Chapter 138
"Yes, sir!" The attendant hurriedly acknowledged the order.
The man stood up and looked out the window, thinking silently to himself, Xu Heming, if you ruin my plans again, I will have no choice but to eliminate you.
Li'an County
In the blink of an eye, the day of the flower appreciation banquet hosted by the county magistrate's wife, Mrs. Tang, arrived. Li Zhiwei hadn't wanted to come.
However, it wouldn't do to slight Madam Cao's invitation.
"If only my health were better, I would accompany you," Lady Yao said, looking at her daughter's pale face with heartache.
"Mother, I'm fine. It's not like the Cao family is going to eat me alive," Li Zhiwei said, forcing a smile.
These past few days, the image of Xu Heming plotting against her father had been constantly in her mind.
Now, surrounded by people arranged by Xu Heming, Li Zhiwei didn't know who she could trust.
All she could do was try not to worry her mother.
Qinghua and Qingyue had clearly sensed Li Zhiwei's recent distance towards them over the past few days.
But there was nothing they could do about it.
The flower appreciation banquet was in full swing. Today, Madam Cao, Mrs. Tang, had chosen chrysanthemums as the theme and had invited many local gentry wives from Li'an County to enjoy the flowers.
"Ladies, you may not know, but that Miss Li has just returned to Li'an County, and I happened to invite her. I've never left Li'an County in my whole life and am terribly curious about the capital," Mrs. Tang said, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Wasn't it said that Miss Li married into a family in the capital? She's back so soon?" a lady quickly voiced her doubt.
"Married? I heard the family later rejected her, and that's why she came slinking back," someone else chimed in promptly.
"Really? With Miss Li's excellent family background, there are people unwilling to marry her?" Yet another person expressed skepticism.
After all, in Li'an County, Li Zhiwei's status was considered quite good.
Although not from an official's family, the Li family had plenty of silver, and many had wanted to marry Li Zhiwei.
Mrs. Tang listened with great satisfaction to the scornful remarks others made about Li Zhiwei.
She thought to herself, just wait and see how I'll humiliate Li Zhiwei later.
Although Li Zhiwei was wary of Qinghua and Qingyue, she also understood that, for now, they wouldn't let her come to harm.
So, she still took the two of them with her when she went out.
Xu Qingshi didn't fuss about going out this time.
After all, it was a women's gathering, and Xu Qingshi wasn't interested.
Especially since he could also clearly feel that Li Zhiwei seemed somewhat distant towards him as well.
This puzzled him greatly.
"Moyu, when do you think Father will come to fetch us?" Xu Qingshi missed his grandmother and father.
When he first came with Li Zhiwei, he was excited, but after the excitement faded, especially when Li Zhiwei started deliberately distancing herself from him, it made him a little afraid.
"Young Master, once His Highness takes care of matters in the capital, he will come to fetch you and the Princess Consort," Moyu scratched his head, offering comfort.
"Why did Mother suddenly stop letting me call her 'Mother,' and why isn't she as affectionate towards me as before?" Xu Qingshi said, resting his chin in his hands, troubled.
"Young Master, His Highness and Miss Li haven't formally married yet. Perhaps she doesn't want to cause misunderstandings?" Moyu ventured a careful guess.
"Adults are too hard to understand. I really hope Father comes soon. Then, Mother won't be unhappy anymore." Little Xu Qingshi still believed in his heart that Li Zhiwei's unhappiness might be because she couldn't see Xu Heming.
As soon as Li Zhiwei stepped through the gate of the Cao residence, she heard someone exclaim in an exaggerated tone, "Oh my, isn't this our Miss Li, who married into the capital?"
Li Zhiwei frowned and turned to look at the speaker. It was the daughter of a local squire in Li'an County, named Jiang Qiaohui.
However, she had no interaction with her, as the Jiang family couldn't simply climb up to associate with the Li family even if they wanted to.
Li Zhiwei didn't want to bother with such a person and turned to leave.
"Li Zhiwei, I'm talking to you! Didn't you hear?" Jiang Qiaohui hadn't expected Li Zhiwei to ignore her. After all, she was about to marry into the Duan family.
Back in the day, rumors swirled in Li'an County that Li Zhiwei fancied the eldest young master of the Duan family, Duan Qingyan. It was said that Duan Qingyan hadn't taken a liking to Li Zhiwei, and the two families had even discussed a marriage alliance, which later fell through for some reason. How jealous she had been back then, and how triumphant she felt now.
"Miss Jiang, is there something?" Li Zhiwei asked impatiently, looking at this rude young lady from the Jiang family. She didn't recall having any acquaintance with her that would require pretending cordiality when she clearly meant no good.
"Li Zhiwei, I'm going to marry Brother Qingyan!" Jiang Qiaohui declared, looking at Li Zhiwei with a smug expression.
"Oh, congratulations, Miss Jiang," Li Zhiwei replied without a ripple of emotion.
She didn't even know who this "Brother Qingyan" Jiang Qiaohui was talking about.
"What? Is that all?" Now it was Jiang Qiaohui's turn to be dumbfounded. Wasn't it said that Li Zhiwei had longed for Duan Qingyan in vain?
Upon hearing that she was going to marry Duan Qingyan, shouldn't Li Zhiwei be jealous?
"What else would Miss Jiang like me to do?" Li Zhiwei asked, looking at Jiang Qiaohui with bewilderment.
Hadn't she already congratulated her?
What more was there to be dissatisfied about?
"May you and your Brother Qingyan have a harmonious union for a hundred years and bear children early!" After thinking for a moment, Li Zhiwei added.
"Zhiwei, is it really you? You're back?" A pleasantly surprised female voice came from behind.
"An'an, long time no see!" Seeing her old friend Shen An'an, Li Zhiwei managed a genuine smile for the first time in days.
"You, you came back and didn't even come to see me," Shen An'an said with a look of displeasure.
"I've been busy these past few days. I was planning to visit you, but something kept coming up," Li Zhiwei explained apologetically.
"Alright, between us, who stands on ceremony? I knew you wouldn't forget me!" Shen An'an actually had many questions for Li Zhiwei.
Earlier in the hall, everyone had been gossiping about why Li Zhiwei had suddenly returned, and whether the talk about her engagement being broken off was true or false.
But Shen An'an also knew this wasn't the place to talk.
The priority now was to make those people shut up.
"How did you end up with that girl from the Jiang family?" Shen An'an asked in a low voice after pulling Li Zhiwei into the inner hall.
"I didn't. I ran into her at the entrance. I didn't want to pay her any mind, but she stopped me, insisting she was going to marry Brother Qingyan. I congratulated her, and then she got angry. What's that all about?" Li Zhiwei asked, puzzled.
"You don't know? Weren't there rumors before that you admired the Duan family's young master? It was even said your two families discussed a marriage alliance, and the rumors were quite detailed. I asked you about it back then, and you said it wasn't true. Before anything else could come of it, you were set to marry into the capital, and the matter just faded away," Shen An'an quickly filled her friend in.
"Huh? I don't know the Duan family's young master?" Li Zhiwei said, confused.
