Li Rоng: "..."
Shе hаdn't еxpесtеd Реi Wenxuan tо sаy this, and fеlt somewhаt аwkwаrd.
Вut fоrtunаtely, аll this awkwardness was only рlаying оut in her mind. Оn thе surfасe, shе rеmаinеd сalm аnd compоsеd, nodding аs she said, "I'll go right аway."
"Аnd one mоrе thing," Реi Wеnхuаn whisperеd, "if Нis Mаjеstу starts invеstigating, hаvе Hongdе еnter thе palaсe to cоnfrоnt Su Rоngqing."
Li Rong nоdded in agreеmеnt, thеn hurried intо thе раlасe.
Веforе, she might nоt have fullу understооd whаt Pеi Wеnхuаn was doing, but now thаt Su Rongqing's peoplе had taken thе memoriаl, Li Rong rеаlized Рei Wenxuan's intention.
The confession was indeed fake. Without verification, no one else would know. With so many people in the Memorial Hall, it was only natural for someone with Su Rongqing's influence to arrange a few of his own among them. Seeing her bring evidence specifically accusing Su Rongqing by name, they would naturally take the confession away.
If the confession were real, their actions would be beneficial—they could simply claim the memorial was lost, at most costing the guards their positions or earning a reprimand. Su Rongqing would remain unscathed.
The problem was, the confession itself was fake. By taking it, Su Rongqing would forever be unable to clear his name. There would always be a missing confession from Hongde. Even if Su Rongqing's people quietly returned the memorial, she could insist the confession had been swapped.
The only flaw in this plan was that Hongde himself might not admit to the confession. So what she needed to do now was immediately enter the palace, expose the matter of the memorial, and summon Hongde to the palace to testify.
Force Su Rongqing to kill Hongde.
Li Rong raised her eyes, her gaze turning cold. Once Hongde died, the confession would vanish entirely, but in Li Ming's mind, it would become an ironclad case. This time, Pei Wenxuan had used a fake confession to pin a real crime on Su Rongqing.
Withholding memorials from the Memorial Hall, secretly inciting Consort Rou to speculate on the emperor's intentions and set traps for her and Pei Wenxuan, and most importantly, doing all this without the emperor's knowledge—each and every one of these acts directly targeted what Li Ming feared most: encroaching on the power in his grasp.
Pei Wenxuan's move was nothing short of brilliant.
Lost in thought, Li Rong arrived at the palace and had someone announce her to Li Ming. It was still early in the evening, and Li Ming was in the imperial study reviewing memorials. Hearing that Li Rong had come to see him, he couldn't help but frown. "What is she doing here so late at night?"
Li Rong, of course, was prepared.
Coming to the palace so late at night, if she went straight to discussing official matters, it would inevitably seem overly deliberate. So, Li Rong composed herself for a moment outside the door. When she entered, Li Ming saw her with reddened eyes, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Li Ming paused, unable to resist asking, "What's wrong with you?"
"Father," Li Rong sobbed, "please help me discipline the Imperial Son-in-Law. He... he's gone too far!"
Li Ming paused, understanding her purpose. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly asked, "What happened?"
"Father," Li Rong lowered her sleeve, her tone full of grievance, "a few days ago, the Imperial Son-in-Law argued with me, and since then, he's ignored me. He said he wants to divorce me and even claimed you issued an edict for it. But I don't believe it—what father would force his own daughter to divorce? If I divorce him, who will I marry in the future? Should I raise a bunch of male consorts like Aunt and become a laughingstock?""Since you don't actually want a separation," Li Ming listened to Li Rong's words, feeling somewhat guilty but maintaining a calm facade as he reproached her, "then why did you have those men from the South Wind House go boating?"
Hearing this, Li Rong seemed surprised that Li Ming knew about this matter, showing a hint of embarrassment on her face: "I... I just wanted to annoy him a little?"
Li Ming snorted coldly, too lazy to engage with her. Li Rong smiled ingratiatingly and cooed, "Father, your daughter knows she was wrong. Please go talk to him. He keeps giving me the cold shoulder and even sleeps in the outer courtyard—what kind of arrangement is that? Give the order now and make him come back."
"Nonsense." Li Ming tossed the memorial aside. "I appointed you as head of the Supervisory Department, and all you think about day in and day out are these trivial matters of romance. You neglect your duties—have you lost your mind?"
"Father, you wrong me," Li Rong immediately straightened up upon hearing this. "Your daughter's quarrel with the Imperial Son-in-Law hasn't delayed official matters. In fact, I have something to say about that. I submitted a memorial days ago, and you still haven't responded." Li Rong leaned forward slightly. "What are your plans, Father?"
"What memorial?" Li Ming frowned. Li Rong blinked, looking somewhat puzzled. "The one with Hongde's confession. I sent it in days ago. I provided both witnesses and evidence. Whether to prosecute Su Rongqing is entirely up to your decision."
"Su Rongqing?" Li Ming exclaimed in surprise. "What does Hongde have to do with Su Rongqing?"
"Well..." Li Rong started to explain but then seemed to remember something and waved her hand impatiently. "Just read the memorial—do I need to repeat it all? But that's not important. Tonight, I came to discuss family matters. Father, Pei Wenxuan has always listened to you, so you..."
"Don't change the subject," Li Ming said sternly. "Does this involve Su Rongqing?"
Li Rong seemed not to understand why Li Ming was so serious and nodded blankly. "Yes. Hongde said Su Rongqing approached him and told him to go into the palace and spread those rumors to Consort Rou..."
"Fulai!"
