"Right, right, right, I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine." Yao Qisheng said hastily."Husband, are you really alright?" Lady Qin looked at Yao Qisheng at this moment, still asking with some uncertainty.
"Do I look like someone who's not alright? I'm fine, I'm just too happy today." Yao Qisheng waved his hand, saying with a nonchalant expression.
Lady Qin sized up Yao Qisheng and indeed, he didn't seem like someone who was unwell.
However, thinking about how she had called him several times just now without him reacting, Lady Qin still felt a lingering sense of dread.
"Big brother, are you really alright?" Lady Yao also set aside her concerns, hurriedly lifting the carriage curtain and calling out to Yao Qisheng on the carriage.
"Do I look like someone who's not alright?" Yao Qisheng quickly jumped down from the carriage, then spread his arms and spun around in a circle, letting Lady Qin and Lady Yao get a good look at him.
He had returned whole and unharmed.
Lady Yao and Lady Qin, seeing that Yao Qisheng indeed didn't seem unwell, couldn't quite figure out what had been going on with him earlier.
"Husband, you today—" Lady Qin still looked at Yao Qisheng with some unease.
After all, if it weren't something significant, how could Yao Qisheng have had that kind of expression on his face?
"My dear, the Emperor today appointed your husband as a Provincial Administration Commissioner! I am now a man with an official post!" Yao Qisheng said happily to Lady Qin.
"R... really?" Lady Qin couldn't quite believe it at this moment—the Emperor had actually given her husband an official position too?
But then, what kind of post was a Provincial Administration Commissioner?
"Big brother, really? You have an official post now too?" Upon hearing this, Lady Yao also felt happy for her elder brother.
"Alright, let's talk about this once we're back at the mansion. There are too many people watching us here." Li Tianyou had to speak up, noticing the growing crowd around them.
"Right, right, right, let's talk back at the mansion, back at the mansion!" Lady Yao also quickly ushered Yao Qisheng toward the Li residence.
Li Tianyou watched as all three of them entered the mansion, leaving him alone at the door, and felt quite sour inside.
Why did he feel like he was the extra one?
Thinking this, Li Tianyou felt aggrieved—his own wife's attention was no longer on him.
"Master, you're back!" Zhou Tong, seeing Li Tianyou still standing at the entrance, quickly came out and said with a smile.
"Hmph!" Li Tianyou said with a dark face, placing his hands behind his back as he walked into the mansion.
He silently told himself that this was his brother-in-law, who he rarely got to see, and that his wife had neglected him today—he'd have her make it up to him later.
Lady Yao and Lady Qin flanked Yao Qisheng on either side, both women's eyes brimming with excitement.
They were both eager to hear how the Emperor had appointed Yao Qisheng as Provincial Administration Commissioner.
Prince An's Mansion
Xu Heming had just stepped down from his carriage when he saw his young wife waiting by the gate.
Seeing Xu Heming's carriage come to a stop, Li Zhiwei hurriedly went up to meet him.
"Your Highness, you're back." Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with anticipation, wanting to know if her uncle's visit to the palace today had gone smoothly.
"Are you telling me, my princess, that you've been waiting for me the whole time?" Xu Heming raised an eyebrow. It was the first time someone had waited for him to return home—and it didn't feel half bad.
"Mmm, Your Highness, how did things go with uncle?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming excitedly and asked.
"So, the princess was waiting here all this time, only because she's concerned about her uncle?" Xu Heming looked at Li Zhiwei with some disappointment.
Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming, not understanding what he meant by that.
"My princess, it seems you don't care about me at all." Xu Heming looked at Li Zhiwei with a hurt expression.
Xu Heming felt a bit jealous inside—after all, this was the first time Li Zhiwei had waited for him to return, and it was for another man.
No matter how he thought about it, Xu Heming felt a bit envious—why did his own princess seem to care more about others than about him?
"Your Highness, what's wrong with you?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with some confusion, not seeing anything off about him.
As she spoke, Li Zhiwei scanned Xu Heming up and down, thinking to herself: could he be injured?
"Your Highness, are you hurt?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming suspiciously for a long while but couldn't see anything wrong, so she decided to just ask directly.
Still, she was curious—what exactly was Xu Heming injured from?
"My princess, we've been apart for an entire morning. Don't you care about your husband? Haven't you missed me?" Xu Heming leaned his head close to Li Zhiwei's ear, coaxing her with a husky voice.
The moment she heard that, Li Zhiwei's cheeks flushed bright red from her earlier look of concern.
She had just been worried that he might be injured somewhere, and instead, this man said something like that.
Li Zhiwei felt both embarrassed and annoyed.
"Your Highness, I was only worried about my uncle." Li Zhiwei shot Xu Heming a dissatisfied glare. Before, she had never realized this man could be so shameless.
Whenever she thought of how he clung to her and pestered her at night, Li Zhiwei grew even more irritated.
Thankfully, her mother-in-law was gentle and didn't require her to do morning and evening greetings.
Otherwise, her mother-in-law might have mistaken her for someone lacking in propriety.
At that thought, Li Zhiwei shot Xu Heming another annoyed glare, and also wondered how it was that with someone as clingy as Xu Heming, Zhou Yuxin still found time to have an affair with another man.
But of course, she only dared to ask such a question in her own heart.
She wouldn't dare actually bring it up to Xu Heming.
Still, thinking that all she'd done was say one sentence about caring about her uncle's situation today, and this man had to start bringing up all kinds of nonsense, Li Zhiwei felt that Xu Heming was becoming more and more unserious by the day.
Seeing Li Zhiwei's little face blushing with embarrassment, Xu Heming found it absolutely delightful.
The thing he loved most was seeing his young wife's face turn red in shyness—it was truly adorable.
Especially now, with Li Zhiwei's ears also turning red, Xu Heming's mood improved even further.
However, seeing that his dear wife was about to get angry, Xu Heming quickly said: "Don't worry, uncle is fine today. Even if something did happen, it would be good news."
A smile curved at the corners of Xu Heming's lips, and he looked to be in a cheerful mood.
Hearing Xu Heming say this, the weight in Li Zhiwei's heart finally lifted.
Although she knew this matter would surely go smoothly, she couldn't help feeling uneasy until everything was settled.
The two of them thus returned to Songmo Garden.
"Really, come on, tell me quickly—did uncle see the Emperor today? What did the Emperor say to him?" No sooner had they returned to Songmo Garden than Li Zhiwei hastily asked again. Now she was eager to hear the details of her uncle's audience with the Emperor—had the Emperor approved her cousin's entry into the Imperial Academy?
"The Emperor today appointed uncle as Provincial Administration Commissioner. However, as for your cousin entering the Imperial Academy, that hasn't been decided yet." Xu Heming held her in his arms and said with a smile.
"Provincial Administration Commissioner? What kind of post is that? And what about my cousin's entry into the Imperial Academy?" Li Zhiwei first felt a bit awkward.
But at this moment, they were in their own courtyard, so Li Zhiwei let Xu Heming hold her.
After all, her mind right now was full of curiosity about what had happened concerning Yao Qisheng's visit to the palace today.
Chapter 523
7 min read