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Chapter 29: Li Rong, You Can Scold People, But You Can’t Scare People

Pei Wenxuan’s moment of tenderness left Li Rong stunned. Pei Wenxuan, seeing her dazed, couldn’t help but smile, “What’s wrong with you?”

Li Rong stared at his face for a moment, then raised her head, patted his shoulder, and sighed, “My judgment is indeed quite good.”

Pei Wenxuan was somewhat puzzled, and Li Rong had already entered her own cell with the fan in hand. Her room had already been cleaned, Jinglan and Jingmei inquired about her needs, found nothing else to do, and then left.

Each in their respective cells, they read books, played chess, exchanged a few words, and the days passed by idly.

By evening, Su Rongqing brought a food box and handed it to Li Rong, along with a few scrolls. He then reported the recent events in the court. As Li Rong listened, she lowered her head to look at the scrolls Su Rongqing had given her. After he finished reporting, she didn’t inquire about the court affairs and only said, “The scrolls you gave me seem interesting. I should be able to finish reading them in a few days. Next time, find me something similar.”

Su Rongqing was taken aback for a moment, then agreed, somewhat hesitantly asking, “Does Your Highness have anything you want me to convey?”

“Nothing,” Li Rong said, then thought for a moment before adding, “In the future, you don’t need to come here often. If His Majesty finds out, it won’t be good for you.”

Hearing this, Su Rongqing fell silent, and after a while, he smiled bitterly and said, “Your Highness is right.”

Li Rong nodded without saying more, and Su Rongqing stood at the door of the cell for a while before saying, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

Su Rongqing responded with a casual tone after Su Rongqing respectfully bowed and withdrew.

Once he left, Pei Wenxuan opened his eyes leaning against the wall and said lightly, “Not going to say a few more words?”

“Why bother saying anything?” Li Rong flipped through her notes without lifting her eyes, “Anyway, the person can’t be kept.”

“Li Rong,” Pei Wenxuan sat on the cushion against the wall, his knees bent, one hand on his knee, the other on his leg, and spoke slowly, “Do you really not want to continue your past relationship with Su Rongqing?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Why?” Pei Wenxuan was curious, “Are you still upset that he killed you?”

Li Rong’s movements paused, and she didn’t know how to respond for a moment. Her feelings towards Su Rongqing were much more complicated than those towards Pei Wenxuan.

There was too much love and hatred between them, as well as too many entanglements. With Pei Wenxuan, it was just a matter of liking or not liking. But with Su Rongqing, it was in the middle of love and hate; they were cautious and suspicious of each other, giving their hearts while filled with doubt.

It wasn’t that there were no feelings, and she had even impulsively thought of divorcing Pei Wenxuan. However, Su Rongqing clearly made her see that he didn’t want her impulsive decision.

In the previous life, she was like a cat cautiously exploring this world. Every time she reached out, she encountered the burning flames. Although Su Rongqing’s fire was gentle and beautiful, for her, watching this beautiful fireworks from a distance might be much better than touching it.

She remained silent, and Pei Wenxuan also fell silent. He didn’t know why, but ever since he realized that Li Rong’s understanding of him was different, he wanted to explore Li Rong and understand what kind of person she had become in the twenty-five years he was absent.

Talking about it made him uncomfortable, but he couldn’t help but want to ask.

After a long time, Pei Wenxuan finally said, “If you can’t figure it out, why not talk to me? I can help you analyze it.”

Hearing his words, Li Rong couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re a confused person in matters of the heart yourself, and you want to help me analyze?”

“Not recognizing the true face of Mount Lu is only because one is in this mountain,” Pei Wenxuan felt that Li Rong’s statement was incorrect and immediately retorted, “I may not be able to figure out my own feelings, but it doesn’t mean I can’t help you figure out yours.”

Li Rong laughed upon hearing this, feeling that Pei Wenxuan was like a doctor who couldn’t heal himself, jumping around when questioned about his medical skills.

