After the ribbon - cutting ceremony, Lü Songyuan said a few high - sounding words, then nodded haughtily and was about to leave.
Among the female guests who came today, she had the highest status. She had truly shown her charm and stolen the limelight.
If her father asked about it later, she would have something to say.
Now that the ribbon - cutting was over and her goal had been achieved, the operation of the academy had nothing to do with her from then on, and she didn't intend to interfere.
Just as Lü Songyuan was about to get into the carriage, she suddenly saw a wide - brimmed carriage rumbling rapidly from the street corner.
The carriage was elaborately carved and wrapped in colorful silk. It was even more exquisite and luxurious than hers!
Lü Songyuan's face darkened.
She knew whose carriage it was.
Before the gorgeous carriage came to a full stop, a young girl jumped out of it.
Her skin was as white as snow, and her figure was graceful. The pearls and hairpins on her head sparkled brightly. Wearing a narrow - waisted water - green long dress, she looked even more youthful, lively and dazzlingly beautiful.
The girl jumped off the carriage, scanned the people on the scene with her eyes, and then shouted at Li Wanming, "Miss Cheng, why didn't you invite me and Sister Xiao when your academy opened?"
Behind her, a slender woman slowly got off the carriage.
The woman was tall, elegant and dignified.
But at this moment, her eyebrows were slightly frowned, as if she was worried.
She walked up to Li Wanming and took out a brocade box. "Miss Cheng, upon hearing the opening of Zhaoyu Academy, Sister Fang and I have come especially to present our congratulatory gifts. We hope you won't mind."
The appearance of Fang Zhi and Xiao Yingchu surprised Li Wanming.
However, after a moment's thought, she understood.
Fang Zhi always liked to compete with Lü Songyuan. The two of them were at odds with each other, which was an open secret in the circle of noble ladies in the capital.
Today, Lü Songyuan was invited to cut the ribbon for the academy, but Fang Zhi was not. Fang Zhi must be unhappy when she heard about it... She had come here specifically to cause trouble for Miss Lü!
As for Xiao Yingchu... Fang Zhi liked to take her everywhere. Presumably, this time she had dragged her along to back her up.
Li Wanming took the brocade box and opened it. Inside was a fine Luowen Gezhou inkstone, which was obviously very valuable. It was clear that they had put a lot of thought into it.
"I didn't mean not to invite Miss Fang. It's just that..."
Before Li Wanming could finish her sentence, she heard Lü Songyuan beside her give a disdainful snort.
"What for? This is an academy. Naturally, they should invite talented women. You always rank last in every subject. If Miss Cheng invited you, wouldn't it be ruining her own reputation?"
She was in a good mood at the moment and couldn't help getting carried away.
Fang Zhi was furious and immediately scolded, "What's so great about you? If you're really that capable, why haven't you ever managed to become a queen?"
This sentence really hit Lü Songyuan hard.
Her face instantly turned bright red, and her hands clenched tightly, with the knuckles turning white.
Seeing that they were on the verge of conflict as soon as they met, Li Wanming was afraid that things would get out of hand and affect the opening of the academy today, so she urged everyone to go inside.
"Miss Fang, Miss Lü, since you've all come today, please come in and have a glass of wine. Both of you are outstanding students of Zangshan Academy. Your presence here today is like a phoenix alighting on my humble Zhaoyu Academy."
Lü Songyuan was angry, but it was not a good time for her to leave.
If she left at this moment, it would seem as if she was afraid of Fang Zhi.
Fang Zhi didn't care at all. She gave Lü Songyuan a provocative look and strode inside. "I'll drink! I've come here today specifically to ask for a glass of wine!"
Xiao Yingchu followed behind her. When she passed by Xiao Jingnan, she whispered in a hurry, "Cousin, I didn't mean to come today..."
Xiao Jingnan nodded. "I know. It was Aunt Hu who asked you to come."
"Cousin, I..."
"Don't say any more." Xiao Jingnan interrupted her. "Since you're here, you're a guest. Go in."
Lu Ping walked over with a gloomy face. "My lord, what does the Second Lady of the Ning Palace want by sending Miss Xiao here?"
