Chapter 192: People Are Different
After watching Miss Shi walk away, Wan Jing threw herself beside Li Xiaonan.
“What did you say to Miss Shi? You didn’t say anything else to her, did you? You can’t just spout nonsense anymore!”
“I didn’t say anything!” Li Xiaonan immediately shook her head.
“You talked to her for a long time, really didn’t say anything?” Wan Jing looked suspicious.
“She said she wouldn’t compromise.” Li Xiaonan gave a dry laugh.
“Wouldn’t compromise? What does that mean!” Wan Jing’s eyes widened.
“That’s what it means.” Before Wan Jing could scream, Li Xiaonan quickly added, “I didn’t say anything, she said it herself!”
“If she won’t compromise, how will she get married? Her previous suitor was the Young Lord, our Young Lord!” Wan Jing suppressed her voice, but the frantic tone became even more intense due to the suppressed sound.
“So… that’s that, right.” Li Xiaonan leaned back, pressing against the chair back, with a dry laugh.
“It seems I have to find a way to stay in Jiangnan!” Wan Jing wailed, slumping into an armchair next to Li Xiaonan.
“What does it have to do with you?” Li Xiaonan didn’t react.
“Everyone knows she thought things through after talking to you once! But her ‘thinking things through’ means she won’t compromise! If she won’t compromise, she definitely won’t get married!
“At that time, even if her Shi family can’t do anything, our Princess Consort will punish a few people. This matter, those involved, it’s you and me. Our Princess Consort won’t punish you, but me!” Wan Jing wailed again.
Li Xiaonan blinked a few times, paused for a moment, and sighed.
This is called taking it out on others, but when something happens, punishing and taking it out on everyone involved is an old tradition.
“If you have to stay, then stay. Jiangnan is so nice. Does your Prince’s Estate have a weaving workshop in Jiangnan? If so, you might as well go be a steward at the Jiangnan Weaving Workshop, that would be great.” Li Xiaonan patted Wan Jing.
“Great, my foot!” Wan Jing slapped Li Xiaonan’s hand away, “You really shouldn’t have talked nonsense. You have no idea how difficult it is for women not to get married! I have two great-aunts and an aunt who never married, and they were quite pitiful in the end!”
“How were they pitiful? No money?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“They had money, they worked their whole lives, and had plenty of savings, but the loneliness! Especially during festivals, there were so many rules, and nowhere they could go. They looked so forlorn and lonely, and when they saw us juniors, they would smile and give us money, begging us to talk to them, saying they were lonely, that’s how they looked, alas!”
“I don’t think Miss Shi will be like that.” Li Xiaonan said seriously.
“Why not! It’s all the same!” Wan Jing had no patience left.
“That Second Madam Pan, is she considered old now? If not, then in ten, twenty, thirty years, do you think she’ll be as lonely and pitiful as your great-aunts and aunt?” Li Xiaonan pushed Wan Jing’s shoulders, making her face herself, and asked.
“Second Madam is a widow, it’s different!”
“So, are all widows like Second Madam?” Li Xiaonan retorted impolitely.
Wan Jing glared at her sideways.
“I remember you saying once that Second Madam was chatting with someone, and the other person was talking about how difficult it is to raise a baby. Second Madam chimed in, and they said she wouldn’t know because she never raised children. You said that if your aunt heard that, she would be heartbroken and cry for days. But Second Madam just laughed and said, ‘That’s right, I never suffered that kind of hardship.’
“You see, people are different. Someone like Miss Shi, with a strong will, she won’t be lonely.” After a pause, Li Xiaonan continued, “My Eldest Sister chose to comb her own hair [self-combing, a practice for unmarried women]. I think when she’s too old to move, she won’t be lonely or bored. Miss Shi is much more capable than my Eldest Sister.”
Li Xiaonan clapped the book in her hands and smiled at Wan Jing, “I think I can do it too. You definitely can’t.”
Wan Jing glanced at Li Xiaonan sideways, and after a moment, snorted.
Li Xiaonan left the villa half an hour later than usual.
After getting into the carriage at the Second Gate, Wan Jing smiled and said, “Someone from the Tea House just sent word that your family has moved, and you should go directly to the new house.”
Li Xiaonan had already heard from her Eldest Sister about moving as soon as possible, so she wasn’t surprised.
The cart driver drove the carriage directly to the entrance of the Li family’s newly acquired house. Wan Jing lifted the carriage curtain, watched Li Xiaonan get out, and then asked, “Are you really not coming tomorrow? Or should I still come over?”
