Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty-Eight
Zhu Jingchen stared coldly at Huo Yunxuan, as if trying to discern something from his face.
"Your Majesty, please forgive my offense!" Huo Yunxuan, feeling the oppressive weight of the Emperor's authority, quickly knelt down, no longer daring to be dismissive.
"Huo Yunxuan, what offense have you committed?" Though Zhu Jingchen's words were a question, the icy tone made Huo Yunxuan break out in a cold sweat.
Huo Yunxuan was stumped. What offense had he committed?
He didn't actually believe he had committed any offense; he had merely spoken a few words.
Could it be that the Emperor wouldn't even allow the truth to be spoken?
Zhu Jingchen gave a light snort as he looked at the silent Huo Yunxuan.
The court ministers all knelt down fearfully, exclaiming, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
Seeing the ministers kneel, Li Zhiwei also knelt down, her heart still filled with unease. After all, while she hadn't instigated these events, they were still closely connected to her.
Furthermore, these were things that hadn't happened in her previous life, making it difficult for her to predict the Emperor's next move.
For now, she could only wait to see how the Emperor would deal with them. Thinking this, Li Zhiwei glanced worriedly at her father.
Prince An's Mansion
Xu Qingshi was excitedly telling his friends about the interesting events that had occurred in Li'an County.
"Xu Qingshi, your stepmother has gotten married!"
Wei Herui, watching the group chatting happily, suddenly spoke up.
A deathly silence suddenly fell over the room.
Xu Qingshi glared fiercely at Wei Herui.
He had never gotten along with Wei Herui, and now Wei Herui was making sarcastic remarks. If Xu Qingshi weren't still recovering, he would have lunged at him for a fight right then and there.
His words were too detestable!
"Wei Herui, what nonsense are you spouting?" Xie Yanzhi felt that Wei Herui truly had no sense of tact.
Couldn't he see that Qingshi was unwell and needed rest?
And yet he brought this matter up.
Wasn't this clearly meant to provoke Xu Qingshi?
"What nonsense am I spouting? Everyone is saying it," Wei Herui retorted discontentedly. He didn't think he had said anything wrong. Everyone was saying that Li Zhiwei had gotten married; it wasn't like he started the rumor.
Thinking this, Wei Herui felt even more displeased. He didn't understand why Xie Yanzhi always sided with Xu Qingshi in everything. Was it because his father was a prince?
But his own grandfather was a Grand Tutor!
He wasn't any worse than Xu Qingshi, okay?
Xu Qingshi, his eyes reddening, looked at Xie Yanzhi and Jiang Yu beside him and asked unhappily, "Is what he said true?"
Xu Qingshi hadn't known what "getting married" meant before. Later, after he snatched Li Zhiwei's dowry, his grandmother had explained it to him.
When girls grow up, they all marry into another man's family. When he grew up, he would also take a wife.
So now he understood: "getting married" meant that Li Zhiwei was going to marry someone else.
Moreover, his grandmother had also told him that Li Zhiwei was supposed to marry his father, and from then on, Li Zhiwei would be his mother.
He actually really liked the idea of Li Zhiwei being his mother.
But last time, when Li Zhiwei disappeared, he happened to overhear a woman telling someone that pretty girls always run off with men. He was afraid Li Zhiwei would run off with someone, which was why he had said those harsh words.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingshi bit his lip.
Xie Yanzhi quickly tried to soothe Xu Qingshi, saying, "Qingshi, don't be anxious. This is just a rumor someone is spreading. Miss Li definitely hasn't married yet."
After speaking, Xie Yanzhi signaled to Jiang Yu beside him to quickly say something to calm Xu Qingshi down, while also shooting a reproachful look at the troublemaking Wei Herui. He deeply regretted bringing him along.
"Qingshi, if Miss Li really had gotten married, your father would know about it. Don't worry," Jiang Yu also hastened to say.
"Who knows? They say there's no smoke without fire. Perhaps Miss Li really has gotten married," Wei Herui thought to himself, relishing the idea of seeing how Xu Qingshi would boast about how great his stepmother was from now on.
Now, no matter how good a stepmother she was, she belonged to someone else.
She could never buy him the toys he wanted again. Thinking this, Wei Herui felt a sense of schadenfreude.
Wei Herui's words were undoubtedly like lighting a fuse in Xu Qingshi's heart.
Li Zhiwei had gotten married!
Thinking of the hurtful things he had said to her on the way back, Xu Qingshi bit his lip, his heart aching with the thought: Could it be that because he said those things, Li Zhiwei thought he didn't like her anymore, and that's why she married someone else?
Suddenly, Xu Qingshi sat up. He wanted to go find Li Zhiwei and ask for clarification. He wanted to explain everything to her.
He actually liked her very much.
He didn't dislike her!
"Young Master, what are you doing?" Seeing Xu Qingshi trying to get out of bed, Moyu hurried forward to hold him back.
The Young Master was still weak and should rest properly first.
"I'm going to find her!" Xu Qingshi said determinedly.
"If you want to find Miss Li, you should recover your strength first before going!" Moyu was also puzzled. Weren't things fine on the way back?
Miss Li had only been back for a few days; how could she have gotten married already?
Who did she marry?
Moreover, Miss Li was betrothed to His Highness, the Prince.
How could she suddenly get married?
But Moyu was just a servant and didn't understand these matters.
His duty was to take good care of his young master.
"I'm going now!" Xu Qingshi stumbled to his feet and headed for the door.
Moyu quickly followed, calling out, "Young Master, you haven't changed your clothes!"
Xu Qingshi only cared about getting outside. Changing clothes wasn't even a consideration; he just wanted to find Li Zhiwei quickly.
To ask her clearly: Why did she marry someone else?
Why wouldn't she marry Father!
"Ouch!"
Xu Qingshi felt himself bump into someone, and then both of them fell to the ground.
Nanny Luo held her waist, about to curse at whoever was so blind—were they in such a hurry to be reborn?
"Oh, Nanny Luo, it's you. What brings you here?" Moyu quickly helped Xu Qingshi up.
After recognizing the visitor as Nanny Luo, Moyu hurriedly went to help her up as well, asking worriedly, "Nanny Luo, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, oh dear. Young Master, where are you going? Why are you dressed like this?" Nanny Luo held her aching back, looking at Xu Qingshi, who was only wearing thin inner garments, with confusion.
"I'm going to find her!" After saying this, Xu Qingshi strode straight towards the main gate.
"Ah!" In her urgency, Nanny Luo's back began to hurt again. She had originally come to Xu Qingshi's quarters to inquire about the situation.
After all, Xu Qingshi had returned from Li'an County with Li Zhiwei; he would surely know whether she had gotten married or not.
But now, Xu Qingshi was already out of sight.
And her back still ached.
"Nanny Luo, are you alright?" A young maid, seeing Nanny Luo holding her waist, quickly stepped forward to support her, asking with concern.
