A sense of foreboding welled up in Li Wanming's heart. "You mean..."
Princess Chengping placed the arrow on the table. The golden feathers at the arrow's tail shone brightly, as if reflecting the blue waves of the lake.
"The Prince of Ning's estate has pledged allegiance, and the Lu family has submitted... Now in the court, Empress Dowager Kang holds absolute power and makes all the decisions. What she wants to do, how could she not succeed?"
She sat on the brocade stool, her fingers gently caressing the arrow shaft made of fine iron. "Even with the connivance of Minister Fang and General Feng, Fang Zhi and Feng Xiao's actions are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. In the end, it won't help."
After saying this, a smile suddenly played on her lips. "But in my opinion, these two are well - matched opponents. They're a natural pair of troublemakers. Their fateful bond might be very deep."
Li Wanming's heart sank.
It's over. It seems that Feng Xiao is really going to marry Fang Zhi...
...
The spring rain was as fine as cow's hair, silently wetting the bluestone path in front of the Li Mansion.
The pear branches in the Tingxue Pavilion had just begun to show a hint of snow - white. The flower buds were half - open, looking shy and timid. Meanwhile, the betrothal gifts from the Prince of Ning's estate arrived like a spring thunder.
The sound of gongs and drums soared into the sky, causing the raindrops on the branches to fall one by one.
Proposing marriage with betrothal gifts was the last and crucial step in the three letters and six etiquettes of marriage.
Once the betrothal gifts were presented, Li Wanming would officially become the unmarried princess of the heir of the Prince of Ning's estate.
The procession from the Prince of Ning's estate for presenting betrothal gifts marched through the long street in a grand manner. The gongs and drums thundered, and the red silk and golden boxes glistened in the sunlight.
At the head of the procession were two tall horses, each carrying an official from the Ministry of Rites. Holding the red invitation cards with gold borders, they loudly read out the list of betrothal gifts. "Twelve sedan - chairs carrying golden nanmu boxes, containing a pair of dragon and phoenix bracelets, twelve pairs of gold hairpins with wire - inlay work, twenty strings of pearl necklaces, and four jade ruyi scepters..."
"Twelve sedan - chairs carrying camphor - wood boxes with ribbed patterns, containing twenty bolts of Shu brocade, sixty bolts of floating - cloud brocade from Yunzhou, sixty bolts of jacquard brocade embroidered in Suzhou style, and sixty bolts of flowing - shadow silk from the Western Regions..."
"Twelve sedan - chairs carrying pear - wood boxes, containing twelve purple - haired writing brushes made of Hunan bamboo, four pieces of pine - soot ink from Huzhou, six calligraphy and painting masterpieces from the previous dynasty, a pair of blue - and - white porcelain vases, and a white jade Avalokitesvara statue..."
They read for a long time. By the time they finished, Li Rusong, who was standing at the door to greet them, had legs that were starting to tremble. The two officials wiped the sweat from their heads and hoarsely handed the gift list to Li Rusong.
A total of 120 red - painted wooden boxes were lined up in a row in the Li family's courtyard. When the lids were opened, the courtyard was filled with brilliance, and the jewels and treasures almost blinded everyone.
"General Li, this is the list of betrothal gifts from the Prince of Ning's estate. Please keep it well. We still have to report back to the Ministry of Rites later."
"Why are you two leaving so soon after just arriving?" Li Rusong quickly said. "We've prepared some simple wine at home. You might as well have a cup before going back."
The two officials from the Ministry of Rites exchanged a glance and understood each other's meaning. "In that case, we'll accept your kind invitation. We'll boldly disturb you for a while and share in the joy of your family."
Seeing that the Li family was now in the limelight, they naturally wanted to make friends with them.
Even this job of reading out the gift list today was snatched after a fierce fight in the Ministry of Rites.
Li Rusong and Yuan Jinqiu were being polite as they led everyone into the house.
In the middle of the courtyard, only Li Wanming, her sisters, and Chuntao were left.
Wanmo stared blankly at the glittering betrothal gifts in front of her and couldn't help but click her tongue. "Oh my goodness! No wonder it's the Prince of Ning's estate proposing marriage. They're really generous!"
Li Wanming tilted her head, looking a bit worried. "There are so many things. Are they all going to be stored in our house? Will the storage room be able to hold them? He might as well have given me all silver notes instead..."
"If it were all silver notes, there would only be three or four boxes. How could it be as grand as these 120 sedan - chairs of betrothal gifts?" Wanxin gave a kind smile and urged. "Let's quickly count and store them. What if it rains again this afternoon? It would be bad if they got wet."
After saying that, she led Chuntao and the others to one side to carefully take inventory.
Wanmo came over and whispered in Li Wanming's ear. "How about it? Is Grandmother acting normal? She won't rush out to grab the gold again, will she?"
"She should be normal." Li Wanming replied in a low voice. "Father went out early this morning to buy twenty packages of osmanthus cakes, twenty packages of chestnut cakes, five roasted chickens, five salted ducks, and five smoked geese... It's enough for Grandmother to eat until next month."
"Just food? That won't do!" Wanmo said anxiously. "You know Grandmother's behavior. When she hears the loud gongs and drums outside, how could she not come out to watch the excitement? Once she sets her eyes on your gold, pearls, and jade, you won't be able to get them back! No, I have to go and take a look..."
Li Wanming grabbed her. "Don't be in such a hurry! I haven't finished yet!"
She glanced at the others, quietly pulled Wanmo to one side, and whispered. "Besides the food, Father went to Lijia Village on the outskirts of the city yesterday. He invited all the elderly aunts from our family. He said there was an important matter to ask for their help and asked them to keep an eye on Grandmother today..."
As Li Wanming spoke, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. "The aunts said at that time that Grandmother had been married into the Li family for so many years, and none of the children in the clan had ever worn any clothes she made. Now that the youngest granddaughter is about to get married, they should also fulfill their responsibilities as the elders in the family and teach Grandmother how to make some clothes properly!"
"Ah? Really? The aunts are so mean!"
Li Wanming replied. "Indeed! I just sneaked over to take a look. Grandmother is being held at the table by the aunts, embroidering obediently."
Just imagining the scene of Grandmother frowning and reluctantly holding a needle and thread, looking at the delicious food on the table but not being able to eat it, Wanmo couldn't help but hold her stomach and laugh.
"Hahaha, Father is really smart to come up with such a way to deal with her! But seriously, the only ones in the whole family who can control Grandmother are those aunts from Lijia Village."
Li Wanming also laughed. "If Grand - Uncle San hadn't had trouble walking, he would have come too. In that case, I'm afraid our Grandmother wouldn't even dare to step out of the door!"
The two sisters were covering their stomachs and giggling non - stop when suddenly they heard a trembling scream from Wanxin.
"Snake... a snake!"
In a newly opened mahogany box, there was a snake as thick as a bowl!
The snake's body was covered with black - and - white patterns, and its scales glowed with a cold light, looking like a colorful brocade. Its triangular head was slightly raised, and its scarlet forked tongue darted in and out, making a hissing sound.
Wanxin's face turned deathly pale. She staggered back a few steps and almost bumped into Chuntao behind her.
The snake seemed to be startled and slowly slithered out of the box. The slight rubbing sound when its body slid over the edge of the box made people's hair stand on end.
Why was there a venomous snake in the betrothal - gift box?
Li Wanming's heart tightened. Before she could think it over, Wanmo beside her shouted. "Get out of the way!"