Hearing this, Li Wanming suddenly deflated. "Forget it. Don't even mention any thunderbolt means. Even if it were a real fight, I wouldn't have been a match for them. Instead, I suffered a crushing defeat and all my efforts came to naught..."
Her voice gradually faded. Unconsciously, the scene from the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month flashed through her mind.
The Kang family had pushed her into the prison of the Ministry of Revenue almost without breaking a sweat. She hadn't even had a chance to fight back and could only watch helplessly as she became fish on someone else's chopping board.
Not only her, but the entire Xiao family had been powerless in this battle.
Princess Chengping picked up her teacup, gently blew on the steam rising from the tea, and took a sip. She didn't scold Li Wanming too much. "Well, the enemy was in the dark while we were in the open. It's no shame that you lost this battle."
Her tone was calm, and her expression was indifferent, as if she were just talking about the weather.
"The other side knew us well and was ready to strike, while you were still in the dark, thinking that everything around you was peaceful and beautiful. You were all daydreaming. How could you not lose?"
"Princess..."
Li Wanming looked up at her, pouting slightly. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of grievance and helplessness. She looked like a kitten soaked in the rain, with its ears drooping and its fur limp.
Seeing her like this, Princess Chengping couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
The sandalwood prayer beads on her wrist slid over the edge of the table. Her fingertips gently tapped on the wet mark on the table. "That's why I said, people are the most important thing."
She paused for a moment, and her eyes became as calm as water. "In aristocratic families, most of the servants have served for generations. They were born and raised in the mansion, got married, had children, and spent their old age there... Their relationships are extremely complex and intertwined."
"If you can't win the hearts of these old servants, even if you hold all the tokens and account books of the prince's mansion in your hands, it's like a child walking through a busy market with gold. You'll only invite trouble."
"Then what should I do?"
Li Wanming asked in a low voice.
Her tone was sincere. She was truly asking for advice from the bottom of her heart, without any trace of arrogance or self - righteousness.
She now fully understood that the waters of the Prince Ning's Mansion were much deeper than she had imagined.
The straightforward methods she used before were completely useless here. It was like a strong man sinking into a quagmire, with all his strength but nowhere to use it.
Her mother, sister, and close friends... every one of them had a fiery temper and couldn't tolerate any injustice. None of them could teach her these intricate ways.
A faint smile played on Princess Chengping's lips, and a meaningful glint flashed in her eyes. "You just need to remember one thing—"
Before she could finish, she flipped her wrist and splashed the tea in her cup onto the teak floor.
The amber - colored tea snaked across the teak floor, and wisps of steam instantly rose from it.
"You can stir up as much trouble as you want in secret... but on the surface, everything must be in good order, so that no one can find fault with you!"
Princess Chengping withdrew her hand. Her eyes were sharp, and her voice was calm but carried great weight. "Remember, you are the mistress of the prince's mansion and a noblewoman of the aristocratic family. There are many eyes on you. As long as you don't give others any把柄 on the surface, you are the legitimate princess of the heir apparent and will be invincible!"
In the distance, the faint sound of silk and bamboo instruments from a pleasure boat wafted over. The melodious music instantly diluted the solemn atmosphere in the cabin.
Listening to the music, Li Wanming felt as if a layer of fog in her heart had been lifted, and she suddenly saw the light.
She stood up, solemnly curtsied in a standard palace salute, and said in a clear and respectful voice, "Thank you, Princess, for your teachings."
"Get up."
Princess Chengping looked calm, but there was a hint of expectation in her voice. "If you can really create a new world for the Prince Ning's Mansion, it won't be in vain that I taught you today."
Li Wanming stood up, and a bright smile bloomed on her face. "I don't dare to claim that I can create a new world. But my mother always says that I'm like a sea - buckthorn. I can survive anywhere, not to mention in a blessed place like our prince's mansion!"
Her smile was like the warm sun in spring, with an indomitable spirit. It seemed that even the air around her became brighter.
The clouds in the sky dispersed, and the golden sunlight shone down. The entire lake was like a layer of broken gold had been spread on it, sparkling and blinding.
The sound of the silk and bamboo instruments grew closer, and the soft and gentle singing of the songstress faintly came over. It was like a golden - threaded thrush sipping the morning dew, with a sweet and soft voice that made people's ears tingle.
At the White Gate Tower, the tallow trees are red as blood.
It turns out that lovesickness has always been a pain in the heart.
Who has ever seen the mermaid's tears on the mandarin - duck handkerchief dry?
Trim the silver lamp and burn the vows of everlasting love into smoke.
...
Li Wanming's ears twitched slightly. She unconsciously leaned towards the source of the sound. When she heard the explicit lyrics, her face instantly flushed red.
She secretly grumbled in her heart: Who is this libertine, so bold as to hire a pleasure boat on East Lake in broad daylight? Isn't he afraid that his family will break his legs?
The capital is different from the local areas. Even the wealthy young masters here, when they visit brothels, only dare to spend money at night.
Under the feet of the Son of Heaven, they still need to put on a veil of decency and talk about ethics and noble sentiments.
Especially since this place is too close to the Imperial Academy.
If they were to be targeted by those old - fashioned scholars in the Imperial Academy and have a memorial submitted to the emperor, accusing them of extravagance and immorality and poor parenting, their families might even suffer a great deal!
Therefore, in the capital, both aristocratic families and official families forbid their children from causing trouble during the day.
Since the second - generation heirs don't dare to come out, the merchants and wealthy families naturally have to behave themselves.
—No one dares to show up and cause trouble during the day.
So Li Wanming was really puzzled. Which good - for - nothing playboy was so bold as to charter a pleasure boat in broad daylight and drink and enjoy himself without any scruples?
Especially on East Lake, which was already full of tourists...
Wasn't he afraid of being blamed by his elders?
"You don't know who it is?"
Hearing her question, Princess Chengping also walked over and leaned on the ship's railing. Her slender fingers rested on the railing, and the sandalwood prayer beads glistened between her fingertips.
Hearing this, Li Wanming couldn't help but be slightly taken aback. Her face was full of confusion, and she blurted out, "Princess, do you know?"
"Now, I'm afraid half of the capital knows..."
Princess Chengping had just leisurely uttered half a sentence when suddenly, with a "whoosh", a sharp carved arrow came through the air.
The next second, with a dull "thud", the arrow hit the pillar beside her without deviation.
The arrow came so suddenly and violently that it was only two or three inches away from Princess Chengping's ear. If it had been a little higher, it might have pierced a hole in her earlobe!
The tail of the arrow was still vibrating and humming.
Princess Chengping was instantly scared out of her wits. Her originally pink cheeks turned as pale as paper. Her hands instinctively covered her chest tightly, and her body trembled slightly. She couldn't come to her senses for a long time.