Chapter Sixteen
"Who said we didn’t go? The Dowager Princess Consort simply refused to see us." Madam Zhou was also quite displeased when she recalled the incident.
She believed the Dowager Princess Consort was deliberately making things difficult for the Ruan Marquis Residence. It was also a slight against their daughter’s dignity by the Prince An’s household.
"They refused to see you? What about today? Did you not go again?" Consort Lin looked at her parents with dissatisfaction, unable to understand why they still had the leisure to enter the palace today.
Wasn’t this just adding to their own troubles?
"Today, we thought of coming to the palace to seek His Majesty’s intervention on our behalf," Madam Zhou said somewhat aggrievedly, thinking to herself that instead of helping them, their daughter was blaming them.
After all, everything they did was for the sake of the Ruan Marquis Residence—but more importantly, it was for their daughter’s sake.
"Enough. What exactly did you come to the palace for today?" For some reason, Consort Lin had a bad feeling about this.
"Naturally, to ask His Majesty to uphold justice for the Ruan Marquis Residence. That brat Xu Qingshi actually dared to snatch the Consort of the Heir from our household in broad daylight. Shouldn’t we demand her return?" Madam Zhou quickly explained. Whether the person could be retrieved was another matter, but the key was to reclaim the dowry.
"Hmph, demand her return? And how do you plan to deal with Zhou Yutang?" Consort Lin looked at her parents mockingly before turning her gaze to her useless younger brother.
She was displeased. If only her brother had been more capable, none of this would have happened.
"Sister, none of this is Yutang’s fault," Lin Jitong protested, disliking how his sister blamed everything on Zhou Yutang.
Zhou Yutang was his cherished one.
He couldn’t bear to see her suffer the slightest grievance, which was why he had married her so quickly—to prevent Li Zhiwei from looking down on her.
"Not her fault? Hmph, if it weren’t for that vixen clinging to you, would you have neglected your duties for so long?" At this thought, Consort Lin couldn’t help but hurl her teacup at Lin Jitong.
Madam Zhou, though she agreed with her daughter’s words, still felt sorry for her son. She sighed in relief when the cup missed him.
"Lanzhi, since things have already come to this, what do you think we should do?" Madam Zhou was at a loss.
"Fine. Later, just apologize to His Majesty. Leave the rest to me." Consort Lin knew she couldn’t shirk responsibility in this matter.
Prince An led Li Zhiwei into the imperial study, where they saw the Emperor looking rather displeased.
"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty," Prince An bowed to Zhu Jingchen.
Xu Heming signaled for Li Zhiwei to follow suit.
"Your subject’s wife pays respects to Your Majesty," Li Zhiwei mimicked the etiquette taught by the Dowager Princess Consort and bowed to the Emperor.
Zhu Jingchen observed their every move.
Who would have thought Prince An would be captivated by such a young girl?
"Li Zhiwei." At this moment, Zhu Jingchen was more curious about whether Li Zhiwei truly intended to donate her dowry for disaster relief.
Kunning Palace
"You’re saying you went and snatched yourself a stepmother?" The seven-year-old Third Prince, Zhu Hanyu, stared at Xu Qingshi in disbelief.
He couldn’t understand—what was so great about a stepmother?
His imperial father’s harem was full of consorts, and he detested every single one of them.
Xu Qingshi must have never suffered at the hands of women before.
Zhu Hanyu looked at Xu Qingshi as if he were an idiot.
"Right! And let me tell you, my stepmother is so beautiful," Xu Qingshi boasted proudly.
"Didn’t your mother teach you that the more beautiful a woman is, the more poisonous she is?" Zhu Hanyu thought of all the stunning yet venomous women in the palace.
He never dared to accept anything they offered him, fearing poison.
His mother had once told him that he had nearly been poisoned to death as a child.
Very few princes survived in the harem.
"No. My mother passed away giving birth to me. She never had the chance to tell me anything. I don’t even know what she looked like." At this, Xu Qingshi rested his chin on his hands, his expression downcast. He wished he had a mother too.
"Oh… right. I’m sorry, I misspoke earlier." Zhu Hanyu suddenly remembered that the Princess Consort of An had died in childbirth, leaving Xu Qingshi motherless.
"It’s fine. But I really think my stepmother is a good person. She promised to give me a nine-linked ring puzzle!" Xu Qingshi’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the thought.
"Hold on. You’re the heir of Prince An. How can you be bought over with such trivial favors? She might be nice to you now just to impress your father and grandmother. I refuse to believe any stepmother is good." Zhu Hanyu thought of the women in the palace who pretended to be kind to him—either they had ulterior motives or wanted to harm him.
No one except his mother truly cared for him.
At just seven years old, Zhu Hanyu’s worldview was shaped by the palace consorts, none of whom treated him sincerely—whether to curry favor or scheme against him.
This left him with the deep-seated belief that no woman, other than his mother, could be trusted.
"So you’re saying… my stepmother might hurt me?" Though Xu Qingshi didn’t fully believe Li Zhiwei would harm him, he also trusted that the Third Prince wouldn’t lie to him.
He was torn. After all, he truly wanted a mother.
"Don’t you dare believe a word that woman says," Zhu Hanyu warned gravely.
Imperial Study
"In that case, you shall stay at Prince An’s residence for the time being. Once this matter is resolved, I will personally annul your marriage." Zhu Jingchen had noticed how protective Xu Heming was of Li Zhiwei and deliberately provoked him.
"Ah?" Li Zhiwei was at a loss for words and could only glance helplessly at Xu Heming.
"Your Majesty, Zhiwei is already my wife," Xu Heming said darkly. He refused to believe the Emperor didn’t understand.
He had made his stance abundantly clear.
In his eyes, the Emperor was simply enjoying his discomfort.
"Li Zhiwei, do you truly wish to marry this stone-faced Prince An?" Zhu Jingchen suppressed a smile as he looked at her.
"Your Majesty…" Li Zhiwei hesitated. If she said yes, would Prince An think she was desperate to climb the social ladder? But if she said no, what if the Emperor really separated them?
"Your Majesty, please do not trouble my consort further," Xu Heming sighed, shielding her behind him.
"Fine, fine. I won’t tease you two anymore. But have you thought about how to respond to the Ruan Marquis Residence?" Zhu Jingchen was actually in favor of Xu Heming taking a new wife.
After all, Xu Heming had many responsibilities, and Xu Qingshi needed proper guidance.
However, the shamelessness of the Ruan Marquis Residence left even the Emperor speechless—though there were some things he couldn’t openly say.
