Аftеr Li Rоng аnd Реi Wenxuаn finishеd а gаmе of chess, nеws аrrived from thе servants: Shаngguаn Yа hаd аlrеady bеen released from рrisоn and hаd sent а mеssаgе saуing thе tаsk wаs сomрlete—she аnd thе eldеst Su son had turned frоm enemiеs into friends.
Неаring this, Li Rоng соuldn’t hеlp but laugh. Shе glаncеd uр аt Pеi Wenхuаn and said gеntlу, “If Su Ronghuа heard this, I’m afrаid he’d overthink it аgаin.”
“Тhat’s just hоw Miss Shangguan is. Тhе еldest Su sоn will gеt usеd tо it еvеntuallу.”
Аs he sрokе, Pei Wеnxuаn glаnсed аt thе skу аnd reminded her, “Yоur Highness, it’s time to sleеp.”
“You hardlу sleeр yоursеlf, yеt you’re quite strict with me.”
Though Li Rong grumbled, she stood up. Pei Wenxuan stepped forward to help her remove her outer robe. After washing up together, they went to bed. Li Rong lay there, unable to fall asleep.
Noticing she didn’t seem ready to sleep immediately, Pei Wenxuan opened his eyes, turned onto his side, and looked at Li Rong. “What is Your Highness thinking about?”
“About what might happen in the palace tonight.”
“Your Highness need not worry,” Pei Wenxuan reassured her. “The Emperor is suspicious by nature. Consort Rou was merely a tool to him. Now, you are a pawn in His Majesty’s plans to deal with the noble families. You still have your uses. For Consort Rou to harm you without permission—that touches the Emperor’s forbidden line.”
“Mm.”
Li Rong acknowledged softly. Pei Wenxuan thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “In a few days, there will be a lantern festival among the common folk. Would Your Highness like to go see it?”
“Lantern festival?” Li Rong knew Pei Wenxuan was trying to change the subject, and she played along. Mimicking his posture, she turned onto her side, raised a hand, and rested her fingers lightly on Pei Wenxuan’s chest, speaking in a coquettish tone, “Lord Pei, are you asking me out?”
Hearing her speak like this, Pei Wenxuan couldn’t help but laugh. His laughter was low, and as he chuckled, Li Rong could clearly feel the slight vibration in his chest beneath her fingertips.
Seeing him laugh, Li Rong slowly glared at him. “Still laughing? If you keep laughing, this princess might not have time for you.”
“Then I won’t laugh,” Pei Wenxuan stifled his laughter, though a smile remained on his lips. “Will Your Highness have time then?”
“You make the arrangements first,” Li Rong said casually. “Whether I have time or not, we’ll see then.”
“Alright,” Pei Wenxuan nodded. “I’ve rented a boat. When the time comes, I’ll row for Your Highness. I’ve inquired—that night, sky lanterns will be released. The shore will be crowded, so I’ll take you to the middle of the lake to watch.”
“I’d almost forgotten,” Li Rong said, feeling a flicker of anticipation at his words. She rested her hand under her ear. “You know how to row a boat.”
“Luzhou has many waterways,” Pei Wenxuan recalled his youth, speaking slowly. “During the three years of mourning, I often enjoyed rowing out alone, stopping wherever I pleased, basking in the sun, taking a lazy nap, then rowing back and picking lotus seeds along the way.”
Listening to Pei Wenxuan describe these things, Li Rong found herself in a world she had never experienced.
From the moment she was born, she had lived within the confines of Huajing. She had never known the peaceful moments Pei Wenxuan depicted—strolling freely through the streets, having a small boat of her own on a summer afternoon, surrounded by vast stretches of lotus flowers.
Finding a random spot to nap, read a book, or fish for an entire afternoon, catching nothing and it not mattering at all."Sometimes I'd bring back some lotus leaves. An old woman taught me to wrap glutinous rice in lotus leaves, add some chicken pieces, chestnuts, and spices, then steam them together. It has a unique flavor."
"You learned how to make it?" Li Rong felt hungry just listening to him. Pei Wenxuan smiled: "Want to try it?"
"Of course, you make it sound so good," Li Rong said frankly. "I don't just want to eat it—I want to go to Luzhou."
"Then in the future, when we're old and I retire, we'll go."
"When I'm old, I'm afraid I won't be able to walk," Li Rong sighed. "My legs aren't good."
"It's fine, I'll carry you."
Pei Wenxuan raised his hand and stroked Li Rong's hair. He looked at her as if she were a child: "Besides, in this lifetime, I'll take good care of you. Even when you're old, you won't suffer like you did in your previous life."
As he spoke, Pei Wenxuan thought of Li Rong's final days of illness in her past life. He couldn't help but reach out and pull her into his arms, sighing: "Sleep."
