Chapter 46: You Are Not Willful, You Are Just Not Strong Enough

Li Rong spent the night at the princess’s residence. Early the next morning, she received a summons from the palace.

She was already prepared, and as soon as the palace messenger arrived, she followed the attendants into the palace. She knew well that by disrupting the situation between consort Rou and the empress yesterday, things couldn’t be easily resolved.

As she pondered how to handle the empress’s inquiries on the way, she quickly arrived at the palace. Upon entering the Wei Yng Palace, she saw Li Chuan kneeling on the ground, and the empress sitting on a high seat, covering her forehead as if suffering from a headache. The people in the hall had already left, leaving only the mother and son in the center of the grand hall. After Li Rong entered, she smiled and said, “What’s going on? Last time I came, it was like this, and now it’s the same. Did you two have another quarrel?”

“How dare you say that?!” Upon hearing Li Rong’s voice, Shangguan Yue shouted, “Kneel!”

If Li Rong were younger, hearing Shangguan Yue’s outburst would have made her panic. Fortunately, with her mature temperament in her fifties, she knelt calmly, smiling, and said, “What’s the matter with the empress mother today? Why such anger?”

Shangguan Yue, hearing Li Rong pretending not to understand, lifted her head with a cold gaze and stared at Li Rong. “Must we be so hypocritical, even as mother and son?”

Seeing Shangguan Yue’s cooled expression, Li Rong put away her smile.

“What did you mean last night?”

“Consider it a question for the empress mother,” Li Rong calmly responded. “What did the empress mother mean?”

“The palace’s intentions are clear!” Shangguan Yue shouted angrily. “I want Shangguan Ya to be the crown princess! I had already informed Chuan to choose Ya’s incense. Why did you come in and disrupt everything? He is the crown prince!” Shangguan Yue pointed to Li Chuan and glared at Li Rong with anger. “He is causing trouble, and are you going to follow suit?!”

“It’s my fault,” Li Chuan, hearing Shangguan Yue scolding, immediately kowtowed on the ground and hastily said, “It has nothing to do with my sister. It’s my fault. I asked my sister for help. Please, empress mother, calm your anger.”

Li Rong understood it now. Li Chuan had taken all the blame, saying that he asked her to do what she did last night.

Shangguan Yue, furious, stood up and paced back and forth on the elevated platform, scolding as she walked, “What a great opportunity last night, and you wasted it like this! Are you crazy or just stupid? Your father has been suppressing your marriage with Ah’Ya, and last night, everything was prepared. As long as you chose Ah’Ya’s incense, your uncle would have brought people out to force out an imperial decree on the spot. Why did you choose your sister? Do you know how much effort it takes to get such an opportunity again?!”

“Please, mother, calm your anger,” Li Chuan repeated, kneeling on the ground without getting up.

Li Rong looked at Shangguan Yue getting angry above, and there was an indescribable sense of humiliation welling up in her heart. Even though this person was her mother, she didn’t know why, but seeing Li Chuan kneeling quietly and listening to the scolding, she felt pity and sadness.

“What are you thinking? If you refuse to cooperate with the Yang family, that’s one thing. But now, even the Shangguan family, are you going to abandon them?! Family alliances are such significant matters. If you don’t marry Ya’er, how can your uncle trust you?”

“Not marrying a woman, and he won’t trust anymore?”

Li Rong suddenly spoke out, Shangguan Yue and Li Chuan were both stunned. Li Chuan lifted his head, looking at Li Rong in surprise, and said, “Sister?”

“What’s wrong with Chuan’er?” Li Rong calmly spoke, looking at Shangguan Yue, “The conflict between the father and us has originated from where, don’t you understand?! Now that the Shangguan family is already the empress for three dynasties, why is there still a conflict with us?”

“So we must be bound together!” Shangguan Yue leaned forward, staring at Li Rong. “Do you think Chuan’er has any way out? He is a child of the Shangguan family, destined to have no way out.”

“Since we are so tightly bound, we must rely on the Shangguan family. What’s so assured about our uncle? Why must we bring them together in marriage? What value? What significance?”

