Chapter 313
Chapter 313
Zhou Changfeng was stumped by Xu Heming's words.
He couldn't exactly reply that it wasn't his own son who died, could he?
But even if he offered words of comfort, he felt it would seem somewhat hypocritical.
However, considering that Xu Qingshi had perished in the Zhou residence, no matter how one argued it, the Zhou family could not absolve themselves of responsibility.
Even if he wanted to pretend this incident never happened, he had no excuse; after all, he was the one who had personally brought the boy back.
Most importantly, he felt guilty. If that fool Lady Qin hadn't arranged for the boy to stay in the dilapidated Tingyun Courtyard, perhaps none of this would have happened.
Thinking of this, Zhou Changfeng felt immense regret.
"Brother-in-law, regarding this matter, it is our Zhou family who has let you down, and let Qingshi down." After much thought, Zhou Changfeng realized this was the most appropriate thing he could say right now.
Admitting his mistake couldn't be wrong, right?
"Let me down? If apologies were of any use, could you return Qingshi to this prince?" Xu Heming glared at Zhou Changfeng with ruthless intensity. At this moment, he wished he could hack this despicable man into pieces.
If Zhou Changfeng hadn't claimed the Zhou family missed the child, and if Xu Qingshi hadn't happened to overhear those words, why would he have ever let the boy make this trip?
He never imagined that Xu Qingshi coming to the Zhou residence wasn't for a short stay, but to lose his life!
"Is this what Eldest Young Master Zhou meant by missing the child? Your Zhou family's way of missing a child is truly unique, burning him alive in your own home. Is this your idea of longing for a child? Fortunately, your Zhou family doesn't have many children, otherwise, with such intentions, I'm afraid no one would dare marry a daughter of the Zhou family!" Xu Heming stared at Zhou Changfeng and spoke without an ounce of mercy.
After all, of the three daughters in the Zhou family, the late Princess was the eldest.
The second daughter, Zhou Yuzhen, married Imperial Physician Xiang of the capital's Imperial Academy of Medicine. Unfortunately, to this day, Zhou Yuzhen had not been able to bear Xiang Bai a single son or daughter.
As for the third daughter, Zhou Yuying, she was still in the manor, unmarried. As for the other male members of the Zhou family, aside from Zhou Changfeng having an eldest son, the other two had not yet married either.
In the Zhou family, aside from Xu Qingshi, there was only Zhou Xingzhi, the one who had fought with Xu Qingshi.
Hearing Xu Heming's words, Zhou Changfeng's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
He knew Xu Heming was in a terrible mood after losing his child, but his words were truly too harsh to bear.
"Your Highness, the heir's figure was not found in the ruins," a guard soon came in and reported.
"It is my fault. I did not take good care of Qingshi." Zhou Changfeng, who had originally wanted to argue a few words with Xu Heming, instantly dared not say anything more.
The child wasn't found—could he have been burned to ashes?
Thinking of this, a lingering fear struck Zhou Changfeng's heart.
"Brother-in-law, perhaps my sister missed Qingshi too much, and that is why she couldn't wait to take him away," Zhou Yuying said as she walked over, dabbing at non-existent tears.
In her heart, she thought that Xu Qingshi's death absolutely could not be blamed on the Zhou family; otherwise, her own marriage prospects would be in trouble.
After all, even if she couldn't marry Prince An, she still hoped to marry into a good family.
Yet Xu Qingshi just had to die in their manor at this time.
Thinking of this, Zhou Yuying thought with deep malice that if she had known, she would have just strangled him to death when he was born. Keeping him alive was just a disaster, exactly like his mother who died early.
Anyway, her eldest sister was already gone. If she pinned this on her, could a dead person come looking for trouble?
Having figured this out, Zhou Yuying's crying grew louder.
She was determined to pin this blame firmly on Zhou Yuxin.
"Your eldest sister missed Qingshi? Only you would dare use such an excuse. All these years since your eldest sister passed away, Zhou Yuying, have you been able to sleep peacefully? Aren't you afraid your eldest sister will come to claim your life in the middle of the night?" Xu Heming cast an icy glare at Zhou Yuying.
Although he didn't have much affection for Zhou Yuxin, she was still his Princess Consort and had borne him a child.
He originally thought her death was an accident, but last time Concubine Liu personally admitted that her death was connected to both her and the Zhou Yuying standing right before him.
At the time, he didn't bother with how the Zhou family would handle it; he only dealt with Concubine Liu and the servants in his manor.
But to his surprise, the Zhou family's attitude toward Zhou Yuying remained exactly the same as before.
"Brother-in-law, what do you mean by that?" Hearing this, Zhou Yuying's face turned pale. She didn't understand why Xu Heming would suddenly say such a thing to her out of nowhere.
Could it be that he already knew her eldest sister's death was connected to her?
But if he knew, how could he only come looking for her now?
And how could he have tolerated her continuing to live so well?
"What this prince means, does the Third Miss of the Zhou family not understand in her own heart? Do I need to spell out everything you've done word for word?" Xu Heming looked at Zhou Yuying, thinking to himself that this woman really knew how to put on an act.
She actually had the nerve to feign innocence in front of him.
Furthermore, Zhou Yuxin was her biological elder sister, yet she had actually been ruthless enough to strike against her.
Afterwards, she could remain so calm, as if everything truly had nothing to do with her.
"Brother-in-law, what do you mean by this?" Zhou Changfeng's eyes widened as he looked at Zhou Yuying beside him in disbelief.
Did he misunderstand?
Could it be that his eldest sister's death was related to his third sister?
How could that be possible?
His eldest sister was the Princess Consort of Prince An; what exactly had his third sister done to her?
"What do I mean? Ask your good third sister, and then ask your parents. They will tell you," Xu Heming said mockingly.
He had specifically sent someone to inform Zhou Zhonghe about this matter, so the Zhou family was definitely aware of it.
However, the Zhou family chose to cover it up.
As for the reason, Xu Heming didn't care to know.
But now that the Zhou family had harmed his son, he had no intention of letting them off lightly.
"Your Highness, should we continue searching for the heir?" a guard came over and asked cautiously.
The truth was, everything that could burn here had burned, and they hadn't been able to find the heir for quite some time.
"Search! If he is alive, I want to see him; if he is dead, I want to see his ashes!" Xu Heming's face was dark as he looked at the ruins, feeling incredibly bitter in his heart.
How could his son just disappear so easily?
"His Highness Prince An, my family's old madam invites you to come over," a servant hurried over, bowed respectfully to Xu Heming, and whispered.
Xu Heming frowned; he originally didn't want to go.
But thinking about it, the Zhou family's old madam, Madam Wu, was his former mother-in-law after all.
If she wanted to see him, he still had to make the trip.
However, the Zhou family had burned his child to nothing, and he had no intention of letting them escape the consequences.
He wanted to see how that old woman would answer him.
And how she would justify the fact that her grandson came to the Zhou residence but was only deemed worthy of staying in a desolate courtyard.
Was it that the people of Prince An's estate were unworthy, or did she feel that Qingshi was unworthy?