Just as dawn was breaking, Li Wanming boarded the carriage she had rented the previous day and set off in grand style with five hundred jars of wine.
There were fifteen carriages in total, taking up half of the alley.
They jolted along for about half a day before finally arriving at the main gate of the Princess Mansion.
A young servant was already waiting at the gate.
Instead of leading them through the main entrance, the servant turned a corner in the alley and led them in through a side gate.
"This is closer to the kitchen. All the daily provisions for the kitchen enter through this gate," the servant explained.
Sure enough, outside the side gate, a group of people were bustling about. Piles of fresh fruits, vegetables, chickens, ducks, fish, and meat were stacked high, looking like a lively market.
After a quick inventory, these hundreds and thousands of provisions were sent into the mansion like a flowing stream.
Compared to these provisions, the five hundred jars of wine Li Wanming had brought seemed insignificant, not worth mentioning at all.
Chuntao gasped in surprise. "Goodness! Does the Princess Mansion need to consume so much food for just one meal? It's as much as our family consumes in a whole year!"
The servant smiled politely. "Today is the flower - viewing banquet. Our princess has invited all the famous ladies from the capital. Since the princess doesn't know everyone's taste, she asked us to prepare a wide variety of dishes."
Xiao Jingnan stopped in his tracks, grabbed Li Wanming, and whispered, "There will be mostly women at today's banquet. Lu Ping, Wu Yao, and I are all men, and we don't have an invitation. It's not appropriate for us to enter. If you encounter any trouble..."
He handed Li Wanming something. "Just pull the string on it. We'll see it from outside and come to rescue you in time."
Li Wanming looked down and saw a small fireworks tube, about two inches long, wrapped in reddish - brown cowhide with a copper wire fuse at the bottom. It looked very delicate.
She was both annoyed and amused. "I'm just going to deliver the wine, not going into a den of dragons and tigers. What kind of danger could I possibly encounter? Do I really need to set off fireworks to call you guys?"
However, there was no trace of a smile on Xiao Jingnan's face. He just stared deeply at her and replied evasively, "Stay close to the princess and don't wander around."
Li Wanming was even more confused. "I'm going to the kitchen to deliver the wine. How can I stay close to the princess?"
Xiao Jingnan stared at her for a while, then finally let out a long sigh. "Remember what I said. Go."
His aunt had intended to let his wife experience the real inner - court life in the capital. He didn't want to stop her.
He just hoped that his aunt would show some mercy and take care of Wanming, at least because she was his nominal wife, and not let things get out of hand.
Since ancient times, the inner - court has been a battlefield for women.
The scheming and the bloodshed in the inner - court are no less intense than those on the battlefield or in the court.
Moreover, this time, his aunt had invited all the noble ladies from the capital.
Among them were Lu Songyuan, the daughter of the Grand Tutor Lu, and Fang Zhi, the daughter of the Chief Secretary. They had all accepted the invitation.
Even his cousin Xiao Yingchu had come...
His mother, the Princess of Ning, was in poor health and rarely managed the affairs of the Ning Palace. So, the palace had been under the management of his second aunt, Lady Kang.
Xiao Yingchu was Lady Kang's daughter.
Xiao Jingnan knew what Lady Kang was up to.
Today's banquet was clearly a Hongmen Banquet—a dangerous trap—but his Wanming was completely unaware of it.
Xiao Jingnan watched Li Wanming's back, his brows furrowed with worry.
He whispered to Lu Ping, "You and Wu Yao guard the gate. If anything goes wrong, rush in immediately. Don't worry about my aunt's face..."
Lu Ping replied, "Your Highness, don't worry. The secret guards of the palace have already been deployed in ambush. We will never let the Princess of Ning suffer any injustice!"
Looking at their tense expressions, Wu Yao curled his lips and mumbled, "I think our Princess of Ning is more likely to make others suffer injustice than to be wronged herself..."
The Princess Mansion was extremely large.
