Chapter 70: Trust There Are Good People, But Always Expect The Worst

Pei Wenxuan no longer wanted to be a couple with her in name only, to be mere friends in reality. He truly wanted to be her partner, her true ally, a pair of mandarin ducks.

Pei Wenxuan wanted to marry her; he wanted her to have him in her heart.

It wasn’t strange that he had such thoughts. When she first met him after being reborn, she had already thought that he might have such an idea.

After all, being bound to her brought him many benefits. Pei Wenxuan didn’t know that she had been reborn and wanted to marry him. He didn’t know that she was also reborn, that she had methods, that she knew her future. If not for emotional considerations, from a purely pragmatic perspective, not eliminating her would naturally mean using her.

And what’s the best way to use a woman? To marry her, ideally making her wholeheartedly love him. In a world where a woman marries and follows her husband, even if she’s a princess, once her heart belongs to a man, everything about her will belong to him.

But they had revealed their identities to each other early on. Pei Wenxuan disliked her, so he was unwilling. Later, even when they reconciled—after all, they were old friends—he let go of this thought.

But now Pei Wenxuan suddenly wanted to do this. What was he aiming for?

Based on her understanding of Pei Wenxuan, this person, although somewhat straightforward in character, was much better than the other unscrupulous politicians. But he was still the highest-ranking official since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, the only one to hold the title of Minister of Personnel. Calling him “Prime Minister” would be an insult.

After all, the Minister of Personnel was traditionally held by the left and right deputy ministers, but Pei Wenxuan had reached that position, which made him second only to the emperor. For someone like him, to rely on his feelings might be too naive.

Thus, the reason he wanted to marry her was probably three parts emotion, seven parts calculation. In essence, it was because he was worried that she might have feelings for Su Rongqing and lean toward the aristocracy.

If she were an ordinary princess, Pei Wenxuan might not care. But she was Li Rong, and she had already established the Supervisory Division, holding significant power.

Everything now was different from her previous life. Su Rongqing had already taken a clear stance and even actively sought to marry her. All of this posed a threat to Pei Wenxuan, who had plans based on the common people.

In the past, he might not have wanted to win her over emotionally due to the grudge they had in their past life. He had also thought that Su Rongqing’s relationship with her could wait until he had more influence. So, as a friend, he wanted to help her and Su Rongqing.

But after spending time together, Pei Wenxuan had probably developed some affection for her. With Su Rongqing’s stance becoming more apparent and her power increasing after the establishment of the Supervisory Division, Pei Wenxuan no longer hesitated to use whatever means necessary to stabilize her position.

Thinking this way, Pei Wenxuan understood that it wasn’t entirely fair to her. However, if she didn’t think this way, when things went wrong, it wouldn’t just be about regretting wrongly accusing others but about blaming herself for being foolish.

Just like… back then.

At eighteen, Li Rong had never thought there would be someone who could make you feel like they liked you on the surface, but it was never truly from the heart.

Even if Pei Wenxuan later explained everything, the moment she realized she had been overly sentimental became a lesson that Li Rong would never forget.

This taught her that while one could believe that there are good people in this world, it’s better to always think the worst, as it would rarely go wrong.

Because of this, she had survived in the ever-changing political world and had done well until now.

Thinking of this, the stirring in Li Rong’s heart caused by Pei Wenxuan’s earlier actions gradually settled.

She felt Pei Wenxuan’s even breathing behind her, and as she gently pushed him, he had already fallen asleep. She easily pushed him aside, wrapped herself in the blanket, and calmed her mind.

She didn’t need to care about any of this. Whether Pei Wenxuan wanted to be friends or wanted to be husband and wife, it was his business, and had nothing to do with her.

She just needed to pretend she didn’t know anything, stay still, and watch how this old rascal would make his move.

Li Rong closed her eyes and didn’t think much more about it. She fell asleep again with Pei Wenxuan, and they both slept until morning.

Li Rong slept deeply, but in the morning, she vaguely heard Jinglan calling her to get up. She didn’t really wake up.

It was nearing winter, and waking up from the warm bed in the morning required extra courage. Li Rong vaguely heard Pei Wenxuan get up first, then light the lamp.

She slowly woke up in the light and felt someone drape a piece of clothing over her.

The clothes were warm. Pei Wenxuan wrapped her up and helped her sit up. As she adjusted to the light, she saw Pei Wenxuan wearing a coat, holding her clothes, and helping her get dressed.

