The Li Family Residence.
Mrs. Li sat upright in the middle of the main seat in the main hall, looking solemn and imposing.
Mrs. He sat beside her, in a respectful and humble posture, but actually extremely proud inside.
Today, she was determined to make Li Wanming give up yesterday's marriage and obediently marry into the Prince Ning's Mansion!
She thought her plan was perfect. As long as Li Wanming cared about the Li family's reputation and Li Rusong's future, she had to agree that yesterday's marriage was invalid. Otherwise, it would be regarded as abducting a man, and she would be in trouble with the law.
As for the option of Cheng Liqing becoming a son-in-law... That was just talk. He would definitely not agree!
A successful candidate in the provincial examination would never give up his future and reputation to become a son-in-law in his wife's family.
Even if Li Wanming wanted him to be a son-in-law, he wouldn't do it!
No matter how open-minded this dynasty was, no man would abandon his future and reputation just to marry a woman.
The more Mrs. He thought about it, the more wonderful she felt her plan was. She couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth.
Sun Miaoqing stood behind her, with a face full of resentment and venom.
She couldn't understand why her grandmother insisted on ruining this marriage.
Wasn't it good for Li Wanming to marry a poor scholar?
If Li Wanming married into the Prince Ning's Mansion, wouldn't she be able to step on her even more? What good would it do for their Sun family?
For this reason, Mrs. He scolded her severely before going out:
"You're so blind! You only know how to look at the present!"
"Don't you think that if Li Wanming marries into the Prince Ning's Mansion, you'll have a brother-in-law who is the heir apparent of the prince in the future?"
"Your husband will be the brother-in-law of the heir apparent of the Prince Ning. Who would dare to look down on you? By then, not to mention the son of a minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, all the men in the capital will be at your disposal!"
Sun Miaoqing said bitterly, "But why should she be the one to marry the heir apparent of the Prince Ning? I'm obviously more beautiful and talented than her. I should be the one to marry into the Prince Ning's Mansion..."
Mrs. He said contemptuously,
"You still want to marry into the Prince Ning's Mansion? Why don't you take a pee and take a look at your own background!"
"Your father took six years to barely pass the imperial examination and become a scholar! If it weren't for me trying my best to curry favor with my older sister in my natal family, your whole family would have starved to death long ago. How could you have such a comfortable life now?"
Sun Miaoqing gritted her teeth and said, "Who does she, Li Wanming, think she is! The Li family is only a fourth-rank official family. What a great official family is that? They're not even considered important in the capital..."
"Where do you get the nerve to look down on others?" Mrs. He wished she could pry open her head to see what was inside!
"I'll tell you, if Li Wanming becomes the heir apparent's wife of the prince's mansion, your younger brother will be adopted into the Li family in the future and become the heir apparent's younger brother. Where can we find such a good relative?"
She was too lazy to waste any more words on Sun Miaoqing. "You shut up today. If you dare to ruin my plan, I won't spare you!"
Although Sun Miaoqing was not convinced, she still shut up.
She knew her grandmother was right.
As long as her younger brother, Sun Bingwen, could be adopted into the Li family and become the only male heir of the Li family, all the mansions, properties, and servants of the Li family would be theirs!
So what if Li Wanming married into the Prince Ning's Mansion? With her uneducated and vulgar appearance, she would be divorced by the heir apparent of the Prince Ning sooner or later!
And she herself would not only be the young mistress of the minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs' family but also the older sister of the young master of the Li Mansion!
If Li Wanming was divorced and returned home, wouldn't she have to live under her nose?
Thinking of this, Sun Miaoqing felt much better, and the corners of her mouth also curled up.
After a while, Cheng Liqing and Li Wanming walked in.
Cheng Liqing walked unhurriedly and greeted Mrs. Li with a smile. "Grandmother, how are you? Have you eaten?"
"I have..."
Mrs. Li answered subconsciously. Then she realized something was wrong and said to Li Wanming, "Third girl, you got married privately without the consent of both parents. This is abducting a good man, which violates the law of our dynasty."
