Chapter 574
Chapter 574
Lu Jinchang said nothing, but a seed of doubt had also taken root in his heart. Could that person really be an impostor?
“Find a way to send someone to investigate whether Prince An and Princess Consort of An have actually been to Lu City.”
Lu Jinchang gave the order to the yamen runner beside him.
He wondered whether, if those people really were impostors, he himself had not been deceived.
When Xu Heming led his party to Heping County, he was seized by an ominous feeling.
“Xu Song, where are our people?” Xu Heming asked with a frown.
They had replaced the officials in Heping County with their own men long ago.
Yet when they had just entered the city, they had noticed that none of their people were there.
“Your Highness, I’ll have someone investigate.” Xu Song had also sensed that something was wrong.
Xu Heming tried hard to recall what had happened. He had come to Heping County in secret.
Yet the situation made it seem as though the people here had known of his movements from the very beginning.
Xu Heming turned to look at the men he had brought with him.
They were all his personal guards. In theory, no one would dare reveal his whereabouts.
But aside from himself, only Li Tianyou and the Emperor knew about this matter.
Before Xu Heming could figure it out, a group of men in black appeared before him.
“Your Highness, Prince An, we have been waiting for you.”
The leader spoke arrogantly.
“People working for Prince Lanhuai?” Xu Heming asked tentatively.
He wondered where Prince Lanhuai had gotten such a meticulous mind.
Could he have actually planted spies beside him?
“Hahaha! If Your Highness says so, then that’s what it is!” The man laughed smugly.
“Hmph. Does Prince Lanhuai really think he can get his way by doing this? The Emperor has already thrown your good master, Prince Lanhuai, into prison.” Xu Heming studied the man in black and found him vaguely familiar.
For the moment, however, he could not remember where he had seen him.
“Hahaha! The Imperial Prison? That depends on whether the person inside is truly my master.” After saying this, the man tore off the black cloth covering his face.
Xu Heming froze when he saw who it was.
“Prince of Zhennan?”
Xu Song had not expected the man before them to be Prince of Zhennan either.
“Your Highness, Prince An, long time no see!” Prince of Zhennan Zhou Zhipeng said, a mocking smile curling his lips as he looked at Xu Heming.
Xu Heming had never expected Prince of Zhennan to defect to Prince Lanhuai.
“Are you surprised that it’s me? I’ve been waiting for this day for a very long time.” Zhou Zhipeng looked pleased with himself.
After all, back then, the eldest son of the Prince of Zhennan’s household had been crippled because of that bastard in Xu Heming’s residence.
Their distinguished princely household had actually been forced to bow their heads because of a child who still had barely any hair on his head.
Zhou Zhipeng had always regarded the matter as a humiliation.
And today, at last, the day of his revenge had arrived.
He knew that Prince An had not brought many men with him today.
He, on the other hand, had prepared a full thirty thousand elite soldiers.
He intended to make sure that Prince An would never leave alive.
“Prince of Zhennan, rebellion is a capital crime that will see your entire clan executed.” Xu Heming drew a deep breath.
“A capital crime? So what? You’ll have to stay alive long enough to see my entire clan executed. Tell me—if the Emperor learns that you have colluded with a foreign enemy, whose life do you think he’ll take first, yours or mine?”
After saying this, Prince of Zhennan threw his head back and laughed.
“Oh, that’s right. There’s also your new Princess Consort—” The smile on Zhou Zhipeng’s lips grew even more triumphant as he spoke.
Xu Heming was startled.
Had these people gone after Li Zhiwei as well?
At the thought that Li Zhiwei and the others were still in Lu City, anxiety surged through Xu Heming.
However, remembering that Xu Mu and Xu Chuan were by Li Zhiwei’s side, his worry eased somewhat.
Lu City
The members of the Li family, Jiang Yuanrang, and Madame Jiang sat quietly inside the side room.
Madame Jiang merely wore a cold expression.
As she looked at the people before her, she felt both jealous and ill at ease.
After all, it was obvious at a glance that Lady Yao had been exceptionally well cared for.
Li Tianyou put her first in everything he did.
At that moment, Wen Xiu sat obediently before Lady Yao.
Seeing Lady Yao’s gentle expression, Madame Jiang felt deeply uncomfortable.
To make matters worse, Jiang Yuanrang was seated beside Wen Xiu.
“Madam Jiang.” Li Tianyou set down his chopsticks and called out to her.
“Hmph!” Madame Jiang frowned. She thought, Here it comes. These people are going to try to take my son away from me.
She had raised Jiang Yuanrang for nineteen years, after all. These people could not possibly do anything to her.
With that thought, her confidence grew stronger.
“Madam Jiang raised my son for nineteen years. Our Li family will always remember this kindness. This is merely a small token of our appreciation. I hope you’ll accept it.”
As Li Tianyou spoke, he gestured for Zhou Tong, who stood behind him, to bring over the gift box he had prepared earlier.
Madame Jiang did not accept it.
“What does Lord Li mean by this?” she asked unhappily.
She had no intention of giving up her son. Besides, the Jiang family was not short of money.
“It merely represents our Li family’s gratitude toward you.” Seeing her reaction, Li Tianyou said no more, though an unreadable smile lifted the corners of his lips.
He had always harbored doubts about the matter of his son falling into the water.
After all, although his son had been playful at that age, he had been very considerate toward his parents and the younger sister Lady Yao was carrying.
He normally would not have wandered far from home.
So how could it have been such a coincidence that he had gone to the river and fallen into the water?
And then been picked up by Lady Yao?
Before coming to Lu City, Li Tianyou had considered that everything might simply have been a coincidence.
But after meeting Madame Jiang, he no longer thought so.
“Madam Jiang must know that Zhou'er is a child of our Li family. However, there are still many questions I would like answered. How exactly did you find this child back then?”
Li Tianyou set down his teacup and looked at Madame Jiang as he asked the question.
“I found him by the river. That’s all.” Madame Jiang turned her head aside and answered dismissively.
“Is that really the truth? Why, then, did I see her near my home?” Li Tianyou pointed toward Nanny Tang, who was seated nearby.
“Perhaps Lord Li mistook me for someone else. This old servant has never left Lu City.” Nanny Tang was startled at first, then replied awkwardly.
“I have traveled far and wide. I may not be good at many things, but my memory is excellent. Back then, I saw you loitering near my home—and not just once, but many times.”
Li Tianyou had never originally suspected anything.
But he remembered Nanny Tang’s face extremely well.
After all, he had seen her several times, smiling affectionately as she handed candy to groups of children.
At his words, Nanny Tang began to panic.
She had never expected that after all these years, the eldest young master’s father would still remember her.
Moreover, back then, she had made certain that the family had no influential background. They were nothing more than minor merchants.
Most importantly, the eldest young master bore some resemblance to her own young master.
“What? Zhou’er’s fall into the water wasn’t an accident?”
At his words, Lady Yao rose in disbelief.
Li Tianyou had never told her about this.