Guo Wei simply couldn't figure out how Li Wanming's mind worked.
He was a bit lost...
What kind of well - bred young lady was she? She was more like a stubborn mule!
Neither soft persuasion nor tough measures could move her; she was impervious to all influence!
...
Li Wanming had made quite a stir in the capital over the past year, attracting the attention of many, including Guo Wei.
But no matter how well - known she was, Guo Wei always thought it was just a minor show.
She was a merchant, after all. Opening a store and doing business, no matter how big the scale, how much real ability could it show?
Even though Chen Jinde from the Imperial College had suffered a crushing defeat not long ago, Guo Wei still arrogantly believed that it was because Chen Jinde lacked strategic vision and was incompetent, which was why he had fallen into the hands of a merchant woman.
If it were him, he was sure he had a thousand ways to make Li Wanming feel utterly helpless...
However, now that it was his turn, he suddenly and sadly realized that the one who might end up feeling utterly helpless was probably himself.
Li Wanming was completely different from what he had imagined.
This girl was probably as calculating as he was.
How was that possible?
Guo Wei had spent many years in the officialdom to develop his calculating skills.
But Li Wanming was just a delicate woman and a merchant's wife. How could she see through his schemes one after another in such a short time?
This girl... was too formidable...
What Guo Wei didn't know was that Li Wanming hadn't seen through anything.
She still wasn't completely clear about what Guo Wei was up to.
It was just that she had grown up in a military town in Min since childhood and had witnessed too many life - and - death battles.
The bloodshed on the battlefield was a hundred times more straightforward than the intrigues in the officialdom.
She might not be able to see through people's hearts, but she had an instinctive intuition about danger.
As soon as this old fox Guo Wei showed a hint of his intentions, she knew he was up to no good.
So she didn't care what he said; she just refused to cooperate!
Li Wanming gave him a cold, sidelong glance, as if to say: Come on, let's see what else you've got.
...
Guo Wei's face changed several times. A hint of cruelty flashed in his eyes, and finally he slowly said, "If Mrs. Cheng maintains this attitude, then I'll speak bluntly."
His voice was even deeper than before, and his eyes glinted with sharpness.
"It's true that Sun Miaoqing is a daughter - in - law of my Guo family, but with just a letter of divorce, she'll no longer be one."
"Mrs. Cheng might as well think about it. If Sun Miaoqing is divorced, where will she go?"
"The Li family has supported her for so many years. In the eyes of outsiders, they are already like family. At that time, can your Li family really stay out of it?"
"Moreover, I will inform the Princess Royal that it was General Li Rusong who strongly promoted Sun Miaoqing's marriage into my Guo family!"
Li Wanming suddenly stood up. She never expected Guo Wei to be so shameless.
Guo Wei stood with his hands behind his back, his face full of harshness, cruelty, and arrogant pride. He slowly said word by word:
"I will tell the Princess Royal that General Li wanted to arrange a good marriage for his niece and asked someone to plead with my Guo Mansion."
"I didn't want to agree at first, but I couldn't resist General Li's repeated pleas."
"We, a humble family with no power or influence in the court, didn't dare to offend the newly - rising and powerful noble in the court, so we had to agree."
Li Wanming was extremely angry and loudly accused him, "Don't treat the Princess Royal as a fool! Do you think she'll believe such nonsense you've made up out of thin air?"
Guo Wei's intention was obvious.
He was trying to frame others and shift the blame.
Li Wanming just didn't expect his method of framing to be so crude. He was making up lies right in front of her without any care.
What was this...
Just making up a story?
Guo Wei said proudly, "Whether she believes it or not doesn't matter. I just need to give the Princess Royal a way out and a reason to vent her anger."
He sat back on the armchair, gently tapping the table with his fingers. His eyes swept over Li Wanming, looking confident.
"Mrs. Cheng might as well think about how much effort and what means Sun Miaoqing used to marry into our family. The Princess Royal only needs to send someone to inquire a bit, and she'll know. What will she think then?"
"Will she think that there's someone behind the scenes giving her advice?"
"Our Guo family is willing to divorce this daughter - in - law and turn against the Li family, which shows our loyalty. Then where will the Princess Royal direct all her anger?"
...
Li Wanming slumped into the chair, her mind blank.
She intuitively felt that Guo Wei's words were wrong, but she couldn't figure out exactly where.
After a long time, she murmured, "Divorcing your daughter - in - law for such a thing... Being so two - faced and heartless, how could the Princess Royal spare you?"
"No, Mrs. Cheng, you don't understand the Princess Royal."
Guo Wei said calmly.
He gave a bitter smile. This time, his smile was truly filled with indescribable bitterness.
"She just wants a dog, a obedient dog."
"As long as the dog is willing to submit to her, she doesn't care what the dog thinks."
"As long as the Guo family divorces the daughter - in - law, it shows our attitude."
"We court officials, in essence, are just the dogs of the powerful."
...
Li Wanming sat there with her mouth half - open, staring directly at Guo Wei.
She wanted to say that it wasn't like this, that it was wrong... but she couldn't say a word. She could only hang her head helplessly.
After half a day of confrontation, this was the first time she heard Guo Wei tell the truth.
She just didn't expect the truth to be so hurtful.
The comment from Xiao Jingnan flashed through Li Wanming's mind again, "Guo Wei is extremely arrogant..."
An extremely arrogant person having to admit in front of outsiders that he was a dog of the powerful... The pain and hardship in his heart were probably unimaginable to others.
Li Wanming's heart felt icy cold.
She knew she had lost this battle.
How could she defeat a man who could trample his own self - esteem to pieces and offer his pride as a plaything to the powerful...?
Guo Wei could sacrifice his face, his dignity, and even his son and daughter... but she couldn't sacrifice anything.
...
"Fine, I'll go." Li Wanming said.
If Sun Miaoqing was really divorced and returned home, it would mean that the Guo and Li families had fallen out. Guo Wei would surely do his best to direct all the Princess Royal's anger towards the Li family.
In that case, it was better for her to go to the Princess Royal's Mansion now...
At least she could try to take the initiative into her own hands.
When Guo Wei saw that she had agreed, there was no sign of joy on his face. He just silently nodded.
Li Wanming didn't say anything else. She got up and walked out. When she reached the door, she suddenly turned around and said, "Lord Guo, when you arranged for your son to marry Sun Miaoqing, you also wanted to use our Li family and the Peaceful Princess to get rid of the control of the Princess Royal, didn't you?"
Guo Wei stood inside the room, half of his body hidden in the shadow.
His gaze fell on Li Wanming. He stared at her for a long time before the corner of his mouth slowly lifted into an almost imperceptible arc. "If Xinyue were half as capable as Mrs. Cheng, I'd die without regret."
Li Wanming looked back at him for a long time. Finally, she just let out a silent sigh and turned to walk out the door.