Chapter 528
Chapter 528
"How could that be? You must have misheard, Princess Consort of An." Zhao Shangjie wiped the sweat from his forehead and put on an ingratiating smile as he spoke.
Inwardly, he was thinking that this woman Niu was completely lacking in tact, daring to provoke even the Princess Consort of An and Young Madam Wei.
His son had barely managed to curry favor with those two young masters.
Zhao Shangjie then glanced at the clothes Zhao Donglai was wearing.
There was simply no comparison with Xu Qingshi and Wei Herui.
If these people stood together, wouldn't others mistake his son for a servant boy?
At that thought, Zhao Shangjie felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.
"Princess Consort of An, leave these matters to the servants." Lin Ziyi looked at the Zhao family and had no intention of wasting more time with them.
"Your Highness, the Prince is waiting for you in the carriage, he asked me to handle this matter." Qingsong walked over and said respectfully to Li Zhiwei.
"In that case, handle it fairly and according to the rules. If they want compensation from us, we'll pay what we owe. But if it's not our responsibility, we won't give a single copper more." Li Zhiwei nodded to Qingsong, then turned to Zhao Shangjie and Niu, and said.
"Zhao Donglai, don't come looking for me to play anymore from now on." After saying this, Xu Qingshi took Li Zhiwei's hand and followed her onto the carriage.
"Father!" Seeing Xu Heming's less-than-pleasant expression in the carriage, Xu Qingshi called out weakly.
"You've really outdone yourself!" Xu Heming looked at Xu Qingshi, whose face was still marked with bruises, and said with some disdain.
"It's because that Zhao Donglai was too hateful — he dared to speak ill of Mother, so of course I had to hit him back." Whenever Xu Qingshi thought of how Zhao Donglai had slandered Li Zhiwei, he felt furious.
But as he spoke further, he glanced timidly at Xu Heming, afraid he might be punished.
"Not bad, you know how to protect your mother." Xu Heming was quite satisfied with how Xu Qingshi defended Li Zhiwei.
"Father, you're not angry?" Xu Qingshi had assumed he would be punished without question, but surprisingly, Xu Heming wasn't angry at all. And didn't it sound like he was praising him?
Hearing Xu Heming's words just now, Xu Qingshi felt a little proud — he had been able to protect his mother.
"Your Highness, how can you speak to Qingshi like that? Regardless of the circumstances, fighting is wrong." Li Zhiwei felt a hint of heartache as she took out a handkerchief and carefully dabbed at the wounds on Xu Qingshi's face.
She quietly blamed Zhao Donglai for being too rough with his hands.
"Mother, I'm fine, these wounds don't hurt." Xu Qingshi said with a smile.
Inwardly, he was even thinking that if Zhao Donglai ever spoke ill of his mother again, he would beat him again.
"He's a boy, thick-skinned and sturdy. A few scratches won't do him any harm." Xu Heming watched Li Zhiwei tend to Xu Qingshi's wounds with such care, feeling a little jealous inside.
He secretly cursed the little brat for always trying to steal his wife's attention.
"Your Highness, he's only five years old." Li Zhiwei sighed and had to remind Xu Heming of Xu Qingshi's age.
"Hmph, exactly — he's only five." Xu Heming felt truly aggrieved! If only the little brat were fifteen, he would find him a wife and keep him in check.
He wouldn't have to keep hanging around and competing for his wife's favor.
"Mother, where are we going?" Xu Qingshi pretended not to notice Xu Heming's resentful stare. This road didn't seem to lead back to the Prince An's residence, so he asked.
"We're going to the Li family. Your grand-uncle was granted an official position by the Emperor today, so we're going to congratulate him." Li Zhiwei said with a smile.
"Really? What position did grand-uncle get?" Xu Qingshi asked excitedly.
"They say it's Commissioner of Administration?" Li Zhiwei thought for a moment and said.
"Oh, so grand-uncle sells cloth, and Uncle Emperor gave him a cloth-commissioner position, is that it?" Xu Qingshi had no idea what Commissioner of Administration meant, but thought it must have something to do with cloth.
"What you don't know could fill a library." Xu Heming rolled his eyes. He didn't want to admit that this clueless person was his son.
"Your Highness, I'm also curious — what exactly is a Commissioner of Administration?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with a questioning expression, her eyes full of confusion.
"Commissioner of Administration is just a titular position, without real power. The holder doesn't need to do much. However, with that title, Uncle will have more convenience in many matters." Xu Heming explained.
"Oh? So grand-uncle doesn't sell cloth? Then what does he sell?" Xu Qingshi said, a little disappointed. He had been thinking that since Zhao Donglai's clothes tore so quickly today, he might go to his grand-uncle's shop to buy some cloth for him.
But then he remembered that Zhao Donglai had scratched him, and they had already fallen out.
"Your grand-uncle is the biggest grain merchant in Qujing." Li Zhiwei said with some pride.
"So he sells rice, right?" Xu Qingshi asked with a confused look.
"Yes, we eat both rice and wheat." Li Zhiwei said with a smile.
"Father, do we still have grain at home? Why don't you buy some from grand-uncle?" Xu Qingshi looked at Xu Kejian and said.
Xu Kejian's mouth twitched involuntarily. He thought to himself, Yao Qisheng is far away in Qujing — was he supposed to travel all the way there just to buy some grain?
"There's no need for that to concern you!" Li Heming ignored his dimwitted son and instead looked at Li Zhiwei, speaking gently.
"Your Highness, do you have some instruction?" Li Zhiwei asked curiously.
"Your elder brother has reached the age to consider marriage, hasn't he?" Li Heming took Li Zhiwei's hand and said.
"Well, Father and Mother do have that thought, but Brother just returned, and his wishes come first." Li Zhiwei nodded. Truthfully, she didn't know if her brother had someone he liked in Lucheng.
Her parents had no intention of interfering with her brother's marriage — they only wanted him to be happy.
If her brother could find a girl in the capital, that would be the best.
"How would you like your brother to stay in the capital permanently?"
Li Heming looked at Li Zhiwei and asked with a tempting tone.
"Your Highness, do you have a way?" Li Zhiwei naturally wanted her brother to stay in the capital, but as it stood, he might still return to Lucheng.
If Xu Heming could find a way to keep Jiang Yuanrang behind, that would be ideal.
"What if I play matchmaker for your brother?" Xu Heming asked with a smile.
"Matchmaker? Whose daughter?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with a puzzled expression and asked.
Inwardly, she thought that if her brother didn't like the girl, he would surely refuse.
"Your good friend Wen Xiu — how would you like her as your sister-in-law?" Xu Heming looked at Li Zhiwei and asked.
Li Zhiwei hadn't expected Xu Heming to suggest Wen Xiu.
If Wen Xiu were to become her sister-in-law, she would certainly be glad.
But would Wen Xiu and her brother be willing?