In the evening, at Shiyongzhai.
Xiao Jingnan, dressed in a moon - white inner robe, leaned against the window reading a book. He had already taken off his hair crown, and his long, flowing black hair cascaded over his shoulders. In the flickering candlelight, it was like a flowing stream of black silk.
It was nearly late autumn, and the weather was a bit cold. But for some reason, when Li Wanming looked at him, she felt her face gradually growing hot, and even her breathing became labored.
Was he going to sleep here tonight?
She counted on her fingers. This was no longer a contractual marriage. They would not get divorced, and no one would suddenly issue an imperial edict to send him to the southern border.
It seemed that it was time to get down to business...
As soon as this thought came to her mind, Li Wanming's face flamed up.
"Are you... not going to the yamen today?" She heard her voice tremble slightly.
"Does my wife really hope I go to the yamen?" Xiao Jingnan closed the book with a snap. His pitch - black eyes, half - smiling, stared deeply at her.
Li Wanming flinched as if scalded and quickly lowered her eyes. "No, no... I just saw that you used to sleep at the yamen. I was afraid you had something to do tonight..."
"Come to think of it, I do have a major event tonight." Xiao Jingnan walked over slowly. His phoenix eyes reflected the candlelight, glistening with a mysterious light. "There's nothing more important than this."
"What... what?" Li Wanming tried hard to maintain her composure and avoided looking at him.
Xiao Jingnan got closer, and closer, and then he simply walked past her...
??
Li Wanming opened her eyes and saw him go behind the rosewood carved cabinet behind her. He bent down and picked up a small dark - brown wine jar!
He slapped off the sealing mud, and the familiar rich aroma of the wine filled the room.
"Jinyutang Wine!"
Li Wanming exclaimed in surprise.
She never thought that she would see this kind of wine again at this moment.
Xiao Jingnan gently stroked the jar with his fingertips, his eyes and eyebrows soft. "This is the Jinyutang I brewed myself. Although it's not as mellow and sweet as my wife's Jinyutang Wine, it's about eighty percent similar."
With a flip of his wrist, he suddenly took out two vermilion - glazed wine cups from his sleeve. On the cups, the lovebirds were intertwined neck - to - neck, and the character for "happiness" glowed brightly.
"This..." Li Wanming exclaimed. "Aren't these the wine cups we used for the wedding ceremony on our wedding night? You've actually kept them all this time?"
Xiao Jingnan picked up the wine jar and poured the wine. The amber - colored liquid rippled in the cups.
"Back then, when I saw my wife brewing wine, I thought that if one day I could marry my wife properly, the wine for the wedding ceremony must be the Jinyutang brewed by my wife herself."
"Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. My wife's wine shop was sealed, and all the raw materials, secret recipes, and account books were also sealed up. The famous Jinyutang Wine in the capital disappeared just like that."
"Fortunately, I'm not too stupid. After being around it every day, I've finally learned a bit of my wife's true skills."
In the fragrant mist of the wine, he picked up a cup and offered it to her. "Today, let's use this jar of Jinyutang to perform the wedding ceremony."
Li Wanming's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
So after all these years, he still remembered.
She and he had bowed in marriage three times and gotten married three times. But it was not until this moment, when she drank this long - awaited wedding wine, that it felt like they had truly completed the last step of the wedding.
She gently raised her hand, pushed up her sleeve, and her fingertips trembled slightly. She passed through his arm and drank the wine with their necks intertwined. As their ears brushed against each other, his warm breath hit her face, like a burning flame.
Vaguely, she seemed to hear the wedding official shouting loudly, "The couple bows to each other. Send them into the bridal chamber—"
Her face suddenly grew hot. She wanted to push him away, but he held her even tighter.
A hoarse voice came to her ear, and the warm breath brushed against the tip of her ear. "My wife, it's getting late..."
The candle went out.
The red quilt was tossed and turned. It was a night of passion.
————————
In the early snow of the severe winter, the capital was covered in white, instantly turning into a world of glass.
At the New Year's Eve palace banquet, Zhao Yanke announced something. He was going to establish a queen.
"The eldest daughter of the Li family is gentle, kind, and modest... I think she is very suitable to be the queen!"
No one opposed.
Because those who opposed had already been imprisoned.
All the civil and military officials in the court knelt down and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
The palace banquet was filled with the smell of alcohol. Li Wanming couldn't stand it, so she found an excuse and went out for some fresh air.
The cold night was as black as ink, and the stars were like jewels spilled from a box, scattering diamond - like sparkles all over the sky.
"Now that the Li family is in the limelight and the princess of the heir apparent is riding on high - tide success, why did you come out instead?" A figure in a palace dress embroidered with phoenixes in gold thread emerged from the corner of the eaves. Her beautiful eyes were filled with resentment.
Li Wanming sighed softly and turned around to salute gracefully. "Your servant pays respects to Concubine Lü."
The hatred in Lü Songyuan's eyes grew stronger. "I underestimated the Li family girl's tricks before. I didn't expect a discarded wife of the Chen family to seduce the emperor with some kind of coquettish means and actually be able to enter the harem..."
"If Concubine Lü has any dissatisfaction, you can go and talk to His Majesty."
Li Wanming was too lazy to deal with her. "If you can persuade His Majesty to revoke the order, our Li family will even prepare a great gift for you! Because my elder sister has always been indifferent to fame and fortune and doesn't really care about the position of the queen. Unlike some people, who look at the position of the queen like a dog looks at a bone... Oh, funny thing, but they just can't get it!"
"You..." Lü Songyuan didn't expect her to speak so directly. She was so angry that her eyes were on fire.
Li Wanming didn't let up. "But your servant has a word of advice for the concubine. Grand Tutor Lü is about to retire, and Prime Minister Fang holds all the power. If I were the concubine, I would think carefully about how to make up with that old enemy from back then!"
"After all, the current Lady Feng has the background of a chief scribe on her mother's side and a Duke Protecting the Country on her husband's side. Such an extremely honorable status is probably not something a resentful woman in the deep palace can compare with!"
"Bold!" Lü Songyuan took a sudden step back. Her face, caked with thick powder, instantly turned bright red.
Li Wanming's words were like a knife, stabbing right at her most painful weakness.
Her brothers were incompetent, and the great tree of the Lü family was on the verge of toppling... And that bitch Fang Zhi was riding on the wave of the emperor's personal rule and rising steadily!
The poisonous fire of jealousy and hatred raged in her chest, burning her internal organs with pain.
When Zhao Yanke announced that he would establish the eldest daughter of the Li family as the queen, this evil fire, mixed with despair, could no longer be suppressed. She couldn't wait to come out and pick a fight with Li Wanming, wishing to pour all her resentment on her.
"Princess of the heir apparent..." Lü Songyuan stepped closer, her eyes glinting with cold light. "I'm sure you don't need me to teach you the principle that the moon wanes after it is full. You'd better be careful not to fall hard when you're on top, and end up dead and buried!"
Li Wanming replied lazily, "Your servant will remember your teachings, Concubine. I also hope that the concubine will make persistent efforts in the palace and reach new heights."
"Bitch..."
"Concubine Lü!" Su Xiaozhu suddenly appeared at the corner of the corridor. Her elegant figure was like a new bamboo in the snow. "Grand Tutor Lü seems to have drunk too much. His Majesty is looking for you..."
Lü Songyuan glared at Li Wanming again and then left with a flick of her sleeve. "Don't be too proud! We'll see!" As she turned around, her pearl - embroidered shoes crushed the ice on the ground, and the creaking sound was like the sound of her grinding teeth.