After her transformation and rebirth, she manipulates the innocent and ruthless to overthrow the wor

The letter merely conveyed Governor Shen's apology, but its wording was extremely lengthy, and Xiao Ran simply didn't have the patience to read it.

Moreover, the letter made no mention of the person behind Governor Shen, so her efforts were in vain.

Seeing her face full of annoyance, and her slamming the letter on the table with an unfriendly expression, Nangong Ming couldn't help but feel curious and wanted to go over and find out what was going on.

"What is this flowery writing? It's so long-winded, even more tedious than a woman's love letter," Nangong Ming said, clicking his tongue after taking a look.

"But this paper..."

Xiao Ran turned her gaze to him, and Nangong Ming, seeing that she seemed interested, began to think seriously.

After a long pause, he finally spoke: "This paper looks like the Chengxintang paper used in the palace."

"Chengxintang?"

“That’s right, this is the imperial paper used in the palace! Ordinary people have no chance to use it at all…” Seeing her puzzled expression, Nangong Ming quickly comforted her, “It’s understandable that you don’t know. You haven’t been in the capital for long, and besides… before that, you had little interest in reading, so it would be strange if you knew about it.”

"Besides, I didn't know in the first place; it was all because I accidentally broke my father's..."

Nangong Ming muttered to himself, his voice growing fainter and fainter as he went on, but Xiao Ran paid no attention.

Her mind was completely occupied by the Chengxintang paper. If, as Nangong Ming said, it was indeed imperial paper from the palace, then the person behind it was very likely from the palace, and probably a high-ranking and respected figure.

Even... emperors, empress dowagers, and the like.

This makes things quite complicated. Right now, she's insignificant and has little influence in the capital; finding the person behind this is virtually impossible. If her father were here, with his connections, prestige, and abilities, there might be a sliver of hope that he could get to the bottom of this.

But... does she really want to trouble her father? Or rather, will her father really help her?

Nangong Ming was still eating candied fruit, but eating too much candied fruit inevitably made it a bit too sweet.

He began, “While these candied fruits are delicious, they are a bit too sweet. In my opinion, the pastries from Shanyun Pavilion are far superior. They have a perfect balance of sweetness, are not cloying at all, and are truly exceptional.” After saying this, he closed his eyes and savored the wonderful taste of the pastries for a moment.

Just as he was engrossed in it, he suddenly felt a chill on his hand. It turned out that Xiao Ran had snatched the oil paper package from his hand.

She quickly popped a candied apricot into her mouth and mumbled, "If you don't like it, then don't eat it."

"Tch..." Nangong Ming swallowed his saliva. He was fine eating it himself, but seeing Xiao Ran eating with relish, his craving instantly surged back.

He was about to reach out and snatch back a few candied fruits when Xiao Ran dodged him with remarkable agility, muttering, "No."

"Hmph, what's so great about it... I'll buy it myself after school!" Nangong Ming muttered to himself, then lay down on the table, pretending to sleep.

Xiao Ran's gaze passed over the crown on Nangong Ming's head and fell out the window.

A desolate scene unfolded outside; many leaves had turned yellow and withered, trembling in the autumn wind as they listlessly drifted down. Not far away, a flock of birds flew south in a group.

Although the exterior was full of signs of decay, Xiao Ran seemed oblivious. She simply smacked her lips, and in an instant, a rich sweetness spread from the tip of her tongue, filling her heart.

“It’s so sweet,” she said.