Chapter 326
Chapter 326
"Alright, alright, let's just leave it at that for now." Zhou Zuo rubbed his cheek, thinking to himself that this prince probably wouldn't recognize the heir of Prince An either, right?
When the time came, he would just use this kid to make up the numbers.
The fact that the young heir of Prince An's Manor was currently missing was something everyone knew anyway.
When the time came, it wouldn't be a bad idea to use this kid to bluff Prince An.
"Brother, then should I take this old thing away?" Zhou You asked joyfully upon hearing this.
"Keep him for now. Just in case this little thing throws a tantrum later, there will be someone to coax him." Zhou Zuo thought for a moment; Xu Qingshi was, after all, just a child.
"Then brother, I'll be heading back first," Zhou You said, looking at Zhou Zuo and scratching his head with a grin.
"Alright, take this silver." Seeing Zhou You's gesture, Zhou Zuo knew he was asking him for money.
He spat lightly in his heart, thinking what a shallow and greedy person he was.
Having done just a little bit of work, he couldn't wait to ask for silver.
Thinking of this, Zhou Zuo looked again at Xu Qingshi and Li Tianyou on the ground.
Once he took this kid to claim credit before the prince, the prince would surely reward him with even more silver.
Prince An's Manor
"Go search. Even if you have to turn the capital upside down, you must find Qingshi," Xu Heming said with a dark expression.
He really wanted to see who had the audacity to abduct his son.
"Your... Your Highness, there is someone else who disappeared along with the heir." Qingyuan, thinking of Li Tianyou who had vanished with him, glanced at Xu Heming with some difficulty.
He didn't know if his prince would get angry if he knew that Lord Li and the heir had disguised themselves to return to the manor to fetch something.
"Who? Rusong?" Xu Heming remembered that among the people Xu Qingshi took to the Zhou family, there was also Rusong.
"Your Highness, Rusong is currently outside the manor. The person who disappeared with the heir is Lord Li," Qingyuan said in a low voice.
Xu Heming froze for a moment upon hearing this. He muttered in his heart: Lord Li?
How many Lord Lis were there in the capital?
"Oh, I knew it! That figure looked somewhat familiar!" Liu Ming slapped his forehead. He had felt that the grandfather and grandson duo looked familiar at the time, and it was strange how they had so accurately found Liangqi Courtyard.
Xu Heming frowned. Could this Lord Li be Li Zhiwei's father?
"Why would Qingshi be with Lord Li?" Xu Heming asked with a frown.
"The heir originally wanted to go to Li'an County, but he had no silver on him, so he thought of coming back to the manor to get some. It's just..." Thinking of Xu Qingshi's concerns, the look Qingyuan gave Xu Heming held a hint of suspicion.
Was the prince being too harsh on the heir?
If it weren't for the prince not wanting the heir anymore, the heir wouldn't have had to go to the Zhou family and suffer.
"Just what?" Xu Heming looked at Qingyuan impatiently, not understanding why this person was hesitating so much just to speak.
"Your Highness, how about we first ask why the heir didn't want to return to the manor?" Liu Ming said, somewhat puzzled.
"Why?" Xu Heming frowned. He didn't know either. Xu Qingshi had clearly come back, so why did he leave again?
Just how much did he dislike his father?
"The heir was worried that Your Highness would send him back to the Zhou family again, so he planned to have someone come to the manor to fetch silver. After much thought, the heir finally thought of Lord Li," Qingyuan said softly.
"Hmph, he certainly knows how to pick people!" Xu Heming snorted lightly, thinking that the brat must have known he would show some deference to Li Tianyou.
He was a little mastermind after all.
"Lord Li doesn't lack silver either. Why would he be willing to sneak into the manor to fetch silver for him?" Liu Ming asked in confusion.
"The heir said there was something very important to him in the manor. Lord Li couldn't withstand the heir's pleading, so he came." Qingyuan thought of the disguise of the old and the young, and then looked at Liu Ming, who had crossed paths with them.
He thought to himself that perhaps the two of them were somewhat successful in their ruse.
"What thing is that important?" Xu Heming asked, puzzled.
"This subordinate does not know." Before Qingyuan even had a chance to look, his heir had already disappeared without a trace.
"Send people to search." Xu Heming's heart felt heavy. He didn't know if the Li family was aware of Li Tianyou's disappearance.
However, he really couldn't figure out who would abduct Li Tianyou and Xu Qingshi together.
At this time, Li Zhiwei originally didn't want to pay any attention to the things Cheng Qingli had sent over.
But then she thought, that was clearly her compensation for emotional distress, so why shouldn't she accept it?
Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei opened the box. Inside was impressively the title deed to the Qin Brothel.
There were also some jewelry and accessories, all in the popular styles currently trending in the capital.
Next to it was another document, which was Qin Minghao's lifetime servitude contract.
Li Zhiwei was somewhat surprised by this.
Cheng Qingli was actually willing to give the Qin Brothel to her.
She had even completed the household registration transfer.
"Miss, isn't this the title deed for the Qin Brothel?" Qinghua asked, a bit puzzled.
"Put it away. Later, when I finish drawing the blueprints, I'll have my master head over there." Li Zhiwei reasoned that since she needed the Qin Brothel, there was no reason to refuse.
However, she needed to think more carefully about her cooperation with Cheng Qingli.
Otherwise, next time, she might not even know where she was being tricked into going.
Right now, her trust in Cheng Qingli was absolute zero.
"Weiwei," Lady Yao called out anxiously from outside the room.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Seeing Lady Yao's anxious appearance, Li Zhiwei quickly stepped forward to hold her hand, looking at her with some curiosity.
"It's already so late. Why hasn't your father returned yet?" Lady Yao asked worriedly.
Li Zhiwei looked at the moonlight and suddenly realized that it was already the Hai hour.
Normally, her father would have returned long ago.
"Has Zhou Tong returned?" Li Zhiwei asked with a frown.
"Eldest Miss, Zhou Tong has returned. However, Zhou Tong said that the Master had some matters to attend to," Qin Tao, who was standing to the side, quickly said.
"Qinghua, go see where Qinghe is," Li Zhiwei asked, her brow furrowing.
"Something happened to the heir at the Zhou family today. Qinghe probably went over to help look for him," Qinghua thought for a moment and answered truthfully.
"What happened to Qingshi?" Li Zhiwei had been too busy being angry with Cheng Qingli today and hadn't left the house. The servants hadn't dared to let such news reach her ears.
Now, hearing that something had happened to Xu Qingshi, Li Zhiwei's heart skipped a beat.
Wasn't the Zhou family the maiden home of Xu Qingshi's biological mother?
What could possibly happen to Xu Qingshi at his own maternal grandfather's house?
However, thinking of Zhou Yuying, Li Zhiwei really couldn't muster any trust for the Zhou family.
At this thought, Li Zhiwei felt deeply uneasy.
"A courtyard at the Zhou residence caught fire, and it happened to be the one where the heir was staying," Qinghua said softly.
"Qingshi... Qingshi is fine, right?" Li Zhiwei asked, her voice trembling.
"The heir suffered a bit, but he is fine. It's just that right now, the heir..." Qinghua was about to say more when a servant boy announced that people from Prince An's Manor had arrived.
Li Zhiwei hurried outside, thinking that her father must have gone to Prince An's Manor to visit Xu Qingshi.