Chapter 529
Chapter 529
"How did you come to think of a match between Sister Wenxiu and my elder brother?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with some curiosity, not understanding why he, of all people, would suddenly take it upon himself to play matchmaker.
And of all people, it was for her brother and Wen Xiu.
Li Zhiwei felt that Xu Heming didn't seem like the type who enjoyed setting people up.
The moment she imagined Xu Heming peddling her elder brother like some kind of salesman, Li Zhiwei found the image rather hard to stomach.
"You don't want them to be together?" Xu Heming frowned. He had assumed that since Li Zhiwei liked Wen Xiu, she would be happy to have Wen Xiu as her sister-in-law.
"It's not that I don't want them together." Li Zhiwei's lips twitched slightly as she gave Xu Heming a helpless look.
It wasn't that she thought they were a bad match, but rather that the person proposing it was Xu Heming, which made her feel somewhat awkward.
"Then ask Wen Xiu about her thoughts later." Being stared at like that by his beloved young wife, Xu Heming also began to feel a little uncomfortable. Who was he doing all this for anyway?
Now it seemed as if he had done something rather shameful.
"Husband, you haven't already discussed this with General Wen, have you?" Li Zhiwei had a bold idea. Could it be that he had already settled things?
As soon as the words left her mouth, she found it quite absurd. When exactly had Xu Heming quietly managed to arrange all this?
What if her elder brother and Sister Wen Xiu didn't fancy each other?
"We haven't exactly agreed on anything, but Wen Zhaonan has met your brother and is quite satisfied with him." Xu Heming cleared his throat and said with some awkwardness.
"Oh, so our Prince An is well-fed and now knows the hunger of others." Li Zhiwei teased Xu Heming with a smile.
"So does Your Highness think this task I've done is proper?" Xu Heming could certainly hear the teasing in Li Zhiwei's tone.
But he was also worried that he might have botched the matter.
If he made Li Zhiwei unhappy, in the end, he would be the one to suffer.
"Hmph, you have good taste after all." Li Zhiwei smiled and nodded. Actually, she too felt that the two of them were quite well matched.
"Mother!" Xu Qingshi tugged at Li Zhiwei's sleeve from the side.
He felt a little uneasy in his heart. These two were truly treating him like he was invisible.
In the past, their attention had always been on him.
Xu Qingshi felt a little disappointed. Now that Li Zhiwei had married his father, had he dropped behind his father in her heart?
"I'll have Qingsong take him back." Xu Heming looked at the injuries still visible on Xu Qingshi's face and let out a sigh.
"It's fine, we'll just take him along with us." Li Zhiwei said indifferently.
After all, Xu Qingshi was a regular guest at the Li residence.
"With those injuries of his, what if people misunderstand and blame you?" Xu Heming frowned, looking at the wounds on Xu Qingshi's face. What if someone mistakenly thought Li Zhiwei had caused them? Wouldn't that harm her reputation?
"The opinions of others don't matter." Li Zhiwei said dismissively.
"Mother, I want to go with you to Grandfather's house." Xu Qingshi hurriedly hugged Li Zhiwei's hand and acted coy.
He thought to himself that his father was indeed not a good father, already starting to find him a nuisance at this point.
Could it be that he truly wasn't his father's child?
Thinking of this, Xu Qingshi sneakily glanced at Xu Heming.
He thought that perhaps he should just stay at Grandfather's house and not return to the Prince An residence.
He had heard that those two people had been dragged off to be drowned in a pond. He was scared.
"Come on, come on. Why are you picking on a child like this?" Li Zhiwei said, giving Xu Heming a slight glare.
She didn't understand why he was becoming more and more childish these days.
The Wen Residence
Wen Zhaonan returned home and sat in the front hall the entire time, silent.
"Elder Brother, what's wrong with you?" Wen Xiu looked at her elder brother and asked with some concern.
"Just thinking about something!" Wen Zhaonan glanced at Wen Xiu, thinking about the Jiang Yuanrang he had met today.
He had to admit that Xu Heming's words were quite tempting.
If his sister Wen Xiu really did marry the eldest son of the Li family.
The two households were separated by only one wall. If anything happened, he could go and look after his sister at a moment's notice.
But after returning, Wen Zhaonan felt a bit regretful. He should have asked his sister's opinion first.
Instead of expressing his satisfaction with Jiang Yuanrang right away.
Didn't that make them look a bit too eager?
His sister certainly wasn't desperate to marry.
Wen Zhaonan's heart was conflicted. He thought that perhaps tomorrow he could have Cheng Qingli ask the Empress for help in arranging things.
"Elder Brother, you should rest early." Wen Xiu thought Wen Zhaonan was simply thinking about military matters, so she didn't press further, instead urging him to rest.
She knew that her brother must be exhausted from his time in the army.
Now that he had finally returned to the capital, why burden himself so?
"Sit down!" Wen Zhaonan finally decided to ask his sister's opinion directly.
Wen Xiu was a little confused, but she obediently sat down beside Wen Zhaonan, feeling curious. Did her elder brother have something to tell her?
"Has my sister taken a liking to any young man?"
As soon as Wen Xiu sat down, Wen Zhaonan looked at her and asked.
Wen Xiu's face flushed. Without her knowing why, Jiang Yuanrang's face appeared in her mind.
But she quickly shook those shameful thoughts out of her head and lowered her head awkwardly.
A man as handsome as that, how could she ever deserve him? He might very well already be married.
"Elder Brother, I haven't thought about this matter yet." Wen Xiu said rather uneasily.
At her age, most of the noble young ladies in the capital would have already been betrothed long ago.
She had not yet settled her marriage, first because they had no parents, no elders, and no one to take care of such matters for her.
Wen Xiu couldn't very well go find a matchmaker for herself either.
Wen Xiu had once had hopes, but now...
She had probably long passed the best age for discussing marriage, hadn't she?
"It is your brother who is sorry to you." Wen Zhaonan sighed, clearly also thinking of this point.
He, as her elder brother, had failed to think of this.
And so he had delayed his sister.
"Elder Brother, I don't mind. As long as you are well." Wen Xiu shook her head.
She knew that her brother's life had not been easy all these years, and that he hadn't deliberately meant to delay her. It was just that he simply hadn't been able to get away.
"What kind of man does my sister wish to marry?" Wen Zhaonan looked at Wen Xiu and asked.
At this moment, Wen Zhaonan only wished to make it up to his younger sister. No matter what kind of man she liked, he would find a way to rope the brother-in-law home.
"Elder Brother!" Wen Xiu's face turned bright red upon hearing these words.
But she also knew that her marriage should now be put on the agenda.
However, what kind of man would she end up marrying?
At her age, finding a suitable family wouldn't be easy.
Thinking about this, Wen Xiu's heart tightened again.
What if the person she ended up with was someone she didn't like?
"Sister, over the years, your brother has neglected your marriage. Now that I am in the capital, I intend to settle this matter for you." Wen Zhaonan did not tell Wen Xiu about the possibility that the seventh prince of the Qinling Kingdom might want to marry her.