."
Zuo Yan was very cooperative all the way. And he was much better than his master. At least he was very talkative. No matter what Cheng Xiran said, Zuo Yan could always respond. And she could also learn some relatively simple things about Helian Duo from him.
For example, Helian Duo didn't eat coriander or vinegar. He liked spicy food and had a strong taste. He preferred quietness and hated trifles. In short, Zuo Yan had accompanied Helian Duo for many years and had already understood his temper thoroughly. And Cheng Xiran was lucky enough to know something about him through this opportunity.
Then this group of people returned to the Cheng Mansion in high spirits. Even the guards at the door didn't even dare to ask and just let them in.
"Before the Hundred Flowers Banquet, we'll guard Miss. Miss can sleep peacefully. We'll never let anyone hurt Miss!"
Zuo Yan went to the front hall and roared at the top of his voice on purpose, just to let Liu and her gang hear. Fortunately, it was an order from the emperor after all. Liu and her people didn't dare to make the slightest move. Even though Cheng Zhiyue really wanted to kill Cheng Xiran, she could only swallow her anger.
The same was true for Minister Cheng.
Basically, no one dared to casually step into Cheng Xiran's courtyard, because there were always those more than twenty people standing in the courtyard. They took turns on duty and never slackened for a moment.
Cheng Xiran's days were very comfortable.
Early the next morning, when she led those more than twenty people to the front hall for breakfast, Minister Cheng's face looked very ugly.
Even though those more than twenty people were standing obediently in the courtyard.
But Cheng Xiran drank her porridge as usual, picked up food for the old lady, and even while biting into a bun, she kept praising, "This corn bun is sweet when it goes into the mouth. It's really good."
After noticing Minister Cheng's gloomy face, she pretended to be helpless and said softly, "Father, don't blame me. This is after all an order from the emperor. It will be fine after the Hundred Flowers Banquet. If father thinks it affects your meal, I'll drive them all out one by one!"
She was about to get up and shout, but was stopped by Minister Cheng, "No need."