After passing through the winding corridors and the jagged rockeries, Li Wanming and the others finally saw a row of black - tiled and red - walled buildings hidden behind a grove of bamboo.
"That's the kitchen. You can just leave the wine there," the servant said.
Standing under the red wall was Wang Gongling.
Li Wanming quickly stepped forward to greet him. "Lord Wang, why did you come here in person?"
She pulled Wang Gongling over and showed him the wine one by one.
"These jars are filled with Danli Wine. It's clear and sweet. These are the Ranshu Wines. They have a bright red color and are best served in crystal glasses. This is Huatang Wine, brewed with osmanthus and green plums. It's sweet and fragrant, very refreshing. And this one, I haven't come up with a name for it yet. It's Jasmine and Peach Wine..."
Wang Gongling looked at her with a smile. "I have full confidence in Lady Cheng's wine. But I'm not here for the wine today. I'm here specifically to wait for you."
"Wait for me?"
"Yes," Wang Gongling said. "The princess has given an order. Since the flowers are in full bloom and the fragrance of lotus fills the air today, she specially invites Lady Cheng to join the banquet and enjoy the flowers."
"Me... join the banquet and enjoy the flowers?"
Li Wanming looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm not a noble lady. I mean, I'm just the owner of a wine shop. It's not appropriate for me to attend the princess's banquet, is it?"
Before she got married, as the daughter of General Li Rusong, she might have been barely qualified to attend.
But now, as the wife of a peasant's son, Cheng Liqing, and the owner of a small wine shop, her title had changed from "Miss Li the Third" to "Lady Cheng," and she had no right to attend at all.
Moreover, she didn't like such occasions.
A group of women sitting there daintily, playing the zither, playing chess, writing calligraphy, and reciting poems... These were not her forte.
However, Wang Gongling said, "The princess said that Lady Cheng was brave and resourceful when she knocked on the Drum of Justice to save her husband. She is an exemplary woman in our dynasty! If Lady Cheng is absent from this banquet, the colorful flowers in the yard will lose their luster."
Since it had been put this way, it would be inappropriate for her to decline.
Li Wanming had no choice but to say to Chuntao, "You wait for me here. I'll be back soon."
She followed Wang Gongling into the garden.
They walked through the flowers and willows, along winding paths. After passing the Peony Pavilion and the Rose Garden, they saw countless unknown flowers competing for beauty. The lush and fragrant scenery was like a fairyland.
It wasn't until they rounded a hillside that their view suddenly opened up.
As far as the eye could see, there were graceful lotus flowers.
The green leaves spread out like dazzling jade plates, stretching as far as the sky.
The fresh lotus flowers stood there with a shy smile, like delicate maidens or the fairies on the waves, with icy muscles and jade - like bones, looking noble and aloof.
From across the lake, the sound of the zither came faintly.
Listening to it through the hazy mist, it sounded serene and far - reaching, with a unique charm.
Under the magnificent halls, maids in pink palace dresses flitted about like butterflies, but everything was in good order.
Li Wanming saw Princess Chengping and several elegantly dressed ladies sitting in the middle.
Across a clear pond, in a pavilion with double eaves, a young girl was playing the zither.
She was dressed in an ice - blue palace dress. The pleated skirt shone like snow and dragged on the ground. Over it was a thin layer of silver gauze. Magnolias were in full bloom on the wide hem of her dress.
Her black hair was coiled into a crescent - shaped bun, adorned with a few round pearls. Her eyes were as clear as water, and her skin was like congealed fat.
The music from her fingertips was like a mountain elf dancing lightly.
Li Wanming didn't dare to make a sound. She walked up to Princess Chengping with her head bowed and greeted her in a low voice.
The princess just grunted softly, didn't look at her, and said nothing.
Li Wanming had no choice but to stand there with her hands at her sides.
When the piece ended, Princess Chengping finally turned her gaze to Li Wanming and asked, "Lady Cheng, what do you think of Miss Lu's zither - playing?"
What did she think?
How would she know!
Li Wanming thought hard for a while before answering, "It's... good?"