Chapter 25: This Humble Subject Is Willing To Be At Your Highness’s Command

Pei Wenxuan recognized the chief of the inspectorate, Li Kui. He glanced at the man for a moment but remained silent. Outside, Li Rong heard the commotion, lifted the carriage curtain with a golden fan, and upon seeing the Inspectorate officials, she couldn’t help but smile, saying, “Lord Li?”

Li Kui didn’t expect Li Rong to recognize him and was somewhat surprised. He quickly saluted, “Greetings, Your Highness, a thousand years to Your Highness.”

“I wonder what brings Lord Li here?” Li Rong looked at Li Kui with a soft voice, and Pei Wenxuan leaned to the side, helping Li Rong roll up the curtain.

“Reporting to the princess.”

Li Kui, seeing Li Rong inquire, respectfully said, “Today, a merchant went to the Shuntian Prefecture to report to the authorities, claiming that master Pei murdered his master. I was ordered to come and invite master Pei to assist in the investigation.”

“Does His Majesty know about this?”

“I am aware. Master Pei has been entrusted with investigating the Yang family case by the imperial decree. Therefore, this order was submitted to His Majesty by the Shuntian Prefecture, and the Ministry of Justice deliberately waited for the afternoon to submit it to His Majesty. Only with His Majesty’s consent did we dare to come.”

Upon hearing this, Li Rong couldn’t help but laugh.

“Reporting the case in the morning, and we could directly request an audience with His Majesty through two offices. It seems master Pei is also an important figure.”

Hearing Li Rong’s teasing, Pei Wenxuan turned his head and smiled, “It looks like I need to accompany lord Li on this trip. Your Highness,” he bowed, “for the follow-up matters, it can only rely on Your Highness.”

Li Rong nodded, then she remembered and asked, “Lord Li, may I know the identity of the merchant who came to report?”

“Informing Your Highness,” Li Kui replied with a serious tone, “the deceased was an out-of-town merchant named Taibai Yan.”

Li Rong nodded, as expected.

Pei Wenxuan glanced at Li Rong. After Li Rong gave him a reassuring look, she turned to Li Kui and said, “Since that’s the case, master Pei will accompany master Li. However, master Li,” Li Rong looked at Li Kui, her eyes carrying a meaningful and scrutinizing gaze, “I’ve heard that the Ministry of Justice’s prisons are harsh, with resorting to torture to extract confessions, right?”

“No, “Hearing this, Li Kui quickly replied, “Your Highness, rest assured, I am just following orders. Master Pei is a righteous man, I trust him. Now it’s just a formality, Master Pei won’t encounter any problems.”

Li Rong understood Li Kui’s assurance but still felt uneasy. She motioned for Li Kui to come closer, and in a low voice, she stared at him, saying, “Pei Wenxuan is now under my protection and might ‘continue’ to be under my protection in the future,” Li Rong emphasized the word ‘continue,’ fixing her gaze on Li Kui, “I will visit Pei Wenxuan in the prison every day. Master Li, do you understand my intention?”

“I understand.”

Li Kui quickly whispered, “Your Highness, rest assured. The Ministry of Justice has suitable cells for Master Pei.”

Satisfied with his response, Li Rong nodded and, after glancing at Pei Wenxuan, said, “If there’s anything, I will come to you. Now, go.”

Pei Wenxuan smiled calmly and turned to Li Kui, saying, “Master Li, please.”

Pei Wenxuan left with Li Kui. Jinglan came up from outside the carriage, expressing concern, “Your Highness, if Taibai Yan is dead…”

“It won’t be that simple.”

Li Rong tapped the small table, speaking slowly, “This must be done by concubine Ning. She has been in the deep palace for a long time and doesn’t understand the survival tactics of these people.”

Li Rong continued, “As an outsider, daring to engage in such a bloody business, Taibai Yan must have the skills for it. Now, either he escaped unharmed, or he definitely left a backup plan, waiting to bring down the Yang family.”

Speaking, Li Rong twirled her fan and couldn’t help but laugh, “Consort Ning thinks that killing Taibai Yan will settle everything? She needs to know that killing the donkey after it has ground the millstone is a big taboo in this business. Even if Taibai Yan doesn’t retaliate, those who helped handle the dirty money will certainly retaliate. Otherwise, this circle will become dough in the hands of the nobles, and they will be kneaded by them, won’t they?”

