"Not long after he got engaged to Miss Cheng, rumors spread that he was having an affair with the princess of Yulin Kingdom. Do you think, as the newspaper said, that he and Miss Cheng are not really in love but just putting on a show to deal with something?"
The shopkeeper subconsciously glanced at Cheng Xiran, only to find her surprisingly calm on the surface.
In fact, her heart was already in turmoil.
"I heard that among the two Cheng sisters, the younger one was favored by the empress dowager. The prince had no choice but to ask the emperor for the marriage decree to contain the empress dowager and stabilize the court."
"Then it seems that the prince and Miss Cheng are really just acting?"
Cheng Xiran slowly stood up.
"Maybe it's really the case. Look, Miss Cheng used to chase the prince all over the city, but the prince didn't even look at her back then. How could he suddenly fall in love with her now? It obviously doesn't make sense."
Cheng Xiran had walked to the window. The shopkeeper followed her.
"Poor Miss Cheng. Even if she's with the prince and will get married later, she's destined to spend her whole life alone."
Cheng Xiran slammed the window shut. But since it was made of paper, even though she exerted all her strength, it didn't make much noise.
The shopkeeper was terribly frightened. He even had the thought that she might jump out of the window.
Then he remembered that with her small frame, she couldn't even step over the window because this particular window was a bit small.
"Go and get them out of here. They've been chattering non - stop. It gives me a headache."
Cheng Xiran sat back in her original place.
The shopkeeper looked embarrassed and said carefully, "But, miss, that area doesn't belong to our newspaper office. It's public land. It's not appropriate for us to do so."
But Cheng Xiran said brazenly, "Then spend money to buy the whole street. No one is allowed to do business here!"
She's crazy, completely crazy. Even Mu Li, who had been standing on one side all along, thought so, let alone the shopkeeper.
He patiently tried to persuade her, "Miss, why don't you calm down? The words of these common gossips are the least trustworthy. Why do you bother to argue with them?"
Seeing that Cheng Xiran kept a cold face and didn't answer, he had no choice but to retreat. On the surface, he pretended to follow her order. In fact, as soon as he went downstairs, he called the young servant who was sweeping the floor and instructed, "Go to the prince's mansion again and tell the prince that the miss is in a very bad mood. It's better for him to come and have a look!"
When Cheng Xiran was in a bad mood, it was hard for those around her. They didn't know how to serve her.
Even Zhuque tried various ways to cook delicious food for her. She first served newly - bought rose cakes, then stewed an old hen, and soon presented a freshly - marinated big pig's trotter.
Cheng Xiran didn't touch any of them. She just propped her chin with one hand and seemed to be deep in thought.
"Miss, how about we go shopping?" Yun'er chimed in.
"No, I don't want to be gossiped about." Cheng Xiran refused straightforwardly.
"Then let's go to the backyard and kick shuttlecocks. Move your body a bit. Look how long you've been sitting here."
Cheng Xiran shook her head.
Now they were at a loss.
The shopkeeper waited downstairs for a while. Then the young servant came back and said that the prince had gone out on business and hadn't returned yet.
He was so anxious that he was sweating, "This is going to be a big problem! Where on earth has the prince gone at this critical moment?"
Immediately afterwards, Zhuque, Yun'er and Mu Li came downstairs one after another.
"It seems that the miss is really hurt and is still angry now. And the prince is nowhere to be seen. Now she won't let us go upstairs. What should we do?" Zhuque also began to worry.
"I'll go find the prince. You stay here and guard the miss. Make sure she doesn't do anything extreme!" Mu Li left these words and rushed out of the newspaper office like the wind.
The newspaper office fell silent. There was no sound from upstairs for a long time, only occasional rustling noises.
At lunchtime, Cheng Xiran finally came downstairs.
Zhuque and the others were overjoyed.
"I'm hungry. Is the pig's trotter from before still there? Let's have lunch."
Zhuque nodded repeatedly. After giving Yun'er a look, she went to the back kitchen to get busy.
Yun'er led her to a table on one side, sat her down, and served her tea and water attentively.
At the dinner table, Cheng Xiran ate heartily. She ate two big pig's feet, drank a bowl of old hen soup, and finished a whole bowl of rice. Finally, she patted her round belly and let out a belch.
The others were really shocked. Zhuque even began to think that she should cook a bowl of hawthorn soup for her later to help digestion.
But Cheng Xiran showed her first smile of the day.
"Zhuque, Yun'er, let's go on a painting expedition to the outskirts this afternoon..." Cheng Xiran began to make plans and then continued, "Yun'er, go to the Cheng mansion and invite grandma. We'll take her with us to the lake for a barbecue and fishing. Then we'll come back in the evening."
They thought she had cheered up, so they started to get things ready. Some prepared the necessary tools, and some went to invite the old lady.
No one understood her, and no one knew that her heart was already in tatters.
Moreover, the later he came, the more of her remaining hope would be devoured by reality.
She didn't know when it would completely fall apart.
Fortunately, the sun was shining brightly today. The pleasant scenery temporarily dispelled her unhappiness and brought her a moment of joy.
They returned near dusk. At this time, she was still immersed in the fun and didn't touch the painful part of her heart for the time being.
The old lady didn't know the gossips outside, but she could tell what was on Cheng Xiran's mind.
"Xiran, how have you been getting along with the prince these days?"
Cheng Xiran paused, and the smile on her lips froze involuntarily. "We're getting along very well. He was supposed to come this afternoon too, but he had some important matters to attend to. We can get together again when we have the chance in the future."
"That's good. After all, he's the regent. The new emperor is still inexperienced, and many things need his decision - making."
Cheng Xiran slowly lowered her head.
"Hey, speaking of which, isn't that the prince over there? I think he must be here to pick you up?"
The old lady looked at the distance in surprise, and Cheng Xiran also looked up.
Sure enough, the man who, even though bathed in the afterglow, still exuded an air of coldness, who else could it be but him?
Cheng Xiran quickly averted her gaze. This time, she wasn't so easy to be deceived! He clearly promised her last night that there would be no more secrets. If so, today's incident wouldn't have happened!
But in front of her grandma, she still had to put on an act.
So she smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Grandma, I heard from the shopkeeper that you went out for fun this afternoon. It seems you had a great time today."
After the old lady bowed to him, she nodded and said, "We caught several fish. If the prince doesn't mind, take two back and have someone make fish soup. The meat of wild fish is much more delicious than that of farmed fish."
"Since grandma has said so, I won't stand on ceremony with you."