Chapter 35: I Have A Gift And Wish To Present It To Your Highness

“When thoughts don’t meet, promise blossoms.”

Pei Wenxuan looked up at the words above, chuckled as he lowered his head to the tea cup, “In the last life, you wrote poems with me during the southern expedition. Su Rongqing is still practicing poetry now?”

Pei Wenxuan had keen eyes and could instantly tell which line Li Rong truly wrote. Li Rong cleared her throat lightly, maintaining composure, “Just jotted it down; I’ve written all kinds of memorable poems.”

She hurriedly added, “I’ve written one for you too.”

Pei Wenxuan glanced at her indifferently, not delving deeper, simply saying, “The original name of ‘Luo Shen Fu’ is ‘Gan Xiong Fu.’ Many people say that Cao Zhi wrote it in sorrow for the death of Lady Zhen. ‘Luo Shen’ secretly refers to Lady Zhen. Now that you’re about to get married, in the eyes of others, you might be this ‘Luo Shen.’”

“By the water pavilion, we agreed, but couldn’t meet the enchanting goddess,” Pei Wenxuan mocked with a smile, “Luckily, you’ve hidden it well. Otherwise, you might have jumped into this lake today, and the gossip would be hard to wash away.”

“So I have an idea,” Li Rong, aware that Pei Wenxuan was annoyed by her boldness, shook her fan and said, “Didn’t I ask you to leave me a letter earlier? The methods in the harem are limited – it’s either poisoning or catching infidelity. You can rest assured that nothing major will happen.”

“Do you still remember how you died?” Pei Wenxuan, seeing her attitude, couldn’t help but remind her. Li Rong smiled lightly, “That’s why I haven’t learned my lesson. The key is to clean up the people around me, right?”

Pei Wenxuan fell silent, and as Li Rong leaned forward to grab a cup, raising a small cup to her lips, Pei Wenxuan suddenly asked, “Why do you think Su Rongqing came?”

Li Rong didn’t speak. She sipped her tea, listening to Pei Wenxuan say, “With his intelligence, why would he risk coming to the Inner Palace?”

“What do you want to say?”

Li Rong put down her cup, smiling somewhat helplessly. Pei Wenxuan looked at her and said, “Have you ever thought…”

“No.”

Li Rong interrupted him, looking at him seriously. “I know what you want to say. You want to say that Su Rongqing likes me. But whether he likes me or not, in the previous life or this life, it doesn’t matter at this moment.”

“Because you are bethored to me.”

Pei Wenxuan calmly looked at her. Li Rong was a bit annoyed. She fanned herself and said, “Yes, that’s a fact now. So, Pei Wenxuan, I suggest you wash your clever little head in the water and stop thinking about irrelevant things. Don’t say that Su Rongqing can’t possibly like me; even if he does like me,” Li Rong looked at him and continued, “his feelings would only stay in his heart. He would never do anything detrimental to his family. Do you understand?”

Pei Wenxuan remained silent. Li Rong raised her hand to support her forehead. “If you have nothing else, go quickly. I see you have a headache. Also,” Li Rong looked up and stared at him, “even if we argue, don’t go back and spend money recklessly.”

She wasn’t worried about anything else, but Li Rong was concerned about her own money. Although she had her own fief, it wasn’t particularly abundant. Taking care of so many people in the princess’s mansion on a regular basis, and now setting up a dark network for Pei Wenxuan, maintaining secret guards—all of these cost money.

Pei Wenxuan didn’t speak. He stood up, bowed, and prepared to leave.

When he reached the door, Pei Wenxuan suddenly stopped. He had his back to Li Rong, looking outside the corridor, and suddenly said, “Li Rong, do you think you’ve always been right?”

Li Rong was startled. Pei Wenxuan continued, “If Su Rongqing is really the person you think he is, he wouldn’t have entered the palace today. Do you really know what the twenty-year-old Su Rongqing is like?”

“Whatever he’s like,” Li Rong said coldly, “has nothing to do with me. If you mention ‘Su’ again, I’ll have you thrown into the lake today!”

“Suo Rongqing, Suo Rongqing, Suo Rongqing.”

Pei Wenxuan quickly spoke, repeating it three times, then turned to look at her. “You can have someone throw me into the lake now.”

Li Rong: “…”

“Pei Wenxuan,” Li Rong laughed. She gripped her fan tightly. “If you dare to marry me, as soon as you enter my princess’s mansion…”

“I’ll jump into the Quiet Heart Lake myself.”

