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Chapter 16: Pei Shall Surely Bring Yang Quan’s Head As A Betrothal Gift To Welcome The Princess’s Arrival

“Well…” Li Rong teased, then smiled, “You’ll know when the time comes.”

“You want to keep it a secret from me too?”

Li Chuan expressed clear dissatisfaction, and Li Rong sighed, “To tell you the truth, I’m not keeping anything from you.”

With that, Li Rong turned her head, looked out of the carriage window, and said lightly, “I really just don’t know yet.”

After all, the matter of marriage is not solely decided by her.

Pei Wenxuan remained silent, and she wouldn’t speak either.

She didn’t think marrying a reborn Pei Wenxuan was a good thing. There were too many entanglements between them, and being together would only result in mutual friction.

Pei Wenxuan had his Qin Zhenzhen. With his ability, even if he didn’t become the son-in-law, there might be other possibilities. In this lifetime, he could choose other paths to try, even if they were more difficult, it might still be better than marrying her.

As for her…

Li Rong slowly closed her eyes, there was no path she couldn’t tread. Whether Pei Wenxuan was willing to help her or not, she had her own path to walk.

The carriage swayed, and Li Rong dozed lightly inside. After a long time, she heard the voice of a eunuch outside, respectfully saying, “Greetings, Your Highness the crown prince, Your Highness the princess.”

Upon hearing this voice, Li Rong slowly opened her eyes, and Li Chuan went forward to lift the curtain, revealing a face full of smiles.

This person was dressed in the attire of a senior eunuch in the palace, appearing to be under forty. His large eyes and round face were particularly pleasing, and Li Rong recognized him as Shande, the chief eunuch by her mother’s side.

Seeing Shande, Li Chuan was somewhat surprised. “Chief eunuch Shande? Why are you waiting here?”

“The empress heard that the crown prince and the princess were returning, so she specially had this old servant wait here. The empress said that the crown prince was weary from the journey last night, so he should rest first. This old servant will escort the princess, and the young master Pei will also go to the Wei Yang Palace to meet the empress.”

“Pei Wenxuan?”

Li Chuan was a bit puzzled. “Mother wants to see him?”

Shande smiled and nodded. “Yes, the empress wishes to meet master Pei.”

Saying that, Shande made way, and two sedan chairs were revealed. He said to Li Rong, “The sedan chairs are ready. Princess, please move.”

Li Chuan heard this and turned to look at Li Rong. She nodded, raised her hand, and handed it to Li Chuan. Li Chuan helped Li Rong up, and with assistance, she got off the carriage and into the sedan chair.

After getting into the sedan chair, she looked back and saw Pei Wenxuan also seated in the sedan chair. She nodded at Li Chuan, and the sedan chair was lifted. Li Rong held a golden fan, closed her eyes, and rested.

After a short while, the sedan chair arrived at the gate of the Wei Yang Palace. Shande opened the curtain and respectfully said, “Princess, we have arrived.”

Li Rong opened her eyes, extended her hand, and was assisted out of the sedan chair. She then looked up and saw the steps of the Wei Yang Palace.

Pei Wenxuan walked behind her, and the two were led by Shande, ascending the steps one after the other. Li Rong lowered her voice and whispered to Pei Wenxuan, “Master Pei, have you thought things through?”

Pei Wenxuan’s eyelashes trembled slightly, whispering, “Not yet.”

Li Rong chuckled softly, “Well, master Pei doesn’t have much time left to think.”

As they reached the entrance of the Wei Yang Palace, Shande entered to announce their arrival. Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan stood side by side at the entrance, with palace attendants scattered around. Li Rong spoke in a low voice, “Actually, I can’t make up my mind either. Clearly, pursuing benefits would be enough, but there’s always a lingering dissatisfaction in my heart.”

Their remarriage would naturally be the best for both of them. However, when they found out about each other’s rebirth, interests seemed to have an intangible restraint, making them hesitate.

Understanding this feeling, Pei Wenxuan lowered his gaze, silent.

After a moment, Shande returned and respectfully said, “Princess, please.”

“Let’s go together.” Li Rong instructed Pei Wenxuan, who responded with an “okay.” The two entered the hall together. At the entrance of the inner chamber, Li Rong pointed with her golden fan and whispered, “Wait here; you can enter after I announce you.”

Pei Wenxuan respectfully acknowledged, “Yes.” Li Rong then entered the inner chamber.

