Li Wanming raised her head and fixed her gaze on Qinglan without blinking.
Her voice was soft, and her eyes were open and straightforward, as pure as spring water. This made Qinglan, who was already a bit at a loss, even more flustered.
Chuntao didn't understand what was going on. Standing on one side, she stupidly interjected, "Maybe it's because that Xiao Yingchu works in the old store. She can only get the accounts of the old store."
Saying this, Chuntao thought of another person and said happily, "It's still Sister Caiwei who is amazing. She could tell that the woman surnamed Xiao was not a good person! At the beginning, when the young lady asked Sister Caiwei to learn more about the management ideas of the old store, she was always reluctant... She even reminded me to be careful at that time."
"Oh? Really?"
Li Wanming lowered her eyes and took a bite of the bun. She asked calmly, "Then why didn't you listen?"
For some reason, the calmer she seemed, the more nervous Qinglan felt. It was like magma hidden beneath a glacier, ready to erupt at any moment.
Chuntao didn't notice anything strange at all. Pouting on one side, she said angrily, "Wasn't it because that woman surnamed Xiao was so good at pretending? I thought she looked honest, so I thought she was a good person! Who would have known that she was so shameless, framing our young lady for making false accounts. She's really heartless, a white - eyed wolf!"
Chuntao scolded angrily for a long time, while Qinglan kept carefully observing Li Wanming's expression.
Li Wanming's expression remained calm.
She ate and drank porridge quietly, showing no sign of emotion.
Maybe it was because she had been frozen the day before, her skin was extremely pale, almost transparent. Her already small face had become thinner, only about the size of a palm.
Her eyelashes were even blacker, like crow feathers, casting a shadow on her icy - white skin.
Her big eyes were as black as a deep pool, showing no trace of emotion.
This kind of silence made Qinglan even more afraid.
But at the moment, Caiwei was not around. Wu Yao was guarding outside, and Lu Ping had followed Xiao Jingnan into the palace. She didn't even have anyone to discuss with.
Qinglan felt even more uneasy, as if a hundred claws were scratching at her heart.
Li Wanming was acting strangely today.
Normally, after such a big incident the day before, and even being locked up in the prison of the Ministry of Revenue for half a day... With Li Wanming's personality, she would surely make a big fuss. But why was she so calm?
Moreover, what was even more strange was that Xiao Jingnan had disappeared early in the morning. The Prince of Ning and the Princess of Ning hadn't even sent anyone to inquire, and Li Wanming didn't even ask...
Didn't she find it strange?
Could it be that... she had already discovered something?
Feeling uneasy, Qinglan tried to say, "Cousin - in - law, cousin he today..."
Li Wanming interrupted her before she could finish, "Qinglan, don't be embarrassed. Wait for him to come back and let him tell me himself."
Saying this, she closed her eyes and smiled self - deprecatingly, "If he still wants to tell me..."
She wasn't stupid. She had long known that Xiao Jingnan was hiding something from her.
But what happened yesterday was extremely dangerous.
To put it bluntly, if the Ministry of Revenue had acted a little faster, she could have died silently in the prison without anyone knowing.
Even if her father got angry afterwards, the Ministry of Revenue could just use a sudden illness as an excuse...
Her father was just a military general without any background in the court. At that time, even if he tried his best, he might not be able to get justice for her.
However, Xiao Jingnan's performance seemed to indicate that he had known all this in advance.
He knew but didn't tell her anything.
— It was okay for small things before, but for such a life - and - death matter, was he still going to keep hiding it from her?
Li Wanming didn't understand. As the daughter of a fourth - rank general, what was so special about her that these big shots were so entangled with her?
But now her head was hurting, and her whole body was limp and weak. She was too lazy to think about it.
"Cousin - in - law..." Qinglan looked at her worriedly.
Li Wanming came back to her senses and gently put down her chopsticks.
Seeing that she had finished eating, Chuntao quickly brought a hot, wet towel for her to wipe her hands. While busying herself, she asked, "Young lady, you said yesterday that the Ministry of Revenue would go to the old store to check the raw materials today. Do we need to go and have a look?"
"Chuntao..." Qinglan was just about to find an excuse to stop Li Wanming from going out when she saw Li Wanming shake her head, "No need."
She slowly stood up and sat down by the window, "We're not going anywhere today. Chuntao, go and get the bracelet I braided last year."
"Ah?" Chuntao was stunned.
Li Wanming never liked knitting and other women's handicrafts. Last year, she managed to braid a bracelet only because she thought it was really inappropriate that her husband didn't have any handicrafts from his wife after being married for several months. So she reluctantly picked up the needle and thread. But after only starting it, she threw it aside.
Why did she suddenly remember this now?
Although Chuntao was confused, she obediently went to rummage through the boxes in the back.
Fortunately, there weren't many handicrafts in Li Wanming's room. It didn't take long before she found that unique bracelet.
It was a moon - white twisted rope, only about half an inch long, with two rice - sized beads hanging from one end.
At that time, it was almost the Qixi Festival, the day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl met.
Li Wanming thought that although her marriage was just a formal one, there should still be some basic sense of ritual. So, feeling a bit guilty, she picked up a piece of rope and started to braid it, planning to give it to Xiao Jingnan as a surprise as if it were her handicraft.
However, after the Qixi Festival, she fell seriously ill.
This unfinished bracelet was thrown into a corner and was never given to him.
Chuntao brought the bracelet and also found the needle, thread and scissors for her. Standing on one side, she stupidly reminded her again, "Young lady, the people coming to check today are from the Ministry of Revenue. Are we really not going?"
In Chuntao's eyes, the Ministry of Revenue was a very powerful official department. It was much more powerful than her own master who stayed in the military camp all day and rarely went home. If the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stamped his foot, the whole court would tremble.
Li Wanming felt a bit regretful.
She shouldn't have told Chuntao everything before she had thought it through clearly yesterday, which made her worry for nothing now.
"Precisely because it's the Ministry of Revenue that we don't need to go..." Li Wanming thought for a while and said, "The officials of the Ministry of Revenue are all capable and experienced. If they want to investigate, they will surely be able to find out clearly. Whether we go or not doesn't matter."
Li Wanming's words were not true.
She just didn't want Chuntao to worry, so she made up this story to comfort her.
In fact, she had a feeling that the Ministry of Revenue wouldn't go to the wine shop to check the accounts today.
Zhu Mingxiu's words yesterday were just to buy time.
As for why to buy time... Of course, it was to give the big shots behind the scenes some space for manipulation, weighing, discussion and negotiation.
A faint smile played on Li Wanming's lips. She raised her eyes and looked out of the window.
The winter sky was gray. Even the sunlight seemed to be wrapped in a thin mist, making it hard to see anything clearly.