When they arrived at Hongbin Lou, upon hearing that it was a reservation made by Miss Liu, the waiter led them directly to a private room on the second floor.
It was serene and private.
Liu Yiyi was already waiting for them inside.
At the sight of Li Wan, Liu Yiyi's first words were, "Well done! You truly live up to being my childhood sweetheart!"
Some time ago, Li Wanming had written to her, saying that she planned to choose a husband right after the imperial examination results were announced.
At that time, Li Wanming was still on the way from Fujian to the capital. Liu Yiyi thought she was just joking. But no sooner had she entered the capital than Liu Yiyi heard the widespread rumors.
Some said that Li Wanming had snatched a man on the very day and got married on the same day.
Some said that without informing the parents, she had abducted a decent young man.
Some said that the man was a freeloader and was willing to marry into her family.
There were all kinds of rumors.
But the most widely spread one was that Li Wanming had refused the betrothal to the Prince of Ning's heir and married a penniless man!
Although the Prince of Ning's heir had a notorious reputation for being ill-fated and causing the early death of his wives, in the eyes of the people in the capital, it was better to be "killed" by the Prince of Ning's heir than to marry a penniless wretch.
- At least the family could get a large betrothal gift and form a marriage alliance with the Prince of Ning. Being buried in the imperial mausoleum in the future would also bring honor to the ancestors!
So Li Wanming was so stupid!
Only a crazy person would choose a poor scholar!
Liu Yiyi, of course, didn't think so.
What good was the imperial mausoleum even if it was magnificent? Once you were lying inside, wasn't it just a tomb? Was it more important than one's own life?
Only a fool would sacrifice themselves for the happiness of the whole family!
She took Li Wanming's hand and eagerly asked, "So, how is he? Is your husband good to you? Is he good-looking?"
"As for whether he's good or not, it's hard to say. But if you're talking about good looks..." Li Wanming recalled those eyebrows and eyes that were as gentle as the willow mist in February and nodded honestly, "He's extremely handsome."
"That's good!"
Liu Yiyi patted her on the shoulder forcefully and heaved a sigh of relief. "For a husband, the most important thing is to be good-looking! What's the point of marrying an ugly man? It'll only annoy you when you see him at home every day, and it'll also affect the looks of your offspring."
Li Wanming was speechless. "Where will the offspring come from? Ours is a contractual marriage, not a real one. We'll get divorced in the future!"
In the letter she wrote to Liu Yiyi, she had only briefly mentioned the plan of choosing a husband after the imperial examination results were announced. She hadn't mentioned the details of hiring someone to pretend to be her husband and getting divorced in ten days.
Now that they finally had time to sit down and talk, Li Wanming poured herself a bowl of tea and told her everything that had happened in the past few days in detail.
After listening, Liu Yiyi was stunned for a while and then clapped her hands one by one. "Brilliant! It's really brilliant!"
"Li Wanming, I thought you were just good-for-nothing. I didn't expect you to be so lawless! But after hearing what you said, I still have one thing I don't understand... You've had the wedding ceremony, held the wedding banquet, and paid respects to the elders. Except for not receiving the betrothal gift, how is this different from an ordinary marriage?"
"...There are still some differences."
Li Wanming picked up a small golden tangerine and peeled it. "He's living in my house now and relying on me to support him."
Liu Yiyi was stunned. "You mean he didn't marry into your family, but now he's eating, drinking, and using things that belong to you?"
"You can put it that way..."
Liu Yiyi tilted her head and thought for a while. "If you hadn't had the wedding ceremony, I would have thought you were keeping a mistress."
"Who keeps a mistress at home?" Li Wanming ate the tangerine and added, "At most, he can be considered a concubine."
...
In the private room next door, when Xiao Jingnan heard the words "concubine", the tea in his hand almost splashed on his face.
Half an hour ago, he saw Li Wanming go out, so he left the Li family right after her.
The day when his "parents" were supposed to "arrive in the capital" was approaching. He needed to ask Lu Ping and Wu Yao how the preparations were going.
Wu Yao said confidently, "Your Highness, don't worry! Uncle Zhong has already found a mansion in Pingkangfang. He's been taking people there to decorate it for the past few days."
