Реi Wеnхuаn сarried Li Rоng оn his shоuldеr аnd dashed into thе rеed marshеs. While the shаdоw guаrds аnd Yаng Quаn’s men werе still fighting, he cut the ropes tеthеring the hоrses, gаvе thеm а sharр whiр, аnd sеnt thеm fleеing in two different dirесtions. Тhen, with the uncоnscious Li Rоng, he droрреd tо thе grоund аnd lay реrfeсtlу still.
Вy thе time bоth sidеs realizеd whаt had hаppenеd, Li Rong had alrеаdу vanishеd. Seeing somеthing dаrting swiftlу through thе rееds, thе twо grоups immеdiаtelу split uр and chаsed in sераratе dirесtiоns. Once Рei Wenxuan saw thеm pursuing the horsеs, he quicklу got uр, hоisted Li Rоng onto his shoulder, and sprinted toward the dense forest in the distance.
He usually didn’t have such strength, but in this life-or-death moment, he didn’t even feel Li Rong’s weight. Carrying her, he ran as fast as he could, not daring to stop for even a second.
Li Rong slowly regained consciousness on his shoulder. As soon as she woke, she felt something poking painfully into her stomach.
She let out a sharp hiss. Hearing her, Pei Wenxuan hurriedly asked, “You’re awake?”
Li Rong felt nauseous from the jostling, her stomach hurt, and the bumpy ride made her dizzy. She quickly said, “Put me down!”
Confirming she was awake, Pei Wenxuan immediately set her down. Before Li Rong could gather her bearings, he grabbed her and dragged her forward, urging as he ran, “Hurry!”
“Pei Wenxuan…” Li Rong had no idea what was happening. Dragged through the dense forest, she trembled and said, “I… I think I’m going to be sick…”
“Swallow it back!”
Pei Wenxuan replied decisively, explaining, “There are still pursuers behind us, we—”
Before he could finish, Li Rong retched violently toward him. Pei Wenxuan reacted swiftly, letting go and leaping aside just as Li Rong dropped to her knees and vomited on the spot.
Pei Wenxuan was stunned. He quickly scanned their surroundings to ensure no pursuers were nearby, then walked over to Li Rong and handed her a handkerchief, frowning as he asked, “Are you alright?”
Li Rong wiped her mouth with the handkerchief, stood up gracefully, and surveyed their surroundings before asking, “Where is this?”
Pei Wenxuan fell silent. Seeing his lack of response, Li Rong’s heart sank. She frowned and said, “You don’t know.”
“We were running too frantically earlier,” Pei Wenxuan replied calmly. “I didn’t pay attention to the path. Right now, we should be somewhere in the forest.”
“Obviously!” Li Rong snapped angrily. “I know we’re in the forest! I’m asking how we get out!”
“We’ll wait for help,” Pei Wenxuan said, his mood souring at her outburst. He turned away and started walking ahead. “Let’s find a suitable place to rest first. Yang Quan’s men might still track us down.”
Hearing this, Li Rong thought it made some sense. However, seeing Pei Wenxuan’s sullen face only annoyed her further. The thought that she was injured while he remained unscathed made her even more displeased. So she stood still, refusing to move. After walking a few steps, Pei Wenxuan noticed she wasn’t following and turned back to look at her, frowning as he asked, “What’s the problem now?”
“My head hurts.”
Li Rong raised a hand to her forehead and sighed. “I can’t walk anymore, alas.”
“Your head hurts, not your legs,” Pei Wenxuan retorted instinctively. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he remembered how she’d gotten that head injury. A pang of guilt washed over him, and his attitude shifted completely. Clearing his throat, he said, “But it’s still no small matter. I’ll carry you.”
With that, Pei Wenxuan walked over to Li Rong and crouched down in front of her.Li Rong watched Pei Wenxuan's unusually good attitude and couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy. Suspiciously, she glanced around Pei Wenxuan to confirm there were no traps before cautiously climbing onto his back. Pei Wenxuan carried her and chose a direction to walk. Seeing he seemed to have a destination in mind, Li Rong couldn't help asking, "Where are we going?"
