Chapter 136
"Qiao'er!" Liu Bozheng called Lin Qiao'er's name somewhat unnaturally.
"I had a minor misunderstanding with Lord Xiao. Perhaps you could speak to Lord Xiao for me, ask him to be magnanimous and let bygones be bygones?" Liu Bozheng said in an ingratiating tone.
"Master, why don't you say these words to my lord yourself? Back when I was with you, you never taught me, your humble concubine, that I could relay messages for others. Doing so now would surely be improper, wouldn't it?" Lin Qiao'er looked at Liu Bozheng with an expression of shock.
Where did he get the idea that she had such influence, that she could sway Xiao Guozhi's decisions?
Liu Bozheng was left speechless by Lin Qiao'er's words.
In the Liu household, a concubine naturally had no power to influence the master's thoughts.
However, the Xiao family's structure was simpler.
Liu Bozheng had thought that Lin Qiao'er might have some sway in this matter, which led him to this ill-conceived idea.
"Qiao'er, I know you're unwilling to relay messages for me. After all, I wronged you by sending you to Lord Xiao. I apologize to you. But I had my reasons. I know there was nothing between you and Lord Xiao before. But as for my own physical condition... even if no one says it, I am well aware."
Liu Bozheng said this, glanced at Lin Qiao'er who hadn't lost her temper, and continued, "I know you want to have a child of your own. The reason I did this was because Lord Xiao is young and would surely help you fulfill your dream of having a child sooner. It was out of my care for you that I reluctantly sent you to Lord Xiao's residence."
Madam Chang watched Liu Bozheng prattle on, her brows tightly furrowed. She wondered to herself, could this Lord Liu have some ulterior motive for sending Lin Qiao'er to their residence?
Remembering Lin Qiao'er's previous insistence on drinking contraceptive tea,
Madam Chang felt uneasy.
"Madam, has Lord Liu finally decided to take Lin Qiao'er back?" Xiao Guozhi poked his head out and asked excitedly.
"My lord, I do not know." Madam Chang's mouth twitched. Here she was, worried that Lin Qiao'er's entry into their household might be part of a scheme, and her own husband was actually hoping for Lord Liu to take her back?
She truly didn't understand why her husband had brought Lin Qiao'er home in the first place.
Couldn't he have just refused outright back then?
Moreover, now that Lin Qiao'er's former master was speaking to her, her husband's first thought was that the man wanted her back, not that Lin Qiao'er might betray him?
"In my opinion, that concubine of yours is probably going to leave with Lord Liu! I wondered why he came to the Ministry of Revenue earlier. He must be reluctant to part with his concubine and wants to ask for her back!" Li Tianyou also poked his head out, looking at the deeply affectionate Liu Bozheng, and stirred the pot for Xiao Guozhi.
Madam Chang's lips twitched. Was there no normal person in the entire Ministry of Revenue?
She had just finished lamenting her own husband's oddness,
and now here came another one.
"Lord Li, you don't have a wife in your household yet, do you?" Xiao Guozhi suddenly remembered he hadn't heard Li Tianyou mention a wife and didn't know if he had one.
Hearing this, Madam Chang's internal alarm bells rang loudly. Damn it, could her foolish husband be thinking of giving Lin Qiao'er to Lord Li?
"Lord Xiao, you must have forgotten that my daughter was betrothed to Prince An. If I had no wife, where would that child have come from? Did she spring from a rock?" Li Tianyou retorted irritably.
"My apologies for the slip of the tongue!" Xiao Guozhi hurriedly said, thinking to himself that he had actually meant to ask about the whereabouts of Li Tianyou's wife.
"I merely thought that since Lord Li is alone in the capital, it must be quite quiet. If Lord Li doesn't mind, I could..." Xiao Guozhi was about to say that if Li Tianyou didn't mind, he could give Lin Qiao'er to him.
"Stop right there!" Li Tianyou waved his hands repeatedly, thinking, does this man really think that Lin Qiao'er is some kind of treasure?
That you can just give her to me, and I give her to you?
He had no interest in sharing a woman with someone else.
Prince An's Manor
Having been extremely busy lately, Xu Heming finally found time to return to the manor to visit the Dowager Princess, whom he hadn't seen for days.
However, as soon as he stepped into the inner courtyard, he saw the manor decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, even red silk hanging about.
This made Xu Heming wonder in surprise if he had come to the wrong place.
"Your Highness, you've finally returned!" Liu Ming, seeing Xu Heming return, hurried forward excitedly to greet him.
Recently, with the young master absent from the manor, everyone felt it had become much too quiet.
"Steward Liu, what is all this in the manor?" Xu Heming asked with a frown.
His eyes showed clear displeasure at these incongruous decorations.
He wondered to himself, could it be that his mother, feeling lonely with Qingshi away from the manor, decided to decorate more festively?
"Your Highness, today is the Dowager Princess's birthday. The young mistress said decorating more festively would bring good cheer," Liu Ming quickly explained with a smile.
"What young mistress?" Xu Heming frowned, momentarily unable to figure out which young mistress was in the manor.
"Your Highness, you've been so busy lately, we haven't had a chance to tell you. Ever since the young master followed the Princess Consort to Li'an County, the Dowager Princess has felt quite lonely. Coincidentally, the young mistress was in the capital visiting the Dowager Princess. Seeing how well-behaved she is, the Dowager Princess asked her to stay," Liu Ming explained with a smile.
Only then did Xu Heming remember that, preoccupied with official duties, he had indeed neglected the Dowager Princess's birthday.
He realized he had returned in such a hurry that he hadn't even prepared a gift.
"I see. Is Mother in Ci'an Hall?" Xu Heming asked.
"Of course. The Dowager Princess and the young mistress haven't dined yet. If you go now, you can still join them," Liu Ming added with another smile.
"Aunt, I wish you a happy birthday. May every year find you as you are today, and every day as joyous as this morning."
Just as Xu Heming reached the outside of Ci'an Hall, he heard a young woman's sweet and lively voice.
"Good! Having Qiao Shu accompany me today makes this old woman very happy."
The Dowager Princess's hearty laughter carried out to him.
Xu Heming was taken aback. How long had it been since he heard his mother laugh so heartily?
Thinking this, he felt a surge of gratitude towards this cousin.
"The Prince has returned!" The sharp-eyed Nanny Luo, seeing Xu Heming enter the courtyard, quickly announced.
"Hmph, so he still remembers to come back. Might as well stay dead outside," the Dowager Princess grumbled, thinking about how she was left alone in this manor, the older one nowhere to be seen, the younger one also absent, leaving just her, a lonely old woman.
Originally, she had thought that with her daughter-in-law about to enter the household, she could finally look forward to better days.
Who would have thought that before the daughter-in-law even arrived, she had already spirited away her little grandson.
Thinking of this, the Dowager Princess also felt a pang of bitterness.
"Mother, please forgive me. I didn't intentionally return only at this time. It's just that official duties have been overwhelming lately," Xu Heming quickly offered his apologies to the Dowager Princess.
