“I don’t need you to keep me company.” Niannian glared at the Third Prince, clearly displeased.
The way he put it made her sound as though she desperately needed someone by her side.
The thought made Niannian’s displeasure deepen as she looked at the Third Prince.
However, with the Emperor and Empress present, she might be annoyed, but she could hardly drag the Third Prince away and beat him up.
If they were in Jiangnan, she would certainly have taught this impertinent brat a lesson.
At the thought, Niannian clenched her fists.
“Go on and take your son home. My Niannian doesn’t like his type at all.” Xu Heming waved his hand smugly.
“Niannian, then tell me—what kind of man do you like? I can change, can’t I?” The Third Prince looked at Niannian with an injured expression.
“I naturally like a peerless hero. You look as if you can’t even lift a hand or carry a shoulder. What are you good for?” Niannian looked the Third Prince up and down, her expression full of disdain.
“I…” The Third Prince glanced at himself, then turned to Niannian with reddened eyes. His mind kept circling around the same question: Was Niannian really talking about him?
For a moment, Niannian also felt somewhat at a loss. In truth, she was merely worried that the Third Prince would reveal the embarrassing things she had done as a child.
But the words had already been spoken, and she certainly had no reason to take them back.
As for what the Third Prince might think, Niannian felt that it was not something she needed to consider.
After all, the Third Prince was a man. Surely he would not do anything outrageous just because of a few words from her.
Besides, her father had said that he wanted her to stay at home and find a live-in son-in-law.
How could the Third Prince possibly be a candidate for that position?
The more Niannian thought about it, the more certain she became that she had done nothing wrong.
She was simply cutting off the Third Prince’s hopes of marrying her. There was no possibility between them.
The Third Prince, however, did not see it that way.
Instead, he felt that Niannian was giving him a chance.
When he thought of how Niannian liked great heroes, he felt that he still had hope.
Wen Xiu saw Lady Yao out of the Li residence and only then let out a long breath.
“Send someone to Prince An’s residence and ask the young lady to come home,” Wen Xiu instructed the steward beside her. At the same time, she wondered when her daughter had become acquainted with that Young Master Xie.
Although she believed Mingyue was not the sort of woman to behave frivolously, there were still certain things she had to ask about.
“Madam, if the young lady could marry into the Li family, it would not be a bad match,” the matron beside her advised.
Wen Xiu sighed. “We’ll wait until Master returns before discussing it.”
Only then did Wen Xiu realize that her children had reached the age when they should be getting married.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so unhappy?” When Li Tingzhou returned, he saw Wen Xiu sitting there and asked in confusion.
“Which fool has upset my wife?” Li Tingzhou swept his gaze around the room, clearly displeased.
“Master, Madam Xie came to the residence today.” Wen Xiu took Li Tingzhou’s hand and led him to sit down before sighing.
“Which Madam Xie?” Li Tingzhou was utterly baffled. Among the people he knew, he could not think of anyone surnamed Xie.
“The wife of Minister Xie, Lady Yao,” Wen Xiu explained.
Li Tingzhou suddenly understood. She was Xie Jincheng’s wife, though he himself had no personal friendship with Xie Jincheng.
“What did she come here for?” Li Tingzhou asked with a frown.
“She had something to discuss.” As Wen Xiu said this, she kept her eyes on Li Tingzhou, wondering how he would react upon learning that the Xie family had come to propose marriage.
After all, Li Tingzhou doted greatly on Mingyue.
“Did she say something unpleasant and upset you?” Li Tingzhou asked with a frown, already wondering how he should stand up for his wife.
“Not at all. She merely wanted to propose marriage to Mingyue on behalf of the Eldest Master Xie,” Wen Xiu said slowly, one word at a time.
“That’s good!” Li Tingzhou let out a breath of relief.
Only then did he realize what Wen Xiu had just said: Madam Xie wanted to propose to their daughter on behalf of her son.
“You—you agreed?” Li Tingzhou stared at Wen Xiu in disbelief.
“In your heart, am I really so careless?” Wen Xiu shot him an irritated look.
“That’s not what I meant. Mingyue is still young. There’s no need to rush into finding her a match.” Li Tingzhou hurriedly explained himself.
“I haven’t agreed yet. Didn’t I send someone to call Mingyue home?” Wen Xiu said.
Li Tingzhou finally relaxed. He thought to himself that it was fortunate Wen Xiu had not accepted the proposal.
Although he felt that Xie Yanzhi was a dependable young man, if he were to become his son-in-law, Li Tingzhou still wanted to examine him carefully before he could rest easy.
“What kind of expression is that? I’m Mingyue’s biological mother, not her stepmother.” Seeing how tense Li Tingzhou looked, Wen Xiu spoke reproachfully.
“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that we need to consider Mingyue’s marriage carefully.” Li Tingzhou explained.
“Our family doesn’t need Mingyue to marry for the sake of an alliance. As for her marriage, we should naturally choose someone she likes and who likes her in return.” At this, Wen Xiu lowered her head and added silently: just as she had chosen to marry Li Tingzhou back then, because they had loved one another.
“My wife, I was only anxious for a moment. I didn’t mean anything else.” Afraid that Wen Xiu might misunderstand, Li Tingzhou quickly explained again.
“I’ll have my younger sister look into that Xie boy’s character later,” Li Tingzhou said. He felt that nothing should be decided hastily, especially when it concerned his daughter’s marriage.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, dear husband.” Wen Xiu smiled.
“If your parents knew that Mingyue was old enough to be betrothed, they would surely be delighted.” Li Tingzhou thought of Li Tianyou, who was currently recuperating in Li’an County with Lady Yao, and said, “Why don’t we bring them back to the capital?”
Wen Xiu thought it over. “Why don’t we bring them back to the capital? They’re such kind and gentle people. In all the years since I married into the Li family, they have never once allowed me to suffer any grievances.
“Even when Li Tingzhou had been separated from the family since childhood, they were the first to stand on my side. They never felt that, because of that matter, I ought to defer to Li Tingzhou. They made me feel that I truly belonged in this family.”
“Let’s go bring them back to the capital later. I imagine that boy Xu Qingshi’s marriage should be settled by now as well,” Li Tingzhou said.
Once Xu Qingshi’s marriage was settled, it would soon be put on the agenda.
After all, the marriage between Xu Qingshi and Miss Gu had been in preparation for quite some time.
“I’ve heard people outside saying that Niannian is going to marry the Third Prince. Is it true?” Wen Xiu suddenly thought of another matter and asked curiously.
“Those rumors can’t be taken seriously. If it were true, my younger sister would naturally have told us.” Li Tingzhou thought for a moment before answering.
“Niannian is such a pretty girl. But I’m afraid Prince An won’t be willing to let her marry into the imperial palace, will he?” Wen Xiu said with a smile.
She then gave Li Tingzhou a meaningful look, thinking to herself that all the men connected to the Li family seemed to be hopelessly devoted to their daughters.
Li Tianyou was like that. Li Tingzhou was like that. Prince An was the same.
As for her elder brother, Zhang Yanchu, she still did not know.
After all, he had one son after another.
“Madam, please hurry back to the residence! Something has happened!”
