Cheng Liqing spoke unhurriedly and eloquently:
"If we're talking about etiquette, our dynasty has always been open - minded. Women are also allowed to express their admiration for the men they like.
"Even if it's not the tradition of snatching a groom right after the imperial examination results are announced, it's also a common practice for women to throw flowers at the parade of successful scholars in their carriages... Moreover, there are discussions in the court about allowing women to serve as officials.
"My lady fell in love with me at first sight under the imperial list and boldly snatched me back to get married. Isn't this a perfect example of a woman pursuing her own happiness?
"If we look into it carefully, she could even be a role - model for all the women in our Sheng Dynasty! So why does it sound like she's being shameless in grandmother's words?
"Moreover, Lady and I have already bowed to Heaven and Earth and paid respects to our elders—well, it was the eldest sister - in - law who stood in for grandmother at that time. Although the procedure was a bit simplified, there's no mistake in terms of etiquette. Where does the so - called lack of rules and propriety come from?
"Could it be that grandmother has long been dissatisfied with the open - mindedness of our dynasty and wants to use this as an excuse to vent her anger? Or does grandmother think that her own rules can override the laws of the court?"
...
Brutal.
It was really brutal.
Although Li Wanming had already had some understanding of this man's ability to distort the truth, she was still left speechless by this deafening speech.
A role - model for all the women in the Sheng Dynasty...
Even she blushed when she heard this. How could he say it without batting an eyelid?
Especially the last sentence. It was a masterstroke of shifting the blame!
Shifting the blame onto the opponent and putting them in a difficult position of self - defense is the essence of all court debates and shrewish quarrels!
"You, you..."
Sure enough, Old Lady Li was so angry that her face turned bright red.
Behind her, a maid came up to pat her on the back to help her catch her breath and complained, "Third Miss, your grandmother is doing this for your own good. How can you just watch your husband talk back to her like this?"
Li Wanming raised her eyes and said, "Husband? Where did I get a husband? Didn't grandmother say she didn't recognize this marriage?"
Nanny Liu was rendered speechless by her words. She glared at Li Wanming hatefully and fell silent.
Li Rusong tried to comfort his mother, "Mother, since they've already had the wedding ceremony, I think we should just accept this marriage..."
"Pah!"
Old Lady Li refused to let it go, "No way! There was no exchange of birth horoscopes, no matchmaker to propose the marriage, and no betrothal gifts!" Old Lady Li said heart - brokenly, "We've just given away a young girl for nothing..."
Li Rusong said, "But, Wanming is willing herself. Didn't the son - in - law say that our Wanming is an example of a woman pursuing happiness?"
"Shut up!"
Old Lady Li got even angrier after hearing this, "It's because there's an incompetent family head like you in the Li family that it has become what it is today!"
She didn't dare to mention rules and etiquette anymore. Instead, she vented all her anger on Li Rusong:
"Back then, you quietly went to Fujian to join the army without even leaving a word. When you finally came back, you brought back a woman from Fujian and said she was your wife...
"Poor me, a woman on my own, worked so hard to raise you from childhood. In the end, I didn't even get to drink a cup of tea from my daughter - in - law.
"I've been saving money for your betrothal gifts for half my life, but in the end, not a single coin was used... Why is my life so hard!"
As she spoke, Old Lady Li was overcome with grief and burst into tears.
Li Rusong scratched his head and said, "Mother, if you're not satisfied, we can make up the betrothal gifts for Jinqiu now."
Hearing this, Yuan Jinqiu on the opposite side looked up and glared at her husband.
Li Rusong didn't seem to notice. He even smiled naively at his wife and said, "Jinqiu, mother said she saved up betrothal gifts for you. When do you want to go with Nanny Liu to collect them?"
Old Lady Li's sobs suddenly stopped.
Her face turned pale and then red. After a while, she leaned on her walking stick and said in disappointment, "How did I raise such a son like you? You only know how to protect your wife. People who don't know better might think you got your official position because of your wife and her family and that you're just a good - for - nothing parasite!"