Li Ming looked up and immediately called to the attendant beside him. "Go to the Memorial Hall at once and fetch the princess's memorial! I need to review it immediately."
Upon receiving the order, Fulai bowed respectfully and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, in the Su residence, Su Rongqing held Hongde's confession and Li Rong's memorial, listening as the official kneeling before him said respectfully, "My lord, if this memorial reaches the emperor, I fear the young master will be hard-pressed to escape punishment. With the evaluation for the Minister of Personnel position underway, I was afraid complications might arise, so I secretly retrieved the memorial first..."
"We've lost."
Su Rongqing suddenly spoke, cutting off the official. The official was taken aback and looked up at Su Rongqing sitting above him. Su Rongqing's expression was calm as he picked up the confession and said, "This confession is fake."
The official froze in place. Su Rongqing continued slowly, "Her Highness deliberately provided this false confession, waiting for you to steal it. If I'm not mistaken, she has likely already taken the initiative to enter the palace. His Majesty must be retrieving the memorial to review it right now. You should return immediately."
"Then I'll take the memorial back at once."
The official rose to his feet, but Su Rongqing stopped him. "No need."
The official looked confused. Su Rongqing lowered his head to sip his tea and said calmly, "If you take it back, the princess will insist the confession was swapped. Once a detailed investigation begins, it will lead back to you. It won't help, and you'll lose your position as well.""Then... what should we do?" The official panicked. Su Rongqing took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Leave the things with me. Pretend you know nothing. Are you on duty now?"
"N-no." The official didn't understand what Su Rongqing intended to do. Su Rongqing simply said, "Then go back to sleep. Be careful on your way back. Act as if you never came."
The official nodded numbly. Though his heart was in turmoil, Su Rongqing's composure was so absolute that he dared not ask further.
After the official left, Su Rongqing lifted the confession and held it over the candle flame. The fire licked the paper, causing it to curl from the heat. Su Rongqing watched the flames consume it calmly and ordered, "Have a servant sneak in and set the Memorial Hall on fire. Once the fire starts, don't let him come out. Leave him inside."
"Sir," the subordinate hesitated, "burning the Memorial Hall directly—isn't that too reckless?"
"More than reckless?" Su Rongqing chuckled lightly. "It's downright audacious."
"But sir..."
"Just do it," Su Rongqing's voice remained even. "Do it, and then wait. What is meant to come will come sooner or later."
As he spoke, he tossed the half-burned confession into the brazier. Then he turned and looked at the memorial spread out on the desk.
The memorial was written by Li Rong, her bold and sweeping script detailing his crimes. Su Rongqing gazed at it quietly for a moment before letting out a low laugh. He raised his hand and gently traced the characters "Su Rongqing" written by Li Rong, remaining silent for a long time.
Li Rong and Li Ming waited in the imperial study for a while. Li Rong chatted with him about Pei Wenxuan, while Li Ming responded half-heartedly, clearly just humoring her.
After a long wait, Fulai hurried back. As soon as he entered, he knelt on the ground and said urgently, "Your Majesty, it's terrible—the Memorial Hall has been set on fire."
"Set on fire?"
Li Ming stood up in shock. "Say that again. Where was set on fire?!"
"The Memorial Hall," Fulai repeated. "They're still fighting the fire, but it was already burning when I was on my way here. I heard many officials are trapped inside, and they're still trying to rescue them."
"How did it catch fire?" Li Rong asked quickly. Li Ming also frowned deeply. Fulai shook his head. "The cause of the fire is unknown. We still need to wait for the investigation results."
Li Ming fell silent, seeming troubled. Li Rong hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said, "Father, perhaps I should go take a look. The building burning is a small matter—the people and the memorials inside are what truly matter."
"No need," Li Ming said slowly. "You may return first. I will go personally."
With that, Li Ming stood up and left as Li Rong respectfully saw him off.
After sending Li Ming away, Li Rong left the palace and returned to her quarters. Before she could light the lamp, a voice drifted through the darkness: "How did it go?"
Li Rong was startled by the voice, then realized it was Pei Wenxuan, who hadn't left yet. She fumbled her way over to light the lamp and saw Pei Wenxuan lying on the bed, one hand propping up his head, the other resting on his bent knee, looking at her with confidence. "Did His Majesty give Su Rongqing trouble?"
"Give him trouble?" Li Rong scoffed, taking off her outer robe and tossing it onto the screen. "Su Rongqing set the Memorial Hall on fire. Where do you think His Majesty could find trouble for him?"
"Burned the Memorial Hall?" Pei Wenxuan raised an eyebrow. "Bold enough.""Precisely because it's so significant, I think you need to prepare early." Li Rong sat by the bedside, her brows furrowing with worry. "He's a clever man. Without a plan, he wouldn't rashly do something like this. I just went to lodge a complaint, and as soon as Father mentioned my memorial, he burned down the Memorial Hall. It's too obvious—he shouldn't be that foolish."
"Worried about me?" Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong with a smile, showing no trace of panic. Li Rong raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "Tell me the truth."
Pei Wenxuan seemed puzzled. "Hmm?"
"Are you pretending to be calm while actually feeling flustered inside?"
Pei Wenxuan: "..."
"How did you figure that out?" Pei Wenxuan frowned. Li Rong stared at him intently. "Do you know what he intends to do?"
"What he intends to do isn’t hard to guess, but it’s also not important. What matters is," Pei Wenxuan smiled as his gaze drifted to her face, suddenly reaching out to pull her close, "I’ve waited so long. It would be a shame if I didn’t do something."
"As for him," Pei Wenxuan mumbled while tugging at the sash of her robe, "Your Highness need not think about it. I’ll handle it."
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