Chapter 474

Li Zhiwei was suddenly startled by Jiang Yuanrang's displeased expression. After all, this was her first meeting with Jiang Yuanrang.

She couldn't figure out what kind of person he was yet.

Especially now, when he asked if she was married, his tone seemed unhappy.

"Not... not yet, but in three days, I will have my wedding day." Li Zhiwei looked at Jiang Yuanrang and explained cautiously.

She couldn't fathom what he was thinking at the moment.

Jiang Yuanrang stopped and fixed his gaze on Li Zhiwei.

Faced with this suddenly appearing younger sister, he furrowed his brows. He didn't think his sister had reached the age where she had to marry.

"Are you marrying that man willingly?" He thought of how many people in business used marriage to secure interests. That woman's husband was a Vice Minister of the Board of Revenue—could it be that she was pushing her own daughter out to consolidate his position?

In Jiang Yuanrang's mind, Lady Yao was a ruthless and irresponsible mother.

He believed he had been abandoned.

"Ah—?" Li Zhiwei was completely puzzled. Did it matter if she was willing or not?

"Big Brother, my engagement to the prince was arranged by imperial decree." Li Zhiwei felt Jiang Yuanrang might have misunderstood, so she quickly explained.

"The man you're marrying is also a prince?" Jiang Yuanrang frowned.

"Also?" Li Zhiwei was stunned. Was there someone else marrying a prince?

"Big Brother, let's go find Mother quickly." Li Zhiwei thought they could discuss these matters another day; for now, the priority was to take Jiang Yuanrang to see Lady Yao.

Over the years, her parents had hidden the pain of losing their son deep in their hearts. Now that her big brother had returned safe and sound, they would surely be overjoyed.

Jiang Yuanrang clearly sensed that Li Zhiwei was deliberately changing the subject.

He didn't want to see that woman.

But since he was now this girl's older brother, shouldn't he have a say in her marriage? At least to fulfill this sibling bond.

Thinking this, Jiang Yuanrang let out a soft sigh.

"If you have any grievances, you can tell me," Jiang Yuanrang said to Li Zhiwei.

"Huh?" Li Zhiwei was utterly confused. She didn't know what grievances she could have.

"If you don't want to marry him, I can help you." Jiang Yuanrang thought that if Li Zhiwei was being forced into marriage with that prince, he might be able to do something to get her out of it.

After all, at her age, marrying into a prince's mansion might only mean becoming a concubine.

The Jiang family were medicine merchants with considerable connections. After all, you can't guarantee you'll never fall ill, and the Jiang family had many rare medicinal herbs.

If possible, Jiang Yuanrang was willing to trade those herbs for Li Zhiwei's freedom.

"Thank you, Big Brother!" Li Zhiwei was somewhat puzzled, not understanding why Jiang Yuanrang would suddenly say these things to her.

At the Prince An's Mansion,

"Where is he?" Xu Heming frowned as he looked at Qingsong, who had returned alone.

He thought, since when had Qingsong become so unreliable?

Could it be that he had lost track of the man?

At this thought, Xu Heming's face darkened.

Was ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‍Qingsong becoming useless by the day?

"Your Highness, I have already escorted Master Jiang to the Li residence." Qingsong didn't understand why his prince had suddenly turned cold.

He thought that since the prince had ordered him to bring Jiang Yuanrang to the capital, wasn't this for Miss Li's sake?

So what was wrong with sending him to the Li residence?

"Who gave you permission to act on your own?" Xu Heming looked at Qingsong with dissatisfaction.

"I..." Qingsong was at a loss for how to answer.

He had assumed that the prince ordered him to bring the man back just to send him to the Li family.

Why was the prince upset now that he had done so?

"Get out. Go receive twenty lashes yourself!" Xu Heming said, then strode quickly toward the Li residence.

Although he had told Li Zhiwei that he had brought Jiang Yuanrang to the capital, he still wasn't sure whether Jiang Yuanrang was truly the Li family's child.

If he wasn't, and Qingsong had just sent him over, Xu Heming thought he should find a day to explain things clearly to Li Zhiwei.

Now, the man had been sent over without any preparation.

Thinking that Jiang Yuanrang might have ulterior motives...

The more Xu Heming thought, the more anxious he became. He was afraid that if he arrived too late, something might happen to Li Zhiwei.

At the Li residence,

At that moment, Lady Yao was looking at her son with great emotion, tears streaming down her face.

Jiang Yuanrang, however, kept a cold expression, not allowing Lady Yao to approach him.

"Zhou'er!" Lady Yao called out, her eyes red as she looked at her son.

"Madam, you've addressed me incorrectly," Jiang Yuanrang said, his eyes filled not only with distance but also with a dull ache.

This woman seemed to be living well—why had she abandoned him back then?

"Zhou'er, you still blame me, don't you? It was my fault; I didn't watch over you properly. Wuwu—" Thinking of all the years of mother and son separation, Lady Yao's heart ached.

Her son, who had once loved her so much, now looked at her with such alienation, as if she were a stranger. Lady Yao felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest.

Her Zhou'er used to love his mother the most, but now they were like two different people.

Jiang Yuanrang grew irritated. This woman had been crying ever since she saw him.

She cried as if he were some heartless scoundrel, but clearly, she was the one who had abandoned him.

With this thought, Jiang Yuanrang refused to look at Lady Yao.

"Mother, now that Big Brother is back, that's what matters," Li Zhiwei said, her heart aching at the sight of Lady Yao crying like a fountain. Still, finding her brother was a happy occasion, and these were tears of joy.

But Li Zhiwei looked toward the door—why hadn't her father returned yet?

She felt that there seemed to be some misunderstanding between her big brother and their mother that hadn't been resolved.

However, she wasn't sure if her father knew about it.

"Right, back is good, back is good!" Lady Yao felt only guilt, but having her child back eased her heart a little.

Not long after, Zhou Tong led Xu Heming over.

"Your Highness!" Li Zhiwei saw Xu Heming and smiled as she walked toward him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect Qingsong to bring him straight here." Xu Heming could clearly sense the tense atmosphere in the room.

He wanted to ask but found it hard to speak.

"Hasn't Father returned yet?" Xu Heming looked around, didn't see Li Tianyou, and asked quietly.

"Perhaps Father is still busy with official duties. Someone has been sent to summon him," Li Zhiwei said quietly.

When Jiang Yuanrang saw Xu Heming, his eyes were full of anger.

Was this the man who would marry his birth mother?

"Your Highness has quite the appetite!" Jiang Yuanrang said, looking at Xu Heming with displeasure.

This was the man who had dragged him to the capital against his will.

Hmph, it seemed the heavens were spitting rain, and his mother was remarrying. Now, this son—whom he hadn't seen in centuries—had to attend his 'good mother's' wedding ceremony.