Chapter Seventy-Four
"What?" Lin Ziyi wondered if she had misheard.
The wife of the Southern Commandery Prince's heir?
That upstart's family?
How dare they attempt to murder Prince An's betrothed?
She had even suspected a princess, but now she was being told it was just some insignificant nouveau riche?
"Wait, so you just let them attack you?" Lin Ziyi was furious.
"At the time, I didn’t think much of it. They were targeting the children," Li Zhiwei recalled the perilous moment.
She hadn’t considered the consequences.
"Oh, my dear, what am I going to do with you?" Lin Ziyi paced back and forth in agitation.
She rarely criticized others, but this time, she couldn’t hold back.
"Lin-jiejie, thank you for visiting me." Li Zhiwei watched the flustered Lin Ziyi, feeling deeply touched by her concern.
"But look at you—how are you going to attend the banquet in this state?" The thought made Lin Ziyi frown again.
"Perhaps I’ll be better by then?" Li Zhiwei tried to reassure herself.
After all, if the Emperor summoned her, she couldn’t refuse.
Besides, her injuries weren’t self-inflicted.
Let His Majesty see just how "severe" they were—maybe then he would punish those who bullied the weak.
"Honestly, I don’t even know what to expect from that banquet. My husband has been so busy lately I haven’t even seen him. I wanted to ask him for details, but there’s no chance." Lin Ziyi sighed in frustration.
"Lin-jiejie, do you want me to ask Prince An?" Li Zhiwei hesitated, not because she was unwilling, but because her father had likely forbidden Xu Heming from visiting while she was ill.
Nearby, Qinghua and Qingyue exchanged glances. They knew the reason for the banquet in two days.
But this wasn’t something they could speak of.
Voices drifted in from outside.
"Do you have another guest today?" Lin Ziyi wondered who else would visit Li Zhiwei and whether her own presence might be awkward.
Li Zhiwei was equally puzzled. She had only just arrived in the capital and could count her acquaintances on one hand.
Now that she was injured, who else would come to the Li residence?
"Miss, Lady Yao of Yongning Manor and Madam Jin of the Xie family have brought their young sons to see you," Zhou Tong entered and whispered.
"Oh, it’s Lady Yao and Madam Jin!" Lin Ziyi relaxed. She was familiar with both women and didn’t have to worry about etiquette.
"Qinghua, Qingyue, help me up." Li Zhiwei felt it would be impolite to receive guests while lying in bed.
"Stay put. I’ll bring them in for you," Lin Ziyi insisted, pressing her back down with one hand.
Li Zhiwei was momentarily at a loss.
"Your Highness, they’re likely here to thank you for saving their sons. You should rest," Qinghua reassured without hesitation.
After all, their mistress had suffered for those children—let them see the extent of her injuries.
"But wouldn’t this be improper?" Li Zhiwei bit her lip. Coming from Li'an County, she had studied etiquette but still feared being seen as a country bumpkin, embarrassing her father and Prince An.
"Don’t worry, no one would dare criticize you for this," Qinghua said firmly, nodding at Qingyue to go greet the guests.
Lin Ziyi meant well, but it wasn’t proper for a guest to act as host.
Qingyue, always in sync with Qinghua, stepped forward and bowed gracefully.
"Please forgive us, my ladies. Her Highness is still bedridden from her injuries and couldn’t greet you properly. It wasn’t our intention to have Lady Lin welcome you in her stead."
"Of course, of course! Miss Li suffered these injuries protecting our children. How could we fault her?" Lady Yao replied immediately, realizing Li Zhiwei’s condition was worse than she’d imagined.
"May we see Miss Li?" Madam Jin asked, concerned.
"Certainly. Please, come in." Qingyue bowed again.
Watching her flawless courtly manners, Lady Yao and Madam Jin exchanged glances. Prince An must hold Li Zhiwei in high regard—no ordinary merchant family could afford palace-trained maids, let alone two.
"I happened to be visiting Miss Li when you arrived. I never imagined her injuries were this severe—it pains even me to see her like this," Lin Ziyi remarked as she led the way.
She thought to herself that she ought to keep reminding these two ladies about Li Zhiwei’s kindness, so they would remember it well. Otherwise, wouldn’t all that suffering have been in vain?
"It’s all thanks to Miss Li—otherwise, my son would have suffered terribly too," Lady Yao said. She had heard from Jiang Yu about Li Zhiwei’s injuries. At the time, Li Zhiwei and her servants had shielded the three children so well that they emerged completely unharmed, while the three of them were severely injured.
"Greetings to the Marchioness of Yongning and Madam Jin of the Xie family," Li Zhiwei said shyly upon seeing them, then made to rise from her seat.
"Miss Li, please stay lying down—we couldn’t possibly accept such formal courtesy from you!" Lady Yao quickly stepped forward to stop her when she saw Li Zhiwei attempting to stand and bow.
Her heart fluttered with unease. Xu Heming was fiercely protective—even though he was on good terms with the Jiang family, if he found out they had allowed Li Zhiwei to bow to them today, her husband would surely face his wrath tomorrow.
Not that she minded punishing him herself—but when she did it, it was more of a playful gesture.
"Miss Li, thank you for saving Yanzhi yesterday," Madam Jin said, her eyes lingering on the frightening wounds on Li Zhiwei’s face.
"I only helped them on instinct," Li Zhiwei replied, somewhat embarrassed.
After all, when she had acted, she hadn’t really thought much about it.
"Miss Li, if not for you, our children would have suffered these injuries instead. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if those wounds had been inflicted on my child. It’s all because of that reckless fool of a husband of mine!" Lady Yao clenched her teeth as she took in Li Zhiwei’s injuries.
"Miss Li, you don’t know this, but when my son returned home yesterday, I gave my husband a good thrashing after seeing his injuries. At the time, I thought I’d vented my anger—but now, seeing your wounds, I realize I didn’t hit him hard enough!" Before Li Zhiwei could respond, Lady Yao added fiercely.
"Marchioness, this… it’s not entirely the Marquis of Yongning’s fault," Li Zhiwei said, taken aback by Lady Yao’s ferocity. She even beat her own husband? Did his parents not intervene?
"How is it not his fault? That fool was the one who suggested sending them to Rushan Academy in the first place!" The more Lady Yao thought about it, the angrier she became. Why couldn’t they have chosen Yanshan Academy or the Imperial Academy?
Why did it have to be Rushan Academy?
