After Xiao Jingnan finished his impassioned speech, he winked at Li Wanming quietly.
Li Wanming gave him an understanding smile and gave him a thumbs - up. The last bit of unhappiness in her heart also vanished.
Yes, so what if Chen Jinde didn't come?
He had already lost.
Since he was unwilling to fulfill the agreement and come to face the humiliation in person, then he would have to face the humiliation of the whole capital!
Li Wanxin had been listening until now before she roughly understood what was going on. She was shocked:
"A bet? The shop? Little sister, is it true that my father - in - law..."
Li Wanming smiled, held her hand, and slowly led her into the academy.
"It's all in the past, big sister. It's all over. From now on, you'll be the teacher here. Teach the students how to grow vegetables, weave cloth, and other survival skills. You'll find that they're all very lovely girls."
Now that her big sister was out, only her second sister was left.
However, the He family had the title of earl, so it might be even more difficult to get her second sister out... It didn't matter. Take it slowly. Sooner or later, the three sisters of the Li family would be reunited.
Just as Li Wanming was about to lead her big sister into the academy, a carriage galloped over from a distant street corner.
The coachman raised his whip high. The whole carriage drove at a breakneck speed, and the carriage body was dragged and jolted from side to side, almost falling apart.
It wasn't until it reached the academy gate that there were too many people in front. The coachman then reined in the galloping horse. With a beautiful somersault, he leaped down from the front of the carriage.
"Second sister!" Li Wanming exclaimed in surprise.
Li Wanmo strode over and said bluntly, "You heartless girl! I spoiled you so much when you were little, yet you only thought about getting the big sister out. How come you didn't think about getting me out too?"
Li Wanming was both overjoyed and flustered. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She happily pulled Li Wanmo into the courtyard and asked, "Second sister, how did you get out?"
"How did I get out? How dare you even ask!"
Li Wanmo poked her finger on Li Wanming's forehead and said, "The He family was talking about your bet with the Imperial College today. They said you were reckless and immoral, and that you had offended the Imperial College. You would surely come to a bad end. Xia He happened to overhear it... Hey, where's Xia He?"
At this moment, a thin figure squeezed in through the gate: "Second miss, I'm here..."
A maid with double buns in her hair was seen carrying a bundle. She was sweating profusely and her face was pale as she squeezed out from the almost - closed gate.
"Xia He, what's wrong with you?" Li Wanming asked.
Xia He was Li Wanmo's personal maid and had gone to the He family with Li Wanmo.
"I... Ugh!"
Xia He was just about to speak when she bent over and retched.
Li Wanmo glanced at her and said indifferently, "It's nothing. I just drove the carriage a bit too fast. She got jolted."
Xia He weakly raised her head and said aggrievedly, "It wasn't just a bit too fast, miss. You were almost flying..."
Li Wanmo turned her head and flicked Li Wanming on the head. She said angrily, "It's all because of her! If I hadn't come quickly, she would have locked me out of the gate!"
Li Wanming said apologetically, "I just didn't know you'd come today... Second sister, please tell me quickly. How did you get out?"
As she spoke, she led Li Wanmo into the side room and told Qing Lan to deal with the still - excited commoners outside.
It wasn't until there were only their own people left in the room that she poured a cup of tea for Li Wanmo and asked for the detailed situation.
Li Wanmo tilted her head and drank the cup of tea in one gulp. Then she continued:
"Xia He overheard those shameless people scolding you behind your back and quickly came to tell me. When I heard that, I was furious! It was okay for them to lock me up like a prisoner on a daily basis, but now they were scolding my sister. Wasn't this like shitting on our Li family's neck?"
"In a fit of anger, I took my silver - hilted wind - leaf spear and went over!"
"When the He family saw me coming, their faces turned pale... Hmph, so they were guilty after all? I only said a few words to He Muhao, and then we started arguing. Then... Then I smashed up the He mansion."
After hearing this, Li Wanming and Xiao Jingnan glanced at each other, both looking at a loss.
The situation of the second sister was different from that of the big sister.
Although the big sister had been tormented by Mrs. Chen, her personal freedom hadn't been completely restricted. So her maid, Qiuying, could go out and had heard a bit about her little sister's competition with the Imperial College.
However, she was too restricted by the doctrine that women should be gentle and submissive. She chose not to listen to improper things and not to discuss the elders' right or wrong, so she didn't know much about the details of this matter.
But Li Wanmo had been locked up by the He family as a crazy woman.
Although she had managed to fight for a relatively free small world in the back courtyard of the He family with her own resistance and the support of Princess Chengping, she was still locked up in the He family and had poor access to information.
She had no idea what was going on outside.
The He family never mentioned anything about the outside world in front of her, especially things related to the Li family.
Her maid, Xia He, was also locked up at home with her and couldn't go out.
But she had managed to gain her personal freedom through this incident. It was really surprising...
In fact, Li Wanmo herself was also confused. The He family knew she was a hot - tempered person and never mentioned the Li family in front of her. What had happened today?
Li Wanmo didn't know that today's incident was just a coincidence.
Because of the bet on the shop, the Imperial College had suffered a great defeat. Not only had Chen Jinde lost face, but he had also lost his daughter - in - law. This had made the He family feel a deep sense of crisis.
When the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Li Wanming's invincible performance had made the He family feel threatened.
After all, they knew very well how they had treated the Li family before. Now that they saw that even the director of the Imperial College had been defeated by Li Wanming, how could they not be panicked?
This panic made them a bit desperate.
Just then, Xia He went to collect her rations and happened to overhear the He father and son scolding Li Wanming.
What? How dare they scold their third miss?
Humph, she was Li Wanmo's maid!
Even though she was a bit weak, she would never allow such an insult.
Xia He didn't even collect her rations. She took three steps in two and rushed back to Li Wanmo's courtyard in a flash. She told Li Wanmo everything she had heard.
Li Wanmo had been locked up in the He mansion and rarely heard any news about the Li family. As a result, the first time she heard something about her family, it was someone scolding her sister!
This was unacceptable!
So, with a series of loud noises, the He mansion was smashed.
...
"Later, my father - in - law said that anyway, the daughters of your Li family couldn't be kept. Since your big sister had already left the Chen family, you might as well go too! Our family temple is too small to accommodate a daughter - in - law like you. Get out of here... Then I packed my things and left."
When Li Wanmo said this, she also looked at Li Wanming in confusion and asked, "Little sister, what on earth did you do to make my in - laws let me go?"
"So..." Li Wanmo swallowed her saliva and asked, "You don't know what happened?"
"I don't know!"
Li Wanmo shook her head and then snorted disdainfully, "He told me to go, so I went. Do you think I'd stay there and act like a coward? It was the perfect time to leave!"