Inside, she first saw a woman in phoenix-red embroidered silk, wearing golden armor on her hands, reclining on a small couch as if in a light slumber.

Li Rong approached, knelt down respectfully, and softly said, “Your humble daughter pays respects to the empress. May the empress live a thousand years, ten thousand years, and countless more.”

The empress remained silent, while Li Rong knelt on the ground without uttering a word. After a while, the empress slowly spoke, “I heard that you were with Pei Wenxuan last night.”

“Yes.”

Li Rong answered without hesitation. The empress opened her eyes and looked at Li Rong, her gaze carrying scrutiny. She spoke calmly, “Regarding your marriage, how do you intend to handle it?”

Li Rong smiled and looked up at the empress, gently asking, “May I ask how the empress thinks, how should the daughter handle it?”

“You have an idea.”

The empress affirmed, but Li Rong said, “Does the empress not have one?”

The empress remained silent. In their brief conversation, she sensed a difference in Li Rong from the past.

While Li Rong was always intelligent, she never spoke like this before – engaging in a conversation that seemed more like the discussions she had with court officials who she had dealt with for a long time, where the topic meandered without getting to the point.

After pondering for a moment, the empress decided not to beat around the bush either and directly said, “I intend to marry you to Yang Quan.”

Li Rong didn’t speak. She had considered this possibility; after all, the Yang family had visited two palaces last night, and it couldn’t be without some purpose. After a moment of contemplation, she asked, “What has the empress promised to the Yang family?”

The empress did not expect Li Rong to be so composed. Although it felt somewhat unfamiliar, it was convenient for her. She calmly replied to Li Rong, “Military power.”

“Does the Yang family still have military power?”

Li Rong sarcastically remarked, “Does the empress not know what the emperor did to the Yang family?”

“I know.” The empress replied calmly. “That’s why they are in great turmoil now. They said that if you marry Yang Quan, he will become the head of the Yang family and take over the main lineage of the Yang family…”

“Their main lineage has already been depleted on the battlefield!”

“We can rebuild.”

The empress interrupted, suppressing Li Rong’s voice, and continued, “We have people and military power. As long as the Yang family remains in the northwest, their position is secure. Once they provide military provisions, expansion can happen quickly. What could be the problem?”

“Mother,” Li Rong looked incredulously at the empress, lowering her voice to caution, “you’re pushing Chuan to his death!”

“It’s your father, the emperor, who’s pushing us to our death!”

The empress suddenly raised her voice, “Do you know why he abolished the Yang family? It’s for the sake of placing Li Chang’s uncle in the position of Northwest lord! He wants to give military power to Li Chang! He’s only ten years old! He’s already been granted the title of prince, and now he wants to give military power to this little infant!”

Li Rong, upon hearing this, was not shocked. Later, she realized that Zhao Ziguang, the brother of concubine Rou, did indeed assume the position of general of the north in the Northwest. Li Ming wouldn’t have abolished the Yang family without reason.

He abolished the Yang family because they were powerful and arrogant, and he needed to make room for the people he wanted to promote.

However, the downfall of the Yang family was inevitable. Back then, the Yang family was thoroughly cleaned up, and Li Ming’s tactics were ruthless. The empress had no idea how many pawns he had used to bring down the Yang family.

Li Rong looked at the empress calmly and said, “Mother, calm down. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but now Chuan is the crown prince. As long as we don’t let the emperor find fault with him, he will be safe for the time being. You want me to marry Yang Quan, but the emperor has likely already gathered much evidence against the Yang family. In that case, all the blame will fall on Chuan.”

“What does it matter?” The empress looked coldly at her, “As long as we can get military power, even if Chuan is at fault, so what?”

Li Rong raised her eyes, staring at the empress.

The empress stared back at her. Between mother and daughter, it seemed like a silent battlefield had already begun.

Li Rong knew that Li Chang being granted the title of prince was a great humiliation for the empress. Now, with Li Ming wanting to give military power to Li Chang, it was a complete threat to Li Chuan.

In fact, in the previous life, Li Chuan had almost been deposed, and it was indeed related to the issue of military power.

In the last life, when she married Pei Wenxuan, the empress couldn’t intervene because she wasn’t involved in the marriage arrangements. By the time she found out, the marriage had already been arranged. In the last life, the Yang family didn’t know about the possibility of Li Chuan forming a marital alliance, and they weren’t pushed to a desperate situation. They were willing to hand over military power to the empress, so the empress didn’t have such a huge temptation. That’s why she asked her to endure and marry Pei Wenxuan.

