Chapter 525
Chapter 525
When Li Zhiwei and Xu Heming arrived, what they saw was Niu Shi pointing at Xu Qingshi and Wei Herui, demanding money.
Xu Heming frowned and was about to step forward, but Li Zhiwei held him back.
"My Lord, this is a matter between women; you need not get involved."
Li Zhiwei said hurriedly.
In truth, Li Zhiwei was afraid that Xu Heming would become too angry and harm the innocent.
She was also worried he would punish Xu Qingshi.
"Wait in the carriage for me. I will go and return shortly." Xu Heming frowned.
That woman actually dared to point at his son's nose and curse on the open street—she must be tired of living.
"I'll go." Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with firm eyes, then continued, "You just stay here and watch. If I can't handle it, then you can come, alright?"
Xu Heming saw the sincere look in Li Zhiwei's eyes and couldn't find it in himself to refuse.
Thinking about how busy he usually was with official duties, he couldn't possibly protect Li Zhiwei in every single matter.
If Li Zhiwei could have the ability to defend herself, that would be for the best.
He would stay here and watch from a distance for now.
If that person truly bullied Li Zhiwei, he could rush over in an instant and shield her.
"Then I'll wait here. If you find yourself overwhelmed, just shout, and I will definitely rush over to protect you." Xu Heming instructed in a serious tone.
"My Lord, rest assured. If I truly encounter danger, I will definitely shout: 'My Lord, save me!'" Li Zhiwei couldn't help but laugh at her own words.
With that said, without waiting for Xu Heming's reaction, she quickly parted the crowd and walked to Xu Qingshi's side.
Seeing the injuries on Xu Qingshi's face and the torn clothes on his body, Li Zhiwei frowned and asked hurriedly, "Were you hurt?"
"Mother!" Xu Qingshi's lower lip trembled at the sight of Li Zhiwei, and he looked like he was about to cry.
"Alright, it's fine now." Li Zhiwei gently patted Xu Qingshi's back before standing up. She then looked at Wei Herui beside them. Thinking of Lin Ziyi, she had someone check on Wei Herui as well, and upon seeing that he had no serious injuries, she finally turned her gaze to Niu Shi, who was seething with anger.
"Hmph!" Niu Shi looked at the impeccably dressed Li Zhiwei and felt a momentary sense of intimidation.
However, seeing that her own child looked worse off, Niu Shi felt justified in her position.
"Oh my, is this the newly married Princess Consort of Prince An?"
"It should be. This time, the Zhao family is probably in trouble. Didn't that Niu Shi just point at Prince An's Heir and Young Master Wei and curse at them?"
"Exactly. That Zhao woman has always been sharp-tongued; this time she's hit a wall."
"But that young master of the Zhao family looked pretty rough too. Maybe Niu Shi can get a hefty settlement."
Niu Shi was taken aback, realizing that the person who had made such a grand spectacle with dowries just days ago was none other than the woman in front of her.
Yet, thinking that she too had married into a household as a stepmother, Niu Shi felt that no matter how large the dowry, Li Zhiwei was no more honorable than she was.
Wasn't she just a second wife as well?
And judging by the way that brat had punched Zhao Donglai, he didn't seem like a well-behaved child either.
With this thought, Niu Shi grew more confident.
Niu Shi told herself—they were the same!
Both stepmothers.
"Hey, you, how do you manage your child? Look, just look! See what they did to my boy?" Niu Shi pointed at the torn clothes on Zhao Donglai and complained with dissatisfaction.
Li Zhiwei gave Zhao Donglai a once-over. She didn't recognize this child.
His clothes indeed looked a bit ragged, but there were no visible injuries on his face.
Still, with his clothes torn, he appeared rather disheveled as well.
"Qingshi, what happened?" Li Zhiwei didn't answer Niu Shi. Instead, she looked gently at Xu Qingshi and asked.
"Hmph! He started cursing first." Xu Qingshi folded his arms with a dissatisfied look on his face. Even with injuries on his face, he refused to show any signs of backing down.
"If he curses, why don't you curse him back then? Look at how badly you've beaten him!" Niu Shi wasn't happy to hear that.
"Madam, when children fight, both sides usually share the blame. Your son may look a bit roughed up, but I see no actual bruises or injuries on him. Meanwhile, my child has wounds on his face and hands." Li Zhiwei said coldly.
Hearing this, the crowd all looked at Xu Qingshi, Wei Herui, and the nearby Zhao Donglai.
At first, they had thought these two young masters were bullying the young Zhao boy, but now it looked like just a simple scuffle between children.
After all, such things happened all the time.
"Ah, both of those boys have bruises on them." Someone said, pointing at Xu Qingshi and Wei Herui.
"That other boy looks bad off, but there aren't any actual wounds—just his clothes looking a bit torn."
"Those clothes look a bit old too, don't they?"
"I heard the Zhao boy has a stepmother. Could it be that the clothes were torn on purpose to extort money?"
These comments made Niu Shi's face turn ugly.
In fact, the clothes Zhao Donglai was wearing were newly made by her, but she had used the cheapest fabric available.
Naturally, it couldn't withstand the boys' tussling.
She had done this to appease old Zhao and to maintain the facade of being a good stepmother.
"Hmph! Your child has wounds, but does my child have none?" Niu Shi then angrily pulled up Zhao Donglai's sleeve, but at the slightest tug, the sleeve tore again.
On Zhao Donglai's arm, however, there were patches of bruising that clearly appeared to be old injuries, not fresh ones.
"Oooh..." The onlookers couldn't help but gasp.
"Madam, you're not going to claim those bruises were just caused by the two boys moments ago, are you?" Li Zhiwei frowned when she saw the injuries on Zhao Donglai. This was a family matter, and although she sympathized with the child, she couldn't intervene too much. But if Niu Shi tried to blame those on Xu Qingshi, she would not stand for it.
"Hmph! How does the Princess Consort know my son didn't get those bruises from your boys earlier?" Niu Shi would never admit that she herself had caused the injuries on Zhao Donglai.
If Zhao Shangjie found out, what if he divorced her?
At the thought, Niu Shi grew even more anxious.
Zhao Shangjie treated her well. If she got divorced because of this little brat, where could she find a man better than Zhao Shangjie?
Li Zhiwei was momentarily taken aback. She hadn't declared her identity, thinking the woman might not know who she was. Unexpectedly, the woman had called her by her title directly.
"Madam, what evidence do you have that the injuries on your son were caused by my heir and Young Master Wei?" Li Zhiwei said, a composed smile hanging at the corner of her mouth.
"What's going on?" Lin Ziyi hurriedly pushed through the crowd and was slightly relieved to see Li Zhiwei already there.
"Mother." Wei Herui lowered his head guiltily, afraid that Lin Ziyi would scold him.