"Th-that... Princess Consort of the Prince of Ning!" Zhao Yanke, sitting between the two "powder kegs", was so anxious that beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He looked at Li Wanming pitifully and said, "Shouldn't the polo match start? Why hasn't it started yet?!"
Li Wanming never expected that the fighting strength of the Princess of Chengping would be so strong, nor did she expect Zhao Yanke to divert the trouble to her at this moment...
She couldn't help cursing in her heart: You can't handle the two of them. Why are you calling me?!
But on the surface, she had to force a smile and bowed respectfully. "Your Majesty, the auspicious time to start is exactly at the fourth hour. But if Your Majesty wishes, we can start right away!" She quickly changed her words.
Zhao Yanke couldn't wait. "Start! Start now! Start right away!"
"Yes..."
Li Wanming answered and was about to turn around to make arrangements when suddenly there was another commotion among the crowd.
"The granddaughter of Grand Secretary Shen! That's the granddaughter of Grand Secretary Shen!"
"Wasn't she in seclusion at Longfu Temple? Why did she suddenly come back?"
"Could it be for..."
A young girl in white slowly walked up from below the tent.
She was dressed in a snow - colored silk robe with delicate intertwined branch patterns embroidered secretly on the hem. As she moved, it emitted a soft light like flowing water.
On her head was a light - veiled hat. The thin veil hanging down was like mist. As she walked, the wind lifted half of it, revealing her jade - like chin.
First, she stepped into the colorful pavilion, saluted Zhao Yanke, said a few words briefly, and then turned her steps and walked gracefully towards Li Wanming.
Li Wanming was immediately stunned.
Was this person... coming for her?
The girl slowly walked up to her, took off her veiled hat, and suddenly, like the moon emerging from behind the clouds, a breathtakingly beautiful face appeared.
Her nose was as delicate as if carved from jade. Her skin was fairer than snow, and in the sunlight, it exuded a faint luster, as if it would melt at a touch of a finger.
However, she was overly thin. Her robe was so loose that when her wide sleeves slipped, a slender wrist bone was revealed.
"Princess Consort," the girl said. Her voice was like the sound of spring water hitting stones. "I came uninvited today. You won't blame me, will you?"
"Ah... ah?"
While Li Wanming was still in a daze, Mrs. Kang beside her took the lead and grabbed the girl's hand. The smile on her face was almost overflowing.
"What are you saying, Miss Shen? If fate hadn't been so cruel back then, we might have been a family long ago. Come, come, sit here quickly!"
She affectionately pulled the girl inside to sit down.
The whispers around Li Wanming immediately flooded into her ears like a tide, helping her gradually figure out what was going on.
Shen Qilan's grandfather had once served as the Minister of the Secretariat and the Chief Secretary of the Phoenix Pavilion. She came from a noble and scholarly family, a perfect match for the Xiao family.
Yes, that's right. This granddaughter of Grand Secretary Shen was the first fiancée of Xiao Jingnan who was rumored to have been "killed" by him!
No one knew exactly what had happened. She was supposed to be in seclusion to recuperate, but later, it was rumored that she had died...
"Back then, the engagement was already set. It seemed that you were about to get married," Mrs. Kang's voice was sickly sweet, and there was a hint of pride in her eyes and eyebrows. "Who would have thought that you would have a recurrence of your old illness and had to practice Buddhism with your hair still on at Longfu Temple. After this engagement was called off, the Prince was really melancholy for a while."
Shen Qilan coughed lightly. "I've always been weak. It was the heat toxin I was born with. When the old illness recurred back then, I had no choice but to go to Longfu Temple for seclusion... I didn't expect to implicate the Prince. Because of me, he even got the bad reputation of being a wife - killer..."
"What does it matter?" Mrs. Kang affectionately patted the back of Shen Qilan's hand. "It was all nonsense from those muddle - headed people back then. However, after the rumor of your death spread, it was actually Jingnan who didn't take the initiative to clarify it."
"He said that after you called off the engagement, your reputation was already damaged. Moreover, you were sick. If he kept arguing about this, it would only make those outside talk even more. It would be better to let the rumor fade away first so that you could recuperate in peace. Anyway, when you recovered and returned to the capital in the future, the rumor would naturally be self - defeating, so there was no need to rush to defend himself."
Shen Qilan lowered her head slightly. "I've wronged the Prince..."
"No, he wasn't wronged," Mrs. Kang held her hand tightly. "Jingnan was fated to be with you. When he did that back then, I even thought he was waiting for you. It's a pity..."
She glanced at Li Wanming subtly and then began to pretend to wipe away tears with her handkerchief. "It's a pity that the fated lovers couldn't be together..."
Since Shen Qilan stepped into this tent, the prying eyes and whispers around Li Wanming had never stopped.
The appearance of this woman was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples.
After Mrs. Kang's words of regret, those whispered conversations became even more unscrupulous.
"Yes, Prince Xiao and Miss Shen are a perfect match!"
"From what Mrs. Xiao said, it seems that Prince Xiao has always been unable to forget Miss Shen?"
"Indeed! Miss Shen is beautiful and well - educated. Isn't she much better than a vulgar warrior's daughter?"
"Hey, wait a minute. I heard that Prince Xiao fell in love with the Princess Consort at first sight and even pretended to be a commoner in the pleasure district for two years?"
"Humph! Who knows if she used some coquettish means back then to bewitch the Prince's mind?"
Li Wanming held a bamboo fan in her hand and looked at Shen Qilan.
How she felt at the moment... Well, it was a bit complicated.
On the one hand, she was amazed in her heart: Wow! So the fiancée back then wasn't dead after all!
On the other hand, she thought it was so cheesy - What the hell? She actually encountered this kind of cheesy white - moonlight story!
At the same time, a strange sour feeling welled up in her heart, like biting into a green plum - Xiao Jingnan had actually been willing to bear the scolding of being a wife - killer for her?
However, looking at Mrs. Kang's smug smile in front of her, she also felt a kind of enlightenment, a sense of relief and anger as if the dust had finally settled.
The anomaly of Mrs. Kang teaching her how to organize the polo match step by step before finally had an answer - So this was where she was waiting for her!
It was a pity that Mrs. Kang underestimated her too much. Did she think a white - moonlight who suddenly appeared out of nowhere could defeat her?
Humph, in her dreams!
Li Wanming closed the bamboo fan in her hand and walked straight up to a lady who was chatting excitedly.
Her embroidered shoes made no sound on the brocade carpet, but it made Mrs. Liu stop abruptly like a hen with its neck pinched.
"Mrs. Liu was smiling so happily just now..." Li Wanming's eyes were cold, but her tone was as gentle as the spring breeze. "Why don't you share it with us so that we can all be happy?"
"I... I didn't..."
"Didn't?" Li Wanming suddenly raised her voice. "Then wasn't it you who just said that I was a coquette who bewitched the Prince's mind?"
Mrs. Liu's face instantly turned bright red. She didn't expect Li Wanming to say these words in public.
The brocade handkerchief she was wringing in her hand was almost torn to threads. She looked like a cooked shrimp. "N-no... Princess Consort, you heard wrong..."
"Oh? That's the best," Li Wanming pursed her lips and smiled. "Otherwise, I'll have to invite Lord Huang from the Office of the Capital Magistrate to arrest you for slander and false accusation!"