When Xiao Jingnan and the Prince of Ning walked into the front hall, they saw only Li Rusong and Liang Xiong standing in the courtyard. The two were bowing deeply and saluting each other.
Liang Xiong was a red - faced man. As he saluted Li Rusong, he said in a rough voice, "General Li wiped out seventy - two bandit strongholds in Fujian back then. He is so valiant and heroic! I'm really in awe!"
Scared, Li Rusong quickly bent his back like a shrimp, "I dare not, I dare not..."
Liang Xiong was a third - rank general. Not only was his rank higher than Li Rusong's, but he was also a hero who had returned from battles in the northwest with General Feng. How could Li Rusong accept such a salute from him?
However, the lower Li Rusong bent, the lower Liang Xiong bent.
From afar, it looked like the two were performing the wedding bows...
Han He, the Minister of War, couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped forward and said, "Both of you are pillars of the country. There's no need for such excessive politeness."
He pulled Li Rusong over and introduced him to everyone present.
"This is the General Huaihua, this is the General Cheji, this is the Lieutenant of the Jinyu Guard... Oh, you should know this one. He is the Commander of the Beijing Suburban Camp..."
The Commander was the superior of Li Rusong's superior.
Li Rusong quickly saluted again. But this Commander, who usually acted haughtily, was a bit scared and quickly returned the salute. His back was bent even lower than the third - rank general's just now...
Li Rusong couldn't help but feel a bit confused.
What was going on?
Those high - ranking officials who used to be so aloof were so amiable today.
If his three daughters weren't already married, he would have suspected that they wanted to marry into his family!
In fact, it wasn't just Li Rusong who was confused.
Many low - ranking military officers present were also dumbfounded.
They couldn't figure out why their superiors were so flattering to a fourth - rank general today...
The matter between the Prince of Ning's Mansion and the Li family was deliberately restricted to a circle of high - ranking officials by General Feng and the powerful in the capital.
Those with lower ranks knew nothing about it.
Just like now, a group of centurions, lieutenants, and staff officers were all looking at each other blankly, not knowing what was going on!
Occasionally, the bolder ones would ask their superiors, but their superiors would all wear an ambiguous expression as if they understood each other well and just say, "You don't need to worry about it! Just follow our lead!"
So, the low - ranking military officers, after receiving the order, could only flatter even more enthusiastically.
Whether they knew Li Rusong or not, they all shouted excitedly.
One said, "General Li is really powerful and valiant."
Another said, "General Li's feat of wiping out the bandit strongholds has spread throughout the Great Sheng. With the General guarding Fujian, why worry about not pacifying the bandits?"
All these flatteries made Li Rusong feel dizzy and as if he was floating in the clouds.
Li Wanming stood aside, feeling both embarrassed and strangely uncomfortable.
Didn't she know whether her father was valiant or not?
Back then, because he couldn't stand his wife's controlling nature, he went to Fujian to join the army. Later, after meeting Lady Yuan, he managed to make a way for himself in the army thanks to Lady Yuan's military prowess...
Even for his greatest military achievement - wiping out the seventy - two bandit strongholds, most of the credit should go to her stubbornness and good luck... It had nothing to do with whether Li Rusong himself was valiant or not!
But didn't the people in the Ministry of War know this? And what about the people in the Beijing Suburban Camp?
Her father had been transferred to the capital for more than two years. Logically, the Beijing Suburban Camp should have investigated these things clearly.
What was going on today?
Why was everyone flattering her father?
Especially those from the Beijing Suburban Camp. They were almost exaggerating her father to be a perfect person.
Just as the crowd was bustling and making a big fuss, someone suddenly saw the Prince of Ning and Xiao Jingnan under the corridor. He almost blurted out, "Your Highness... My Lord... The Old Master is here!"
Li Wanming was stunned.
Old Master?
Who was the Old Master?
Was it her father - in - law?