Pei Wenxuan turned and left, saying lightly, “Every day, once.”

The Quiet Heart Lake was in the backyard of the princess’s mansion. Hearing this, Li Rong suddenly felt dizzy with anger. She tried to stand up to chase after Pei Wenxuan and scold him. However, as she stood up, she regained some clarity. She was in the Imperial Garden, not a market woman. What was the point of arguing with him?

Li Rong quickly fanned herself with the fan, trying to use the cold wind to calm herself down. Jinglan walked in, seeing Li Rong’s expression, couldn’t help but laugh. “Did lord Pei anger you again, Your Highness?”

“Troublesome man.”

Li Rong shook her head. “I can’t lower myself to the level of a troublesome man.”

Pei Wenxuan, the troublesome man, walked out from the waterside pavilion. When he reached the forest path, he suddenly stopped. He turned around to look at the pavilion and saw Li Rong walking out, chatting and laughing with someone. He regretted it for a moment.

Originally, when he came out this morning, he wanted to ask her which set of wedding attire she had chosen. They had argued about Suo Rongqing today, and he had completely forgotten about it after seeing her. In the morning, he was somewhat happy about the matter, but now, for some reason, he felt like he didn’t want to think about it anymore.

He chose the wedding attire that she had worn in the previous life. They got married two months earlier in the previous life, and the Ministry of Rites had prepared only one set. Now, with more time for preparation, they made an extra set. He liked familiar things, so he chose the familiar one. He didn’t know what Li Rong had chosen, but at this moment, he strangely felt that it didn’t matter what she chose.

He clearly knew that regardless of what Li Rong wore, marrying him was just a prelude to their eventual separation.

This was not a wedding, but a transaction.

In this transaction, all Li Rong wanted was power and protection; everything else was inconsequential.

Pei Wenxuan took a deep breath, dismissing further thoughts, and returned to his official duties. He repeatedly reviewed his documents.

After the argument with Li Rong, she returned to her own palace. When she arrived, still seething with anger, she gathered her attendants and had them report today’s situation one by one. She rewarded some and punished others, dragging Qiu Feng out to be beaten. In less than an afternoon of interrogation, Qiu Feng confessed.

It turned out that Chang Le privately bribed Qiu Feng, preventing her from reporting consort Rou’s orders to Li Rong. Qiu Feng also stole Li Rong’s unsent letter.

Li Rong couldn’t help but find it amusing. She didn’t know whether to say Qiu Feng was lucky or unlucky, as she happened to steal the one about Su Rongqing. If she had stolen something else, perhaps Pei Wenxuan wouldn’t be as furious, and Li Rong’s life would be easier.

Feeling a bit helpless, Li Rong had Qiu Feng taken away. After a short break, listening to the cries and sobs in the courtyard, Jinglan approached and brought her a bowl of sweet soup. Tentatively, she asked, “Your Highness, after dealing with the people in the palace, is there anything else you’d like to do?”

Although Chang Le was under house arrest, Li Rong had previously made it clear that this matter was still related to consort Rou.

After thinking for a moment, Li Rong spoke slowly, “Today, Chang Le has caused trouble. The emperor’s mood must not be good. Will Your Highness still go to consort Rou’s place today?”

“Yes,” Jinglan whispered. “When His Majesty is upset, he always goes to consort Rou’s place.”

“You have the hand-copied book of Filial Piety that Hua Yue copied earlier framed,” Li Rong immediately said. “Later, send it to the consort Say that I heard her health has not been good lately, and as His Majesty mentioned, the scriptures copied by princess Hua Yue have spiritual energy. I will send her a painting as a gift.”

“Does Your Highness mean?”

“Consort Rou has given me such a ‘gift,’” Li Rong chuckled lightly. “I have to make her aware, knock on the mountain to startle the tiger. If you act like a rabbit for too long, others will think you won’t bite.”

Jinglan responded and, following Li Rong’s instructions, had the “Classic of Filial Piety” framed and sent it to the empress dowager. 

The empress dowager took a glance at it and directly bestowed the “Classic of Filial Piety” upon concubine Rou. That night, news spread that Li Ming had confined princess Chang Le and ordered her to transcribe the scripture one hundred times.

Li Rong received this news while soaking her feet and heard Jingmei vividly describe, “When His Majesty entered, he seemed fine upon seeing the ‘Classic of Filial Piety’ on the wall. However, after seeing that it was princess Chang Le who was named, he immediately flew into a rage. He scolded, ‘None of you can behave properly; you can’t even transcribe a scripture and need someone else to do it for you.’ Princess Chang Le was scolded to tears on the spot.”

