Ехhаustеd, thе two sleрt sоundlу аnd did nоt wake until the nехt morning. Hаving slept fоr sо lоng, thеу аwoke hungrу. After washing up, Li Rong and Реi Wenхuan immеdiаtеlу cаllеd fоr а mеal.
Мost of the реoрle in the Prinсess's Mаnor werе fаmiliаr tо Li Rоng, аnd Рei Wenхuаn had аlrеаdy knоwn them in his рrеvious life. Ноwevеr, now that theу were starting аnеw, еven if hе was well awаrе in his hеart, hе still hаd tо рrеtеnd it was thеir first mеeting оn the surfаce.
Аfter thе mеаl, the twо sреnt thе entire morning gеtting acquainted with the stаff of the Prinсess's Mаnor. Оnlу then did thеy finally have some time alone.
Pei Wenxuan had a nine-day wedding leave before returning to court duties. Having already paid respects to all the necessary people, Li Rong thought for a moment and said to Pei Wenxuan, "Shall we go find Shangguan Ya first?"
At the moment, Li Rong was most concerned about Li Chuan's marriage. Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan did not object. He immediately called for someone to prepare a carriage and set off with Li Rong for the Shangguan residence.
On the way, Pei Wenxuan wrote a visiting card while remarking, "How did you know she had arrived?"
"I had people keeping an eye on her before the wedding," Li Rong replied lazily, flipping through a casual book beside him. "She arrived before the wedding, but I was too busy to deal with her then."
She glanced up at Pei Wenxuan. "Is the card ready? Let me see it once it's done."
Pei Wenxuan chuckled. "It's just a visiting card. What's there to see?"
"Ya is particular about these things. If the card isn't well-written, she might not bother to see us."
"Don't worry about that," Pei Wenxuan said, handing her the finished card. "She might dare to refuse me, but she wouldn't dare refuse you."
Li Rong was pleased to hear this, but she still examined the card. Even just the calligraphy alone was exceptionally elegant. She couldn't help but praise, "You truly are 'fine jade without, flawed jade within'—handsome on the outside, with equally beautiful handwriting."
Pei Wenxuan laughed helplessly. "Are you insulting me or yourself with that remark?"
"How am I insulting myself?" Li Rong asked, puzzled. Pei Wenxuan took the card back from her, holding it at a distance with a smile. "After all, your handwriting isn't that great either."
Hearing this, Li Rong tapped her fan against her palm. "Do you think this carriage is spacious enough to offer you any protection?"
"But," Pei Wenxuan quickly changed his tone, "Your Highness is both beautiful and brilliant, flawless in every way."
Li Rong burst out laughing and didn't continue the banter. After a moment of thought, Pei Wenxuan expressed some concern. "What if Miss Shangguan isn't home when we arrive unannounced?"
"If she's not at home, she's probably at some teahouse or poetry gathering. The places she frequented before entering the palace are limited. We have plenty of time—it won't be hard to find her."
Li Rong spoke with confidence, and Pei Wenxuan nodded, no longer worried.
When they arrived at the Shangguan residence and presented the visiting card, the gatekeeper delivered it inside. Shortly after, the Shangguan family's steward came out personally and said respectfully, "Your Highness, my apologies. Today, my young lady has been invited by the Jīwén Poetry Society to attend a tea gathering. Perhaps you could return to the Princess's Manor first? Once my young lady returns, I will ask her to personally visit the Princess's Manor to apologize. Would that be acceptable?""It was our presumption to come uninvited," Li Rong smiled. "How could we blame the young lady? Since she's at the Juwen Poetry Society, I'll just go there."
Among the noble youths of Huajing, it was fashionable to establish poetry societies. They would gather in teahouses for tea parties, composing poetry and engaging in refined conversation—a sophisticated social activity in the capital.
However, such events not only had high social barriers but also demanded considerable scholarly talent from participants. That Shangguan Ya had received an invitation to the Juwen Poetry Society so soon after arriving in the capital spoke volumes about her exceptional abilities.
Li Rong wasn't surprised. Sitting in the carriage, she smiled at Pei Wenxuan and said, "Didn't I tell you she'd either be at home or at a poetry society? Do you believe me now?"
Pei Wenxuan nodded. "You certainly know her well."
"After all, we've known each other for so many years." Thinking she would soon see Shangguan Ya, Li Rong couldn't help but feel happy. She twirled her fan in her hand, reminiscing about their first meeting. "Speaking of which, it's a pity we didn't meet earlier. Though a woman, she possesses the grace and charm of an aristocratic family. Conversing with her is both dignified and witty, an absolute delight. The only regret," Li Rong sighed, "is that she's a bit too proper."
