Guo Wei was transferred to serve as the assistant prefect of Liuzhou last year, and the entire Guo family moved there with him. Guo Xinyue also went along.
Although it was a horizontal transfer at the fourth - rank level, Liuzhou was located in a remote area, poor and underdeveloped, far inferior to the bustling and powerful capital city. Therefore, this transfer was no different from a demotion.
However, this transfer order, which was tantamount to a demotion, was actually requested by Guo Wei himself.
Thinking of this, Li Wanming lowered her eyes slightly.
In March this year, when she was boating on the lake with Princess Chengping, she also asked about this matter.
Guo Wei had offended the eldest princess and was thus tied to the eldest princess's "warship". Usually, relying on a big tree provides good shade. So why did he ask for a demotion and leave the capital?
At that time, Princess Chengping curled her lips disdainfully and said, "Guo Wei, that old fox, was quicker than anyone else in seeking protection. Now that he sees the situation is unfavorable, he runs away as fast as a rabbit."
"But... but the person is already dead. Will the eldest princess still trouble the Guo family because of Sun Miaoqing's matter?" Li Wanming felt a bit stuffy in her chest when she thought of Sun Miaoqing.
Princess Chengping gave her a cold look. "Who said he was afraid of Princess Danyang?"
"Isn't it...?" Li Wanming was taken aback.
Princess Chengping said in a low voice, "The current situation in the court is obvious to anyone with a discerning eye. The struggle between the emperor and the empress dowager is becoming more and more intense. There may be a bloody reshuffle before long. Guo Wei's choice to leave the capital at this time seems like a demotion, but in fact, it's to avoid disaster."
She looked at the glistening blue lake, and the smile on her lips was colder than the mountain shadow in the water.
"Although Guo Wei used a life to calm Princess Danyang's anger, he was completely tied to Princess Danyang's chariot. Once there is a sudden change in the palace, the Guo family will surely use Danyang as a pawn! If he wants to get out, he can only temporarily abandon his future and ask to be transferred to a remote and poor place like Liuzhou."
"Speaking of which, Guo Wei is quite decisive. Although he abandoned his future, he at least saved the lives of his whole family."
"Moreover, in the future, when the situation changes, the Guo family may still have a chance to make a comeback..."
As Li Wanming listened to Princess Chengping's words, her mind began to wander, and slowly, Guo Xinyue's face emerged in her mind.
That arrogant, cold, mean, and aloof face, which could freely switch between intimacy and hostility...
She was much more pessimistic than the eldest princess about Guo Wei's choice.
She always felt that Guo Wei's departure was not only to avoid disaster but also to show his determination to the court and the eldest princess.
It meant that the Guo family had given up the heart of struggle. In the future, whether the emperor took power in person or the empress dowager chose another wise king, it had nothing to do with him. He begged for a way out for his whole family and not to involve the Guo family in the court struggle anymore.
If her guess was right, then the small Liuzhou would become Guo Wei's final resting place.
As for the so - called comeback mentioned by the eldest princess...
Oh, it was not that easy.
However, the struggle between the emperor and the empress dowager was intensifying day by day. But who could be sure how long it would take to complete the power transfer?
Five years? Ten years? Twenty years?
By then, Guo Wei would be old and haggard. How could he return to the court?
Moreover, each emperor had his own courtiers. By that time, whether the emperor took power in person or a new emperor ascended the throne, there would probably be no place for Guo Wei in the court...
So, what about Guo Xinyue?
She used to be extremely ambitious and sly.
But in the future, she would probably only have the sky and land of Liuzhou to look at. I wonder how many of the young talents in Liuzhou could catch her eye?
As Li Wanming thought about it, she felt dizzy and her chest stuffy.
Liu Yiyi saw that her face was not looking good. She thought Li Wanming was tired these days, so she got up to say goodbye. Before leaving, she told her, "Hey, if you don't like that dress, you should at least wear the accessories. I've put them on the table outside. Remember to put them on when you get up tomorrow morning! The sales of our Liu family's shop depend entirely on you!"
Li Wanming supported her forehead and replied weakly, "Okay, I know..."
...
The carriage swayed gently. The inlaid - gold Boshan censer on the table emitted curling sweet fragrance. Li Wanming was clutching the five - jin waistband in her hand, and her hands couldn't stop trembling. She cursed Liu Yiyi in her heart!
She never expected that the accessory Liu Yiyi left for her in the end would be that five - jin dragon - fish - patterned waistband!
It was about a palm wide and was fully decorated with various gems. Just one look at it made people feel dizzy...
This was not a waistband at all. It was clearly a shiny iron chain!
Li Wanming really didn't want to wear it in her heart, but she was afraid that Liu Yiyi would come back and ask her, "Hey, how about our family's waistband? Did all the guests praise it? What... you didn't wear it?! Hehe, I knew that's why the business in the shop has been bad these days. It turns out you didn't promote it properly!"
When the carriage stopped, Li Wanming gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and tied the heavy waistband around her waist.
However, to her surprise, no one seemed to care about this dazzling waistband.
Because there were almost no people in Fang Zhi's courtyard.
This... this was not right!
Fang Zhi was the daughter of the chief councilor and the most noble young lady in the Dacheng Dynasty. Even if she was reclusive, there should have been a house full of guests on her wedding day. There should have been many people waiting in her courtyard to send her off.
Li Wanming followed the servant of the Fang family through the corridor. The deeper she went, the fewer people there were. She even suspected that she had gone to the wrong place.
"You're asking why there's no one? Well, I find it noisy and I'm too lazy to deal with them, so I told them to go to the front yard." Miss Fang had already changed into her wedding clothes and done her makeup. She was sitting in the outer wing room eating chestnut cakes.
When she saw Li Wanming come in, she wiped her mouth and said, "If you're bored, you can go and find something to do by yourself."
In fact, on the table in front of Fang Zhi, there were not only chestnut cakes but also begonia cakes, jujube - paste cakes, osmanthus - flavored lotus - root - starch cakes, milk tea, almond tea... A large table was filled with all kinds of pastries and drinks.
Li Wanming stared at them in disbelief. "You... you can't eat these now, right?"
"Why not?" Fang Zhi looked up and asked.
"Isn't it... isn't it said that a bride shouldn't eat or drink before the wedding ceremony... just in case?"
Fang Zhi wiped her hands with a silk handkerchief and then carelessly poured herself a bowl of almond tea.
"What do you mean 'just in case'? Isn't it just afraid that I'll need to go to the toilet during the wedding ceremony? So what? Even if I really need to go to the toilet during the wedding ceremony, will the Feng family not want me as their daughter - in - law?"
Li Wanming stood there stupidly, unable to say a word.
This woman was so tough. It was simply outrageous!
Thinking of how she had really stupidly starved herself for a whole day on her wedding day, Li Wanming couldn't help but feel sad. Why didn't she have such a bold and unrestrained spirit back then?