Chapter 84: You Must Not Be So Indulgent In The Future

Li Rong didn’t speak. She listened to these words, feeling a kind of unspeakable softness gently enveloping her. This gentleness made her feel incomprehensible yet particularly at ease. For a moment, she felt as if she were eighteen again. Only at eighteen did she have the privilege to release her emotions without any concealment and still have someone understand and comfort her.

She lowered her head and, after a long pause, finally raised it, somewhat embarrassed, and said, “I’m sorry for making you laugh.”

“How could that be,” Pei Wenxuan laughed, “Seeing Your Highness in such a sorry state makes me happy.”

Li Rong heard this and glared at him with her still-red eyes, “If you don’t get scolded for a day, does your skin itch?”

“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan clasped his hands in his sleeves, “Today, you wronged me. Shouldn’t you make some amends? Do you know how expensive the flowers you blew up today were?”

“No matter how expensive, it’s still my money. Have you forgotten where your money comes from?” Li Rong sneered, “Spending money on such trivial things every day, it’s good enough that I don’t trouble you. How dare you ask me to compensate?”

“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan brushed his sleeves proudly, “You seem to have forgotten that I am the heir to my father’s estate.”

Li Rong was taken aback by Pei Wenxuan’s retort and then remembered that after the commotion in the Pei family, Pei Wenxuan had taken control of his father’s money.

Li Rong raised her eyebrows, “Did I underestimate you?”

Pei Wenxuan nodded elegantly, “It’s good that Your Highness knows.”

Li Rong was momentarily speechless, waved her hand, and walked forward, “Forget it, I won’t talk to you, it’s freezing.”

Saying this, Li Rong hurriedly walked towards the room. After taking only a few steps, she felt Pei Wenxuan’s warm cloak cover her. Li Rong glanced at him; Pei Wenxuan was wearing a single shirt, walking in the corridor, smiling without saying a word.

Li Rong quickly looked away and lowered her head to move forward. She didn’t know why, but when she was talking, she didn’t feel anything. After finishing her words, Pei Wenxuan’s interruption made her feel an indescribable awkwardness, making her whole face heat up.

Pei Wenxuan glanced at Li Rong with the corner of his eye and saw the faint blush on her face. He suppressed the smile at the corner of his lips and didn’t add fuel to the fire at this moment.

The two entered the room, and Pei Wenxuan escorted Li Rong inside. Li Rong thought about having to face Pei Wenxuan again at night and sleep together, which made her even more nervous. But she didn’t want to push him out after finally agreeing, so she pretended that nothing had happened and turned her back to Pei Wenxuan to wash her hands.

Pei Wenxuan watched Li Rong deliberately busy herself with trivial things, not looking back at him. He didn’t enter the room either, clasping his hands in his sleeves, leaning against the door, smiling as he watched Li Rong busy herself. After a while, Li Rong heard no movement behind her and finally turned back in curiosity, seeing the young man standing at the door. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you come in?”

“Didn’t Your Highness allow me to sleep in the study?”

Pei Wenxuan replied confidently.

Li Rong was stunned for a moment. She didn’t know why, but her nervousness suddenly subsided a lot. At the same time, she began to worry if Pei Wenxuan was still angry. But as soon as this thought came up, she forcibly stopped it, feeling awkward about caring whether he was angry or not.

For a moment, her thoughts were in turmoil. Pei Wenxuan watched her eyes change back and forth and finally heard Li Rong say, “Then why are you still standing at the door?”

After saying this, Li Rong seemed to feel that her words were too harsh and softened her tone, “Rest early, we have to attend court tomorrow.”

Pei Wenxuan listened to her words and immediately laughed out loud. He straightened up, bowed to Li Rong, and respectfully said, “I will obey Your Highness’s orders. I will take my leave now.”

Li Rong responded stiffly and watched Pei Wenxuan turn and leave leisurely. She stood quietly in the room, unable to understand Pei Wenxuan’s intentions. They had just been talking well, so why did he want to sleep in the study again?

She was thinking about this when she heard footsteps outside. Then Pei Wenxuan returned. He came to the door and smiled, “I almost forgot something.”

“What…”

Before she could finish her words, Pei Wenxuan came to her, bent down, and gently kissed her on the cheek, softly saying, “Your Highness, good night.”

Before Li Rong could react, he straightened up and walked out. Li Rong stood still, expressionless. After a moment, she raised her hand, wiped her face, and muttered, “Sneaky.”

After saying this, she finally relaxed, took off Pei Wenxuan’s outer garment, hung it aside, and then walked to the bed and gently sat down.

She hadn’t been sitting by the bed for long when Jinglan came in, scrutinizing Li Rong and restraining herself as she said, “Your Highness, I heard that the Prince Consort is going to sleep in the study tonight.”

“Yes,” Li Rong replied indifferently, “Add an extra quilt for him.”

“Your Highness,” Jinglan said with difficulty, “There’s no overnight grudge between husband and wife…”

“We don’t have a grudge, don’t worry about it,” Li Rong lifted her eyelids and said indifferently, “This is called romance between me and the Prince Consort, don’t bother us.”

