Chapter 246
Chapter 246
Li Zhiwei had no intention of getting overly involved in the affairs of the Prince An's residence.
Nanny Luo had chosen to conceal from the Dowager Princess the fact that Zheng Qiaoshu had poisoned her. While Li Zhiwei did not agree with this decision, she would not intervene to stop it either.
After all, in her current position, she had no standing to say anything.
Seeing that Li Zhiwei did not object, Nanny Luo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
However, just as they were about to enter the Ci'an Hall, Liu Ming called out to Li Zhiwei with a cheerful smile.
"Your Highness," Liu Ming said, actually feeling relieved to see Li Zhiwei here.
The truth was, the young lady from the Prince Zhennan's residence seemed rather difficult to deal with.
And he was merely a servant.
He needed a master to step in and handle the situation.
"Steward Liu, is there something you need?" Li Zhiwei asked, looking at Liu Ming with confusion. She wondered if the servants of the Prince An's residence were now coming to her in groups.
She shouldn't really be considered a mistress of the household yet, should she?
"Your Highness, this old servant has an impertinent request. I would like to ask Your Highness to accompany me to the main hall," Liu Ming said without beating around the bush, stating his purpose directly.
"Steward Liu, why are you calling Her Highness to the main hall at this time?" Nanny Luo asked, puzzled.
"A young lady just arrived at the residence, claiming that our young master bumped into her. She's making a fuss and insists on seeing the master of the house. This old servant is at a loss, so I thought of asking Your Highness to meet with the young lady. Your Highness need not say anything; this old servant will handle it," Liu Ming explained ingratiatingly.
"Who is this shallow, ill-bred person, coming to our Prince An's residence to extort money?" Nanny Luo asked indignantly upon hearing this.
"This old servant has never seen the young lady before. However, she claims to be a junzhu (commandery princess) from the residence of Prince Zhennan. I suspect she may be the junzhu born of Prince Zhennan's concubine," Liu Ming reported truthfully.
"Indeed a shallow one," Nanny Luo remarked. Since she was the child of a concubine, it wasn't surprising.
She then looked at Li Zhiwei with some apology.
She thought to herself that since Miss Li was the An Prince Heir's consort personally bestowed by the Emperor, it was reasonable for Li Zhiwei to represent the household.
"I'll go with Steward Liu to take a look," Li Zhiwei sighed.
She thought to herself that her timing was rather unfortunate.
By the time Li Zhiwei and Steward Liu reached the main hall, Zhou Huilan was already growing impatient.
"When is your master coming?" Zhou Huilan asked a nearby servant with clear impatience.
The servant did not reply to Zhou Huilan, as he himself did not know when his master would return. His master was, after all, someone who handled myriad affairs daily.
He was very busy.
"I'm asking you a question!" Zhou Huilan, who had never been treated with such disregard, angrily berated the servant.
When Li Zhiwei entered, she heard Zhou Huilan's harsh tone as she scolded the servant.
Might I ask, young lady, what offense a servant in Prince An's residence has committed to deserve such impertinent behavior from you here? Li Zhiwei frowned, looking at the imperious Zhou Huilan.
She thought to herself that this young lady was willful, lacked propriety regarding the occasion, and was throwing a tantrum.
"Are you the mistress of this Prince An's residence?" Zhou Huilan asked, looking Li Zhiwei up and down with disdain.
She thought to herself that the female master of the Prince An's residence was nothing special.
She had long heard of Prince An's formidable reputation. Back then, her mother had even wanted her to marry Prince An.
However, the matter had later fizzled out without result.
Now, seeing this woman who seemed inferior to her in every way, Zhou Huilan felt a pang of discomfort.
"What is the matter, young lady?" Li Zhiwei asked. She knew the person before her could perhaps be addressed as a junzhu (a commandery princess).
But she could naturally pretend not to know.
After all, what kind of junzhu (a commandery princess) would visit someone else's home with such discourtesy?
The Kingdom of Lannuo governed the land with propriety.
The ancients also said, propriety comes before hospitality.
Since this person was so rude, Li Zhiwei did not feel she needed to be polite to her either.
After all, at this moment, she represented the Prince An's residence.
"Today, the Heir of your residence injured me by bumping into me. Since you are his mother, hurry up and pay compensation!" Zhou Huilan declared with a shameless expression.
Xiaotao, standing nearby, was stunned.
How could her mistress do such a thing?
Demanding compensation from the Prince An's residence?
Was the commandery princess mad?
Besides, her Junzhu (commandery princess) didn't look injured at all!
Li Zhiwei was taken aback for a moment, then she laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" Zhou Huilan asked discontentedly, looking at the woman before her with skin like congealed cream.
She felt a twinge of jealousy. Having followed her father in the army for years, her own skin was tanned dark.
Moreover, she was taller and larger than most women, making her appear more like a man.
But what woman doesn't love beauty?
"Are you certain it was our young master who injured you by bumping into you?" Li Zhiwei asked, looking at this tall, sturdy young woman. She felt this young lady was probably here to make a false claim.
After all, with her physique, how could a child like Xu Qingshi possibly have injured her just by bumping into her?
"Just now, not far from Prince An's residence, many people witnessed it. Do you intend to renege?" Zhou Huilan hadn't expected the Princess Consort of Prince An to be so stingy over a bit of silver.
Thinking this, Zhou Huilan began to heap accusations on Li Zhiwei.
"To think the Heir of the prestigious Prince An's residence would commit violence in the streets, and now wants to shirk responsibility."
Feeling this wasn't enough, and remembering that Moyu had said she was the one who pushed Xu Qingshi, Zhou Huilan added sarcastically, "Truly, like master, like servant. The master of the house does wrong, and the servant even tries to shift the blame."
Zhou Huilan crossed her arms, adopting a posture that suggested she would not let the matter rest if Li Zhiwei didn't compensate her with silver.
"The young master has returned?"
Li Zhiwei thought to herself that when she came to the Prince An's residence, wasn't Xu Qingshi still recuperating at the Li family home?
Had he returned so soon?
"Reporting to Your Highness, the young master was just carried back by Moyu," the servant said, sneaking a glance at Zhou Huilan.
He somewhat suspected that the young master's unconscious state might have been caused by this woman.
Hearing this, Li Zhiwei frowned and looked at Zhou Huilan, wondering why Xu Qingshi had been carried back.
And this person claimed he had injured her by bumping into her?
Young lady, since you claim my child injured you by bumping into you, we can't simply accept one side of the story, can we? Please wait here for a moment while I go check on the child.
Li Zhiwei deliberately emphasized the word "child."
Her purpose was to remind Zhou Huilan: a child injuring her?
This was simply ludicrous.
"I'll wait right here! Make it quick! I'm waiting for you to get the silver so I can seek treatment!" Zhou Huilan declared righteously.
"If our young master truly caused you injury, our residence will naturally take responsibility for your treatment," Steward Liu said with displeasure.
"Steward Liu, I will go see Qingshi," Li Zhiwei said. Without paying further attention to Zhou Huilan, she headed towards the Liangqi Courtyard.
"Commandery Princess (Junzhu), perhaps we should go back first?" Xiaotao asked anxiously, tugging at Zhou Huilan's sleeve and whispering.
She could already imagine the whipping she would undoubtedly receive upon returning home if the Princess Consort found out she had brought the Commandery Princess to Prince An's residence to cause trouble.