This question left Shangguan Yue dumbfounded. Li Rong looked at her and calmly said, “Mother, in fact, we all understand. Your brother doesn’t want the position of the crown princess; he wants the position of the empress. In every generation of the Li family, half of the Shangguan family’s bloodline is preserved. Now that you are already part of the Shangguan family, what your uncle wants from Chuan’er is the future.”

“But this is the world of the Li family,” Li Rong earnestly looked at Shangguan Yue. “The Shangguan family should withdraw.”

“What are you saying?” Shangguan Yue looked at Li Rong in disbelief. “Say it again?”

“I said,” Li Rong raised her voice, “if the Shangguan family still wants to be well, it should withdraw!”

The entire room fell into sudden silence. Shangguan Yue stared blankly at Li Rong. Li Rong stood up, her expression composed. “When the water overflows, it’s already full, and when it is at its peak, it should decline.”

She looked at Shangguan Yue with a calm expression. “Mother, the emperor will not tolerate Shangguan Ya becoming Chuan’er’s crown princess. Once Shangguan Ya becomes Chuan’er’s crown princess, the emperor will never allow Chuan’er to ascend the throne. He cannot tolerate it. The next emperor will not have an empress from the Shangguan family.”

“Let the Shangguan family gradually withdraw from the imperial city, mother,” Li Rong whispered, “it’s better for everyone.”

Shangguan Yue stood dazed on the high platform. Li Rong turned to look at Li Chuan and calmly said, “Get up, let’s go.”

Li Chuan glanced at Shangguan Yue. Seeing his hesitating expression, Li Rong shouted loudly, “Get up!”

Startled by Li Rong’s command, Li Chuan quickly got up. Li Rong nodded slightly towards Shangguan Yue and then said, “Mother, we’ll take our leave for now.”

After saying this, Li Rong led Li Chuan out.

Once they were outside the Wei Yang Palace, Li Chuan still seemed a bit dazed. After walking a considerable distance, he suddenly snapped back to reality and exclaimed, “Sister, you were amazing just now!”

Li Rong glared at him, tapping his head with the fan, “No backbone.”

Li Chuan, despite being hit on the head, remained happy. He followed Li Rong, trying to restrain himself. However, one could still sense the excitement in his emotions. “I really didn’t expect you to say that. I always thought sister Ya was against my thoughts and would help mother to advise me.”

Li Rong and Li Chuan strolled into the Imperial Garden. As she listened to Li Chuan, her expression became somewhat trance-like.

In the previous life, Li Chuan did marry Shangguan Ya and four concubines under her persuasion. Back then, she thought Li Chuan was stubborn, but now, looking back, she felt her own naivety.

No one would wholeheartedly assist someone merely for a marriage. In the conflict of interests between Qin and Jin, what significance did a woman hold?

Whether Li Chuan married Ah’Ya or not, as long as their core interests aligned, the Guan family would inevitably be tied to Li Chuan. For Li Chuan, marrying miss Guan was entirely harmful and without benefit.

However, when miss Guan deceived them with her youth, threatening not to support Li Chuan, she had not yet seen through the true intentions of all parties in the court. That was why she was constrained by others.

Her thoughts wandered, and Li Chuan continued to chatter about the specific events of the previous night. After a while, he cautiously spoke, “Sis, why did you suddenly help me?”

“Haven’t I always been helping you?”

“Not this kind of help,” Li Chuan pondered and described, “It’s like you suddenly know what I’m thinking. You wouldn’t have helped me with this before; you would have followed mother to cause trouble for me.”

“If I caused you trouble, would you accept it?”

Upon hearing this, Li Chuan remained silent. Li Rong, turning her head, saw Li Chuan lowering his head, seemingly feeling guilty.

“Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Actually, it was indeed my stubbornness,” Li Chuan smiled bitterly. “You didn’t choose the person you married, so why should I have such a privilege? Forget it, let’s not talk about it. I’m happy that you’re helping me. Let’s find a day, and I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Li Rong listened to his words, lowering her head with a smile. They stopped in front of a waterside pavilion, and after some thought, Li Rong spoke slowly, “Chuan, you’re not being stubborn; you’re just not strong enough.”

