Chapter 526
Chapter 526
"What's going on?" Lin Ziyi frowned and was about to scold Wei Herui.
"Sister Lin." Li Zhiwei quickly walked over to Lin Ziyi's side and gently shook her head at her.
Lin Ziyi received Li Zhiwei's signal and looked at the group with some confusion.
Seeing the injuries on Wei Herui's face, she felt a flicker of displeasure in her heart.
Such a fine face—how did it end up this bruised and battered?
"Hmph, you're all here. Take a look—your children beat my child into this state. Speak up, how are you going to pay compensation?" Niu Shi, seeing Lin Ziyi dressed in splendid attire, was already calculating in her mind how much she should demand.
Although the Zhao family had decent means, Niu Shi was well aware that compared to the two women before her, they were nothing at all.
Especially a few days ago—who didn't envy Li Zhiwei's lavish dowry?
"Has any of you actually seen that the injuries on this child were inflicted by our children?" Li Zhiwei ignored Niu Shi and instead looked at the surrounding commonfolk.
Li Zhiwei then gestured to Qingyue beside her.
"Anyone who can provide useful information will be rewarded with one tael of silver by our Princess Consort." Qingyue took out a small ingot of silver from her pouch and said to the crowd.
As they say, heavy rewards always bring forth bold volunteers. Soon, a man stepped forward and said, "I saw it. Just now, it was this young master who spoke rudely to the young heir and the young master."
"You only said that our child spoke to him—he never laid a hand on him." Niu Shi pointed at the man with a look of dissatisfaction.
"Qingshi, what did he say to you?"
Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Qingshi, her eyes demanding an answer.
Xu Qingshi lowered his head upon hearing this, then looked up and said, "Nothing pleasant."
Li Zhiwei frowned.
"You there—tell us, what did he say to them?" Lin Ziyi asked Wei Herui.
Wei Herui's lips moved. He wanted to speak, but after glancing at Li Zhiwei, he lowered his head again.
"Did you clearly hear what he said?" Li Zhiwei asked the man.
"This..." The man hesitated.
"All you have to do is say it, and these five taels of silver are yours." Li Zhiwei produced another five taels of silver and tempted the man.
"Your child beat my child, and now you're trying to turn black into white?" Watching Li Zhiwei pull out one tael after another, Niu Shi's eyes gleamed with greed.
"Madam, why the rush? Children bicker and scuffle—it's only natural. But since you want to air this out in public, then let's get to the bottom of it. If our children are truly at fault, never mind one set of clothes on your child—I, as Princess Consort, can afford ten sets." Li Zhiwei stared coldly at Niu Shi.
A child so young, covered in so many injuries—even without her saying a word, everyone could see it clearly.
But if Niu Shi thought she could pin the blame on Xu Qingshi, Li Zhiwei had no intention of letting that happen.
"That's right. If our children are at fault, we'll naturally compensate. But if it was your child who provoked first, then he brought it upon himself." Lin Ziyi also stepped forward with displeasure, shielding the two children behind her.
"What are you trying to do? Your two children beat our one child, and now you want to throw your weight around? Oh, look at this! These great officials are bullying us common folk!" With that, Niu Shi plopped herself down on the ground and burst into loud wails.
"I heard it! I heard it! This child said that the Princess Consort of An has no shame, that she threw herself at Prince An to become his second consort. He also said that Prince An must be after the Li family's money, that the Prince An's Heir would come to no good end, and that you, Princess Consort, were unchaste before marriage—that you and Prince An were carrying on and you got pregnant before the wedding."
A street vendor quickly stepped forward and spoke up.
Hearing this, Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Qingshi and asked, "Is what he said true?"
Li Zhiwei wasn't bothered by what others said about her—after all, in her previous life, it was precisely to avoid people's gossip that she sacrificed her entire Li family, and herself along with them.
But now, the fact that Xu Qingshi would get into a fight over such words warmed her heart a little.
"He's talking nonsense. Don't take it to heart." Xu Qingshi said a little awkwardly.
He did make a mistake today—he shouldn't have raised his hands against Zhao Donglai.
But the things Zhao Donglai said were simply too outrageous. He couldn't hold back.
"Rui'er?" Lin Ziyi also looked at Wei Herui with some confusion. Did he also fight with Zhao Donglai over this?
"I just couldn't stand people spouting nonsense." After saying this, Wei Herui shifted his feet awkwardly, scuffing the bricks beneath him.
"Even if my boy said something he shouldn't have, that still doesn't give them the right to lay their hands on him." Niu Shi felt a bit uneasy hearing this, but she still believed she was the one in the right.
"It was this child who pushed the young heir first—that's when the young heir fought back." The vendor quickly added.
"That's right, that's right. I also saw this child push first."
Soon, more people pointed at Zhao Donglai.
Li Zhiwei signaled Qingyue to hand the five taels of silver to the vendor.
Then, with a mocking look at Zhao Donglai and Niu Shi, she asked, "Tell me—who threw the first punch, him or them?"
Zhao Donglai, facing Li Zhiwei's questioning gaze, stepped back in fright.
"I'm asking you a question. Cat got your tongue?" Niu Shi, seeing how scared Zhao Donglai looked, slapped him on the back in frustration.
What a useless boy, she thought.
"It was me who spoke first." Zhao Donglai hung his head, feeling miserable inside.
Would Xu Qingshi ever play with him again?
At that thought, Zhao Donglai looked up at Xu Qingshi, a hint of hope lingering in his eyes.
"You rotten child! Fine, you spoke—but why did they hit you?" Niu Shi was furious, thinking that as long as it was Xu Qingshi who threw the first punch, she'd have the upper hand.
Hearing this, Zhao Donglai lowered his head again.
He didn't dare make another sound.
"My boy made a mistake, sure, but look at his clothes! You're paying for that!" Niu Shi ignored what everyone said and doubled down on her demand.
"Compensation isn't out of the question. But, my marriage to the Prince was decreed by His Majesty. For Young Master Zhao to speak such reckless slander is an insult to the throne itself—an offense punishable by the extermination of one's entire clan. Isn't that right, Sister Lin?" Li Zhiwei looked at the endlessly greedy Niu Shi, speaking word by word.
"Yo—you're talking nonsense!" Niu Shi's heart began to tremble at those words. Extermination of the clan? That can't be real, can it?
After all, this woman was only a minor merchant's daughter. If not for that, why would the Ru'an Marquis's household have dared leave her standing outside their gates back then?
At that thought, Niu Shi straightened her back a little.
"Zhao Donglai, do you want to save your father?" Li Zhiwei looked at Zhao Donglai and asked.
She didn't believe that such words could come from the mouth of a child of five or six. If no one had instigated him, how would he even know what those words meant?