“Ah?” Jinglan exclaimed in surprise. Li Rong stood up and walked towards the washroom, instructing Jinglan, “Later, send a bowl of ginger soup to the Prince Consort so he doesn’t catch a cold. Also, find out how much he spent on peonies recently and take the money from the treasury to give to him.”

Jinglan listened silently to Li Rong’s words, becoming more and more shocked. Even the money spent had to be returned; what kind of romance was this? This was clearly separation.

But Jinglan understood Li Rong’s temperament. If she said more at this moment, Li Rong would probably be annoyed with her, so Jinglan could only hold back her words and silently remember Li Rong’s instructions.

Meanwhile, Pei Wenxuan walked to the study. After entering the study, he closed the door, thinking about Li Rong’s surprised expression, and laughed happily. He lay down on the small couch, and after a moment, heard Tongye’s voice from outside, “Master, the quilt is here.”

Pei Wenxuan quickly sat up and raised his voice, “Come in.”

Tongye squeezed in with the quilt. Pei Wenxuan stood up and watched Tongye make the bed. While making the bed, Tongye couldn’t help but say, “Master, why are you angry with Her Highness? You moved here to sleep, and Her Highness is probably furious.”

“Sigh, what do you know,” Pei Wenxuan said disdainfully, “This is called retreating to advance, playing hard to get. It’s a tactic.”

“I don’t understand your tactic.”

Tongye muttered while making the bed, “I just know that this small couch in the study is hard as a rock. If you really want to sleep separately, why not find a guest room? Sleeping in the study is just torturing yourself.”

“Go, go,” Pei Wenxuan waved his hand after seeing Tongye almost finished making the bed, “The study and the guest room are different. Sleeping in the study is to wait for Her Highness to call me back. If I sleep in the guest room, do I have any reason to go back?”

“Then why didn’t you just stay?”

Tongye asked confidently. Pei Wenxuan was momentarily speechless, then reacted and hissed, “Why is your courage growing? Do you not want to work anymore?”

“I’m worried about you,” Tongye said earnestly, “Master, feelings can’t withstand torment. Since you care about Her Highness, you should be straightforward, shamelessly persistent. A strong woman fears a persistent man. You originally had the advantage of proximity, but now you’ve moved to the study, cold, hard, and lonely. What’s the point?”

“The point?” Pei Wenxuan raised his eyebrows, “Of course, the point is the princess. Enough, go down, I’m going to sleep.”

Seeing Pei Wenxuan not listening to him, Tongye sighed and left.

After Tongye left, Pei Wenxuan turned off the lights and lay down on the bed. He first lay flat, then turned over after a while, thinking about what Li Rong might be doing and thinking at this moment.

He could see that Li Rong was probably very embarrassed by what he said today. She might need a long time to accept him, so he retreated to give Li Rong this time. And also to give himself some time.

He hadn’t expected Li Rong to say these things to him. When Li Rong spoke, he saw for the first time that the previous life had left such a deep wound on Li Rong. He thought time had healed these wounds, but now he realized that wounds don’t heal on their own; they are just hidden deeper, seemingly invisible.

But they always exist, silently influencing countless choices in life. Li Rong is afraid of feelings.

She had been proud all her life, yet when it came to feelings, she had no confidence in herself. Knowing she was destined to be the loser, she would decisively withdraw at the beginning of every relationship. This was the deadlock between them; she couldn’t accept herself, and he was too weak.

So in their previous life, even without Qin Zhenzhen or Su Rongqing, they would have eventually driven their relationship to a dead end over other matters. He couldn’t force her.

Pei Wenxuan quietly thought that Li Rong was like a cat just entering the world of emotions. She was afraid of everything, and he could only let her explore, not push everything in front of her at once. She should come and go as she pleased; only with enough control would she feel secure. The waiting Li Rong wanted was probably like this.

Their distance should be decided by Li Rong, not him. And Li Rong’s willingness to take the first step and decide this distance was already a good start.

Pei Wenxuan pursed his lips and couldn’t help but smile in the night.

Both of them fell asleep thinking about the events of the night. At dawn, Li Rong vaguely heard someone calling her to get up. She instinctively wanted to call Pei Wenxuan but then remembered he had gone to sleep in the study.

She groggily called out, and Jinglan came in with a lamp. The glaring light made it hard for Li Rong to adapt, and then she was called out of bed.

In the past, Pei Wenxuan would get up first and cover her eyes with a cloth before returning to the window to block the light with his shadow. He would then bring her clothes into the bed to help her dress, ensuring she didn’t catch any cold. Now that he wasn’t there, even if the servants tried their best, they couldn’t be as considerate.

Just this one detail made Li Rong think of Pei Wenxuan’s kindness. She sighed softly and turned her head, asking, “Has the Prince Consort gotten up?”

“The Prince Consort is already waiting in the dining hall,” Jingmei said while helping Li Rong dress with a smile, “Does Your Highness want to join him for breakfast?”

“Of course.”

Li Rong replied and went to the dining hall after dressing.