Xiao Jingnan said indifferently, "What else? To find out about my situation and... to see if I'm really not going to die."
Mrs. Hu, the second wife of the Ning Palace, had been in charge of the affairs of the palace on behalf of the Princess of Ning for these years. Gradually, she had developed some improper thoughts.
She had a son who was only eight years old this year, the younger brother of Xiao Yingchu.
Previously, Xiao Jingnan had always been in poor health. Later, a wandering Taoist had predicted that if he didn't get married, he wouldn't live past twenty.
Mrs. Hu had an idea in her mind.
If Xiao Jingnan died, would her son be able to become the new heir of the Ning Palace and take over the entire palace in the future?
"Previously, Father and Mother told her that they were going to the villa in Pingkangfang for recuperation. The banquet of General Feng caused quite a stir some time ago. She probably knows the truth by now, so she sent Cousin Yingchu here to find out about my situation."
Lu Ping said angrily, "The Prince and the Princess have been so kind to her, yet she still has such thoughts. It's really..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he looked up and met Xiao Jingnan's warning eyes. He immediately realized that he had said something wrong and quickly said, "I spoke carelessly. I deserve to die."
Xiao Jingnan paused. "Don't say such things again."
"Because, our branch of the family does owe her a life."
Before long, all the guests who had been standing at the door went inside.
The on - lookers were also greeted by Qinglan to one side to answer questions about enrollment.
Sun Miaoqing said blankly, "Shall we go in too?"
Guo Xinyue said angrily, "Go in for what? To be looked down upon? "
It was easy to control this sister - in - law of hers, but she was so stupid.
Li Wanming didn't send anyone to greet them. Did they have to force themselves in?
Moreover, if she had known that Lü Songyuan would come today, she definitely wouldn't have come to watch this show.
She didn't know what method Li Wanming had used, but she had actually made up with Miss Lü and even invited her to cut the ribbon!
And Pei Yanqi had come all the way here...
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got!
Li Wanming, you're already married. Why are you still entangled with Scholar Pei?
Guo Xinyue's nails dug into her palms, and her teeth were clenched tightly.
She could win over both men and women... Li Wanming, you really have good methods!
The angrier she got, the more her anger was directed at Sun Miaoqing. She glared at her for a while and then said viciously, "Let's go home!"
Sun Miaoqing shivered for no reason and followed her into the carriage.
Just before going inside, Li Wanming happened to see this scene.
She sighed and still walked up to the carriage and gently tapped on the window.
Guo Xinyue lifted the curtain. "Why aren't you greeting your guests? What do you want from me?"
Sun Miaoqing also poked her head out. "What are you doing here? Humph, even if you invite us in now, we won't go!"
Li Wanming still didn't look at her. She only said to Guo Xinyue, "Although she's very stupid, not much smarter than a donkey, she's still a relative of the Li family after all. Your Guo family shouldn't go too far."
Guo Xinyue squinted her eyes. "What are you talking about? Sister - in - law has married into our family and is a daughter - in - law of the Guo family. No matter how Mother teaches her, it's our family's business. What does it matter to you?"
Seeing Li Wanming pleading for Sun Miaoqing, the doubts in her heart that had been there before began to surface. She was even more convinced that the matter of the wine tokens was a scheme jointly planned by the two cousins.
Of course, Li Wanming didn't know what was on her mind. She just looked into her eyes and calmly said two words, "Danyang."
Danyang!!!
Guo Xinyue's pupils shrank sharply.
How did she know about her brother's affair with Princess Danyang?
Was she threatening them with this matter?
"Danyang? What Danyang? Is it a Taoist temple?"
Sun Miaoqing was completely confused.
There was a smile on the corner of Li Wanming's mouth. She knew that Guo Xinyue understood.
With this name as protection, the Guo family should not dare to humiliate Sun Miaoqing in the future.
Li Wanming turned her gaze to Sun Miaoqing, waved for her to come closer, and whispered, "This is not the first time you've tried to harm me, but it will be the last time I save you."
"From now on, we'll go our separate ways. Your life and death will have nothing to do with me from now on."