When the empress asked her to marry Pei Wenxuan, she told her that women should have power. So at that time, she thought it wasn’t her mother abandoning her, but rather being powerless.

However, in this life, her marriage was entangled with the military power of the Yang family. The empress had the possibility of intervening, so she immediately decided to let her marry Yang Quan.

Li Rong quietly looked at the empress and, for some reason, suddenly asked, “Mother, have you ever thought about me?”

Upon hearing these words, the empress was momentarily stunned.

Li Rong, having asked the question, did not regret it. She knelt on the ground, straightened her posture, and looked at the woman in the high seat adorned in a splendid robe and golden crown. Calmly, she said, “Mother has always been talking about military power, about the position of the crown prince. May I dare to ask, in this marriage arrangement, have you ever thought about your daughter?”

As the empress listened to Li Rong’s questioning, she came back to her senses. Her lips trembled, she opened her mouth, and finally said, “There’s no room for you or me to choose.”

“Now, aren’t we choosing?” Li Rong asked.

“I already spent a night with Pei Wenxuan. Empress knows that I didn’t make the choice lightly,” Li Rong said seriously.

“So, you want to choose that useless pretty face who can’t give you anything?!” the empress retorted.

“He’s not unable to give me anything,” Li Rong clarified, “His identity can provide me stability. He just can’t give the empress military power like the Yang family.”

She didn’t call her “mother”; she called her “empress.” The empress clenched her fists, listened to Li Rong, and calmly said, “In the empress’s heart, my marriage is just like moving a pawn, and I am just a chess piece. There’s no need to care about whether the chess piece is happy or not, no need to care about whom she likes or dislikes, and even less need to care about whether she lives well or not. Since the empress thinks this way,” Li Rong looked at the empress and couldn’t help but smile, “why not make it clear early on that the daughter is not truly a daughter, just a sharp blade in the hands of the empress…”

Before she could finish her words, a resounding slap struck Li Rong’s face.

The sound was so loud that it suddenly echoed in Pei Wenxuan’s heart.

Pei Wenxuan stood outside the door, and the two people inside seemed to have completely forgotten his presence. He clearly heard their conversation. This was a Li Rong he had never seen before.

In his memory, Li Rong was always high and mighty, surrounded by admirers, untouchable by anyone, forever arrogant. He disliked her arrogance, hated her sharp tongue. However, at this moment, when he heard that slap resound, he felt as if it had swept across his heart.

His hands clenched in his sleeves, listening to the empress’s voice inside, trembling with a hint of tears, “How can you say such things? How did I treat you before? Don’t you have a heart? Just because I begged you once, you have to speak of me like this?” 

No, not just once.

Pei Wenxuan closed his eyes; he knew too well what Li Rong cared about at this moment.

In Li Rong’s heart, a relationship must be pure, clear, and she needed to know exactly what she possessed.

She couldn’t tolerate impurities; she couldn’t tolerate contaminants.

Just like back then, when she asked him, “Why didn’t you say it earlier?” In reality, she couldn’t tolerate Qin Zhenzhen not because she couldn’t accept her, but because she couldn’t accept that he, whom she thought was her husband, went to involve with Qin Zhenzhen.

He felt a tightness in his chest. Then, he heard Li Rong calmly say, “Mother, I ask this of you just this once.”

With that, Li Rong stood up. “If you have any difficulties, tell me, and I’ll solve them. But this time, you need to be my mother, not the empress.”

The empress stared at Li Rong in bewilderment. As Li Rong stood up, she already had the higher ground. She looked at the empress calmly. “Jealousy has clouded your judgment. In the future, you’ll understand that the Yang family is not to be involved with. Chuan should have military power, but it shouldn’t come from the Yang family. I’ll arrange it in the future. As for my marriage, it can be a bargaining chip, but it should have more value.”

“I don’t need you to do anything, Mother. You’re not suited to be a politician. Leave these matters to me and Chuan. You just need to do one thing.”

She stared at the empress, her expression slightly changing. The empress stared at her in confusion. Li Rong looked at this woman who seemed to have aged a bit, her voice low and hoarse, “Be a good mother.”

After speaking, she turned around and walked towards the outside of the palace.

