Chapter 88
"Shut up!" Liu Ruyan was thoroughly irritated by Xu Qingshi's crying.
She despised children's wails more than anything.
Moreover, in the imperial harem, if someone overheard, she would undoubtedly face unnecessary trouble.
Xu Qingshi paid no heed to Liu Ruyan. If he felt wronged, why shouldn’t he cry?
Back in the prince’s residence, no one could stop him when he wanted to cry.
"Hurry up and gag this brat!" Liu Ruyan glared at Mo Yu, who stood nearby.
Li Zhiwei tried to step forward, but the maids beside her ignored her and swiftly seized her hands.
"Liu Wan, don’t forget your status. You are the Emperor’s consort. There was never any possibility between you and Prince An—why persist in delusions and torment a child?" Li Zhiwei, fearing Xu Qingshi might get hurt, had no choice but to confront Liu Ruyan directly.
She thought to herself: A man being too handsome is truly a problem—he attracts far too much attention.
Take Lin Jitong, for instance. Wasn’t it because of his looks that Zhou Yutang became obsessed with him, leading to the ruin of the entire Li family?
Now, Xu Heming, with his striking appearance, had even the imperial consorts losing their minds over him.
And the man himself lacked self-awareness, performing with such irresistible charm.
At this thought, Li Zhiwei sighed inwardly. No wonder Consort Liu had suddenly gone mad—she must have been provoked by Xu Heming.
In this vast harem, the Emperor was the only man, making competition fierce.
"Who says there’s no possibility between Prince An and me? He treats me differently from others! If not for that wretched Madam Zhou, the position of Princess Consort of An would have been mine!" Liu Ruyan, provoked, shrieked hysterically at Li Zhiwei.
"You’re lying! How could my father treat you differently?" Xu Qingshi, struggling against the hand trying to cover his mouth, retorted indignantly.
Li Zhiwei also looked at Liu Ruyan in bewilderment.
She wondered: What exactly had Xu Heming done to this woman to make her so infatuated?
Or was there truly something between them?
Observing Liu Ruyan’s frenzied state and recalling Xu Heming’s aloof and proud demeanor, Li Zhiwei couldn’t fathom how these two could have ever been involved.
Moreover, this woman wasn’t just obsessed with Xu Heming—she also seemed familiar with Xu Qingshi’s birth mother.
Could it be that two women fought over one man, Madam Zhou won, and Consort Liu, in a fit of rage, entered the palace?
If that were the case, what did it have to do with her?
Li Zhiwei felt more wronged than Dou E.
"What do you know? I knew Prince An long before you were even born!" Liu Ruyan wouldn’t tolerate anyone denying her connection to Prince An.
"What exactly did Prince An do to you?" Li Zhiwei couldn’t help but ask.
Xu Qingshi also looked at Liu Ruyan in confusion.
He believed his father’s taste couldn’t possibly be this bad.
Though this woman was somewhat attractive, she paled in comparison to his stepmother.
And she clearly had issues.
Did his father actually like this kind of unstable woman?
"In the past, Prince An would always walk past me. Every time, he would stop in front of me and say gently, 'Miss, please step aside!'" Liu Ruyan’s eyes filled with adoration at the memory.
She was convinced this was Xu Heming’s shy way of expressing his affection—their secret code.
Li Zhiwei: ???
Was that supposed to be romantic?
She had her doubts.
Xu Qingshi: ???
So, liking someone meant telling them, "Miss, please step aside"?
"And every time I touched him, he would firmly say, 'Get lost!' If he didn’t have feelings for me, why would he say something so intimate?" Liu Ruyan giggled, her cheeks flushing with shy delight.
Li Zhiwei:
Since when was "Get lost" intimate?
Had she misunderstood the word all along?
She couldn’t detect any affection in that phrase—only disdain.
Was this some sophisticated capital expression she, as an outsider, couldn’t comprehend?
Li Zhiwei began questioning her own understanding.
At the entrance of the cold palace, Zhu Jingchen’s face darkened when he saw Xu Heming standing there with a frosty expression.
If this "adulterer" was here, who was the adulteress?
"Prince An, have you found Miss Li?" The Empress, ignoring Zhu Jingchen’s stormy expression, hurried forward to ask.
"Still searching." Xu Heming was in a foul mood. The cold palace was vast, and his men were combing through it room by room. But the place housed many disgraced consorts—not just the Emperor’s, but also the previous Emperor’s.
"Prince An, hurry and save Qingshi!" Zhu Hanyu brightened upon seeing Xu Heming and urged him.
"Qingshi is in the palace too?" Xu Heming’s heart clenched. The Third Prince had just asked him to save his son.
Had something happened to the boy?
The thought made his stomach sink. Why did this palace, a place that devoured people without spitting out bones, always target his family?
"Yes, Qingshi and his stepmother were both captured by Consort Liu," Zhu Hanyu explained hastily.
"What? Consort Liu? Where is she?" Xu Heming frowned. He couldn’t understand why Consort Liu would abduct Li Zhiwei and Xu Qingshi.
"Oh, right! Consort Liu said she wants to marry you, Prince An. Go and exchange yourself for Qingshi—she’s after you!" Zhu Hanyu blurted out.
"What? Consort Liu wants to marry him?" Zhu Jingchen was livid. So this was the adulteress!
Liu Ruyi!
Xu Heming!
"Who is Consort Liu?" Xu Heming frowned. He didn’t even know her.
"Prince An, you should focus on rescuing them first," the Empress interjected, sensing a misunderstanding.
"Your Highness, please lead the way." Without another word, Xu Heming turned to Zhu Hanyu.
Zhu Hanyu immediately grabbed Xu Heming’s hand and dragged him toward the dog hole.
"Why is the child leading him out of the cold palace?" The Empress watched their retreating figures in confusion.
"Hahaha! Truly my good son!" Zhu Jingchen, previously fuming, suddenly recalled the dog hole and laughed. If Xu Heming dared covet his woman, he deserved to crawl through it.
"Your Majesty, how can you joke at a time like this? Why would Consort Liu want to marry Prince An?" The Empress shot Zhu Jingchen an exasperated look before voicing her confusion.
She wasn’t the least bit worried about the Emperor’s pride—after all, she was certain Prince An wasn’t blind enough to fancy someone like Consort Liu.
"Hmph! Who knows when they started their affair? Empress, help me decide how to punish these adulterers!" Zhu Jingchen seethed at the thought of Xu Heming and Liu Ruyan’s supposed liaison.
He felt doubly betrayed—attacked from both sides!
"Your Majesty, are you sure you don’t want to investigate further?" The Empress took a deep breath, thinking the Emperor was being utterly unreasonable.
If Liu Ruyan had an affair, she might believe it—after all, the Emperor had rarely visited her palace after the initial period.
But Xu Heming involved with an imperial consort?
The Empress was certain it couldn’t be true.
