"Wanming, I know you mean well," Su Xiaozhu said as she slowly walked to the corner of the wall and reached out to tease a cluster of purplish-red spotted bamboo.
"I also know that the imperial palace is no good place. For someone like me without parents or a family to rely on, rashly stepping into it would be like a lamb walking into the jaws of a tiger."
"But Wanming, what else can I do if I don't enter the palace?"
She turned her head, a desolate and helpless smile curving her lips.
"The Changxing Inn is gone. I can't just find another stage to sing on, can I?"
Li Wanming opened her mouth, suddenly feeling a chill in her heart.
She understood what Su Xiaozhu meant.
She could perform on stage at the Changxing Inn because she owned it.
With the daughter of a general in charge, no short-sighted playboy would take her for a prostitute to amuse himself, and no one would force her to accompany guests and sell her smiles... But in an ordinary theater troupe or entertainment house, they would only treat her as something to be laughed at and entertained.
"Wanming..."
A crystal tear rolled down Su Xiaozhu's face. "The Changxing Inn is gone, and I can't be Madam Gong either..."
"No!"
Li Wanming let out a startled cry and said in a trembling voice, "Even if you can't perform on stage, I can arrange for you to go to the Liu Family Silk Store, or ask my father to adopt you as his goddaughter... Moreover, I can take care of you in the Prince Ning's Mansion. As long as you don't want to enter the palace, we can always figure something out. There will always be a chance in the future..."
"There's no chance," Su Xiaozhu shook her head. "Even if I go to the Liu Family Silk Store, or am adopted as the goddaughter of General Li, or become your maid and follow you into the Prince Ning's Mansion... And then what? What comes after that?"
Li Wanming said anxiously, "I didn't mean that. I never thought of making you my maid..."
"I know," Su Xiaozhu gently wiped away the tears on her face. "I mean, no matter which choice I make, it will only lead to one path: getting married and having children."
She turned around, her face filled with indescribable desolation.
Li Wanming felt a pang in her heart.
They had been partners at the Changxing Inn for a few months, and she knew too well about this girl's talent.
All the scripts rewritten by her were always catchy and left a lingering fragrance on the lips when read.
All the shows she participated in always caused a sensation in the capital and became classics that people couldn't forget.
Light as a startled swan, graceful as a swimming dragon.
Radiant as autumn chrysanthemums, lush as spring pines.
But now she said that the only end of her life was to get married and have children...
"No, Xiaozhu! No!"
Tears welled up in Li Wanming's eyes. "As long as you don't want to, no one can force you! It might be a bit of a pity for you to go to the Liu Family Silk Store, but it's still making a living with your own hands..."
"Wanming," Su Xiaozhu smiled faintly. "Do you know that you've been saying the words 'make a living with your own hands' for almost a year?"
Li Wanming was suddenly stunned, as if struck by lightning.
She suddenly realized what Su Xiaozhu meant by "And then what?" just now.
Enabling girls all over the world to support themselves was what she had been doing for the past two years.
But what was the result?
The store was sealed, and the academy was transferred.
The futures of all the girls who worked and studied in these places were uncertain...
She had worked so hard, but the result was a complete failure.
What right did she have to tell Su Xiaozhu now: You can make a living with your own hands?
After all, even she herself was going to marry into the Prince Ning's Mansion!
"I really used to think that as long as I worked hard, I could become a remarkable woman like Madam Gong or you. Not to mention being famous through the ages, at least I could support myself... But now, my dream has woken up."
Su Xiaozhu stood there. The moonlight cast a thin layer of frost on her cheeks, making her look ethereal and delicate, as if not of this world.
"Whether it's doing business or working, if I can't achieve something, I'm afraid I'll end up getting married in the end. Since that's the case, now that the most powerful man in the world wants to marry me, why shouldn't I?"
Li Wanming stood there blankly, wanting to say something but not being able to utter a single word.
Su Xiaozhu's voice was illusory. "Moreover, even if I get married, I'm afraid I won't have a peaceful life. My father is the magistrate of Yongzhou. Sooner or later, he will come looking for me. An ordinary family can't protect me..."
Li Wanming was in a daze for a long time before she slowly said, "So, the imperial palace has become your only choice?"
"It's not the only choice, but it is indeed the best choice."
A hint of mockery appeared on Su Xiaozhu's lips. "Once I enter the palace and become a noble lady, my father won't think about marrying me off as a concubine to the old prince of Yongzhou, right?"
The moonlight was dim, and the wind rustled the leaves silently.
Only the two of them stood there, unable to say a word.
Chuntao outside the door peeked in. "Ladies... Have you finished chatting? Shall I set the meal?"
Li Wanming came back to her senses and waved her hand weakly. "Set it."
Her heart was extremely tired at this moment.
Losing the wine shop and the academy did make her heartbroken, but it wasn't enough to make her completely disheartened.
Until this moment.
Su Xiaozhu's words pierced through the last layer of the window paper on this matter.
The sealing of the store and the transfer of the academy destroyed not only her dream but also the hope of girls all over the world.
She was Li Wanming, the daughter of a general, the adopted sister of General Yunhui, backed by the Princess Chengping and the Langya Cheng family. She had even sold wine into the palace... If even she could only end up in a complete failure, then who else could succeed in the future?
She had once made her business prosperous and the academy thriving... It was so glorious, but in the end, it was just a pile of ashes.
She had actually used her own experience to tell all the girls in the world that women couldn't achieve anything...
Li Wanming's heart ached so much that she could hardly breathe.
She trembled all over, and her vision went black.
Vaguely, it seemed that someone was fetching something.
The surrounding scenery became blurred, leaving only faint shadows.
"Miss!" Chuntao exclaimed. "What's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
Chuntao helped her into the room and sat her down, then felt her forehead with her hand.
"I'm fine. I'm just hungry," Li Wanming forced a smile with a pale face and pulled her hand away. "Chuntao, take out that jar of Jinyutang wine we hid. I'm going to toast Miss Su for her departure."
The wine shop was sealed suddenly, and there was no stock left in their family.
There was only this one jar, which Li Wanming had buried under the pomegranate tree in Pingkangfang on a whim, planning to make aged wine with flowers. She had brought it back when she returned home today.
Unexpectedly, it had now become the last of its kind.
Li Wanming propped herself up on the corner of the table with one hand, slowly raised her wine cup, forced a smile, and crystal tears rolled down.
"Miss Su, I offer this wine to sincerely wish you great ambitions and a promising future."