allonlinenovel Chapter 356
Chapter 356
The Grand Princess looked at the iron ore, which was so different from the other gemstones, and frowned."Mother, what's wrong?" Ruan Jinge looked at the Grand Princess in confusion.
Was there something different about that stone?
"It's nothing. It just seems that this stone is not an ordinary one," the Grand Princess said, her brow furrowed.
"Not an ordinary stone? Its shape is quite clever, actually forming a heart. Since Prince An's heir is just a child and our Nuonuo is still young, it's fine. Otherwise, I would have misunderstood and thought some young man was coming to court her," Ruan Jinge took a look and said with a smile.
"Mhm." The Grand Princess didn't say much else. She felt that if she wasn't mistaken, this stone was actually iron ore.
However, she didn't understand why a young child like Xu Qingshi would bring such a stone to give to Nuonuo.
Did Prince An know about this?
If they could find the source of this iron ore, could they also possess an iron mine?
Thinking of how the Lannuo Kingdom had fallen behind the surrounding nations, the Grand Princess felt a wave of melancholy in her heart.
If their Lannuo Kingdom truly had an iron mine, they would surely be able to contend with those countries, wouldn't they?
Jubao Pavilion
"Don't say this lady hasn't taken care of you. Consider this your commission," Cheng Qingli said to Shopkeeper Xu, placing a land deed on the table.
"What are you saying, Second Miss Cheng? Even without this, I would gladly serve you." Although Shopkeeper Xu said this, his hands weren't idle as he quickly tucked the land deed into his robes.
He would wait for a chance later to present it to the Emperor and claim credit.
"Alright, since we've made things clear, I'll be heading back now." After Cheng Qingli finished speaking, she waved her hand, preparing to leave.
"Second Miss," Shopkeeper Xu hurriedly called out to stop her. He waved his hand, summoning two bouncers forward.
"Shopkeeper Xu, what is the meaning of this?" Cheng Qingli looked at him defensively, wondering if this man was planning to rob her of the things she had just won.
"Second Miss, I'll have someone escort you back." Shopkeeper Xu didn't explain the reason, but smiled and insisted on having her escorted home.
After all, he had noticed earlier that some people harbored ill intentions.
This girl was the Empress's precious darling; he didn't dare let anything happen to her on his turf.
"Just escorting me back?" Cheng Qingli looked at Shopkeeper Xu with suspicion, feeling like there might be some trickery in his words.
"Rest assured, Second Miss. I merely want my men to safely escort you back to the Cheng family," Shopkeeper Xu said with utmost sincerity.
"Fine!" Having no other choice, Cheng Qingli nodded in agreement, thinking to herself that if these two dared to snatch her things later, she would just run.
"Take care, Second Miss. Come play again when you have time!" Shopkeeper Xu smiled as he saw Cheng Qingli out. However, once she was gone, the smile vanished from his face.
"Shopkeeper Xu, when are we going to Prince Lanhuai's Manor to collect the silver for this IOU?" a servant asked, hurriedly holding up the IOU that Huo Yunzhi had just written.
"No rush. Sooner or later, we will get this silver back." At this moment, Shopkeeper Xu no longer looked like the gentle, smiling man from just a moment ago.
The Li Family
Li Zhiwei and Lady Yao sat by Li Tianyou's bed, both staring at him without saying a word.
They looked as though they wouldn't let it go unless Li Tianyou confessed where he had been for the past two days.
"No, shouldn't you two go do whatever you need to do? What does it look like, crowding around here?" Li Tianyou said, feeling a bit guilty.
"Father, you still haven't answered our question. What exactly were you doing these past two days?" Li Zhiwei sighed. She knew her father was dodging the issue.
But they needed an answer for this matter.
"My Lord, if you have someone else on the outside, I am not an intolerant person, but you absolutely shouldn't have hidden it from me," Lady Yao said, unable to stop herself from sobbing softly.
Li Zhiwei sighed again, momentarily at a loss on how to comfort her overthinking mother.
She could only look at Li Tianyou with a somewhat resentful gaze.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you, okay?" Seeing the mother and daughter like this, Li Tianyou had no choice but to explain how Xu Qingshi had come to their door asking for help.
After he and Xu Qingshi disguised themselves, they successfully took what Xu Qingshi wanted from Prince An's Manor. However, right after leaving the manor, they were abducted.
"Father, you're saying you and Qingshi were kidnapped? Did you get a clear look at what the person looked like?" Li Zhiwei asked with a frown.
"No, but I heard his voice. If I hear that person speak again, I will definitely be able to identify him," Li Tianyou said, furrowing his brows.
"Oh my, I never expected the capital to be so unsafe. To think you could be abducted right at our doorstep," Lady Yao said worriedly upon hearing this.
"Mother, what happened to Father was just an accident. But Father, did they know your and Qingshi's identities at the time?" Li Zhiwei asked.
"They seemed to be coming for Qingshi," Li Tianyou thought for a moment before saying. Given his disguise at the time, people probably thought he was a servant from Prince An's Manor. But since Xu Qingshi was also heavily disguised, how did those people recognize him?
Now, Li Tianyou also felt that something was amiss.
"Does Prince An know about this?" Li Zhiwei sighed, feeling that such a difficult matter should just be tossed to Xu Heming. She still had to think carefully about her shop.
After all, Cheng Qingli had already given her the land deed. Shouldn't she make good use of it?
As for cooperating with Cheng Qingli, Li Zhiwei felt afraid of being scammed.
"I haven't had the time to tell Prince An about this yet. By the way, have you seen him?" Li Tianyou thought about it. It seemed he hadn't seen Xu Heming since he got back.
Li Zhiwei shook her head and added, "Perhaps the Emperor had some important matter for him to handle."
"Oh, my Lord, you've suffered so much. Let's just ignore all of that for now. But Weiwei, the capital is so restless; you shouldn't go out unless it's necessary," Lady Yao said with some displeasure.
After all, in her eyes, as long as her daughter and husband were safe, that was all that mattered.
Privately, she even felt that the capital wasn't as peaceful as Li'an County. Would it be better if they just went back?
"Right, Father, you should rest first. If there really is something, Prince An will definitely come looking for you," Li Zhiwei said with a smile.
"Miss." Qingyue hurried in, looking at Li Zhiwei with hesitation, as if she wanted to say something but stopped.
"Father, get some rest. Mother, let Father rest properly," Li Zhiwei stood up, said to the two of them, and led Qingyue outside.
"What's wrong?" After leaving Li Tianyou's Mingyue Courtyard, Li Zhiwei frowned and asked Qingyue.
"Miss, Second Miss Cheng sent someone with a message. She said to warn you to be careful. The people from Prince Lanhuai's Manor have been trying to get their hands on Qinlou recently, and she doesn't know what their intentions are," Qingyue quickly replied.
"Prince Lanhuai's Manor wants Qinlou?" Li Zhiwei paused in surprise. Prince Lanhuai's Manor should be the one Huo Yunzhi married into, right? What would they want with Qinlou?
Or was Huo Yunzhi deliberately targeting her?