Chapter 589
Chapter 589
Xie Jincheng was also worried that, if Second Miss Cheng happened to be blamed by the Emperor for coming to Prince An’s residence, he would have difficulty explaining himself to the Empress.
Cheng Qingli hesitated.
She glanced at the guards stationed outside Prince An’s residence.
Could Prince An really be planning a rebellion?
Cheng Qingli, however, said nothing more. She decided to return home and ask her father.
Compared with the tense situation in the capital, Li Zhiwei was having the time of her life in Lu City.
“Master, Master, is this bupleurum?” Li Zhiwei asked excitedly, picking up a medicinal herb and showing it to Jun Mowen.
“This is silver bupleurum,” Jun Mowen replied after taking a look at the herb in her hand.
“Then what’s the difference between silver bupleurum and regular bupleurum?” Li Zhiwei looked at the silver bupleurum in her hand, puzzled.
“Bupleurum can relieve exterior symptoms, reduce fever, soothe the liver, and relieve depression. It’s a medicinal herb used to treat colds. Silver bupleurum belongs to the pink family. It clears deficient heat and dispels liver heat, making it useful for treating fever caused by yin deficiency and liver disorders.” Jun Mowen held up both herbs and patiently explained the differences to Li Zhiwei. (This information was sourced from materials available online.)
Li Zhiwei found it fascinating. She had never imagined that a difference of just one character could result in entirely different medicinal properties.
Everyone had originally assumed that Li Zhiwei was only joking when she said she wanted to study medicine under Jun Mowen. No one had expected her to take it so seriously.
While the others were already growing restless from staying in the mountains, Li Zhiwei acted as though nothing was wrong.
“Princess, aren’t you worried about the Prince?” Xu Mu asked, perplexed.
“What good would worrying do? Even if I went to find him, I wouldn’t be able to save him.” Li Zhiwei sighed and answered honestly.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t worried about Xu Heming.
It was just that if she went looking for him, she would only become a burden.
“Exactly. If he dies, I’ll find you another husband,” Li Tianyou said unhappily from the side.
“Don’t be afraid, little sister. Our family can afford to support you,” Li Tingzhou hurriedly added.
Xu Mu felt as though he were about to turn to stone. The Prince had not even left yet, and these people had already planned out the Princess’s future without him.
“Actually, we could return to the capital first,” Xu Mu suggested quietly after giving it some thought.
“Have the people from Lu City left?” Li Tingzhou asked.
“They have. Not only did they leave, they also took quite a lot of things with them,” Madam Jin said disdainfully from nearby.
“Is the magistrate of Lu City really that easygoing?” Li Zhiwei frowned. Those people had claimed that Prince An had changed his mind. Could it be that Lu Jinchang was simply not capable of shouldering great responsibility?
“The most urgent matter is to find the Prince as soon as possible,” Xu Mu said softly.
“Xu Chuan and Fang Sheng have already gone to Heping. I’m sure they’ll be able to bring the Prince back safely,” Li Zhiwei said with a sigh. It wasn’t that she truly wasn’t worried about Xu Heming.
It was simply that worrying would not help her do anything for him.
Rather than sit around helplessly, she might as well keep herself busy.
“Then can we go back first?” Yao Qisheng asked quietly from the side.
He had never expected that he would experience so much simply by coming to attend his niece’s wedding banquet. Now, he was even hiding in these remote mountains.
“What if those people come back?” Lady Yao asked uneasily.
“They must think we were burned to death in the Lu City government office,” Li Zhiwei said, shaking her head. Otherwise, those people would never have let them off so easily.
“The people from Lanwan Kingdom are truly despicable,” Li Tingzhou said angrily.
“Oh, right. I heard that the Jiang family is preparing to hold a grand wedding banquet,” Madam Jin suddenly remembered and quickly added.
“A wedding banquet?” Tingzhou asked, puzzled. What kind of wedding could the Jiang family possibly be holding?
“I heard that the Jiang family’s eldest son is getting married,” Madam Jin said with a smile.
“How is that possible?” Li Tingzhou had been Jiang Yuanrang’s substitute for so many years, and for a moment, he still could not adjust to the fact that he was no longer the Jiang family’s eldest son.
Only after the words left his mouth did he remember that the Jiang family’s eldest son was no longer him.
“It’s Jiang Yuanjie, the son of a concubine. He’s been adopted into the main branch and is now the new Jiang family’s eldest son. He’s getting married,” Madam Jin explained, having clearly investigated the matter.
“Who is he marrying?” Li Tingzhou asked, puzzled.
“Madame Jiang’s niece.”
“Big brother, wasn’t she trying to marry you?” Li Zhiwei raised an eyebrow.
“She wants to marry the Jiang family’s heir. What does that have to do with me?” Li Tingzhou replied, completely unconcerned.
“Big brother, if you were still the Jiang family’s eldest son, do you think you’d be the one getting married now?” Li Zhiwei glanced toward Wen Xiu and teased him with a grin.
“Father, Mother, I’m going to get married too once we return,” Tingzhou said, turning to Li Tianyou and Lady Yao. He knew perfectly well what the teasing smile on his sister’s face meant.
As if he were the only one without a wife.
He had a fiancée too, all right?
“Ah, sons really do grow up and leave their parents behind,” Li Zhiwei said deliberately with a sigh.
Everyone in the room burst out laughing.
Only Wen Xiu shyly glared at Li Tingzhou.
Xu Heming led his men back to their original camp along a secluded path.
“Your Highness!” The physician saw how weak Xu Heming looked and hurried over to take his pulse.
Fortunately, the antidote Xu Chuan had brought had already neutralized the poison. The Prince had also taken a restorative pill. He was merely somewhat weak and would recover with proper rest and recuperation.
“How is the Prince?” Xu Song asked anxiously.
“The Prince is not in serious danger. He has suffered some injuries, but he’ll be fine as long as he rests and recovers properly,” the physician quickly replied.
Xu Song breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
“Your Highness, what should we do now?” Once he knew Xu Heming was safe, Xu Song was reminded of the urgent situation before them and asked anxiously.
“Wait for the people from the Northwestern military camp to arrive. First, we must transport those goods back,” Xu Heming said after giving a slight cough.
The most pressing matter was to get the goods out. Otherwise, once the Qinling Kingdom’s forces arrived, it might be too late.
And now the people from Lanwan Kingdom had joined in as well.
At that thought, Xu Heming turned to Xu Song and asked, “Has the Emperor sent a reply?”
Xu Song shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Xu Chuan, return to Lu City immediately and protect the Princess,” Xu Heming said after a brief silence.
“Your Highness, I’d rather stay,” Xu Chuan said unwillingly. After all, Xu Heming appeared to be seriously injured.
“This is an order!” Xu Heming barked coldly.
Left with no choice, Xu Chuan could only agree to leave.
However, he still added, “I’ll return to Lu City once Your Highness’s condition has stabilized. Otherwise, if the Princess asks about it, I won’t know how to answer her, will I?”
Xu Chuan knew that if he said he wanted to stay, Xu Heming would never agree.
But if he said that he would have trouble explaining himself to Li Zhiwei later, the Prince might be willing to relent.
“Do as you please.” Xu Heming did not order Xu Chuan to leave immediately.
At that moment, how could he not be worried about Li Zhiwei as well?