Pei Wenxuan listened quietly, saying nothing. He lowered his head to sip his tea, offering no further comment.
Li Rong chatted idly about some amusing past experiences with Shangguan Ya along the way until they arrived at the Juwen Poetry Society.
The Juwen Poetry Society was the most prestigious and affluent poetry society in Huajing, operating its own exclusive teahouse, the Juwen Teahouse, where their refined gatherings and tea parties were held.
Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan alighted from the carriage directly and entered after giving Pei Wenxuan's name. As soon as they stepped into the teahouse, an attendant approached to greet them, asking whose invitation they had accepted. Li Rong smiled and addressed the attendant directly, "I heard Miss Shangguan Ya is here today. Would you be so kind as to announce us?"
"Miss Shangguan?" The poetry society member looked puzzled. "Miss Shangguan isn't here today."
Hearing this, Li Rong halted in her tracks. She turned back, surprised. "She didn't come?"
"No, she didn't."
The attendant smiled. "Miss Shangguan arrived in Huajing some days ago and has only been here once."
Upon hearing this, Li Rong immediately sensed something was amiss. Pei Wenxuan, standing beside her, cleared his throat softly and smiled as he looked at her. "I told you she'd probably be somewhere else, but you didn't believe me." He turned to the attendant. "Young man, do you know where Miss Shangguan usually goes?"
"Well, I..."
Before he could finish, Pei Wenxuan discreetly showed a silver ingot from his sleeve. The attendant glanced up at him, and Pei Wenxuan nodded. After a moment's hesitation, the young man finally said, "We don't know Miss Shangguan's whereabouts. However, I've heard someone mention seeing her with a pass to the Wealth Gathering Hall. Perhaps you could try looking for her there?"
At this, Li Rong looked utterly shocked, while Pei Wenxuan remained unfazed. He handed the silver ingot to the attendant, then led the incredulous Li Rong outside.
Once out the door, he instructed a servant to borrow a token for the Wealth Gathering Hall from a friend. Then, pulling Li Rong along, he boarded the carriage and headed toward the Wealth Gathering Hall.
It took Li Rong a while to regain her composure in the carriage before she exclaimed, "You're really going to the Wealth Gathering Hall?!"Jucai Hall was the most famous gambling den in Huajing. Once Li Rong regained her composure, she felt it was unreliable and immediately said, "That person was definitely talking nonsense. Don't waste time going to such a place."
"Since we're already here," Pei Wenxuan picked up his tea, raised his eyes with a smile, and glanced at Li Rong, "it wouldn't hurt to take a look. Who knows, we might find an unexpected surprise?"
"Impossible." Seeing the hint of amusement in Pei Wenxuan's smile, Li Rong grew somewhat displeased and sneered, "Don't waste your time. I know you have issues with Aya..."
"Stop, stop, stop," Pei Wenxuan raised his hand to cut her off. "I have absolutely no issues with Miss Shangguan. Don't talk nonsense."
"Then why did you always criticize her whenever I praised her before?" Li Rong scoffed. "What do you call that?"
"I truly have no issues with her," Pei Wenxuan took a sip of tea and casually pointed the lid of his teacup in Li Rong's direction. "It's you I have issues with."
Li Rong: "..."
For a moment, she actually felt there might be some truth to that.
"I'm just curious," Pei Wenxuan smiled, "if we get to live another lifetime, will we be able to see a different kind of scenery?"
"It might be different," Li Rong declared confidently, "but definitely not in this kind of matter."
"Then would Your Highness like to make a bet with me?" Pei Wenxuan rested his hand on the windowsill and smiled. "If Miss Shangguan is at Jucai Hall today, what will Your Highness do?"
"If Aya is at Jucai Hall," Li Rong said grandly, "I'll buy you a carriage immediately."
"Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan fanned himself, "now that I've entered the Princess's Manor, do you think I still care about a carriage? Are you looking down on me, or are you looking down on yourself?"
Pei Wenxuan's words were pleasing to the ear. Li Rong nodded and said, "You make a good point. So, what do you want?"
Pei Wenxuan thought for a moment but couldn't think of anything.
He had made bets with Li Rong before. When they were young and just together, if he lost, he would make Li Rong kiss him. But such things were absolutely out of the question now.
After much deliberation, Pei Wenxuan finally said, "I can't think of anything for now. Why not make the bet bigger? How about Your Highness promises to do one thing for me? It must only concern Your Highness herself, unrelated to court affairs, and not go against Your Highness's principles. For example, washing clothes, cooking, fetching water, or dressing me," Pei Wenxuan said, unable to hold back a laugh, "serving me as a little maid would be quite nice."
"You dare to think big." Li Rong sneered. "What if she's not there?"