General Li said, "Mother, you know I have a weak stomach. I can only eat soft food."
...
Old Lady Li was almost fuming with anger. She picked up her walking stick and hit Li Rusong, shouting, "I'll let you eat soft food! Eat soft food! I'll beat you to death, you useless thing!"
The hall immediately descended into chaos.
Madam Yuan remained calm as if she hadn't seen anything.
She put down the teacup in her hand and gave a wink to the maid by the door.
The maid immediately obediently brought out two cups of pre - prepared tea and handed them to Li Wanming and Cheng Liqing.
Li Wanming was still in a daze when she heard Madam Yuan say softly,
"Normally, the tea - serving ceremony should be in the morning of the next day. But since it's already past midnight, it can be considered the next day. Since you're all here, there's no need to go through the trouble again."
After saying that, she took the tea from Cheng Liqing's hand and took a sip. "After drinking your tea, our Li family officially recognizes you. This marriage is now truly complete in terms of etiquette."
Li Wanming immediately understood what her mother meant. She picked up the teacup and walked towards her father.
General Li was being hit on the head by the dragon - headed walking stick, but he still managed to reach out a hand in time and gulped down the tea.
Seeing this, Old Lady Li cried even more hysterically,
"What's wrong with the Ningwang Mansion? Their ancestors made great contributions when the dynasty was founded and were granted the title of a peer - king. The title is hereditary. They're the top - notch noble family in our Sheng Dynasty! If Wanming married there, she'd enjoy endless wealth and honor..."
Madam Yuan didn't look at the chaos behind her anymore. She stood up and said calmly, "Let's go."
Li Wanming and Cheng Liqing obediently followed behind.
It was late at night, and the courtyard was completely quiet.
After turning a corner in the corridor, Madam Yuan finally turned around. Before she could say anything, Cheng Liqing stepped forward and pledged his loyalty, "Mother, don't worry. I'll treat Wanming well."
Madam Yuan frowned and said, "What does it matter to you?"
...
"If Wanming doesn't like you, she can just kick you out. Do we need you to do anything?"
Cheng Liqing thought: Is this too harsh...
Madam Yuan didn't look at him anymore. She only faced Li Wanming and said, "Ming'er, your father and I will return to the military camp early tomorrow morning.
"Now that your marriage is settled, I can finally rest easy. However, that woman from your grandmother's natal family has been staying at home these days. I'm afraid she'll come up with some schemes to persuade your grandmother..."
Li Wanming said, "Mother, don't worry. Aunt - grandmother is not bright in the head. She can't do anything to me."
Madam Yuan nodded and said, "If anything goes wrong, just send Chuntao to the military camp to find me."
After saying that, she turned around and left, not even sparing a glance at Cheng Liqing.
Cheng Liqing didn't mind. Under the moonlight, he followed Li Wanming towards the West Courtyard. As they walked, he asked, "Who's Aunt - grandmother?"
"She's my grandmother's younger sister from her natal family." Li Wanming stretched and replied, "My grandmother's natal family is the He family. They used to be farmers on the outskirts of the capital.
"After my father was granted the title of a fourth - rank general, all those relatives who we rarely interacted with suddenly became very close. This Aunt - grandmother is one of the most prominent ones.
"She comes to our house every now and then, either asking for money to do business or asking for silk to make clothes... She says she's here to chat with my grandmother, but she never leaves empty - handed.
"Moreover, it's not enough for her to come and stay here. She always brings her grandchildren with her. The whole family comes here to mooch off us..."
At this point, she seemed to remember something and laughed, "By the way, seeing that my father doesn't have a son, she even tried to persuade my grandmother to adopt her grandson into our family."
Hearing this, Cheng Liqing was stunned for a moment and immediately said,
"This is wrong! Your family's surname is Li, and her grandson must have a different surname. Even if you want to adopt a child, it should be selected from the descendants of your Li family's clan. What does it have to do with her family?"
Li Wanming sneered and said, "So I said she's not bright in the head!"