Тhе lаst wоrds Li Rong spоkе bеfоrе her death wеrе about Рei Wenхuаn, thе mаn whо hаd lived as hеr husband for thirty years.
Аftеr that, shе lost соnsсiоusness, соnvinсеd shе was dоomed. Hоw сould hеr long-ailing bodу withstand the рotent роisоn оf Frаgrаnt Вeautу?
Yеt, uneхреctеdly, аftеr an unknown lеngth оf time, shе woke agаin!
She awokе lуing in а warm, sоft bed, with sunlight streaming wаrmlу intо her bеdсhаmbеr. Тhе air wаs sсentеd with the оrchid incеnse shе hаd lоved in hеr уоuth.
Аs she groggily оpened her eуes, she heаrd a familiаr yеt sоmewhаt distant voice gently call out, "Your Highness, you're awake?"
Hearing the voice, Li Rong turned her head and saw a serene, gentle smiling face. The features were not particularly beautiful but were rather delicate and pleasant. The woman appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, dignified and composed, reminding Li Rong of someone from her memory.
Incredulously, she called out, "Jing Lan?"
The other woman smiled, reached out to help her sit up, and said softly, "It's already mid-morning. His Majesty has just finished court and sent word that he wishes Your Highness to join him for the midday meal. This servant was about to wake you, but you awoke on your own."
Listening to Jing Lan's words and looking around, Li Rong felt a surge of astonishment.
She rose with Jing Lan's assistance, washing up while surveying her surroundings. By the time she finished washing her face, she was certain: this was the Palace of Eternal Joy.
The Palace of Eternal Joy was where she had lived before her marriage. Jing Lan had been her personal attendant back then, accompanying her from the palace all the way until her wedding, later becoming the stewardess of the Princess's Manor.
In her youth, Li Rong hadn't much liked Jing Lan, finding her rigid and her words often unpleasant. Instead, she had favored the more ingratiating Jing Mei. However, her mother, the Empress, had favored Jing Lan, so after the Princess's Manor was built, Jing Lan had still been appointed its stewardess.
It wasn't until Li Rong was thirty, when Jing Lan died shielding her from an assassin's blade, that she understood: some people's deeds spoke louder than words, even if they never boasted of their merits.
Seeing the living, breathing Jing Lan and this old palace from her youth, Li Rong composed herself and finally acknowledged that she seemed to have been reborn.
Moreover, she had returned to her youth.
She needed to determine the current date as soon as possible, but she didn't want to arouse suspicion. As she washed her hands, she recalled Jing Lan's earlier words and tentatively asked, "His Majesty summons me for a meal. Did you find out what it's about?"
Although her father, the Emperor, seemed to dote on her, he rarely summoned her for meals. Each such invitation had been a proverbial "Banquet at Hongmen." For instance, her arranged marriage had also begun with a meal.
"This servant does not know," Jing Lan replied, but after a moment's thought, she added, "However, I heard that some time ago, His Majesty ordered various families to submit portraits of marriageable young men."
Ah, so it was indeed that meal—the one about the arranged marriage.
Li Rong took a towel from Jing Lan's hand, dried her hands, then gestured for attendants to help her change clothes. Once dressed, she picked up a small golden fan from nearby, stepped into her palanquin, and was carried toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Recalling past events was difficult, but amid the creaking of the palanquin, memories slowly grew clearer.
She remembered that before the age of eighteen, her relationship with her father, Li Ming, had been quite good.
She was the eldest princess, born of the legitimate Empress, and Li Ming's first child. Since childhood, Li Ming had treated her well, even better than her younger brother, the Crown Prince Li Chuan.She cherished Li Ming's kindness towards her, for from a young age, she had somehow come to understand that it was extremely rare and precious for an emperor to be willing to treat you well. So she did her best to please Li Ming.
In truth, she was mischievous by nature, but because Li Ming often told her that women should be gentle and virtuous, she suppressed her true temperament and carefully disguised herself as a "gentle and virtuous" princess.
The better she pretended, the more Li Ming praised her, often saying she was the best among his many children, and that if not for being a woman, she would have been fit to rule the country.
Back then, whenever Li Ming praised her, she would strive even harder. It was only later that she understood what it meant to be "praised to death."
She had unconditional trust in Li Ming.
Typically, a princess would be betrothed by the age of fifteen, then marry, leave the palace, receive a fief, and establish her own Princess's Manor.
But when she turned fifteen, Li Ming said he couldn't bear to part with his daughter and asked her to stay a few more years. She believed this explanation.
She stayed until she was eighteen, when her mother fell ill. Li Ming finally decided to arrange a marriage for her. He brought portraits of four young noblemen for her to choose from—all of high status and handsome appearance. After careful consideration, she chose the one who looked the most handsome: Pei Wenxuan.
But when she later looked into his background, she was shocked.
Pei Wenxuan seemed decent enough on the surface.
He was handsome, gentle in temperament, and the legitimate eldest son of the noble Pei family. He could even be compared to Su Rongqing, the most distinguished young nobleman in Huajing.
The problem was, he had no father.
