"You're the lucky one," Fang Zhi said enviously, rolling her eyes after sipping half a bowl of almond tea. "Your husband left for the battlefield on your wedding night."
"Why can't I have such good fortune? I once asked Feng Xiao if he could go to war right after our wedding so that I could enjoy some peace and quiet. But he scolded me and told me not to have such wild ideas. Hmph, he's such an inconsiderate big guy!"
"Um..." Li Wanming was at a loss for words.
She had always known that Fang Zhi had a rather unique way of thinking. Even among the arrogant and domineering young ladies in the capital, she was one of a kind. But many times, this woman's way of thinking still managed to surprise her.
"Actually... leaving for the battlefield on the wedding night isn't necessarily a good thing. For example, when you first marry into a family, you're not familiar with your in - laws yet. It would be better to have your husband by your side to protect you..."
Li Wanming wracked her brains, trying to put it as euphemistically as possible.
But Fang Zhi raised her eyebrows. "What? Do you think the Feng family would dare to bully me?"
"Of course... they wouldn't dare..."
"Then that's that!" Fang Zhi lowered her head, picked up another tangerine, and started peeling it lazily.
There was already a small mountain of sunflower seed shells and orange peels on the silver plates and bone dishes in front of her.
Fang Zhi's bright red wedding dress trailed on the ground. The five - phoenix - worshipping - the - phoenix pattern embroidered with gold thread shone brightly in the candlelight. The Eastern pearls on the tips of the feathers were like the stars shaken off by a divine bird in the fire.
But the splendor in the room only made her look more lonely. Her heavily - made - up face was full of weariness, and there was a trace of hostility on her slender fingertips.
As if in a fit of pique, Fang Zhi stuffed a whole tangerine into her mouth and chewed it vigorously. The golden juice spurted out, and she wiped it off with her sleeve carelessly.
Outside the window, silk tree flowers fluttered to the ground, like torn rouge - colored letters.
A sudden surge of bitterness welled up in Li Wanming's heart. She sat down slowly and gently advised, "You'd better eat less. Eating too much will give you a bloated stomach, and you'll be the one suffering in the end."
To be honest, her relationship with Fang Zhi wasn't very close. They weren't even close friends.
According to etiquette, she could leave after presenting her wedding gift. But the courtyard was so quiet, like a dry well, that she couldn't bring herself to leave.
This marriage was a political alliance from start to finish.
Fang Zhi didn't want it, and neither did Feng Xiao. But neither of them could go against the powerful forces behind them.
The status of the daughter of the Chief Secretary and the only grandson of the General Who Pacifies the State didn't bring them freedom. Instead, it was like a pair of shackles, locking the two of them together tightly. They couldn't break free no matter how hard they tried.
"Feng Xiao isn't as bad as you think," Li Wanming chose her words carefully and said softly. "In terms of character, he's open - minded and would make a good husband."
"Xiao Jingnan is also a man of good character. Why didn't you want to marry him back then?"
Li Wanming was taken aback and couldn't say a word.
"My situation is different from yours..." Li Wanming blushed slightly and rubbed her handkerchief. "His reputation was really scary back then. I didn't want to die at that time..."
"You're lying." Fang Zhi's pupils were dark, bright, and cold, like a small - tailed dragon in a shallow abyss that could pierce one's heart. "You believed the nonsense of those quacks? If you really believed that, you wouldn't have used the name of the Yellow Horse Goddess to scare people when you opened the inn."
Li Wanming lowered her head, twiddling her fingers and not daring to look at her. "Well... it wasn't entirely a bluff. We were just going for that kind of mysterious style back then..."
As she spoke, she felt more and more guilty. Her voice became softer and softer until it was like a mosquito's buzz.
"Sigh..."
After a long silence, Li Wanming let out a long sigh. "Whether you want to marry or not, in the end, you still have to. Since you have to marry, you might as well be happy about it."
Hearing her words, Fang Zhi paused slightly. The golden tangerine peel fell from her fingertips, revealing the fresh pulp inside, like the new buds on a cypress tree after the old leaves had fallen. But no matter how beautiful the buds were, they could never be the same as the previous leaves...
"When I was a child, I was extremely picky about food," Fang Zhi suddenly said. Her voice was as erratic and lost as the catkins in late spring.
"When I ate red - bean paste cakes, I wouldn't eat them if there was even a single bean husk in them. When I drank chicken soup, I had to skim off all the oil on top. I could only use black wolfberries. I absolutely couldn't put astragalus or ginseng, but I still wanted a little bit of the taste of ginseng..."
"My family's cook would sieve the steamed red - bean paste three times through a piece of gauze and then grind it twice before making the filling. Every time she stewed chicken soup, she would watch the water clock and take out the ginseng at the right time, and then put in the wolfberries."
"I don't eat chili, but I like the spicy and fragrant taste in my dishes. Every time my cook cooked, she would heat the pan with seasonings like chili first, then wash it and cook again. The dishes cooked this way were both fragrant and didn't have the astringent taste of chili..."
Fang Zhi's voice was muffled. "I heard that the Feng family has strict family rules and advocates simplicity. They're very strict about food, clothing, and daily necessities. My cook wanted to go with me, but my father didn't allow it. He said that after I marry into the Feng family, I have to consider myself a member of the Feng family. My words and deeds should conform to the standards of the Feng family."
She wiped her eyes and pushed a stack of red - bean paste cakes over. "These were made by my family's cook. She added tangerines and rose sugar. Try them. You probably won't be able to eat them in the future..."
Li Wanming picked up a piece and took a bite. The aroma of red - bean paste and roses instantly bloomed on her tongue. The slight sourness and special aroma of the tangerines neutralized the sweetness just right, leaving a lingering fragrance in her mouth without being overly sweet.
They were really delicious. The red - bean paste was sweet and smooth, without even a single bean husk.
But Li Wanming put down half of the cake. She didn't know how to console Fang Zhi.
Should she say that although the Feng family has strict family rules, their family style is upright and there won't be any problems?
Should she say that although Feng Xiao and Fang Zhi have no feelings for each other, he has good looks and character. Among the playboys in the capital, he's one of the better ones?
But what does it matter to Fang Zhi whether the Feng family is upright or whether Feng Xiao is talented and good - looking?
She doesn't like him!
"I once asked my father if it would be okay for me to never get married and just stay in the mansion with him," Fang Zhi said.
The silk tree flowers were stretching out their feather - like corollas in the morning light, like the trembling tassels on a bride's temple. Fang Zhi's voice also had a touch of faint confusion.
"He said that if he wasn't the Chief Secretary or the head of the Fang family, maybe it would be okay. But unfortunately, he is both the Chief Secretary and the head of the Fang family. My marriage has become like the gong on a stage. So many people are waiting eagerly to hear the sound."
"So, if it wasn't Feng Xiao, it would be someone else. It's better to just be Feng Xiao."