Once the mansion was found, most of the things were done.
Lu Ping said, "The Prince has also asked the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue specifically about matters related to agriculture and sericulture. The Princess has also invited the deputy director of the Bureau of Weaving and Dyeing to the mansion to explain cloth weaving."
The persona Xiao Jingnan had created for the Prince of Ning was that of a poor farmer who had been engaged in farming for generations. It was indeed necessary to make up for some knowledge related to agriculture. And since the family was so poor, it was very reasonable for the Princess to weave cloth to supplement the family income.
However, for some reason, Xiao Jingnan always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Forget it.
His parents would only stay in the capital for a few days at most and then "return" to Langya. They would probably just meet Li Wanming's parents and have a meal. As long as nothing unexpected happened, they should be able to fool them.
Xiao Jingnan casually gave a few more instructions and then told Lu Ping to go back and continue with the preparations.
Just as he was about to turn around and go back to the Li family, he looked up and saw Li Wanming walking over from the other end of the street with Chuntao.
Hongbin Lou?
It wasn't time for a meal yet. What was his wife going to Hongbin Lou for?
When he saw that Li Wanming didn't sit down in the hall but went straight to a private room on the second floor, Xiao Jingnan raised his eyebrows slightly.
The second floor was elegant and secluded, usually used for chatting and meetings.
It was obvious that she was going to meet someone!
...
Who was she meeting?
Xiao Jingnan recalled how fierce Li Wanming had been to him before she went out. A ripple suddenly rose in his heart, like a green plum falling into the water, leaving a slight sourness.
Could it be that she was meeting her lover...
But then he thought about it and immediately threw this thought out of his mind.
Li Wanming wasn't the kind of person who would do things secretly.
Moreover, if she had a lover, why would she choose a husband after the imperial examination results were announced and pick him? Wouldn't it be better to just marry her lover directly!
Thinking of this, his curiosity was piqued.
After Li Wanming went upstairs, Xiao Jingnan also tiptoed up and asked for a private room next to hers.
He also asked the waiter to bring a pot of top-quality Biluochun tea and began to eavesdrop attentively.
"Mistress... at most... concubine..."
As soon as he sat down, he heard this sentence.
Xiao Jingnan choked on a mouthful of tea. He didn't know whether to swallow it or spit it out. It made him cough violently, his face turning red and his ears burning. It took him a while to recover.
Liu Yiyi heard someone coughing so violently next door. "What's going on? Did someone choke on a snack?"
"Maybe. The snacks in Hongbin Lou are so delicately made. There are always people who are greedy and want to swallow them in one bite. It's normal to choke."
After Li Wanming said this, she thought of the husband at home and sighed. "It's also a blessing to be able to eat in big mouthfuls. Unlike the one at my home, he can't even eat quietly."
"What? Does he dare to be picky?" Liu Yiyi raised her eyebrows.
"That's not it..." Li Wanming recalled and said, "It's just that he has too many ideas."
"What ideas does one need to have when eating?"
Liu Yiyi didn't understand.
Chuntao said, "Miss Liu, you don't know. Our son-in-law has a lot of ideas."
"Yesterday when we were having goose breast, the son-in-law said that the goose breast should first be soaked in plum juice and then smoked with fruit wood. Only then would it taste good."
"The day before yesterday when we were having fried gluten with crown daisy, the son-in-law said that the heat was wrong. The gluten should first be stir-fried in plenty of oil, and the crown daisy should be added at the end. Otherwise, it would be overcooked."
"The day before that when we were having tea, the son-in-law also said that spring water was the best, and river water... river water wouldn't do..."
Li Wanming said, "It's mountain spring water that's the best, river water comes second, and well water is the worst."
At this point, she sighed. "He just keeps chattering non-stop during every meal. It's so annoying... I really don't understand. It's just a meal. Where did he get all these fussy requirements?"
Liu Yiyi asked, "Wasn't his family very poor? How does he know all this?"
Chuntao replied, "The son-in-law said he read about it in books. He never had the chance to try it before, but now that he has the conditions, he wants to give it a try. This is called... oh, the spirit of practice!"