With that said, Cheng Xiran served him more rice.
Before long, Helian Duo brought up the matter of the house outside the capital again, but Cheng Xiran declined politely, "I feel more at ease staying in the newspaper office. Moreover, I can't go back to the Cheng Mansion recently. If my grandmother sends someone to look for me or comes to see me herself, it's closer here. So I'd better not move."
Helian Duo thought it made sense and didn't mention it again. Instead, he changed the topic, "The Empress Dowager is quite anxious. She said the wedding will be next month."
Cheng Xiran didn't reply immediately. After a long while, she suddenly asked, "Aren't you afraid?"
"Afraid of what?" Helian Duo was puzzled.
"Once Cheng Zhiyue marries the Prince of Qi, it means my father will spare no effort to assist the Empress Dowager, which will surely be disadvantageous to you. And I'm, after all, a member of the Cheng family. Aren't you afraid they'll use me to defeat you then?"
Helian Duo just smiled, "Don't worry. Before that, I'll surely make you mine. I won't give them any chance to hurt you."
This man always seemed to have his own ways and confidence in everything. So no matter what happened, he was never in a hurry. It seemed that nothing could be called a thorny issue in his eyes.
The wound on her right shoulder had scabbed, and now it was a bit itchy. She reached out her hand to scratch it, but saw Helian Duo frown and interrupt, "Tell Zhuque to apply some cooling oil later. Don't scratch. It's normal to feel itchy when the wound is just healing."
There was a hint of indulgence in his tone. She wasn't sure if she was just imagining it.
Anyway, she found that she had been easily bewitched by his words recently.
His words were like a good medicine. Whenever she felt unwell, just thinking of them could make her feel better.
She had been overly sentimental recently.
Cheng Xiran composed herself and stopped thinking about it. Then she started to eat heartily.
Helian Duo was happy to watch her enjoy her meal.
The two of them spent a peaceful night.
It was late at night and the dew was heavy. Helian Duo reluctantly put down the book in his hand and was half - jokingly driven out of the newspaper office by Cheng Xiran.
Then Zhuque came in and wanted to help her undress and wash up, but was refused by Cheng Xiran, "It's okay. I can do these things by myself. You should go and rest quickly. I don't need your care here."
Zhuque couldn't persuade her and had to retreat.
Cheng Xiran took out the Hundred - Flower Wine she had bought from the Phoenix Fairy Restaurant last time. She locked the door and drank glass after glass alone in front of a window with red candles.
She didn't remember how long she had been drinking. She stopped only when she looked out of the window and couldn't see a trace of moonlight.
By now, her face was flushed. She was dizzy and couldn't tell the directions.
She propped herself up on the table. Everything in front of her was blurred and she couldn't see clearly.
"It's too late. It's time to go to bed... Yes, go to bed..."
Where was the bed?
She groped her way along. Finally, she groped and opened the window.
A blast of cold air hit her face. She shivered with cold and suddenly felt a bit more sober.
"This is wrong. Why is the bed so cold!"
As she spoke, Cheng Xiran climbed out of the window and fell onto the grass. The dew soaked her clothes. She felt surrounded by the cold air. Annoyed, she reached out and pounded hard, "Why is there so much water on the bed!"
She squinted her eyes and walked along the wall. It was dark all around. She thought she had blown out the candles, but still murmured, "Zhuque, Yun'er..."
She walked and shouted, but no one responded. Before she knew it, she had walked out of the newspaper office.
Fortunately, Mu Li had just taken a short nap. Hearing the noise, she chased after her and stopped her in time.
"Miss, let's go back to the room and rest..."
Mu Li said and was about to help her, but was shaken off, "I'm fine. I've only had a tiny bit. I'm not drunk! I'm going to find the Prince. I have something to say to him. It's very important. I must say it tonight!"
As she spoke, Cheng Xiran smiled and gestured a tiny bit with her hand.
Mu Li thought for a while and went back to the room to get a thick cloak and put it on Cheng Xiran.
"Miss, it's too late now. It's okay to talk about it tomorrow morning."
Mu Li wasn't good at persuading others. Moreover, Cheng Xiran was drunk and out of control. Naturally, she didn't listen to Mu Li's words and just ignored her. She followed the memory in her mind and walked towards the Prince's Mansion.
Mu Li originally wanted to knock her out, but she said she had something important to say to the Prince. Maybe she was just using the courage of wine. If she knocked her out, wouldn't she ruin Cheng Xiran's plan?
Thinking of this, Mu Li decided to follow her silently to ensure that she could reach the Prince's Mansion safely.
It had to be said that the Prince's Mansion might really be a kind of obsession for Cheng Xiran. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to pass through a long street and two deep alleys and successfully reach the Prince's Mansion when she was drunk.
The guards at the Prince's Mansion were extremely surprised to see them.
"Why has Miss Cheng come so late?"
One stepped forward to ask, while the other went in to call Zuo Yan.
"I..." Cheng Xiran looked around, pointed at herself and then said, "Are you asking me? I'm here to find your Prince. I have something to say to him!"
"A Li..." Zuo Yan trotted towards them with sleepy eyes, then asked, "What's going on?"
"Just as you can see. Miss climbed out of the window by herself after getting drunk just to see the Prince."
Mu Li spread her hands in helplessness.
Cheng Xiran was still muttering that she wanted to find Helian Duo.
Zuo Yan tried to persuade her for a while but it was no use. After much thought, he decided to go and invite Helian Duo.
"Miss, the Prince has gone to bed. I'll go and wake him up now. Please come in. It's too cold outside. Come in with me and wait, okay?"
"No!" Cheng Xiran waved her hand.
Then, she sat down on the long steps in front of the Prince's Mansion. She wrapped the cloak tightly around herself and leaned against a doorpost. She still mumbled, "You're so heartless, Helian Duo. You made this young lady wait for you in the cold night for so long!"
Zuo Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he still had to summon up his courage and go into the mansion to invite Helian Duo out.
Fortunately, Helian Duo slept lightly. Hearing that it was Cheng Xiran, he quickly got up, put on a cloak and rushed out.
Zuo Yan clearly remembered that Helian Duo used to have a ban that no one was allowed to disturb him when he was sleeping, no matter how important the matter was. But now, he easily broke the rule because of Cheng Xiran.
Sure enough, as the saying goes, even heroes can't resist the charm of beauty. Not even the powerful Regent could escape this law.
Helian Duo walked up to Cheng Xiran, squatted down and softly called out, "Xiran?"
Cheng Xiran, who had buried her head between her knees, suddenly looked up at him. Then she shook her head and said, "No, you're definitely not Helian Duo. Our Helian Duo isn't as ugly as you."