Chapter 206
"That's right, you keep claiming to be my uncles. Tell me, what share of the ancestral property did you give to my father?" Li Zhiwei asked, looking at the men with a mocking gaze.
Li Chengshan and Li Yaozu's faces darkened. What could they have possibly given Li Tianyou? They were so poor they could barely make ends meet themselves; what was there to give?
As for the Li family?
In truth, there weren't many of Li Tianyou's actual clansmen in Li'an County, nor was there any established family clan. It was just that Li Chengshan's father's generation had fled to Li'an County due to a flood disaster and settled down here.
Go back a few generations, and the true roots were already lost.
Now, although there were many households with the surname Li in Li'an County, most were not from the same lineage.
They were indeed somewhat related to Li Tianyou, but the relation was truly not close.
Lady Yao's complexion was rather unpleasant at this moment, filled with deep regret. It was all her fault, her body failing her, unable to bear her husband a son. Otherwise, there wouldn't be this clamoring from these people today.
"Mother, don't think too much about it. These people are just insatiably greedy. These are nothing but excuses," Li Zhiwei said, quickly comforting her mother when she saw Lady Yao's troubled expression.
"Mother has failed you," Lady Yao said, her eyes reddening.
If only she had given her husband a son, they wouldn't be bullied like this.
"Mother, things are fine as they are for me now," Li Zhiwei sighed, feeling helpless about the situation.
However, she wasn't entirely sure if she, as an only daughter, truly couldn't inherit her father's estate.
If that were really the case, she would rather donate all the family assets than let these greedy parasites get their hands on them.
Lady Yao clenched her hands tightly, resolving in her heart that once they reached the capital, she would definitely arrange for a few concubines for him.
"I say, niece, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and open the door, welcome your Second Uncle inside!" Seeing the mother and daughter standing there, Li Yaozu said with a smug expression.
"Don't dream of it. Go back where you came from. If you linger here causing trouble any longer, don't blame me for being impolite," Li Zhiwei said with disgust.
"Hey, you fatherless girl, don't be ungrateful when we're giving you face. We came out of respect for your father. What use are you, just a daughter?" Li Yaozu retorted unhappily.
Li Zhiwei felt as if a heavy stone were lodged in her chest. She had seen shameless people before, but never anyone this brazen.
Were they trying to rob them in broad daylight?
"Niece, be sensible and open the door quickly. In the future, if you face grievances in your husband's household, we can still back you up," Li Yaozu said, looking at Li Zhiwei's furious expression with a triumphant smile.
"Weiwei, maybe... we should let them in?" Lady Yao whispered upon hearing this, thinking that since they wouldn't be living here anyway in the future, these people couldn't really do much to them.
What if her daughter really encountered trouble later? It might be good to have someone who could lend support.
"Mother, what kind of support could people like them possibly give? They just want to latch onto our family and suck my father's blood. They want our house? Are they even worthy?" Li Zhiwei spat lightly, utterly unwilling to compromise.
At the very worst, they would donate the Li family property to the imperial court. After all, she had done it once before; the second time would be familiar territory.
That was still infinitely better than letting her family's legacy fall into the hands of these despicable people.
"Weiwei, if they insist on seizing it, they might not be without grounds," Yao Qisheng interjected, thinking of the many similar cases he had heard of before, and sighed inwardly.
"Niece, think carefully. Do we or do we not have the right to move into this Li residence?" Li Yaozu asked, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. He felt today's matter was already a done deal.
The Li family's large compound would soon be theirs.
Thinking this, the entire family couldn't help but wear smug smiles.
"Who says you have the right to move in? What does the Li family's property have to do with you? Even if the Li family has no son, there is still this prince. I am to marry into the Li family. In the future, all children born to the Princess Consort and myself will bear the Li surname." Xu Heming's icy voice rang out from behind.
Everyone gasped upon hearing this.
A prince, marrying into the Li family?
The Li family's future son-in-law was truly formidable.
However, everyone realized that if Li Zhiwei didn't marry out, then the Li family's assets truly had nothing to do with these men.
"Where did this brat come from, spouting nonsense? You look like a young master from a wealthy family, nothing like someone who would marry into a wife's family. Aren't you just a plant hired by Li Zhiwei?" Li Yaozu, who had been on the verge of moving into the large house, was furious that this "Cheng Yaojin" had appeared out of nowhere, and he was deeply resentful.
Zhao Xincheng, following behind Xu Heming, was also stunned by his words. The esteemed Prince of An actually intended to marry into the Li family? Regardless of whether it was true or not, Zhao Xincheng felt one could not underestimate the weight the Li family held in Prince An's heart.
Li Yaozu, however, was convinced this man was simply deceiving them.
Li Zhiwei couldn't possibly be that lucky, to marry a prince.
"You're finally back," Li Zhiwei said, seeing Xu Heming return, a wave of relief washing over her. She had been afraid she might not be able to hold them off.
With Xu Heming here, these people presumably wouldn't dare do anything too outrageous.
However, she didn't take Xu Heming's earlier words to heart.
After all, how could Prince An possibly marry into a family?
Lady Yao also glanced at Xu Heming with some surprise but didn't dare to dwell on the matter.
Yao Qisheng, standing to the side, felt a pang of melancholy. If his niece weren't already betrothed, he would have certainly had his son marry into the Li family.
Alas, fate played cruel tricks.
Still, with Xu Heming present, presumably no one could bully the Li family.
"Don't worry, today, this man will not succeed," Xu Heming reassured Li Zhiwei.
"Li Zhiwei, don't think finding some pretty-faced boy from somewhere can change the outcome. The Li family has no son. Your family's property will inevitably end up in your Second Uncle's hands sooner or later," Li Yaozu shouted at Li Zhiwei.
The corner of Li Zhiwei's mouth lifted slightly. She glanced at Xu Heming. How did he look like a pretty-faced boy?
But now wasn't the time to ponder that.
"You're going to be disappointed. He and I are wed by imperial decree. Imperial decree, do you understand? Oh, you probably don't. It means personally bestowed by the Emperor. Someone like you has never laid eyes on the Emperor in your entire life, have you? Do you really think you can snatch the Li family's property from me?" Li Zhiwei walked up to Li Yaozu and said, looking at him with a face full of ridicule.
"Aiyo, this really won't do. Even if Prince An doesn't marry into the Li family, all the Li family's estate will still belong solely to Miss Li," Zhao Xincheng quickly added from the side.
"What do you know? The Li family has no son, so the Li family's property belongs to the clan," Li Yaozu said, displeased by this new person who had popped up from who-knows-where.
He believed these people were all just jealous of their good fortune and were trying to stop them.
