Chapter 31
"Mother, this is my third aunt. Third Aunt, this is the new mother my father has married for me." Xu Qingshi enthusiastically stepped forward and took Li Zhiwei's hand as she spoke.
Li Zhiwei was somewhat surprised. After all, Xu Qingshi's attitude toward her had always been somewhat peculiar—never what one would call warm.
"So this is the Third Miss Zhou." Li Zhiwei nodded at Zhou Yuying with a smile.
Zhou Yuying stared at Li Zhiwei. She hadn’t even gone looking for her, yet here she was, showing up on her own.
She wanted to see what kind of woman would dare steal her man.
"This must be Miss Li, then? I heard Miss Li was betrothed to Heir Lin of the Ruan Marquis’ household. Yet, somehow, you’ve ended up in Prince An’s residence?" Zhou Yuying addressed Li Zhiwei without the slightest courtesy.
"Third Miss Zhou, your sources don’t seem very reliable," Li Zhiwei replied, already sensing the hostility radiating from Zhou Yuying.
In her past life, she had endured every humiliation, only to be trampled into nothing by the Ruan Marquis’ household.
Heaven had given her a second chance—not to be a pushover again.
Besides, she was now the mistress of Prince An’s household. It didn’t take much to guess the source of Zhou Yuying’s resentment.
She wanted to marry Prince An.
"Are you flaunting your status in front of me, Miss Li?" Zhou Yuying wasn’t deaf to the mockery in Li Zhiwei’s words.
Of course she knew about Prince An’s marriage. She just refused to accept it.
How could this woman, a mere merchant’s daughter, snatch away the man she had schemed so hard to marry?
"Third Miss Zhou, I’m merely stating facts. It’s true that I was once betrothed to the Ruan Marquis’ household, but my annulment was granted by His Majesty’s decree. Unless you believe yourself above even the Emperor?" Li Zhiwei asked with a light laugh.
No matter how much Zhou Yuying hated Li Zhiwei, she wouldn’t dare claim she was more powerful than the Emperor.
But the seed of envy had already taken root in her heart. Why should this merchant’s daughter be so fortunate?
"Miss Li, you’re just a merchant’s daughter. Do you really think you can uphold the dignity of Prince An’s household? Aren’t you afraid of embarrassing them?" Zhou Yuying sneered, confident that as an official’s daughter, she was far superior to Li Zhiwei.
She would go straight to The Old Princess later. If The Old Princess agreed, the title of Princess Consort might not stay with Li Zhiwei for long.
"Oh? And what of it? With enough silver, what face can’t be bought?" Li Zhiwei glanced at Zhou Yuying’s attire. Though the Zhou family held official rank, their wealth was modest.
Zhou Yuying’s outfit, in Li Zhiwei’s eyes, was rather shabby.
"Do you think the noble families of the capital are as vulgar as your Li'an County, reeking of money?" Zhou Yuying scoffed. Truly, a merchant’s daughter—always fixated on gold and silver.
"Third Miss Zhou may not smell of money, but that hairpin of yours is so worn it’s practically polished. How pitiful." Li Zhiwei covered her mouth in mock regret. "Oh dear, I spoke my mind. Please don’t take offense, Third Miss Zhou."
Her words struck a nerve. The gold hairpin was Zhou Yuying’s favorite—the finest she owned. Now, she was being mocked for it by a merchant’s daughter.
Zhou Yuying raised her hand, ready to slap Li Zhiwei.
How dare this lowly merchant’s daughter speak to her like this?
"Third Miss Zhou, what do you think you’re doing?" Liu Ming immediately stepped in front of Li Zhiwei.
Li Zhiwei was now the Princess Consort. If Zhou Yuying laid a finger on her, it would be an insult to the royal household. Liu Ming knew Prince An would never tolerate such disrespect.
"Steward Liu, this wretch—" Zhou Yuying pointed furiously at Li Zhiwei, but Liu Ming’s icy glare silenced her before she could finish.
"Third Miss Zhou, mind your words. This is our Princess Consort! You’ve been here long enough. The household is not receiving guests today—please leave." Before Zhou Yuying could react, Liu Ming firmly dismissed her.
"Steward Liu, you’re throwing me out?" Zhou Yuying couldn’t believe that a mere steward would dare expel her from Prince An’s residence.
"Prince An is my brother-in-law. Are you really siding with this lowborn woman?" She pointed accusingly at Li Zhiwei.
Slap!
Li Zhiwei struck Zhou Yuying across the face.
"Third Miss Zhou, this slap is on behalf of your sister. This is Prince An’s residence, not your home. How dare you, an outsider, cause trouble here? You call this your brother-in-law’s house, yet you insult his newlywed wife? Who gave you that right?" Li Zhiwei demanded coldly.
"You hit me? How dare you, you wretch!" Zhou Yuying lunged at Li Zhiwei, shoving her in a fit of rage.
The humiliation of being treated this way by a merchant’s daughter was unbearable. She didn’t care if her actions were proper anymore.
"Weiwei!"
Li Tianyou arrived just in time to see Zhou Yuying pushing his daughter. His heart nearly leaped out of his throat.
He had no idea how much his precious daughter had suffered in his absence.
The Ruan Marquis’ household had bullied him, a mere merchant. Though Prince An had rescued his daughter, he never expected to witness such a scene.
Li Tianyou didn’t recognize Zhou Yuying, but since she was in Prince An’s residence, he assumed she was either the Princess Consort or a concubine.
At that moment, he resolved to take his daughter away from this place.
"What are you doing?" Xu Heming had known Zhou Yuying was visiting when he left earlier.
In the past, she only came to see Xu Qingshi, so he hadn’t thought much of it. But today, she had crossed the line—daring to lay hands on his Princess Consort.
"Brother-in-law!" Zhou Yuying paled when she saw Xu Heming return. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at him pleadingly, her heart pounding in panic.
"Your Highness, I thank you for your kindness toward my daughter. Now that I’ve arrived in the capital, I’ll take her home with me." Li Tianyou ignored Zhou Yuying’s flirtatious glances at Prince An.
All he wanted was to take Li Zhiwei away from this place where she could be bullied at any moment—especially after hearing Zhou Yuying call Prince An "brother-in-law." It wasn’t hard to guess she was the sister of Prince An’s late wife.
He didn’t care about her exact status now. He was just a father, desperate to protect his daughter from harm.
Besides, he had come to the capital to see the Emperor. He would rather surrender the Li family’s fortune in exchange for his daughter’s freedom.
