"Are you going to openly oppose me, the entire Cheng Family, and even the Empress Dowager?"
Father Cheng roared. His words made the two maidservants beside them tremble.
Only Cheng Xiran stood there upright, calmly watching him act.
"Father knows better than anyone else whether I'm opposing or not."
Cheng Xiran didn't want to make some things too explicit. Seeing Father Cheng sitting there without saying a word, she thought of going back to her room to pack her luggage. But just as she turned around, she heard him call her. When she turned her head back, she was exactly hit by the teacup lid thrown by Father Cheng. Immediately, the smell of blood filled her nostrils. Blood flowed from her forehead, trickling down along her delicate eyebrows drop by drop.
Since the incident happened suddenly, Mu Li didn't have time to react.
When she finally came to her senses and was about to rush towards Father Cheng, Cheng Xiran stopped her in a low voice: "It's okay, A Li. Why bother with such a person? If a dog bites you, are you going to bite it back?"
Hearing this, a flicker of apology flashed across Father Cheng's eyes, but it was instantly devoured by the raging fire in his heart.
He got up and was about to argue with her, but saw Cheng Xiran's figure gradually disappearing into the dim moonlight.
"The moon is really round tonight."
Cheng Xiran said to the bright and waning moon in the night sky.
Mu Li lowered her head, full of guilt: "I'm sorry, Miss. It's all my fault that I didn't protect you well."
"It's okay. It's just a small matter."
Cheng Xiran forced a bitter smile, letting the blood flow down. Drop by drop, it was like it was dripping on her heart.
Before she reached her own courtyard, she saw Mrs. Liu and her precious daughter waiting outside, looking like they were watching a joke. Cheng Xiran was too lazy to waste words with them. She rushed into the room and started packing her things.
Zhuque noticed the wound on her forehead and wanted to bandage it for her, but was firmly rejected: "No need. Pack up our things quickly and leave. I don't want to stay in this family for a single second longer."
"But..."
Zhuque had no choice. She knew her young lady's temper well, so she could only pull Yun'er to start packing.
Mrs. Liu's sarcastic remarks, mixed with the whistling wind, went straight through Cheng Xiran's ears and hit her heart.
"Now it's good. From now on, the Cheng Mansion will be quiet. The master will only have Zhiyue as his child."
"Mother, from now on, I won't have an elder sister, and you can also be considered to have no elder sister. We should be happy. Two bad omens have left this family all at once!"
Cheng Zhiyue was extremely arrogant, which was completely different from the way she looked when she saw Gu Yuanqing during the day.
Two bad omens? She even included the original owner's birth mother?
Cheng Xiran couldn't tolerate this. After all, she had always been protective of those close to her.
She slowly put down the flower vase in her hand and walked step by step towards Mrs. Liu and Cheng Zhiyue. When she reached them, Cheng Xiran said fiercely: "A concubine-born daughter like you also dares to make reckless remarks about my mother. Who gave you the nerve?"
Before they could reply, Cheng Xiran glanced at Mu Li with a side look. Mu Li stepped forward and gave each of them a slap.
Mrs. Liu touched her swollen cheek, extremely angry: "Cheng Xiran, do you know what you're doing?"
"I've never recognized you as the main wife. It's only natural for a legitimate daughter to teach a concubine-born daughter a lesson... Am I wrong?" She twitched the corner of her mouth and stared at Mrs. Liu fiercely. Then she continued, "I'm not the only one who doesn't recognize your status, right? My dear father is the same, isn't he? If he did, why didn't he take you to those banquets before, and why didn't he publicly acknowledge your identity in front of outsiders? I think you should know better than me."
Mrs. Liu was so angry that she was about to strike back, but before she could raise her hand, Mu Li slapped her on the other cheek.
Now, her whole face was a mess.
Although Cheng Zhiyue wanted to avenge her mother, she didn't dare to. All she could do was bluff: "Cheng Xiran, let me tell you, if you oppose the Empress Dowager, you'll end up in big trouble! You just wait. You'll pay for this in the future!"
"Really? Then I'll be waiting to see who dies first."
Seeing that they were silent, Cheng Xiran ordered Mu Li: "A Li, send the two of them back properly."
"Cheng Xiran, don't even think about coming back to this family!"
Mrs. Liu left with a harsh threat.
Maybe it was because Mu Li had just taught them a lesson, so Cheng Xiran's mood had improved a lot. She even felt a bit happy.
"I won't come back even if you ask me to. Do you think I care?"
It was already an hour later when the four of them, the mistress and her maids, finished packing and left the Cheng Mansion.
Fortunately, most of their things were still at the newspaper office. So even though they didn't have a carriage, each of them carrying two bags of luggage was enough. But now there was a problem bothering them: Where should they go?
If they went to the newspaper office, the shopkeeper would probably be asleep. If they went to an inn, it would be too eye-catching. After much thought, it seemed that only the Prince's Mansion was a place they could go.
Before they reached the Prince's Mansion, they met Zuo Yan, who was on night patrol.
He looked confused at first, but then seemed to understand everything. He stepped forward to take the luggage from their hands and invited them into the mansion.
"The Prince seems to be asleep. Do you want me to wake him up?"
The group came to the South Courtyard. Fortunately, the maidservants cleaned it every day, so it was very clean.
Hearing Zuo Yan's question, Cheng Xiran immediately declined: "No, let him rest well. It's nothing serious. I was just kicked out of my home and have nowhere to go for the time being."
While Zuo Yan was ordering the maidservants to serve tea and water, he asked nervously: "I guess it's because of the Prince, right?"
After a while, Cheng Xiran said slowly: "There's no need to distinguish so clearly between him and me."
Everyone present laughed.
"Miss, why don't you treat the wound on your forehead? I'll go get the medicine right away!"
Before Cheng Xiran could reply, he turned around and left the room.
"Guard Zuo is really enthusiastic."
Cheng Xiran blushed and smiled.
"Miss, the Prince is really considerate. The flowers in front of the window are all fresh. It shows how much he hopes you can come."
Yun'er was playing with the red flowers in front of the window.
Cheng Xiran just smiled without saying a word.
After a while, instead of waiting for Zuo Yan, she attracted He Lianduo, who was still sleepy.
"Do you want me to send someone to teach them a good lesson?"
These were the first words out of his mouth.
Looking at his half - opened eyes with difficulty, Cheng Xiran couldn't help laughing: "No need. You just take good care of yourself. Weren't you supposed to be sleeping? Why are you awake?"
He Lianduo wasn't afraid of being overly affectionate: "I was originally meeting you in my dream, but I felt your presence and came here right away."
Cheng Xiran pouted, and then was pulled by him to sit down.
"Look at you. You don't even know how to protect yourself when I'm not around."