Chapter 533
Chapter 533
Jiang Yuanrang looked at Li Zhiwei with some confusion.
Why would his own sister ask him such a question?
It didn’t seem appropriate for a man to comment on an unmarried young lady, did it?
But seeing the expectant look in his sister’s eyes, Jiang Yuanrang couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
After thinking it over, he said something quite neutral: “Any friend my sister holds dear must be a fine young lady.”
In truth, Jiang Yuanrang did know about Li Zhiwei’s two close friends.
One of them, he’d heard, was the younger sister of the Empress herself.
The other was the young lady from the Wen family next door.
On the day he’d first arrived at the Li household, he’d seen her standing there, wearing a gentle expression.
She was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on.
Jiang Yuanrang was also well aware that those girls were beyond his reach.
They were noble daughters of the capital’s elite families, while he was nothing more than a humble merchant.
Since Li Zhiwei was asking, he naturally had to answer properly.
But when he thought of Wen Xiu’s face, his heart still gave a little tug.
That girl was not someone he could ever aspire to.
“Brother, did you notice the young lady in the goose-yellow dress? She’s especially beautiful.” Li Zhiwei looked at Jiang Yuanrang, blinking, her expression expectant.
Jiang Yuanrang gave Li Zhiwei a strange look, not understanding what had gotten into his sister.
Yet he felt a pang of bitterness inside.
Of course he knew that girl was beautiful.
But the most beautiful girls always belonged to someone else.
“Our Weiwei is the most beautiful of all,” Jiang Yuanrang said after a moment, forcing a smile.
“Wouldn’t you agree, brother-in-law?” He turned to Xu Heming, who was standing nearby.
“Weiwei is naturally the most beautiful,” Xu Heming said with a smug grin.
“What are you doing?” Li Zhiwei shot Xu Heming an annoyed glare.
Hadn’t they agreed that they were here to find out whether her brother liked Wen Xiu?
Now the two of them were just praising each other instead?
Xu Heming rubbed his nose, unable to hide the smile at the corner of his mouth—his wife was the most beautiful, after all.
“Brother, I do think that young lady is quite something too.” Xu Heming finally spoke up, prompted by Li Zhiwei’s relentless staring.
“Oh? Is my brother-in-law already thinking of taking a concubine?” Jiang Yuanrang looked at Xu Heming with dissatisfaction.
“Hm?” Li Zhiwei frowned, turning to look at Xu Heming.
He wanted a concubine?
He could still take two side consorts.
“Are you thinking of marrying side consorts too?” Li Zhiwei asked Xu Heming, clearly displeased.
“We’re talking about your brother’s matter here,” Xu Heming said helplessly.
“Brother, tell me—wouldn’t it be wonderful if Wen Xiu became my sister-in-law?” Li Zhiwei ignored Xu Heming and turned her attention back to Jiang Yuanrang.
Jiang Yuanrang hadn’t expected his sister to ask him that.
“Never mind, sister. That young lady deserves someone better,” Jiang Yuanrang said, feeling he was not worthy of Wen Xiu.
He wasn’t about to embarrass himself by reaching for something out of his grasp.
“Brother, how do you know unless you try?” Li Zhiwei hadn’t expected that reaction from Jiang Yuanrang, so she looked toward Xu Heming for help.
“Does my brother-in-law feel he’s not good enough for Miss Wen?” Xu Heming frowned, quickly catching on to why Jiang Yuanrang would say such a thing.
“I’m nothing but a merchant. How could I ever aspire to a noble lady like Miss Wen?” Jiang Yuanrang said bluntly.
“Brother, you’re not just a merchant! Father is already an official now, so you count as a son of an official family, right? And you’re far more outstanding than those idle young nobles in the capital,” Li Zhiwei quickly tried to reassure him.
“Brother, how will you know Miss Wen wouldn’t like someone like you if you never give it a chance?” Xu Heming asked, looking at Jiang Yuanrang.
