activa-t Chapter 469
Chapter 469
"She's lying! I never agreed to anything!" Xu Heming frowned, thinking to himself that the empress really dared to say anything.It seemed that the emperor's harem of three thousand beauties was still too small!
That was the only explanation for why the empress had so much time to meddle in his and Li Zhiwei's affairs.
"Don't worry, I will get this grievance redressed for you," Xu Heming said seriously, looking at Li Zhiwei.
"She is the empress!" Li Zhiwei mumbled dejectedly.
She didn't really believe Xu Heming would actually do anything to the empress.
After all, she was the empress.
Even if Xu Heming declared the betrothal invalid, Li Zhiwei figured she would have no choice but to swallow the humiliation the empress had inflicted on her.
Xu Heming sighed and didn't pursue the topic further. Instead, he turned his mind to another issue.
Something concerning Li Zhiwei's elder brother, Jiang Yuanrang.
"Is there nothing else Your Highness's consort wishes to ask me?" Xu Heming gazed at Li Zhiwei affectionately.
Li Zhiwei was taken aback. Something else?
She couldn't think of anything else they had to discuss besides the marriage.
Seeing the confusion on her face, Xu Heming's heart sank. Could it be that Li Zhiwei didn't actually want to see Jiang Yuanrang?
"Your Highness, what are you referring to?" Li Zhiwei asked, looking puzzled.
"What about the man in the portrait? Don't you want to ask about him?" Xu Heming sighed and finally voiced the question.
Li Zhiwei didn't know how to respond.
After all, the empress's words had made her doubt the authenticity of the portrait.
Now, Xu Heming bringing up the portrait—did that mean the person actually existed?
"Has Your Highness truly seen that person?" Li Zhiwei asked cautiously.
"Yes, I have," Xu Heming said, looking at her very seriously.
Li Zhiwei had originally thought it might all be a fabrication.
She hadn't expected Xu Heming to confirm that he had indeed seen him.
Could that person really be her elder brother?
"What... what kind of person is he?" What Li Zhiwei really wanted to ask was Jiang Yuanrang's identity.
After all, he hadn't searched for his parents all these years.
She was both hopeful and anxious that this person might be her brother.
If her brother was truly alive, would he resent the fact that their parents had never searched for him all these years?
"He is the legitimate eldest son of the Jiang family in Lucheng. His father died early, and he lives alone with his mother," Xu Heming personally explained Jiang Yuanrang's background to Li Zhiwei.
Although these details had been written in letters, words spoken in person always carried more weight than those written on paper.
"Then... he probably isn't my parents' child," Li Zhiwei thought. Maybe this person just happened to resemble her parents.
"That might become clear once you meet him," Xu Heming said, thinking differently. The resemblance between Jiang Yuanrang and Li Tianyou was just too striking.
If anyone said they weren't related, Xu Heming himself would have doubts.
There were many doppelgangers in the world, but it was unlikely for them to look that alike.
"Have you... really brought him back to the capital?" Li Zhiwei asked in disbelief.
After all, when she had sent the letter asking for his help, she hadn't actually held out much hope.
"He and Qingsong will arrive a little later," Xu Heming said with a nod.
"How many days later?" Li Zhiwei asked excitedly.
"Before the wedding, they should be able to make it," Xu Heming estimated, based on how fast Qingsong could travel with someone in tow.
"You're not lying to me, are you?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming, finding the whole thing hard to believe.
"Zhiwei, rest assured, I will never lie to you in this lifetime!" Xu Heming quickly swore.
"I'll choose to trust you for now," Li Zhiwei said, feeling somewhat appeased.
"For the sake of reuniting you with your brother, Zhiwei, can you forgive me?" Xu Heming asked, looking at her with a hint of guilt.
"Who says he's definitely my brother?" Li Zhiwei was still reluctant to believe that her elder brother might actually still be alive.
After all, she herself had only learned of his existence a few days ago.
"I can't guarantee it either, but he bears a seventy percent resemblance to your father," Xu Heming said, choosing his words carefully.
"Since he's coming to the capital, we'll know once I meet him," Li Zhiwei said after a moment's thought.
"That's right. Once he arrives, I'll make sure you two meet," Xu Heming said with a smile.
What the two didn't know was that Jiang Yuanrang had already come up with several excuses in an attempt to escape Qingsong's watchful eye.
But every time, Qingsong had managed to find him.
"Master Jiang, why must you make things difficult for me?" Qingsong sighed.
He couldn't understand why this Master Jiang kept trying to run away time and again.
Miss Li was going to be the future mistress of the Prince An's residence.
If Jiang Yuanrang really turned out to be her brother, then in the capital, the prince would have no choice but to look after him.
Yet even with all that, this Master Jiang was still not satisfied.
"My good man, I simply don't understand why you insist on dragging me to the capital. My Jiang family still has a mountain of affairs waiting for me to handle!" Jiang Yuanrang looked at Qingsong with a pained expression, pleading.
"Master Jiang, don't even think about running. Once we reach the capital and I hand you over to His Highness, my task will be complete!"
Qingsong sighed and tried to reason with him once more.
In fact, he had said such things to Jiang Yuanrang many times before.
"Brother, you know perfectly well that the Jiang family has a mountain of affairs waiting for me to handle!" Jiang Yuanrang said, looking at Qingsong with a troubled expression.
"Master, we'll be arriving in the capital soon." Qingsong ignored Jiang Yuanrang's words, instead explaining with a smile.
"I don't want to go to the capital!" Jiang Yuanrang felt his heart tighten.
He didn't want to face the woman who had abandoned him.
Yet, deep down, he also wanted to ask her why she had been so heartless back then, leaving him in the care of the Jiang family.
"Master Jiang, perhaps things are not what we imagine?" Qingsong didn't fully understand why the son of the Li family had ended up living elsewhere.
After all, the Li family was not so poor that they couldn't raise a child.
Perhaps there was some misunderstanding in all this.
"Was she very poor?" Jiang Yuanrang asked, referring to Lady Yao, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he found it hard to believe. If she were truly that poor, she probably wouldn't have found a prince to come looking for him.
It seemed she had remarried well.
She might even have married into a noble family.
Thinking of Xu Heming's age...
"Brother, do you know who sent your master to bring me back to the capital?" Jiang Yuanrang looked at Qingsong, his expression serious.
"Our princess," Qingsong replied without hesitation.
After all, Qingsong didn't think this was something that needed to be kept secret.
His prince had gone to great lengths for the princess.
If this man truly turned out to be the prince's brother-in-law, then the prince ought to be regarded with even more respect in the future.
"How unusual!" Jiang Yuanrang thought to himself. His biological mother had to be at least in her mid-thirties, while that prince looked barely over twenty.
And yet, he wanted to marry her as his princess.
"Your prince had a previous princess, didn't he?" Jiang Yuanrang asked after a moment of thought.
"The previous princess is no longer with us, and the prince's residence has no other concubines or chambermaids," Qingsong quickly explained, afraid that Jiang Yuanrang might misunderstand.