Seeing her like this, Xiao Jingnan quickly grabbed her arm and said, "None of us think so! My father has been in the military all year round and is used to training. He's really happy that you've been leading everyone in physical exercises."
Li Wanming squinted her eyes. "Really?"
"Really!" Xiao Jingnan raised three fingers. "I swear! I'm not lying to you this time."
"Moreover, after seeing that everyone's health has improved a lot thanks to your training, Father and Mother are very happy. They even said that if they had known it would have such a good effect earlier, they should have made everyone in the mansion start running earlier!"
Hearing this, Li Wanming felt a bit better.
That's right. At least she had helped improve everyone's physical fitness!
Xiao Jingnan asked cautiously, "Can I continue?"
Li Wanming glared at him, withdrew her sleeve, and said, "Go ahead!"
Xiao Jingnan felt a slight sense of relief, but his face turned solemn.
Frowning slightly, he paced back and forth a couple of steps and said seriously, "You need to listen carefully to what I'm going to say next, because it involves the secrets among the nobles of the Dacheng Dynasty. You'll inevitably interact with them when you live in the mansion in the future."
Li Wanming felt a chill in her heart. Before she could react, she heard Xiao Jingnan say, "Do you still remember Mount Banshi?"
Mount Banshi...
Of course she remembered!
She had almost died there.
A cold smile curled up on the corner of Xiao Jingnan's mouth. "Mount Banshi was where you first met the princess. That time, I almost told you everything."
Next, Xiao Jingnan peeled away the layers of mystery and told her everything: the entanglement between the princess and the Guo family, the feud between the princess and the County Princess Chengping, the power struggle between the empress dowager and the emperor, the defeat of the Xiao and Huo families in the southern border, and the truth behind the Ghost - Wailing Path...
Li Wanming listened in shock and doubt. Her heart seemed to be rising and falling between the mountain peak and hell, unable to find peace for a moment.
Xiao Jingnan spoke slowly and clearly, explaining all the feuds among the noble families in the capital and the undercurrents behind all the events in the past two years.
Li Wanming felt like her head was about to explode.
Since she was born, her brain had never been filled so much.
Fortunately, there was a wicker chair in the yard, allowing her to sit down and rest. Otherwise, she really would have fainted.
It was only now that she understood the reasons for everything.
Why the County Princess Chengping had come to congratulate her grandmother on her birthday; why the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Judge of the Supreme Court, and the Censor of the Court of Censors had come to her rescue in the case of the Capital Prefecture; why the emperor had suddenly appeared in her wine shop; why everyone had behaved the way they did at the general's banquet...
It turned out that behind all this was an extremely absurd reason - simply because she had chosen a husband right after the imperial examinations, and the one she had chosen was the only remaining son of Prince Ning, Xiao Yuancheng.
Li Wanming had long realized that fate was unpredictable.
But it was only now that she knew just how unpredictable it could be.
"Is... there anything else...?"
Li Wanming asked weakly, her face pale.
In this one afternoon, her brain had been bombarded with more information than it could handle. Her head was buzzing, and she couldn't take in any more.
However, Xiao Jingnan glanced at her carefully, looking hesitant. He tried to persuade her, "How about... we go inside and talk?"
Of course... there was more.
The disputes in the inner courtyard of the Xiao Mansion and his game with the empress dowager in the palace today had not been mentioned yet.
In fact, the following news would be truly shocking.
It was already getting late, and the cold wind was howling in the yard. He was a bit worried about Li Wanming's health, afraid that she wouldn't be able to bear it.
After all, what he was going to say next would really hurt her.
Seeing his expression, Li Wanming knew that the following things were probably the most important part, and the previous series of news was just an appetizer.
She felt a sudden tightness in her chest, and her already dizzy head became even more uncomfortable.
"Let's go." Li Wanming sighed and walked into the house dejectedly.
Judging from Xiao Jingnan's attitude, it seemed that he wouldn't finish talking anytime soon. She really needed to find a warm place to sort out her thoughts slowly.
Outside the courtyard wall, someone was setting off fireworks. The gunpowder smoke, accompanied by a sharp whistle, rushed straight into the sky and exploded into huge and gorgeous flowers on the horizon.
There was a bustling noise outside the door, and the happy laughter of children could be heard.
Li Wanming suddenly remembered that today was New Year's Eve...
But she had to stand in this cold and lonely yard, dragging her exhausted body, to listen to the biggest lie in her life.
Xiao Jingnan saw her stop at the door. The firelight of the fireworks cast ever - changing colors on her face, making her small figure look even more frail. His heart ached as if being pricked by needles.
"Wanming, I'm sorry..."
Xiao Jingnan lowered his head, looking like a child who had done something wrong.
He had never regretted anything so much in his life.
He hadn't expected the situation to be so bad.
Originally, he thought he only needed to hide his identity for a while. After Li Wanming found that the nobles weren't that scary and stopped resisting marrying into a noble family, he could tell her the truth, and everything would be happy.
So he had been very carefree for most of the past two years, thriving in the business and officialdom, content and self - satisfied.
As the heir of Prince Ning and the emperor's cousin, he had a lofty status in the capital, and nothing could trouble him. Naturally, he could use his status to protect Li Wanming and keep her safe during this period...
But he had forgotten that a so - called heir's wife without a proper title was actually more likely to be coveted!
Li Wanming had encountered continuous troubles in the past two years. It was hard to say whether there were political enemies of the Prince Ning's Mansion behind it.
And he had actually allowed such a situation to happen right under his nose without noticing at all.
It was only this time, when the hidden blade was already across Wanming's neck, that he suddenly realized that he had always overestimated his own abilities, which had repeatedly put Li Wanming in danger.
If something really happened to Li Wanming, then he...
Xiao Jingnan stood in the yard with his head down, his hands tightly clenched into fists, full of self - blame.
He deserved to die.
Really deserved to die.
If something happened to Li Wanming, he would never forgive himself.
The fireworks scattered, leaving only the emptiness in the sky, just like his empty heart.
Li Wanming turned her head and saw the lonely figure under the tree. He was thin and haggard. The flickering firelight on his face made him look like a lost soul without a home.
Li Wanming tilted her head.
Was this... self - blame?
Oh, now he knew to feel self - blame.
Wasn't he very proud when he was lying to her?
"Hey?"
Li Wanming walked over and kicked him on the calf. "Didn't you say you had some important news to tell me? Let's go! What are you standing there for? Do you want me to keep standing here in the cold wind?"