Princess Chengping withdrew her gaze and slowly said, "I've long heard that the daughter of the Li family personally chose a husband from among the newly - passed scholars, which has become a much - talked - about story in our dynasty. I've been eager to see her. Today, learning that it's the birthday of the Li family's grandmother, I took this opportunity to come and have a look."
She pointed at Li W anxin and Li Wanmo. "Our dynasty has always adhered to the principles of filial piety and fraternal love. When a grandmother is celebrating her birthday, granddaughters should surely come to offer their congratulations. So I took the liberty of bringing these two ladies here. I hope General Li won't mind my meddling."
Li Rusong quickly said, "I wouldn't dare," and then he invited the princess to take her seat at the banquet.
After Princess Chengping was seated, the panicked people around gradually sat down as well.
Yuan Jinqiu saw that the princess showed no sign of ill - will and had even brought back her two daughters. It didn't seem that she had come to cause trouble. She let out a slight sigh of relief and led her colleagues to offer a toast.
The princess took a sip of the wine, and the atmosphere in the courtyard gradually relaxed.
Guo Xinyue stood in the courtyard and waved for Sun Miaoqing to come over. She whispered, "Does the Li family have an old acquaintance with the princess?"
Sun Miaoqing looked blank. "I don't know. I've never heard Uncle Li mention anything about it..."
Guo Xinyue frowned, thinking that this stupid woman might really know nothing.
It seemed that she had underestimated the Li family before. She never thought that a small family of a fourth - rank general could have a connection with the princess!
In the future, when she saw Li Wanming, she might have to feign politeness.
Maybe she could get some information from Li Wanming about the relationship between the Li family and the princess, or even the royal family.
...
After Li Wanming paid her respects to the princess, she pulled her two elder sisters and quickly returned to her Tingxuexuan.
There were too many people in the courtyard, which was not suitable for the sisters to have a heart - to - heart talk.
She hadn't seen her two elder sisters for a long time and had a lot of questions to ask.
"How are you? Have you been well?"
"Does your mother - in - law still make things difficult for you?"
"And your husband? Has he taken that mistress into the house?"
The first question was for both sisters, the second was for Li W anxin, and the third was for Li Wanmo.
In the past two years, she had occasionally seen her eldest sister, Li W anxin, but she hadn't seen her second sister, Li Wanmo, since her marriage. It made her feel extremely anxious, as if a cat was scratching at her heart.
Hearing her younger sister's questions, Li Wanmo raised her eyebrows. "He wouldn't dare!"
"If he dares to take that woman in, I'll beat her until her face is a mess, just like I beat him!"
"Did you really beat someone?" Li W anxin was shocked. "I heard that you caused a big stir in the Earl's Mansion not long after you got married. I thought it was just a rumor... You actually beat your own husband?"
Li Wanming interrupted. "So what if you beat him? That man's whole family is not honest. They tricked Second Sister into marrying into their family, and he himself is a womanizer. It wouldn't be unfair to break his legs!"
"Exactly!" Li Wanmo said. "They even asked me to drink tea from the concubine's cup. I said, 'If you want me to drink, fine! As long as she can wield my silver - tipped wind - leaf spear, I'll drink that concubine's tea!'"
"Did she try?"
"Try my ass! With her weak physique, like a little chick, how could she even lift my spear!"
Li W anxin nervously grabbed her arm. "But Second Sister, I heard that they locked you up... How about it? Did they torture you? Did they withhold your food?"
"They might want to, but they don't have the ability!"
Li Wanmo said proudly. "With this spear in my hand, who among that useless family can do anything to me?"
"As for being locked up," she sneered. "My mother - in - law said that I was restless and asked me to copy Buddhist scriptures in the Buddhist hall to calm my mind... It's not bad. I don't have to see that bastard, and I can live more comfortably."
"Don't worry. Although I'm locked in the Buddhist hall, after all, I'm the daughter - in - law of the He family, married in a proper way. They dare not treat me badly."
Li Wanming looked at her second sister's face. Although she was a bit thinner, her complexion was rosy, and her voice was clear. She was still as fiery - tempered as ever. It seemed that she really hadn't suffered much.
"But this can't go on like this. It's not appropriate..."
Li W anxin looked worried. "You and your husband are so at odds. What will you do in the future?"
Li Wanming interrupted. "In the future, of course, we'll try to get a divorce if possible. If we can't, we'll find a way to escape."
Then she told her two sisters about her plan to make money by selling wine.
Li W anxin was even more shocked. Her face turned pale with fright. She grabbed her younger sister's hand and said repeatedly, "No, no! You're a girl. How can you show yourself in public? Although our dynasty doesn't prohibit women from doing business, it's still not appropriate..." "Sister is fine. Sister is doing well. You don't need to save me..."
But Li Wanmo's eyes lit up. "Little Sister's idea is great! The wine you brewed was very popular in Fujian. It will surely sell well in the capital too! Then we'll be the richest women in the Great Sheng Dynasty!"
