On the way back from the City God Temple, the corners of Li Wanming's mouth never dropped.
Just thinking about the stunned and incredulous look on Mrs. He's face made her feel delighted.
Mrs. Li's face, on the other hand, was extremely ugly. She even grabbed a young Taoist priest who was distributing porridge and asked for a long time whether they had made a mistake. How could the person who had donated the most merit money this year be her...
This made Li Wanming feel not only relieved but also indignant.
"My own grandmother values outsiders more than me. She treats me like an enemy and wishes nothing but bad luck for me! Seeing me doing well just upsets her!"
Xiao Jingnan leaned against the carriage and closed his eyes lazily without saying a word. He just let Li Wanming vent her emotions.
In his opinion, in the inner courtyard of the Li family, there was only an old woman and her dim - witted younger sister causing trouble all year round. This was actually quite worry - free.
At most, they would have to lose a bit of silver, which was not a big deal.
Moreover, Mrs. He's greatest confidence now was her granddaughter who was the young mistress of the family of the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
But this granddaughter...
Xiao Jingnan opened his eyes slightly, with a somewhat inscrutable look on his face.
Princess Danyang was no kind - hearted person.
She would not allow Guo Ziyan to have any thoughts of rebellion, just like a master would not tolerate a dog wagging its tail at others.
The reason why Princess Danyang hadn't taken action against Sun Miaoqing might be that on the one hand, she was concerned about the Li family, and on the other hand, she disdained to do so.
Sun Miaoqing's own status was too low, and Danyang was too lazy to deal with her.
It had to be said that Guo Wei had indeed chosen a wonderful daughter - in - law for the Guo family.
However, from another perspective, this delicate status was beneficial to the Guo family but made Sun Miaoqing's situation even more dangerous.
She was just like an ant wrapped in honey.
Surrounded by tigers and wolves, in a dangerous situation, but she could only see the bit of sugar beside her.
As long as one of the tigers or wolves moved its claws, it could make her die without a burial place.
It was a pity that neither Sun Miaoqing nor Mrs. He understood this truth.
They really thought that the Guo family was a golden and jade - decorated haven of peace and couldn't see the blood - thirsty fangs hidden in the dark at all.
Xiao Jingnan gently shook his head, trying to shake these things out of his mind.
He was no saint and couldn't care about everyone's fate.
He smiled, changed to a relaxed tone, and asked, "There are only five days left until the bet with the Imperial College. All three shops are making a profit, and the money owed to the bank has also been earned back. Wife, you've won a great victory this time. Are you relieved now?"
Hearing him mention this, Li Wanming put aside her previous unhappiness, and her whole face was filled with an overjoyed smile.
"Of course! Five days later, that Chen Jinde will have to send my elder sister out in person! Haha, just thinking about the look on his face when he has to admit defeat makes me want to laugh..."
She pressed down the corners of her mouth and suddenly looked a bit worried. "Have you checked the accounts? Are you sure you've calculated it correctly? Have our three shops really made money? There are still five days left. That Chen Jinde won't come up with any more dirty tricks to harm us, will he?"
Xiao Jingnan answered her questions one by one.
"I've checked."
"I'm sure I've calculated it very clearly, extremely clearly, without a single mistake in the numbers."
"Yes, all three of our shops are making money, and quite a lot. Now all three shops are in a stable profit - making state. Wife, you can rest assured."
"As for Chen Jinde..."
He stretched lazily and replied, "As far as I know, when he first heard that you had borrowed 100,000 taels of silver, he was quite shocked and stayed in bed for more than a month. Later, he used Ma Wu to cause trouble for our pawnshop, but not only did he fail to achieve his goal, but instead our pawnshop took advantage of the situation and opened up a new situation. After that, he completely lost his spirit and didn't make any more moves."
"I guess," Xiao Jingnan's eyes sparkled with a sly light, "he's completely dejected now and is only thinking about how he can admit defeat without losing too much face. He shouldn't have the energy to provoke you anymore."
Li Wanming said happily, "So, I can pick up my elder sister in five days!"
She murmured happily, "I have to tell Qinglan to clean up a side room in the academy quickly... And the courses! My elder sister knows how to grow vegetables and weave cloth. We can start all these courses!"
Looking at her happy look, Xiao Jingnan thought of something. After pondering for a moment, he still said, "Wife, have you asked for elder sister's opinion if you want her to leave the Chen family?"
Li Wanming bit her lips, and her face suddenly became a bit gloomy.
After a moment, she said, "I know what you want to say. But elder sister has been imprisoned by the Chen family for too long, and her mind is full of the idea that a woman should take her husband as her master... She doesn't want a divorce herself. It would be extremely difficult for me to save her."
"So the best way now is to get her out of the Chen family first, so that she can know that there are many colorful girls in this world. Not all of them have to lock themselves in that small courtyard and obey their husbands and in - laws."
"Besides, this is a bet between me and Chen Jinde. If I win, she has to come out, whether she wants to or not..."
Her voice gradually became lower, with a bit of bitterness. "Elder sister loves me so much. She won't blame me."
Xiao Jingnan felt a pang of sourness in his heart. He wanted to reach out and stroke her hair, but finally hesitated in the air and landed on her shoulder, gently patting it.
"Elder sister certainly won't blame you. But a person's thoughts are deeply ingrained. I'm afraid it's not so easy to change them. Wife, you have to give elder sister some time..."
Li Wanming looked up and said seriously, "My elder sister will understand. When my second elder sister was doing special training back then, she made both me and elder sister cry out in pain. Later, when elder sister was spotted by the dragon - boat team in the town and won the championship in the dragon - boat race, you should have seen her expression. She was beaming..."
Xiao Jingnan's look became even more meaningful. "Are you sure elder sister wanted to row the dragon - boat herself, and not just to make you happy?"
"I..."
Li Wanming was stunned.
She had never thought about this question.
When elder sister was spotted by the dragon - boat team, both she and Li Wanmo were extremely happy and kept encouraging her to participate. Even their parents said it was a rare opportunity and she should go...
So, did Li Wanxin really want to join the dragon - boat team?
She seemed to have never said that she wanted to go...
Li Wanming suddenly felt a bit deflated.
So, the most beaming moment of elder sister in her memory was just to make the family happy?
In this world, what on earth did Li Wanxin really want?
Seeing her like this, Xiao Jingnan felt even more reluctant. He opened his mouth to persuade her, "Wanming, it's never an easy thing to find the path one wants to take. What you should do is to give elder sister a chance to choose, not to make decisions for her."
"When she one day determines what she wants to do, you should respect her, support her, and bless her. Don't force her..."
Li Wanming listened to his words and lowered her head, silent.
After a while, she raised her head again and said slowly, "Anyway, I have to pull her out of the Chen family first. Otherwise, if she's trapped with those old - fashioned people every day, her mind will be filled with nothing but the virtues and precepts for women."
"If she doesn't come out to see this world, how will she know that this world is not what she wants?"
As for the future... Of course, she would definitely support whatever her elder sister wanted to do!
Xiao Jingnan's words were really strange. Would she oppose what her elder sister wanted to do?