"Hmm," Pei Wenxuan thought for a moment. "What does Your Highness want?"
"After your shadow guard is established, give me the Eagle Team as my personal guards."
Li Rong made an outrageous demand. Pei Wenxuan felt helpless for a moment, thinking this person had no sense of fun.
His shadow guard was divided into four teams: Eagle, Tiger, Wolf, and Fox. Li Rong asked for an entire elite team right away. Pei Wenxuan sighed. Thinking he was unwilling to bet, Li Rong was about to mock him when she heard Pei Wenxuan raise two fingers. "Twenty people from the Eagle Team. Is that acceptable?"
"The Celestial-ranked members?"
"Agreed." Pei Wenxuan nodded. Li Rong immediately smiled, as if she had gained some advantage. "Then I thank Lord Pei in advance."
Pei Wenxuan twirled the folding fan in his hand, smiling without a word.
The carriage soon arrived at the entrance of Jucai Hall. As soon as they stepped out, they saw the guard who had gone to borrow the pass token waiting at the door. The man came forward with the token and handed it to Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan nodded and led Li Rong into Jucai Hall together.Not wanting to draw too much attention, the two had their guards wait at the entrance and walked together toward the Wealth Gathering Hall. A doorman stood at the door, and as soon as they approached, he loudly called out, "The Wealth Gathering Hall opens eastward, rich or poor, all are welcome! Are you two esteemed guests rich or poor?"
Hearing this coded phrase, Pei Wenxuan handed over the pass token with a smile and replied, "Rich."
The doorman took the token, examined it carefully, then turned and announced, "Heavenly-ranked guests, please—"
After his call, a middle-aged man emerged from inside and invited Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan in. The man gave them a tour of the Wealth Gathering Hall along the way, but the two listened absentmindedly. Once they entered the main hall, Pei Wenxuan nodded and said, "No need to attend to us. We’ll look around on our own."
The middle-aged man smiled in acknowledgment and left.
The two strolled through the crowd. The place was bustling with activity, filled with people coming and going. Both men and women seemed highly excited.
Afraid that someone might bump into Li Rong, Pei Wenxuan had no choice but to raise his arm to shield her, clearing a path as they moved forward. As he protected her, he said, "I’m just helping you out. Don’t overthink it."
Li Rong glanced at him coolly. "The more someone says not to overthink, the more they’re actually overthinking."
Pei Wenxuan: "..."
There was some truth to that.
After wandering through the crowd for a while, Li Rong gradually relaxed and couldn’t help remarking, "As I said, how could A-Ya come to a place like this, Lord Pei..."
Before she could finish, the two faintly heard a familiar voice from the crowd, shouting excitedly, "Big! Big! Big!"
The moment Li Rong heard that voice, she felt as if struck by lightning. Both of them turned around simultaneously and caught a glimpse of a figure in the crowd who looked strikingly like Shangguan Ya. The figure was leaning over a gambling table, frantically pounding the "Big" character on the table, eyes fixed intently on the dice cup about to be opened, gleaming with anticipation.
But the person was dressed in men’s clothing, and her face wasn’t clearly visible. Li Rong couldn’t immediately confirm whether she had misheard the voice or if...
Before she could react, the dice cup at that table was opened. Amidst cheers and sighs, the petite girl exclaimed, "My thanks, my thanks!" while gathering the money toward herself.
However, halfway through collecting the money, she seemed to realize something. She stood up, exchanged a few words with the people beside her, and then headed toward a small side door.
Li Rong immediately snapped to attention and said, "Follow her."
She had to find out whether this was Shangguan Ya or not.
If it wasn’t Shangguan Ya, that would be fine. But if it was...
Then in her past life, had Shangguan Ya been pretending all along?!
Li Rong was filled with shock. She hurriedly chased after the direction the girl had run, with Pei Wenxuan quickly following her as they pushed their way through the crowd.
The other party was clever. She clearly noticed Li Rong pursuing her and picked up speed, sprinting toward the exit.
Li Rong, no longer caring about decorum, chased after the girl, urging Pei Wenxuan as she ran, "Hurry up! Can’t you even outrun a girl?!"
Pei Wenxuan sighed helplessly and quickened his pace to catch up with the girl.
Shangguan Ya, running ahead, sensed Pei Wenxuan closing in. Knowing she couldn’t escape if she kept running like this, she scanned her surroundings and suddenly pushed herself up against a nearby window, leaping through the small circular opening.The window was too small for Pei Wenxuan to squeeze through, leaving him momentarily stuck in place. Seeing this from a distance, Li Rong muttered under her breath, "Is he a monkey spirit or what?"
