Li Wanming had never liked to be constrained since childhood. She was a free - spirited girl with a straightforward personality, carefree and heedless of everything.
Madam Yuan had always planned for her to marry into a middle - class family. Ideally, it would be a merchant family like Liu Yiyi's. In the future, she could travel far and wide with her husband, living a free and unrestrained life, which would be her happiest existence.
However, who could have thought that in the end, this most unruly youngest daughter would marry into the most prestigious family.
Madam Yuan unconsciously curved her lips, a look of relief flashing in her eyes.
It was only when Nanny Song mentioned it that she suddenly realized that her Wanming had finally grown up.
That little girl who had always defied discipline and had run wild on the streets since childhood could now handle herself with ease in the most prominent family in Dacheng. In some aspects, she even coped better than her own mother!
It was truly remarkable.
Her Wanming... finally made her feel at ease.
The sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices, casting dappled shadows on Madam Yuan's robe.
She sat there quietly, motionless for a long time, until Qingyan came in and softly called her, "Madam... Madam?"
Madam Yuan looked up and saw Li Rusong standing at the door, hesitant and afraid to enter.
Madam Yuan ignored him. She remained silent, merely picking up another teacup and pouring a cup of tea.
Seeing this, Nanny Song and Qingyan quietly retreated.
Li Rusong hesitated for a while and finally slowly approached, with an ingratiating smile on his face. "Jinqiu, I was wrong..."
Madam Yuan didn't say a word. She just pushed the cup of tea in front of her over.
After all, they were husband and wife. She couldn't be too heartless.
Let it be like this...
...
After lunch, Li Wanming was about to leave for the Prince Ning's Mansion. But she sat in the Tingxue Studio, dawdling and reluctant to move. "Let me stay a little longer. I can go back before it gets dark anyway."
Wanxin advised her, "Of course we hate to part with you. But now you're the mistress of the prince's mansion. There are so many eyes on you. If you stay too long in your natal family, people will laugh at you..."
"In my opinion, being the mistress of the prince's mansion is really boring!"
Liu Yiyi was sitting on a small round stool, using mountain cherry azaleas to dye Li Wanming's nails. "You can't do this and you can't do that. People are always gossiping about you. It's not as carefree as I, a merchant girl!"
Li Wanming nodded in agreement. "Who says it isn't? If I could choose, I wouldn't want to marry into their family..."
"However, the prince's heir is truly kind to you." Liu Yiyi said while carefully applying the nail dye. "Look at the grandeur of the betrothal gifts that day. The whole yard was filled with gold, silver, and jewels. It really shocked a lot of people! For this reason, I think you should go back..."
Hearing this, Li Wanming grabbed the tip of her ear with her other hand that was still drying. "Are you selling me out like this? Is there anything in your head besides money!"
"Ouch, don't move! The nail polish is smudged!" Liu Yiyi quickly dodged her hand and complained. "I just painted your nail polish. Don't rub it around!"
The Liu Jewelry Store had recently come up with a new way to apply nail polish. Instead of wrapping the juice of balsam flowers with gauze on the fingertips, they used a rouge pen to dip in a special dye and draw directly on the nails.
The patterns drawn in this way were novel and beautiful. After plating with a layer of gold powder, the whole nail sparkled.
Li Wanming looked down at her glittering nails and couldn't help sighing. "Fortunately, I have a one - tenth share in your Liu Jewelry Store. Otherwise, just for the ever - changing publicity methods every day, I would definitely charge you a hefty commission!"
Liu Yiyi laughed. "You didn't want the share at first. Now you know it's good, right? Don't worry. When the business expands in the future, I'll give you two more shares! Let's make money and get rich together!"
"Come on..."
Li Wanming rolled her eyes at her. "With just a one - tenth share, you've already dressed me up like a big lantern for the New Year! If I take two more shares, I'm afraid the whole Prince Ning's Mansion will be painted with phoenix flowers from Min Province by you!"
Liu Yiyi rolled her eyes and thought for a while. "It's not impossible..."
Just as they were chatting and laughing, they suddenly heard Qingyan softly calling outside the door, "Is the princess of the prince's heir in the room?"
Li Wanming quickly blew on her two hands and walked out, pouting. "Aunt Qing, why are you so polite? Calling me the princess of the prince's heir makes us seem so distant..."
Qingyan smiled faintly. "You're the mistress of the prince's mansion now. The rules can't be broken." With that, she took something out of her bosom and handed it to Li Wanming. "Take a look. Do you like it?"
It was a small and delicate dagger, about three inches long, pitch - black all over. When she pulled it out, the blade glistened with a cold light, obviously extremely sharp.
Qingyan said gently, "I know Wanmo taught you martial arts and the prince's heir taught you archery... But martial arts skills ultimately require good physical strength to be effective, and archery is even more so. Without arm strength, you can't even draw a bow, let alone have good aim."
"You're always lazy and dislike exerting yourself. I'm afraid you won't make much progress in martial arts and archery. So, I specially had this dagger made for you to defend yourself."
Her tone was gentle and simple. There was no blame in it, but rather a doting affection.
Li Wanming blushed slightly. Her heart was filled with warmth, and she said in a low voice, "Thank you, Aunt Qing. I've been lazy since I was a child. I've made you worry..."
Qingyan laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. If it comes to doing business, I'm afraid all of us combined can't compare to you."
She picked up the dagger and said seriously, "Wanming, although you have some martial arts foundation, it's not systematic. If you really encounter trouble in the future, it may be difficult for you to protect yourself..."
"I'll teach you three moves today. Remember them firmly and practice them well. In the future, whether you meet ordinary villains or petty thieves, these three moves will be enough!"
...
The carriage swayed gently. The seat was covered with a thin soft felt cushion. There was a gilded Boshan censer on the small mahogany table, slowly emitting the sweet fragrance of golden flower tea.
Li Wanming sat in the carriage, gently stroking the small black - sheathed dagger. Her heart was filled with both sourness and comfort.
Her marriage had touched so many people's hearts.
Her mother had prepared the dowry early and even gave Nanny Song to her; Aunt Qing had someone customize a dagger and specially came up with three moves suitable for her; even Liu Yiyi, who said she was looking for her for publicity, was actually subsidizing her with a lot of real money...
Everyone knew that her future was full of hardships, and everyone was afraid that she would be wronged.
Li Wanming tightly held the dagger and secretly made up her mind: For this kindness, she would never allow herself to be wronged. She would surely show those who tried to bully her what it meant to be the hope of the whole village!