Chapter 202
After Li Zhiwei finished speaking, Lady Yao's expression improved somewhat.
"Even if we are to catch that villain, we should go sooner rather than later," Yao Qisheng said without a second thought.
"That villain is truly despicable. Once caught, he must not be let off lightly," Lady Yao said with a frown. The thought that, had it not been for Xu Heming, her daughter's life might have been lost, made her heart ache with worry.
"Grandmother, don't worry. My father will definitely catch that bad man!" Xu Qingshi chimed in quickly.
After that, Yao Qisheng visibly relaxed a great deal due to Xu Heming's departure and spoke more with Lady Yao.
Xu Qingshi sat to the side, her little mouth eating non-stop.
She looked at this one, then at that one.
"Elder Brother, regarding the marriages of Shuheng and his brothers, are there any suitable families in sight?" Lady Yao, still somewhat uneasy thinking of her nephew's affairs in Li'an County, asked.
Lady Yao was also worried that Xu Heming might later dwell on this matter. The urgent priority was for her nephew to marry as soon as possible.
"After returning this time, your sister-in-law and I will make arrangements as soon as possible. Please rest assured, Sister, and Weiwei," Yao Qisheng thought this way and intended to act accordingly.
After all, his son's marriage certainly needed to be arranged.
Previously, he had thought that since his sister had no sons, having Yao Shuheng come to Li'an County would give her someone to rely on in the future.
However, now that his niece had another option, he should also start making arrangements for his son's marriage.
"Great-uncle, when the time comes, will you invite Qingshi to the wedding feast?" Xu Qingshi asked Yao Qisheng with a curious look.
Although she didn't really understand what a wedding feast meant, hadn't her father just mentioned it?
"Naturally, I will," Yao Qisheng said with a smile, patting Xu Qingshi's head, then looked at his niece with some heartache.
Prince An was good in every way, except he had already been married to a princess consort before and had a child as old as the heir apparent.
It was said that in the capital, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate was highly emphasized. And since Prince An was a prince, his household likely paid even more attention to these matters.
Although his niece would marry into the Prince An's mansion as the principal wife, she was ultimately just a second wife. Any children she bore in the future would still rank behind Xu Qingshi.
This child was still young now and had a good relationship with his niece, but who knew what the road ahead would bring?
When Xu Heming saw that the person was Xun Lang, he was taken aback for a moment. Wasn't it said that this matter wasn't done by Xun Lang?
Could it be that he had lied?
Xu Heming frowned.
"What kind of look is that?" Xun Lang felt that he had kindly helped catch the culprit, so what kind of expression was this man wearing?
"Didn't you say it had nothing to do with you?" Xu Heming finally voiced the question.
"I never said I did it!" Xun Lang said discontentedly, then pointed at a figure nearby and said, "The one who released the sword is him. I've brought him to you!"
Following Xun Lang's pointing finger, Xu Heming looked to the side and saw a man indeed tied up there.
"Xun Lang, you dog! I, your father, kindly invited you for a drink, and you want my life!" Jian Ying hadn't expected that Xun Lang's offer to treat him to drinks was actually a trap to set him up. That dog!
Using him to curry favor!
"Was it you who tried to kill this prince's princess consort?" Xu Heming asked the shouting Jian Ying.
"I released it!" Jian Ying, originally a man of the jianghu, disdained lying. Moreover, it was indeed his doing.
Now that he was caught, his skills were inferior. He bore no grudge against Xun Lang.
Indeed, in the jianghu, there were no true friends. After all, you never knew whether the person beside you would be an enemy or a friend the next moment.
Looking at Jian Ying, Xu Heming was furious, but he knew that compared to Jian Ying, the mastermind behind the scenes was the most despicable.
"Who sent you?" Xu Heming took a deep breath and asked.
"I don't know. In our line of work, we take the money and do the job," Jian Ying replied without hesitation. However, he genuinely didn't know, as he hadn't seen the person's face either.
"You didn't even see the person clearly, yet you agreed to kill for him?" Xu Heming said angrily, pounding the table.
"Kill or slice me, just make it quick. I didn't see that person clearly either, so I can't tell you who the client was." Jian Ying turned his head away, adopting an attitude of 'do what you will.'
"Your Highness Prince An, if he says he doesn't know, then he truly is unaware," Xun Lang, seeing Xu Heming's great anger, hurriedly said.
"Take him away for now. We'll interrogate him thoroughly later!" Xu Heming looked at Jian Ying and coldly ordered.
"No, I really don't know!" Jian Ying grew anxious now.
He looked at Xun Lang with a pleading expression, but unfortunately, Xun Lang, having delivered him, had no intention of saving him.
When Xu Heming returned to the Li family, he saw Li Zhiwei sitting in the courtyard waiting for him.
"Why aren't you resting yet?" Xu Heming quickly took off his outer robe and draped it over Li Zhiwei.
"Your Highness is back? I had the kitchen keep some food warm for you. I'll have it sent over in a moment," Li Zhiwei said considerately.
"Thank you, Zhiwei. It's so late, you should go rest quickly," Xu Heming said with concern.
"I'm fine. Did you catch that person?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming and asked.
"We caught him. However, that person is just an assassin and didn't provide any useful leads." Xu Heming had no intention of hiding this from Li Zhiwei, as there was nothing worth concealing.
"Who could possibly hate me so much?" Li Zhiwei murmured to herself.
After all, in her previous life, apart from The Lin Family, no one had hated her so intensely.
Yet, in this life, she had already escaped the fate of marrying into the Lin family from her past life.
Now, there were still people who didn't want her to live.
"Don't worry, I will definitely protect you," Xu Heming, sensing Li Zhiwei's worry, quickly reassured her.
"I'm just thinking about who the mastermind behind this could possibly be," Li Zhiwei said, biting her lip with a serious expression.
In a dusty, dilapidated house on the outskirts of Li'an County, a man looked at the plain congee and pickled vegetables on the table and said impatiently, "Why do we have to eat this stuff every day?"
After saying this, Li Yaozu slapped his chopsticks down on the table.
He had been eating the dishes on the table for half a month now; how could he possibly swallow them anymore?
"You haven't brought back half a tael of silver recently. That I can even cook these two bowls of plain congee and pickles for you is only because I begged the landlord and borrowed from our own family!" Mrs. Wang looked with displeasure at the man throwing a tantrum at her.
She was also very resentful. Thinking that she, Wang Cuihua, was once the belle of the village, and now, just because she married this good-for-nothing Li Yaozu, she couldn't even afford a piece of meat.
She felt deeply aggrieved.
"Money, money, all you talk about day and night is money!" Speaking of this, Li Yaozu also grew angry. He hadn't found suitable work recently, and the money he had before was all gambled away.
"I married you, not expecting this or that. What did I marry you for? If you had the ability, be like your brother and let me live a life surrounded by servants!"
