"Wow! Big sister is going to be the empress!"
"Great! Then won't the whole Dacheng Empire belong to her in the future?"
"Then..." Liu Yiyi suddenly leaned over, her eyes shining with eagerness. "Can we at Liu's Silk and Satin Store make the ceremonial robe for her enthronement as empress?"
Li Wanming immediately pushed her aside. "It's not even a certainty yet. Stop daydreaming! And don't keep talking about the empress. That title is so inauspicious!"
Unable to get anywhere with those two, Li Wanming decided to ask Wanxin herself.
"Big sister..."
Just as she finally summoned the courage to speak, Wanxin pressed a crabapple - colored snowflake candied fruit against her lips.
The sweet fragrance instantly spread between her lips and teeth, stifling her questions.
"Is it delicious? Does it taste the same as when we were kids?" There was still some sugar frosting on Wanxin's fingertips. Her eyes curved into crescent moons. "His Majesty heard that I like it and sent someone to Min overnight to find it. It's really hard on him... I only mentioned it once, and he remembered."
Li Wanming stared blankly at her elder sister.
Wanxin had a simple suiyun hairstyle, with only a white magnolia hairpin on her temple. But the smile on her lips was even brighter than the sunlight outside the carriage.
"He... He's the emperor!" Li Wanming heard her own hollow voice say.
"Yes, he is the emperor." Wanxin peeled a longan with her delicate hands and replied casually. "Although he is the emperor, he doesn't seem like one at all. Instead, he has a child - like nature, just like a spoiled young master from some family."
The glistening fruit trembled on her fingertips, like the gentlest spring light in this life.
Li Wanming stepped forward suddenly and grabbed Wanxin's wrist. "Big sister! If you marry him, you'll have to enter the palace! There are a bunch of beauties in his harem, each with their own charm. He won't just stay with you!"
The longan "plopped" onto the brocade - woven carpet and rolled under the chair, disappearing from sight.
Only then did Li Wanming notice that Wanxin's hand had suddenly become ice - cold.
The incense in the carriage seemed to stagnate for a moment. All that could be heard was the tinkling of the copper bells on the necks of the carriage horses.
"Little sister," Wanxin slowly withdrew her hand and wiped her fingertips bit by bit with a handkerchief. "When I married Chen Lin back then, I also hoped for a loving and harmonious marriage. But when he took a concubine into the house later, he didn't even ask me. You say the deep palace is scary, but is the backyard of an ordinary family really a paradise?"
"Big sister..." Li Wanming was stunned. She hadn't expected her to say such things.
As the carriage swayed, her sister's profile was illuminated intermittently by the light filtering through the carriage curtain.
"His Majesty has already told me how many concubines there are in the harem. He also said that although the current political situation is unstable, he will surely argue his case and strive for the position of empress for me."
Li Wanming was surprised that they had discussed such things in depth. She sat up straight. "Then you..."
"I refused."
Wanxin lowered her eyes slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her lips. "I told him that I don't want to be the empress."
The morning light shone through the gauze curtain, gilding Wanxin's simple suiyun hairstyle. Her eyebrows and eyes looked gentle yet firm.
"Now that the political situation is unstable, His Majesty needs to concentrate on dealing with the chaos in the court. He shouldn't be concerned about my affairs at this time... If he were to conflict with the empress dowager for my sake at this moment, wouldn't it be putting the cart before the horse?"
Wanxin lifted the carriage curtain. The wind of late summer, carrying the fragrance of herbs, blew into the carriage.
In the distance, the green mountains were colorful, just like her rosy - cheeked face.
"Moreover, I'm a doctor now. Saving lives is my duty. All I need to do now is manage the small clinic in the back alley well and relieve the suffering of the people... As for other things, I'll just let nature take its course..."
By the end, Wanxin's voice became a bit shy.
Li Wanming felt something was off the more she listened!
Although Wanxin said she refused, every word was clearly for Zhao Yanke's sake. That gentle tone and those shy pauses were full of tenderness...
Li Wanming couldn't help but ask, "If His Majesty can quickly clean up the political situation and take full power when he returns to the capital this time, then big sister... Will you agree to enter the palace?"
The gauze curtain fell. Wanxin's ear tips instantly turned as red as blood. Her fingers unconsciously twisted the sash of her clothes, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "If... If His Majesty treats me sincerely... Then, then I also..."
!!
Li Wanming was almost in disbelief!
Her big sister had actually fallen in love with Zhao Yanke?
Why?
Wanxin had suffered so much in her previous marriage and had finally managed to get out... Shouldn't she be more vigilant towards men from now on? Shouldn't she avoid marriage like the plague?
But why, when a man showed her a little kindness, could she plunge headlong into his sweet words without a second thought?
Moreover, what was there about Zhao Yanke that made him worthy of a woman's trust?
He spoke carelessly, acted absurdly, and was always irresponsible. There were countless beauties in his house... The most troublesome thing was that there was a powerful and extremely difficult - to - deal - with mother - in - law in the harem!
Apart from the empty title of the Son of Heaven, what else did he have?
Li Wanming felt a tightness in her chest. She clenched her fists involuntarily and pounded heavily on the table.
"Why are women always so stupid? Clearly being hurt all over, but still willing to offer their true hearts without hesitation when the next man shows a little tenderness?"
Wanxin was startled by her. She stared blankly and said, "What stupid... Don't all women have to get married? I can't stay in my parents' house forever..."
Li Wanming felt a rush of无名 anger to her head. She almost wanted to curse, but when she met Wanxin's frightened deer - like eyes, she felt不忍.
She suddenly realized a terrifying fact - in Wanxin's world, there had never been an option of independent survival.
For Wanxin, women were born to depend on men, just like vines must climb on tall trees and the moon must follow the sun.
Wanxin's plan for her life was to marry a good man, be a good wife and mother, and sing in harmony with her husband.
As for the misfortune in her previous marriage, it was because she had married the wrong person, not that she shouldn't have married at all.
As long as she found a good man who treated her well in the future, she could continue to have the happy life she longed for.
And the colorful harem of Zhao Yanke...
For Wanxin, it was never within her consideration.
Men, which one didn't have multiple wives and concubines?
So what if there were a few more women?
As long as he treated her well and could truly think for her, wasn't that enough?