Businessmen have no power, and unless they are ruthless enough to bite into flesh and blood, how can they stand in the imperial capital?

Therefore, from the beginning, Li Rong never thought of protecting Taibai Yan. After all, whether Taibai Yan lives or dies, as long as the Yang family acts against him, he will definitely make the Yang family bleed.

Now that the accounts are in hand, all that’s left is to find an opportunity to send Li Chuan and Qin Lin to the front lines. At this time, having Pei Wenxuan stay in jail might not be a bad thing.

Pei Wenxuan has been too active outside, making the Yang family wary and afraid of more actions. Now that Pei Wenxuan is in prison, at least the Yang family is somewhat stabilized.

Li Rong calculated in her mind, lightly tapping her fan against her palm, resting in the carriage with closed eyes as they entered the palace city.

Back in the palace, Li Rong took out a piece of paper and wrote: “Tomorrow morning, leave the city and go to Jiulu Mountain to find Qin Lin. Keep it discreet.”

After writing it, she handed the note to Jinglan, saying calmly, “Give this note to the crown prince, but make sure no one knows.”

Jinglan acknowledged and Li Rong walked into her room.

Not long after, Li Chuan was discussing matters on the northwest front with his advisors. A servant brought tea, and while Li Chuan was talking, he took the tea cup. As soon as he felt something was off, he calmly put the note into his sleeve. After the discussion with everyone was nearly finished, he saw them off and, alone in his room, opened the note. Under Li Rong’s handwriting, he found the covert mark they had set.

Li Chuan understood and instructed, “I will take a day off tomorrow, leaving the palace to pray for blessings at the Huguo Temple.”

The eunuch acknowledged in a low voice.

Meanwhile, under the bright moon, in Ming Le Palace, consort Rou was massaging Li Ming’s shoulders, whispering, “With consort Ning causing such a disturbance, doesn’t His Majesty care?”

Li Ming smiled faintly, “What’s there to care about? That little rascal Pei Wenxuan wants to be my blade, and he can’t even handle such a small matter. Let him go to his death.”

“Your Highness,” consort Rou sighed, “It’s fortunate that Rong didn’t marry Yang Quan. With the Yang family causing such turmoil, if the Yangs were allied with the Shangguans, how would it be?”

Li Ming remained silent, picked up the tea, and blew on the tea leaves on top.

“Indeed,” he spoke coldly, “I underestimated the Yang family.”

He lowered his voice, “I also underestimated the crown prince.”

The people in the palace had a sleepless night, except for Li Rong, who had a good night’s sleep. When she woke up in the morning, she went directly to the Ministry of Justice to check on Pei Wenxuan’s situation.

With the palace token in hand and using money to facilitate things, she smoothly met Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan had spent a night in the prison, but he looked surprisingly spirited. Seeing his appearance, Li Rong couldn’t help but smile, “You seem to be doing quite well in this cell.”

“Well, indeed,” Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong and laughed, “Outside, I’m busy every day, can’t get a good night’s sleep. Coming in here, I don’t have to do anything, and I sleep quite well.”

“Well, master Pei, you might have to stay here for a while.” Li Rong walked closer to Pei Wenxuan, “Being here now might be better.”

Listening to her words, Pei Wenxuan also approached. The two stood close, separated by the wooden bars.

“Did Your Highness go to find someone?”

Pei Wenxuan whispered, and Li Rong nodded, then quickly said, “You stay here for a while. I’ll come back in a few days.”

“You too?”

Pei Wenxuan was puzzled, “What are you coming for?”

“The Yang family is about to counterattack soon. At that time, the court will need to make a show of it, or they won’t be able to suppress it. By then, I’ll come in too. Both of us will be in the cell, and when Chuan stabilizes the Yang family on the front lines, I’ll have someone write a petition for us to be released.”

Pei Wenxuan pondered Li Rong’s words for a moment, nodded, and Li Rong glanced around his room before saying, “Stay here for now, figure out how to live comfortably, gain some experience.”

Pei Wenxuan: “…”

“Your Highness,” he had to remind Li Rong, “I think you may have more experience in this matter than I do.”