"However," she frowned again. "It's not difficult to escape. The difficult part is what happens after that."
"The father of that bastard is the Earl of Xingyuan. If I escape, the Earl's Mansion will surely not let you go..."
"Sigh. If it weren't for worrying about our parents and you, I would have climbed over the wall and left long ago! With their short and shabby courtyard wall, how could they ever hold me back?"
Li W anxin said, "So we need to think this through carefully. I think we should save up some money first and then slowly figure out a way..."
The three sisters chatted animatedly in the room. The more they talked, the more excited Li Wanming and Li Wanmo became. They didn't notice at all that two people had been standing outside the window for a long time.
Princess Chengping slowly stepped back from the window. "I didn't expect that the daughters of the Li family are quite brave."
Xiao Jingnan smiled. "My judgment is, of course, correct."
Just now in the main hall of the Li family, after Princess Chengping was seated, the first thing she did was to say that she wanted to see the son - in - law who was allegedly chosen personally by the girl of the family.
After seeing Xiao Jingnan, she praised him repeatedly, saying that she had a good impression of him. She also rewarded him with two strings of coral bracelets and said, "The spring scenery outside is just right now. I'd like to take a stroll in the garden. Would you like to accompany me?"
Xiao Jingnan smiled. "I'd rather obey than decline." He stretched out his right arm for the princess to hold on to.
Princess Chengping smiled slightly and let him support her. The two of them left side by side.
All that was left was a room full of people staring blankly.
It wasn't until the two figures disappeared outside the door that the room suddenly boiled like a frying pan.
Some were jealous. "With the princess's high standards, how could she take a fancy to him?"
Some were envious. "General Li is really lucky. The son - in - law he recruited has caught the princess's eye. It seems that General Li will surely rise in the future..."
Most people suspected that Li Rusong had been hiding something. They pulled him and kept asking, "Is your family really not related to the princess? Think it over carefully. Maybe there's a distant marriage connection in some generation?"
Li Rusong was so anxious that he was sweating all over. "Everyone, everyone! My family has been poor farmers for eight generations. How could we be related to Princess Chengping? I'd like to, but would she agree?"
Prince Ning and Princess Ning were sitting in the courtyard, drinking tea leisurely.
No one noticed that when Princess Chengping came in, only they didn't kneel to pay their respects. They even slightly raised their teacups to signal to the princess.
"Little Sister has always said that she wants to see Jingnan's wife. Now she finally has the chance," Princess Ning said. "I just saw the way she looked at Wanming. She should be quite satisfied."
Prince Ning let out a soft sigh. "Alas, it's not easy for our Jingnan to marry a wife. How dare she be dissatisfied?"
"She always says that it's a joke for us to live in Pingkangfang. Do you think she'll tell the Li family..." Princess Ning was a bit worried.
"No," Prince Ning said firmly. "Jingnan grew up under her watch. She has always regarded him as her own son. She knows that Jingnan's marriage is related to his life. She will surely do her best to cover for us."
Outside Luoxuexuan.
Princess Chengping looked up at Xiao Jingnan, a playful smile on her lips. "I thought you married her just to break that prophecy and save your life."
"At first, it was indeed like that," Xiao Jingnan didn't deny it.
"But later, I found out that she is the daughter of General Li."
"The Emperor will take over the government in two years. The Empress Dowager won't easily hand over the power she has held for so long. But now, looking at the court, more than 70% of the civil and military officials are on the Empress Dowager's side.
"The Emperor can only recruit his own people from other places. No one in the court can be trusted."
Princess Chengping frowned. "I've read Li Rusong's resume. He's not outstanding."
"Aunt, you may not know. Fujian has many mountains and a tough folk custom. It's not an easy thing to suppress bandits in such a place. Moreover..." Xiao Jingnan paused for a moment. "Fujian is close to the Southern Border."
Princess Chengping was moved. "You want to regain the lost land in the Southern Border?"
"Not just want to, but must," Xiao Jingnan's voice was filled with a cold chill. "My three elder brothers died there, and my father's leg was also injured there... The Southern Border is the land I must take back in my lifetime."
A look of pain and hatred flashed in Princess Chengping's eyes. "Oh, the Southern Border..."
Xiao Jingnan had a deep - seated hatred for those small foreign countries in the Southern Border. How could she not?
Her husband and son both died in that bloody battle.
Two hundred thousand troops were completely wiped out, and six cities on the Southern Border were lost.
The Southern Border was also the land she must take back in her lifetime.
"You specifically asked me to come today and repeatedly told me to pick up the two Miss Li from the family of the Imperial College Jijiu Chen and the Earl of Xingyuan He. Don't tell me it's just to win over her father?"
Princess Chengping softened her expression and asked gently.
"Don't worry about using people for now," Xiao Jingnan said calmly. "Wanming's knot is about her two elder sisters. As a husband, I should naturally share my wife's worries."