Chapter 2: This Time, Should I Still Choose Pei Wenxuan?

The last words Li Rong said before her death were about Pei Wenxuan, the man who lived as her husband for thirty years. After saying that, she lost consciousness. Thinking that she was doomed with the potent poison of Xiang Meiren and her frail body due to prolonged illness, she believed she couldn’t endure it.

However, unexpectedly, after an unknown amount of time passed, she woke up again!

When she woke up, she found herself lying on a soft bed, with warm sunlight streaming into her sleeping quarters. The air was scented with the fragrance of orchids, her favorite incense since her youth.

In a daze, she opened her eyes and heard a familiar yet somewhat distant voice gently calling, “Your Highness, have you awakened?”

Li Rong turned her head and saw a serene and gentle smile on a face that might not be considered beautiful but was certainly refined. The person looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, dignified and steady, reminiscent of someone from her memories.

Incredulously, she called out, “Jinglan?”

The person smiled and extended a hand to help her up, saying gently, “It’s already midday. His Majesty has just finished the morning court session and sent someone to inform that princess Rong should have her lunch together. The servant thought of waking the princess, but it seems the princess has already awakened.”

Listening to Jinglan’s words and surveying her surroundings, Li Rong felt somewhat shocked.

As she got up with Jinglan’s assistance and washed her face, she carefully observed her surroundings. By the time she finished washing, she finally confirmed that this was Changle Palace.

Changle Palace was the place where she lived before she got married, and Jinglan was her personal maid back then. Jinglan had accompanied her from Changle Palace until her marriage and later served as the head of the princess’s household.

In her youth, Li Rong wasn’t very fond of Jinglan, finding her too strict and her words not very pleasant. She had a preference for the more amiable Jingmei. However, because her mother liked Jinglan, she became the head of the princess’s household when the princess’s mansion was established.

It was only when Li Rong was thirty years old and faced an assassination attempt that Jinglan sacrificed herself to protect her from a sword, making Li Rong realize that some people didn’t need to prove themselves through words. Looking at the living Jinglan and the old palace from her youth, Li Rong composed herself and finally admitted that she seemed to have come back to life.

Moreover, she had returned to her youth.

She needed to quickly determine the current time, but she didn’t want others to be aware of her intentions. While washing her hands, she thought about Jinglan’s earlier words and cautiously inquired, “Father has summoned me for a meal. Have you heard what it’s about?” Despite the appearance of favor from her father, he rarely called her for meals. Each time was a significant event, such as the announcement of her marriage, which was celebrated with a meal.

“I don’t know,” Jinglan said, but after some thought, she added, “But I heard that some time ago, His Majesty ordered each family to submit portraits of eligible young individuals.”

Oh, it’s indeed about the marriage meal.

Li Rong took the handkerchief from Jinglan, wiped her hands, and then raised her hand to have the attendant change her clothes. After dressing, she picked up a small golden fan from the side and took steps to sit in the sedan chair, heading towards the Taiqing Hall.

Recalling the past was somewhat difficult, but in the creaking sound of the sedan chair, the memories gradually became clearer. She remembered that before the age of eighteen, her relationship with her father, emperor Li Ming, was good. As the legitimate princess, Li Ming’s first child, he treated her well from a young age, even better than her crown prince brother, Li Chuan.

She cherished Li Ming’s kindness because she had an early understanding that it was rare and precious for an emperor to treat you well. So she tried her best to please Li Ming.

In reality, she was mischievous by nature, but because Li Ming often told her that a woman should be gentle and virtuous, she suppressed her temper and pretended to be a “gentle and virtuous” princess.

The better she pretended, the more Li Ming praised her, often saying that she was the best among his numerous children, and if she were not a daughter, she would be fit to inherit the throne. Whenever Li Ming praised her, she worked even harder until she later understood what it meant to be excessively praised.

She had unconditional trust in Li Ming.

Ordinary princesses should have a marriage arrangement by the age of fifteen, followed by a marriage, leaving the palace, receiving a fief, and establishing a princess’s mansion. But at the age of fifteen, Li Ming claimed he couldn’t bear to let his daughter marry. He asked her to stay for a few more years, and she believed such words.

Staying on until the age of eighteen, her mother fell ill, and Li Ming finally decided to arrange her marriage. He presented portraits of four noble young men for her to choose from. They were all of high status and handsome appearance. She carefully chose Pei Wenxuan, who looked the most handsome.

However, upon further investigation, she was shocked by Pei Wenxuan’s background.

Pei Wenxuan, on the surface, seemed fine.

Handsome in appearance, gentle in nature, Pei Wenxuan was the legitimate eldest son of the noble Pei family’s main branch. He could even be compared to the first son of the prestigious Su family, Su Rongqing.

However, the problem was, he had no father.

