The real issue lies in the development of their relationship.
When the two of them returned to the Cheng Mansion, they saw Mrs. Qian crying in the front hall as they passed by.
Cheng Xiran stepped forward to offer a few words of greeting and only then learned that it was because Lord Qian had not returned home at night. It was really a pity. At first, the two of them were fine, but now they had drifted apart because of a Young Master Li. Why bother?
All in all, it could only be said that Mrs. Qian had chosen her natal family over Lord Qian.
That night, Helian Duo went out before having dinner because he wanted to sneak into the Li Mansion earlier to observe. As for Lord Qian, he came back for dinner at night and chatted and laughed with Cheng Xiran as if what had happened at noon was just a dream that had never happened.
Mrs. Qian was still sulking and ignored him.
So Lord Qian had to find a topic on his own. "Where's Young Master He? Does he have no appetite?"
Cheng Xiran didn't dare to laugh too casually, but she also didn't dare not to laugh. So she could only try to maintain a slight upward curve of her lips and said softly, "Oh, it's like this. He has an old friend in Fenzhou. They made an appointment to go drinking tonight, so he's not here."
Lord Qian then chatted with her about the livelihood of the people, but Cheng Xiran let it go in one ear and out the other.
Finally, she managed to get through dinner. After a hasty meal, she returned to her own courtyard.
She embroidered flowers in peace for a while and then heard the maids' discussions outside.
"Why are the mistress and the master arguing again?"
"Who knows? It should still be about Young Master Li."
Cheng Xiran was a bit depressed. She went out and asked them a few questions and only then learned that not long after she left, Mrs. Qian and Lord Qian had another big argument. It was said that they even overturned the dining table.
"The mistress has not been in a good mental state these two days. It's really worrying."
The more Cheng Xiran heard, the more confused she became. Why had the two of them come to this? After much thought, she decided to go and find out. At least she had to ask clearly. Otherwise, she really couldn't feel at ease.
But just as she walked out of the courtyard, she saw the mansion bustling with activity. It suddenly became extremely lively for no reason.
"Catch him! Hurry up! Catch Steward Wu! Don't let him get away!"
The steward... being arrested... Why?
In the bright moonlight, Cheng Xiran quickly stepped forward, grabbed a person, and frowned as she asked, "What's wrong with Steward Wu? Why do you want to catch him?"
"Steward Wu stole a large amount of money. It's said that the amount is huge and it's related to the court. They even found it in his room. Now no one knows where he has run off to!"
After saying that, the person rushed into the crowd.
Cheng Xiran was a bit confused. She had just seen him acting suspiciously at noon, and now he was being arrested at night?
Wasn't it too fast? It even seemed a bit too coincidental.
Cheng Xiran didn't dare to think too much. She always needed facts to prove it, so she quickly ran to the front hall. Lord Qian was directing the arrest operation, while Mrs. Qian was sitting on one side, covering her face and sobbing.
Cheng Xiran walked up to him and was about to ask when she heard a noise outside. "Report to the master. Steward Wu has been caught. He was hiding in the stable!"
Then, a disheveled Steward Wu was escorted up.
"Master, I really didn't do it! It wasn't me. This has nothing to do with me at all!"
Steward Wu kept defending himself, tears streaming down his face. It made Cheng Xiran feel a bit heart - wrenching. It had to be said that in the past two days, she had not had no interactions with Steward Wu in the mansion. He gave people the impression of a kind and gentle old man. Moreover, although his family was only of average means, he was very happy and not short of money. There was absolutely no need for him to do such a thing.
"Take him to the yamen first and wait for the trial tomorrow!"
At Lord Qian's order, Steward Wu was dragged away.
Cheng Xiran raised her doubts. "Lord Qian, isn't this a bit hasty? It's not impossible that there has been a case of false accusation. Isn't your judgment a bit too early?"
"Now that there are both witnesses and physical evidence, what else is needed..." Lord Qian said with a cold face and then continued, "I had noticed something was wrong in the mansion before. I didn't expect it to be Steward Wu. The servants found letters in his bedroom showing his correspondence with the mountain bandits. This 50,000 taels of silver was to be split equally with those bandits!"
Lord Qian was so angry that he was out of breath, and his chest heaved slightly. "This is the disaster relief funds allocated by the court to Qizhou. How could he do such a despicable thing?"
Cheng Xiran only felt that it was all happening too fast, so fast that it gave people a feeling of being pre - arranged.
It was like a play with one act following another.
Could this be just a play?
She really didn't know what to say at the moment, so she returned to her own courtyard.
Not long after, Helian Duo came back. Seeing his hasty expression, Cheng Xiran thought something important had happened. But as soon as he came back, he directly asked her, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Cheng Xiran was puzzled.
Helian Duo recalled carefully. "I was walking on my way to the Li Mansion in plain clothes when a maid who claimed to be from the Qian Mansion stopped me and said that you had been bullied and told me to come back quickly. So I came back."
Cheng Xiran sat down on the chair and connected all these strange things together. After Helian Duo heard it, he couldn't believe it. "This is very much like a self - directed and self - acted drama... I only found the official silver on Young Master Li during the day, and now the culprit has been found at night. Unless there is some connection between the steward and Young Master Li, I think all this can be overturned."
Cheng Xiran said with a sad face, "Exactly. I was also very shocked when I heard about it. Steward Wu didn't seem like the kind of person who would do such a thing."
"Excluding Lord Qian, there must be a spy of the Empress Dowager in the mansion, and it's very likely that our identities have already been recognized. Because they were afraid that we would continue to investigate, they simply found a scapegoat."
Before Cheng Xiran could reply, he rolled up his sleeves and stood up. "I'll go and interrogate Steward Wu myself to see what he has to say."
Cheng Xiran didn't go with him. It wasn't appropriate.
She waited and waited. She didn't wait for Helian Duo to come back until the middle of the night. She originally wanted to go out and take a look, but she was too sleepy. As soon as she touched the couch, she fell asleep. She slept until late the next morning.
Helian Duo was no longer there.
But when she reached out and touched his place, there was still some residual warmth. Only then did Cheng Xiran heave a sigh of relief.
As long as he was safe, everything would be fine.
The Cheng Mansion was relatively quiet today. Because of Steward Wu's incident, every family member in the Cheng Mansion had their rooms searched. Everyone was very scared, so they didn't dare to say a word. They just did their work silently and were very careful.