Chapter Thirty-Four: The Three Little Ones—Niannian, Part 28
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Zhu Jingchen said, his face darkening. He thought to himself, This son of mine really knows exactly which sore spot to poke.
Besides, how could he have taken Li Zhiwei’s dowry?
It was clearly Li Zhiwei who had voluntarily donated her dowry to the imperial court.
It was not as though he had used it all for himself.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jingchen straightened his back.
“Third Prince, His Majesty never used my dowry. At the time, I willingly donated it to the imperial court to help with disaster relief,” Li Zhiwei quickly explained.
“Did you hear that? Hmph, I never used Princess Consort of An’s dowry!” Zhu Jingchen turned toward his son and said irritably.
“But haven’t you always said that everything under Heaven belongs to the emperor? Since it was used by the people of Lan Nuo, doesn’t that mean Father used it too?” the Third Prince asked, convinced that Zhu Jingchen had indeed used it.
Xu Heming, who had originally been rather displeased with the Third Prince, found himself increasingly satisfied with the boy.
Unlike his father.
Zhu Jingchen felt as though a mouthful of stale air was stuck in his chest—neither rising nor going down.
Seeing the situation, Li Zhiwei hurriedly instructed the kitchen to prepare lunch.
After all, they could not truly chase the Emperor and Empress away.
Listening Rain Pavilion
“Sister Niannian, could I have caused trouble today?” Kong Shuyin asked worriedly.
After all, Prince An’s expression had looked rather unpleasant just now, and Princess Consort of An had seemed somewhat anxious when she left.
“What trouble could you possibly cause? If someone really caused trouble, it must have been An’an,” Niannian said unconcernedly. After all, in their family, An’an was the one most skilled at causing trouble.
“Your parents aren’t going to make me leave, are they?” Kong Shuyin was actually wondering whether they would refuse to approve her marriage to An’an.
“No. If they want someone to leave, they’ll make An’an leave with you.” At Niannian’s words, Li Mingyue, who was sitting nearby, could not help laughing as well.
Meanwhile, the Wen residence received a guest.
It was Lady Yao, the wife of Xie Jincheng.
“Madam Xie.” Although Wen Xiu knew Madam Xie, the two of them had very little personal interaction. She could not understand what had brought Madam Xie to her home today.
None of the children in the family were currently in the capital, so it was unlikely that they had offended the Xie family.
Mingyue was a well-behaved child and would never do anything to offend the Xie family.
Could it be that her husband had done something to displease the Xie family, and they had sent Madam Xie over to speak with her?
Knowing that the Xie family was on good terms with Prince An’s residence, Wen Xiu wondered whether she should go to her sister-in-law later and beg her to help smooth things over between the two families.
When it came to the influential families of the capital, it was best not to offend anyone if it could be avoided.
Looking at the somewhat uneasy Madam Li, Lady Yao also felt uncertain.
If her own son had not asked her to come and find out whether the Li family’s daughter had already been promised to someone, she would not have appeared here so rashly.
After arriving, however, Lady Yao felt that she had been too abrupt. Since her husband was on good terms with Princess Consort of An, she should have asked Princess Consort of An first before paying a visit. That would have been more appropriate.
But now that she was already here, she could not back out.
“Please don’t laugh at me, Madam Li. It was truly rather abrupt of me to visit today,” Lady Yao said with a smile.
“You’re being too serious, Madam Xie.” Seeing Lady Yao’s manner, Wen Xiu realized that she did not seem to have come looking for trouble.
But what could the Xie family possibly want with the Li family?
Money?
Yet she had never heard that the Xie family was short of funds.
Surely that could not be it?
With this thought, Wen Xiu could not help looking Lady Yao over. Seeing that Lady Yao was dressed in fine clothes, Wen Xiu became even more certain that this possibility was unlikely.
“Please don’t laugh at me, Madam Li. I’ve come today because of my younger son,” Lady Yao said awkwardly as she looked at Wen Xiu.
But once the words were out, she found it much easier to continue.
“Young Master Xie?” Wen Xiu was even more puzzled. Her husband surely would not hold a grudge against a young man. Besides, the Xie family’s son was on good terms with Qingshi, and her husband doted on Qingshi.
Wen Xiu grew even more confused.
“May I ask whether Miss Li is already betrothed?” Lady Yao asked with a smile.
“What?”
Wen Xiu had imagined countless possibilities, but she had never once considered that Madam Xie had come to her home because of Mingyue.
Madam Xie had just said that she had come because of her son.
Could it be that the young master of the Xie family had taken a fancy to Mingyue?
Wen Xiu’s feelings became complicated.
On one hand, Mingyue’s maternal uncle was a general, and her aunt was Princess Consort of An. Strictly speaking, she was certainly well-matched enough to marry the young master of the Xie family.
On the other hand, the Li family no longer held official positions at court. She could not be sure that the Xie family would not mistreat Mingyue in the future.
“Please don’t laugh at me, Madam Li. My good-for-nothing son, Yanzhi, has taken a liking to your Mingyue. That is why I gathered the courage to come and ask to see you.”
Lady Yao did not dare underestimate this Madam Li.
Although the Li family no longer had anyone serving as an official at court, they knew the truth very well. Everything Li Tingzhou did was to help His Majesty shoulder his burdens. To put it somewhat boldly, Li Tingzhou held no less importance in His Majesty’s eyes than Prince An.
Not to mention that Wen Xiu’s elder brother was a great general, while her sister-in-law was the Empress’s younger sister.
General Wen doted on this younger sister of his most of all.
Princess Consort of An also treated this brother and sister-in-law with great respect.
For all these reasons, Lady Yao was even more careful not to take this matter lightly.
“Madam Xie, I’m truly flattered by your visit today. Mingyue’s marriage has not yet been decided, but I imagine you also know that the children of our Li family have always been allowed to make their own choices. Her aunt has returned to the capital, and Princess Consort of An has missed the children, so they have all been staying at Prince An’s residence. I’m afraid I cannot give you an answer today.”
When Wen Xiu realized that Madam Xie had come to propose a marriage, she felt somewhat relieved.
However, Mingyue had not agreed to anything yet, and Wen Xiu would not accept the proposal simply because the Xie family came from a distinguished background.
Lady Yao was stunned for a moment before nodding. “Madam Li, what you’ve said is entirely reasonable. There is no need for us to rush this matter. It was indeed rather abrupt of me to come today, so I’ve brought a small token of my regard. Please don’t take offense.”
Lady Yao hurriedly signaled for Chunxi to bring out the betrothal gift she had prepared earlier that morning.
“How could I accept this?” Wen Xiu repeatedly waved her hands. The Li family was not lacking in fine things.
Whether the Li and Xie families would become in-laws was still uncertain.
If she accepted the gift now, she was worried it would be difficult to explain later.
“Madam Li, it’s only a small gesture of goodwill. Whether the matter succeeds or not, it is simply fate between the two children, and it will not affect the friendship between our families,” Lady Yao quickly said.
Prince An’s Residence
Only after Zhu Jingchen and the Empress had eaten their fill did they prepare to return to the palace.
“Father, Mother, you can go back. Starting today, I’m going to stay here.” The Third Prince waved at Zhu Jingchen and the Empress.
“What are you staying here for?” Xu Heming felt the anger in his heart flare up again.
“I’m staying to keep little sister Niannian company.” The Third Prince was not frightened in the least by Xu Heming’s dark expression. Instead, he answered cheerfully.
Everyone turned to look at Niannian, eager to see how she would answer.