The empress stared blankly at Li Rong. Seeing her approaching the door, the empress suddenly smiled, “Am I not a good mother?”

“I taught you, I accompanied you, I gave you and Chuan love, much more than all the other consorts in this harem! Now I just hope to survive, and Chuan has to survive!”

Li Rong, with her back to her, replied coldly, “What is the Yang family threatening you with?”

“They want to rev…” The empress painfully closed her eyes, “If they revolt, they will accuse Chuan of being the mastermind.”

“Your father, the emperor, has been looking for evidence against Chuan. If the Yang family accuses Chuan of being the mastermind of treason, His Majesty will not miss this opportunity!”

Li Rong remained silent. She stood quietly for a moment, then said, “Don’t worry, I will handle it. If you want to summon Pei Wenxuan, go ahead. I will go find Chuan first.”

After saying that, Li Rong walked out.

When Li Rong reached the doorway, she saw Pei Wenxuan, who had been standing there for a long time. Pei Wenxuan’s hands were clasped in his sleeves, silently watching her, his clear and handsome eyes revealing indescribable emotions.

Looking at Li Rong in front of him, he felt both familiar and distant.

The person in front of him was still the proud phoenix from his previous life’s memories, always calm, always serene, always steady, even if Mount Tai collapsed before her, she would not change her expression.

But he also felt that this person was somewhat different. He vaguely saw a bit of softness and gentleness deep in her heart, and he faintly sensed the innocence that never faded, even after experiencing fifty years of storms.

At this moment, she seemed like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, struggling fiercely, revealing astonishing beauty in the moment of flapping.

Both of them were lone cranes forced into a desperate situation, their feet sinking in the mud, striving to raise their necks and gaze up at the blue sky.

They silently locked eyes, and in an instant, fifty years passed between them. After a long time, Pei Wenxuan chuckled lightly.

“Your Highness, do you think this marriage needs to happen again?” 

Hearing Pei Wenxuan’s question, Li Rong knew he had figured it out. She couldn’t help but smile, “Is master Pei pitying me?”

“The dilemma of Your Highness has its own solution, there is no need for pity from me,” Pei Wenxuan said calmly. “I just suddenly feel that Your Highness may be different from the person in my previous understanding. Starting over, treating it as a new acquaintance, might not be a bad thing.”

“Master Pei speaks wisely,” Li Rong looked into his clear eyes, the sincerity and calmness in them gradually calming her uneasy heart. She nodded, “Then, let it be.”

“In that case, I can’t tolerate Your Highness’s ‘guest’,” Pei Wenxuan said with a smile, seemingly joking. Li Rong raised an eyebrow, “Do you think I can tolerate master Pei’s beloved?”

The two looked at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Pei Wenxuan adjusted his sleeves gracefully and said, “It seems Your Highness and I have reached an agreement. Let’s settle this marriage for now, endure each other for a while. After two years, when we hold power, we can part ways. By then, grievances can be settled, and princess, what do you think?”

“Alright,” Li Rong raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, sighing, “Let’s just make do for now. But, to marry me,” Li Rong turned her head, looking at the empress still staring blankly in the inner room, half-smiling, “Master Pei must have the ability. If master Pei doesn’t have this ability, I won’t marry.”

Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan calmly smiled, bowed to Li Rong, “Princess, rest assured, Pei will definitely present Yang Quan’s head as a betrothal gift,” he said, then lifted his head, and said seriously, “To welcome the phoenix ride of the princess.”

Author’s message: [Short Drama 1]

Yang Quan: A man may be killed but not insulted. Pei Wenxuan, you scoundrel, don’t try to please my wife!!

Pei Wenxuan: In my eyes, you and the wild geese aren’t much different.

[Short Drama 2]

Onlookers: Pei Wenxuan is poor, has no power, and no martial arts skills. I don’t see how he can defeat Yang Quan, just an eighth-grade official!

Pei Wenxuan: It’s time to show my true skills.

[Short Drama 3]

Li Rong: I never thought you were so handsome before. Why the sudden change?

Pei Wenxuan: That’s my advantage.

Li Rong: What advantage?

Pei Wenxuan: I don’t unleash my charm on anyone other than my wife.

Li Rong: So…

Pei Wenxuan: You’re about to become lady Pei. Please go home and prepare. I’ll bring Yang Quan’s head over soon, not, I mean, bring Yang Quan over soon.

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