Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Five
"Princess, which noble household doesn't have a few poor relatives coming to seek favors? Surely, the An Wang Residence is no exception," Rulan said loudly.
"My lady is, after all, a cousin of the An Wang Residence. Aren't you afraid of offending An Wang by bullying her like this?" Chu'er hadn't expected this so-called princess to show her lady so little face.
Wasn't it said that An Wang held immense power in the capital?
Why was his name so ineffective here?
"What did she say? An Wang would take offense?" Princess Fuan was almost amused to anger by Chu'er's words.
How could An Wang possibly involve himself in such trivial disputes among youngsters?
Even if An Wang truly wanted to back this cousin, a few words of pressure directed at her family would suffice.
Yet, the person before her clearly didn't understand this.
"Princess, it seems An Wang probably doesn't care much for her either. Otherwise, with his myriad pressing duties, how would he have time to bother with her show of arrogance? Besides, it was clearly her who offended you, Princess. She makes it sound as if we bullied her," Rulan voiced aloud what Princess Fuan had left unsaid.
Instantly, everyone in the Treasure Pavilion began pointing and whispering at Zheng Qiaoshu.
Zheng Qiaoshu's expression immediately turned sour.
All her clever calculations had come to nothing.
Now, Princess Fuan had put her on the spot, making her wish she could vanish into the ground.
"Princess, this servant was blind and ignorant, and should not have offended you. I beg for your punishment," the maid named Zhenzhu also knew she could hardly escape punishment today. It was better to let Princess Fuan mete it out.
Moreover, everyone was now blaming this cousin of the An Wang Residence, but she herself was not without blame in this matter.
If she hadn't soft-heartedly agreed to let this young lady rest on the third floor, none of this would have happened.
"Princess, please forgive us. The service at the Treasure Pavilion has dissatisfied you. Please, whatever catches your eye today, our Treasure Pavilion will gift it to you," Manager Lady Li said upon hearing the commotion, hurrying over.
Princess Fuan frowned. When she handled matters, she disliked being influenced by others.
Lady Li's words were clearly an attempt to make her let the matter rest.
Just then, a young servant hurried in, approached Princess Fuan, and whispered something to her.
Princess Fuan glanced at the unwilling Zheng Qiaoshu standing to the side.
A hint of scrutiny entered her gaze.
"Enough. Regarding today's matter, out of respect for Lady Li, I shall not pursue it further. However, I lack not for silver. I can certainly afford the wares of your Treasure Pavilion," Princess Fuan said. Without another glance at anyone else, she headed straight for the third floor.
Zheng Qiaoshu, who had initially thought she might face serious trouble today, was also puzzled. What exactly had that servant said to the princess?
"Young Lady, are we still going to shop?" Chu'er, equally confused, looked towards the third floor and then asked Zheng Qiaoshu beside her.
"Back to the residence!" Having lost so much face, Zheng Qiaoshu had no heart to stay and select jewelry.
Fortunately, although that old woman hadn't sided with her on other matters, she had given her quite a bit of jewelry.
Li'an County
Having taken revenge on the Huo family, Xu Heming was in excellent spirits. Upon returning to his residence, he immediately wanted to find Li Zhiwei and boast of his achievement.
At that moment, Li Zhiwei was enjoying afternoon tea and pastries with Xu Qingshi.
"Beautiful Sister, this sour-sweet bayberry tea is absolutely delicious," Xu Qingshi said after taking a sip, his eyes narrowing into happy slits. He felt that with such delicious things to eat, staying in Li'an County would be just fine.
"Delicious as it is, you shouldn't drink too much," Li Zhiwei said quickly, worried that too much of the cooled tea might upset his stomach.
"Then when will Beautiful Sister make that sweet pastry for me again?" Xu Qingshi was reminiscing about the sweet rice cake.
"If you want to eat it, I'll have the kitchen make it for you tomorrow." The chefs in Li'an County could prepare many delicious foods.
This was the scene Xu Heming walked in on.
Suddenly, Xu Heming understood the meaning of taking a wife.
Perhaps it was to have a warm harbor in one's heart. No matter how hard or tiring things were, everything would feel worth it.
"Father, why are you just standing there grinning foolishly?" Xu Qingshi saw that his father had been standing there for a while, beaming idiotically.
He wasn't afraid that Beautiful Sister would see his silly expression and be put off.
Xu Qingshi sighed inwardly and felt compelled to speak up and remind him.
"What are you eating? Is there a share for me?" Xu Heming was amused by his son's words and didn't take offense. Watching the two of them with their bowls, he very much wanted to join in.
"Things for women and children, what business is it of yours? Did you tear down the Huo family already?" Li Zhiwei said discontentedly.
However, Li Zhiwei hadn't heard any major commotion outside today, so she presumed the Huo family likely hadn't been demolished.
Hearing this, Xu Heming was first taken aback, then somewhat amused.
"I didn't tear it down," Xu Heming replied truthfully.
"Shouldn't a prince's word be as good as gold, irrevocable? What happened to tearing down the Huo family? Why didn't you? Weren't you going to avenge my father? Or did Miss Huo's beauty trap succeed?" Li Zhiwei said with some dissatisfaction.
After all, her father had suffered terribly.
And this man had softened at the critical moment?
"Naturally, justice must be served. I repaid them in their own coin, letting them all experience a taste of the suffering my father-in-law endured," Xu Heming said, looking at Li Zhiwei with an expression seeking praise.
"You made them drink poisoned wine?" Li Zhiwei hadn't expected Xu Heming to use such a mild method.
This didn't seem like the style of the An Wang who struck fear into hearts back in the capital, did it?
Thinking this, Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with suspicion, wondering what about the Huo family had made him temper his usual ruthless approach.
"That was just the first step. Rest assured, my princess, whatever they owe you, I will reclaim bit by bit for you. Is there anything from the Huo family that you want?" Xu Heming said with a fawning expression.
"You're being this accommodating?" Li Zhiwei still felt that Xu Heming probably had more tricks up his sleeve.
"Naturally, I do," Xu Heming nodded. He had no intention of letting the Huo family off easily. The poisoned wine was merely the first step.
"Alright. By the way, I believe the Huo family owns a winery. Tomorrow, have someone clear out that wine for me. I have a use for it," Li Zhiwei suddenly remembered her appointment to meet Shen An'an and her father tomorrow.
Since the Huo family had these things, there was no need for her to use the Li family's resources to make up for it.
After all, it was Huo Yunyao who had tried to use those very things to harm her.
"What do you need the wine for?" Xu Heming asked with a frown.
"Didn't the Second Miss Huo use that wine to bribe my friend to drug me? Even though the plot failed, those were the things she promised. Shouldn't they be handed over to appease me?" Li Zhiwei stated without any attempt to conceal the matter.
“What a bargain she got off!” Xu Heming said, growing quite angry at the thought.