Her father - in - law's surname was Cheng... And he wasn't any kind of master!
Why were they all staring directly at her father - in - law with such strange expressions?
Xiao Jingnan was the first to react.
He stepped out from beside the Prince and calmly said, "I, Cheng Liqing, pay my respects to all the Lords."
Seeing his son salute, the Prince of Ning also came to his senses and bowed, "I, Cheng... Cheng Yuan, pay my respects to all the Lords."
He didn't have time to think of a name, so he just modified his real name, Xiao Yuancheng.
However, as soon as he bowed...
Oh no!
Almost all the military officers on the opposite side were about to kneel down!
Only Li Wanming and Li Rusong were left standing in the middle, not knowing what to do...
Finally, it was Han He, the Minister of War, who was well - experienced and quickly regained his composure.
"Mr. Cheng is a farmer from Langya and later came to the capital to do business... Agriculture and commerce are the foundation of our dynasty. They are great undertakings beneficial to the country. It is only right for us to pay respects to Mr. Cheng."
Li Wanming was stunned.
Was that really the case?
If so, there were farmers and merchants all over the street... Wouldn't they have to bow to everyone they met when they went out?
However, the Minister Han's words mentioned two words: Langya.
Li Wanming whispered to her father quietly, "Dad, they are so polite. I'm afraid it's because of the Cheng family from Langya..."
Li Rusong said, "Makes sense... Hey? Wait a minute. If it's because of the Cheng family from Langya, they should have shown respect months ago."
The flower - viewing banquet hosted by Princess Chengping was in June, and four months had passed since then.
If those second - and third - rank officials wanted to flatter, they should have started from that time.
Li Wanming thought for a while and then said, "I heard that Princess Chengping visited General Feng in person a few days ago. Maybe it was after that day that the news that my husband's ancestors were once servants of the Cheng family spread in the army..."
"That's it!"
Li Rusong suddenly realized, "It must be so!"
So that was it.
All the second - and third - rank officials in the yard were so respectful to him, a small military officer, because the background of his in - laws had spread in the past few days!
What Li Rusong and Li Wanming didn't know was that there was indeed news that spread after Princess Chengping visited General Feng.
However, it wasn't about the Cheng family's servants.
Instead, it was an order for the high - ranking military officers in the army to keep their mouths shut and not let the truth slip out on the day of the banquet in the General's Mansion!
Martial artists had excellent hearing.
Although Li Wanming and Li Rusong were whispering, at least half of the people present heard what they said.
So, everyone's expressions became subtle.
The high - ranking officials who knew the truth thought, "Fortunately, the Crown Princess is good at self - rationalization and managed to patch up this full - of - holes lie. Otherwise, we don't know how to explain it to the Prince."
The low - ranking officials who didn't know the truth suddenly realized, "Oh, so it's because of the Cheng family from Langya... It's really worth flattering!"
Liang Xiong was the most straightforward. Seeing that the crisis was resolved and feeling relieved, he patted Li Rusong on the shoulder and said, "Brother Li is brave and good at fighting, and his daughter is also a tigeress from a military family!"
"Today is a good day for General Feng to invite his colleagues. How about I send a few junior officers to have a sparring match with Miss Li?"
As soon as he finished speaking, most of the officers' eyes lit up.
Those who knew the truth were delighted. The thing they were most concerned about today was what kind of person the Crown Princess of the Prince's Mansion was!
Many of the old military officers were former comrades - in - arms of the Prince of Ning, Xiao Yuancheng, and quite a few of the young officers were former colleagues of Xiao Jingnan...
They had long wanted to see the legendary Miss Li San!
The future mistress of the Prince's Mansion must be a heroic and invincible female hero!
Those who didn't know the truth widened their eyes. What? They were going to have a sparring match with General Li's daughter?
What was this all about?
Why were they suddenly going to have a fight with a girl for no reason?
As for Li Wanming, there was only one thought in her mind:
Ah...?