Chapter 636

When Xu Heming heard Li Zhiwei say this, he immediately realized that she intended to return to Prince An’s residence with him.

At that thought, Xu Heming hurried forward and scooped Li Zhiwei up into his arms. Then he remembered that she had only just given birth, so he quickly draped an outer robe over her and thoughtfully wrapped a headscarf around her head before carrying her into the carriage.

Looking at the carriage, which had been fitted with soft cushions—even the curtains were made to keep out the wind—Li Zhiwei sneered inwardly. Xu Heming had clearly been certain that she would return with him. He had even prepared the carriage in advance.

Although Li Zhiwei was somewhat displeased, she thought of the several children at the residence and decided not to run away again.

Xu Heming returned to the residence and found Zhiya. “Zhiya, do you know where the wet nurses prepared for the children are?”

“My lord, I’ll have them accompany you back to the capital.” Seeing Xu Heming carry Li Zhiwei into the carriage, Zhiya knew that Li Zhiwei had forgiven him.

Those wet nurses had originally been prepared for the children. Now that the children were returning to Prince An’s residence, the wet nurses naturally had to be sent along as well.

“You’re really letting him take them just like that?” Kong Meng’er was still dissatisfied. She felt that Prince An was getting off far too easily.

“Miss Kong, does your elder brother know you came to the capital?” Xu Heming asked, his brows furrowing as he looked at her. His tone carried a clear threat.

Kong Meng’er was rendered speechless. She had sneaked out this time, after all. If her brother found out, he would certainly send people to drag her back. That was the last thing she wanted.

After bringing over the four wet nurses they had prepared earlier, Zhiya curtsied to Xu Heming and said, “My lord, these are the four wet nurses the residence prepared earlier. We thought Eldest Sister was carrying twins, so we prepared enough for two children. We didn’t expect triplets. You may need to arrange for two more wet nurses.”

Although Zhiya was afraid of Xu Heming, she still pointed out that they did not have enough wet nurses.

“Mm. You’ve been very considerate, little sister.” Xu Heming said nothing more. He knew that Zhiya was his adopted younger sister.

He also remembered that Zhiya had once saved Li Zhiwei. Although Zhiya had been a servant, she had arranged everything concerning Li Zhiwei with great care and efficiency. Xu Heming felt that she was quite capable after all.

Xu Heming smoothly brought Li Zhiwei and the four wet nurses back to Prince An’s residence.

“How could you just let him take them away?” Kong Meng’er stamped her feet anxiously.

“The children are all at Prince An’s residence. If we don’t send the wet nurses there, do you want your disciple to go hungry?” Zhiya asked irritably, looking at Kong Meng’er, who was hopping mad.

“Of course not. I’d sooner let that bastard Xu Heming go hungry than let my disciple starve,” Kong Meng’er replied without a second thought.

“Then there’s no problem.” Zhiya sighed inwardly, wondering when exactly Kong Meng’er intended to leave.

Prince An’s Residence

Zhu Hanyu grabbed Xu Qingshi and pointed toward the three little babies on the bed.

“These three really were all born by your mother?” the Third Prince asked, finding it incredibly fascinating.

Xu Qingshi frowned deeply.

He didn’t know.

After all, he hadn’t seen Li Zhiwei in a long time.

“Or did your father find you a new stepmother?” the Third Prince asked cautiously, making sure none of the adults were looking their way.

Xu Qingshi frowned. He didn’t know.

But how was he supposed to explain it to the Third Prince?

“You’re really tight-lipped. You didn’t tell me about any of this.” The Third Prince looked at Xu Qingshi with displeasure, feeling that he was being terribly disloyal.

“You said these babies were born to the new stepmother my father found for me?” Xu Qingshi pointed at the three infants wrapped in swaddling clothes.

“You didn’t know?” The Third Prince’s eyes widened. Oh no—had he said the wrong thing?

“I didn’t know. They kept it from me. If you hadn’t come, I still wouldn’t have known.” As Xu Qingshi spoke, his eyes reddened.

Could it be that his father was afraid he would hurt these children?

The thought filled Xu Qingshi with sorrow.

“Huh?” The Third Prince glanced around and noticed that Xu Heming wasn’t there. He was puzzled as well.

“Then you haven’t met your new stepmother either?” the Third Prince asked curiously, his expression full of gossip.

Xu Qingshi shook his head.

“Could all three of them have been born to Eldest Miss Li?” the Third Prince ventured boldly.

“My father probably found three new stepmothers.” Looking at the three babies, Xu Qingshi finally voiced his painful conclusion.

“Hmm?” Three of them?

Thinking of how many consorts there were in the imperial palace, the Third Prince figured that if Xu Heming had taken three secondary consorts, princess-consorts, or the like, it wouldn’t be all that unusual.

Still, it was strange that Xu Qingshi hadn’t met even one of them.

“You haven’t met a single one?” The Third Prince thought of how he had met all of his father’s consorts. His father never hid them away from him, which made him feel even more sympathy for Xu Qingshi.

“No.” Xu Qingshi looked as though he was about to cry. The more he thought about it, the more miserable he became. His father had already begun guarding against him.

“Hey, but why couldn’t these three have been born to Eldest Miss Li?” The Third Prince thought it over. He hadn’t heard either his father or mother mention anything about Prince An marrying again.

That meant the most likely explanation was that these children had indeed been born to Li Zhiwei.

“Have you ever heard of anyone giving birth to a whole litter of babies?” Xu Qingshi looked at the three infants and felt that it was impossible.

“That’s true. I’ve never heard of anyone having three babies at once either.” The Third Prince considered it and realized that there really was no precedent for it.

“My father also said he would find me a wife from among your sisters. Which one of these is your sister?” The Third Prince suddenly remembered that Zhu Jingchen had said he would find him a wife. He looked curiously at the three swaddled babies.

“You have a sister too?” Xu Qingshi realized that he knew nothing at all. He hadn’t even known that he had a sister.

And one of them was supposed to become the Third Prince’s wife?

“How are we supposed to know whether they’re boys or girls?” Xu Qingshi stared at the babies for a long while, but there was no way to tell them apart.

He looked at the Third Prince in confusion.

“I don’t know either.” The Third Prince thought about it. His mother probably hadn’t told him.

Back in the imperial palace, he had always identified the princesses by their hairstyles. But all these infants had the same amount of hair, so he couldn’t tell them apart.

“How about you just take one back with you?” Xu Qingshi suggested. There were three of them, after all. It shouldn’t matter if the Third Prince took one away.

“But what if I take back your little brother?” the Third Prince asked with a frown.

“Can’t a boy become your wife?” Xu Qingshi asked, troubled.

“Look, my father’s empress is my mother, and my mother is a woman. Your father’s consort is Eldest Miss Li, and she’s a woman too. No one has a man for a wife, right? So your wife has to be a girl, doesn’t she?” The Third Prince thought it over and declared his conclusion with great certainty.

“Then come back and take one in a few days,” Xu Qingshi said after thinking about it.

“You’ll be able to tell them apart after a few days?” The Third Prince looked at the babies curiously. He thought of the Ninth Princess in the palace. She had been a month old, yet she was still tiny.

If he hadn’t known from the beginning that she was a girl, he probably wouldn’t have been able to tell from her face either.