Li Wanming picked up a chopstick, twirled it between her fingertips a couple of times, and gave a faint smile.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but you know what kind of person Sun Miaoqing is. How could you believe what she said?"
Guo Xinyue had been feeling extremely uneasy. She just wanted to shrink into a corner and pray that this fire wouldn't burn on her.
She had originally planned to use Lü Songyuan to take the lead, but unexpectedly, the other party didn't fall for it. Instead, without saying a word, she was directly tied to the chariot and was neatly betrayed at the critical moment!
But things had come to this point, and she couldn't back down.
Hearing Lü Songyuan's words, she could only step forward bravely.
"Lady Cheng, your words don't make any sense. Anyway, my sister - in - law is your cousin. How could you slander her with such filthy words?"
Li Wanming put down the chopsticks. "So, it was really her who told you?"
Guo Xinyue bit her lips and said nothing.
If one dug into the root of this matter, it wasn't really Sun Miaoqing who approached her first...
But she couldn't say in front of so many people that she had guessed it herself, could she?
Wouldn't Lü Songyuan skin her alive then?
This way was fine.
She could shift the blame onto Sun Miaoqing, let Lü Songyuan suspect Sun Miaoqing, and let Li Wanming hate Sun Miaoqing... It had nothing to do with her.
Lü Songyuan didn't know who Sun Miaoqing was, but from their conversation, she guessed most of it.
However, it didn't matter. She didn't care how the information was obtained.
What she had to do now was to convict Li Wanming in front of everyone, then submit the case to the Prefect of the Capital, and let the newly - appointed prefect arrest her and throw her into prison!
General Feng was well - known for his integrity. She was confident that no one in the general's mansion could protect Li Wanming today!
"Lady Cheng, you didn't expect this day when you presented wine to the Emperor, did you?"
Lü Songyuan smiled smugly, with a look of pleasure on her face.
"You've been making a fortune these days and have been quite the sensation in the capital. It's a pity..."
Li Wanming stretched lazily and stood up.
"What day? What kind of day could I have?"
"Isn't it just a liquor license? Is it really worth all this trouble, Miss Lü?"
Lü Songyuan's complexion changed slightly, and she sneered. "Disregarding the commercial laws of our dynasty, Lady Cheng really has a big mouth!"
"If all the merchants in our dynasty were as lawless and reckless as Lady Cheng, I'm afraid that in just a few years, our Great Sheng Dynasty would be in a state of lawlessness and chaos!"
Li Wanming raised her eyebrows. "The hat is getting bigger and bigger? If you keep talking, Miss Lü, I'm afraid I'll become a demonic woman who brings disaster to the country and the people..."
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes shining with a meaningful look. "I'll ask you one more time. Who told you I don't have a liquor license?"
Lü Songyuan was stunned. "Didn't we say it was that Sun..."
She suddenly stopped, a bad premonition rising in her heart.
She realized!
Li Wanming's words weren't asking where they got the information from.
Instead, she was saying...
"I have a liquor license."
Li Wanming leaned back on the chair. "I got it before the liquor store even opened."
...
What!
She had a liquor license?
No...
This was impossible.
The procedures for obtaining a liquor license were complicated and time - consuming. No merchant would really obtain the license before starting their business.
If they did, all the liquor merchants in the capital would go bankrupt!
Lü Songyuan's face turned a little pale, but she still pretended to be calm. "Lady Cheng, don't try to deceive us..."
"Why would I deceive you?"
Li Wanming said indifferently. "Although I've been in the capital for a short time, I have a good friend named Liu Yiyi. Her family has been in the raw silk and satin business in the capital for many years."
"When I first came to the capital, I thought about whether I could sell the Danli wine from Fujian here. So I asked her to inquire about the relevant matters and learned that if I wanted to sell wine in the capital, I needed a liquor license issued by the Ministry of Revenue."
"At that time, I wasn't married yet, and my mother wouldn't let me run around. So it was just a plan, and I never carried it out."
"Later..."
She glanced at Xiao Jingnan and smiled. "Later, I found my ideal husband and moved out. Of course, I could then give full play to my abilities."
"So, I have a liquor license."
Li Wanming straightened up and stared into Lü Songyuan's eyes. "What else do you have to say, Miss Lü?"
Lü Songyuan was filled with a mixture of shock and anger, as if struck by a thunderbolt. But on the surface, she remained calm and asked, "When did you apply for the liquor license?"
Li Wanming thought for a while and said, "About one or two months before the liquor store opened."
At that time, she had just married Xiao Jingnan and was worrying about the liquor license. Coincidentally, she learned that Pei Yanqi was this year's top scholar, so she asked him to handle the liquor license.
After hearing this, the corner of Lü Songyuan's mouth curled up in a sarcastic smile.
Her father was the Grand Tutor, and she knew too well the efficiency of the moths in the court!
Inspection, acceptance, documentation, review... The procedures for opening a liquor store were extremely troublesome. Those people in the Ministry of Revenue would definitely shift the responsibility to each other and procrastinate as much as possible. How could they finish it in just one month?
Li Wanming was lying!
Most likely, she wanted to deal with the current situation first and then use the relationship of Princess Chengping or General Yunhui to get the liquor license from the Ministry of Revenue later.
In this way, it would be done secretly...
But how could she be allowed to succeed?
Lü Songyuan snorted and said, "Lady Cheng, don't talk nonsense. If you really have a liquor license, why don't you take it out and let us have a look?"
Li Rusong said embarrassedly, "What you said doesn't make sense. Who would carry a liquor license with them all the time..."
"People who are doing big business would!"
Lü Songyuan was aggressive. "I heard that General Feng ordered a thousand jars of wine today. This is not a small amount. Wouldn't Lady Cheng prepare the liquor license for inspection?"
"Even if Lady Cheng didn't bring it with her, I can send someone to the Cheng family's liquor store to get it. Lady Cheng just needs to tell us where it is."
Li Rusong was stunned. "Miss Lü, what do you mean? Are you trying to变相软禁 my daughter here?"
Lü Songyuan smiled faintly. "General Li, don't be impatient. Once the liquor license is brought here, everything will be clear. I'm just afraid that your daughter is operating without a license, violating the laws of the Great Sheng Dynasty, and even committing the crime of deceiving the Emperor... She won't be able to leave today even if she wants to!"
Feng Xiao was watching this drama take unexpected turns and thought it was extremely exciting. He couldn't help but look at Xiao Jingnan.
He saw that Xiao Jingnan looked surprised.
It seemed that the fact that Li Wanming said she had a liquor license surprised him even more than Lü Songyuan barging in to cause trouble.
"You have a liquor license?" Xiao Jingnan asked in a low voice.
"Of course."
Li Wanming gave him a strange look. "Without a liquor license, how can one open a store and do business? That would be operating without a license."
She raised her head, and a smile slowly appeared on the corner of her lips. "Coincidentally, Miss Lü, I really did bring the liquor license with me today."