Anyway, the Prince's Mansion could afford to support Li Zhiwei.

Xu Heming had no idea that Li Zhiwei's dowry was already several times that of the Prince An's mansion.

However, she wanted to do something that would better prove herself.

Rather than saying that she relied on her father who could earn money, or that later, when others talked about her, they would say: "That merchant's daughter who married Prince An."

Just like his father, now, in the Ministry of Revenue, in order to prove himself, he has revitalized many of the government's businesses.

"Then shall I take you back?" Xu Heming asked cautiously, assuming that Li Zhiwei was unwilling to go, when he saw her silence.

"You can go back if you want, I need to see Miss Cheng." Li Zhiwei came back to her senses and said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Then let's go, I'll take you there. I still need to go to the palace to report to the Emperor later." Xu Heming had just reflected on himself. Perhaps it was because Miss Cheng was, after all, a girl, and he should keep his distance.

"Didn't you say there was no rush?" Li Zhiwei asked Xu Heming, puzzled.

"I'm in a hurry. I've already sent someone to call Qinghua and Qingyue over. Once they're here, I'll go to the palace. Miss Cheng's behavior is somewhat different from that of noble ladies. If you don't like it, you can leave." Xu Heming thought of Cheng Qingli's mischievous nature and was worried that Li Zhiwei would be tricked. That's why he wanted to go with her just now.

Li Zhiwei glanced at Xu Heming and wondered to herself, "Is something really urgent?"

“Next time, if I do something wrong, or do something you don’t like, you can tell me directly,” Xu Heming said softly.

“I’ve never had much contact with women. Sometimes I don’t think about your feelings. Please remind me next time,” Xu Heming added.

"I don't believe what Your Highness says. As for you and the former Princess Consort..." Li Zhiwei said, but then felt that since the former Princess Consort was no longer alive, it would be inappropriate for her to say these things.

"My marriage to Zhou was arranged by our parents and a matchmaker. I went to war just a few days after our wedding. When I returned, she was gone, leaving only Qingshi behind. I feel guilty towards her, but I am also grateful to her for giving birth to Qingshi for me." Xu Heming was silent for a while before telling his story about Zhou.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the late Princess Consort." Li Zhiwei was also a little annoyed; she had just spoken too quickly.

She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth.

If Xu Heming were narrow-minded, he might even think that she, a merchant's daughter, was petty.

“You don’t need to apologize to me. It’s an indisputable fact that I married Zhou Shi and that Xu Qingshi is born. If you mind these things, there’s nothing I can do to change them. So, from now on, it’s you,” Xu Heming said somewhat awkwardly.

“You’re right. From now on, I’ll be here for you.” Li Zhiwei suddenly smiled with relief.

“Miss Cheng the Second loves to play tricks on people, especially children. The Third Prince runs away whenever he sees her. Qing Shi is on good terms with the Third Prince and has heard about this a lot, so he is afraid of Miss Cheng the Second from the bottom of his heart. However, Miss Cheng the Second doesn’t mean any harm; she just likes to tease them.” Xu Heming explained why Xu Qing Shi was so resistant to Cheng Qingli.

"Miss Cheng just pinched Qingshi's face until it turned red, and you, as her father, didn't even stop her." Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei was dissatisfied with Xu Heming's behavior.

After all, Xu Qingshi was her own son.

"My mistake, I'll be more careful next time." Xu Heming touched his nose somewhat awkwardly. Just now, he thought that Xu Qingshi was a man, and that pinching his cheek a few times wouldn't be a big deal.

So they didn't stop them.

Xu Heming escorted Li Zhiwei to the bottom of Qingyuzhai, where Qinghua and Qingyue were waiting.

"Go on up!" Xu Heming said to Li Zhiwei with some reluctance, showing no intention of going up himself.

"Are you really not going?" Li Zhiwei felt that Xu Heming was just pretending to have something to do at the palace because he thought she would mind.

"I'm not going. You go ahead. If anything happens, have Qinghua come find me." Xu Heming shook his head and gestured for Li Zhiwei to go upstairs.

Seeing that Xu Heming really wasn't going, Li Zhiwei didn't hesitate and went straight into Qingyuzhai.

"Li Zhiwei, it's you?"