Chapter 149
"Get out of my way!" Seeing Li Zhiwei getting farther away, Xu Qingshi couldn't help but feel anxious.
"I won't move, what are you going to do about it?" Qin Keqing looked at the handsome young boy before her, her heart filled with delight. She thought, only such a good-looking young man could be worthy of her, Qin Keyun.
"Scram!" Xu Qingshi ignored Qin Keyun, pushed her aside directly, and went to chase after Li Zhiwei.
"Ah!" Qin Keyun hadn't expected Xu Qingshi to push her. She stumbled and hit the stone steps nearby.
"Young Miss!" The maidservants by Qin Keyun's side were now panicked.
One must know that Qin Keyun was not only the treasure of the Qin family but also the darling of the Huo family.
In Li'an County, no one dared to harm Qin Keyun.
"Hurry up and seize this arrogant brat who doesn't know his place!" ordered a maidservant by Qin Keyun's side, while checking Qin Keyun's injury.
"What do you think you're doing?" Xu Qingshi, now unable to see Li Zhiwei's figure anymore, asked angrily, looking at the Qin family servants blocking his way.
"What are we doing? You dared to harm our Qin family's eldest young miss, so you should be prepared to face the consequences!" a servant said furiously.
After all, they had come out with the young miss, and now she was injured. They wouldn't fare well when they returned.
If they could just capture this brat and take him back, the Qin family's wrath would be directed solely at this arrogant fool.
"Hah, she shamelessly blocked my path herself, and now it's my fault?" Xu Qingshi said with a look of disdain.
He thought, if this were in the capital, no one would dare block his way like this.
"My young master is not someone you can touch," Moyu said, shielding Xu Qingshi behind him and eyeing the servants warily.
"I wasn't aware that in Li'an County, there was anyone I, Qin Keyun, couldn't touch. Seize him!" Qin Keyun had scraped the skin on her hand and gotten a small bump on her head.
Although it was a minor injury, Qin Keyun, who had been doted on since childhood, had ever suffered such an indignity?
Immediately, she arrogantly ordered Xu Qingshi to be seized.
Xu Qingshi was already in a bad mood. Now, because of this wild girl from who-knows-where blocking his path, he had lost Li Zhiwei, which did nothing to improve his temper.
"Insolent fools. Moyu, deal with them!" Xu Qingshi said discontentedly.
"Young Master, rest assured, they cannot harm you," Moyu quickly reassured him. After all, these people looked intimidating but were clearly no match in skill.
"Let's go!" After saying this, Xu Qingshi left with Moyu to find Li Zhiwei first, leaving two hidden guards to deal with this annoying bunch!
The Qin family servants wanted to give chase, but they were indeed no match for the hidden guards and were soon all knocked to the ground.
"Useless fools!" Qin Keyun roared in dissatisfaction, looking at the servants lying scattered on the ground.
Capital
Just as Xu Heming was about to set off for Li'an County, he saw Li Rui, who was supposed to be by Li Zhiwei's side, had actually returned, bringing along Magistrate Cao.
"What is the meaning of this?" Xu Heming asked, his gaze turning cold as he looked at Li Rui.
"Your Highness, this man is Cao Yunpeng, the former magistrate of Li'an County. The Princess Consort ordered us to bring him back for you to deal with," Li Rui reported truthfully, glancing at Cao Yunpeng.
"What did he do to the Princess Consort?" The unease in Xu Heming's heart grew heavier.
After all, he had only sent eight hidden guards to accompany Li Zhiwei and Xu Qingshi.
Yang Zuo returning was one thing, but now Li Rui had returned with two more people.
Moreover, Li Rui had brought back this vile old man. Clearly, this man must have offended Li Zhiwei.
"He wanted the Princess Consort to marry him as a secondary wife!" Li Rui quickly explained.
"Take him to the Ministry of Justice prison first. Inform Lord Liu that this man is to await my trial upon my return!" After saying this, Xu Heming left anxiously with a group of people.
"Ah, why did His Highness leave so quickly?" Li Rui said, puzzled. He hadn't even had time to relay the Princess Consort's message to His Highness.
"Better hurry and take this man to the Ministry of Justice," another hidden guard urged, looking at Cao Yunpeng.
Li Zhiwei and Shen An'an sat in a tea and pastry shop. After a long while without seeing Xu Qingshi follow, Li Zhiwei felt somewhat strange. When Shen An'an spoke to her, her mind was somewhat preoccupied.
"Zhiwei, is something on your mind?" Shen An'an asked, somewhat puzzled.
"It's nothing. It's just been a long time since we last met. An'an, how have you been?" Li Zhiwei quickly gathered her thoughts and asked.
"I've been well, but my parents are planning to arrange a marriage for me," Shen An'an said, her mood dipping at the thought.
She didn't want to marry. She felt that getting married would surely slow down her money-making.
Besides, once married, she probably wouldn't be able to appear in public anymore.
"Are there any suitable families? Before marrying, you must have your parents inquire about the character of the man's family," Li Zhiwei advised her friend, drawing from her experiences across two lifetimes.
"Zhiwei, I don't want to get married. Tell me, what's so good about marriage? I don't understand why my parents insist I must marry," Shen An'an sighed.
"If I marry, afterwards, won't I be confined to that small courtyard? From then on, only managing the household chores, rice, oil, and salt? And children?" The very thought made Shen An'an feel quite repelled.
"Not necessarily. If the husband's family is tolerant, surely it wouldn't be like that, right?" Li Zhiwei said, though she herself sounded uncertain towards the end.
"Zhiwei, what about you? Is that person good to you?" Shen An'an thought of the matter of Li Zhiwei originally marrying into the capital. Although outsiders spread rumors that Li Zhiwei's engagement was broken off,
she wanted to hear it from Li Zhiwei herself.
Otherwise, she wouldn't believe what others said.
"You know about my situation when I married into the capital back then. That family left me waiting outside the mansion and didn't let me enter," Li Zhiwei said, smiling somewhat awkwardly.
"Later, it was that child who took me back to his home." Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei felt some regret. She shouldn't have been so harsh with Xu Qingshi earlier. After all, if not for Xu Qingshi, she might still be stuck in the mire of the Ru'an Marquis Manor.
"Then I must properly thank that child," Shen An'an quickly said, thinking of Xu Qingshi's adorable appearance.
"Yes, I should properly thank him," Li Zhiwei said softly. She thought to herself that she must apologize to Xu Qingshi when she returned. Whatever Xu Heming had done had nothing to do with Xu Qingshi. She shouldn't have made a young child bear the brunt of her anger.
"That child from earlier, he looks unfamiliar, not like someone from Li'an County, right?"
Suddenly, a voice reached Li Zhiwei's ears.
"That child? I've seen him following Miss Li," someone soon replied.
"Then he's done for. He actually dared to offend that little ancestor from the Qin family," another person said, shaking their head.
Hearing this, Li Zhiwei's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that something had happened to Xu Qingshi?
