"My parents?"
Xiao Jingnan flashed another smile. "What I just said was exactly what my parents said!"
In fact, the attitudes of the Prince and Princess of Ning were: As long as you can marry a wife, it'll be a blessing from our ancestors!
As long as they can get the bride into the family, everything else can be negotiated.
A girl like Li Wanming, full of vitality and bold, who didn't seem like someone with a short life at all, far exceeded their expectations.
As for things like beating the drum of grievance, making a ruckus at the princess's mansion, and challenging the Imperial College... Those were nothing!
The Prince's Mansion needed a mistress who dared to fight and strive.
If a woman was so timid that she trembled at the sight of an official and didn't even dare to say a word, the Prince of Ning wouldn't dare to hand over the family business to such a person.
Xiao Jingnan looked at Li Wanxin, thought for a moment, and then said, "Elder sister, my parents are currently working in Wanming's pawnshop. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask them. But it's better for you to go at night. They're busy during the day and may not have time to entertain you."
"What? Your parents are working in the pawnshop?"
Li Wanxin widened her eyes in even greater surprise.
She asked in disbelief, "You... Your mother is there too...?"
"Of course!" Xiao Jingnan replied. "My mother is the chief appraiser, and my father helps her out. They make a good team, and they're really enthusiastic about their work every day."
The chief appraiser...
Li Wanxin felt dizzy and her body swayed slightly. She almost lost her balance.
A woman as the chief appraiser and a man helping her...
This was simply unthinkable to her.
On the day she came to the capital, her parents told her that the capital was different from Fujian. She had to be cautious in her words and deeds. Her grandmother told her that the most important thing for a woman was to marry a good man and serve her husband and in - laws well. Later, her in - laws told her that a good woman should be gentle, humble, and stay at home...
But why could Wanming live so boldly and freely?
Not only her, but even her in - laws were living so... unconventionally?
Seeing that her elder sister looked unwell, Li Wanming quickly helped her sit down and told someone to pour tea.
It was Wanmo who saw the crux of the matter at a glance. She pulled Li Wanming aside and whispered, "Elder sister has been in the Chen family for too long. Her mind has become rigid."
"If you keep pushing her like this, you might get the opposite result and break her. Little sister, you should help elder sister go and rest first. Anyway, we have plenty of time in the future. Let her see and think slowly. She'll figure it out one day."
...
Two days later, Zhaoyu Academy officially resumed classes.
There were more students this time than before.
But Li Wanming was more financially secure this time and no longer in a tight spot.
She simply knocked down the two rows of wing - rooms at the back and built another classroom.
Combined with the previous curriculum setup, it was enough to handle so many students signing up.
Li Wanmo became the first female instructor in the academy.
She made a strict training plan.
Before each class, the students had to run five laps in the yard.
Then it was standing in a horse - riding stance, practicing the five - step boxing, and getting to know basic weapons...
Generally speaking, they had to build up their physical fitness first before talking about other things.
Li Wanming finally let out a sigh of relief when she saw this.
If her second elder sister trained the students the way she trained her and elder sister before, I'm afraid that half of the students would drop out within a month...
Hearing her concerns, Wanmo raised her eyebrows proudly and said, "What are you thinking? Do you think your second elder sister is someone who doesn't know the limits?"
"You and elder sister are family. We're blood - related, so of course I can train you however I want. But the students are outsiders. What if I train them too hard and something goes wrong?"
She patted Li Wanming on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Your second elder sister is not an ordinary person. I know what I'm doing!"
Li Wanming looked at her and didn't know what to say for a moment.
So, it's because elder sister and I are family that you tortured us so much...
Anyway, her second elder sister had finally found a suitable position in the academy.
The only thing to worry about now was elder sister.
Li Wanming originally thought of asking her to be a teacher in the academy, teaching farming or weaving. But it was almost autumn now, not a good time to plant vegetables. And Li Wanxin also said that Mrs. Liu was already teaching about cloth and silk, so she didn't want to take over someone else's class.
In the past few days, apart from occasionally coming out to see how the classes were going, Li Wanxin locked herself in her room. Once, she even proposed that she wanted to go back to the Chen family...
When Li Wanming heard her hesitant plea, she was so angry that she almost roared.
The Chen family treated you like that, and you still want to go back!
Wanxin didn't dare to look at her and just whispered, "But I'm the daughter - in - law and the mistress of the Chen family. If I don't go back to the Chen family, where else can I go?"
Li Wanming was really frustrated with her.
Where?
The world is so big. Where can't you go!
The wine shop, the academy, the pawnshop, the inn, the capital, Fujian... As long as she wanted, she could go anywhere!
"Moreover, the Chen family wasn't bad to me..."
Wanxin's voice was faint, with a weakness that even she didn't believe.
"Not bad?!"
Li Wanming couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "They tortured you, belittled you, humiliated you, imprisoned you, made you stand while eating every day, served that old religious fanatic with tea and water, and took care of her during the night. Less than a year after you got married, they stuffed two concubines into your husband's room, and your dear husband didn't even say a word! Is this still being good to you?"
These days, she had always taken her elder sister's feelings into account and hadn't said anything too harsh.
But she found that some people would never wake up if you didn't pierce that layer of the window paper.
Wanxin trembled slightly all over, and tears welled up in her eyes. "But... isn't this how all women live?"
"No! Elder sister, no!"
Li Wanming tightly grasped her hand. "Look at me, look at second elder sister, look at Chuntao, look at Caiwei and Qinglan, look at all the girls in the academy. Which one of them isn't making a living by their own hands? Which one has pinned their whole life on their husband's family?"
"I... I'm different from them..." Wanxin lowered her head, her face pale.
"There's no difference!" Li Wanming looked at her. "Elder sister, you can also have a life like theirs!"
"I'm a married woman..."
"So what! My mother - in - law is also a married woman, but didn't she find a new life for herself?"
"Enough, Wanming." Li Wanmo walked in and interrupted Li Wanming. "Elder sister is not you. You can't force her like this."
"Second elder sister, I..."
"You go out first. Let me talk to elder sister."
Li Wanming looked at her calm - faced second elder sister and had no choice but to hold back all her grief and indignation. She gritted her teeth and walked out.
After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Li Wanmo came out and said, "We've reached an agreement. Elder sister won't go back to the Chen family."
"However, she doesn't want to be a teacher. She wants to be a student. Isn't your husband teaching a medical course? She wants to learn medicine from him."