Chapter 9: This Time, Pei Has Left, And Hopes Her Highness The Princess Will Take Care

Thinking back to the moment of the oath, Pei Wenxuan’s heart was stirred.

In fact, he never expected that Li Rong would actually try to harm him for the position of the heir. Because he never thought about it, he had no defenses on the way back to the princess’s mansion. At the moment of death, he felt particularly unwilling, determined to take this woman down with him no matter what.

In the previous life, they chose to be allies, but the fact was, in this world, there were no true allies whose interests remained the same for a lifetime.

They died at each other’s hands, and now, they could make a choice again. Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong in front of him. After a long time, he slowly spoke, calmly saying, “Shouldn’t marry.”

As he spoke, he kowtowed and knelt in front of Li Rong, respectfully saying, “The humble servant can only offer these things to Your Highness. But the life Your Highness desires may not only be limited to these.”

Li Rong, upon hearing this, was not surprised. She smiled gently and said, “I also know that what I want, you cannot provide. But now I am a bit troubled. If I don’t marry master Pei, then who should I marry?”

Pei Wenxuan’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He thought that this might be the last time he planned something for her.

After pondering for a moment, he replied with a name, “Lu Yusheng.”

This coincided with Li Rong’s thoughts, and she couldn’t help but become interested, “Tell me more.”

“The current predicament of the princess is difficult due to the emperor’s suspicion. As long as the crown prince ascends, the princess’s future will be secure. So, the most important thing now is to ensure the safety of the crown prince. Among Marquis Ning, the Yang family, and Cui Yulang, Cui Yulang comes from a humble background and is useless. Marrying him would be the most pointless. Moreover, his carefree personality and love for poetry provide plenty of opportunities for others to exploit. If the princess marries him, it might cause trouble for the crown prince.”

Li Rong twirled her folding fan and nodded, “Hmm.”

“As for the Yang family, their power is too great, and Yang Quan’s personality is too sharp. The emperor suggested the princess marry into the Yang family mainly because he has designs on the Yang family. If Yang Quan marries the princess, the emperor might take action soon after, implicating the princess, and the crown prince would easily get involved. Yang Quan is a person the princess absolutely should not marry.”

“Indeed,” Li Rong’s eyes were slightly cold, “his ambitions are too great.”

“As for prince Ning, although the Marquisate of Ning is not considered a prominent family, Marquis Ning was the emperor’s study companion in his youth. He once protected the emperor from a sword, and the emperor, being a man of sentiment, may not often think of Marquis Ning now, but there is still some brotherly friendship. For the princess, this is considered a good thing. Marquis Ning is steady, and prince Ning rarely leaves the house due to his simple-minded nature. In terms of marriage, it may not be ideal, but it will not hinder the crown prince. Most importantly,” Pei Wenxuan looked up at her, reminding her, “Prince Ning is not in good health.”

In the previous life, Lu Yusheng passed away in the winter three years later.

Li Rong understood Pei Wenxuan’s meaning. She lightly tapped the small table with her fan and asked, “You mean, he is in poor health and a fool. If I marry him, when he passes away in the future, my younger brother can ascend to the throne, and I can remarry?”

“Yes,” Pei Wenxuan calmly replied. “This way, you can relax the current emperor’s vigilance. Let His Highness avoid his sharp edge. In the future, as a royal widow, remarrying will not be difficult.”

Li Rong nodded. She had the same thoughts but hearing it from Pei Wenxuan made her feel more at ease. However, she didn’t expect Pei Wenxuan to speak such words. She couldn’t help but smile, looking at Pei Wenxuan with some curiosity. “What if I don’t marry you and find another way? What will you do?”

Pei Wenxuan lifted the tea beside him, took a sip, and said, “If the princess is willing to help, that would be best. If not, Pei has his own path to follow.”

He nodded lightly, as if wishing to write “mind your own business” on his face. Li Rong couldn’t help but laugh at his appearance. She thought Pei Wenxuan was truly capable; he could always make her burst with anger in an instant.

She turned to look at the sky and said casually, “It’s getting late, master Pei, you should go back. If you don’t leave soon, you might get scolded by the steward again for dirtying the carriage.”

Hitting people, hitting faces, poking at hearts.

Pei Wenxuan, hearing this, felt that all his previous considerations for her were in vain. Faced with a woman who could stab him to death with a single sentence but still bowed and served wholeheartedly, he felt like he was facing a living Buddha reincarnated.

So he sarcastically smiled, respectfully bowed, and said, “Yes, Pei has to take his leave. I’ve been wanting to leave for a long time. Thank you for Your Highness’s mercy.”

“Leave quickly, no need for further courtesy.”

“I’m leaving now.”

After saying this, Pei Wenxuan immediately stood up, without any hesitation, and walked straight out. The attendant waiting outside held an umbrella for him, and Pei Wenxuan thanked him softly before leaving with the attendant.

Watching Pei Wenxuan’s figure, Li Rong felt as if she were silently bidding farewell to a gradually fading memory. She silently watched for a while and then said to Jinglan behind her, “Prepare some money and ginger soup, and send it to him.”

It can be considered a personal reward for him in the end.

Though Jinglan couldn’t fully understand what Li Rong was thinking, she never questioned her mistress’s decisions. After a respectful bow, she proceeded to prepare the money and ginger soup as instructed by Li Rong.

With a belly full of frustration, Pei Wenxuan left the courtyard. By this time, most people had already left. He boarded his own carriage with a stern face, ready to depart. However, just as he was about to leave, he heard Jinglan’s distant voice calling, “Master Pei!”

Hearing Jinglan’s voice, Pei Wenxuan furrowed his brows, lifted the curtain, and saw Jinglan being supported by another maidservant, quickly approaching.

