Li Wanming gave a gentle flick of her hand, causing Mrs. Li to stagger back two steps. The hairpin on her head immediately came loose even more, making her look like a crazy old woman.
Li Wanming turned to look at her father. In those eyes that resembled Lady Yuan's, there was no longer the admiration of the past, only a bottomless disappointment.
"Dad," her voice was soft, but every word was like a knife, "I know you've had a hard time these years. But Mom has had it even harder."
"She's not an ordinary gentlewoman. She's the fearsome She-Devil of Yuan Family's Water Fort! If it weren't for you, she would never have entered the capital, and how could she have been trapped in this square courtyard, facing these..." She glanced at Mrs. Li, who was still stamping her feet and scolding, and lowered her voice, "... facing these unpleasant people and things every day."
Li Rusong opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He suddenly remembered what Yuan Jinqiu looked like when they first met. She was dressed in a stone-blue arrow-sleeved short jacket, looking valiant and heroic, sharp as if she were a drawn sword.
At that time, there was light in her eyes.
"Dad, Yiyi was a bit blunt today," Li Wanming took Liu Yiyi's and Wanxin's hands, "but these words have been weighing on my mind for too long."
"Yiyi is right. You should think it over carefully."
Li Wanming took one last look at her father. That look made Li Rusong think of how Jinqiu had looked these days when she was waiting with him in the Li Mansion for their daughter to return on the third day after marriage - equally cold, equally disappointed.
"Let's go," Li Wanming whispered to the two girls, "to the Listening-to-Snow Pavilion. Yiyi has brought some newly arrived Dayi rock tea from her shop. We can taste it together."
The three girls left hand in hand, leaving Li Rusong standing there in a daze.
The wind picked up the fallen leaves, swirling them around his feet, as if they were the waves stirred up by the sword energy on the deck of the warship when Jinqiu went on a military expedition years ago.
...
The old pear tree in the Listening-to-Snow Pavilion was in full bloom. The petals were fluttering down like snow, falling in profusion.
Li Wanming asked Chuntao to set up a tea tray under the small window. She sat opposite Wanxin and Liu Yiyi and sipped the tea.
The rock tea came from the mountainous Dayi Mountain. Its tea strips were tightly coiled, and its color was dark and shiny.
Because it grew in the mountains all year round, it had a unique "rock charm", a mineral aroma similar to that of rocks, also known as "rock bone and floral fragrance".
After the first infusion with boiling water, the tea was poured out after three breaths. It was a deep red and clear color, just like the beautiful color of a pigeon blood stone.
Li Wanming took a sip and let out a long sigh of satisfaction: "It's been a long time since I last had such good rock tea."
"Of course!" Liu Yiyi raised her chin proudly. "I had the Liu family's caravan specially bring it from Fujian. Even the imperial palace can't get it!"
Suddenly, she leaned closer and carefully examined the phoenix hairpin on Li Wanming's forehead. "Tsk, tsk. It's still so bright after three days, not a bit of color has faded. It looks like it was just painted on! It seems there's no problem with this batch of gold powder and rouge brushes. I can have them put on sale!"
Li Wanming leaned back helplessly. "You really treat me like a guinea pig!"
Putting down the teacup, she said apologetically, "I should have returned to my natal home in style today and given good publicity to your phoenix hairpin and these Fujian-style jewelry. But unexpectedly, it turned into a farce..."
As she spoke, Li Wanming spread out her hands. Her wrists and fingers were all covered with bracelets and rings, jingling more than on her wedding day.
"You don't understand. This is exactly what we need!" Liu Yiyi waved her hand indifferently and said excitedly, "If nothing out of the ordinary had happened, there would have been no gimmick!"
"The return of the Crown Prince's Consort to her natal home is a big event in the capital. Everyone has been craning their necks to watch. And what happened? There was a big show of 'The Crown Prince's Consort Encounters Trouble on Her Return, and Mrs. Li Shocks Everyone by Protecting Her Daughter'! Wow, this is really beyond our expectations!"
"I'm sure that by this afternoon, before you return to the mansion, today's incident will have spread throughout the entire capital! By then, your clothes, jewelry, and the hairpin on your forehead will definitely be talked about everywhere!"
The more she talked, the happier she became. She couldn't help dancing with joy. "What a great topic of conversation! The hairpins and jewelry in our Liu family's jewelry shop will surely become more popular because of this rumor. They're going to sell like hotcakes!"
Li Wanming propped her chin with her hand and looked at her happily. She couldn't help sighing faintly, "Alas, our family is really going to become the gossip center in the capital..."
"What's wrong with that?" Liu Yiyi got up and filled her another cup of tea. "I wish our Liu family could be like that!"
"It's a pity that after Lu Songyuan entered the palace, Fang Zhi has been staying at home waiting to get married. Without the two of them leading the way, the customer flow in our shop has dropped significantly."
Liu Yiyi pouted. "It's a pity that our Liu family is just a merchant family. No one wants to hear our family's gossip. Otherwise, I'm sure I could tell it better than the storytellers in the teahouse... Oh, right!"
As she was talking, she seemed to remember something. She quickly took out a few patterns from the包袱 behind her.
"Look, these are newly drawn by the embroiderers in our shop. Which one do you like?"
"April 26th is Fang Zhi's wedding. This time you're just a guest, so you don't have to wear the auspicious clothes customized by the Ministry of Rites. The wedding dress for the wedding banquet must be made in our shop!"
Hearing this, Li Wanming couldn't help lying on the table and letting out a wail. "Please spare me..."
"Spare you? What for?" Liu Yiyi laughed. "Choose quickly. Otherwise, I'll have the embroiderers put all the patterns on one dress!"
...
The girls chatted and laughed for a while. Qiuying came to report that Mrs. Li had been persuaded to return to her own courtyard. Now there was only Li Rusong left in the main hall. He wouldn't let anyone in to serve him. He just said he wanted to be alone and think things over.
"I hope this time..." Wanxin held the teacup and sighed softly, "Dad can really figure it out and stop making Mom sad."
Li Wanming shook her head. Her fingertips gently stroked a pear petal that had fallen on the table with the wind. "I'm afraid it won't be easy. Those thoughts and habits of so many years have taken deep root. How could they be changed by just a few words from others?"
At this time, Chuntao came over with a plate of osmanthus cakes. The rich aroma mixed with the fresh tea fragrance made the three girls suddenly think of their girlhood in Fujian. The melancholy buried in their hearts was also diluted a lot.
"If Sister Wanmo were here, it would be great..." Liu Yiyi propped her chin with her hand and her eyes drifted into the distance. "I wonder where she is now. Has she seen the lone smoke rising from the vast desert that she wanted to see?"
"Don't be so impatient," Wanxin laughed. "She's only been gone for three days. Even if she travels very fast, she's probably just reached Zhuozhou. Speaking of our second sister, I do have a good news to tell you..."
Li Wanming's and Liu Yiyi's eyes immediately lit up. They leaned closer involuntarily. "What good news?"