Li Rong, held by him with her head resting against his chest, couldn't help but feel drowsy.
It was an indescribable sense of security, like a weary bird returning to its nest or a traveler coming home.
Li Rong suddenly realized that, at some point, she had developed this sense of security with this person.
Pei Wenxuan held Li Rong for a long time until he heard her steady breathing. He lowered his head to kiss her, finally closed his eyes, and fell asleep as well.
In the middle of the night, Pei Wenxuan heard urgent knocking at the door. Li Rong stirred, and Pei Wenxuan gently pressed her down, saying calmly, "I'll go see."
With that, Pei Wenxuan got up, threw on a robe, and went to the door. Opening it, he saw Tong Ye standing there. Tong Ye lowered his voice and quickly whispered a few words to Pei Wenxuan, whose eyes turned cold. "Are you sure?"
Just then, Li Rong also draped a robe over herself and came to the door. She heard Tong Ye say quietly, "Yes. Consort Rou brought Master Hongde into the imperial study. That old bald monk actually told the truth—he said it was someone from the Princess's Manor who asked him to change the Crown Prince's wedding date."
Pei Wenxuan remained silent. Tong Ye continued, "His Majesty was furious and intended to summon Her Highness immediately, but the messenger who left the palace gate was called back before he could depart."
"Is there anything else?" Pei Wenxuan asked calmly, as if the matter had no effect on him. Tong Ye, reassured by Pei Wenxuan's composure, gradually calmed down and said, "No. His Majesty seems unwilling to investigate further."
Pei Wenxuan nodded, thought for a moment, then whispered, "Leave the city tonight and go to Qingshui County next door. Find a laundress named 'Tian Fang,' give her three hundred taels of silver, and tell her that her husband has been found. Have her bring her mother-in-law to Huajing to identify him."
"Yes," Tong Ye replied. Li Rong, who had been listening, immediately understood what Pei Wenxuan was doing and said directly, "You're looking for dirt on Master Hongde?"
"Exactly," Pei Wenxuan turned to her. "The kind of evidence we can find right away."
Li Rong turned and went straight to the desk, where she wrote down a list of names and specific addresses. She handed it to Tong Ye: "Follow this list. Tell them directly that the charlatan who deceived them before has been found, and have them come identify him."Tong Ye was taken aback, not expecting Li Rong to provide such a list. Seeing him frozen in place, Li Rong pushed the list forward and urged, "Take it."
Only then did Tong Ye snap back to reality, quickly taking the list before retreating.
After he left, Li Rong turned to Pei Wenxuan, straightening her clothes as she calmly asked, "What's wrong?"
"Word just came from the palace that Consort Rou has summoned Master Hongde to see the Emperor."
Li Rong's expression remained unchanged as she stared at Pei Wenxuan. "Why are you panicking just because he's going to see the Emperor?"
"After the Spring Festival, I sent someone to find him," Pei Wenxuan admitted truthfully. Li Rong frowned. "Why did you look for him?"
"I told Your Highness before that if we want to completely resolve the issue of the Crown Prince's marriage, having this person make a prophecy about it would be a permanent solution."
"Didn't I also tell you?" Li Rong restrained her emotions. "Chuan'er has already agreed to select a consort. Why are you still worrying about this?!"
Pei Wenxuan fell silent. Li Rong stared at him, and after a brief pause, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then asked, "Did you leave any evidence?"
"No," Pei Wenxuan replied decisively. "I sent a shadow guard to find him. I didn’t reveal my identity or directly mention the Crown Prince’s matter. I only had someone test him once, but when I realized he was too timid, I didn’t proceed further."
"Then why is he entering the palace now?" Li Rong pressed quickly.
If Pei Wenxuan had only tested him once without taking any concrete action, how did Consort Rou find this person and arrange for him to enter the palace?
"That’s exactly what I want to know."
Pei Wenxuan spoke calmly. "People in the palace say that after this old bald donkey entered the palace, he lodged a complaint against you, claiming that someone from the Princess's Manor told him to delay the Crown Prince’s marriage for five years."
Li Rong stared at Pei Wenxuan in shock. Pei Wenxuan continued, "I wasn’t reckless when I approached this bald donkey. No one else should have known about this."
Li Rong remained silent. Seeing her expression, Pei Wenxuan unconsciously clenched his fists.
There were things he wanted to say, but looking at Li Rong’s face, he didn’t dare.
He didn’t want her to know about this matter. If possible, he wished he could hide it from her forever.
He was confident he could surpass Su Rongqing in this lifetime, but what about the Su Rongqing who had accompanied Li Rong for over twenty years?
He didn’t dare to compare.
In this lifetime, he and Li Rong were just beginning. He didn’t want to take any risks at this point.
