Chapter 244: Warning to the Li Family

Seeing the arrival of Xiao Tingxuan's army, Li Xiu quickly led the crowd a few steps forward, then knelt down with a plop, kowtowed to Xiao Tingxuan, and said loudly: "The common man Li Xiu and the Li family members respectfully welcome His Highness to Linyi City!"

Seeing this, Xiao Tingxuan hurriedly jumped off his horse, walked quickly to Li Xiu, helped him up with his own hands, and said with a smile: "Grandpa and uncles don't need to pay this big gift, please get up quickly."

"Thank you, Your Highness! This is not the place to talk. If Your Highness doesn't mind, I hope that Your Highness can move to the city and go to the mansion with me to have a rest."

Li Xiu stood up with Xiao Tingxuan's support and looked directly at Xiao Tingxuan with a smile.

Xiao Tingxuan's "grandfather" voice just now made Li Xiu very happy. He knew very well that Xiao Tingxuan was so respectful to him, which meant that Xiao Tingxuan attached great importance to the Li family, which showed the status of the Li family in Xiao Tingxuan's heart.

Later, Li Xiu invited Xiao Tingxuan to the Li family for a chat. After all, this place outside the city suburbs was really not a place to reminisce about the past, nor was it in line with the Li family's hospitality.

"Okay, grandpa will wait for me here for a while."

Xiao Tingxuan readily agreed to Li Xiu's invitation, and then turned to the general behind him and ordered: "You will lead the army to camp outside the city and wait for orders."

After all, this is an army of hundreds of thousands. If they all rush into the city, it will not only cause panic among the people, but also such a small Yi city will definitely not be able to accommodate the influx of so many people at once.

After arranging everything, Xiao Tingxuan safely took Li Yifan and other close entourage to follow Li Xiu to the Li family.

After arriving at Li's house, the host and guest first exchanged polite greetings and exchanged greetings with each other. The atmosphere seemed quite harmonious.

However, at this moment, Li Xiu suddenly changed the subject and said to Xiao Tingxuan: "Your Highness has not yet married, but my Li family happens to have a beautiful woman. This woman can also be said to be well-educated, gentle and courteous. She is now in her prime. Twenty-eight is also the right age for marriage. If I can marry your highness, it will be a match made in heaven! What do you think of your highness?"

Hearing Li Xiu's words, Xiao Tingxuan couldn't help but sneer secretly. How could he not understand Li Xiu's wishful thinking?

As long as he marries this woman from the Li family, when he ascends to the throne in the future, this woman will either become the empress of the world, or a noble concubine with a high status.

In this way, the status and power of the Li family are self-evident.

Faced with such an obvious political marriage, it was really difficult for Xiao Tingxuan to have a good impression, but his face did not reveal the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.

"Thank you very much, Grandpa, for your kindness. However, I have sworn before that I will never consider the love between my children before the great cause is accomplished. I hope Grandpa will not blame me."

Xiao Tingxuan found a suitable reason to reject Li Xiu, saying that he would not consider the personal affairs of his children before his great cause was completed.

Because Xiao Tingxuan knew in his heart that once he got closer to the Li family, the Li family's status would inevitably rise again. He really didn't want to see such a powerful Li family.

Of course, what Xiao Tingxuan said was half true and half false.

As of now, Xiao Tingxuan remains single. Not only has he never married a wife, he has never even taken a concubine.

In fact, the adults of Sanhe were far more anxious than Li Xiu. They had long proposed to Xiao Tingxuan that they should marry a woman to get married, even if they did not give her the title of head wife, but they must give birth to a boy.

In this way, even if Xiao Tingxuan encounters misfortune, someone can inherit the family business, and everyone under his command can still serve loyally for King Su's lineage.

Later, after Li Jingxue was connected to Sanhe, she felt really uneasy when she saw that Xiao Tingxuan was already in his twenties but had not yet married or had children.

Li Jingxue also personally went to Xiao Tingxuan and advised him to find one quickly. After having a child, Xiao Tingxuan can only take care of his own affairs, and Xiao Tingxuan does not need to take care of it. She promised to help Xiao Tingxuan take care of him well.

As a result, in the face of Li Jingxue's persuasion, Xiao Tingxuan refused her without hesitation and firmly stated that he would never consider major events in life until his dominance was completed.

Therefore, Xiao Tingxuan's answer to Li Xiu was not a lie.

When he heard Xiao Tingxuan say this, Li Xiu inevitably felt a little disappointed in his heart, but he did not show this emotion on his face. Instead, he praised Xiao Tingxuan for not being confused by the love between his children.

This is how a man should be, with ambition and perseverance.

After Li Xiu finished speaking, it was Xiao Tingxuan's turn.

I heard Xiao Tingxuan warn Li Xiudao with a serious look: "This is a critical moment for me to implement reforms. Please, grandpa and uncles, please restrain everyone in the Li family and do not do anything to embarrass me."

Xiao Tingxuan's words clearly meant a warning, and the implication was very clear. The Li family had helped him in the past and was also his mother's natal family. Xiao Tingxuan could let them go a little bit.

But now is the critical moment for his reform, and he hopes that the Li family will not rely on his power to act arbitrarily, otherwise it will be like slapping him in the face in public.

The scandal is ahead. If any scandal occurs in the Li family and affects Xiao Tingxuan's reform plan, don't blame Xiao Tingxuan for not caring about family ties.

Xiao Tingxuan's tone was so serious that no one dared to show any slightness.

Hearing this, Li Xiu immediately panicked and quickly assured Xiao Tingxuan: "Your Highness, please rest assured that the entire Li family will never cause any trouble to Your Highness."

After saying this, Li Xiu's heart was filled with fear and uneasiness.

Before this, he always thought that Xiao Tingxuan was a very easy-to-talk-to person. After all, Xiao Tingxuan's mother was his biological daughter, and since Xiao Tingxuan came to Yicheng, he had always called him grandpa, grandpa, and seemed very intimate.

Therefore, Li Xiu mistakenly believed that Xiao Tingxuan had deep feelings for their Li family.

It was based on this misunderstanding that Li Xiu dared to boldly propose marriage to Xiao Tingxuan.

But now it seems that he completely misjudged Xiao Tingxuan's mind, and Xiao Tingxuan was far from what he imagined.

The reason why Xiao Tingxuan did not move the Li family was not because Xiao Tingxuan had a good impression of the Li family, but purely because of the Li family's feelings. This so-called "feelings" were just a superficial gesture.

Once his Li family did something that harmed Xiao Tingxuan, Xiao Tingxuan would kill him without hesitation.

This is the nature of the emperor. For an emperor, emotional factors such as family affection and friendship are often not the key factors in their decision-making.

In the eyes of the superiors, there is no such thing as family affection. Power and interests are the most important.

If someone dares to infringe on their authority or threaten their status, even their relatives may be ruthlessly eradicated.

To be honest, Li Xiu should have realized this a long time ago.