"What, seeing me swindle money from your family, are you heartbroken?" Xue Lianyu joked with her.
Cheng Xiran smacked her lips indifferently. "There's no need to be heartbroken. Maybe these 500 taels are just a fraction of what he usually takes in bribes."
"Exactly. I was just about to say that when I went to the Cheng Mansion to look for you earlier, I heard someone say that he had entered the palace."
Xue Lianyu mentioned it casually, but Cheng Xiran was stunned. Then she quickly asked, "When?"
Xue Lianyu didn't notice the strange look on her face and patiently recalled, "It was about half an hour ago. Didn't he come right after you got back? I thought you two had left the palace together."
Previously, she had wondered why the news spread so fast. Thinking of the meaningful look from Prime Minister Cheng in the end, Cheng Xiran suddenly understood everything. Could it be that her father was also involved in her being framed today?
Cheng Xiran let out two cold laughs. She felt as if her heartbeat had suddenly slowed down several beats and almost failed to keep up.
It turned out that this family had already fallen apart. The little bit of affection she thought she still had was just a bubble that vanished in an instant.
Xue Lianyu found it a bit strange and asked, "What's wrong?"
Cheng Xiran was too lazy to explain in detail and just casually perfunctorily replied. Then she changed the subject and praised him, "This 400 taels came at a good time. We should deal with people like him in this way. Remember to use more such methods in the future, and getting rich will be just around the corner!"
Seeing her walking towards the second floor, Xue Lianyu was a bit confused. "But I don't need to get rich because I have a wealthy family background."
Cheng Xiran sat silently on the second floor for a long time before the sadness and grievance lingering in her heart gradually faded away. She really couldn't believe that if Helian Duo hadn't arrived in time, would Prime Minister Cheng just sit back and watch her gradually become a pawn in their hands, at their mercy, and live a miserable life for the rest of her life?
She was truly heart - broken, but only for a short while.
Not long after, the Cheng Mansion really sent someone to deliver the 400 taels of silver. Xue Lianyu called everyone to go to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant for a feast. After a sumptuous meal, the shopkeeper returned to the newspaper office first, and the four of them then went to the Prince's Mansion to discuss the matter of the Minister of War.
Now that they were sure that the person they saw in the Flower Beauty Pavilion that night was indeed Eunuch Xia beside the Empress Dowager, they could infer that the Minister of War had defected to the Empress Dowager. However, just one letter was not enough.
"You should publicize Lord Fu's deeds more in the past two days. I'll find an opportunity to sneak into Lord Fu's mansion at night. They've been slack in defense these days, so it should be easier."
Cheng Xiran and Helian Duo were intensively planning here, while Xue Lianyu and Chu Liyin were just tagging along.
"What's your plan regarding the Princess of Yulin Kingdom?"
Cheng Xiran was just asking casually, but she always felt that the look Helian Duo gave her seemed to see through her.
"The envoys from Yulin Kingdom will arrive in the capital early the day after tomorrow. We'll talk about it after they come."
Seeing Cheng Xiran expressionless, Helian Duo smiled and asked rhetorically, "Are you still jealous because you're so concerned about Hua Bairu?"
"Well, the chicken dish was really a bit salty tonight."
Cheng Xiran said while pouring water for herself.
Since she still lived in the Cheng Mansion, Cheng Xiran still had to leave on time.
"In my opinion, you might as well just live in the Prince's Mansion. Anyway, with this blockhead's status, even if something happened between you two before marriage, no one would gossip."
Xue Lianyu proposed, and Chu Liyin agreed.
Helian Duo rolled his eyes at him in annoyance and then ordered Mu Li to protect her well on the way back.
Actually, Cheng Xiran really didn't want to go back to the Cheng Mansion. Thinking that except for her grandmother, everyone in the family was calculating against her to some extent, and even her father wished for her to become a pawn, she didn't want to stay there for a single moment.
Although she thought so in her heart, she still gritted her teeth and returned to the Cheng Mansion in the end.
As usual, she passed by the front hall. As usual, she saw her father sitting there waiting. As usual, she was invited in. As usual, she saluted.
"I remember I talked to you about your relationship with the prince last time. What's your decision now?"
He got straight to the point, and Cheng Xiran didn't beat around the bush either. She said straightforwardly, "Father, I've made up my mind. I want to be with the prince. Even if the result you envisioned comes true in the future, I'll accept it."
After a moment, Prime Minister Cheng slowly said, "You're still young and lack experience. Helian Duo is different. He became the regent at a young age. He's well - versed in the ups and downs of officialdom and understands the ways of the world. A casual promise from him can make you remember it for a lifetime, but in the end, things may not go as you wish!"
Seeing that he was about to continue, Cheng Xiran interrupted him forcefully. "My mind is made up. No matter what kind of life I live in the future, I won't regret it."
Prime Minister Cheng's face gradually darkened.
As for Cheng Xiran, she didn't bother to talk to him anymore. They looked at each other, and some things were understood without words.
Before her father could lecture her again, Cheng Xiran got up and went to the back yard.
"She's becoming more and more out of control."
Prime Minister Cheng suddenly said this to the empty front hall.
In the next three days, Cheng Xiran hardly saw Helian Duo. She was busy glorifying Lord Fu in the newspaper office and at the same time trying her best to buy more time for Helian Duo. Fortunately, Lord Fu was slack - minded at this moment, and Helian Duo successfully obtained the evidence that was sufficient to prove that he had defected to the Empress Dowager and wanted to annex the royal family. He even dug out a lot of shady private affairs about other high - ranking officials in the court from several letters.
On the night of the third day, Cheng Xiran packed everything up and copied it onto the newspapers that would be printed in large quantities the next day.
Everything was ready.
Early on the fourth day, the sales volume of the newspaper from the newspaper office suddenly skyrocketed. Almost everyone had a copy.
At the same time, everyone was sighing about Lord Fu's matter.
For a moment, the capital was in an uproar. The evidence that the Minister of War had colluded with the Empress Dowager to plot a rebellion spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital, causing a lot of criticism.
Cheng Xiran's newspaper office was very lively. Fortunately, she had the foresight to come to the Prince's Mansion to avoid the commotion in advance.
Helian Duo seemed to be in a very good mood. "I guess the yamen runners will go to his mansion soon. Then it will be the Court of Judicial Review, and soon it will reach the emperor's ears."
However, Cheng Xiran was skeptical. "But I don't think this can do much to the Empress Dowager. Can't she just flatly deny it?"
"Indeed. She can just find a scapegoat, but this is still a significant blow to her..." Helian Duo smiled at her with raised eyebrows and then continued, "This time, the forces that secretly belong to her will surely surface one by one. This is a good thing for the emperor."