activa-t Chapter 442
Chapter 442
"Father, I will go with you!" Li Zhiwei said firmly without a second thought.She wanted to go and see this older brother she had never met.
"Weiwei, but your wedding with Prince An is in just ten days. A trip to Lu City will take at least seven days, and you simply won't have time to make it back." Li Tianyou refused without hesitation.
With his daughter's wedding right around the corner, how could she leave the capital now?
Lady Yao looked at her daughter nervously, then glanced helplessly at her husband beside her.
She knew her husband was right, but she still desperately wanted to see her son right away.
She could not bear to wait even a single day.
However, thinking of her daughter's impending wedding—a major event that would affect the rest of her life—she knew she could not ask her daughter to postpone the marriage over something that wasn't entirely certain. Furthermore, this was a marriage bestowed by the Emperor and arranged by the Ministry of Rites. Neither her daughter nor the Li family had the power to defy it.
"Miss, isn't Prince An away on official business right now? Why don't you write a letter to Prince An and ask him to bring the person back when he returns?" Qingyue, standing to the side, carefully suggested as she watched the conflicted group.
After all, she knew that Prince An would definitely rush back before the wedding day.
"Right, right, let Prince An bring him back!" Li Tianyou quickly agreed.
As for how they would notify Prince An, Li Tianyou wasn't worried about that at all.
After all, Qingyue was one of Prince An's people. He believed that since she made the suggestion, she definitely had a way to send a message to Prince An.
As long as the person was brought before them, it made no difference whether he went to Lu City or the child came to the capital.
Moreover, Prince An had seen this person before, so he would certainly find a way to bring him back.
"Wei'er—"
Lady Yao looked at her daughter with a face full of hope, terrified that Li Zhiwei might refuse.
She was also afraid that this was all a dream, and that when she woke up, there would be no news of her Zhou'er, leaving her suffocated by the familiar, crushing weight of despair.
"Qingyue, send a message to Prince An and tell him he must bring the person back." Hearing this, Li Zhiwei also breathed a sigh of relief.
They only wanted to see the person. Where they actually saw him made no real difference.
At this moment, it was indeed not a good time for her to leave the capital.
"Yes!" Qingyue also sighed in relief upon hearing this. She had truly been afraid that with the Prince far away in Heping County and her young miss gone to Lu City, neither the bride nor the groom would be present on the wedding day. If that happened, the capital would probably laugh at Prince An's estate for years.
"Master, do you think that child could really be our Zhou'er?"
After Qingyue left, Lady Yao took Li Tianyou's hand again, her heart filled with deep anxiety. She both hoped that it was their child and feared it at the same time.
After all, for so many years, they had always believed their son was gone, so they had never gone looking for him.
Did he live a good life out there?
Did he suffer?
Would he blame them for not looking for him?
Thinking of these questions, Lady Yao felt absolutely suffocated no matter which one she considered.
"Mother, don't worry. If that person is really my brother, he definitely won't blame you." Li Zhiwei sighed softly, momentarily unsure of what mindset she should use to face a brother who had suddenly popped up.
After all, for the past nineteen years, she had always believed she was the only daughter of the Li family. In fact, the rest of the world also believed she was the sole heir.
She wondered if Xu Heming would be wary if he knew about this. After all, everyone thought the Li family only had one daughter, meaning all of the Li family's wealth would eventually belong to her.
She didn't know if Xu Heming had ever thought about it that way.
Meanwhile, Xu Heming was looking down at Tang Youquan.
"I did not know Your Highness was gracing us with your presence. Please forgive my failure to welcome you." Tang Youquan knelt trembling before Xu Heming, feeling deeply frustrated and confused. What was Prince An doing in Heping County at a time like this?
One must know, they were scheduled to transport a batch of gold to the capital in the coming days.
Prince An's sudden and quiet arrival in Heping County left Tang Youquan feeling incredibly uneasy.
However, thinking of the foolish mistake Cao Yunpeng had committed earlier, Tang Youquan still held onto a sliver of hopeful luck.
"Tang Youquan, do you know your crimes!" Xu Heming looked at the trembling Tang Youquan kneeling below him and sneered inwardly. With such a cowardly nature, where did he find the courage to illegally mine gold for Prince Lanhuai?
If he hadn't received the tip-off that they were about to transport a massive amount of gold to Prince Lanhuai, he wouldn't have bothered making a special trip to Heping County.
Not to mention there was still the Third Prince of the Qinling Kingdom eyeing things covetously in the capital.
In just a few days, it would be his wedding day.
He absolutely could not let Li Zhiwei face their big day all by herself.
"Your Highness, please enlighten me. This lower official does not know what crime I have committed." Tang Youquan was full of apprehension, assuming Xu Heming was only here because of the Cao Yunpeng incident.
After all, it was impossible for Prince An, who was based in the capital, to know about his secret operations in Heping County.
He had always managed Heping County quite well on a daily basis.
As for the crimes Cao Yunpeng committed, those couldn't be pinned on his head. After all, Cao Yunpeng was only his brother-in-law.
He had never instructed him to do anything.
"Your Highness, Cao Yunpeng is merely my brother-in-law. I truly had no idea he would dare to plot against Miss Li. This matter was absolutely not authorized by me; it was entirely Cao Yunpeng's own doing!"
Thinking of this, Tang Youquan hastily begged for mercy.
In his heart, he only hoped to send this god of plague away as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, if he delayed his master's grand plans, he would probably be skinned alive.
Yet, he couldn't exactly chase Prince An away.
He could only smile carefully and apologetically.
"Oh? That's not what Cao Yunpeng said." A mocking smile curled the corners of Xu Heming's lips as he looked at Tang Youquan.
Did he really think he had come looking for him because of Cao Yunpeng?
Or did he actually believe the deeds he had committed could truly be hidden from the heavens?
"Your Highness, I am wronged! I do not even interact with Cao Yunpeng on a normal basis. He must be framing me!" Tang Youquan cursed Cao Yunpeng a thousand times over in his heart. To think that after Cao Yunpeng met his own downfall, he actually tried to drag him down into the mud too.
"Isn't Cao Yunpeng your brother-in-law? And you claim you have no interactions? Tang Youquan, do you think I am that easy to fool?" Xu Heming really didn't want to waste any more time talking nonsense with Tang Youquan.
He just wanted to finish this business quickly so he could return to the capital early.
"Your Highness—" Tang Youquan tried to argue further.
"Tang Youquan, who are you planning to give the items in the shop in the west of the city to?" Xu Heming suddenly leaned down, bringing his face close to Tang Youquan's, and asked word by word.
Hearing this, Tang Youquan's eyes widened in shock.
How could this be?
He couldn't fathom why Prince An, who lived far away in the capital, would know about the items in his shop in the west of the city.
"Your Highness, I do not know what you are talking about." Tang Youquan was terrified. It was impossible for Prince An to know about the things he had hidden there. Prince An had to be bluffing.
Thinking of this, Tang Youquan comforted himself repeatedly. It would be fine!