After a brief moment of shock, Li Rong quickly regained her composure and asked, "What do we do now?"
"His Majesty hasn’t summoned Your Highness yet because he’s wary of the Supervisory Department in your hands," Pei Wenxuan analyzed. "But if His Majesty already has suspicions, he will inevitably become more cautious of Your Highness. The best we can do now is to minimize the impact of this matter as much as possible."
"How do we minimize it?"
"In two days, Your Highness should go to Huguo Temple to arrest him," Pei Wenxuan explained, looking at Li Rong. "His Majesty won’t release him from the palace for now. If you go to Huguo Temple to arrest him, expose Master Hongde’s true nature, claiming you’re investigating this deceitful monk who swindles money and harms lives. This way, you can explain the Princess's Manor’s visit to Huguo Temple as part of an investigation. As for what was said between the Princess's Manor and him, just firmly deny it and claim you know nothing.""Currently, gathering all these witnesses and evidence will require a considerable amount of time. But if we can wrap up this case within the next couple of days, it will be very difficult for anyone to believe we were acting on the spur of the moment. If you weren't acting hastily, and you clearly knew Hongde was a sorcerer monk, then it would make perfect sense for the people from the Princess's Manor to have sought out Hongde earlier. On the contrary, hiring a charlatan to promote the Crown Prince for you would be an utterly foolish move."
"That's the only way," Li Rong nodded calmly. After speaking, they both fell silent again.
In truth, they both had countless things they wanted to say, but every word seemed to catch on their lips, unable to be spoken.
It was as if they had simultaneously touched upon an unspeakable topic. After a long silence, Li Rong finally said, "Let's sleep. Since Father hasn't summoned us now, he probably intends to swallow this matter quietly."
Though he might appear to endure it without showing any sign, in secret, Li Ming would likely no longer leave her with so much power.
If not for Pei Wenxuan's deep connections in the palace, which managed to uncover such information, she would probably have had to swallow this bitter pill in silence.
With Consort Rou's capabilities, she couldn't have orchestrated this alone.
Putting aside everything else, just the question of why they sought out Master Hongde was strange enough.
As Li Rong pondered, a thought that had once crossed her mind became clear once more.
She couldn't help but recall the day in this life when she married Pei Wenxuan, and Su Rongqing came to escort the bridal procession. She suddenly remembered so vividly the tone in which he recited the parallel prose.
"Longing for you, I could chase the sun and moon; promising a rendezvous, I await next year's peach blossoms."
Only then did she realize that before reciting those lines, that elegant gentleman had paused for a moment—so strangely, so unusually, even somewhat out of character.
Li Rong unconsciously clenched her fist. Just as she restrained her emotions and turned away, Pei Wenxuan suddenly grabbed her hand, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her!
Startled by his abrupt action, Li Rong instinctively pushed him away. But in the moment she pushed, she realized something and tried to pull back.
Yet Pei Wenxuan had no time to notice her subsequent emotions. When she pushed him, he only tightened his grip on her hand, shoved her against a pillar, and kissed her almost like a bite.
His body trembled slightly, his eyes tightly shut.
His movements were rough yet restrained, biting her until it hurt.
Li Rong frowned. She knew she couldn't provoke Pei Wenxuan at this moment, so she stood still, enduring all the pain. Pei Wenxuan's movements gradually slowed. After a long while, Li Rong spoke calmly, reminding him, "Pei Wenxuan."
Pei Wenxuan placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling away slightly as he gasped for breath.
"I'm sorry..."
Pei Wenxuan's voice was hoarse. "I'm sorry..."
He didn't finish his sentence, as if he didn't even know what he was apologizing for.
Li Rong stood quietly. After a long time, she heard Pei Wenxuan speak. "Rongrong," he said, lifting his head and forcing a smile. "Let's have a child, okay?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Pei Wenxuan closed his eyes in pain.
He felt disgusted with himself.
How could he be so despicable?
How could he think of using a child to keep Li Rong?
How could he, Pei Wenxuan, live like this?"I'm sorry, I just now..." Pei Wenxuan withdrew his hand from Li Rong's shoulder, trying to compose himself as he spoke slowly, "I was just..."
Before he could finish, Li Rong reached out and suddenly embraced him tightly.
"How many children do you want?" she asked softly. Pei Wenxuan was taken aback, then heard the girl lean against his chest, her voice tinged with anticipation, "Boys or girls?"
Hearing this, for some reason, Pei Wenxuan felt his eyes grow slightly moist.
His eyelashes trembled lightly. After a long while, he finally replied in a hoarse voice.
"I want you."
"It's not that I want children," Pei Wenxuan held Li Rong, burying his face in the crook of her shoulder, "I want you."
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