Ruoyue suddenly asked a question.
Cheng Xiran was looking at the gradually rising steam. The uneasiness in her heart faded a little, and then she replied, "Because that night when I came here to drown my sorrows, I accidentally walked into their room. At that time, I felt that they seemed to be plotting something. They gave me the feeling of being in cahoots."
Ruoyue frowned slightly and murmured, "Actually, the prince has been keeping an eye on them for a long time. He just put it on hold because it was inconvenient to take action."
The prince, Helian Duo, that stinky man again.
Mentioning this stinky man, a touch of anger flashed in Cheng Xiran's eyes.
Seeing this, Ruoyue casually asked, "What on earth happened between you and the prince? These days, he often comes to Huayan Pavilion to drink himself drunk, and he always talks about you."
Huh?
Cheng Xiran was a little confused. Wasn't he always cold? How could he drink himself drunk for her?
She was a little happy, but then her reason pulled her back to reality. This was not enough to prove that he loved her. Maybe it was just his strong possessiveness acting up.
Cheng Xiran sat up straight and said indifferently, "I'm just playing with him. Please don't make fun of me, Miss Ruoyue."
Ruoyue was about to defend herself, but was quickly interrupted by Cheng Xiran. "I came here tonight to investigate the matter of the Minister of War. I'm focused on this and don't want to hear anything about that man."
Ruoyue smiled helplessly. "It seems that the two of you really had a big fight this time..." She paused for a moment and then continued, "The Minister of War was very cautious when he came here a while ago, afraid of being recognized. But recently, he has changed his attitude. He swaggers around as if he wants to be seen."
There were basically two forces in the court, Helian Duo and the Empress Dowager. Since he was not on Helian Duo's side, he must have defected to the Empress Dowager.
They just needed evidence to prove it.
"The Minister of War holds military power. If he is seduced by the Empress Dowager, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Cheng Xiran analyzed carefully. Her big, round eyes were constantly turning. Then she said, "Since we can't find anything here, I can use the excuse of the newspaper office to check his house. Maybe we can find something."
Ruoyue thought it made sense and nodded in agreement.
But Cheng Xiran suddenly thought of that man.
"Remember to remind him when you have time. Don't just focus on love. He should also pay more attention to the Minister of War in the court."
Ruoyue couldn't help laughing. "You are the prince's fiancée. Shouldn't you be the one to tell him this? Why do you need me, an outsider, to pass the message?"
"I'm not his fiancée. We're just engaged in name. How many times do I have to explain this?"
Cheng Xiran said seriously. Then she felt that her tone was too harsh, so she apologized, "Sorry. It's hard to explain the things between him and me. Besides, I've decided that I won't have any contact with him in the future. I'm investigating this matter just for the sake of the newspaper office."
Even she didn't believe the second half of the sentence, let alone Ruoyue.
After a while, Ruoyue said slowly, "I only know that he is deeply in love with you. I don't know anything else. If you want me to tell you about it someday, just come to me anytime."
At this moment, Cheng Xiran had already stood up and was about to leave, but was softly called back by Ruoyue.
"You can't go out now."
In the past two days, she had clearly felt that her mind was not as sharp as before.
Cheng Xiran stopped and then sat back down.
"I'm really sorry. Maybe I didn't eat enough for dinner, so my mind didn't work for a moment."
After she said this, Ruoyue had already gone to one side and brought a food box. There were all kinds of snacks in it that she had never seen before.
"A guest from the border gave these. If you like them, just eat. If things get serious, they may have already started searching outside. Please sit here for a while. I'll go out and check the situation."
Seeing her beautiful figure disappear into the colorful scenery behind the door, Cheng Xiran suddenly felt her eyes getting sour.
She couldn't help thinking of the first time she met Ruoyue a few days ago. She looked like a graceful and pure beauty who could only be admired from afar. But after getting to know her better, she found that she was just an ordinary girl.
She just had a special identity.
A fabricated crime can always be found.
Cheng Xiran sighed softly, then picked up a snack like a yogurt ball from the box and ate it.
When Ruoyue came back, her face looked a little strange.
"I found that there are many people of unknown origin in Huayan Pavilion. They are probably the subordinates of the Minister of War. Although we can't be sure that they are looking for you, it's better to leave first..."
Ruoyue pulled her and walked out through a back alley. But when they came to the firewood shed at the back, they found that there were several people guarding it.
Both Ruoyue and Cheng Xiran began to panic. But they shouldn't have been noticed before, right?
"Change back to your original clothes. If they ask when we go out, just say you're here to find the prince."