She was originally too lazy to talk more with him, but with nothing to do in prison, she started chatting casually.

Pei Wenxuan asked, and she answered, detailing the twenty-five years he was absent from her life.

Twenty-five years sounded long, and from dusk to midnight, Pei Wenxuan listened as she spoke. Occasionally, Pei Wenxuan would also talk about his own matters, and Li Rong found it intriguing.

Rain started to fall at night. Pei Wenxuan was talking about how his clansmen speculated that he was incapable due to not having any offspring and how they desperately wanted him to adopt a child. Li Rong, engrossed in the story yet feeling a bit sleepy, listened to the sound of rain. Suddenly, Pei Wenxuan asked, “Did you cover yourself with a blanket?”

Li Rong, somewhat absent-minded, lazily got up, grabbed a blanket from the side, covered herself, and then said, “Covered, continue.”

“Is your leg hurting?” Pei Wenxuan suddenly asked again. Li Rong knew he was thinking about her leg pain on rainy days. She smiled and said, “I’m still young; this little rain doesn’t make it hurt.”

“You were young back then too,” Pei Wenxuan gently said, “Autumn is still prone to pain.”

Li Rong fell silent. She remembered when her legs used to ache on autumn nights. At first, she didn’t tell Pei Wenxuan, but seeing her unable to sleep well and looking unwell in the middle of the night, Pei Wenxuan inquired and found out about the chronic pain she developed from being punished with prolonged kneeling in her youth.

So he learned massage. One rainy night, unable to sleep, Li Rong tossed and turned. Pei Wenxuan got up, covered her with a blanket, and then gently pressed on the acupoints on her legs, asking softly, “Rong Rong, does it still hurt?”

That was the first night she slept peacefully in the autumn rain. At that time, she felt that the matter of marriage was much better than she had expected.

Thinking of her past self and Pei Wenxuan, despite the later unhappy outcomes, she felt a touch of warmth, perhaps due to the distant years.

Pei Wenxuan brought up this matter and continued asking, “Did it still hurt later?”

“It still hurts,” Li Rong sighed lightly.

Pei Wenxuan looked ahead, listening to the gentle rain. “Su Rongqing doesn’t take care of it?”

“He does,” Li Rong said gently, “but as people age, their bodies inevitably decline.”

“He’s still good to you.”

“He is very good, but there’s just too much in between.”

The two fell into silence, momentarily forgetting the initial purpose of their conversation. Li Rong felt a bit drowsy, grabbed the blanket, and got up, saying, “Let’s sleep.”

Then she got up and returned to her bed, wrapped herself in a blanket, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

After Li Chuan left, there was not much for them to do; they mostly just had to wait.

Every day, Jinglan would come to clean the cell for Li Rong and inform her of the outside news. Li Rong asked Jinglan to convey her message to the empress, urging her to cooperate in causing trouble for the emperor and persuading him to recall Li Chuan, regardless of whether she was still in prison.

Only if the empress showed reluctance for Li Chuan to go to the border, would the emperor believe that sending Li Chuan to the border was advantageous to him rather than to Li Chuan.

However, the empress ignored her, which, for Li Ming, indicated a possible disagreement between the empress and Li Rong, or at least, it could be used as an excuse for Li Ming to sow discord between Li Rong and the empress in the future.

The two of them spent their days in the cell, waiting for news, passing the time with idle chatter, games, or reading.

Pei Wenxuan had read extensively, covering various topics, including beauty techniques, pets, and more. In the previous life, aside from political struggles, he had also gathered a lot of miscellaneous information. With nothing to do in the cell, they found that discussing these topics made for decent conversation.

In addition to chatting, they would place a chessboard outside the cell, extending their hands through the bars to play chess. They also played games like rock-paper-scissors, riddles, and when boredom reached its peak, they even played a game to see who could reach out their hand faster.

