Chapter 218
When Li Zhiwei brought the seasickness medicine to Xu Heming, he drank it down in one gulp without a second thought.
"Master, are you alright?" Li Zhiwei rarely saw Xu Heming looking so frail and couldn't help but ask.
"I'm fine." Xu Heming had never imagined that he, a full-grown man of seven feet, would get seasick.
And to get seasick in front of Li Zhiwei and his future mother-in-law, no less. He felt his image was utterly shattered.
Yet, frustratingly, there was nothing he could do to salvage the situation.
Was it really a fault? Not exactly, as everyone's constitution is different—some get carsick, others get seasick.
He had never gotten sick, whether riding a horse or traveling in a carriage.
But today, he was seasick. From now on, he never wanted to travel by water again.
Li Zhiwei still had to deliver medicine to Xu Qingshi, so she instructed Qingsong to take good care of Xu Heming and then took the medicine to Xu Qingshi.
"Qingshi, drink some medicine," Li Zhiwei urged.
"I won't drink it! Who knows what poison you, this wicked woman, are trying to give me now," Xu Qingshi protested defiantly.
He spoke while retching.
"Young Master, Madam brought seasickness medicine. Drink it, and you won't feel so sick anymore," Moyu quickly tried to persuade him.
"No! It's because she poisoned me that I'm throwing up!" Xu Qingshi believed Li Zhiwei had caused him to vomit.
He didn't want to consume anything she brought him now.
“Let him be if he won't drink it. He's the one who'll suffer anyway!” Xu Heming's gloomy voice came through.
He had been too preoccupied with his own nausea earlier and hadn't realized his son had said such harsh words to Li Zhiwei. He himself was seasick, yet he blamed others?
If he must blame someone, he should blame his mother for not giving him a stronger constitution.
Even getting on a boat made him sick.
"Father, she poisoned us, that's why we're like this, ugh..." Xu Qingshi, his eyes red, looked at Xu Heming. Before he could finish his sentence, he vomited again.
He felt terrible, but his father only sided with Li Zhiwei. He was utterly miserable.
Did Father not want him anymore either?
Li Zhiwei sighed inwardly, thinking, this child, where did all these convoluted ideas come from? He was fine before, but since returning, he had become confrontational with her, as if the Xu Qingshi who was once close to her was a completely different person.
But what had she ever done to this child?
How could he change so suddenly?
Xu Qingshi had nothing left in his stomach to vomit. He looked at Xu Heming with a pitiful and wronged expression, unable to understand why his father wouldn't punish this bad woman for him.
Seeing Xu Qingshi's pitiful and wronged expression, Xu Heming helplessly took the seasickness medicine from Li Zhiwei's hand, held it to Xu Qingshi's lips, and said, "Drink it."
"Father, don't you want me anymore either?" Xu Qingshi asked, his eyes red as he looked at Xu Heming, his heart filled with sorrow.
Xu Heming was already weak, and now his son was being this foolish. Xu Heming felt exasperated. Someone this stupid couldn't possibly be his son.
Otherwise, how could he not even tell friend from foe?
"Young Master, you have seasickness. Both you and the Master are seasick. Drink this medicine quickly, and you'll stop vomiting," Moyu, seeing Xu Heming's expression had grown very dark, hastily took the medicine and urged.
Xu Qingshi still wore an expression of disbelief, convinced it was poison. No matter what, he stubbornly refused to drink the medicine.
"Since he wants to suffer, let him," Xu Heming said coldly after staring at his son for a long while.
Because Xu Heming had taken the seasickness medicine, although weak, he finally stopped vomiting.
Xu Qingshi's stubbornness made him vomit the entire journey.
However, Xu Heming ordered that no one was to persuade Xu Qingshi anymore.
Coupled with Xu Qingshi's own refusal to take medicine, he completely lost the cheerful excitement he had when first boarding the boat.
After a day on the water, their boat finally arrived in the capital.
After disembarking, Xu Heming took Xu Qingshi towards the An Prince's mansion, while Li Zhiwei first escorted Lady Yao back to West Willow Lane.
After all, Li Zhiwei was not yet married into the family. Moreover, the current situation at the An Prince's mansion was still unknown. Xu Heming escorted them to the Li family gate and then took the unsteady-footed Xu Qingshi back to the An Prince's mansion.
Liu Ming was anxiously pacing back and forth in the courtyard at that moment.
There had been no word from the An Prince, which worried Steward Liu greatly.
After all, those people had sent the letter to the An Prince early on, surely with some harmful scheme in mind.
Currently, The Old Princess, although not in critical condition, was still physically injured and quite weak.
With no one in charge at the mansion, Steward Liu felt extremely flustered and anxious.
When Li Zhiwei and Lady Yao returned to the Li residence, Li Tianyou had not yet returned from court.
Only Cuiguo and a few young maids were tidying up the rooms.
"Cuiguo!" Seeing Cuiguo safe and sound, Li Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief.
"Miss?" Cuiguo stared in shock at the suddenly returned Li Zhiwei, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"What's that expression? Don't you want me back?" Li Zhiwei teased.
“Miss, I've missed you so much,” Cuiguo said, her eyes reddening. The thought that Miss had gone back to Li'an County without her made her feel somewhat lost. She had thought Miss didn't want her anymore.
“Well, Cuiguo, don't you miss me, your mistress?” Lady Yao, seeing Cuiguo, also felt very affectionate.
"Mistress, you've come too." Cuiguo had been so focused on her young mistress that she hadn't noticed Lady Yao behind Li Zhiwei.
Seeing Lady Yao filled her with great joy.
"Cuiguo, has my father returned from court yet?" Li Zhiwei asked.
"Not yet, Miss. Master will be back in about an hour. It's so fortunate you've returned, Miss," Cuiguo said, thinking of those people who had been loitering outside the mansion recently with great disgust. Did they think just because she was a maid, she didn't know their intentions?
Hmph, all those women just wanted to attach themselves to her master.
An Prince's Mansion.
In the end, Xu Qingshi was carried back to Liangqi Courtyard by Moyu.
"Go check Cian Hall," Xu Heming said to Qingsong, not seeing Liu Ming.
"Your Highness, should we have Physician Zhang examine you first?" Qingsong asked cautiously, looking at Xu Heming's pale complexion.
"First, go see The Old Princess," Xu Heming shook his head. He was actually fine, just seasick. After taking Li Zhiwei's medicine, he felt much better.
He just looked pale from vomiting several times.
It wasn't a serious issue.
Right now, he was most concerned about The Old Princess's condition.
He imagined Steward Liu and the others were extremely anxious as well.
Steward Liu's courtyard.
A servant rushed in, shouting, "Steward, the Prince has returned!"
"Who did you say has returned?" Liu Ming sprang to his feet. He accidentally bumped into the corner of the table but paid no mind. Had he just heard that the Prince had returned?
"Steward Liu, the Prince has returned. He's gone to Cian Hall now," the servant repeated.
“Excellent!” Steward Liu couldn’t care about anything else and hurried towards Cian Hall.
The Prince was back. The mansion finally had its backbone again.
Xu Heming looked at The Old Princess lying in bed, his fists clenched tightly.
The Zheng family... how dare they?
