The two continued walking, and they were soon approaching the palace.

Su Mochen couldn't help but mentally complain: Isn't this idiot usually very smart? Why is he so dull now?

Seeing that Jing Zhe had no intention of speaking, Su Mochen had no choice but to stop himself.

Jing Zhe stopped and turned around: "Why are you not moving?"

"I don't want to leave."

"Don't want to leave?"

Jing Zhe looked at her with some surprise, then glanced at the sky: "It's getting dark, we can't stay any longer."

"..."

Su Mochen was speechless with anger. "Don't you have anything else to say?"

"Huh? What did you say?"

Although he was indeed affected by Su Mochen's mood when they went shopping earlier, and temporarily forgot his troubles, after leaving the newspaper office, Jing Zhe started thinking about Zhu Xinning again. He had made her angry twice in a row, and he was thinking about how to coax her back.

So, not only was he in a low mood the whole way, he also often got distracted.

For example, now that Su Mochen stopped and questioned him, he realized that Su Mochen's expression was not good and he was obviously angry.

I sighed inwardly. Being a man is tough!

But I also feel that it's wrong to let one woman's low mood affect another woman.

To have colorful flags fluttering in the wind, you must be versatile and approachable, making everyone feel comfortable and smooth. Yes, the key is to be smooth!

So he smiled and said, "I was thinking about the newspaper just now and didn't hear clearly what Mo Chen said."

Su Mochen pondered for a moment, then finally pouted and said, "Couldn't you just say you wanted me to come to the newspaper?"

"..."

Jing Zhe was slightly taken aback, but immediately laughed and said, "Oh, so that's it! I thought you already knew without me having to tell you!"

"???"

Seeing Su Mochen's puzzled expression, Jing Zhe quickly explained, "Mochen, think about it. The newspaper is already on the right track. They work so hard every day, eager for the newspaper to be published as soon as possible. How could I really rely on you to boost their morale? I was just joking earlier, so I thought you would understand. I only asked you to come to the newspaper because I wanted you to come!"

"real?"

Su Mochen broke his composure in an instant, a smile spreading across his face like ripples on a calm lake, his eyes shining like stars.

"Of course, I, Jing, never lie!"

Jing Zhe patted his chest and said confidently.

"whispering sound!"

Su Mochen was somewhat skeptical, but still very happy.

Then he took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Jing Zhe: "Here, you did a pretty good job just now, otherwise I wouldn't have given it to you!"

"This is???"

Jing Zhe took the envelope, which still carried Su Mochen's scent and warmth, and asked with some curiosity.

"This was given to you by my father after he sent me out of the palace to see you. It seems to be for you to attend court tomorrow morning!"

"..."

Jing Zhe paused for a few seconds, then looked up and asked, "If I hadn't spoken, would you have refused to give me this envelope?"

"hold head high."

Su Mochen replied matter-of-factly.

"But—wouldn't that mean missing His Majesty's imperial decree? And who knows if His Majesty will blame us when we attend court tomorrow?"

Su Mochen glanced at him. "Anyway, the blame will fall on you. I already told Father that I told you, but you messed things up yourself. Do you think Father will believe you or me?"

"..."

Seeing Jing Zhe's bewildered expression, Su Mochen chuckled twice: "That's why you shouldn't offend me so easily in the future!"

He proudly touched the tip of his nose and strode towards the palace.

Watching Su Mochen's retreating figure, only one sentence echoed in Jing Zhe's mind: It's even harder for a man who builds a harem!

...

After Su Mochen left, Jing Zhe opened the envelope given to him by Emperor An and read it. He then understood Emperor An's thoughts. It seemed that Emperor An was already impatient. Tomorrow, the court would be in turmoil again!

By this time, it was getting dark.

Night market vendors set up their stalls one after another, and lights began to twinkle in the houses along the street.

When Jing Zhe left the Prime Minister's residence, he sent Hanhan to the newspaper office. Now, he was walking alone on the street. When he came to a fork in the road, he stood there, wondering which way to go.

No Fairy Garden?

Jing Zhe felt it was best not to go before appeasing Zhu Xinning. Once bitten, twice shy; if he ran into trouble again, he felt he would be doomed.

go home?

When he got home last night, Wu's mother told him that she was going back to her hometown in the countryside for a few days, and that there would definitely be no one cooking at home at this time.

After much thought, I decided that the only option was to go to the Prime Minister's residence.

Upon arriving at the Prime Minister's residence, Zhu Tong was in the courtyard. He was somewhat surprised to see him enter and asked, "Nephew, where is Xin Ning?"

"???"

Jing Zhe asked with some confusion, "I just came from the newspaper office, on my way to find my second sister!"

"Oh, that explains it. Your second sister went looking for you half an hour ago, but you didn't go home, so you didn't see her."

"Uncle, I'll head back now!"

After saying that, Jing Zhe ran away in a flash.

Just as they were about to get home, Hanhan appeared in front of Jing Zhe.

"Young Chieftain, what a coincidence! I just finished work at the newspaper office!"

"What have you been busy with?"

"I'm busy... telling Xiong San and the others about what happened on Mount Mang!"

Mangshan was once a place that amazed people, but after the last battle, Mangshan was completely cleared of its name. It's not a big deal to tell them about it, but it's still somewhat amusing to see a group of scholars listening to a simpleton telling a story.

However, upon mentioning Xiong San, Jing Zhe asked curiously, "Have you heard that Xiong San and his men went to collect debts? How did it go?"

"Yes, I've heard about it."

As Hanhan walked, he said, "Xiong San said that when we went to those people's homes, we weren't welcomed at first, especially when they heard that we were there to collect debts. Some people even tried to kick us out. But later, after they heard that Wenxiangju belonged to the young chieftain, most of them paid back their debts."

"A bunch of scoundrels!"

Jing Zhe cursed, then asked curiously, "From what you're saying, it seems someone didn't give it to them?"

He nodded, "Some people weren't home, or the person who borrowed the money wasn't there, so they didn't get it. But some people were home and still didn't get it."

Jing Zhe didn't even need to ask; he already knew who it was.

Aside from Prince Su Xinping, who else dares to go against him? This guy has been swindled out of money by him three times in a row, and now he's come knocking on his door demanding payment. It would be strange if he paid!

It's better not to give it to him; if we do, how can we deal with him?

Jing Zhe thought about it and went home.

Before even entering the house, Xiangru was seen pacing back and forth in the moonlight outside the door. When she saw Jing Zhe return, although her eyes darted around a bit, she still said in a muffled voice, "Miss is waiting for Young Master!"

Jing Zhe glanced at her, thinking, "You're still not happy? I'm not happy either, you traitor!" But then he thought, Xiang Ru's actions didn't seem to qualify as traitorous; after all, she was Zhu Xinning's maid. If she had helped him, then she would have been a true traitor…

"Oh, okay."

Too lazy to talk to her, he prepared to step inside, with Hanhan following closely behind, but was unexpectedly stopped by Xiangru.

————