As she said this, Ruoyue picked out a rather ordinary dress and a brocade short jacket for herself, and asked Cheng Xiran to change into them.
"Maybe they're not looking for me. I can't be discovered. Maybe it's someone else..."
Cheng Xiran was a little confused. But the current situation didn't allow them to guess here anymore, because Ruoyue found that some people had started searching room by room. It seemed that they were going to turn Huayan Pavilion upside down.
After changing their clothes and coming out, the two of them sat at the table, eating, drinking and chatting, pretending that nothing had happened.
Suddenly, there were a few screams from outside, followed by a shout, "We've found them! They're on the second floor!"
Cheng Xiran and Ruoyue looked at each other, then suddenly stood up and walked outside.
So the people they were looking for weren't her. Then who was it?
When they came out to the main hall, the scene was very chaotic. Those people flew up to the innermost room on the second floor.
Then an unbelievable scene was presented in front of her.
He was still dressed like a knight-errant as he was that day, wearing a veil so that his face couldn't be seen clearly. But she had recognized him at a glance in the crowd that day, and she did the same tonight. Now, the girl in his arms wasn't her, but another petite and lovely girl.
Even without looking at her face, she knew clearly that it was Hua Bairu.
As for why she had such a deep impression of her after only meeting her once, she didn't quite understand.
Maybe it was something secretly at work.
"That's..." Ruoyue seemed to recognize him too. She subconsciously glanced at Cheng Xiran.
The old bustard, who was still soliciting customers outside, rushed in after hearing the news. Although she was used to such a situation, she still shouted, "Gentlemen, be careful! Don't hurt anyone!"
But those people didn't listen to her at all. They had already drawn their long swords and stabbed at Helian Duo.
This "knight-errant" easily knocked those people down in a few moves. His moves were so fast that it was hard to tell. Cheng Xiran's attention wasn't on him, but on the girl in his arms.
She hugged him tightly, with her head resting on his strong chest, looking very intimate.
They really were a good match...
Cheng Xiran twitched the corner of her mouth.
Then she heard Ruoyue beside her whisper, "Be careful!"
Only then did she realize that he had glanced in their direction, so she almost didn't notice the short blade flashing out from the dark.
He only glanced for a moment, then focused on the fight again.
"The two of them are really a perfect match!"
A dancing girl beside her clapped her hands and cheered.
"That's right. He's not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also so protective of his woman. It's really enviable!"
Cheng Xiran let out a cold laugh. Ruoyue beside her felt a little embarrassed and whispered, "Why don't you go back first? Don't worry about what's going on here. I'll find out for you."
Cheng Xiran said sarcastically, "There's no need to find out. And how could I leave during such a wonderful show?"
Then she stared fixedly as Helian Duo fought his way through the obstacles and safely escaped with Hua Bairu. Soon they disappeared into the night.
The air still seemed to be filled with the sandalwood scent on his body, mixed with the smell of rouge, which made her feel a little nauseous.
"Now the show is finally over..." Cheng Xiran sneered at her and then said, "I'll go back first. Miss Ruoyue, you should also go to bed early."
Then she walked outside. Before she took two steps, she was called back.
"Miss Cheng?"
She turned around and saw the Minister of War walking towards her step by step.
He didn't seem to care at all. This really surprised Cheng Xiran.
It wasn't appropriate for a young lady like her to be here.
"Xiran greets Lord Fu."
Lord Fu asked indirectly, "It really is you. Did we meet once before?"
Cheng Xiran handled the situation skillfully. She pretended to be thinking and said, "Really? I did come here to drink with some friends a few days ago. Later, they told me that I drank too much and almost got abducted."
Lord Fu's expression changed slightly. The hostility in his eyes gradually faded. It seemed that she hadn't seen anything that night.
"Oh, then I must have mistaken you for someone else..." Lord Fu smiled and changed the topic. Then he said, "However, it's not good for Miss Cheng to be in such a place. Don't think I'm being mean. After all, you're already the prince's fiancée. Going in and out of such a place will have a bad influence on his reputation."
Seeing Cheng Xiran looking at him silently, he seemed to know what she was going to ask next, so he said self - deprecatingly, "I've been under a lot of pressure these days, so I came out to relax. Please don't laugh at me, Miss Cheng."
Cheng Xiran replied with a polite smile and a lukewarm tone, "I think the same as Lord Fu. I'll remember your words and be more careful in the future."
It seemed that they had nothing more to say, so she tried to find some topics.
"By the way, I heard that Lord Fu donated a lot of silver to the disaster - stricken areas a while ago?"