Li Wanming slightly curled up the corners of her mouth. "Oh, so Grandmother knows the law now."
Mrs. Li was about to lose her temper but held back. She said earnestly, "Grandmother is thinking that if this matter is reported to the government, our Li family will get into trouble. By then, your father's hard-earned position as a general may be gone!"
Li Wanming said, "Then what does Grandmother mean?"
Mrs. Li's eyes flashed. "This matter is both difficult and easy to handle. As long as you two are willing to admit that yesterday was just a childish prank and this marriage doesn't count, we can get through this... Otherwise, he will have to become a son-in-law."
Mrs. He also chimed in on one side,
"Third girl, don't blame your grandmother for being cruel. It's really that you've done something too absurd."
"As long as you two are willing to admit that yesterday was just a prank, that you didn't get married and there was no wedding, and then let him sign a document promising never to mention this matter again, this matter will be over. You'll still be an unmarried girl."
"Don't bother yourself, Grand-aunt. As for the matter of becoming a son-in-law..."
Just as Cheng Liqing was about to speak, he heard Li Wanming say calmly, "It's too late. I've already slept with him yesterday."
"What?!"
Mrs. Li looked utterly shocked.
Cheng Liqing was also stunned. "…Ah?"
Li Wanming got a little closer to him and whispered quickly, "I've thought it over. You're a successful candidate in the provincial examination and will be an official in the future. You can't carry the reputation of being a son-in-law."
After saying that, she raised her head and said righteously, "I said I had my wedding night with him yesterday. Many people saw it."
"You... You're really shameless!"
Mrs. Li was so angry that her face turned pale and her whole body trembled.
But Li Wanming looked nonchalant. "I'm a married woman. What's so shameful about sleeping with my husband? It's as if Grandmother and Grandfather don't sleep together."
She had thought it through clearly. Since she was already married, she might as well go all out and make this married woman's reputation a reality!
Doing this was not entirely to help Cheng Liqing. It was also because the things she was going to do later required the identity of a married woman.
Although the Dacheng Dynasty was open-minded and didn't prohibit women from going out or doing business, unmarried girls were still not as free as married women.
If Li Wanming wanted to save her two older sisters, the first thing she needed was this free status.
Only with freedom could she plan slowly in the future.
When she chose to catch a husband right after the imperial examination, she actually had this consideration in mind - a contractual husband caught back like this had fewer restrictions.
Mrs. Li was almost furious. "…How could a young girl say such a shameless thing? You... You've been spoiled by Yuan Jinqiu! I must teach you a good lesson on behalf of your father today!"
Saying that, she picked up her walking stick and hit Li Wanming.
But the walking stick was caught by Cheng Liqing in mid-air.
The gentle smile that always hung on his lips disappeared, replaced by a cold chill. "Grandmother, hitting people is not a good habit. You should change it."
Li Wanming's words shocked him a little.
He didn't expect that Li Wanming would not care about her own innocence at all in order to protect his future.
Since she had given him a wooden peach, he should repay her with beautiful jade - such a kind, chivalrous, and affectionate woman, how could he let her down?
"Isn't it just becoming a son-in-law? I'll do it!" Cheng Liqing said loudly.
Mrs. Li was shocked, as if she didn't understand his words. "What? You said... You're going to become a son-in-law?"
"That's right."
Mrs. He also couldn't believe it. "You... Have you thought it through? You're an official in the future. If you become a son-in-law, you may never be promoted in your whole life!"
Cheng Liqing nodded. "I know."
Mrs. He was stunned. She didn't expect things to develop like this.
"Becoming a son-in-law is not a small matter. We need to invite the elders of the Li family and go through the official documents of the government." Mrs. He threatened. "Once you sign and seal, you'll become a member of the Li family from now on!"
Cheng Liqing smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."
After saying that, he didn't look at Mrs. He anymore. Instead, he shouted to Chuntao outside the door, "Chuntao, did you hear what the two grandmothers said? Why don't you go and invite the elders of the Li family quickly?"
Chuntao was originally in a daze, but when she saw Cheng Liqing winking at her constantly, she answered and quickly turned around and ran away.