It was heard that he became the top scholar at the age of seventeen, but unexpectedly, his father, Pei Lizhi, suddenly passed away. He was urgently sent back to his hometown in Jinling by his second uncle, Pei Lixian, under the pretext of mourning. Three years passed, and when he returned from mourning, the entire Pei family had become followers of his second uncle. They casually arranged a minor official position, an eighth-rank officer in the Ministry of Justice overseeing the prison cells. Anyone with eyes could tell that Pei Wenxuan’s days were not easy.

Moreover, being the legitimate heir might not guarantee him a prosperous future.

This was equivalent to a fallen aristocrat within the noble class. Marrying such a person was naturally unacceptable to her.

So she quickly inquired about the other three candidates.

These three candidates were the crown prince of Ningguo Marquis, Lu Yusheng, the second son of General Yang, Yang Quan, and the newly appointed top scholar, Cui Yulang.

Not inquiring meant not knowing, and upon inquiry, she was taken aback.

The rumored Lu Yusheng was said to be born a fool. His mother had always concealed it, but once the Marquis of Ningguo was gone, the position of this heir was bound to be lost sooner or later.

As for Yang Quan, he was a madman. He had been immersed in military camps from childhood, killed people at the age of seven, had a violent temperament, and not a single maid beside him survived.

As for Cui Yulang, born of a humble family, he didn’t seem to have any major flaws. However, the issue was that his great hobby in life was frequenting brothels, writing poems for the courtesans. Although he was not a bad person and considered free-spirited, what future did this have in the officialdom?

In her list of prospective husbands, among the four, not a single one was without flaws. She wondered how much effort her father, the emperor, had put into creating such a list of utterly undesirable husband candidates.

After learning about the identities of the four individuals, her heart turned cold. That night, she went to see her mother, intending to annul the engagement with Pei Wenxuan. To her surprise, the first thing her mother said was, “You have to stick with him.”

Li Rong was initially stunned. Then, she listened as her mother calmly explained, “Currently, the crown prince is too prominent in the court. Your father is wary, and coupled with the strong influence of the maternal relatives, if you marry someone with power and influence, your father might not be able to endure it.”

“So, you have to marry him, live with him. When your younger brother ascends the throne, you’ll be the grand princess. By then, if you’re willing to divorce, go ahead; if you’re unwilling, don’t like it, keep a few concubines, it’s no big deal.”

Li Rong was stunned by her mother’s words. For the first time in her life, she heard someone say that keeping a few concubines was no big deal. Her mother reached out, gently placing her hand on Li Rong’s face, and spoke gently, “My child, women in this world suffer. The only way not to suffer is not to learn virtue and grace but to grasp power.”

“You have to fight for it, seize it, hold power in your hands. You can’t rely on fate given by others, whether it’s your father, husband, or brother, you can’t rely on them.”

“You’re not young anymore,” her mother’s gaze was calm and desolate, “I don’t have much time left, and I can’t protect you forever. You’ve been smart since childhood. Marry Pei Wenxuan, if he can’t handle it, so what? You can. What you want isn’t him as a person, but this marriage, to protect yourself from calamity.”

“If you don’t marry, your father, he might not tolerate you.”

So she got married.

After marrying Pei Wenxuan, she had initially planned to abandon him, this seemingly useless man, and become the grand princess on her own. However, after the marriage, when she met this man who was said to be gentle, weak, and could be killed by his own family at any time, she understood what a smiling tiger was.

She gained a good ally. They used each other, assisted each other, distrusted each other. She became the grand princess, and he became the prime minister. Their marriage was the strongest covenant, the oath they made to ally in the court.

They played the best cooperation. This kind of cooperation pleased her somewhat. In the early days, she even thought that maybe they could really be a couple, live together, have children, and grow old together.

Until one day, she suddenly discovered that the person she was married to had someone else in his heart. This was not entirely Pei Wenxuan’s fault. Their marriage was originally not of their own choice, and how could one force their heart to belong to another?

She couldn’t really say she liked Pei Wenxuan, but there was a glimmer of hope. When she made this discovery, there was a hint of disappointment. She was a proud person, unable to tolerate any impurity in her marriage. If it was a marriage, both parties should adhere to the vows wholeheartedly, without any other thoughts.

If there were other thoughts, then this marriage should not be a marriage; it should only be a contract. From that moment, she became princess Li Rong, and in her heart, Pei Wenxuan became the forever lord Pei.

Lord Pei had his own moonlight, and he carefully protected each other throughout their lives.

She also found her own enjoyment. She watched plays, listened to music, and played in the mortal world. Later, after the Su family fell into hardship, she risked her life to rescue Su Rongqing, whom she had admired in her youth, from prison. She settled him in the princess’s residence, becoming the first and only “guest” in the eyes of others.

They each had their own lives. This marriage had nothing to do with romance; it was a straightforward battle of swords and shadows in the court.

It began in the court and ended in the court.

Li Rong was lost in thought. As the sedan chair touched the ground, she heard Jinglan’s voice outside, “Your Highness, we have arrived.”

She held a golden fan and looked up at the plaque of Taiqing Hall.

Now everything was starting anew…

She wondered, this time, should she choose Pei Wenxuan again?

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