Pei Wenxuan had already changed into his official robes and was reading newly arrived intelligence reports. When Li Rong entered, Pei Wenxuan looked up and smiled, “Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Good morning.” Li Rong smiled and glanced at the intelligence reports, “Any special news today?”

“Not much,” Pei Wenxuan put down the reports and looked at Li Rong, “Did Your Highness sleep well last night?”

“Quite well,” Li Rong said as she sat next to Pei Wenxuan, “And you?”

“Also good.” Pei Wenxuan replied. Li Rong nodded and tried to find a topic but hadn’t thought of one when Pei Wenxuan asked, “Regarding yesterday’s assassination attempt, does Your Highness plan to report it in court today or wait a bit longer?”

“Let’s wait a bit longer.” Li Rong responded as Pei Wenxuan brought up official matters, “Maybe if we don’t report it, the mastermind will report himself.”

“It’s not impossible.” Li Rong nodded slowly, “Let’s wait and see.”

Pei Wenxuan agreed and started discussing other official matters with Li Rong. He didn’t mention last night’s events at all as if they hadn’t happened.

Li Rong followed Pei Wenxuan’s lead in discussing official matters but felt a vague unease inside. She felt she should say something but didn’t know what.

After breakfast, they went to court together. Walking side by side in the corridor, Pei Wenxuan usually found ways to pull her closer. However, today he was very proper as if they were just colleagues without any intimacy, only discussing court matters.

Pei Wenxuan didn’t pull her close; Li Rong felt an indescribable strangeness. She seemed to have gotten used to this habit; now that Pei Wenxuan suddenly stopped doing it, she felt somewhat… unaccustomed.

She didn’t show it on her face but quietly moved closer to Pei Wenxuan, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

Pei Wenxuan felt Li Rong move closer; their sleeves brushed together as they walked. Her hand inadvertently touched his hand briefly, causing an indescribable itchiness. Pei Wenxuan looked at her briefly but continued discussing official matters seriously as if nothing had happened.

He didn’t avoid her but also didn’t take initiative; he let Li Rong’s sleeve brush past him while keeping his eyes down and discussing court matters softly.

“According to your analysis, if Xie Lanqing indeed instructed Lin Feibai to help Chen’s family assassinate you, will Xie’s family still support the Crown Prince?”

Pei Wenxuan asked as they reached the carriage. Finally extending his hand for Li Rong to hold onto as she got into the carriage.

Li Rong’s hand rested on his hand; their skin finally overlapped significantly. Pei Wenxuan remained calm as if it were just a polite gesture.

Li Rong took advantage of their overlapping hands by slowly tracing her fingertip across Pei Wenxuan’s hand. She thought this gesture should be obvious enough but Pei Wenxuan remained unmoved.

They sat in the carriage together; Pei Wenxuan continued analyzing for Li Rong: “Moreover, given Xie Lanqing’s mindset, he might report Chen’s family himself during today’s court session. If Your Highness waits until another day to report it might be too late.”

“Let’s wait and see,” Li Rong replied casually. After all, Xie Lanqing was like a grasshopper after autumn; he wouldn’t last long. She was now focused on one thing.

Clearly, they had talked well last night, so why was Pei Wenxuan being so contradictory today? What did Pei Wenxuan mean? If he had rejected her last night, he shouldn’t have come back to kiss her. If he had agreed, why did he go to sleep in the study and act so indifferent this morning?

Li Rong pondered over it, letting Pei Wenxuan’s words go in one ear and out the other, as they were all things she had already thought about last night and didn’t want to repeat. She listened to Pei Wenxuan talking beside her, occasionally glancing at him.

Pei Wenxuan caught her gaze and understood that his slight retreat had indeed hooked Li Rong. He continued discussing court matters without changing his expression.

Li Rong thought about it all the way. When they got off the carriage, Pei Wenxuan extended his hand to help her down. Li Rong coughed lightly and decided to make her goodwill more obvious, “Pei Wenxuan, the small couch in the study is quite small; isn’t it uncomfortable to sleep on?”

“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan replied with a smile, “After sleeping on a high bed with soft pillows for a long time, the small couch has its own charm.”

Seeing Pei Wenxuan still not taking the hint, Li Rong couldn’t help but laugh and gently said, “If it’s so comfortable, why don’t you sleep in the study for a lifetime?”

“Your Highness is joking,” Pei Wenxuan immediately replied, “I will still return eventually, after all, Your Highness and I,” Pei Wenxuan looked at her with a half-smile, “have a long future ahead.”

Li Rong didn’t speak. She stared at Pei Wenxuan’s smiling face for a long time before finally understanding. The peonies were indeed quite expensive this time.

She finally realized that Pei Wenxuan wasn’t trying to part ways with her. He had probably agreed with her but was upset about the destroyed peonies and decided to find a way to vent his anger and act aloof.

Li Rong thought for a moment, lightly tapping her palm with a small fan, and understandingly said, “I understand your point.”

Pei Wenxuan was somewhat confused. Li Rong looked up and seriously said, “I will compensate you for the peonies, but in the future, you must not be so indulgent.”

Pei Wenxuan: “…”

He recognized every word, but why couldn’t he understand them when they were put together?

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