Chapter 479

Li Tianyou and Lady Yao were overjoyed when they learned that their son was finally willing to acknowledge them, and they rushed into Ruiyun Pavilion."Weiwei!" Xu Heming looked at Li Zhiwei with a aggrieved expression.

His heart grew even more upset—his wife now had a brother and no longer wanted him.

"Eh, Your Highness, why are you still here?" Li Zhiwei hadn't expected Xu Heming to still be around.

With the wedding so soon, shouldn't he be terribly busy?

"I—" Xu Heming was momentarily at a loss for words, feeling disheartened. Was it that his own wife didn't seem happy to see him?

Sure enough, now that his wife had a brother, she no longer looked pleased to see him.

Thinking this, Xu Heming felt even more regret.

This brother-in-law should never have been brought back now!

"Your Highness, shouldn't you be extremely busy today? How do you have time to come here? Isn't it said that a newly engaged couple shouldn't see each other for three days before the wedding?" Li Zhiwei looked at the somewhat clingy Xu Heming with a helpless expression.

As for those rumors about him, she seemed even less inclined to believe them now.

What was all that nonsense about him being able to stop children from crying at night? Clearly false.

No one seemed particularly afraid of him, did they?

And hadn't they said he wasn't interested in women?

They weren't even married yet, and he kept running over to her house. What was that about?

Or was it that he wasn't happy that her brother had come back?

"Weiwei, I was just worried about you, so I came to check on you," Xu Heming said, both sad and afraid that Li Zhiwei might learn he was actually concerned about that Jiang Yuanrang causing her trouble.

He recalled how he had just spoken righteously to Li Tianyou, claiming he feared Jiang Yuanrang might be a fake brother.

But now, faced with his wife's fierce glare, Xu Heming didn't dare voice his true thoughts.

How he missed the days without a brother-in-law!

"Well, now you've seen me, Your Highness—I'm fine, I'm perfectly well. Thank you for your concern. If it weren't for you, our family might never have known my brother was still alive. Your Highness, you should go attend to your duties now." Li Zhiwei didn't seem to notice the sadness in Xu Heming's eyes and said this with a smile.

Xu Heming was struck dumb. The feeling of shooting himself in the foot was truly unpleasant.

Thinking this, Xu Heming looked toward Ruiyun Pavilion again and asked cautiously, "Weiwei, outsiders don't know you have a brother, nor that he's returned. Perhaps it would be better to have him stay at the Prince An's residence instead?"

"You worry too much, Prince An. One look at my brother's face, and anyone with eyes can tell he's family. It's fine—we've prepared a courtyard for him a long time ago," Li Zhiwei said with a light laugh.

Xu Heming could clearly sense that Li Zhiwei was in a very good mood right now.

But this man—even if he wanted to get rid of him, he'd have to think twice.

After all, this was his brother-in-law.

"Weiwei, be careful. Even if he is your brother, he disappeared as a child and has been away for years. People's hearts can change," Xu Heming could only caution gently.

"I understand," Li Zhiwei replied, but she didn't take the warning to heart.

After all, she felt that her brother was such a wonderful person—how could he ever harm their family?

"You two—do not leave Miss's side for a moment!" Xu Heming still felt uneasy and instructed Qinghua and Qingyue.

"Yes!"

Qinghua and Qingyue quickly acknowledged.

Xu Heming let out a long breath before taking his leave of Li Zhiwei. He truly did have many matters to attend to.

Otherwise, how would he find the time to prepare for the wedding?

But thinking of the wedding reminded him of Shangguan Mu, who was still at the imperial hunting grounds.

That fellow was even more annoying than Jiang Yuanrang.

Fortunately, Wen Zhaonan had taken him away.

Otherwise, he would never be able to focus on wedding preparations.

Li Zhiwei watched Xu Heming leave without looking back, then entered Ruiyun Pavilion again.

"You say I am your child, but I don't remember that," Jiang Yuanrang looked at Li Tianyou and Lady Yao with a serious expression.

"As far back as I can recall, I have been the eldest son of the Jiang family, living with my mother, Madame Jiang. Now that I am here, I will not rashly acknowledge you," Jiang Yuanrang said, looking at the hopeful faces of Li Tianyou and Lady Yao.

"Zhou'er!" Lady Yao was heartbroken that her son wouldn't recognize them, thinking he might still blame her for losing him back then.

"Whether I acknowledge you or not, Madame Jiang is still my mother. She raised me all these years," Jiang Yuanrang said, feeling sorry for Lady Yao as he saw her weep.

But he felt he had to make his position clear.

Even if, in the end, he did acknowledge them, he could not abandon Madame Jiang.

After all, Madame Jiang had raised him as a child, and he had the responsibility to care for her in her old age, regardless of how he had come into her care.

She ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‍had worked hard to raise him and hired tutors to educate him—that was the truth.

"That's only right," Li Tianyou nodded. No matter what, the woman had saved his son and raised him well. That she had taught the boy to remember her kindness showed he had been raised properly.

Li Tianyou felt he should properly thank that lady.

Compared to losing his son forever, Li Tianyou was content to know the boy was alive and, if need be, even willing to care for his foster mother until her dying days.

"Husband—" Lady Yao thought of how their family had only Zhou'er and Wei'er as children. She had not recovered well after Li Zhiwei's birth, due to losing Li Tingzhou, and never bore another child.

Now, her daughter was about to marry, and her only son, though found, was unwilling to stay with the Li family.

Lady Yao found it hard to accept.

"Wife, as long as our Zhou'er is alive, isn't that far better than before?" Li Tianyou knew Lady Yao couldn't bear to let the child go.

But he was more open-minded.

Everything the family owned would eventually go to the two children anyway.

Whether the child was here or elsewhere, he belonged to them.

Their family had no noble title or onerous obligations—as long as the children were happy, that was enough.

As for carrying on the family line, if Li Tianyou had truly cared about that, he would not have remained faithful to Lady Yao without taking a concubine.

"Right! Zhou'er, could you come back to visit us occasionally? Or we could come see you instead?" Lady Yao looked at Jiang Yuanrang with tearful hope.

Faced with two pairs of expectant eyes, Jiang Yuanrang found it hard to refuse.

In truth, he had never said he would abandon them entirely, had he?

"You are my biological parents—that is a fact. Rest assured, I will not abandon you in the future. But you must give me time," Jiang Yuanrang said awkwardly, looking at Li Tianyou and Lady Yao.

Yet, having spoken the words, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

In truth, this was not so difficult, was it?

"That's wonderful, brother! Rest assured, from now on, all the Li family's property will be yours!" Li Zhiwei said happily.

Jiang Yuanrang frowned upon hearing this. Could it be that the prince was marrying his sister just for the Li family's fortune?

Now that he had taken the property for himself, would the prince still want to marry her?