“Not a big deal,” Jinglan sighed beside her. “Princess Chang Le is indeed too delicate.”

“Exactly,” Jingmei spoke bluntly. “Spoiled.”

As soon as the words were spoken, both of them quickly glanced at Li Rong, who was seen holding her head high, humming a tune with satisfaction.

Seeing that Li Rong was not displeased, the two of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After dealing with the matter for the day, Li Rong felt quite content. She ate well and slept soundly every day. However, Pei Wenxuan was feeling a bit uncomfortable.

During the day, he could manage his work, but as the night grew quiet, his thoughts became somewhat scattered.

For two consecutive nights, he dreamt of his past life. He dreamt of hearing the news of Li Rong’s punishment, rushing over each time. In the dream, he didn’t know what happened, but he just knew he had to be faster each time. Yet, every time he frantically ran over, he would see two people kneeling and standing.

The two people stood together, seemingly oblivious to everyone around them.

He was like a wandering ghost, hovering around them for what felt like half a lifetime.

Sometimes he would see them drinking in the corridor, sometimes playing chess, sometimes caught in heavy rain. Su Rongqing held an umbrella, and Li Rong ran towards him, squeezing next to him and lifting her hand to hold his arm.

The dreams were not long, so he would always wake up in the middle of the night. Upon waking up, he would find an empty room, moonlight streaming in, just like countless nights in his previous life.

In this loneliness, he would feel fear and shame. As the wedding date approached, this embarrassment became even more apparent.

He vaguely knew what he cared about, yet was reluctant to confront it.

He felt like a thief, as if he had stolen something.

The Li Rong from the previous life was actually different from him.

He became more and more narrow-minded as he lived on, until the rebirth, where he saw clouds, moon, and mountain sparrows, heard the gentle breeze of youth. In the pursuit of an illusionary dream in the Taibai mansion, he suddenly realized the wrong path he had taken.

However, the Li Rong from the previous life, in terms of mentality, was much broader than him.

Except for the moment before her death, Li Rong’s later life was probably happy.

He had seen Su Rongqing taking care of Li Rong, witnessed their love.

Li Rong said she would never be with Su Rongqing in this lifetime because she was old, unable to appreciate a twenty-year-old Su Rongqing.

But in reality, Pei Wenxuan knew that deep down, Li Rong might have a kind of inherent fear.

She feared repeating the same mistakes, and in her imagination, Su Rongqing was calm to the point of being emotionless. However, Pei Wenxuan knew that this bias was just an extreme self-protection mechanism for Li Rong.

A Su Rongqing who was disturbed by letters and lost in thoughts, how could he be the cold-blooded tool that Li Rong imagined, devoid of any family possessions?

Su Rongqing was doing well.

Even better than Li Rong had imagined.

It’s just that Li Rong dared not think about it. And Pei Wenxuan happened to exploit this loophole and obtained a marriage decree. This marriage of his was originally gained at the expense of Li Rong’s misfortune.

In the midst of Li Rong’s misfortune, how could he sleep peacefully and turn a blind eye?

Pei Wenxuan became more and more clear-headed at night, holding himself together during the day to work. Everyone who saw him congratulated him, and Pei Wenxuan kept a composed face, smiling and accepting all the congratulations. According to the customs of Daxia, he distributed money to everyone who came to offer blessings.

However, he didn’t expect that as he distributed money all the way to the end, he would actually encounter Su Rongqing.

When he saw Su Rongqing, he couldn’t help but be stunned. Su Rongqing smiled and held out his hand, saying, “Lord Pei, could it be that you don’t want to give this congratulatory gift to me?”

“Where?” Pei Wenxuan quickly came to his senses and said, “I just didn’t expect lord Su to be here. Isn’t lord Su usually in the office?”

“Just passing by, saw everyone here, so I came to join the fun.”

Listening to this, Pei Wenxuan handed the congratulatory money to Su Rongqing. Su Rongqing looked at the silver in his hand and said seriously, “Wishing you a hundred years of happiness.”

“Thank you.”

“Now that you’re promised,” Su Rongqing half-jokingly said, “you should make it clear with other ladies, don’t offend the princess.” 

Pei Wenxuan was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at Su Rongqing. Seeing him in a daze, Su Rongqing quickly added, “Just kidding, don’t take it seriously.”