"First, find water."
Pei Wenxuan answered directly. Li Rong couldn't help laughing, "You even know where the water is?"
"There are some methods," Pei Wenxuan was quite patient with serious questions, explaining, "For example, by observing plant types, density of growth, terrain elevation, and clouds..."
As he spoke, Pei Wenxuan paused, then said, "Why do you need to know this? Anyway, such matters won't fall to you."
"You're right," Li Rong nodded, "This kind of thing is only liked by troublemakers like you."
"Li Rong," Pei Wenxuan took a deep breath, "Will you die if you don't speak properly?"
"With others, no," Li Rong said with a grin, "But with you, it won't do. I just think Lord Pei looks better when he's angry."
"Then you're sick."
Pei Wenxuan retorted bluntly, "Blind."
"How dare you be so insolent," Li Rong lay lazily on his back, "Is this how you speak to this princess? Apologize to me immediately!"
"You're still this arrogant even outside the palace," Pei Wenxuan sneered, "Do you believe I'll leave you here? When Yang Quan finds you, see what you'll do then."
"As if I'm scared," Li Rong raised an eyebrow, "Can he kill me? At most, he'll just marry me. With his short-lived appearance, can he survive this winter? I'm afraid he won't even see the New Year before meeting Dizang in the underworld. When I become a widow and after my father dies, I'll immediately keep ten or twenty retainers. Won't I be happy?"
"Still thinking about keeping retainers now," Pei Wenxuan scoffed, "That's so like you."
"Of course, I'm optimistic," Li Rong said, then sighed, "But speaking of which, I never expected Yang Quan to be so clever. I sent out two groups, yet he still guessed my real route and set up an ambush. He's quite an extraordinary figure. How did he die so easily in our previous life?"
Pei Wenxuan: "..."
He didn't dare speak. Li Rong, with her arms around Pei Wenxuan's neck, suddenly looked at him and asked curiously, "By the way, why are you here? Weren't you supposed to have gone back?"
Pei Wenxuan: "..."
He had never lied to Li Rong before, but now he didn't have the courage to tell the truth. Seeing him silent, Li Rong couldn't help laughing, "You didn't come back to save me, did you? Pei Wenxuan, you dog, you're not so bad after all."
"Say less," Pei Wenxuan said awkwardly, "Save your energy."
"Why didn't I see you at first? Where were you hiding? And did you come alone to save me? No way, you're so..."
Before the word "stupid" could escape her lips, Li Rong suddenly realized something was off.
Was Pei Wenxuan really that foolish?
Even if he had no power or influence now, would he come alone without any preparation and confront Yang Quan head-on?
Moreover, there was something odd about Yang Quan too. If he had guessed her plan from the beginning and set up an ambush along the way, why didn't he position people directly ahead? Why did he have to circle back from the rear mountain to chase her?Li Rong snapped back to her senses, instinctively tightening her grip as she sneered, "Lord Pei, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"It was me."
Pei Wenxuan, realizing Li Rong had figured it out, immediately replied, "But I can explain—I genuinely wanted to help you. Those stones..."
"All landed on me."
Li Rong laughed in anger. "Pei Wenxuan, tell me the truth," she said, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "Are you here for revenge?"
Pei Wenxuan fell silent. Li Rong's fury surged, but she forced herself to stay calm, her voice strained as she demanded, "Put me down."
Pei Wenxuan quickly set her down. Li Rong stormed ahead, wanting to put distance between them, afraid she might lose her composure.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Pei Wenxuan hurried after her, explaining as he followed, "If I said I didn't want revenge, would you believe me? Of course you wouldn't."
"Do you have any reason for me to believe you? It seems to me you were just desperate, with no other way out, determined to marry me but too proud to admit it, so you came up with this scheme to profit from the situation!"
