Chapter 36
"You little rascal." Li Tianyou couldn't help but feel helpless. After all, being called "grandfather" wasn't something to take lightly.
With that, he pulled out five thousand taels in silver notes from his sleeve and stuffed them into Xu Qingshi's arms.
"Since you’ve called me grandfather, consider this your gift from me. Buy whatever you like," Li Tianyou said with a smile.
Moyu, who stood beside Xu Qingshi, widened her eyes in astonishment, silently marveling at the extravagance.
The father of the princess consort was truly generous—handing out five thousand taels to the young heir without a second thought.
It was worth noting that the Zhou Family had never been this lavish.
Li Tianyou’s actions, however, weren’t entirely selfless.
Regardless of how things would unfold between his daughter and Prince An, the fact remained that Xu Qingshi had saved his daughter. To put it bluntly, he hadn’t just saved her—he’d saved the entire Li Family. That was worth far more than five thousand taels.
Moreover, there was also gratitude toward Prince An.
If not for Prince An’s keen interest in his daughter, Li Tianyou might have even been willing to show him a warmer demeanor.
Xu Qingshi examined the silver notes curiously. They looked different from the ones he usually saw.
After all, Xu Qingshi was still a child. Even if the household gave him silver notes, the amounts were never this substantial.
Five thousand taels was an extravagance he’d never encountered before.
"Father, did you bring the things I asked for?" Li Zhiwei, remembering her promise to Xu Qingshi about the puzzle rings, quickly inquired.
"Of course. Not only did I bring the ones you had before, but Master Jin also crafted some new ones. They’re all in the chest in the room next door." Li Tianyou had initially wondered why his daughter wanted those childhood toys.
Now, it was clear—they were meant for Xu Qingshi.
Not that he had any objections.
Li Zhiwei immediately instructed Cuiguo to fetch them.
Xu Heming, feeling completely ignored, couldn’t help but feel a pang of emptiness. No one had ever dared to neglect him before.
He shot a resentful glance at Li Zhiwei.
Unfortunately, both father and daughter were entirely focused on the little brat, Xu Qingshi, who kept saying things to amuse Li Tianyou.
Watching this, Xu Heming realized that if he wanted to keep Li Zhiwei around, he’d have to rely on Xu Qingshi.
"My lady, the chest is too heavy. I can’t move it alone."
Before long, Cuiguo hurried back, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Xu Qingshi blinked his large eyes, sensing that whatever was inside might have something to do with him.
"Father-in-law, Princess Consort, I still have official duties to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. If you need anything, just inform Wu San. I’ve already obtained the emperor’s permission—he’ll be at your service during your stay." Xu Heming was, in fact, quite busy.
He had only made time to escort Wu San and the others here, fearing that Lin Qihua might stir up trouble.
Unfortunately, he’d arrived too late, allowing Lin Qihua to slip in.
Still, at least Li Tianyou and Li Zhiwei remained unharmed.
"Father, hurry up and leave. Don’t disturb us," Xu Qingshi said impatiently.
Seeing how Xu Qingshi spoke to his own father with such bluntness, Li Tianyou suddenly felt relieved.
It seemed the boy truly treated Li Zhiwei as family.
"Prince An, there’s no need to trouble yourself with me. The Li Family has no fear of the Ruan Marquis Residence," Li Tianyou said with a nod. He understood that Prince An must have his hands full, but having Wu San here did put him more at ease.
After all, it wasn’t just him here—his daughter was present as well.
"Princess Consort, stay here with your father today. I’ll come to fetch you tomorrow. Xu Qingshi, don’t cause any trouble for your grandfather or your mother." After issuing this warning to Xu Qingshi, Xu Heming didn’t linger.
He still had to report today’s incident with the Ruan Marquis to the emperor, and he needed to investigate what the Ruan Marquis had been up to lately.
"So nagging. Just go already," Xu Qingshi waved dismissively.
"Your Highness, you should attend to your duties first," Li Zhiwei said. Having stayed in Prince An’s residence these past few days, she knew how busy he usually was.
Prince An sighed. Not a single person here wanted him to stay.
If only they had asked, maybe he could have lingered a little longer.
Seeing the faintly aggrieved look in Prince An’s eyes, Li Tianyou suddenly felt that this man had far better judgment than that Lin family boy.
No sooner had Xu Heming left than Li Zhiwei took Xu Qingshi to the room where the puzzle rings and other toys were stored.
"Want to open it and see?" Li Zhiwei gestured for Xu Qingshi to do it himself.
"Stepmother, you didn’t hide explosives in here, did you?" Xu Qingshi asked warily. Now that his father was gone, what if this woman took the chance to sell him off to traffickers?
"Young Master, isn’t it a bit late to worry about me selling you off now?" Li Zhiwei couldn’t help but laugh at the expression plastered on Xu Qingshi’s face.
She had no idea what she’d done to make him suspect her of child trafficking.
"Hmph! Don’t storytellers always say that stepmothers hate the children from previous marriages and sell them off?" Xu Qingshi pouted.
In truth, it was the Third Prince who had deliberately scared him with such tales.
Storytellers never spun yarns like that.
"Little Master, how much do you think I should sell you for?" Li Zhiwei tilted her head, studying him with mock seriousness.
"Li Zhiwei! I’m the heir of Prince An’s household! If you really sell me, my father will never let you go!" Xu Qingshi said, a hint of fear creeping into his voice.
"Then hurry up and open it. If you take too long, I might change my mind," Li Zhiwei teased.
Outside the door, Cuiguo and Moyu peeked in, baffled by what their masters were up to now.
"Fine, I’ll open it!" Xu Qingshi declared with a haughty sniff.
Li Zhiwei watched the little schemer, amused by how suspicious he was.
Honestly, what could his tiny frame possibly fetch on the market?
Xu Qingshi took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and silently prayed that the chest didn’t contain explosives. After all, if it did, both he and Li Zhiwei would be caught in the blast.
With that thought, he opened his eyes and grabbed Li Zhiwei’s hand tightly.
No matter what, he wouldn’t let go. If she tried to run, she’d have to drag him along.
Only then did he slowly lift the lid of the chest—which was nearly as tall as he was—while keeping his gaze locked onto Li Zhiwei.
Even after the chest was open, he refused to look away.
"Aren’t you going to see what’s inside?" Li Zhiwei pointed at the contents, amused.
"Woman, don’t even think about sneaking off alone!" Xu Qingshi said nervously.
"Why would I run? Seriously, aren’t you going to look?" Li Zhiwei asked again, just as the lid was about to fall shut.