Li Rong despised Pei Wenxuan for his strength, so Pei Wenxuan was responsible for hiding while she took care of the fighting. Pei Wenxuan was clever and almost never got hit, causing Li Rong’s hands to repeatedly hit the ground, causing pain.

Su Rongqing occasionally came to see Li Rong, bringing reports from the outside world each time, respectfully and without any noticeable faults.

Pei Wenxuan initially felt a pain in his chest when he saw Su Rongqing, but he thought he should learn to face Su Rongqing with generosity and openness. With constant self-hypnosis, he managed to ease the tension a bit. At least, when he met Su Rongqing, he could somewhat control his emotions and refrain from mocking remarks.

In prison, time passed by, and it had been a month and a half. When he entered, it was the end of the fragrant season, and now he could hear the lotus flowers blooming.

At this time, good news finally came from the front lines. Li Chuan not only held the front lines but also captured three cities. The Yang family members, who collaborated with the enemy, were arrested by Li Chuan and sent with evidence to Hua Jing.

Li Rong received this news at noon. Su Rongqing got the news in the morning court session and immediately rushed over to inform Li Rong. Li Rong remained calm and lightly tapped her hand with a folding fan, saying, “Lord Su is considerate. I am aware of this matter, but I am still under suspicion. I cannot temporarily manage these external matters.”

Hearing this, Su Rongqing’s expression changed, but after a moment, he lowered his head and respectfully saluted, saying, “It’s good that Your Highness knows about it. I am just here to inform.”

Li Rong acknowledged with a nod, and Su Rongqing, seeing that Li Rong was as cold as usual, retreated.

As soon as he left, Pei Wenxuan smiled, “Lord Su deals with this hard nut every day. I feel a bit sorry for Lord Su.”

“You better feel sorry for yourself.” Li Rong retorted while contemplating the next steps.

After a while, Li Rong stood up. Now that Li Chuan had brought the Yang family members, it was time for her to take action. She approached the desk, thinking about how to write the report.

The Yang family’s case had come to a critical point, and she needed to request release from prison to continue investigating Yang Quan’s case. However, if she wrote this report herself, she feared that Li Ming would suspect her of colluding with Li Chuan to do this.

After much thought, she realized that she might need to seek help from Pei Wenxuan.

After hesitating for a moment, she went to the corner and called Pei Wenxuan, “Pei Wenxuan, come quickly, help me out.”

Pei Wenxuan had been leaning against the wall, waiting for her. When he heard that she had finally arrived, he lightly tapped his shoulder with a folding fan and leisurely said, “Your Highness is joking. I am a pitiful person. Where can I help Your Highness?”

“Don’t be sarcastic,” Li Rong, fearing his retaliation, quickly said, “This is a serious matter. Don’t mess around with me.”

“Your Highness just mentioned that I’m pitiful, and now you want to use me. I don’t understand Your Highness’s intentions,” Pei Wenxuan replied.

Li Rong understood; if she didn’t humble herself a bit, Pei Wenxuan might make things difficult for her all night.

Glancing at the side, she saw Pei Wenxuan’s clothes squeezing out from the wooden fence, confirming that he had been waiting for her against the wall. After a moment of thought, she reached out and grabbed the hem of Pei Wenxuan’s clothes.

Pei Wenxuan looked puzzled, but then he heard a sweet voice from the next door, “Brother Pei~~”

Pei Wenxuan trembled, and the fan fell to the ground in fright.

Hearing the sound of the fan falling, Li Rong burst into laughter, and Pei Wenxuan felt helpless.

“Li Rong, you can scold people, but you can’t scare them like this.”

“Don’t waste time, will you write it or not?”

Pei Wenxuan, dealing with Li Rong’s temper, raised his hand to support his forehead, sighing, “Alright, alright, this young master is magnanimous and doesn’t quibble with women. Since you called me ‘brother,’ I’ll help you with this favor.”

As he spoke, Pei Wenxuan emphasized his tone, saying, “My Rong, Rong, my princess.”

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