Реi Wenxuаn hаd just lеft thе рalacе whеn Fulai prеsented thе rеsults оf thе hаndwriting сompаrison on the talisman.
"Your Маjestу," Fulai sаid rеsреctfullу, "thе hаndwriting оn this tаlisman is indеed forged."
Li Мing tоok thе talisman pаper frоm the traу аnd ехаminеd it in his hаnd. Fulai waitеd quiеtly bеsidе him. Аfter а long whilе, Li Мing sighed: "Fulai, dо уou knоw what is the most diffiсult thing about being а rulеr?"
"Yоur Mаjesty asks suсh а quеstion," Fulаi smilеd, "hоw соuld this sеrvant роssibly undеrstand suсh matters?"
Li Мing gazеd аt thе talismаn рарer. After а long silence, he tоssed it onto thе table аnd stoоd uр: "It is that еveryone around you may deceive you. Others can hear the truth simply by listening, but when I wish to hear the truth, I must search for it amidst a pile of lies. And the most frightening thing is that everyone knows this."
Li Ming walked out of the imperial study, with Fulai following behind him. The two slowly strolled along the corridor as Li Ming spoke unhurriedly: "They grasp your weaknesses, control your emotions. You think you can find the truth, but in reality, those so-called truths are merely falsehoods wrapped in a mixture of truth and lies."
"Look at this talisman paper—from forcibly promoting Pei Wenxuan to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, to Hongde claiming Ping Le had private dealings with the Crown Prince—these are all aimed at striking at my heart. They know what I worry about, so they show me exactly that. Such an obvious flaw in this talisman paper, and I didn’t even notice it. Tell me, how did a discussion about the Crown Prince and Ping Le end up involving Pei Wenxuan?"
"Your Majesty is wise and will surely make the right judgment," Fulai flattered. Li Ming scoffed, "Wise? How am I wise? If this talisman paper is problematic, is Pei Wenxuan not also problematic? Who knows whether what he said is true or false?"
As he spoke, Li Ming stopped walking and looked at the flowers and plants in the courtyard.
It was March, and the weather was beginning to warm. The plants in the courtyard bloomed with vibrant vitality. He felt somewhat weary and couldn’t help but say: "Fulai, who do you think is telling the truth?"
"Your Majesty is putting this old servant in a difficult position."
"Speak," Li Ming said casually, "consider it a casual chat. It doesn’t matter if you’re wrong."
"This servant thinks... in this world, no matter what happens, everything ultimately returns to its core." Fulai seemed to weigh each word carefully. "People never expend great effort without reason. Look at all these matters—if Consort Rou’s words are true, why would Minister Pei actively seek the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry ofFulai said slowly, "Rest and you'll recover. This servant will summon the imperial physician to prescribe some recuperative medicine. There's no need for Your Majesty to worry."
"Mmm." Li Ming, supported by Fulai, entered the room. Fulai glanced at him and spoke slowly, "Your Majesty, regarding the matter of the Imperial Son-in-Law and Princess Pingle's separation, should we draft the edict now?"
Hearing Fulai's words, Li Ming's headache intensified.
"Leave it for now," he waved his hand dismissively.
Fulai helped Li Ming lie down on the bed and whispered, "What about investigating the matter of Master Hongde entering the palace?"
Li Ming remained silent. Fulai reached out to massage Li Ming's head, softening his tone, "Consort Rou has always been gentle and obedient to Your Majesty's commands. For her to take the initiative to bring Master Hongde into the palace now... I fear there may be someone behind this stirring trouble. This servant worries—"
"Go investigate it."
Li Ming didn't want to hear any of this, but he knew the matter couldn't be delayed. Every moment wasted made it harder to uncover the truth.
He waved his hand again and turned over. "Summon the imperial physician to perform acupuncture for me."
Fulai acknowledged the order and signaled to a young eunuch nearby, who promptly left.
Whenever Li Ming suffered from headaches, the palace would be thrown into chaos. Around this time, Pei Wenxuan had nearly returned to the Princess's Manor. Upon inquiring about Li Rong's whereabouts, he learned she was sleeping.
Having been up all night, she was probably exhausted. Pei Wenxuan thought for a moment, then ordered the inner courtyard cleared before announcing he was going to the study.
Once inside the inner courtyard, however, he headed straight for the bedroom. Tong Ye couldn't help but feel curious. "Young Master, weren't you going to the study?"
Pei Wenxuan gave him a look as if he were an idiot. "The outer courtyard is full of gossiping mouths. Her Highness and I are still in conflict. Don't let anyone know I went to see her."
Tong Ye was slow to process this, but Pei Wenxuan shooed him away. "Go guard the study entrance. Tell anyone who comes that I'm in the study."
Tong Ye nodded blankly and watched as Pei Wenxuan entered the bedroom and closed the door. After a moment, he remembered what he was supposed to do and went to stand guard at the study entrance.
Li Rong had been too exhausted from the previous night and was sleeping soundly in bed, unaware that Pei Wenxuan had entered.
Pei Wenxuan gently closed the door, removed his official robes, and carefully washed his hands, controlling the sound of the water.
Hearing the water, Li Rong finally opened her eyes, vaguely making out the silhouette of a young man. She murmured sleepily, "Wenxuan?"
That murmur instantly reminded Pei Wenxuan of the previous night.
He kept his hands in the water, closed his eyes to steady himself for a moment, and responded, "Go back to sleep. I'm here."
Li Rong was still drowsy, but she remembered the palace affairs and simply lay on the bed with one arm dangling over the side, her eyes closed as she mumbled, "What did Father say to you?"
Pei Wenxuan finished washing his hands and came to her side. Without opening her eyes, Li Rong felt herself being lifted and shifted inward. Pei Wenxuan slipped under the covers, and as soon as he did, Li Rong's arm hooked around his neck. She nestled against his chest like a kitten and mumbled, "Does he want us to separate?"
