"Oops, how could the arrow go there? I'm really sorry!"
From a pleasure boat not far away came a surprised shout, loud and clear.
As soon as Li Wanming heard this voice, her temples throbbed. It felt as if a thousand needles were churning inside her skull, and she couldn't help but curl her lips.
Fang Zhi was dressed in a vermilion arrow-sleeved riding suit, looking valiant. She was holding a huge ebony ox-horn round bow in her hand and standing on the railing on the second floor of a huge pleasure boat.
Her figure was tall and straight in the sunlight. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail, fluttering gently in the wind. There was a kind of unruly heroism between her eyebrows.
She lowered her head to look at the bow in her hand, then looked up in this direction, with a bit more apology on her face.
"Your Highness the Princess, are you hurt?"
Fang Zhi's voice was loud and innocent. It drifted over along the wind on the lake and landed on the golden eagle feathers at the end of the iron arrow, making the feathers tremble.
"N... no..."
Princess Chengping sat down slowly, her face pale, holding on to Li Wanming's hand.
Her fingertips were icy cold, and her chest rose and fell slightly. Obviously, she hadn't recovered from the shock just now.
After a while, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced a smile. She raised her voice and asked, "Why didn't you play polo today? You've switched to archery?"
Hearing this, Fang Zhi burst into laughter, her voice as clear as spring water hitting stones: "I'm bored with polo. I wanted to try this newly acquired ebony bow today! I didn't expect to almost cause trouble. I'm really sorry, Your Highness the Princess!"
As she said this, she scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed.
Li Wanming became even more puzzled as she listened.
Could it be that the amorous song just now came from Fang Zhi's boat?
It couldn't be!
No matter how unruly Fang the Eldest Miss was, she wouldn't dare to keep prostitutes openly.
Moreover, the direction didn't seem right...
Fang Zhi's pleasure boat was in the front, but the voice of the singing girl seemed to come from the west.
Princess Chengping gave her a weak sideways glance: "It's definitely not her... It's her fiancé!"
What??
Li Wanming's first reaction was: Fang Zhi has a fiancé?
Then she immediately thought: Which young man is so unlucky to marry Fang the Eldest Miss!
"I know what you're thinking!"
Princess Chengping gave her an annoyed sideways glance. Then she slightly lowered her eyelids and let out a soft sigh: "Speaking of which, this matter was caused by you and Jingnan..."
"Us...?"
Li Wanming pointed at the tip of her nose, looking blank, obviously not reacting yet.
Princess Chengping picked up the teacup and took a sip of the warm tea. The warm tea slightly eased the shock in her heart.
She put down the teacup, rubbed her fingertips on the rim of the cup for a while, and then slowly said:
"Empress Dowager Kang previously demoted Consort Lü to a concubine as a minor punishment. How could she spare the Fang family? She summoned Prime Minister Fang into the palace some time ago and clearly stated that she wanted his daughter to marry into the Feng family to win over the Feng family for her!"
"The Feng family? General Feng Yuanji?"
Li Wanming widened her eyes, her voice involuntarily rising a few decibels, with shock written all over her face.
"Otherwise? Which other Feng family would the Empress Dowager need to humble herself to win over?"
Princess Chengping deliberately put on a straight face, pretending to be angry, and gently scolded: "Tell me, isn't this the trouble you and Jingnan caused?"
Li Wanming felt uncomfortable under her half-angry gaze. She couldn't help but shrink her neck and whispered: "This... What does this have to do with us? We didn't know either..."
Her voice got softer and softer. The last few words were almost inaudible, obviously lacking confidence and not even convincing herself.
How could it have nothing to do with them?
If it weren't for her and Xiao Jingnan's actions of choosing a son-in-law from the newly-enrolled scholars, Grand Tutor Lü and Prime Minister Fang wouldn't have angered the Empress Dowager. Naturally, they wouldn't have needed to sacrifice their children for marriage alliances to consolidate the family's power.
Speaking of marriage alliances -
General Feng's son and daughter-in-law died early, and he had no siblings. Therefore, the only eligible and suitable person in the Feng family for a marriage alliance was Feng Xiao, the only heir within a hundred miles.
Li Wanming felt a twinge of guilt when she thought that Feng Xiao was indirectly forced to marry Fang Zhi because of her and Xiao Jingnan. It was as if an invisible hand was tugging at her heart, making her feel both ashamed and apologetic.
What kind of personality did Fang Zhi have?
Arrogant, irritable, proud, naughty, and good-for-nothing... She was a "complete fool" who combined the shortcomings of Li Wanming and her second sister!
Li Wanming felt her scalp tingle just thinking about Feng Xiao's smiling face being together with Fang Zhi. It was as if she could already see Feng Xiao getting so angry that his hair stood on end.
Fortunately, Xiao Jingnan wasn't convenient to go out these days. Otherwise, with Feng Xiao's temper, he would probably have already gone to Xiao Jingnan's place with a knife to settle the score!
Li Wanming secretly sweated for Xiao Jingnan and was also relieved for herself - Mrs. Yuan's decision to confine her was really a good thing. It at least spared her from facing Feng Xiao's anger for the time being.
"Has the Empress Dowager issued an imperial edict?"
Li Wanming asked softly, with a hint of caution in her voice.
"Not yet."
Princess Chengping gently shook her head: "General Feng is now the Great General Who Guards the State, in control of heavy troops and with great military prestige. She doesn't dare to force a military general like she does a civil official. So she has only spread the word but hasn't issued an imperial edict."
After hearing this, Li Wanming let out a long sigh of relief.
It's good that there's no imperial edict. It's good that there's no imperial edict.
As long as there's no imperial edict, there's still room for maneuver, and Feng Xiao can still be saved...
"I advise you not to meddle in this matter."
Princess Chengping gave her a cold look, her fingertips sliding along the edge of the teacup: "The Fang family is the Chief Minister of the Secretariat, and the Feng family is the Great General Who Guards the State. One is a civil official, and the other is a military general. They are the pillars of the country. Although this marriage alliance between the two families helps Empress Dowager Kang win over the military forces, it's also beneficial to the country. Even the Emperor can't say much, let alone you?"
She snorted and picked up a corner of her gorgeous and soft sleeve robe. She gently stretched out her fair wrist and put two or three pine nut candies into her teacup: "You haven't even sorted out your own troubles, and you still have the mood to worry about others?"
Hearing this, Li Wanming secretly smiled. She wriggled over like a rubber candy and grabbed the corner of her sleeve, shaking it back and forth: "Princess, they really aren't a good match..."
Li Wanming hadn't met Princess Chengping many times, but after this morning's heart-to-heart conversation, she had gradually developed a sense of closeness to the princess.
Princess Chengping was open, straightforward, and intelligent. She also protected them young people a lot. Obviously, she regarded Xiao Jingnan as her own child.
At this moment, in Li Wanming's eyes, Princess Chengping was closer than some of her own elders.
So when she spoke, there was inevitably a bit of a young girl's coquettishness.
Princess Chengping was dizzy from being shaken by her and had to say: "Don't be in a hurry. Feng Xiao and Fang Zhi aren't stupid. Since they don't want this marriage, they'll surely find a way to get out of it."