Chapter 510

Xu Qingshi swayed as he walked away. He didn’t actually care about the identity of the heir, but hearing those words from his grandmother, who loved him the most, made him feel deeply saddened.

Thinking about what those two had said yesterday, Xu Qingshi’s heart began to pound uneasily.

Were those two really his biological parents?

If that were the case, then it was only right for his grandmother to want to pass the title of heir to the child born of his stepmother, wasn’t it?

With this in mind, Xu Qingshi made a decision within himself.

“Mother, let’s discuss this another day,” Xu Heming said with a frown. In truth, he hadn’t doubted Xu Qingshi’s identity.

After all, Xu Qingshi did bear a certain resemblance to him in appearance.

There was no way it could be false.

But the existence of Zhou Yuxin certainly disgusted him.

However, he couldn’t let one Zhou Yuxin ruin Li Zhiwei’s life.

He understood the harm that gossip could cause.

He didn’t want Li Zhiwei to get hurt.

“What, are you still planning to protect that wretched woman?” The Old Princess glared at Xu Heming, her face filled with disappointment and anger.

“Mother, if I do that now, how will outsiders view Weiwei?” Xu Heming sighed and explained.

“Weiwei, you’ve suffered so much,” The Old Princess sighed, realizing that Xu Heming had a point.

“Mother, Your Highness, I really don’t mind this matter,” Li Zhiwei said. Compared to her past life, she truly didn’t care much. After all, that woman’s appearance hadn’t affected her in any way.

Xu Heming cared about her feelings, and The Old Princess had even handed over the household authority to her the very next day.

She had no complaints.

Zhou Yuxin had married Xu Heming before she had, after all.

Moreover, considering the current situation, things were actually more favorable for her.

Compared to someone who was dead and someone alive who had eloped with another man, Xu Heming would likely hate Zhou Yuxin to the core.

If Zhou Yuxin had simply been a dead woman, Xu Heming would probably have remembered her for bearing his child and dying in childbirth.

For the rest of his life, he would have felt indebted to her.

Li Zhiwei wouldn’t have been able to compete with Zhou Yuxin, and her children could never surpass Xu Qingshi.

But now things were different. On the surface, Zhou Yuxin’s appearance had tainted Li Zhiwei’s grand wedding, yet she was actually the one who benefited.

What she hadn’t dared to hope for before was now being offered to her willingly by Xu Heming and The Old Princess.

Just like the promise The Old Princess had just made—that the title of heir would belong to her child.

And Zhou Yuxin’s name would be removed from the family register.

That meant, from now on, Li Zhiwei would be Xu Heming’s only legitimate wife.

Zhou Yuxin could never become a threat to her again.

As for Xu Qingshi,

Given that his birth mother was what she was, he would forever be a thorn in the hearts of Xu Heming and The Old Princess.

Xu Qingshi’s status in Prince An’s mansion would henceforth depend entirely on her.

Of course, she would not treat this child poorly.

At this point, Xu Heming and The Old Princess looked at Li Zhiwei with apologetic eyes. This matter was their failure to see clearly.

“Alright, you two can go now. For the return visit tomorrow, have Steward Liu prepare generous gifts. You don’t need to come pay your respects to me in the morning; just go straight to the Li family,” The Old Princess said, feeling she needed some time to process this.

“Mother, please rest well,” Li Zhiwei said, noticing that The Old Princess was genuinely tired and didn’t dare linger.

Xu Heming bowed to The Old Princess and then led Li Zhiwei back to the Pine Ink Courtyard.

“Your Highness, Qingshi does bear some resemblance to you,” Li Zhiwei said thoughtfully, after a moment’s hesitation.

“And then?” Xu Heming looked at Li Zhiwei, curious to see what his young wife had to say.

After all, her husband had been cuckolded, yet she seemed somewhat troubled.

“Your Highness doesn’t need to doubt Qingshi’s identity. He is your son,” Li Zhiwei said, biting her lip.

Xu Heming watched her bite her lip and found it incredibly endearing. It reminded him of the night before, when she had begged for mercy beneath him.

He couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“Your Highness?” Li Zhiwei frowned, puzzled. Why was Xu Heming staring at her like that?

If outsiders saw this, who knows what they would think.

“Hmph, rest assured, my princess. Qingshi is my son—that will not change,” Xu Heming said with a smile.

Li Zhiwei saw the delight on Xu Heming’s face and felt confused. How could this man look so happy after being cuckolded so thoroughly?

Could it be that he had a natural preference for being cuckolded?

But she didn’t dare ask that out loud.

“In that case, Your Highness, could we please not take away Qingshi’s title of heir?” Li Zhiwei looked into Xu Heming’s eyes and cautiously asked.

Xu Qingshi had saved her, and she wanted to protect him where she could.

Since Xu Qingshi was Xu Heming’s biological son, she couldn’t bring herself to repay kindness with ingratitude.

“There’s no rush for that,” Xu Heming said, holding a different view. No matter who his son was, in the end, the one who had the ability would sit on that throne.

At the Royal Hunting Grounds.

When Zhang Yanchu arrived after receiving the news, he saw Princess Fuan and Shangguan Mu locked in a scuffle.

“Stop!” Zhang Yanchu frowned. What maid was this, daring to assault the Third Prince of the Qinling Kingdom?

“General Zhang, is this how your Lannuo Kingdom treats its guests?” Shangguan Mu straightened his disheveled clothes after Princess Fuan was pulled away and demanded angrily.

“Your Highness the Third Prince, are you all right?” Zhang Yanchu cursed under his breath. Who was this crazy woman? If the Third Prince actually got crippled, war between the two kingdoms might become unavoidable.

He wondered how Prince An’s preparations were going.

“Look at me—do I look all right?” Shangguan Mu pointed irritably at the five or six scratch marks on his face and then at his leg, which he couldn’t move. How could he possibly seem fine?

Seeing Shangguan Mu’s disheveled state, Zhang Yanchu coughed lightly to hide a smile.

He really didn’t look fine, but neither did he seem fatally injured.

Zhang Yanchu studied Princess Fuan carefully, finding her somewhat familiar, though he couldn’t recall where he had seen her before.

Then he glanced at Shangguan Mu on the ground, who, despite his dishevelment, hadn’t taken any blows to that leg.

It seemed she had held back.

“I’m returning to the capital! If you can’t give me a reasonable explanation for this, then just wait for our Qinling Kingdom to trample your Lannuo Kingdom flat!” Shangguan Mu threatened.

In ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​‍his view, the Lannuo Kingdom was no match for the Qinling Kingdom. Their conquest was only a matter of time.

Since this wretched woman dared to provoke him, he would make sure Lannuo paid the price!