Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 809 - 760: The Grand Finale (Part 1)

The Chief Palace Maid looked at the box and smiled, "Empress Dowager, this Prince Luling is quite amusing. Perhaps he’s afraid you might be suspicious, so he went out of his way to gift you a box of dried plums, even drawing a picture on it. ’Return the favor,’ he’s saying, to have a proper exchange with the Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager’s gaze moved away from the painting on the box and looked out the window.

Her expression was calm, "A proper exchange? That’s what he should do. We can’t just listen to what he says, let us see what he will do. I give him the throne, and he must provide me with peace in my later years to be worthy of me. He must also take good care of my maternal family, the Dou Family, and be kind to my maternal uncle’s Cui Family, and only then is it a proper exchange."

The Chief Palace Maid nodded, "What the Empress Dowager has said is true."

She followed the Empress Dowager’s gaze, also looking out the window.

The autumn wind was mild, and leaves were fluttering gracefully.

She believed that with Prince Luling’s wisdom, there was no need to be overly harsh on a widowed and childless Empress Dowager.

Giving the Empress Dowager a peaceful later life could also earn him a reputation for being generous and compassionate.

.

Li Xingmao’s carriage convoy, after leaving the Wei Family, had just reached a bend in the market street ahead when someone blocked the road.

"Mao Lang, it’s me! Zhen Niang!" In the chilling autumn wind, Xue Family wore a thin, wintry yellow long dress, inappropriate for the weather, with a hat draped with a light blue veil, standing with arms open in front of the carriage, "I...I have something to say to you."

By this time, it was already late August.

If they were in Zhen An Prefecture, people would be sweating in the blazing autumn heat, rushing to harvest the late rice.

But the Capital, located in the Zhao Country’s Northwest, had everyone wearing padded clothing by late August.

Li Xingmao’s driver, feeling cold from the wind, wore a thick cloak to stave off the chill.

If it were a cold, rainy day, one would have to bring out thick cotton clothes to keep warm.

But today, with the strong wind, Xue Family wore a thin dress.

She stood at the wind’s edge, her dress flapping wildly in the breeze.

She looked very pitiful.

It wasn’t that Xue Family couldn’t afford a cloak or thick clothes; she wore them on purpose.

The driver, an old servant of the Wei Family, naturally recognized Xue Family.

He recognized Xue Family’s voice and didn’t drive the carriage forward but instead turned his head and shouted to the carriage behind, "Dalong? Someone is here to see you."

The couple had divorced, and the Wei Family members knew it.

But the couple had children, so the Wei Family’s driver didn’t chase anyone away.

Inside the carriage, Li Xingmao originally in a good mood, suddenly turned cold-faced.

He held a jewelry box in his arms, prepared as a gift for Chai Eying.

Having been married to Chai Eying for two years now, he still hadn’t bought her a decent set of jewelry, which made Li Xingmao feel quite guilty. After settling affairs in the Capital, he immediately went to the largest jewelry shop in the Capital—the Treasure Pavilion.

He bought the most popular style among the Capital’s women.

After buying the jewelry, he showed it to Li Yuwen, who praised him for his good taste, saying the chosen jewelry looked better than what Pei Shenyan picked.

Li Yuwen wasn’t wrong because he bought the most expensive set from that collection.

He imagined Chai Eying wearing this jewelry, picturing how excited she would be to tell him she missed him. Just then, someone interrupted his thoughts.

Li Xingmao closed the lid of the box and calmly placed it back into a large wooden chest in the carriage.

He took a breath and restrained his temper to prevent himself from getting angry and said outside the window, "Xue Family, what do we have to talk about?"

Seeing him speak, Xue Family immediately ran to the side of the carriage window.

But she found that Li Xingmao didn’t even lift the curtain!

Was he so unwilling to see her?

How could Li Xingmao be so heartless?

Xue Family bit her lip, regretting how she divorced him.

Otherwise, she would be the Crown Princess Consort now!

"Mao Lang, I just want to ask you something; it won’t take long,"

"Speak!" Li Xingmao’s voice was cold.

"Prince was chosen as the new Emperor, so among you three brothers, who is the Crown Prince? Is it you? You are the eldest son? You must be the Crown Prince, right?" Xue Family’s hands nervously clutched the sides of her dress.

Even if she and Li Xingmao divorced, so what?

As long as the eldest son is made the Crown Prince, then Li Xingmao will be the future Emperor, and her son Li Jing will be the Crown Prince, the future Emperor!

She would be the future Empress Dowager!

That country bumpkin Chai Eying should take her brat of a son and roll back to the countryside!

In the carriage, Li Xingmao sneered, "This is my family’s business. What does it have to do with you? Aren’t you meddling too much?" He called to the driver, "Fourth, it’s getting late; let’s continue."