The square and neat official document on rice paper clearly stated the location of the shop, the types of business, the name of the operator... In the lower - right corner, there was a bright red official seal of the Ministry of Revenue.
Lv Songyuan stared at the liquor license in front of her. Her body swayed slightly, and she could hardly stand steady. She murmured to herself, "It's impossible, impossible..."
However, the seal in the lower - right corner clearly showed the four Chinese characters "Seal of the Ministry of Revenue" in small seal script.
Her face turned pale, and she said angrily in a fit of rage, "Li Wanming, how dare you forge official documents?"
Li Wanming calmly picked up her wine, took a sip, and then said, "Miss Lv, I can't bear such a charge."
"The Ministry of Revenue keeps records for every liquor license issued. If you want to know whether this license was issued by the Ministry of Revenue, you can go and check it. Why would I take such a great risk to forge a document?"
Lv Songyuan still refused to give in. "What a coincidence! I'm here to expose you today, and you just happen to have it with you..."
Li Wanming feigned surprise. "Didn't you just say that? For a big order like the one from the General's Mansion, how could I not carry the liquor license with me for inspection?"
Actually, she always carried the liquor license with her when delivering wine to big customers. She was afraid that the doorman of some mansion might suddenly ask to check it. But for some reason, whether it was the Princess Chengping's Mansion, the General's Mansion, or even the Imperial Palace, they were all very polite to her, and no one asked to check her license. So she just didn't bother to take it out. If Lv Songyuan hadn't come to make a scene today, she would have even forgotten that she had it with her.
Guo Xinyue was also extremely shocked. She rushed forward, snatched the liquor license, and read the words on it one by one. "Impossible! Your liquor store opened just a few months ago. The Ministry of Revenue can't be that efficient. How could they issue the liquor license so quickly?"
Feng Yuanji gently tapped on the table. "Miss Guo, watch your words."
Guo Xinyue's face turned pale, and she regretted her slip - of - the - tongue deeply.
It was a well - known secret that the six ministries in the imperial court were all dilatory. They could drag out a one - month job for a whole year. They would work faster if bribed, and if not, they would procrastinate indefinitely. As the saying goes, "The six gates of the yamen swing wide open; if you have no money, don't come in even if you're in the right." Everyone knew this, but it couldn't be said. Especially today, at General Feng's banquet, all the people present were officials. They all protected each other. Even though they were military officers and at odds with the civil - official system, they still worked in the same court. Her words just now, openly accusing the Ministry of Revenue of dereliction of duty and occupying positions without doing their jobs, were like slapping the faces of everyone present.
Guo Xinyue looked up and saw that everyone had an unfriendly expression on their faces.
Li Wanming sat there boldly in the middle and said, "Well, I really don't understand what Miss Guo means. Anyway, when I applied for the liquor license, the officials in the Ministry of Revenue were very efficient. They not only completed the procedures quickly but also had a very good attitude. They truly deserve to be the parents - officials of the people, always keeping the people's needs in mind."
Liang Xiong stared with wide eyes. "Really? If that's the case, the Ministry of Revenue is really a group of good officials dedicated to governance and the well - being of the people!"
Li Wanming nodded. "Of course, they love the people as if they were their own children!"
Of course... it wasn't true. She never even entered the Ministry of Revenue. The liquor license was obtained for her by Pei Yanqi. Later, he asked her for two hundred taels of silver, saying it was for bribing people to get the license. She gave him two hundred and fifty taels and said it would be deducted from his year - end bonus. She also said that whether it was him or the Ministry of Revenue, they were only worth this amount! But this couldn't be said. The situation was already complicated enough, and she couldn't drag Pei Yanqi into it. Moreover, during the flower - throwing event on the long street, she had already claimed that she didn't know Pei Yanqi. Saying now that he got the license for her would be like slapping herself in the face in public. So she had to insist that the liquor license was issued by those good officials in the Ministry of Revenue who were dedicated to governance, diligent, selfless, and always working day and night for the people!
Hearing this, Li Rusong let out a long sigh of relief and felt relieved. "I knew it. Our Wanming is not a reckless person. She won't do anything illegal! Oh, it's just a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding. It's good that we've cleared it up!" He didn't really understand what a liquor license was or the ins and outs of the matter. But since Li Wanming said she had obtained it, then she had. In his eyes, his daughter seemed carefree and unreliable on the surface, but actually, she had a good head on her shoulders and was very smart. Today's incident was probably because Lv Songyuan was deceived and thus misunderstood his Wanming.
However, Li Wanming gently shook her head and said, "Father, I don't know if it's a misunderstanding. But I just remembered something. Last time when grandmother celebrated her birthday, Miss Guo said that Yiyi insulted them for no reason. The princess said that according to the law of our dynasty, those who slander and defame others' reputations should be beaten with thirty strokes of the cane and exiled for one year..." Her eyes shifted. "Miss Guo, you were there at that time. Do you still remember?"
Guo Xinyue shrank her neck. How could she forget? At that time, Li Wanming and Liu Yiyi beat Sun Miaoqing black and blue, and the conflict almost spread to her... Then Princess Chengping stepped in and gave Sun Miaoqing twenty strokes of the cane!
Li Wanming winked at her father, signaling him not to interfere. Then she slowly said, "I just don't know if Miss Lv coming in today and saying that I'm operating without a license and deceiving the emperor counts as spreading rumors and slandering others?"
Li Rusong originally thought that since it was just a misunderstanding, they should just let it go. But seeing Li Wanming's wink, he knew she had other plans. So he coughed twice and said nothing more. He was used to following his wife at home and his daughter outside. In his heart, whatever his wife and daughter said was right. Especially a smart and lively daughter like Wanming. Since Wanming told him not to interfere, he wouldn't. He just sat there calmly, drinking wine and watching the show!
Lv Songyuan's face flushed red, and her hands slowly clenched into fists. Only now did she suddenly realize that she seemed to have been played. Although she had seen through Guo Xinyue's intention of using her to deal with Li Wanming and was dragged here by her, she had overlooked another thing... What if Guo Xinyue was also deceived? What if they were both used as pawns? She never thought that the new daughter - in - law of the Guo family would be so scheming! (Sun Miaoqing cries loudly: I didn't do it...) As a result, now, Li Wanming was accusing her of spreading rumors and slandering, turning the tables on her. But she wasn't afraid! Her father was the Grand Tutor, one of the Three Dukes, in charge of the military and political affairs of the country! A minor and unclear slander charge couldn't touch her. But it was really embarrassing to suffer such a big loss in front of all the military officers today. If this got out, her father would surely not spare her... Yes, for Miss Lv, her father's punishment was far more terrifying than the national law.
At this moment, Xiao Jingnan suddenly said, "What slander or no slander? Wife, you're really good at joking. Miss Lv just came today to ask if you've got the liquor license. If not, you should apply for it earlier, or you might be suspected of deceiving the emperor."
Li Wanming suddenly turned her head and stared at him in disbelief, her eyes full of anger. What was this man talking nonsense about? Just now, Lv Songyuan clearly wanted to kill her. Couldn't he see that? However, Xiao Jingnan quietly pinched her arm under the table and whispered in her ear, "Wife, congratulations. Your academy is about to open!"