The three of them didn't think much but were rather delighted, all assuming that Cheng Xiran had suddenly come into a fortune.
The four of them, the mistress and her servants, went to the Drunken Immortal Tower. Cheng Xiran almost ordered every expensive dish on the menu. The waiter, knowing her name, chatted with her: "Miss Cheng, are you sure the four of you can finish all these dishes?"
"Sure. Later, just put the bill on the prince's account."
Cheng Xiran said this somewhat cautiously, but to her surprise, the waiter readily agreed: "Sure thing, got it. Please wait a moment!"
It really worked!
Seeing the three people opposite looking like they wanted to say something but hesitated, Cheng Xiran comforted them, "What are you afraid of? This amount of money is just a drop in the bucket for him."
After this first experience, Cheng Xiran gradually grew bolder. After lunch at the Drunken Immortal Tower, she led Zhuque and the others to the most expensive embroidery workshop in the capital. She personally selected the finest fabrics for them to make new clothes.
When the shopkeeper heard that the bill would be charged to Helian Duo, she couldn't help but tease, "Is the good day for Miss Cheng and the prince approaching?"
Good day, my foot.
Cheng Xiran just smiled and didn't reply.
After leaving the embroidery workshop, Zhuque was already a bit panicked, "Miss, this might not be appropriate. After all, these things belong to the prince. If these people go to the prince later, the prince will surely come looking for you, and then you'll be in trouble."
Cheng Xiran rolled her eyes at her impatiently, "Alright, alright. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Let's just have a good time today!"
After buying new clothes, it was time to buy new jewelry. Cheng Xiran picked all kinds of things, like Hetian jade, jadeite, and jewels. When it came to charging the bill, she didn't feel the slightest bit of pity for Helian Duo.
Remembering that she hadn't inquired about her grandmother's condition, she went to the medical clinic where her grandmother usually went to see the doctor. After asking about the condition and learning that her grandmother just needed good care to recover, she bought a large quantity of high - quality medicinal herbs as prescribed by the doctor, several sacks of them.
Naturally, the bill was charged to Helian Duo.
Seeing that there was nothing else to do and that quite some time had passed, the bill should have been sent to the prince's mansion by now. Logically, he should be looking for her everywhere. For some reason, Cheng Xiran started to look forward to it, so she went back to the Cheng Mansion with them.
She waited and waited. She waited until several batches of her grandmother's new medicine had been boiled, but Helian Duo still didn't come.
Nor did anyone come to ask for money. Obviously, he had settled the bill. Then why didn't he come looking for her?
She sat by the window. After thinking for a long time, she finally came to a conclusion: She hadn't spent enough money!
With this thought in mind, she started to plan where to go the next day.
Zhuque saw this and couldn't help but persuade her, "Miss, maybe we should stop. Maybe today was just a coincidence. If we do this again tomorrow, the prince might really get angry."
If he really got angry, it would be fine. She just couldn't stand his calm and composed appearance.
This situation continued for almost five days, not just one or two days, and it ended with Cheng Xiran's failure. Because she really couldn't find any more expensive shops. Most importantly, rumors about her and Helian Duo were spreading like wildfire and seemed to be getting out of control.
On this day, Cheng Xiran voluntarily went to the prince's mansion early in the morning to admit defeat.
She hadn't been to the prince's mansion for a few days, but when Zuo Yan saw her, he wasn't surprised at all. Instead, he warmly invited her in, as if they had seen each other just yesterday.
"The prince is having breakfast in the front hall."
As soon as Cheng Xiran heard this, she couldn't help but stop in her tracks.
Zuo Yan also stopped and asked, "What's wrong, miss?"
"Do you think he's sharpening his knife in there waiting for me?"
Her question made Zuo Yan burst out laughing, "Miss, you're overthinking. How could the prince be such a person?"
Indeed, what was waiting for her wasn't a knife, a sword, or any cold weapon, but bill after bill on the table.
And Helian Duo was sitting in front of this pile of bills, calmly drinking lily and white fungus congee.
When he saw Cheng Xiran, he greeted her as usual, "You're here."
A maid brought a new set of bowls and chopsticks.
Cheng Xiran sat down opposite him. Before long, she was oppressed by the aura he exuded and could hardly breathe. Without waiting for him to ask, she admitted her mistake in a cowardly way, "Sorry, I was wrong."
"What did you do wrong?"
Helian Duo asked slowly.
Cheng Xiran bit her lower lip gently and then said shyly, "I was just causing trouble and spending so much of your money."
"Why did you cause trouble?" Helian Duo asked without changing his expression.
Cheng Xiran began to regret coming here.
It wasn't until she mustered up the courage that she told him everything, "I'm angry that Xiao Qi could get away with just an apology. I'm also angry about what you said that day. I'm not very beautiful, I don't have much knowledge, and there are a lot of problems in my family, but I think I'm fine."
The next second, she saw Helian Duo smiling, openly smiling.
It was hard to tell if it was a happy smile or a mocking one. Anyway, he was smiling, with a curved arc.
"Helian Duo, what are you laughing at?"
Cheng Xiran pouted and asked.
"Nothing. Let's talk about your bills..." Helian Duo lowered his eyes and glanced at the bills, then looked up at her fixedly and continued, "You've spent three silver notes and fifty taels of silver of mine in six days. Have you thought about how to repay me?"
Cheng Xiran started to flatter him, "This amount of money isn't much to you, right? You know, the benefits my manuscripts have brought to you far exceed the value of these silver notes."
Zuo Yan also laughed. He thought Cheng Xiran was so sharp - tongued and good at making excuses.
Helian Duo liked to see her at a loss, so he took it a step further.
"Now everyone is saying that our wedding is approaching. How do you plan to handle this?"
Seeing his serious expression, Cheng Xiran was a bit at a loss. Actually, she didn't really care about this, but she knew Helian Duo was different. He seemed not to want to have any connection with her.
"I'll add a report in tomorrow's newspaper. I'll explain the situation to everyone truthfully..."
Before Cheng Xiran could finish her sentence, Helian Duo interrupted her, "No need. I have a better solution. You don't need to pay back the money, and you don't need to explain in the newspaper."
"Huh?" Cheng Xiran was a bit scared.
"The disaster relief in the south hasn't been completely resolved. Coincidentally, there's a new governor in Fenzhou. I'm going to visit there in person to find out where that huge amount of disaster relief money has gone."
So... what did this have to do with her?
Just as Cheng Xiran was about to ask, she heard Helian Duo continue, "I need someone to assist me in understanding the whole process of this case and then write it into a manuscript later. I want the whole world to know their ugly crimes."
Cheng Xiran suddenly became interested. Firstly, she could be alone with Helian Duo, and secondly, she could go on a trip.
Even though she was extremely excited inside, she still remained calm on the surface, "Alright. Since the prince has said so, I'll naturally agree."
"I'll take care of this matter so that the Empress Dowager's faction won't trace our whereabouts..." Helian Duo continued to have breakfast. After a moment, he said again, "You should write some more manuscripts in the next few days. It'll take at least ten days for our round - trip journey."
"Okay!"
Was this a blessing in disguise... She thought it was.
After having breakfast together, they went to the newspaper office. Xue Lian hadn't been there for the past few days, and there were many account books in the newspaper office that hadn't been checked. Naturally, this heavy burden fell on Helian Duo.
So one was doing the accounts while the other was writing manuscripts. They didn't interfere with each other but were still connected.