“Too many years,” Li Rong whispered, “I’ve forgotten.”

With that, she quickly said, “I brought you some necessities for eating and dressing. Take care of yourself. I’ll leave first.”

Pei Wenxuan nodded, and the two stood face to face for a moment. Li Rong couldn’t help but smile.

“I never thought I would have a day standing at the prison gate talking to you.”

“It’s an interesting turn of events,” Pei Wenxuan smiled gently. Just as he was about to persuade Li Rong to leave, a respectful voice came from the door, “Your Highness.”

Pei Wenxuan and Li Rong turned their gaze together and saw Su Rongqing standing at the door. He bowed respectfully and then straightened up. He glanced at Pei Wenxuan first and then turned his gaze to Li Rong.

Then he smiled, spoke in a gentle tone, “This humble servant heard that Your Highness is here, and specially came to find Your Highness.”

“Oh?” Li Rong raised her eyebrows, “Does master Su have something to discuss?”

“Previously, Your Highness asked this humble servant to check the accounts of the Ministry of War. I have already handled it according to Your Highness’s instructions.”

Upon hearing this, Li Rong couldn’t help but be stunned. When she asked Su Rongqing to get the accounts from the Ministry of War, it was just a casual excuse to give him something to do. She expected that the Ministry of War would not easily hand over the accounts and might make excuses. She thought she might need to use the manpower of Li Chuan later. Who would have thought that Su Rongqing actually took care of it for her?

But she was only momentarily surprised. Soon after, she regained her composure and smiled, “Master Su is thoughtful. Let’s go over there then.”

Su Rongqing nodded with a smile, stepped back, and Li Rong looked back at Pei Wenxuan, saying, “Lord Pei, I’m leaving first.”

Pei Wenxuan respectfully bowed and watched Li Rong leave.

Leading Su Rongqing, Li Rong left the Ministry of Punishments. She got on her own carriage first and then remembered Su Rongqing. She turned and said, “If master Su doesn’t mind, why not ride together? We can discuss matters in the carriage and go straight to the Ministry of War to check the accounts.”

Su Rongqing followed proper etiquette, then got on the carriage.

After getting on the carriage, he sat opposite Li Rong, maintaining a certain distance, appearing polite and respectful.

This version of Su Rongqing was both familiar and unfamiliar to Li Rong. In her memory, this was exactly how their relationship appeared before Su Rongqing entered the mansion.

With gentleness and courtesy mixed with a hint of thoughtfulness, he indeed presented the image of a gentleman praised by everyone.

The two remained silent for a moment. After a while, Su Rongqing poured tea for Li Rong and calmly asked, “Now that Lord Pei is imprisoned, how does the princess plan to handle Yang’s case?”

“Follow the normal procedure, start by checking the Ministry of War’s account books, then negotiate with the Yang family and inquire about the testimony of the servants in their mansion.”

Su Rongqing listened quietly without speaking. Li Rong looked up and asked, “What does master Su think?”

“Why did Your Highness and lord Pei go to Taibai Yan’s mansion?” Su Rongqing suddenly asked, making Li Rong smile gently, “I should be asking master Su about that. Master Su happened to be in Taibai Yan’s mansion and happened to rescue me. How coincidental is that?”

“There are no coincidences in this world, only intentions,” Su Rongqing said slowly, “I was originally going to Taibai Yan for a reason. I saw the princess and lord Pei at the banquet and didn’t want to meet, so I deliberately avoided them. However, fearing that the princess might be in trouble, I prepared the clothes of a dancer early on, just waiting for the princess to come.”

Li Rong did not expect Su Rongqing to answer so straightforwardly. She gently tapped her fan against her palm and said, “Master Su is only overseeing the investigation in this case. I wonder why master Su is so actively involved in the investigation and even assisting me. I am a bit puzzled.”

Su Rongqing held the tea cup, took a sip, and said, “This humble servant wants to present a written pledge to the princess.”

Li Rong stopped her actions, and when she saw Su Rongqing lifting his eyes, she looked at him quietly, “This humble servant is willing to be driven by Your Highness, wholeheartedly assisting the crown prince. I wonder how Your Highness feels about this?” His gaze was profound as he stared at Li Rong, leaving the question open-ended.

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