Li Chuan turned to look at Li Rong, and she calmly said, “People only have the right to choose when they are strong enough. I will always support your right to choose, but the premise is that you have the ability.”

“So,” Li Chuan gazed at Li Rong, “if I have the ability to do this without harming those who shouldn’t be harmed, then sister won’t think I’m wrong, right?”

“As long as you don’t think you’re wrong,” Li Rong shifted her gaze from the view and looked at Li Chuan, smiling. “Even if I think you’re wrong, it doesn’t matter because I’m not always right.”

“What if my thoughts are different from yours?” Li Chuan asked seriously, his eyes showing a hint of anxiety.

Li Rong looked at the young man before her, vaguely seeing a glimpse of the future Li Chuan in him.

She suddenly realized that the young Li Chuan of the past walked a lonely path. His father hated him, his mother used him, and his sister stood on the opposite side, never supporting him, let alone understanding him.

Li Rong silently observed him, and after a long time, she spoke softly, “Even if one day, our thoughts differ, you are still my brother.”

“I will never give up on you.”

Li Chuan listened to Li Rong’s words, and somehow, he found his eyes welling up with tears.

Realizing his emotional display, he lowered his head, chuckling as if somewhat embarrassed, and spoke in a choked voice, “I’m sorry, sis. I just… I just feel you’re too good. I couldn’t protect you.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “I’m sorry.”

The young man worried about Li Rong and the future, eager to bring peace to all directions. However, before he even matured, his sister was forced to marry someone she didn’t love.

Hearing the guilt in Li Chuan’s words, Li Rong hesitated for a moment and then said, “Actually… Pei Wenxuan is not bad.”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Li Rong smiled. “I married quite well.”

Li Chuan laughed out loud, “I can feel it.”

Li Rong raised an eyebrow, “Hmm?”

“I feel that since you got married,” Li Chuan looked up at her, “you’ve been laughing more and more.”

Li Rong was a bit stunned, and just at that moment, a servant hurried over from a small path, respectfully saying, “Princess, your husband is waiting at the gate to escort you. He said he’s here to pick you up.”

“He’s annoying, is he not!” Upon hearing this, Li Chuan immediately responded, “Am I not going to escort my sister back? Let him roll!”

“Your Highness,” the voice of Pei Wenxuan rang out from nearby, “Your Highness is busy with affairs; let’s not trouble Your Highness.”

“Are you busy or not? Are you idle? If you’re free, talk to me, I have plenty of tasks for you to do!”

Li Rong, hearing Li Chuan scolding, couldn’t help but laugh. Pei Wenxuan smiled without saying a word, then turned to Li Rong and explained, “Just got out of the court, heard you were in the palace, so I thought of accompanying you back.”

“Alright,” Li Rong nodded, turned to Li Chuan, and said, “We’re leaving first; you can escort us next time.”

“When will you be free, sister? Let me know,” Li Chuan hastily said, “I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Li Rong waved her hand without facing him, “Anytime.”

The two walked out of the palace gate together. Li Chuan watched their figures for a long time and couldn’t help but laugh.

Meanwhile, in the Wei Yang Palace, Shangguan Yue was also crying.

She regained her composure, and her nurse Cuiyu whispered, “Don’t be too sad, empress. The princess and the crown prince are grown up now, in the prime of their youth. Don’t bother with them; they will understand your efforts later.”

“It’s fine if Rong’er is like this,” Shangguan Yue cried, “after all, she has married, and it doesn’t matter much to the palace. But Chuan’er, in this state, how can I face my brother?”

“Consort, don’t overthink it. His Royal Highness the crown prince has always been filial, and there must be a reason for this sudden rebellion.”

This remark woke up Shangguan Yue, and she suddenly reacted, “Why is he so resistant to marriage? Does he have someone else in his heart?”

Cuiyu, pouring tea from the side, respectfully said, “Your Highness, the crown prince is not young anymore, and having various entanglements is common. It’s possible that someone has influenced his thoughts.”

Shangguan Yue pondered for a moment, then immediately said, “Send someone to investigate if there is any suspicious woman around the crown prince recently. Check where he has been, what he has done, and whom he has met. Have everyone around him report back to me!”

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