Li Rong turned back, pointing an accusing finger at Pei Wenxuan as she raged, "You just couldn't stand the thought of me marrying Lu Yu!"
"Why would I care?" Pei Wenxuan frowned, earnestly explaining. "You and I have nothing to do with each other. Who you marry is none of my business—why would I need to interfere?"
"Nothing to do with each other?" Li Rong let out a cold laugh. "Do you think I don't know you? You simply can't bear to let me go!"
"Nonsense!" Pei Wenxuan was provoked by the words "can't bear to let go," jumping up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "You're not in my heart at all. If I can't bear to let anyone go, it's Zhenzhen. Don't you have any sense of that?!"
"Oh, so you dare bring up Qin Zhenzhen with me?" Hearing him mention "Qin Zhenzhen," Li Rong immediately dropped all pretense of hiding her identity. "If you like her so much, why didn't you marry her? In our past life, wasn't it me you married? Yes, you never cared for me, but you couldn't bear to let go of my status as a princess! Pei Wenxuan, you are truly the most shameless, spineless, and despicable pretty boy I've ever met!"
"Me, a pretty boy?" Pei Wenxuan laughed in anger. "Am I as much of a pretty boy as that Su advisor of yours? Li Rong, think about it—aside from relying on you at the very beginning of our marriage, when have I ever depended on you for a living? And at the start, we relied on each other. You gave me a career, and didn't I help your brother ascend the throne? And later on, didn't you use me plenty? Not to mention other things, just the daily expenses of your Princess's Manor—whose money was that?"
"Well, I truly thank you for that," Li Rong said with a mocking laugh. "Thank you for spending money every year to support my lovers. You're so generous. But don't you know why you spent that money? If you weren't my Imperial Son-in-Law, do you think my imperial brother would have trusted you so much? Please, don't flatter yourself. That wasn't you supporting me—that was you buying resources from me. Lord Pei, get a grip, will you?"
"Oh, so I was buying resources from you? And what about when you used my intelligence network, my covert agents—did you pay a single coin for that?"
"And what about when you used my name to pressure people, asking me to persuade my imperial brother—why don't you mention that?"
"Hah, was there ever a time when His Majesty didn't suspect you? When he clashed with you, accusing you of misconduct and threatening to send you back to your fief—who was it that came begging me to intercede and put on a show?""No matter what, His Majesty is still my own younger brother. When you were dragged out by his order to be caned, who was it that went to plead for you in the Imperial Study?"
"And you have the nerve to bring that up? That year..."
The two went back and forth, hurling insults at each other, dredging up one old grievance after another. They argued well into the night, both panting and out of breath.
Pei Wenxuan had carried Li Rong while running for so long earlier, then carried her on his back for a long stretch, and had long since exhausted his strength.
Li Rong, being a woman and somewhat injured, had also long since run out of energy.
The two were like a pair of fighting cocks, glaring at each other, neither willing to admit defeat even though they were both spent.
After a long while, Pei Wenxuan's stomach let out a loud growl.
He had been crawling through the dirt for so long and hadn't eaten dinner.
At the sound of that growl, Pei Wenxuan froze. Li Rong finally found a way to step down. For once, she didn't mock him. Instead, she turned away and said, "Forget it. This princess is tired and will rest first. You find something to eat. After we've eaten, we can continue arguing."
"This humble official thinks that is most reasonable."
Pei Wenxuan nodded and followed behind Li Rong.
They walked quietly, one after the other, for a while before Li Rong sighed and said, "I never thought you would really come back too."
Pei Wenxuan was taken aback. After a moment, he lowered his head and softly replied, "Mm, I've returned." Then, unable to help himself, he murmured under his breath, "Your Highness, the Grand Princess."
Author's Note: [Mini Theater]
Mo Shubai: "Please summarize your behavior today."
Li Rong: "A battle of eagles."
Pei Wenxuan: "A clash of tigers."
Readers: "A squabble of chickens."
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