Madam Kang knew he was right, but she still couldn't bear it in her heart.
Moreover, she had just handed over the affairs of the mansion to Li Wanming. If she left at this moment, what if Li Wanming played tricks and tried to harm Pei Yanqi?
Madam Kang lowered her head and quietly glanced at Li Wanming. She saw that Li Wanming was sitting on the chair, sipping tea with her eyes lowered. It seemed as if she was looking over, but when she noticed Madam Kang's gaze, she quickly averted her eyes, as if she had a guilty conscience.
Something's wrong...
Madam Kang was suddenly alarmed, vaguely sensing that something was amiss.
It was clearly Li Wanming who had taken the initiative to recommend Pei Yanqi as Xiao Jingbai's teacher. But now, it seemed that she wasn't very enthusiastic about this matter.
Could it be that this young girl didn't want Jingbai to find a good teacher?
Madam Kang pondered secretly in her heart. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
Li Wanming's recommendation of Pei Yanqi seemed, on the surface, to make Madam Kang owe her a favor so that Madam Kang would treat her more favorably in the affairs of the prince's mansion in the future. But on a deeper level, it was to show her generosity and ability in front of everyone and gain a good reputation in the capital.
Now that Pei Yanqi had already arrived at the mansion, her responsibility of recommendation was fulfilled. Whether it ultimately succeeded or not, Madam Kang had to owe her this favor, and her good reputation had already spread.
But if Madam Kang offended Pei Yanqi today by not following his advice and caused him to leave in a huff... wouldn't that be exactly what Li Wanming wanted?
She would have bestowed a favor, demonstrated her virtue, but in the end, the second branch of the family wouldn't gain any substantial benefits!
Thinking of this, Madam Kang felt a tightness in her heart, and her complexion changed slightly.
She looked up at Li Wanming again. She saw that the latter was still calmly sipping tea, as if she had glanced at her intentionally or unintentionally, with a hint of mockery on her lips...
Madam Kang couldn't help but grit her teeth, secretly hating in her heart: This young girl is really not an easy one to deal with! I mustn't let her succeed!
Having made up her mind, Madam Kang asked, "May I ask how long I need to go on a pilgrimage for blessings, sir?"
Pei Yanqi replied calmly, "Seven days will be enough."
"Seven days?" Madam Kang was slightly taken aback, clearly surprised.
She hadn't expected that after all her hesitation, she only needed to be away for seven days.
"That's right." Pei Yanqi nodded. "Give me seven days, and I will surely guide the young master onto the right path."
Madam Kang felt a sense of relief, followed by a surge of great joy.
It was only seven days. What was there to hesitate about?
Everyone in the Prince Ning's Mansion was on her side. Moreover, with Nanny Chen and Xiao Yingchu keeping an eye on things, even if Li Wanming was capable, what trouble could she stir up in just seven days?
Moreover, if what Pei Yanqi said was true, it meant that after seven days, her Jingbai would be completely transformed into a polite, gentle, and widely - praised young talent!
No matter how she thought about it, this was a profitable deal!
Just as Madam Kang was about to agree, Pei Yanqi said coldly again, his tone filled with an undeniable solemnity, "However, I must make it clear in advance that within these seven days, the second madam must not leave Guiyuan Temple, nor allow anyone to interfere with my teaching in any way."
"Of course, of course!" Madam Kang readily agreed.
It was just seven days and just teaching. What could go wrong?
...
Li Wanming saw Pei Yanqi off to the door. Looking back, she watched as the corner of Madam Kang's robe disappeared under the corridor of the inner courtyard of the prince's mansion. Then she whispered, "You overdid it."
Pei Yanqi said, "I didn't. It's not even noon yet..."
"I mean your act was overdone!" Li Wanming gritted her teeth. "After your long - winded speech full of archaic words, even I almost got dizzy! Madam Kang hasn't read many books. Could she understand it? What if she disagreed? What if she didn't fall for it?"
The angrier she got, the more she remembered that she had to secretly peek at Madam Kang's expression just now. She almost gave herself away, which made her even more annoyed.
But Pei Yanqi looked at her with disdain and said, "It's you who don't understand, right? I think the second madam understood it quite well..."
"I..."
Li Wanming sneered coldly, "Fine, fine, fine. You're playing this game with me, right? I'll go and have a good talk with Yiyi and ask her to stop publishing all your books in the future!"
"Hey! We were talking nicely. Why are you in such a hurry?" Pei Yanqi quickly stopped her. "You don't understand. This is called 'feigning indifference to gain the upper hand'."
"If I had come across as extremely approachable and amiable from the start, she would have suspected that I had ulterior motives."
"It's precisely this way, being reserved, noble, and showing the pride of a number - one scholar that will make her feel that I'm worth every bit of the price. She'll try her best to keep me."
Li Wanming frowned and thought about it carefully. She felt that what he said seemed reasonable. Nodding, she said, "It seems that your time with Yiyi wasn't wasted. You've actually learned a lot about business."
Pei Yanqi said disdainfully, "She's extremely stingy, so miserly that she'd break a coin into eight pieces. Does she deserve to be called an expert in business?"
Li Wanming said, "Oh, I'll go and tell her exactly what you said..."
"Hey! You're such a person!"
Pei Yanqi stopped her again, his tone showing a bit of panic. He no longer looked like the noble and cold - looking number - one scholar from before.
"We were talking nicely. Why do you always have to snitch? As the mistress of the Prince Ning's Mansion, being a tattletale is not a good habit!"
Li Wanming gave him a cold look and said, "Is your habit good? You always brag about yourself and think you're the best in the world."
Pei Yanqi said confidently, "I am indeed the best in the world."
...
Li Wanming was almost laughed out of anger.
Well, anyway, he was the number - one scholar. Whatever he said would be what it was.
The two walked side by side slowly towards the outside of the alley. The evening glow cast a faint golden hue on the blue bricks, and the numerous eaves of the Prince Ning's Mansion were hidden behind them.
Li Wanming put away the playful look on her face and asked thoughtfully, "Madam Kang will leave the mansion for Guiyuan Temple tomorrow. You'll have a day off the day after tomorrow and will come to give Xiao Jingbai his first lesson. Have you thought about what to do? That little rascal is not easy to deal with..."
Pei Yanqi raised his eyebrows and said, "Didn't you promise that I could discipline him severely, really severely?"
"Yes, I did say that." Li Wanming patiently explained, "But Xiao Jingbai is different from Fang Zhi and Lü Songyuan.
"He's only twelve years old and has been arrogant and domineering. He doesn't understand the intrigues in the court. Your methods for dealing with Fang Zhi and Lü Songyuan may not work on him..."
"Who said I'll use court - related methods on him?" Pei Yanqi said. "Why use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken? Disciplining a naughty boy doesn't require such complicated methods."
"Then what do you plan to..."
Pei Yanqi stopped walking. "You've never been to school, have you?"
At that moment, Li Wanming felt insulted. She really wanted to twist his head off!
But Pei Yanqi had already paced two steps away with his hands behind his back. The drawn - out ending of his words carried three parts of pity and seven parts of pride. "Sure enough, you've never been to school..."
"Alas, if you've never been to school, you won't know that throughout the ages, teachers didn't need any political intrigue to discipline naughty students—"
He waved his hand in the distance. "All they needed was a ruler!"