After leaving the Princess Dowager's Mansion, Xiao Jingnan still wore a nonchalant smile on his lips, but his expression was a bit solemn.
He had never been involved in court affairs before and rarely interacted with Princess Danyang. He only knew that she was a crazy woman who indulged in pleasure and was extremely ruthless. One couldn't infer her actions by common sense.
However, it seemed now that Princess Danyang was much more scheming than he had imagined.
Sure enough, crazy women throughout history were never easy to deal with.
"Your Highness..." Wu Yao poked his head out from the alley.
Xiao Jingnan said, "Didn't I tell you not to follow me? Why did you still come?"
Wu Yao replied, "Brother Lu Ping was worried there might be danger, so he sent me to protect you."
After thinking for a while, he added, "Brother Lu Ping is watching the shop. Princess Consort won't find out."
Xiao Jingnan knew they were worried about him, so he didn't scold them. Instead, he said, "Don't be so worried. We haven't completely fallen out yet. The princess won't do anything to me."
The Ning Mansion had always maintained a neutral stance in the court on the surface.
Moreover, everyone knew that the Prince of Ning had been staying at home and had nothing to do with court affairs for years.
Even though they had slightly intervened in the case of the Jingzhao Prefecture and touched on the princess's interests, it was only a business matter of the Jingcheng Commercial Firm. And it was a private and shady business of the princess, which wouldn't catch the Empress Dowager's attention.
For now, on the surface, the Xiao family and the imperial power struggle were still on good terms, and the Xiao family didn't side with either party.
If the Empress Dowager wanted to continue holding power, she needed the support of the Xiao family.
Or at least, she needed the Xiao family to maintain its current stance - it didn't have to help her, but it mustn't side with the emperor.
So, the princess wouldn't and didn't dare to do anything to him.
Especially today, he had sent a visiting card, announced his identity, and visited the mansion openly. She wouldn't dare to act against him at this moment.
If the Heir of the Ning Mansion died in the princess's mansion in broad daylight, the princess would surely get into big trouble.
Wu Yao asked, "Now that the princess knows your identity, will she cause trouble for the wine shop?"
Xiao Jingnan shook his head. "No, because I've reached an agreement with her."
"I told her that the matter of the Jingcheng Commercial Firm was a misunderstanding."
"I didn't know that Wei Chengbiao was working for her. I got involved in this matter only because he caused trouble for my wife. I had no choice but to ask my father to take action."
"Now that I know it's the princess's business, it's like the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple. Naturally, this matter ends here."
"However, I asked the princess to be kind enough to let my wife go and allow me to keep my wife, considering how hard it was for me to get married and that my wife doesn't like high - ranking families."
Wu Yao was stunned. "She agreed?"
Xiao Jingnan smiled. "Why wouldn't she?"
"First, it would stop the matter of the Jingcheng Commercial Firm and prevent it from being traced back to her. Second, she'd be doing me a favor, so the Ning Mansion wouldn't turn against her in the future. Third, she got my guarantee that I'd never spread the news about her and Guo Ziyan..."
Xiao Jingnan stopped walking. "It's a win - win - win situation. There's no better deal in the world. Why wouldn't she agree?"
Wu Yao scratched his head and thought it made sense.
The princess was crazy, but not stupid.
Why wouldn't she do something that was all beneficial and had no drawbacks?
After thinking for a while, he asked again, "Did you also tell her about the emperor's order for wine?"
"I did."
Xiao Jingnan continued walking. "When doing business, one should be honest. I told her everything that had happened recently and asked her to keep it a secret from the Empress Dowager."
Wu Yao was shocked. "The princess agreed again?"
"Why are you so surprised?"
Xiao Jingnan reached out and gently tapped his forehead. "The best way to get closer to someone is to share a common secret."
"I asked the princess to keep it a secret, which just shows that I regard her as one of my own. Being so open and sincere, of course, she's willing to help me."
Wu Yao covered his forehead and murmured, "You... sincere?"
Xiao Jingnan squinted his eyes. "What? Am I not sincere?"
Wu Yao said, "I'm not sure... But if you go back and ask the princess consort this, she'll surely come to the opposite conclusion..."
Xiao Jingnan kicked out. "You've got a lot of nerve! How dare you make fun of me?"
Wu Yao dodged with a laugh. The two of them talked and laughed all the way back to the wine shop.
...
The wine shop had been extremely busy recently.
Not only Wu Yao, Wu Ping, Cai Wei, and Qing Lan, but also the prince, the princess, Uncle Zhong, and Nanny Yu had all been called by Li Wanming to help in the shop!
She had already made up her mind. She didn't care if they were imperial criminals or bandits!
Since they had entered her door, they had to work!
It was impossible for them to eat for free!
Fortunately, after her devil - like training some time ago, the physical conditions of the Prince and Princess of Ning had improved significantly.
Although the Prince of Ning had a problem with his legs, he was literate and good at arithmetic, so he was the best person to manage the inventory.
Although the Princess of Ning was still a bit thin, she was much better than when she first came.
Especially when she used the small chopper to cut fruits, flowers, and herbs, her hands moved so fast that it was as if she had divine help. The chopper almost sparked.
Uncle Zhong and Nanny Yu assisted the Prince and Princess of Ning.
The four of them were very busy in the wine shop.
Zi Fu, Sister - in - law Liu, and Aunt Song took on the responsibility of logistics. They washed clothes and cooked for everyone every day and were also extremely busy.
Zi Fu didn't dare to get close to Xiao Jingnan anymore, for fear of being seen by Li Wanming and hearing her say, "That soup/clothes/pouch/fan cover/snack looks good. Give me one bowl/piece/one/one portion every day..."
Amidst the busyness, Li Wanming still found time to read for a while before going to bed every day.
Xiao Jingnan was very surprised when he first saw it. "Didn't you say you'd get sleepy as soon as you saw these things? Why did you suddenly start learning?"
Li Wanming still felt scared when she recalled the danger that night.
She gently grasped the book pages with her fingers and said a bit shyly, "I just thought... if I knew more, maybe I could help you and wouldn't almost cause your death..."
After hearing what she said, Xiao Jingnan lowered his eyes slightly.
After thinking for a while, he sat down and said, "That was an accident. It's not your fault. No one could have done better than you in that situation..."
"No!"
Li Wanming pouted and her face was full of determination. "Although you told me that the princess would consider my father's identity and our friendship with Princess Chengping and wouldn't hunt me down again, I'm still scared... What if I encounter an emergency again? I can't be as useless as I am now!"
Xiao Jingnan pondered for a while, then turned around and took out two books from the bookshelf.
"If you really want to learn, you might as well start with these."
They were two thin books titled "Herbal Compendium" and "Six - Classics Emergency Prescriptions".
Li Wanming opened them and saw pictures of various herbs and diagrams of the body's meridians and acupuncture points.
Xiao Jingnan said, "These two are the most basic introductory medical books. They have many pictures and few words, so they're most suitable for beginners."
"You can read them first. If you don't understand anything, come and ask me. I've been in poor health since childhood and have some knowledge of medicine. I can probably teach you."
Li Wanming nodded vigorously. "Yes, I will study hard. The next time something happens to you, I'll surely be able to save you!"
Xiao Jingnan muttered to himself: Can't you wish me well?
But he didn't say anything. He just looked at Li Wanming with a smile and nodded. "Okay."