Chapter 239: 238 There's a Technique to Probing Too

So it turns out you came here to pick a fight with me...

After hearing Hearing Li Ang's aggressive questioning, the female reporter's originally taut back couldn't help but relax slightly.

Great, picking a fight is fine! As long as you're not here to bring people to arrest me!

"Mr. Hearing Li Ang... no, the Duke of Lionheart who is about to enter the royal family! You seem to have a little misunderstanding about me."

After slightly steadying herself, the female reporter said with a smile:

"First of all, I only wrote seven reports about you, not eight.

Secondly, why don't you suppose that if it were you who was the reporter for the Sun Newspaper, and you had discovered the news that I discovered, would you also write a few articles?"

Of course I would, and I should have written even more than you.

After hearing the female reporter's counter-question, Hearing Li Ang's expression couldn't help but turn slightly awkward, realizing that he had indeed been causing trouble a bit too frequently, and being targeted by reporters was actually quite normal.

But fortunately, these weren't the main points to begin with. His real purpose in coming wasn't to question her about news reports, but to probe the background of this "Reporter Nicole," who was suspected of being a member of a rebel faction.

"Fine, I admit that what I've been up to lately has all been good news topics."

Woolen hat, turtleneck sweater, professional skirt suit, small leather shoes, thick shawl... she was wrapped up extremely heavily. Apart from her hands, which were painted with light pink nail polish, not a single bit of bare skin could be seen.

Strange—the walls of the Sun Newspaper office had metal heat pipes embedded in them, and the indoor temperature wasn't low at all. Wasn't it a bit off to be wearing so many clothes?

While carefully observing the female reporter in front of him, Hearing Li Ang glared "righteously indignantly" and said:

"But not a single one of your articles said anything nice about me, and some were outright slander!"

"You're exaggerating~"

The female reporter shook her head, and while also sizing up the "opponent" in front of her, she smilingly extended a finger and tapped the newspaper on the table.

"Although in many people's eyes, our Sun Newspaper can only be considered an entertainment paper, and even the news in the politics and business quality publication is mostly catching at shadows, as far as I'm personally concerned, I still place great importance on the truthfulness of reporting.

For example, in these reports about you, for all the situations that weren't certain enough, I didn't draw direct conclusions, but instead used phrases like 'suspected,' 'possibly,' and 'according to the author's speculation.' Wouldn't you say so?"

Her hands were so white, and the skin was extremely fine and smooth, with a translucent, dewy luster that looked like it could drip water.

Not responding to the female reporter's question right away, he pretended to look at the text on the newspaper, but in reality stared at the back of her hand. After looking for a moment, Hearing Li Ang's eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly.

This skin quality was a bit too good.

It was already considered the beginning of winter now. The capital's winter was cold and dry, and the wind at the entrance of the Sun Newspaper office was very strong, so she who had just come back from outside—no matter how good her skin was—should have her skin slightly dehydrated.

This kind of abnormally translucent, dewy skin shouldn't be appearing today... Considering the identity of an anomalous object holder, her hands should have some special "issues." He could find a chance to shake her hand later and see if it was some kind of anomalous object.

"Alright, I admit you have a point."

After pulling his gaze back from the "newspaper," Hearing Li Ang's expression eased slightly. He then took out a newspaper with an older date from the shopping bag and placed it on the table.

"'Sewage' Incident Deliberate? Thomas Bobby Laien: Evidence Was Fabricated"

"Reporter Nicole, you wrote this article too, didn't you?"

This was... the time the Bobby Laien family teamed up with two other great noble houses to deliberately have the water company pour sewage into the public water pipes in order to embezzle Char Department Store?

He remembered that after finishing this article, he had directly handed the evidence he picked up to the royal family's Minister of Justice, so although the Bobby Laien family tried their best to deny it, they still faced a strict investigation led by the Princess, were fined nearly three hundred thousand gold wheels in total, and were forced to sell the water company's operating rights at a low price.

So... everything before was just a feint, and the real reason this new Duke of Lionheart came to pick a fight was actually this article that caused the Bobby Laien family heavy losses?

After recognizing the newspaper Hearing Li Ang had taken out, the female reporter's brow couldn't help but furrow slightly. She then looked at the new helmsman of the Bobby Laien family sitting in front of her and nodded expressionlessly.

"I did write it. May I ask if you have any questions about this article?"

"I do indeed have a question I want to ask you."

