Halfway there, she gradually regained her senses.
It was already wrong of her to send someone to follow him. If he was really busy with important matters, going there would only disturb him. With this thought in mind, the idea gradually faded from her mind.
"Forget it. I won't go."
After saying this, Cheng Xiran changed her route and returned to the newspaper office.
The shopkeeper was chatting merrily with the woman who sold steamed buns next door. When he saw Cheng Xiran, he just greeted her casually.
Feeling bored, she looked around but couldn't find Xue Lianyu. Thinking that he might have returned to the Feiyu Mountain Villa, she went to the back room to wash up and went to bed early.
She woke up early the next morning for a rare time.
The rain outside the window hadn't stopped. Instead, it was getting heavier, pattering down. Just listening to the sound made Cheng Xiran feel annoyed.
She walked to the front hall. The shopkeeper was boiling water. The billowing steam rushed towards her, bringing unexpected warmth. Only then did she realize that the weather had turned a bit cooler.
"Why are you up so early today, miss?"
"I went to bed too early last night..." Cheng Xiran smiled at him, then stepped outside for a moment but quickly shrank back.
"As the saying goes, each autumn rain makes it colder. It's really true."
She murmured to herself. The shopkeeper laughed when he heard this, then changed the topic slightly. "In my opinion, on a day like this, one should have a bowl of hot sesame glutinous rice balls."
Hearing this, Cheng Xiran immediately had a vivid picture in her mind and suddenly felt hungry.
She really should eat something hot... with someone.
She went back to her room and changed into a thicker outer robe. Then she picked up an oil-paper umbrella leaning against the door and walked onto the street. "I'm going out first. I'm going to the prince's mansion!"
"Walk slowly, miss. Be careful not to slip!"
The shopkeeper called after her several times.
When she arrived at the prince's mansion, she went straight to Helian Duo's bedroom. She thought he would be awake by now, but when she knocked, there was no response. Pushing the door open, she found that the room was empty. Her intuition told her that no one had been here all night.
She then went to the study, but there was still no sign of him.
After walking around and returning to the front hall, she casually called a maid standing nearby and asked, "Isn't the prince in the mansion? Did he go out early this morning or what?"
"Back to miss, the prince didn't come back all night..."
Just as the maid finished speaking, Zuo Yan walked towards her in a hurry. "Oh, miss. Why are you here so early?"
Cheng Xiran thought he looked like a guilty person, so she didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "The prince didn't return all night?"
Zuo Yan nodded slightly and said, "Yes. The prince went out to handle some matters last night and then stayed in his own villa. Miss hasn't been there before. Do you want me to take you there now?"
"No. I was just asking casually." Cheng Xiran pursed her lips slightly and didn't say anything more.
The more she wanted to find out the truth in her heart, the calmer she appeared on the surface.
"Miss probably hasn't had breakfast yet. The prince didn't say when he would be back. How about I ask the servants to prepare something?"
As he was about to leave, Cheng Xiran stopped him. "No need. I have something to do. I'll leave first."
Zuo Yan escorted her out politely, and then led people to the Huayan Pavilion to find Helian Duo.
He did stay overnight in the Huayan Pavilion and hadn't returned yet.
Cheng Xiran went to the newly opened shop the shopkeeper had mentioned and had a bowl of sesame glutinous rice balls with Mu Li. Even though the food was delicious, Cheng Xiran still couldn't be happy. Mu Li saw through her mind at a glance and said, "How about I go and find out where the prince is?"
"No need..." Cheng Xiran got up to pay the bill, then sat back down and continued, "Let's go shopping. We're going to attend Young Master Yan An's wedding banquet tomorrow. We should bring some gifts to show our respect."
She pulled Mu Li, and they spent almost the whole morning strolling through half of the capital city, buying a lot of things - antiques, famous paintings, silk brocades, and some small toys for children, which were prepared for the future children of the couple.
"Miss, isn't this a bit too much?"
Mu Li still had a painting hanging around her neck.
It was obvious that she couldn't stop buying.
Cheng Xiran couldn't help laughing. She held up her umbrella and moved closer to Mu Li. "Young Master Yan An has taken good care of my grandmother in the past few months. He often visited her and sent a lot of fruits grown in his own garden. We should know how to repay kindness. These gifts are nothing."
Was this really nothing? The value of these gifts could even buy a mansion. Mu Li couldn't help but murmur in her heart.
The mistress and the maid returned to the newspaper office. After they went in, sat down, and had a cup of tea, Cheng Xiran noticed a drop of rain on her shoulder. She hadn't paid much attention to it before.
Suddenly, she wanted to bite Helian Duo hard. She wanted to ask him what he was doing in the Huayan Pavilion last night, why he didn't come back all night, and what kind of secret he was hiding from her that even Zuo Yan had to help him cover up.
But he was the high - ranking Regent, while she was just an ordinary commoner. How dare she confront him?
So her impulse only lasted for a moment, and then she became dejected again.
Yun'er came to tidy up the things, and Zhu Que urged her to go to the back to change clothes.
Cheng Xiran was feeling weak all over and had eaten very little at noon. So she took this opportunity to lie on the bed. After chatting with Zhu Que for a while, she fell into a deep sleep.
Zhu Que saw that her complexion was okay, so she thought she was just tired and didn't ask too many questions. She just guarded her quietly.
When she woke up, it was already dusk. The rain had stopped, but the road was still wet, and the air was extremely fresh.
"Go to the prince's mansion and invite the prince. Tell him I'll treat him to dinner tonight."
This was the first thing she said to Zhu Que when she woke up.
Zhu Que was stunned for a while before she reacted. She told Yun'er to do it and then began to help Cheng Xiran dress and comb her hair.
"Miss really cares about the prince now."
Cheng Xiran felt restless. Even though she felt refreshed after this nap, she still had no mood.
It seemed that her low - spirited mood had come with yesterday's rain and hadn't gone away with it today.
Seeing that she looked unhappy, Zhu Que didn't continue.
Not long after, Yun'er came back.
"Back to miss, the prince isn't in the mansion. According to the guard at the door, the prince hasn't been back all day. No one knows where he has gone."
The yam and date cake that Cheng Xiran had just put into her mouth was put down again.
Cheng Xiran was a bit shocked. "How could this be? Where is Zuo Yan? Is he in the mansion?"
Yun'er shook her head helplessly. "Guard Zuo isn't in the mansion. There's no one in charge in the prince's mansion."
Cheng Xiran began to feel a bit panicked.