Li Wanming tilted her head and sized him up, as if calculating the credibility of his words.
After a moment, she stuck out her little finger. "A promise made?"
Xiao Jingnan smiled and reached out his hand, hooking his little finger gently with hers. "Is binding forever."
At this moment, the corners of his phoenix eyes were slightly raised. He was smiling tenderly and affectionately, and even his eyes were extremely sincere... with a touch of innocent foolishness.
Li Wanming finally confirmed... this man was a complete dolt in the inner courtyard!
If he only protects her and not you, you can act boldly without worry...
If he had the ability, he would never have allowed Concubine Kang to stir things up like this!
But it couldn't be entirely blamed on him.
The inner courtyard had always been a battlefield for women since ancient times.
Those petty and trivial tricks, those dirty and blood - less schemes emerged in an endless stream, more difficult to guard against than the obvious spears and hidden arrows on the battlefield.
Men only knew that the battlefield was cruel, but they didn't know that the inner courtyard was a Shura field that devoured people without spitting out the bones.
Li Wanming knew in her heart that if Concubine Kang wanted to cause trouble for her, Xiao Jingnan would definitely not be able to protect her.
Fortunately, she didn't need his protection either.
Over the years, in the struggles with He Shi and Sun Miaoqing, she had only learned one thing: if someone doesn't let you eat, then overturn the table!
The question she asked Xiao Jingnan just now actually only meant one thing, that was: if I beat your second aunt until she cries for her parents in the future, just don't cause me any trouble.
Confront the soldiers with your own, and stem the water with earth.
Since entering the mansion was already a settled matter, then both sides should line up their troops and fight a desperate battle.
By then, the outcome was really uncertain.
As she thought about it, Li Wanming actually became a little eager and couldn't wait to meet this Second Lady of the Prince Ning's Mansion who had stirred up the storm in the court.
...
After clarifying all the matters with Li Wanming, Xiao Jingnan felt much more relaxed.
This great defeat of the Xiao family had made all their years of patience go up in smoke. He was deeply pained, but he could still accept it.
The struggles in the court were always life - and - death battles.
Great ups and downs were the norm in such struggles.
The Xiao family had only lost the hidden military power this time, which was already a great blessing in misfortune.
It was just Li Wanming...
I have to say, she greatly exceeded his expectations.
He didn't expect her to accept it so quickly.
The Xiao family had lost military power and freedom, and Li Wanming had lost her shops. On the surface, it seemed that the loss of the Xiao family was more severe, but Xiao Jingnan knew it wasn't.
For Li Wanming, the shops and the academy were her dreams and hopes. This loss was no less than a severe and bone - breaking blow.
But she didn't fall into grief for too long. Even the outburst of crying just now was for him, not for herself...
She seemed to have an innate wild vitality, just like the red thorns growing all over the desert and Gobi. Tenacious and tough, the harsher the environment of wind and frost, the more powerful she could become.
No one and nothing could bring her down.
Xiao Jingnan suddenly felt that he had been over - worrying.
Judging from Li Wanming's state, she might be able to deal with her second aunt's family without even a hitch...
He smiled.
This time, the smile was a real relief.
All the words that needed to be said had been said, and it was time for him to say goodbye.
"Wanming..."
Li Wanming shushed him and pointed at the moon in the sky. "Look, how beautiful the moonlight is tonight."
It was already past the third watch. The sky presented a deep inky blue, like a huge crystal mirror, revealing boundless depth.
A crescent moon hung remotely in the sky, full of frosty color, cold and hook - like.
"It's rare to see such good moonlight in the winter in the capital," Li Wanming said.
Xiao Jingnan looked up at the night sky. "Wanming, I have to go back."
"Okay, I understand."
Li Wanming nodded. "Unmarried couples shouldn't meet before the wedding."
In fact, it was probably the result of repeated pleas to Empress Dowager Kang that allowed Xiao Jingnan to come and talk to her tonight.
The imperial edict of bestowing the marriage had already been issued, and their identities were no longer a secret. Empress Dowager Kang must have placed spies around him to closely monitor his every move.
Being able to stay in Pingkangfang until midnight was already a favor from the empress dowager.
In the days to come, Xiao Jingnan might not be able to act freely anymore and could no longer move around as freely as before.
"Wanming..."
He opened his mouth, but only these two words came out.
Tomorrow, her shops would be raided, but he was saying he was leaving at this moment. It seemed a bit heartless.
Li Wanming said, "You don't need to say anything. I know everything."
Tomorrow, when the shops and the academy were raided, people from the Ministry of Revenue, the Imperial Academy, the Hanlin Academy, and the Ministry of Rites would all come. There would be many people around, and if he was on the scene, it would be easier to cause more trouble.
He was no longer the poor candidate Cheng Liqing from Langya. He was Xiao Jingnan, the heir of the Prince Ning's Mansion.
His every move was under people's attention.
He had to conform to the ancestral rituals and have the demeanor of a noble family.
Staying in a mansion with his unmarried wife for a whole night like this was already quite outrageous. If it weren't for the permission of Empress Dowager Kang, a single memorial from the censors would bring no small trouble to the Xiao family.
Li Wanming looked up at him. Her small face as pale as snow, but her eyes were even more black and shiny like the stars in the sky.
"I know you've done your best to help me, and I also know that this isn't all your fault."
"Things in the world are unpredictable. You're not a god, and you can't arrange everything."
"You lied to me, and I tied you up... To some extent, we're even."
The corners of her mouth slightly raised, like the most brilliant flowers in spring.
"So, don't worry. I don't blame you, and I don't hate you either."
The last words were like celestial music, making Xiao Jingnan's heart, which had been hanging in the air all night, finally settle back into his chest.
Li Wanming smiled and said, "I'll prepare for the wedding peacefully and wait for you to marry me. But my needlework is really bad. If the wedding dress is not well - embroidered, you mustn't laugh at me."
Xiao Jingnan said, "It doesn't matter. I'll ask the embroiderers in the mansion to embroider my wedding clothes badly too. It'll match you perfectly."
Li Wanming laughed. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. "Oh, right!"
She took out a moon - white hand rope from her bosom and tied it to Xiao Jingnan's wrist.
"I originally planned to give this to you on Qixi Festival last year, but I was lazy and didn't finish weaving it. It's finally completed today, so I'll give it to you. This can finally be a token of love between us after two years of being engaged!"
She carefully fastened the bead buttons at the end of the hand rope. The two swaying little pearls were like flower buds on the gardenia branches.
Li Wanming gently patted Xiao Jingnan's wrist, looked up, and smiled with her eyes curved. "You see, this is the level of my female handicraft. You should be aware of it."