RPAGF Chapter 389
Chapter 389
Xu Heming took Li Zhiwei and Cheng Qingli into the imperial palace.Wen Xiu did not follow them in. After all, that was Cheng Qingli's territory.
Presumably, Li Zhiwei wouldn't suffer any grievances in the palace either.
Besides, Wen Xiu was only a general's sister. Without an imperial summons from the Empress, she couldn't just enter the palace whenever she pleased.
She could only wait for news at home.
Kunning Palace
"Qingli, what brings you here?" The Empress was overjoyed to see her younger sister. After all, it had been a while since they last met.
"Sister." Cheng Qingli quickly walked to the Empress's side, holding onto her arm with a completely aggrieved expression.
"What's wrong?" Seeing her sister like this, the Empress couldn't help but feel anxious.
One must know, her sister had never come to the palace looking so wronged before.
"Your Majesty, Prince An and Miss Li are also here," Nanny Chang whispered a reminder from the side.
"This humble subject greets Her Majesty the Empress!"
"This subject's daughter greets Her Majesty the Empress!"
The two hurriedly bowed to the Empress.
"Your Highness Prince An, Miss Li, you are here as well." The Empress looked at them in confusion.
After all, the expressions on their faces didn't seem very happy.
"Sister, tell Prince An and Sister Li, isn't Prince An getting married on the sixth of next month!" Cheng Qingli pouted, pointing at Xu Heming dissatisfiedly as she complained.
The Empress looked at Xu Heming and Li Zhiwei in bewilderment.
Wasn't this the Emperor's intention?
"Your Majesty, how come I am unaware that I am getting married on the sixth of next month?" Xu Heming frowned and asked the Empress.
"You don't know?" Now it was the Empress's turn to be dumbfounded.
Wasn't this wedding date set by the Imperial Astronomy Bureau?
How could Xu Heming not know?
This shouldn't be.
"Sister, who is Prince An marrying?" Cheng Qingli tugged at the Empress's hand again, asking in confusion.
"What kind of question is that? Who else would Prince An marry besides Miss Li?" The Empress was stunned by her sister's question.
The marriage between Prince An and the Li family's daughter was bestowed by the Emperor early on.
As long as neither committed a grave mistake, this marriage could not be changed.
At this moment, Xu Heming also sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "Your Majesty, do you mean that my wedding day with Miss Li is on the sixth of next month?"
Xu Heming felt a massive headache coming on.
Not to mention the Emperor had assigned him so many tasks.
How could he not even tell him about his own wedding day?
Li Zhiwei looked at the Empress in confusion and then at Xu Heming.
Did he really not know about this?
"Your Majesty, I have never heard my father mention this matter either. Could there be a misunderstanding?" Li Zhiwei thought for a moment before gathering the courage to speak to the Empress.
"How could I remember something like this wrong?" The Empress frowned, feeling puzzled.
The Emperor had even notified her; could it be that he hadn't notified Prince An and Lord Li?
Since when did the Emperor do things so unreliably?
The Empress was completely baffled at this point.
"Your Majesty, could it be that the Emperor hasn't had time to notify Prince An and Lord Li yet?" Nanny Chang quickly suggested from the side.
"The Emperor informed me several days ago!" The Empress said with a frown.
The main issue was that a wedding couldn't happen without its two main characters, yet the Emperor hadn't told them or their families.
This marriage was even being handled personally by the Ministry of Rites.
The Empress could already imagine the people from the Ministry of Rites happily taking staff to Prince An's manor to set up the wedding decorations.
Only to find Prince An too busy to return home.
The Li family would be even more unprepared. When the bridal sedan chair arrived at their door, they wouldn't even know what was going on.
Just thinking about such an outcome gave the Empress a headache.
"Prince An, my sister said it herself, this is true. But as for why you don't know, you can't blame me for that!" Cheng Qingli said, seeing that her sister also didn't know why Prince An and the Li family hadn't been informed.
However, they came to the Empress to verify the truth of the matter, and she wasn't wrong.
As for the reason they didn't know, they should go ask her brother-in-law, the Emperor.
"I thank Your Majesty!" Xu Heming knew the Empress didn't know the reason either, so he planned to go find Zhu Jingchen and ask for a clear explanation.
He worked his fingers to the bone for him, yet the Emperor had kept his own wedding date a secret from him.
If it actually came time to get married and he was still busy working, wouldn't the Li family mistakenly think he looked down on Li Zhiwei?
With his father-in-law's temper, he might get so angry that he'd refuse to let Li Zhiwei marry him.
Thinking of this, Xu Heming quickened his pace. This matter couldn't be delayed. After all, there were only a few days left until the sixth of next month.
If he really rushed to marry Li Zhiwei like this, his father-in-law would probably want to kill him.
"Sister, let's also go see what's really going on, shall we?" Seeing Li Zhiwei's anxious expression, Cheng Qingli quickly suggested to the Empress.
"Let's go take a look!" She sighed. At the end of the day, it was the Emperor who was being unreasonable, though she couldn't openly criticize him.
But if she went, at least she could offer some persuasion.
Li Zhiwei kept her head down the entire time.
On the way into the palace just now, she had thought about a lot of things, even considering that Xu Heming might actually be marrying someone else.
She even thought that if the engagement with Prince An was truly broken off and they could no longer stay in the capital, she would take her parents back to Li'an County.
She had thought of all sorts of reasons why Prince An might betray her, but she truly hadn't considered that the Emperor simply hadn't notified them.
She knew the Emperor had bestowed the marriage, but for him to decide their wedding day and not tell them...
She didn't know if the Emperor was dissatisfied with Prince An, or dissatisfied with the Li family?
Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei felt somewhat anxious and uneasy.
If the Emperor was dissatisfied with the Li family, how much longer could they survive in the capital?
It was said that accompanying a monarch is like accompanying a tiger. Her father had operated in the business world for many years but truly had no experience in officialdom; it was inevitable he would suffer losses.
Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei decided that when she returned, she would urge her father to resign from his post immediately.
After all, she only wished for her parents to be safe and sound!
Besides, the Li family already had enough wealth; they didn't need to struggle for more. As for power, they never had it before, and it wouldn't matter if they didn't have it in the future.
Because this was never something that belonged to the Li family anyway.
Along the way, Li Zhiwei felt extremely apprehensive. One moment she was thinking about how to talk to her father about resigning, and the next, she was thinking about her supposedly secure marriage.
Just as the group arrived outside the Imperial Study, they heard Xu Heming's displeased voice coming from within.
"This subject cannot handle these matters. I beg Your Majesty to send someone else!"
Xu Heming's impassioned and forceful voice rang out from the Imperial Study.
Sitting at the head of the room, Zhu Jingchen looked at his furious trusted minister in bewilderment.
At this moment, only one thought crossed Zhu Jingchen's mind: What is wrong with him?
Who provoked this god of plague again?
"My beloved subject Xu, what is the matter? Whatever it is, stand up first before speaking!" Zhu Jingchen coughed lightly and said, looking at Xu Heming.