Afterwards, Li Wanming didn't like to recall that night.
Every time she did, her chest would feel tight, her breathing would become short, and her forehead would throb painfully.
In short, that night, when Princess Danyang finally left, the tables and chairs in the Changxing Inn were smashed to pieces.
The white gauze on the crescent - shaped platform was torn down, and the wisteria trellis was in a complete mess on the ground.
Li Wanming never knew that Princess Danyang, who looked so charming and gentle, could be so destructive when enraged.
Nor did she know that Zhao Yanke, who usually looked like a good - for - nothing and weakling, was so agile.
He made use of whatever was at hand, like the folding screens, flower vines, and curtains in the yard, and fought back and forth with Princess Danyang.
Finally, when both of them were exhausted, Danyang gasped for breath and angrily left a warning: "If you dare to make that seductive woman the queen, I guarantee she won't survive three days in the palace!"
After saying that, she turned around and left.
When Danyang finally got into the carriage, she looked down at Li Wanming.
In that look, there were warnings, scrutiny, anger, hatred... All these emotions were transformed into boundless hatred, like a cold sword blade that seemed to cut down on her head for a long time.
Li Wanming was full of grievances.
Wronged.
She was really wronged!
Although she didn't get involved in court affairs, she had vaguely heard that Empress Dowager Kang wanted to make Lü Songyuan the queen.
Now that the emperor had come to her shop and fallen in love with another woman, it was hard not to make people suspect that she, the shop owner, had deliberately arranged it to please the emperor and seduce him...
Damn it, she was so wronged!
How could she know that Zhao Yanke would come that night?
How could she know that Zhao Yanke would like a woman like Su Xiaozhu?
... No, how could she know that Zhao Yanke would publicly claim that he had fallen in love with someone without even seeing her face clearly and even wanted to make her the queen?
It seemed that Zhao Yanke was the one with a problem in the head... What did it have to do with her!
Danyang stared at her for a long time and finally coldly said: "Miss Cheng, you're really scheming."
"Your Highness, I didn't..."
Li Wanming was on the verge of tears. All her grievances were on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't say them out. They were just stuck in her throat and turned into a silent sob.
Danyang didn't wait for her to finish. She angrily dropped the carriage curtain and drove away in a cloud of dust.
It was as if if she stayed there for one more second, she would not be able to resist beheading Li Wanming!
Li Wanming watched the rolling dust left by the carriage wheels in the deep night and sobbed out the words she hadn't been able to say: "Your Highness, I really didn't deliberately arrange for a woman to seduce the emperor!"
...
Inside the inn, Xiao Jingnan knocked on the only small square table left in front of Zhao Yanke so hard that he almost knocked a hole in it.
"What were you thinking! Claiming to make Miss Su the queen in front of the princess?"
Zhao Yanke was stunned for a moment, then suddenly grinned and laughed: "So her surname is Su..."
Xiao Jingnan was so angry that his chest ached.
He steadied his mind and pleaded earnestly: "Your Majesty! Your Highness!"
"I know that you are full of strange ideas and always have unexpected strategies. But before you take your next move, could you please discuss it with me first?"
"You just said those words on a whim and angered the princess. But have you ever thought about the danger it will bring to Miss Su?"
Zhao Yanke had just finished fighting with Danyang and his chest was still heaving.
He wiped the sweat from his head with a handkerchief and said: "I wasn't completely talking nonsense just now."
"That Miss Su has excellent singing and dancing skills. She is so talented and gentle. She is much better than Lü Songyuan. I really had the thought of making her the queen just now."
"I know she is a commoner girl, but I just want the empress dowager to know that I would rather marry a commoner girl than let a girl from the Lü family enter the harem!"
Xiao Jingnan took a deep breath and asked: "Do you know who she is?"
Zhao Yanke was startled and stood up.
"What? Does she have another identity?"
Xiao Jingnan looked directly into his eyes: "She is not really a commoner girl. She is the daughter of the prefectural governor of Yongzhou."
Xiao Jingnan told Zhao Yanke all about Su Xiaozhu's identity and also mentioned that Chen Jinde had colluded with the local government in the capital and wanted to frame the Zhaoyu Academy by using Su Xiaozhu's identity.
Zhao Yanke was surprised for a long time after hearing this.
"You guys are really bold to let the daughter of the prefectural governor perform on stage!"
Xiao Jingnan said impatiently: "Not as bold as you. You said you wanted to make her the queen without even knowing who she was."
Zhao Yanke smacked his lips: "If she is the daughter of an official, it's a bit troublesome..."
"It's not just troublesome." Xiao Jingnan said: "Chen Jinde dared to use this matter to attack the Zhaoyu Academy. Although he failed because of the perfunctory attitude of the local government in the capital, we can still see that the prefectural governor of Yongzhou is in collusion with him."
Zhao Yanke wondered: "But Chen Jinde has always been a narrow - minded and unyielding person. He doesn't have many close friends in the court. How did he get in touch with the prefectural governor of Yongzhou?"
Xiao Jingnan pondered: "I suspect that there may be the empress dowager's instructions behind this..."
Zhao Yanke fell silent.
Xiao Jingnan didn't make it too clear, but he understood.
If the Su family was supported by the empress dowager, then in a sense, Su Xiaozhu was also the empress dowager's person.
It would be ridiculous for him to use Su Xiaozhu to fight against Empress Dowager Kang. It was extremely ridiculous.
Zhao Yanke sighed: "Cousin, you're right. I was too hasty."
His face suddenly became very gloomy. It wasn't the deep and reserved look, nor the free - spirited one, and even less the stupid and unreliable look he usually pretended to have. It was a kind of indescribable darkness.
"Ha, the emperor..."
He lowered his head and murmured to himself with a sarcastic tone: "I can't even decide who I want to marry. What kind of supreme ruler am I? I'm just another bird in a golden cage..."
"Your Majesty..."
After being dejected for a while, Zhao Yanke suddenly raised his head and his eyebrows relaxed: "It's good this way!"
"In this way, after my elder sister knows about it, she won't trouble Miss Su anymore... Well, nor will she trouble you guys."
Xiao Jingnan frowned and looked at him. After a while, he said: "Your Majesty, didn't you think that the princess would cause trouble for the shop at the beginning?"
Zhao Yanke laughed: "My elder sister may not really want me to marry Lü Songyuan. She was just angry because she thought I was too unreliable! After she calms down, she will figure it out and won't do anything to you guys."
The two of them said a few more words, and both of them tacitly didn't mention Su Xiaozhu or the caged bird anymore.
It was as if the "love" that had sprouted that night was really just a startling dream during a garden tour.
The matter passed like water, leaving no trace.
————————
On the carriage, Fang Zhi looked at Li Wanming several times, hesitating to speak.
Li Wanming kept a cold face and pretended not to see.
"Miss Cheng, just now was it..."
"No."
"I seem to have seen..."
"No, you didn't."
Li Wanming's words were firm and left no room for Fang Zhi to inquire.
Just now, Fang Zhi had gone in to change clothes. When she came out, she saw the princess and the emperor fighting. Li Wanming and her husband and Feng Xiao were trying to stop them on one side, but the princess and the emperor were so strong that the three of them could hardly hold them back...
She was stunned!
On the other hand, she also knew that the fight between the princess and the emperor must involve the secrets of the royal family. She couldn't ask directly, so she could only take the opportunity when Li Wanming was sending her home to ask quietly.
Unfortunately, Li Wanming looked serious all the way, looking straight ahead and giving her no chance at all.