It was said that he had achieved the top rank in the imperial examinations at seventeen, but his father, Pei Lizhi, suddenly fell ill and passed away. His uncle, Pei Lixian, used the excuse of mourning to send him back to their ancestral home in Jinling. Three years was neither long nor short, but by the time he returned from mourning, the entire Pei family was under his uncle's control. He was casually assigned a low-ranking eighth-grade position in the Ministry of Justice, overseeing prisons. Anyone with eyes could see that Pei Wenxuan's life was not easy.
In fact, his status as the legitimate heir alone would make his life difficult.
He was essentially a fallen noble, and she naturally refused to accept marrying someone like that.
So she quickly inquired about the other three candidates.
The three candidates were Lu Yu, the heir of the Marquis of Ningguo; Yang Quan, the second son of Marshal Yang; and Cui Yulang, the newly appointed top scholar.
The more she inquired, the more shocked she became.
Lu Yu was rumored to be born with intellectual disabilities, but his mother had always concealed it. Once the Marquis of Ningguo passed away, his position as heir would inevitably be lost.
Yang Quan was a madman. He had grown up in military camps, killed with a blade at the age of seven, and was known for his violent temper. None of the maidservants around him had survived.
As for Cui Yulang, he came from a humble background and, in principle, had no major flaws. However, his greatest hobby in life was visiting brothels and writing poems for the courtesans. He wasn't a bad person and was quite carefree, but what future did he have in the officialdom?
Among the four candidates on her list of potential husbands, not a single one was anything but outwardly splendid and inwardly rotten. She wondered how much effort her father had put into compiling such an utterly terrible list of husband candidates.
After learning about the backgrounds of all four, her heart grew cold. That night, she went to see her mother, intending to cancel her engagement to Pei Wenxuan. But the first thing her mother said upon hearing her was: "You must stay with him."Li Rong was stunned at the time, then listened as her mother calmly said, "The Crown Prince has gained too much momentum in court lately. Your father is wary, and with the maternal clan's influence being too strong, if you were to marry someone with power and status, your father might not be able to hold back."
"So you must marry him and live with him. When your brother ascends the throne, you will be the eldest princess. At that time, if you wish to divorce, you may. If you don’t wish to divorce but find it unpleasant, keeping a few male companions is nothing."
Her mother’s words left Li Rong utterly bewildered. For the first time in her life, she heard someone tell her that keeping a few male companions was nothing. Her mother reached out and gently touched her face, speaking softly, "My child, women in this world all suffer. The only way to avoid suffering is not to learn virtue and obedience, but to seize power."
"You must fight for it, seize it, and hold power in your own hands. You cannot rely on fate being given to you by others—whether it be your father, husband, or brother, you cannot depend on them."
"You are no longer young," her mother’s gaze was calm yet sorrowful, "and I do not have much time left to protect you. You have been clever since childhood. Even if Pei Wenxuan is useless, what does it matter? You can succeed. It is not him you need, but this marriage to shield you from disaster."
"If you do not marry, I fear your father will no longer tolerate you."
And so she married.
After marrying Pei Wenxuan, she had already prepared to abandon this useless man and become the eldest princess on her own. Yet, after the wedding, when she met this man who was rumored to be gentle, weak, and likely to be eliminated by his family at any moment, she finally understood what a smiling tiger was.
She gained a good ally. They used each other, supported each other, and distrusted each other. She became the eldest princess, and he became the prime minister. Their marriage was the strongest contract, the oath of their alliance in court.
They worked together seamlessly, and this cooperation brought her some joy. In the early days, she even thought that perhaps they could truly become a couple, live together, have children, and grow old together.
Until one day, she suddenly discovered that this man had someone else in his heart.
This was not really Pei Wenxuan’s fault. Their marriage was one of necessity—how could their hearts be forced to belong to each other?
She did not particularly like Pei Wenxuan either, but having held hope, she felt a tinge of disappointment upon discovering the truth.
She was a proud person by nature, unable to tolerate even the slightest impurity in her marriage. If this was a marriage, then both parties must uphold the vow of loyalty, with no room for other thoughts.
If there were other thoughts, then this marriage should no longer be a marriage—it should merely be an alliance.
From that moment on, she became the eldest princess, Li Rong, and Pei Wenxuan, in her heart, became forever "Lord Pei."
Lord Pei had his own white moonlight, carefully cherishing her for a lifetime.
And she found her own pleasures. She watched operas, listened to music, and enjoyed the pleasures of the world. Later, when the Su family fell into misfortune, she risked her life to rescue Su Rongqing, whom she had admired in her youth, from prison and settled him in the Princess's Manor, becoming the first and only "guest minister" in the eyes of others.
They each lived their own lives. This marriage had nothing to do with romance—only the sharp and decisive battles in court.
It began in court, and it ended in court.Li Rong was lost in thought when the sedan chair touched the ground. She heard Jing Lan's voice from outside: "Your Highness, we have arrived."
Holding the golden fan, she looked up at the plaque of the Taiqing Hall.
Now everything was starting over again...
She wondered, should she choose Pei Wenxuan this time?
OpenNovel