Li Rong’s palace attendants were well-mannered; even walking in the rain, they remained steady, not splashing a drop of rain or mud.

Jinglan held a box and approached Pei Wenxuan. After a courteous greeting, she stood up and handed the box to him, saying, “Master, it’s cold and rainy today. The princess has asked me to prepare ginger soup for you to drink on the way.”

Pei Wenxuan was momentarily stunned. After a while, he looked at the box and softly said, “Thanks for the princess’s kindness.”

Jinglan smiled and handed over the box, saying, “Safe travels, Master.”

Pei Wenxuan acknowledged her words and thanked her. After receiving the box, he entered the carriage.

The box had two layers. Opening the first layer revealed a bowl of ginger soup, steaming hot. Pei Wenxuan remembered the first year of their marriage when Jinglan used to give him a bowl of soup corresponding to the weather every time he went out: pear soup for dry weather, mung bean soup for hot weather, and ginger soup for cold weather…

These were all Li Rong’s habits.

He remained silent, watching quietly as the carriage started moving. Suddenly, he realized that with the movement of this carriage, the encounters between him and Li Rong in this life would never happen again.

From this point onward, bridges were bridges, roads were roads, and all past grievances were wiped clean.

He couldn’t help but lift the curtain and suddenly call out to Jinglan, who was returning to the courtyard, “Miss Jinglan!”

Jinglan turned her head, seeing Pei Wenxuan sitting in the carriage. He looked at her, opened his mouth, and felt a moment of regret. Why didn’t he say a few more words to Li Rong?

Seeing him speak, the coachman outside stopped the carriage again. Jinglan walked back, a bit puzzled, and asked, “Master Pei?”

“Help me pass on a message to the princess,” Pei Wenxuan tightly gripped the carriage curtain, stared at Jinglan, and earnestly said, “Tell her, this time Pei is leaving, so she should take care of herself, be cautious in everything, and not be too bold!”

Upon hearing these words, Jinglan felt somewhat bewildered. Before she could ask anything, she saw Pei Wenxuan swiftly lower the curtain, his figure disappearing behind it. The carriage rattled on once again, and Pei Wenxuan leaned back in the carriage. He didn’t know why, but suddenly he felt weakened, leaning against the carriage and feeling a bit stuffy.

After leaning for a while, he opened a drawer and took out the bowl of ginger soup still steaming hot. He took a sip, warmth mixed with spiciness flowed down his throat, with a hint of sweetness.

He smiled, tinged with a hint of nostalgia.

This is probably the last time in his life he’ll be drinking princess Rong’s ginger soup.

After Pei Wenxuan left, Jinglan returned. Li Rong looked at the chessboard on the table, manipulating the pieces in her hand. It had to be said that Pei Wenxuan’s chess skills were indeed excellent. Over the years, among the people she knew, only he could play chess with her on equal footing, making their matches intriguing.

Other people were not as skilled in chess, and Su Rongqing intentionally let her win. As for this Pei Wenxuan, he was bold and aggressive.

Listening to Jinglan coming in, Li Rong casually asked, “He’s gone?”

“He’s gone,” Jinglan respectfully replied, then added, “Before leaving, young master Pei said that he’s leaving this time and asks you to take care. In the future, be cautious in everything and don’t be too bold.”

Upon hearing these words, Li Rong was momentarily stunned. After a moment, she forced a bitter smile and said, “This person seems to be really concerned about a lot of things.”

With that, she stood up, casually threw the chess pieces into the chess box, and said indifferently, “Do I need him to worry about me?”

After speaking, she turned her head and looked at the rain hitting the lotus leaves outside the courtyard, the leaves trembling in the wind.

Not far away, a group of people lay in ambush in the passage, starting to set up obstacles.

“Young master,” a young man with a knife spoke hesitantly, “After all, she is a princess. If we do this, will it be…”

“Will it be what?” The young man beside him wiped the blade in his hand, looked at the young man with a sneer, and said, “Do you think if we don’t kidnap the princess, the emperor will let us go? Dream on.”

The young man turned his head, looked at the distant courtyard, and said coldly, “Only by marrying the princess and tying ourselves to the crown prince, can we have a way out.”

After hearing this, the young man remained silent for a moment, then nodded and said, “The young master is right.”

As the sky darkened, thunder roared.

Pei Wenxuan finished drinking the ginger soup, rolled up the curtain, and looked at the mountains and rivers being washed by the pouring rain. He felt that this heavy rain was cleansing his rebirth.

After a while, he heard the sound of galloping horses, and a group of people on horseback rushed past him. They wore simple clothes, and their origin was unclear, but Pei Wenxuan recognized at a glance that these horses were not of the Shengjing variety but were war horses supplied for the border.

Although these war horses looked no different from ordinary horses to the average person, Pei Wenxuan, who had previously been in charge of frontline logistics, could tell at a glance.

In the current heavy rain, these people urgently leaving the city and heading in the direction of the royal palace were clearly up to something. If they were going to the border or on official business, they would have taken a different route. So, what were they planning?

After a moment of contemplation, Pei Wenxuan realized it couldn’t be good.

They were heading towards Li Rong!

The author has something to say: 【Short Play】

Li Rong: “Then I won’t marry you. I have a way out. What will you do?”

Pei Wenxuan

(Inner thoughts): “Damn, I really don’t know what I’ll do. It’s so awkward to be asked this question. A true man should handle it himself. Should I really have to beg you? No way, as a man, I absolutely won’t do such a humiliating thing!”

(Outwardly, proud face): “I have my own way. Princess, don’t meddle in my business.”

Li Rong: “Hehe, get lost.”

Previous

Next