Then she brushed past Pei Wenxuan, clumsily propping herself up before leaping through the round window as well.
Pei Wenxuan’s eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. Just then, he heard Li Rong shout, "Go around and chase her, you fool!"
Pei Wenxuan snapped back to reality, realizing that Li Rong truly had no intention of giving up on chasing Shangguan Ya. After quickly assessing the route, he hurriedly circled around the wall to the neighboring courtyard, continuing the pursuit with her.
Li Rong chased Shangguan Ya relentlessly. Although she was some distance behind and couldn’t catch up, she was tenacious. In a chase, as long as you could still see a shadow, you could keep going.
To shake her off, Shangguan Ya darted into a small pavilion in the backyard, which was used for resting. Li Rong immediately followed her up. By the time Pei Wenxuan entered the courtyard, he saw the two girls heading upstairs one after the other. After a moment’s thought, he decided to cut straight through the first floor. Shangguan Ya wouldn’t stay circling upstairs forever—she would surely find a way to escape the Jucai Pavilion from above.
Shangguan Ya had indeed planned it that way. As soon as she reached the second floor, she looked for an exit. One of the windows on the second floor was low enough to jump from. After landing, she could climb a tree and scale a wall to leave the Jucai Pavilion. As long as she wasn’t caught red-handed, she could still argue her way out.
Her plan was sound, but Li Rong was hot on her heels. After putting a bit of distance between them, Shangguan Ya rushed toward the window, intending to climb down carefully. But before she could reach it, she heard Li Rong roar, "Shangguan Ya, stop right there!"
Startled, Shangguan Ya’s foot slipped, and with a shudder, she tumbled straight out of the window.
The headscarf she had used to tie up her hair had already come loose during the chase. As she fell, it caught on a protruding branch, and her dark tresses instantly cascaded free.
Shangguan Ya let out a soft gasp, panic surging through her as she lost her balance.
At that very moment, a young man who had been resting with his eyes closed beneath the tree opened them and saw a girl falling from the sky. Instinctively, he reached out and caught her in his arms.
The summer sunlight bathed the young man in a radiant glow. Handsome and dignified, he smiled gently. "I was merely resting, never expecting a beauty to descend from the heavens."
Shangguan Ya snapped back to reality and slapped him with a sharp "smack!" before leaping out of his arms and turning to flee.
The young man was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure, grabbing her arm.
Shangguan Ya shouted angrily, "Let go!"
The young man smiled faintly and said, "Hiding from someone? I can help you."
Shangguan Ya was taken aback for a moment, and before she could react, he pushed her into a nearby pile of grass and overturned a bamboo basket over her head.
Just as he finished covering her, Li Rong reached the window. She immediately spotted the young man standing below.
She paused briefly, then exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master Su?"
Su Ronghua turned around with a smile, but his expression shifted to one of astonishment upon seeing Li Rong. His gaze flickered briefly toward the bamboo basket before he quickly looked back and said with a laugh, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"
"Have you seen a girl dressed in men’s clothing?"
"I have," Su Ronghua replied, pointing his fan toward the courtyard gate. "She ran off."Li Rong pursed her lips, glanced at the distance between the window and the ground, and made a quick decision: "Could the young master lend a hand?"
"Your Highness, please speak."
"I'll jump down now. Could you catch me?"
Su Ronghua was taken aback for a moment before he finally reacted and said, "Oh, alright."
As he spoke, Su Ronghua extended his hands. Li Rong gathered her skirt, stepped onto the windowsill, but before she could move, she heard Pei Wenxuan roar from the side: "Li Rong!"
Li Rong was so startled that she tumbled forward. Before Su Ronghua could react, he saw someone charging over and catching the suddenly falling Li Rong in his arms.
Pei Wenxuan had arrived too quickly and urgently, leaving Li Rong completely dazed.
He was clearly furious. Li Rong lay in his arms, staring blankly at Pei Wenxuan, who was inexplicably enraged.
Pei Wenxuan didn’t say a word. He set her down on the ground and only asked, "Are you alright?"
"No..." Li Rong rarely encountered such a scene and felt a bit guilty for a moment. "I’m fine."
Pei Wenxuan nodded without saying anything more to her. Su Ronghua, still unaware of what had happened, stood behind Pei Wenxuan and said with a smile, "That young lady just now..."
Before he could finish, Pei Wenxuan turned around and slapped him across the face. The sharp "smack" left Su Ronghua stunned.
Su Ronghua covered his face in shock, turned to look at Pei Wenxuan, and demanded, "Why did you hit me?"
A moment later, he thought of another question: "If you’re going to hit me, why slap me?"
Anger finally dawned on him, and Su Ronghua raised his voice: "Are you a woman?!"
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