"He didn't say," Pei Wenxuan replied, holding the warm, fragrant softness in his arms—both cherished and tormented. His gaze drifted to the wall as he absentmindedly stroked Li Rong's back, as if comforting a child, and said slowly, "I brought it up. I lodged a complaint against you."As he spoke, Pei Wenxuan laughed, lowering his head to nuzzle Li Rong’s nose with his own. “I have a little cat that scratches and bites me, so I don’t want this cat anymore.”
Hearing his words, Li Rong was amused and laughed. “Alright, alright, I’ll apologize to you. But didn’t you tie me up too?”
Pei Wenxuan smiled without answering. Li Rong stayed in his embrace for a moment before remembering what came next. “And then?”
“Then I accused Consort Rou, saying she deceived you with talismans, and reminded His Majesty that he might be being used. After that, His Majesty said he would issue an edict for us to divorce, so I came back.”
“You accused Consort Rou instead?” Li Rong laughed. “Father has always favored her; it probably won’t have much effect.”
“If I only said Consort Rou framed you, of course it wouldn’t have much effect. You two are political rivals, and what His Majesty wants is balance, to prevent either of you from going too far.”
As he spoke, Pei Wenxuan grew restless and simply rolled over, pinning Li Rong beneath him. His hands moved like playing a qin, his voice like striking jade, elegant yet carrying a hint of flirtation as he said slowly, “But if His Majesty believes someone is using Consort Rou to achieve their true goal of undermining him, then he won’t tolerate it.”
“His goal?” Li Rong closed her eyes, her voice trembling slightly.
Pei Wenxuan knew Li Rong couldn’t recall it immediately, so he reminded her. “Everything His Majesty does is to expand his own power. His greatest opponents are actually these aristocratic families and imperial relatives. He established Prince Su and promoted Consort Rou for this purpose. And now, establishing the Supervisory Department and using me is also for this. His Majesty cares about my promotion, your collusion with the Crown Prince, or even our relationship—all because he fears we are actually pawns of the aristocratic families. But is he not afraid of Consort Rou too?”
Pei Wenxuan’s breath brushed against Li Rong’s skin. As she listened to him calmly discussing politics, she couldn’t help but grip the bedsheet, trying to stay as composed as possible.
It felt like a contest between the two of them, a test of who would yield first. Li Rong didn’t want to lose in such a situation.
So one moved with grace and subtlety, as if waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The other remained steadfast and unyielding, watching to see what tricks the other would employ.
“So what you mean,” Li Rong pondered, controlling her tone, “is to make His Majesty realize that Consort Rou’s hostility toward me is being exploited by the aristocratic families. That Consort Rou has become their puppet?”
As she spoke, Li Rong tightly closed her eyes. “Just with your accusation alone, I’m afraid it won’t be enough.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Pei Wenxuan chuckled softly. “When playing chess, the pieces are always placed one by one.”
With that, Pei Wenxuan slipped his hand beneath her back, lifting her slightly into the air before kissing her deeply.
This kiss was different from before, as if after a long warm-up, they had finally reached the main event.
The sudden sense of weightlessness made Li Rong instinctively tense, blending with all her other sensations.
Pei Wenxuan gently nibbled her lips, as if teaching her a lesson. “Do you really think that just because he’s scheming against me in the shadows, I can’t scheme against him?”
He didn’t specify who “he” referred to, but Li Rong sensed from his slightly forceful actions who he meant.
Li Rong couldn’t help but laugh. “You lost in our previous life, and you’re still not convinced?”
Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan flipped Li Rong over, pressing her face-down onto the bed.
“Still daring to say that?” he chuckled softly. “If it weren’t for considering you, he would have died a thousand times over.”"Anyone can boast," Li Rong teased him with a smile. "Lord Pei, you need to show some actual results, don't you?"
Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan let out a scoffing laugh. He knew she was joking, but he still took it seriously.
He pinched her chin lightly. "Just wait and see."
Seeing his childishness, Li Rong couldn't help but laugh out loud. Pei Wenxuan grew somewhat annoyed at her laughter, though he didn't show it on his face, only making sure she couldn't laugh for long.
In no time at all, Li Rong truly couldn't laugh anymore.
After a long while, Li Rong could hardly restrain herself, her voice hoarse as she asked, "Aren't you coming yet?"
"Rest for two more days."
Pei Wenxuan leaned down to kiss her. "Otherwise, it'll hurt."
Li Rong said nothing. She endured for a while, but finally couldn't hold back any longer. She couldn't help but pound the bed board and snap in a low voice, "If you can't do it, then get off!"
Pei Wenxuan's movements stiffened for a moment. After a pause, he took a deep breath, got up, and let down the bed curtains.
"Then let me check," a hoarse voice came from behind the bed curtains. "Let's see if you're ready."
Li Rong: "..."
She didn't want to speak, her expression blank as she watched Pei Wenxuan, his robes loosely draped, kneeling at the head of the bed and claiming he would give her a thorough examination.
"I'll only warn you once."
Her expression was icy. "If you tell me I'm not ready, I'll kick you off and dance the Whirling Dance on your face."
Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan looked up and smiled. After careful confirmation, he finally determined that Li Rong was almost fully recovered.
He had taken care of her last night, and there were no injuries. After she got up, he had applied medicine, and now she was resting very well.
"If my lady wants to dance the Whirling Dance, you should have told me earlier. I would have prepared the clothes for you." Pei Wenxuan didn't let go of Li Rong's skirt; instead, he pulled it and leaned over. "You can dance wherever you like."
"On my face, on my body, or in my heart—anywhere is fine."
OpenNovel