"You'd better enter the palace less often in the future!"
As soon as they stepped out of the Yonghe Palace gate, Princess Chengping's expression immediately changed. "I originally thought she'd at most humiliate you for being vulgar and uneducated. I never expected her to show her true colors like this!"
"She even dug out that baseless incident from twenty years ago. What won't she dare to do in the future?"
While walking, Li Wanming kept rubbing her aching knees. She felt a piercing numbness shooting from her tibia all the way to her lower back. With a bitter smile, she said, "I thought so too..."
"And my second sister - in - law!"
Princess Chengping was still seething with anger. Her long brocade - woven dress fluttered past the green bricks on the ground like the wind.
"Isn't she a niece of Empress Dowager Kang? How could she not even say a single word at such a critical moment?"
"Doesn't she realize that if the Xiao family falls, there will be no place for her in this world?"
"Does she think she can stay out of it? She's daydreaming!"
"She... Hmm? Where is she?"
Princess Chengping was so engrossed in scolding that when she turned her head, she found that Kang Shi wasn't following them.
Li Wanming dared not say a word. She just weakly pointed a finger with her head down towards the corridor behind. "T - there..."
It turned out that Kang Shi had knelt for so long that her legs went numb. When she stood up just now, she staggered and almost fell. Now she couldn't even walk properly and could only shuffle forward slowly with the support of the maids.
Princess Chengping never liked to be followed when entering the palace. The maids serving them along the way only dared to stay far behind. So it was only after they had walked for a while that they noticed Kang Shi was left behind.
The princess raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Has she been kneeling since she entered the palace until now?"
"Yes..." Li Wanming nodded with an apologetic smile. "The Empress Dowager didn't allow us to get up, so we didn't dare to."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Princess Chengping got even angrier. "It's okay for you! It's your first time entering the palace. You don't understand the palace rules, and you're a young bride. It's right to be cautious. But she's been the second mistress of the Xiao family for over twenty years. She enters the palace on festivals. She's supposed to be well - traveled. How could she not even have the ability to handle such a situation?"
"She even knelt there for half an hour?"
"If I hadn't come today, would she have just knelt there and watched you get beaten?"
The more Princess Chengping talked, the angrier she got. Her chest heaved violently. Staring at the cowering figure in the distance, hatred filled her eyes.
"She's good at fighting for power, but a coward when it comes to facing a common enemy... Heh, she always turns the knife on her own people. She really lives up to being my good second sister - in - law!"
Li Wanming wiped the sweat off her forehead. Looking around, she whispered, "Actually, it's not entirely Second Aunt's fault. The Empress Dowager's authority is so great. It's normal for us court officials not to dare to speak casually..."
She wasn't defending Kang Shi but reminding Princess Chengping to be careful. After all, they were still in the palace, and it was better to be discreet...
Unexpectedly, Princess Chengping stopped and gave her a cold look. "Are you scared too?"
Li Wanming immediately froze. Her Adam's apple rolled twice, and she didn't know what to say.
"You were quite energetic when you retorted against the Empress Dowager just now. Why are you pretending to be a timid quail now?" Princess Chengping said carelessly.
"I... I had no choice..."
Li Wanming lowered her head and crushed the small stones by the roadside with her toes. "The Empress Dowager said my great - grandfather on my mother's side pretended to surrender. If I didn't argue a bit, I'm afraid both the Li and Xiao families would be in great trouble."
"Don't worry, Princess," she raised her head again and said with a silly smile. "I definitely argued reasonably and with dignity. There was not a single flaw in my words..."
"Do you think I'm complimenting you!" Princess Chengping glared at her fiercely. "If I hadn't arrived in time today, you might have been beaten to death!"
Seeing that she started scolding again after saying a few words, Li Wanming shrank her neck shyly and didn't dare to make a sound.
Princess Chengping paused for a moment. Her gaze drifted towards the weak figure in the distance again. She said coldly, "But you're quite good. You didn't disgrace the reputation of a general's daughter! Humph, the Xiao family has established its status through military merits. The women in our family are as brave as men. There have been many fierce female generals on the battlefield. How come it's like this with her..."
By the end, her breathing became more and more rapid. Finally, she flung her brocade - embroidered wide sleeves violently. "Forget it! All bark and no bite, aiming high but achieving little... I've always said she's a fool!"
Li Wanming hurriedly caught up. After holding it in for a long time, she still couldn't help but whisper a reminder. "Aunt, please be more careful with your words. After all, this is the palace, and Second Aunt is a distant niece of the Empress Dowager..."
"Heh, you weren't afraid when you were spouting off just now, but now you're reminding me to be discreet?" Princess Chengping tilted her eyes and let out a sneer.
Li Wanming scratched her head embarrassedly. "Actually, I was scared just now, but I had no choice..."
Princess Chengping suddenly stopped and showed a meaningful smile. "I'll just remind you of one thing. This palace ultimately belongs to His Majesty. This world belongs to the Zhao family, not the Kang family!"
After saying that, she continued to stride forward quickly, leaving Li Wanming standing there alone, stunned.
What does that mean...
Li Wanming felt that there was something strange about this statement, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Of course, this world belongs to the Zhao family, but the current court is in the hands of Empress Dowager Kang - is there something wrong?
The sun was shining brightly, and the loud chirping of cicadas came from under the shade of the trees.
Suddenly, she turned her head and saw Kang Shi in the distance, being supported by two maids and still constantly hammering her legs. She suddenly realized that it didn't take so many maids to support Kang Shi...
But why were they all standing around Kang Shi, leaving only Chief Eunuch Wang following Princess Chengping?
A flash of inspiration crossed her mind. Li Wanming hurriedly caught up and boldly asked, "Aunt, did His Majesty send you a message so that you could arrive here so timely today?"
Although she had sent Qinglan to find Princess Chengping yesterday, she only told her the time when she would enter the palace. She couldn't guarantee that Princess Chengping would arrive just in time to save her life.
Princess Chengping's timely arrival must be because someone had sent a message, and that person also had to ensure that she could pass through all the palace gates unimpeded...
The only person in the entire palace who could do this was the current emperor, Zhao Yanke.
Princess Chengping didn't answer. She just said, "You're not completely stupid after all."
Li Wanming lowered her head and smiled softly. But in her heart, a huge stone finally fell to the ground.
Since the incident on New Year's Eve last year, Zhao Yanke had never met Xiao Jingnan again. He even drove out Feng Xiao, the imperial bodyguard, and told him to stay at home and "prepare for marriage" peacefully.
Li Wanming was worried that there was a rift between Zhao Yanke and Xiao Jingnan, so she had been feeling uneasy.
Even when entering the palace this time, she only dared to ask Princess Chengping for help in advance and didn't dare to expect Zhao Yanke's protection... If Empress Dowager Kang hadn't made such a cruel move, she wouldn't have dared to take such a risky move and make such a big scene.
Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, he still helped her.
Moreover, he seemed to be more powerful than she had imagined. He could even pull off such a small trick right under Empress Dowager Kang's nose.