The women at the table were chatting animatedly. It seemed as if they couldn't wait to pick up a stick right away and knock a son - in - law off the street. Finally, Lord Li the Third couldn't bear it any longer.
"Stop this nonsense!"
"Getting married is a serious matter. How can you just knock someone out and take them away?"
"Even in the tradition of seeking a son - in - law among successful candidates in the imperial examinations, the parents of both sides have to discuss, follow the three letters and six etiquettes, and present betrothal gifts and conduct the engagement ceremony."
He grabbed Li Rusong and gave him another long lecture.
"Little Pine, you've handled this matter wrongly!"
"You're already married, but you haven't even met your in - laws. You don't even know the situation of your son - in - law's family or how many people are in it. How can that be acceptable!
"You're an official. If others hear about this, they'll think our Li family doesn't know the rules!"
"You must talk to the boy's parents properly and make up for all the proper etiquette for our third daughter!"
"Knocking someone out and taking them away? That's all nonsense! Our Li family has been in the capital for so many years and has a certain status. How can we do such a rude thing?"
Li Rusong had no choice but to nod while saying to Cheng Liqing:
"Did you hear that? Write a letter to Langya tomorrow and ask your parents when they'll be free to come to the capital. Let's have a meeting between in - laws. If it's inconvenient for them, I'll go to Langya myself..."
He really didn't dare to say that his daughter had actually done such a rude thing.
Cheng Liqing: "Sure! They should be very happy to come to the capital."
Li Wanming quickly grabbed him and whispered, "Are you serious? Really going to ask your parents to come all the way from Langya to the capital?"
It was just a fake marriage. There was no need to call his parents from so far away...
Moreover, the main thing was that she had knocked out their son, tied him up and forced him into marriage, and almost made him marry into her family. This made her feel a bit guilty.
Cheng Liqing seemed to know what was on her mind and said with a smile, "Don't worry, my dear. My parents will like you."
"Why?"
Li Wanming didn't believe it.
Cheng Liqing said, "Because my dear is beautiful and kind - hearted."
...
"Speak normally."
Cheng Liqing took a sip of wine and then said, "I'm just a poor scholar from a humble background with nothing in my family. But now I've married the daughter of a fourth - rank general. How could my parents not be willing when they know about it?"
Li Wanming thought about it and found this reason reasonable.
"It seems I'm at a bit of a loss when you put it that way," she said, biting her lips.
Cheng Liqing held back his laughter. "How could you be at a loss? Didn't you see those aunts and sisters - in - law just now? They were all envious of you for having good taste, knocking a good husband out with one stick."
Li Wanming looked up at his face.
He was thin and pale. His phoenix eyes were slightly slanted upwards, but his pupils were extremely bright. His lips were bright red, like a splash of color in the snowy winter, subtly alluring.
He was born with a charming appearance.
Gorgeous.
He was truly gorgeous.
As she looked, Li Wanming also thought she had good taste.
Such a handsome husband, like an immortal descending to the mortal world, was really hard to find even with a lantern.
With such a husband, what else could a wife ask for?
Meeting the parents was fine. Anyway, this marriage was a done deal, and they would have to meet sooner or later.
At most, she would make three rules with him later, asking him to stay at home obediently, abide by the three obediences and four virtues, and not interfere with her business.
In the evening, the banquet finally ended.
Li's mother and Mrs. He excused themselves early, saying they didn't feel well.
After seeing off the last batch of guests, Li Rusong also returned to his courtyard and fell asleep right away.
He was really exhausted after a whole day of running around.
...
The bright moon hung high in the sky, casting a silvery glow on the ground.
In the Listening to the Snow Pavilion, Cheng Liqing tiptoed out of the warm chamber and walked to the wall of the outer courtyard. He gently knocked three times, two short and one long.
Two heads popped up on the wall. They were Lu Ping and Wu Yao.
"Your Highness!"
"My Lord!"
Cheng Liqing put his finger to his lips and whispered, "There's a bit of trouble here. I need you to go back and deliver a message to the Prince and Princess."
...
"What? The Prince and Princess have to visit in person?" After hearing him out, Wu Yao immediately got unhappy. "Humph, their family sure has a big sense of self - importance!"
Lu Ping gave him a reproachful look. "Have you forgotten what the Prince and Princess told us? At all costs, we must help the Crown Prince keep this Crown Princess!"
Cheng Liqing, or rather Xiao Jingnan, saw Wu Yao's moodiness but said nothing. He just smiled slightly.
"Both of you listen carefully. I told the Li family that I'm a scholar from Langya, and my family has been farming for generations and is extremely poor. When Father and Mother come, they have to pretend to be rural farmers and dress shabbily..."
Wu Yao immediately got anxious. "The Prince and Princess have such high status. How can they wear shabby clothes?"
He didn't like Li Wanming.
When the marriage was arranged, she had acted so high - and - mighty, saying she would rather die than marry into a noble family. But then she had tied up their Crown Prince!
Vanity and pretentiousness... This woman was simply scheming!
Their Crown Prince was kind and pure. How could he really marry such a woman?
However, no matter how much he looked down on her, he knew that it was not easy for his Crown Prince to get married. If he couldn't get married this time, he would have to go to the underworld next year.
So although Wu Yao didn't like Li Wanming, he was still trying his best to cooperate.
But he didn't expect that this woman would be so insolent and even dare to wrong the Prince and Princess!
Wu Yao was really furious.
Xiao Jingnan frowned slightly and said again, "Wearing shabby clothes is the secondary matter... The main thing is that my father - in - law's family used to farm. If Father knows nothing about farming, he probably won't be able to fool him."
"Go back and deliver the message. Ask Father to learn how to farm. And Mother should also ask about how to weave cloth in the cloth shops in the capital."
He instructed, "Note, it's weaving, not embroidery. Ask Mother to put away all those Su embroidery, Shu embroidery, double - sided embroidery and so on. Don't let anything slip up."
Both Lu Ping and Wu Yao were stunned.
The only peerless prince in the Great Sheng Dynasty, second only to the emperor... was going to learn how to farm and weave cloth?!
Wu Yao didn't even care about being angry anymore. He opened his mouth wide and couldn't even speak.
Lu Ping also hesitated and asked, "Do we really have to go to such lengths?"
Xiao Jingnan nodded. "In a poor family, surely no one is idle. The whole family should be busy to seem more realistic."
Wu Yao hesitated for a while and then asked with a pout, "My Lord, do you really want to marry that woman?"
Xiao Jingnan found it a bit funny. "Otherwise? Where can you find a wife for me?"
Wu Yao was only fifteen years old and still had a bit of a childish temper.
"General Li was a newly promoted military general in the past two years. Marrying his daughter is beneficial to His Majesty's grand plan. Moreover," Xiao Jingnan paused for a moment and then said, "After I got married to Wanming, I feel that my health seems to have improved a bit..."
"Really?"
Wu Yao's eyes immediately lit up.
"Yes, really." There were some glimmers of starlight in Xiao Jingnan's eyes. "Maybe this marriage is really predestined."