“I won’t be staying in the capital anyway. Let’s not discuss this anymore.” Jiang Yuanrang lowered his head, busying himself with the things in his hands.
“What do we do?” Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming, feeling at a loss.
He could also tell that Jiang Yuanrang genuinely seemed set on leaving.
Even though she knew she might not be able to make Jiang Yuanrang stay, she still wanted him to find a good match—she truly believed Wen Xiu was the right one for her brother.
But now, her brother didn’t seem interested, which left Li Zhiwei feeling defeated.
“Go and invite Wen Xiu to the residence,” Xu Heming said, glancing at Jiang Yuanrang, who was still attending to his own affairs. He decided to resort to a stronger measure.
He refused to believe that Jiang Yuanrang could remain unmoved with such beauty right in front of him.
“Is it appropriate to go right now?” Li Zhiwei hesitated. If her brother wasn’t willing, wouldn’t it seem like Wen Xiu was being too forward?
“You’re just inviting your close friend over—there’s nothing improper about that.” Xu Heming whispered a few words into Li Zhiwei’s ear, and she nodded before telling Qingyue to go and invite Wen Xiu to the residence.
When Wen Xiu heard from Mingyue that Li Zhiwei was inviting her to the Li household for something, she was taken aback at first.
Then she looked, somewhat helplessly, toward Wen Zhaonan, who was sitting nearby.
“Is Prince An at the Li residence?” Wen Zhaonan asked Qingyue.
“Yes, General. His Highness is there,” Qingyue replied with a smile.
“Then let’s go together. I happen to have something to discuss with Prince An.” Wen Zhaonan stood up.
“Brother, wait!” Wen Xiu seemed to remember something and quickly spoke up.
“What’s the matter?” Wen Zhaonan looked at his sister, puzzled.
“Brother, give me a moment to freshen up.” Wen Xiu lowered her head, blushing as she spoke.
Her current outfit would have been perfectly fine for an ordinary visit to see Li Zhiwei, but when she thought of Jiang Yuanrang, she decided it was better to change into something more presentable.
“Hmph!” Wen Zhaonan felt a bit put out.
Why did she need to change clothes just to go to the Li household?
He didn’t see anything wrong with her sister’s outfit.
But he didn’t argue with her either.
In his heart, he thought, Jiang Yuanrang, that brat, sure got lucky.
Fortunately, Wen Xiu quickly changed her clothes and then followed Wen Zhaonan to the Li residence.
At that time, Li Zhiwei and Xu Heming were sitting in the Li family’s pavilion, drinking tea.
“Sister Wen!” Seeing Wen Xiu in her orange-pink outfit, Li Zhiwei’s eyes lit up.
“Sister Zhiwei.” But when she saw only Li Zhiwei and Xu Heming in the pavilion, Wen Xiu felt a bit surprised. She had assumed Li Zhiwei had called her over to meet Jiang Yuanrang.
Not seeing Jiang Yuanrang’s figure, Wen Xiu felt a little disappointed.
He wasn’t here—could it be that he hadn’t taken a liking to her?
At this thought, Wen Xiu bit her lip but didn’t voice the question in her heart.
Wen Zhaonan frowned at the couple, wondering what they were up to.
But not seeing Jiang Yuanrang, Wen Zhaonan felt displeased at first.
“Qingyue, would you please go and call my brother over?” Li Zhiwei quickly said to Qingyue.
“Prince An, what is the meaning of this?” Wen Zhaonan asked with a frown.
He was somewhat annoyed—it felt like his sister was throwing herself at the young master of the Li family.
His sister didn’t lack suitors; the Li family wasn’t her only choice.
Wen Zhaonan didn’t want his sister to go through something so degrading.
“General, no need to be anxious. Let’s sit down and talk slowly.” Xu Heming hadn’t said much, simply gesturing for Wen Zhaonan to take a seat.