Seeing that Li Rong had woken up, Pei Wenxuan smiled and asked, “Your Highness, are you awake?”

Li Rong closed her eyes again, looking very sleepy, nodding slightly and murmuring, “Good morning.”

Pei Wenxuan gently placed her hand into the sleeve, as though dressing a child. His movements were tender, and Li Rong couldn’t help but feel an urge to lean into him, but she held herself back and steeled herself. With his help, she got out of bed.

Pei Wenxuan called for someone to come in and assist Li Rong with her washing. After they finished washing up, they casually ate something. Li Rong became much more awake. She then had Jinglan bring her the memorial, and she left with Pei Wenxuan.

The cold winter morning wind completely woke Li Rong up. Pei Wenxuan noticed the memorial in her hands and asked gently, “Your Highness, are you prepared for today?”

“Mmm.” Li Rong hugged the memorial and responded softly.

Pei Wenxuan helped her into the carriage and followed her inside. He extended his clean hand toward her. “Your Highness, would you let me take a look?”

Li Rong hesitated for a moment, and Pei Wenxuan chuckled. “What, Your Highness is worried that I might speak out about it?”

“It’s not that.” Li Rong smiled and handed him the memorial. “I’m just afraid you won’t agree.”

Pei Wenxuan took it without saying more. He opened the memorial and quickly scanned through it.

Li Rong had prepared two memorials—one regarding the Qin family case and the other about military pay.

For the Qin family case, while Li Rong was imprisoned in Beiyan Tower, Shangguan Ya had already worked with Xun Chuan to investigate everything thoroughly.

Although Xun Chuan wasn’t particularly clever, he had strong execution skills. Under Shangguan Ya’s lead, they had cleaned up all the evidence, from witnesses’ testimonies to physical evidence.

Li Rong had left no room for error in the Qin family case. Everyone involved, from top to bottom, was implicated. The three main officials leading the case were sentenced to death, and senior officials like Shangguan Xu were still under investigation. Other involved officials were demoted and exiled, with detailed punishments for each.

As for the military pay case, the main content was based on the evidence Pei Wenxuan had brought. His evidence and testimonies were numerous and diverse, but by last night, Li Rong had already organized them and cross-checked them with some of the evidence from Shangguan Ya. She had almost completely organized it, listing several officials whose names needed to be investigated and requesting a strict inquiry.

Pei Wenxuan quietly scanned this memorial. After a brief pause, he hesitated slightly and said, “This memorial… His Majesty probably won’t agree.”

“I understand.”

Li Rong tapped her palm and whispered, “But I must report it.”

“The Qin family was wronged, and it involves military pay. If this matter is just brushed off lightly, those who did wrong will likely become even more rampant in the future. If I push hard on it now, His Majesty will definitely hesitate. Afterward, I’ll argue with the Emperor and the officials, but at least it won’t end badly. If I go easy on it from the start, they will still argue with me,” Li Rong said, flipping open the tea cup. Pei Wenxuan raised his hand to pour tea for her. Li Rong watched as the tea was poured into the bowl and calmly said, “If, in the end, we can’t even exile a few officials, wouldn’t that mean I’ve suffered all this for nothing?”

Pei Wenxuan listened to Li Rong’s words and simply said, “The number of people might be a bit too many.”

The founding emperor of the Daxia Dynasty advocated for a streamlined government, disallowing too many officials. Throughout the capital, Huajing, from the first to the ninth rank, there were fewer than six hundred official positions. If additional manpower was needed, “miscellaneous workers” were hired to assist with tasks.

Miscellaneous workers held a much lower status than officials, did not fall within the rank system, and had no prospects for promotion.

Li Rong’s memorial, however, listed nearly fifty people, including almost twenty from the sixth rank or higher. For Huajing, such a large-scale shuffle involving more than fifty people was considered a significant upheaval.

Li Rong smiled at Pei Wenxuan’s words and didn’t respond directly. She simply said, “Report ten points, I only need seven.”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t speak, nodding thoughtfully but remaining silent.

When they arrived at the palace, as soon as they entered, the officials all turned to look at them. Li Rong ignored them and went to her position. Pei Wenxuan stood beside her, and Li Rong couldn’t help but wonder, “What are you standing here for?”

“I’ll go back later,” Pei Wenxuan said lightly. “In case someone comes looking for trouble.”

