Chapter 634

Xu Heming did not turn around. Instead, he nodded and instructed the servant at the door, “Master Li and his wife are guests of the residence. As long as they do not leave, they may go anywhere they please within the estate.”

After saying this, Xu Heming left. He still had to go and fetch the wet nurse.

Thinking of the wet nurse inevitably reminded him of that heartless woman, Li Zhiwei.

He had brought their children back for so long, yet she still had not returned to him.

This time, he was not only going to bring the wet nurse back—he was also going to drag that heartless mother home.

Imperial Palace, Kunning Palace

“Xiao Sanzi, shall Father take you to meet your future wife?” Zhu Jingchen burst into the Empress’s Kunning Palace, his face alight with excitement.

“Father, I am not Xiao Sanzi.” Zhu Hanyu looked at his father unhappily. He could not understand why his father insisted on calling him Xiao Sanzi.

“That isn’t important. I heard your Uncle Prince An’s family has welcomed a little sister. Do you want to go take a look?” Zhu Jingchen coaxed his son eagerly.

“Father, unless I remember incorrectly, Consort Zhou just gave birth to your tenth princess last month.” The corner of Zhu Hanyu’s mouth twitched. He could not understand why his father was still coveting Uncle Prince An’s daughter when he already had one of his own.

Besides, hadn’t Princess Consort An abandoned Uncle Prince An and run away?

Could it be that Uncle Prince An had already found himself a new Princess Consort An?

At that thought, Zhu Hanyu suddenly wanted to visit Prince An’s residence and see what this new Princess Consort An looked like.

He felt a little sorry for Xu Qingshi, who had gained yet another stepmother.

“Father, did Uncle Prince An really marry a new wife so quickly and have another daughter?” Zhu Hanyu asked Zhu Jingchen, puzzled.

“You child, what nonsense are you talking about?” The Empress had just come out from the inner chamber when she heard Zhu Hanyu’s words and hurriedly scolded him.

“Mother, I’m not talking nonsense. Father said Uncle Prince An’s family has welcomed a new little sister,” Zhu Hanyu quickly explained.

The Empress froze for a moment. Then she thought of Li Zhiwei’s due date. It was not quite time yet, but there was always the possibility that she had given birth prematurely.

“Has Miss Li given birth?” the Empress asked Zhu Jingchen.

She wondered why she had not received any news that Li Zhiwei had returned to the capital.

“She has, she has! She’s like a sow giving birth—she had a whole litter, three babies at once.” Zhu Jingchen had never seen anyone give birth to three children in one pregnancy, and he was immensely curious.

“That really is quite impressive,” the Empress said with a smile after a brief moment of surprise.

Then, remembering that her son had mentioned a little sister, she looked at Zhu Jingchen and asked, “Do you know whether the three children are boys or girls?”

“Two little brats and one little girl. Prince An brought the children and Lord Li and his wife back to Prince An’s residence, but he didn’t bring the children’s mother. Come on, let’s go see this rare wonder.” Zhu Jingchen was brimming with enthusiasm.

“Then we really should go and congratulate Prince An and Princess Consort An properly.” The Empress assumed that the two of them had finally made up.

Besides, the shops Li Zhiwei and Cheng Qingli ran had earned her a considerable amount of money. There was no reason for her to fall out with such a profitable source of income.

Whether for personal or practical reasons, she ought to go and congratulate Li Zhiwei properly.

Niutian Village

“Why don’t I go and snatch my disciple back?” Kong Meng’er sat in front of Li Zhiwei, clearly displeased.

“Don’t go throwing yourself into danger. Xu Heming must have arranged for people to guard Prince An’s residence,” Li Zhiwei said, shaking her head in disapproval.

“This isn’t allowed, and that isn’t allowed either. Are you really going to let that bastard profit from the children you went through so much to give birth to?” Kong Meng’er had always been hot-tempered, and now she paced back and forth in frustration.

“It can’t really be called profiting from them.” Li Zhiwei sat on the bed. She knew that if she went to Prince An’s residence now, she would never be able to snatch the children back.

Her parents were there too, so the children certainly would not come to any harm.

If that was the case, a bold idea suddenly occurred to Li Zhiwei.

“You should wait until he’s raised them a little. Right now, he can’t do anything at all. Can’t you be patient?” Li Zhiwei wore an inscrutable smile.

“Hm?” Kong Meng’er had no idea what Li Zhiwei meant.

She wondered whether Li Zhiwei had been driven mad by anger and had truly decided to give the children to that bastard Xu Heming.

At the thought, Kong Meng’er wanted to shake some sense into Li Zhiwei and see what exactly was inside her head.

“Wait until they’re a little older. Then, when you snatch them back, you can start putting them through training. By then, their guards will have let their vigilance slip, so your chances of success will be much higher,” Li Zhiwei said seriously.

“Sister, are you serious?” Kong Meng’er carefully considered Li Zhiwei’s words and found that they actually made perfect sense.

“Would I lie to you?” Li Zhiwei thought to herself: Xu Heming wants to raise his sons, doesn’t he? Then let him raise them for now. That will give her the freedom to travel around and see the world.

She still had a major undertaking of her own to complete.

“Sister, how can you persuade someone like that?” Zhiya was so shocked that she tugged at Li Zhiwei’s sleeve and tried to dissuade her.

“It’s fine. I’ll take you out to roam the martial world.” Since Kong Meng’er was a highly skilled fighter, Li Zhiwei knew she would be able to accomplish many things with her around.

She would not have to worry about her safety either.

“What? Then what about the children and Father and Mother?” Zhiya rubbed her forehead, wondering why her elder sister never did anything according to common sense.

“Let Prince An raise them for me for the time being,” Li Zhiwei said indifferently.

“Princess Consort, you certainly have made good arrangements for yourself—going out to enjoy life while leaving your parents and children all to this prince.” Xu Heming could no longer resist speaking up, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“How did you get in?” Li Zhiwei was startled. She had never expected Xu Heming to enter directly.

Seeing Xu Heming like this, what else could she fail to understand? The people outside had probably all been subdued by him.

“If I hadn’t come in, I’m afraid I never would have learned that the Princess Consort was planning to run away again behind my back.” Xu Heming stared at the woman before him, who clearly had not given up on fleeing.

The resentment in his heart rose to its peak once more. He had come intending to bring her home kindly.

He had never expected that she would still be planning to travel elsewhere.

This woman truly was heartless.

“What do you mean, run away behind your back? Wherever I want to go, why should I need to sneak around?” Li Zhiwei said, a little guiltily.

“Nothing between us? You’ve given birth to three children for this prince, and now you’re telling me there’s nothing between us?” Xu Heming’s face darkened as he looked at Li Zhiwei.

If he could, he really wanted to strangle this ungrateful woman.

He had been thinking about how to coax her into returning home, yet all she wanted was to raise the children herself.

This woman truly had no conscience.

“We’re divorced.” Li Zhiwei turned her face away, speaking awkwardly as she looked at the furious Xu Heming.

“This prince never agreed to it.” Xu Heming placed one hand on the bed and leaned his face close to hers. He wanted to see whether this woman had any heart at all.

Zhiya hurriedly dragged Kong Meng’er out of the room. Before leaving, she thoughtfully closed the door behind them.

“Why did you pull me out? What if that man bullies Sister?” Kong Meng’er complained, displeased.