NCCnovel Chapter 431
Chapter 431
However, he was somewhat puzzled. What had he done to make the old lady so angry?"What is wrong with the Dowager Princess today?" Xu Heming asked Liu Ming, who was standing beside him, in confusion.
Liu Ming was equally baffled. The Dowager Princess hadn't received any guests today either.
"Your Highness, this old servant does not know either." Liu Ming thought for a long time but couldn't figure out the reason, so he could only answer cautiously.
Xu Heming sighed, thinking that perhaps the old lady was just getting on in years and wanted to assert her presence. He quickly put on a smiling face and walked in.
"Mother, who has made you so angry?"
"You still have the nerve to ask!"
Seeing Xu Heming, the Dowager Princess grew even more furious.
Neither the older nor the younger one gave her any peace of mind.
Why was her life so bitter, ending up with such a father and son pair?
Thinking of her daughter-in-law who died early, the Dowager Princess thought that she was someone who knew how to avoid trouble.
She passed away at a young age, leaving these two troublesome things to her.
"Mother, did your son do something again to upset you?"
Xu Heming felt somewhat wronged. After all, he was so busy every day that his feet barely touched the ground. How could he possibly have provoked the old lady?
Thinking it over, there was only one possibility: he didn't have time to accompany her.
But it wasn't that he didn't want to come home and spend time with her.
He was truly too busy to get away.
"Mother, your son has been burdened with official duties lately. If you need anything, have Steward Liu handle it for you," Xu Heming said to the Dowager Princess with a tired expression.
"Are you blaming me for being meddlesome?" Seeing her son like this, the Dowager Princess felt a pang of heartache. However, the Prince An Estate did not just have this one son; the education of her grandson was the future foundation of the estate.
If they did not educate the grandson well, how could their Prince An Estate continue to prosper?
She feared it would be ruined in the hands of the grandchildren's generation.
"Your son doesn't mean that. Mother, if you have something to say, please speak plainly." Xu Heming thought for a moment and said. After all, the Dowager Princess was not the type to make trouble out of nothing.
It would be better to lay everything out in the open.
If he had truly done something wrong, he would apologize to her.
"You are busy all day, and it's not that this old woman doesn't understand. Over the years, I have been managing the estate's affairs for you, my child," the Dowager Princess said, feeling a bit sour in her heart.
"However, the child has grown up. Teaching the child is your responsibility as a father. As the ancient saying goes: 'If a son is uneducated, it is the father's fault.' If you do not educate your child well, it is your problem. Qingshi has grown up, and an old woman like me can no longer teach him much."
Saying this, the Dowager Princess felt a bit sorrowful.
After all, Xu Heming was also raised and taught by her.
But back then, it was mostly the old Prince who guided their son.
Her son's current achievements were inseparable from the old man's earnest teachings in the past.
The Dowager Princess hoped even more that Xu Heming could also educate his child well, so that their legacy could be passed down from generation to generation.
"Mother, did Qingshi do something to make you angry?" Xu Heming finally realized that the mistake was probably committed by his brat of a son.
He was merely implicated.
"I am talking about your problem." The Dowager Princess looked at her son with dissatisfaction. It was true that her grandson made a mistake, but she felt that the biggest problem lay with her own son.
It was because he hadn't taught his grandson those principles.
That was why her grandson lied and deceived her.
"Mother, even if your son failed to teach Qingshi well, you should at least tell me what mistake Qingshi made, right?" Xu Heming asked his elderly mother with a helpless look.
"He took the Blue Phoenix jewelry set that your father gave me and gifted it to the little girl from the Grand Princess's estate, yet he lied to me, saying he gave it to Zhiwei." Speaking of this, the Dowager Princess's eyes were filled with disappointment.
After all, if the Grand Princess hadn't returned the items.
She would probably have held a grudge against Xu Zhiwei, wouldn't she?
When the time came, the household would have no peace, and the Prince An Estate would go downhill.
"Mother, is the Blue Phoenix still at the Grand Princess's estate?" Xu Heming frowned. He knew that this set of jewelry was extremely important to his mother.
He was even more furious at that brat Xu Qingshi for actually deceiving his elder.
Moreover, if this matter hadn't been discovered, wouldn't Li Zhiwei have been taking the blame all along?
Thinking of this, Xu Heming's heart sank. When the time came, caught between his mother and his wife, his life would be extremely difficult.
At this thought, the anger in Xu Heming's heart surged.
"I only found out because the Grand Princess sent the items back. Tell me, isn't your son stabbing a knife right into my heart?"
Thinking of this, the Dowager Princess felt sad again.
"I told him to go to the Li family tomorrow to get the items back for me," the Dowager Princess said with a dissatisfied expression.
The Dowager Princess said this, in fact, to make Xu Heming agree to let Xu Qingshi leave the estate.
"Mother, that probably won't do recently. The people from the Prince Lanhuai Estate are waiting to capture him to threaten your son, and the Third Prince of the Qinling Kingdom has also brought people into the capital. For now, it is best for him to stay properly in the estate." Xu Heming shook his head without a second thought.
"What does Prince Lanhuai want you to do?" The Dowager Princess was shocked; she never expected there to be such a reason.
But wasn't Prince Lanhuai just a minor prince? He didn't even have any real power; the Emperor merely kept this imperial uncle around to keep up appearances.
"He has been comfortable for too long, and now he covets things that shouldn't belong to him," Xu Heming didn't say it explicitly, but these words clearly indicated Prince Lanhuai's ambitions.
"Hmph, he doesn't even look in the mirror. With the way he is, he still wants that position?" The Dowager Princess spat lightly and said.
After all, if Prince Lanhuai truly had the brains for it, he would have made his move long ago, instead of waiting until the late Emperor had passed away to try and snatch his nephew's throne.
"You must not be foolish. It is true that he is a prince, but he is not a good master. The future of the Lannuo Kingdom cannot be handed over to someone like him." The Dowager Princess, afraid that Xu Heming might be instigated by that fool Prince Lanhuai, quickly warned him.
After all, the current Emperor was very generous to their Prince An Estate, otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed him to marry a daughter of the Li family.
He held heavy military power, and the Li family was wealthy. The union of these two would inevitably make the Emperor wary. At a time like this, wouldn't having too much contact with Prince Lanhuai be seeking death?
"Rest assured, Mother, your son understands." Xu Heming rolled his eyes inwardly; did his mother really think he was stupid?
"Your Highness, this is bad, this is bad." Eunuch Wu hurriedly ran into Prince Lanhuai's study.
"This Prince is perfectly fine, don't you know how to speak?" Prince Lanhuai angrily threw the book in his hand at Eunuch Wu.
"Your Highness, please forgive me, this old servant has a matter to report!" Eunuch Wu knelt down trembling and said.
If the situation wasn't urgent, he wouldn't have dared to provoke Prince Lanhuai's bad luck at a time like this.
"Speak!" Prince Lanhuai looked at Eunuch Wu coldly, thinking that he had better have something important to say, or else he would absolutely not spare this dog of a servant.
"Your Highness, the Heir of Prince An has returned to the Prince An Estate!"
Eunuch Wu quickly reported.