“No need, I have to stay home and pack.” Li Xiaonan waved goodbye to Wan Jing.
Wan Jing lifted the curtain, watched Li Xiaonan call out to open the door and go in, then instructed the cart driver to return.
A Wu opened the door. He poked his head out, watched the cart drive away, closed the door, and quickly followed Li Xiaonan.
“Your Eldest Uncle, Eldest Aunt, your Second Uncle are all here, and your Tang Weng Weng is also here.” A Wu’s tone carried an indescribable feeling.
Li Xiaonan glanced at A Wu but ignored her.
This luxurious house, which her Eldest Sister and Second Sister considered magnificent, was indeed much larger than the house in Cai Lian Lane, but it was still just a three-courtyard house.
The plot of land was irregular. The courtyard gate and the first courtyard were to the east of the main courtyard. After entering the main gate and passing the screen wall, there was a small house to the east and a moon gate to the west leading to the main courtyard.
The main courtyard was square, with a row of rooms facing south in front of a wide eaves corridor. At the end of the eaves corridor, a decorative gate led to a small side courtyard.
Behind the main courtyard was the third courtyard. In the northwest corner were three kitchens, enclosed by low walls. To the east was a row of back auxiliary rooms, and behind that was a small garden.
All the doors in the house were open, and it hadn’t been cleaned yet. Each room was empty.
Li Xiaonan looked around first, then entered the main courtyard.
Eldest Aunt Guo Saozi was carrying a copper kettle of boiling water from the kitchen courtyard. She smiled at Li Xiaonan and said, “Have you looked around? How is it?”
“It’s really good!” Li Xiaonan smiled.
“We were just discussing how to live here. I said your Eldest Sister should live in this main courtyard, but she refused, saying your brother should live here.” As the Eldest Aunt spoke, she and Li Xiaonan entered the Main House one after the other.
The old plain wood table was placed in the center of the Main House. Li Xiaonan scanned the room, didn’t see a loom, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Their family’s loom had always been placed in the very center of the Main Hall as the most valuable piece of furniture.
“A Nan is back.”
Tang Weng Weng Li Shikuan smiled and greeted her. Li Wenliang stood up, took everyone’s cups, and helped Eldest Aunt re-brew the tea.
Second Uncle Li Wenru bowed halfway, hesitated, and then sat back down.
Li Xuedong offered his small bamboo chair to Li Xiaonan and then found a small stool to sit on.
“Is everything alright?” Li Jinzhu asked with concern.
“It’s fine, Second Uncle is a rare guest.” Li Xiaonan bowed to everyone one by one, sat down next to Li Jinzhu, and smiled at Li Wenru.
Li Wenru accompanied her with a smile, nodding in agreement, and looked at his father, Li Shikuan.
“He came from Linhai Town.” Li Shikuan said directly, “Something big happened in Linhai Town. Tell A Nan about it.”
“Yesterday, the entire Linhai Town was sealed off. There were soldiers everywhere. Those soldiers all spoke Mandarin with foreign accents, and they had a murderous aura about them. I’m afraid they were soldiers who had been on the battlefield and killed people.
“They searched over a dozen households, confiscated many warehouses, and arrested many people. When I arrived, there was nothing happening in the town. At the wharf, the area where the Prince’s Estate had set up tents was surrounded by soldiers, exuding a murderous aura.” Li Wenru said, his heart slightly uneasy, looking at Li Xiaonan.
“Did you come here on your own, or did many people ask you to come?” Li Xiaonan looked at Li Wenru and asked.
“Many people asked me, and I also wanted to come and talk to my elder brother.” Li Wenru seemed a bit uncomfortable.
“Many people have also come to me, Mr. Cao from the Prefectural Yamen, President Shi from the Silk Guild, Old Yu Xing, and many others have avoided it.” Li Wenliang said with a smile, much more at ease than Li Wenru.
“It seems to be the first time the entire Linhai Town has been sealed off for a search and arrest.” Li Shikuan said, looking at Li Xiaonan.
“I don’t know, and I can’t say anything about it. It’s not something we should know. We should just do what we need to do.” Li Xiaonan said slowly, word by word.
Li Shikuan frowned, then his brow relaxed slightly, and he nodded, “It seems like these are all big matters that won’t involve us. We should just focus on what we need to do.”
Li Xiaonan hummed in agreement.
Li Wenru visibly relaxed.
With these words, he could rest assured and focus on his own affairs.
