Li Wanming tucked a stray hair behind her ear, her eyes glinting with a profound light.
"Yingchu, I have something to tell you. No matter how your younger brother misbehaves today, don't interfere. Just let him play tricks on the tutor. No matter how out of control he gets, just come and tell me."
"But... but..." Xiao Yingchu's eyes were red with anxiety. "Mother said this is the last tutor in the capital who is willing to come. If he is driven away again..."
"Do you want your younger brother to study hard?"
Li Wanming suddenly lowered her voice and gave a sly smile. "If you do, just listen to me. I guarantee the next tutor will make him behave."
Xiao Yingchu stared blankly at her sister - in - law.
The water in the pond reflected the sky, casting fragmented light spots on her face, making her eyes seem even more unfathomable. She nodded involuntarily. "Okay."
She didn't know why, but she just felt that her sister - in - law had a way.
Watching Li Wanming's departing back, Xiao Yingchu suddenly felt a surge of sadness.
Mother, stop fighting.
You don't stand a chance against such an opponent...
————————
In the afternoon, instead of staying in the Prince's Mansion, Li Wanming changed into simple civilian clothes and, accompanied by Spring Peach, headed towards the Mansion of the Loyal and Righteous Earl.
Speaking of which, the Zhu family of the Mansion of the Loyal and Righteous Earl was also a noble family. However, by this generation, the family fortune had long been squandered by unworthy descendants, leaving only an empty title of earl.
Otherwise, the fourth young master of the Zhu family wouldn't have followed Xiao Jingbai around as his lackey.
Li Wanming gave a small silver coin to the gatekeeper, and the gatekeeper scurried away to deliver the message without even asking for a visiting card.
Soon, a chubby little boy came out, shouting in a nasal voice, "Who's looking for this young master? And claiming to be an old acquaintance?"
Li Wanming pursed her lips and smiled, slowly stepping out from under the eaves. "We've met once. Isn't that enough to be considered an old acquaintance?"
The little boy was instantly scared out of his wits. "You... you... what are you doing here? Don't come closer! I'll call for help!"
"Oh, go ahead and call. I just happen to want to talk to your family elders and ask for a fair judgment."
Li Wanming waved her hand, and Spring Peach immediately understood. She took out a letter from her sleeve, unfolded it in front of him, and shouted loudly, "Seven days ago, you bought a seven - step snake from the Sifang Warehouse in Changyi Alley, attempting to harm our Princess of the Heir Apparent. Now that the evidence is conclusive, why don't you confess your crime?"
"Look carefully. The testimony, the seal, and the fingerprint are all there." Li Wanming leaned forward slightly, shook the confession paper in front of him, and then poked him on the forehead. "I'm going to talk to your family elders right now and ask why the young master of the Loyal and Righteous Earl's family wants to harm me, the Princess of the Heir Apparent of the Prince of Ning!"
The little boy named Zhu Ninglu was so scared that tears welled up in his eyes. He quickly blocked her way. "Don't... don't! Princess of the Heir Apparent, please tell me what you want. Please don't go to my father..."
The Mansion of the Loyal and Righteous Earl had long declined and couldn't compete with the Prince of Ning's Mansion at all.
If the Earl of Loyalty and Righteousness knew that he had dared to release a snake to bite the Princess of the Heir Apparent of the Prince of Ning's Mansion, he would surely break his legs!
Li Wanming put away the confession paper, pointed to a carriage at the alley entrance, and said with a smile, "Shall we go up and talk?"
Zhu Ninglu sighed dejectedly with a long face and could only nod.
As soon as he got into the carriage, a low voice came from outside the window to report, "Princess of the Heir Apparent, no one was found following us on this way, and no one in the Mansion of the Loyal and Righteous Earl noticed the fourth young master leaving the mansion."
Li Wanming nodded. "Thank you, General Gao. Next, please send someone to keep an eye on the Mansion of the Loyal and Righteous Earl. If there's any sign of trouble, report to me immediately. I don't want anyone to know that I've come to see this young master."
"Yes."
The person outside the window replied and then fell silent. He should have left after receiving the order.
Zhu Ninglu shrank his neck and sat in a corner of the carriage, not daring to say a word.
General Gao...
This woman had soldiers under her command!
She could quietly take him away from his home and even monitor their Mansion of the Loyal and Righteous Earl?
How terrifying...
This woman was so terrifying!
The more Zhu Ninglu thought about it, the more scared he became. His whole body trembled like a sieve.
Li Wanming laughed. "Don't be afraid. Those are the elite Black Armored Cavalry my husband gave me. Although there aren't many of them, each one is a brave and powerful warrior who can fight against a hundred. So it's not difficult for me to get evidence of you buying the snake. If I wanted to, I might be able to get even more things..."
"What... what do you want?"
Zhu Ninglu asked shiveringly.
His heart jumped into his throat.
In the past two years, following Xiao Jingbai, he had done all kinds of shady things. If this woman dug them all out, his father would probably skin him alive!
"All... all these were ordered by Xiao Jingbai... Don't come after me!"
Before Li Wanming could say anything else, Zhu Ninglu burst into tears. "All the things were his doing. He told me to buy the snake, and he also wanted to set the fire! "
The chubby teenager cried with snot and tears all over his face, and kept kicking his little fat legs.
"He said you were a shameless woman who only knew how to seduce his cousin and was desperate to climb up the social ladder. He thought that if he could scare you a bit, you might give up... We really didn't want to kill anyone..."
Listening to his crying and shouting, Li Wanming couldn't help but feel a headache.
She propped her chin up and looked at him helplessly. "You really tell everything, don't you..."
"Hey..."
She kicked his leg and said, "Stop crying. At least ask me what I've brought you here for!"
"I... What do you want me for?"
Zhu Ninglu lifted his tear - filled eyes and looked at her blankly.
"It's very simple."
Li Wanming supported her chin with her hand and raised her eyebrows slightly. "I just want to know what Jingbai likes to eat, what he likes to play, where he likes to go, and who his friends are."
After saying that, without waiting for his reply, she let out a long sigh.
"You know, I'm just a new bride who just married into the Prince of Ning's Mansion. I'm not favored by the elders in the family, and I'm struggling. I have to find a way to please my younger cousins. Otherwise, my life in the mansion will be even more difficult, won't it?"
"You... You want to curry favor with our boss?"
Zhu Ninglu said in disbelief.
He still remembered how this woman had wielded a rattan and whipped them hard.
At this moment, Li Wanming clasped her hands on her knees, lowered her head, and tried hard to look on the verge of tears. "It's not really currying favor. It's just that..."
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her face took on a look of misery. It seemed that tears were about to fall. "You don't know how my second aunt made things difficult for me on the day I got married."
Then, Li Wanming exaggeratedly told him everything that had happened that morning!
She told him how Kang had made her kneel, how she had been denied food, and how she had tried every means to make the servants of the Xiao family look down on her...