"It's not that I'm bullying your sister. It's she who is being unreasonable here..." Xue Lianyu pretended to be angry and then continued, "I've told her countless times that I don't welcome her here, but she just insists on arguing with me."
"This newspaper office belongs to me, Xue Lianyu. I make all the decisions here. So I'm ordering you to leave now. Don't wait for me to have you dragged out and ruin your reputation as a noble young lady!"
Xue Lianyu showed no mercy to Cheng Zhiyue. How could Cheng Zhiyue bear this? But this was a public place with many people around. Even if she wanted to teach them a lesson, she couldn't. So she had no choice but to leave haughtily. Before leaving, she didn't forget to throw out a threat: "You just wait for me. I'll surely make you pay!"
"Goodbye then!"
Xue Lianyu spat at her departing back. Then he looked at Cheng Xiran longingly and asked, "How about it? Did I play the role of that heinous person to perfection? Shouldn't you thank me properly?"
Cheng Xiran curled her lips indifferently and said, "It's as if you would have let her stay if I hadn't said anything. Cheng Zhiyue's sudden appearance this time is probably related to her visit to the Empress Dowager in the palace yesterday. Anyway, we can't let their evil schemes succeed. We'd better be more careful recently."
"Speaking of which, these days when you broke up with Mu Tou, it's been really tough on me. I've been handling all the affairs of the newspaper office every day. I'm so exhausted."
Cheng Xiran immediately poured him a new cup of tea and then asked with concern, "How's your relationship with Chu Liyin recently?"
At the mention of Chu Liyin, Xue Lianyu immediately perked up. He nodded vigorously and said, "There's some progress. She doesn't go to see that man anymore. I'm planning to give her a surprise in a few days and win her heart once and for all."
"Wow, then I'll congratulate you on your success in advance!" Cheng Xiran smiled playfully.
Actually, Cheng Zhiyue was just a paper tiger. She said she would find someone to deal with them, but half a day had passed and there was no sign of her coming with people.
Not long after having lunch with Xue Lianyu at noon, Cheng Xiran set off for the Minister's Mansion with Mu Li.
When they arrived at the Minister's Mansion, they were led all the way to a pavilion in the back courtyard.
From afar, they saw Lord Fu reading a book there. There were also some sundries beside him, but it was hard to tell what they were.
Cheng Xiran quickened her steps, bowed slightly and said, "Xiran pays respects to Lord Fu."
Lord Fu motioned her to get up with his eyes and then invited her to sit down.
The maids served tea and brought several plates of delicate snacks.
"Doesn't Lord Fu have the habit of taking a lunch break?"
Cheng Xiran took the initiative to start a conversation. Lord Fu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he shook his head slightly and said, "I go to bed early every night, so I'm not sleepy during the day. Moreover, I'm very busy with my affairs and don't have much extra time to rest. Besides, I managed to squeeze out a little time today. After this interview is over, I still have to go to Fenzhou."
Busy was the key word in everything he said. Was he really that busy or just pretending?
It was really hard to believe that the hard - working Minister of War who was still reading official documents during the interview was the same person as the one who was surrounded by beautiful women in Huayan Pavilion before.
Cheng Xiran saw through his act but didn't expose it. While taking out the Four Treasures of the Study, she said, "In that case, let's make this interview brief today so as to save more time for Lord Fu. It's really a blessing for the emperor to have Lord Fu in the court."
Lord Fu couldn't hide his joy on his face, but he still pretended to be modest and said, "You can't write such exaggerated words in tomorrow's newspaper. I'm a very low - key person."
Seeing that he put down the official documents in his hand, Cheng Xiran started asking questions one by one. They were just the most common and agreeable questions. When Cheng Xiran just asked him about his feelings after donating 50,000 taels of silver to the disaster - stricken area, this guy started to talk on and on. It took her three whole sheets of rice paper to copy down what he said.
It was obvious that he loved to take credit. He probably liked the feeling of being in the limelight.
Cheng Xiran was tired from writing, so she proposed to take a break. But Lord Fu then pushed all the envelopes on the table in front of Cheng Xiran one by one and said proudly, "These are all the reply letters from the people I've helped in the past. Over the years, this is not the only time I've made donations. These can all prove it."
Cheng Xiran was speechless, but she could only force a smile on her face. She casually picked up an envelope and opened it to read.
On the other hand, she heard Lord Fu recall, "The child I remember most clearly was about five years ago. He was only thirteen years old at that time and was so thin that he was just skin and bones. There were six children in his family including him, and he was the eldest. I was also in Fenzhou at that time. I saw him on the street buying vegetarian buns for his younger siblings while he only ate the vegetable leaves on the ground."
"At that time, I just gave him a little money, but he insisted on repaying me after receiving it. Finally, with the help of a street vendor, he wrote a pair of Spring Festival couplets for me. You don't know, I was really shocked at that time. Although the child was very thin, the characters he wrote were very powerful, showing the style of a great master. At that time, I knew that this child was worth cultivating. He's going to take the autumn imperial examination next year. I think he will surely succeed."
It seemed to be a very touching story, but Cheng Xiran was not moved at all.
She was getting a bit tired of listening and wanted to change the topic, but he started rummaging through those envelopes.
"I'll never forget the first thank - you letter that child wrote to me in my whole life. If possible, you can copy it down too so that we can publish it in the newspaper together. Let everyone see how earnest that child is."
Hearing this, Cheng Xiran already understood his implication. It turned out that he was using her to increase his reputation.
In that case, shouldn't she also dig out some information beneficial to herself from him to make up for this somewhat insincere article she was writing?
Cheng Xiran was just thinking about how to lead the conversation when she saw Lord Fu suddenly stand up and say, "Oh, that letter seems to have been left on the table I tidied up earlier. I'll go and get it for you right away!"
Before Cheng Xiran could say anything, he had already left.
This guy really loved the feeling of being adored.
Cheng Xiran shook her head helplessly and started to rummage through the other envelopes at random.
As she was rummaging, she noticed an envelope that was different from the others. Its color was slightly different from the rest, but it was very hard to notice. It was written "For Lord Fu's Eyes Only". Different from the other salutations, and the handwriting was a bit more mature, not like a child's. It caught Cheng Xiran's attention.
She pretended to open it casually. When she saw a corner of the contents, she was immediately shocked.