"You've suffered, my lady," Xiao Jingnan said suddenly as he walked slowly ahead.
Li Wanming gently shook her head.
"Even Xiaohuan knows that everyone has a responsibility for the rise and fall of the nation. How could I, the daughter of a military family, not understand this? Moreover, what my second elder sister said is right. Isn't it just a war? We'll just win it..."
At this point, she suddenly stopped and tightly grasped the sleeve of Xiao Jingnan's robe.
In front of a silk store, two familiar figures were arguing heatedly over the price.
"How could this multicolored brocade be worth two silver coins a bolt? The color is old - fashioned, and the pattern is not fresh. Look at the edges; the threads are coming loose!"
- It was Liu Yiyi.
"Sir, listen to my calculation. If you're willing to give a 30% discount, we'll buy 500 bolts. Then you'll still make 85 taels of silver. If you can give a 50% discount, we'll buy 1000 bolts. In this way, you'll earn 150 taels of silver! If you can..."
- It was Pei Yanqi.
The two of them talked non - stop and calculated the accounts clearly, leaving the old shopkeeper who sold the multicolored brocade dizzy.
Li Wanming rubbed her eyes hard, hardly believing what she saw.
Why were Liu Yiyi and Pei Yanqi here?
Liu Yiyi was very happy to see her. She waved from afar and shouted, "Wanming! Over here!"
Li Wanming quickly walked over. "What are you two doing here?"
"Isn't the great battle imminent?" Liu Yiyi raised her eyebrows and said carelessly, "Since the merchant caravan of the Liu family has been traveling between Fujian and the capital all year round, the Ministry of War has requisitioned our caravan to transport supplies for General Feng's army."
"I thought that since we had to make this trip anyway, I might as well come along to see if there's anything in Shou'an that we can transport back and sell... As the saying goes, don't let the cart return empty - handed!"
Xiao Jingnan's eyebrows twitched slightly. "You're going to transport the goods to the capital to sell?"
Shou'an was thousands of miles away from the capital. If the goods could be transported smoothly from Shou'an, it meant that the situation in the capital was not that bad, and perhaps there was still a chance of a turnaround...
However, before his thoughts could finish turning, he heard Liu Yiyi shout, "Impossible! The capital is under strict control now. Without a written order from the magistrate of the capital, no outside merchant caravans are allowed to enter!"
She rolled her eyes and continued, "If we can't enter, then we won't! Anyway, the raw materials prepared by our family's shops before are enough to last for half a year."
"If you're not going to the capital, then these multicolored brocades you're purchasing now..." Li Wanming was a bit dazed and didn't quite understand.
"We're selling them in Yunzhou!" Liu Yiyi clapped her hands happily and laughed, "Last month, our family's shop in Yunzhou opened!"
"You don't know. These small gadgets from the southern border and Fujian are very popular in the capital, Yunzhou, and several big cities in the north now!"
"The dragon - fish patterned belt I made for you before was almost a big hit! Tsk tsk, it's still Miss Fang. Her ability to drive sales is really strong! Just one belt led the trend in half of the Great Sheng Dynasty!"
She gave Li Wanming a pointed look. "Unlike some people, who are shy and lack ambition... I gave her those rings, bracelets, and hairpins for free, but they didn't even cause a splash!"
Li Wanming coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject, pointing at Pei Yanqi beside her. "What about him? What's he doing here?"
Pei Yanqi glanced at her disdainfully, straightened his robe, and proudly lifted his chin. "I'm currently serving in the Ministry of War and have been appointed as the military supply transfer envoy, responsible for transporting supplies. Of course, I have to come with the supply convoy."
"Military supply transfer envoy?" Li Wanming opened her eyes in surprise. "Would the Empress Dowager let you be the military supply transfer envoy?!"
Pei Yanqi became the top scholar because he was personally appointed by the emperor back then.
Moreover, his refusal to marry into the Guo family later was equivalent to offending the Empress Dowager and the Princess Royal. He was regarded as a supporter of the emperor. When he was demoted, it was probably with the tacit approval of Empress Dowager Kang...
Therefore, in the past year, the struggle between the Empress Dowager and the emperor had become more and more obvious, almost reaching the point of open conflict. How could Empress Dowager Kang allow someone on the emperor's side to be the military supply transfer envoy? She should have wished that all relevant personnel were from the Kang family and would have loved to trap General Feng...
"I became the military supply transfer envoy regardless of the Empress Dowager - " Pei Yanqi proudly waved his sleeve and pointed forward. "It was personally bestowed by His Majesty!"
Under the shade of a tree at the entrance of the alley ahead, there was a small watermelon stand. Zhao Yanke was holding half a slice of sandy - fleshed watermelon and smiling at them. The bright red watermelon juice dripped down his chin into his collar.
...
At that moment, Xiao Jingnan's scalp almost exploded.
Zhao Yanke!
The emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty!
Actually came to the front - line filled with gunpowder smoke with a civilian official who was powerless in battle during the war between the two armies?
And was squatting at the street corner eating watermelon...
Xiao Jingnan sneered, picked up a bench from the side, and rushed straight towards the alley entrance!
Zhao Yanke was so scared that his face turned pale. He dropped the watermelon and turned around to run, shouting loudly, "It's not what you think! Brother Xiao, listen to me... Li Wanming, control your husband!"
There was a commotion in the alley.
Liu Yiyi nudged Li Wanming with her elbow. "Hey, your husband seems to be about to commit regicide. Aren't you going to stop him?"
"No, I'm tired," Li Wanming said listlessly. "If the emperor is so unreliable, then let him be killed..."
After saying that, she glanced sideways at Pei Yanqi. "What about you? Aren't you going to rescue the emperor?"
Pei Yanqi stood with his hands behind his back, looking upright. "Avoid looking at, listening to, and speaking of what is improper. His Majesty and the Prince of Ning have important matters to discuss. It's better for me to avoid this."
"Tsk..." Li Wanming retracted her contemptuous look, rubbed her throbbing temples, and sighed, "You're really brave. When he wanted to come out, you actually agreed to take him. If you just let him act on his whim like this, what if something goes wrong..."
"Is it a whim? No!" Liu Yiyi tilted her head. "I think what His Majesty said makes a lot of sense."
"Sense?" Li Wanming's eyebrows twitched. "What did he say?"
Pei Yanqi calmly dusted off his sleeves, glanced at her indifferently, and asked a seemingly irrelevant question. "Do you think, for His Majesty, is the capital safer now or Shou'an?"
"Of course it's..." Li Wanming instinctively wanted to say the capital, but her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't say these two words.
The capital, this magnificent imperial residence, should have been the most stable fortress for the Son of Heaven.
However, at this moment, there were undercurrents surging beneath the red walls and yellow tiles.