Li Rong laughed when she heard this. She raised her fan and pointed at him, “You look down on me now? In broad daylight, do you think they would dare attack me? As long as they don’t make a move,” Li Rong scoffed, “I’ll see who throws the first punch.”

Pei Wenxuan was somewhat helpless but didn’t leave. He said, “Then I’ll block the wind for Your Highness.”

Pei Wenxuan had always been this considerate, and in the past, Li Rong hadn’t noticed, thinking it was just a habit. However, after understanding his intentions, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of concern. She paused for a moment, wanting to say something, but in the end, let it slide. Pretending to be unaware, she said, “Fine, as long as you’re happy.”

After a while, Li Ming arrived. When Li Ming’s royal carriage was spotted from a distance, Pei Wenxuan returned to his own position. Li Rong glanced at him secretly and saw the figure of this young man, his back straight like a lone sword, a stark contrast to the gentleness he displayed when smiling at her.

Perhaps this was the true Pei Wenxuan.

On the surface, he appeared gentle and calm, with a good temperament, but in essence, Pei Wenxuan had always been someone with sharp edges, unwilling to bow to anyone.

Li Rong watched his back for a moment, until just before he turned around, when she suddenly realized she had been staring for too long. Quietly, she shifted her gaze away.

Li Ming’s royal carriage entered with the eunuchs’ chants in the background. Everyone knelt and paid their respects. After Li Ming entered, everyone followed in line.

Once inside the main hall, everyone knelt and paid their respects, shouting “Long live the Emperor!” Once the formalities were complete, Li Ming followed the usual procedure, asking about the recent weather in various regions. After confirming the northern regions had suffered from ice disasters, they discussed solutions for a while before Li Ming finally turned to Li Rong and asked, “The case you asked me to investigate, has there been any result?”

“Yes.”

Li Rong was prepared in advance. 

She respectfully spoke and took out the memorial she had prepared the previous night, kneeling as she presented it: “Your Majesty, the case involving the Qin family has been largely clarified. The case originated from the Ministry of War. Due to poor management of the military logs, pages were missing. A certain official inadvertently discovered that the battle in Huangping County was unusual, and casually mentioned it. Later, a kind person anonymously reported the Qin family to the Imperial Censor Wen Ping. Wen Ping and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice Cui Shuyun jointly investigated the case, but during the process, both officials neglected their duties, leading to the wrongful conviction. Now that the Qin family’s grievance has been cleared, we ask Your Majesty to severely punish the Minister of the Ministry of War, Wang Xi, Censor Wen Ping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Cui Shuyun, and all other involved parties.”

As she spoke, the attendant Fulai came down to take the memorial and submit it.

Li Ming opened the memorial as he listened to Li Rong’s report. As his gaze swept through it, his expression darkened slightly. Li Rong secretly observed his expression, waiting for his next words.

She had already thought this through. Li Ming couldn’t punish them too severely, but since he had established the Supervisory Department, he naturally needed to make an example of the noble families. However, he couldn’t afford to be too lenient either. Therefore, Li Rong’s role was to give Li Ming a way out, shifting all the blame onto her.

It wasn’t the Emperor punishing them; it was Princess Rong who was relentless.

Only by doing this could she truly move those deeply entrenched young noble families.

She had prepared a string of words and a posture of a civil official offering a dead remonstrance, just waiting for Li Ming to play along with her in a back-and-forth, and then, through their discussion, they would finalize the responsibility for all the crimes.

“Aside from the Qin family case, I have also sorted through the matter of the military pay involved in the Qin case, and the list of related officials is also provided. I respectfully ask Your Majesty to allow me to investigate thoroughly.”

Once Li Rong finished speaking, she began waiting for Li Ming’s response.

After a long silence, Li Rong finally heard Li Ming clear his throat, then he said with a smile, “Well done!”

Li Ming then looked toward the other officials and, without mentioning the case, said, “You all remember when I wanted to establish the Supervisory Department? You all opposed it, saying Princess Pingle was too young and wouldn’t be able to manage it. Now, how is this case being handled?”

No one in the court spoke, and Li Ming sneered, “I think it’s going very well! Everything is clear, with not a single mistake. You’re all being exposed one by one. If it weren’t for Princess Pingle, I wouldn’t have known you had so much power!”

Li Rong listened as Li Ming continuously discussed the Supervisory Department, furrowing her brow with a hint of unease. Li Ming, noticing that no one spoke, smiled and said, “So, the Supervisory Department is now officially established, and Princess Rong will be its head. Is anyone opposed?”

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