While pondering where the "sheep's tail" that Hearing Heishanyang mentioned was, Hearing Li Ang narrowed his eyes slightly and said:

"The biggest question is the evidence. Where exactly did your evidence come from?"

"Mr. Hearing Li Ang, if you read this article carefully, then you should know that I already clearly wrote the source of the evidence in it."

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under Hearing Li Ang's overly "sharp" gaze, the female reporter frowned and said:

"Back then, the money box at Char Department Store collapsed and injured someone. When I got the news and rushed to cover it, I happened to pick up that evidence right there in the shopping plaza... Whether you believe it or not, these are all facts!"

"I believe you, of course I believe you."

Hearing Li Ang nodded, then said with an equally expressionless face:

"But have you ever thought about why such important evidence would appear out of nowhere right there, and happen to be picked up by you? Could it be that someone deliberately brought it there?"

"So, you're suspecting that I took someone else's money and deliberately published dirt on the Bobby Laien family, is that it?"

Having vaguely "understood" what this new Duke of Lionheart meant, the female reporter's attitude also became impolite. She crossed her legs and leaned back against the chair, her little leather boots crossed, and said with a mocking smile:

"Your Grace, first of all, whether the data about the water company was real or fake—you can't really not know at all, can you? If you aren't even clear on such a key situation, then I suggest you do a proper self-investigation. At the very least, according to my investigation, the kingdom's punishment of your Bobby Laien family could even be considered light.

Also, if you think my reporting was untrue and caused your Bobby Laien family to be punished, then you'd best go out and file a complaint with the Sun Newspaper's dispute resolution department, and then go straight to the News Management Bureau to sue me... There you go, the complaint window is right out the door and downstairs."

After raising her hand to point out the location of the dispute resolution department to Hearing Li Ang, the female reporter sat up straight, put on an expression of "I'm so scared," and then blinked her eyes with a look of fear as she said:

"Your Grace, although your Bobby Laien family is already on its last legs, it's still not something a tiny reporter like me can afford to offend. As long as you sue, I will definitely plead guilty obediently, and then compensate you according to the maximum penalty amount for defamation. I think the price was... thirty silver wheels?"

Tsk tsk, a full thirty silver wheels! Just multiply it by another hundred thousand times and it'll be enough to cover your Bobby Laien family's fine. This penalty is really too much. This bold and reckless little reporter of mine has truly Dedaole Sect. Please, please let me off, okay?"

"..."

First-rate at fanning the flames—this woman seems to be a master of manipulation.

Looking at the female reporter in front of him who was begging for mercy with her mouth but actually doing her best to provoke him, Hearing Li Ang was silent for a while. Instead of flying into a rage on the spot as the female reporter had guessed, he picked up the stack of old newspapers he had just gotten from the guide.

Under the female reporter's puzzled gaze, Hearing Li Ang flipped to the article "Char Department Store Big Sale, A Man 'Buried in Gold' Sent to the Hospital," pointed at his own back being buried under a pile of money in the photo, then turned his body around, with his back to her, and asked:

"Young Lady Nicole, don't you think this person looks a bit familiar?"

"..."

Looking at Hearing Li Ang's back, and the old coat that was the same color as the one in the photo, the female reporter couldn't help but open her eyes wide in surprise.

"That... the unlucky bastard who almost got crushed to death by money... was actually you?"

"It was me, that's right. So during this period of time, you did indeed write eight pieces of news about me, it's just that seven of them were published in the Sun Newspaper's politics and business quality publication, and this one was published in the mass entertainment publication. Also..."

After turning his body back, looking at the female reporter whose eyes were full of surprise, Hearing Li Ang said unhurriedly:

"The evidence you picked up — I was the one who brought it to the shopping plaza. Originally I wanted to get the boss of Charles Department Store to step forward and blow the whole sewage thing wide open, but I… ended up in the hospital by accident, so the evidence got left behind at the plaza, and you — rushing over to cover the story — picked it up."

"……"

"……"

Staring at Hearing Li Ang before her, who didn't seem to be faking, the female reporter couldn't help but freeze, then stammered:

"Th… then you came here to…"

"I came to thank you."

Gripping the female reporter's unusually fair, soft hand and giving it a vigorous shake up and down, Hearing Li Ang's face slowly broke into a brilliant smile, his expression unusually fervent as he said:

"Thank you — you've really done me a huge favor!"

"……"