It was a joke, but it did mark the beginning of his estrangement with Li Rong years ago.

Su Rongqing paid his respects, intending to leave the crowd. Suddenly, Pei Wenxuan called out to him, “Lord Su.”

Su Rongqing turned around, and Pei Wenxuan seriously asked, “If your wife conflicts with your family, what would you do?”

Su Rongqing didn’t expect Pei Wenxuan to suddenly ask this question. Someone beside them hurriedly said, “Isn’t lord Pei on a pilgrimage? If the princess and the family have a conflict, just endure it.”

With this diversion, Pei Wenxuan’s question didn’t seem strange. Pei Wenxuan stared at Su Rongqing, and after some thought, Su Rongqing finally said, “See who is right. I’ll stand on the side of whoever is right.”

“Don’t you value your family more?” Pei Wenxuan hurriedly asked.

“Isn’t a wife part of the family?” Su Rongqing countered.

Pei Wenxuan remained silent, and Su Rongqing smiled, saluted, and walked away.

“Lord Pei,” someone next to him pushed Pei Wenxuan, “hurry, may you have a noble son soon.”

Pei Wenxuan smiled, somewhat helpless, and began to distribute money again.

After giving out the money, it was almost nighttime. As Pei Wenxuan left the government office, he saw the steward of the princess’s mansion standing at the door. Seeing him, Pei Wenxuan’s heart skipped a beat.

On weekdays, seeing each other wasn’t a big deal, but today, he felt a bit uneasy upon meeting.

However, he forced himself to remain calm, walked forward, and greeted the other person, “What wind blew the esteemed one here today?”

“The princess is marrying you tomorrow. Considering your busy schedule today and the inconvenience of going to the princess’s mansion, I came over.”

The other person smiled, “The princess has a message for you.”

With that, the other person handed a letter to Pei Wenxuan.

The letter contained Li Rong’s admonition, roughly stating that they were getting married, and since he had nothing to do today, she felt a bit annoyed. She hoped he would behave well at the wedding tomorrow and not embarrass her. Otherwise, instead of letting him jump into the lake, she would directly sink him into it.

Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong’s letter and couldn’t help but smile.

The steward from the princess’s mansion stood aside, couldn’t help but say, “Her Highness, did she say something joyous again?”

“No, ” Pei Wenxuan put away the letter and said directly, “She scolded me.”

“Your Highness has always had this temperament,” the other person understood quite well, “She scolds those she cares about; those she dislikes, she doesn’t bother with.”

“Then I have to thank Her Highness for the appreciation.”

“Her Highness is a good girl,” the other person suddenly changed the topic, sounding like an elder, and advised gently, “Although she is a princess, she is not an arrogant and rude person. Even without her princess status, she would still be an excellent wife. Although it seems like she scolds master Pei all the time, the princess often instructs us to make soft food because master Pei has a weak stomach. The tea you drank when you came, the princess specifically instructed us, saying it’s the tea you always love.”

Pei Wenxuan listened quietly to these trivial matters. After a moment, he chuckled softly, “I thought she disliked me when she scolded me all the time.”

“Master Pei is joking,” the other person shook their head, “The princess has said before that now she treats you well. She also hopes that you will have a good life.”

Pei Wenxuan remained silent. Hearing the words “have a good life,” for ordinary people, it might be just a casual remark. But Pei Wenxuan knew clearly that when Li Rong said these words, she meant it—she hoped he would lead a good life.

In their previous life, none of them were happy, especially him—alone and lonely.

Li Rong, she’s strong when faced with strength. Treat her poorly, and she’ll respond with sharpness. But if you show her even a little kindness, she becomes incredibly soft and entwines around your heart.

Pei Wenxuan felt a bit uncomfortable inside, as if something was stuck in his chest, unable to come out or go down. After a while, he spoke hoarsely, “I feel the same.”

“I hope, Your Highness, that in this lifetime, you can lead a good life.”

“If everyone thinks that way, then I can be reassured,” the steward lightly chuckled.

With that, he looked up at the sky and said, “If there’s nothing else, my lord, please go back and prepare.”

“My lord,” Pei Wenxuan called him back, “Could I trouble you to convey a message to the princess for me?”

“Hmm?”

“Just tell her,” Pei Wenxuan smiled, “I have a gift that she has been anticipating for a long time, and I’ll give it to her tomorrow. When she sees it,” Pei Wenxuan’s voice softened, “let her not feel too grateful to me.”

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