Chapter 213
When Li Zhiwei found Xu Heming, he was still somewhat puzzled. "What's the matter?" Xu Heming asked nervously.
"Is The Old Princess in some sort of trouble?" Li Zhiwei asked with concern.
"No, don't listen to idle gossip from others," Xu Heming frowned, thinking someone had been whispering in Li Zhiwei's ear.
"How long do you plan to keep lying to me?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming angrily and produced a letter from her hand.
Written clearly in black and white, it stated that The Old Princess was gravely ill. However, the tone of the letter was rather ambiguous, but Li Zhiwei couldn't concern herself with that at the moment.
Her mind was solely on The Old Princess's condition.
If The Old Princess was truly seriously ill, and she kept her confined in Li'an County, then in the future, even if she returned to the capital, people would point fingers at her behind her back.
Not to mention, her father in the capital would also be affected.
Moreover, she was Prince An's biological mother.
From any perspective, Li Zhiwei did not want to have any regrets.
"How did this letter get to you? I was looking for it everywhere just now." As Xu Heming spoke, he shot a glare at Qingsong standing nearby, thinking Qingsong had taken it upon himself to give the letter to Li Zhiwei.
Qingsong, receiving his master's unfriendly look, was confused. He hadn't had time to say much to the Princess Consort either.
"Qingshi gave me the letter. He probably hasn't seen The Old Princess for a long time and misses her terribly. He insisted the letter contained words from The Old Princess meant for him." At this point, Li Zhiwei also sighed.
Back then, Xu Heming had only asked her to bring Xu Qingshi to Li'an County, but he had overlooked that her relationship with Xu Qingshi wasn't particularly close, and he had also neglected that a child separated from family for too long would feel unsettled.
Furthermore, because of her misunderstanding of Xu Heming, she might have even taken her frustrations out on the child.
"It's alright. We can wait until things are settled here before heading to the capital. It won't be too late." Xu Heming sighed and said gently.
"How can that be? The Old Princess's condition is critical now. We should depart immediately." Li Zhiwei frowned, her expression full of disapproval.
If it were other matters, they could wait, but The Old Princess needed people by her side most right now. How could they delay?
Thinking this, Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming strangely, her expression clearly showing great disappointment in him.
"This letter wasn't sent by the Prince's mansion. I suspect those people might have some scheme waiting for me. I've already sent word to the capital." Seeing Li Zhiwei so angry, Xu Heming hurriedly explained.
"So the contents of the letter are false?" Li Zhiwei frowned and quickly opened the letter to look again.
Only then did she notice that the letter was actually written by Zheng Qiaoshu.
In the letter, Zheng Qiaoshu wrote that The Old Princess had fallen ill from missing Xu Heming and Xu Qingshi too much, and she hoped they would return quickly.
Seeing this, Li Zhiwei frowned and asked, "Since when does your mansion have a cousin?"
When Li Zhiwei left the capital, she hadn't seen any cousin at Prince An's mansion.
Could this cousin be some sweetheart of Xu Heming's?
Thinking this, Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with full suspicion in her eyes.
"She's a niece from my mother's maiden family. Mother brought her to keep her company. I have no relationship with her." Seeing the displeasure in Li Zhiwei's eyes, Xu Heming quickly explained.
"Are you really sure it's nothing?" Li Zhiwei thought to herself that in wealthy families, it was common for men to have multiple wives and concubines. Xu Heming was a prince, after all. Could she be his secondary consort or a concubine?
"If there really was something between us, wouldn't we have married long ago?" Xu Heming sighed and continued, "As for that cousin, I hadn't met her before either. It was only after Qingshi came with you to Li'an County that my mother wanted someone for company."
"Who knows with you people." Hearing Xu Heming's words, Li Zhiwei didn't fully believe him. She would wait to understand these matters better after returning to the capital.
Moreover, she had been in Li'an County for quite some time now. Since her father was now an official in the Ministry of Revenue, it was time she attended to her own affairs.
Otherwise, given the inherent disparity in status between her and Xu Heming, it was hard to guarantee that people wouldn't gossip in the future.
"Let's discuss this later. I think it's best we hurry back to the capital." Li Zhiwei didn't know if the letter saying The Old Princess was seriously ill was true or false, but regardless, this matter could not be delayed.
Xu Heming was also somewhat hesitant. He feared someone might have set an ambush for them on the road. If that happened, not only would they fail to see The Old Princess, but they might all face disaster.
"Your Highness, if The Old Princess is truly gravely ill, her heart must long most to see you and Qingshi right now." Seeing Xu Heming's expression, Li Zhiwei urged again.
"Your Highness, we really should hurry back." Qingsong also advised from the side.
"Returning to the capital isn't limited to that one road. We could also board a ship from Pinghe to travel back. In fact, the water route might be faster than the land route." After some thought, Li Zhiwei proposed.
After all, when most people think of entering the capital, they take the official road. Actually, there is also a water route, though some people get seasick.
But right now, who knows what dangers might be waiting for them on the official road.
Yet, they must return to the capital, so why not take the water route?
Hearing this, Xu Heming's eyes lit up. He had actually been wanting to go to Pinghe to check if there was any news from Tang Youquan's side.
"Zhiwei, your idea is excellent. Qingsong, make the arrangements. We depart for the capital first thing tomorrow morning." Xu Heming said promptly.
"Wait." Qingsong was about to leave when Xu Heming called him back.
"Find a shadow guard about my height, and have Qingyu disguise herself as me and the Princess Consort to take the official road." Xu Heming reasoned that since those people were intent on taking his life, they must have made arrangements.
If they didn't 'take the bait,' it was hard to guarantee those people wouldn't have other plans. It was better to play along with their expectations and send people that way.
"Wouldn't that put them in danger?" Li Zhiwei frowned upon hearing this.
"Assign them more personnel. If they can't handle even this, they don't deserve to stay by my side." Xu Heming stated firmly.
Li Zhiwei didn't argue further, as there must be his reasoning for such arrangements.
"In that case, I'll also go inform my mother to get ready." Li Zhiwei nodded. The top priority was to return quickly.
Otherwise, if anything really happened to The Old Princess, she would never forgive herself.
When Lady Yao heard they were leaving first thing tomorrow, she asked somewhat puzzled, "Why the sudden rush?"
She wasn't prepared to leave immediately and felt a bit at a loss.
"Mother, The Old Princess is gravely ill. His Highness and Qingshi must return at once." Li Zhiwei glanced at Xu Qingshi, who was still playing outside, and said quietly.
"What? Then they must indeed leave early." Lady Yao sighed. Fortunately, their belongings had been packed long ago, so they could travel light. After all, the climate in the capital was different from that in Li'an County.
Anything they lacked could be purchased once they reached the capital.
