Chapter 92: Even If One Belongs To A Humble Clan, It Is Not A Fault

The case of Xie Lanqing accusing Li Rong, only to be counter-accused by her, unfolded under the watchful eyes of the court officials, all awaiting the outcome.

Pei Wenxuan had already coordinated with Pei Liming, who harbored no intent to shield anyone and focused solely on the investigation. With Lin Feibai’s cooperation, it took only three days to confirm that Xie Lanqing had instigated Chen Guang to assassinate Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan.

With the New Year approaching, Li Rong handled the Qin case, the military funds case, and Xie Lanqing’s case together. She convened a joint trial with the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Inspectorate, with the Department of State Affairs observing. In the courtroom, each case was meticulously settled.

Xie Lanqing, a veteran minister who had served two reigns, had his merits and faults weighed. He was ultimately sentenced to exile. In the other two cases, seventy individuals were involved: three were executed, while the rest faced exile or demotion, each punished according to their crimes.

During the sentencing, Xie Lanqing appeared unusually calm.

He seemed to have moved beyond his earlier emotions, adopting an air of detachment, as if life and death no longer concerned him. After the verdict, he bowed respectfully, then, supported by others, turned and left.

By the time all the trials concluded, it was already night. As Li Rong stepped outside, she felt icy pellets brush her face. Looking up at the dark sky, she saw snowflakes illuminated briefly as they passed the faint glow of lanterns. She gazed for a moment, then sensed someone approach from behind. A hand rested on her shoulder, and a wide sleeve draped over her, enveloping her in warmth. “Let’s go home,” Pei Wenxuan said.

Li Rong turned back, smiling. “Not returning to the Censorate with Censor Shangguan?”

Pei Wenxuan had accompanied Shangguan Minzhi to observe the trial and, by protocol, should have returned with him. Instead, he guided Li Rong out of the office toward the carriage, chuckling. “Tomorrow’s a holiday, and the New Year is almost here. He’s eager to get home himself—why would he care about us? He already told his subordinates to head home.”

“I hear Cousin Minzhi seems cold, but he’s quite devoted to his family,” Li Rong remarked, nodding as she walked with Pei Wenxuan.

Pei Wenxuan sighed. “With the court so frigid, how could he not crave the warmth of his wife’s embrace?”

“What a pity, then,” Li Rong teased, catching his implication. “Lord Pei doesn’t have a wife to offer such warmth.”

“Warmth I may lack,” Pei Wenxuan grinned, “but my wife has arms stronger than a mountain bear and a spirit fiercer than a tiger. She gives me strength and security—quite satisfactory, I’d say.”

Li Rong knew he was subtly calling her fierce and formidable. She scoffed. “Before, you only compared me to a beautiful peony. Now you dare call me a beast outright? Pei Wenxuan, are you drinking bear bile daily? Your mouth’s bitter and venomous, and your courage is absurdly bold.”

“Why ask, Your Highness?” Pei Wenxuan replied as they reached the door, crossing the threshold together. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, “Why not taste for yourself?”

Li Rong turned, raising an eyebrow and reaching to pinch his chin.

Pei Wenxuan knew she was bold but hadn’t expected this bold. Startled, he stepped back, his composed expression betraying a flicker of panic as he dodged her hand. Li Rong burst out laughing at his reaction.

Pei Wenxuan froze, and Li Rong playfully tapped his chin with her fan. “With just this much, you dare flirt with me?”

With that, she turned and descended the steps.

Pei Wenxuan’s ears reddened, feeling he’d lost face, but he maintained his composure and followed her, muttering, “We’re outside—don’t be so reckless.”

Having won the exchange, Li Rong let it go with a smile. As they reached the carriage, a calm voice called out, “Your Highness.”

Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan looked up to see Su Rongqing standing nearby. He bowed to Li Rong, who was surprised. “Vice Minister Su?”

“Your Highness,” Su Rongqing said with a gentle smile, “may I have a moment of your time?”

“Does Lord Su have business?” Pei Wenxuan stepped forward, positioning himself slightly in front of Li Rong, smiling. “The cases are settled, and tomorrow marks the court’s holiday for the New Year. If Lord Su has matters to discuss, why not wait until after the festival?”

“It’s not my business,” Su Rongqing said calmly, his gaze shifting to Li Rong. “It’s Lord Xie. He wishes to see the Princess.”

“Xie Lanqing?” Pei Wenxuan asked, surprised.

Su Rongqing nodded. “Lord Xie has many questions he’d like to ask the Princess.”

Li Rong considered for a moment, then nodded. “Has Vice Minister Su made arrangements?”

“Lord Xie is in the Ministry of Justice. I can lead Your Highness there.”

“Let’s go now, then,” Li Rong decided, gesturing to Su Rongqing. “Shall we, Vice Minister Su?”

Su Rongqing bowed in thanks, accepting the invitation.

The three boarded the carriage. Once inside, Li Rong felt a familiar tension in the air, but this time, she didn’t need to navigate the dynamics of two men. Su Rongqing sat on one side of the carriage, while Pei Wenxuan promptly took the seat next to Li Rong, positioning himself between her and Su Rongqing, with a tea table separating them.

Su Rongqing glanced faintly at Pei Wenxuan. Li Rong, pretending not to notice, reached for the teapot, but Pei Wenxuan beat her to it, pouring her a cup. “Your Highness, have some tea.”

“Uh, thank you,” Li Rong said, taking the cup. Fearing Pei Wenxuan might escalate things with Su Rongqing, she quickly added, “Pour one for Vice Minister Su too.”

“Of course,” Pei Wenxuan said, pouring a cup for Su Rongqing with the air of a host. “Vice Minister Su, tea.”

Su Rongqing nodded. “Thank you.”

Pei Wenxuan set the teapot down, and Li Rong, puzzled, asked, “Why didn’t you pour one for yourself?”

“I’ll share Your Highness’s cup,” Pei Wenxuan said smoothly. “There aren’t enough cups.”

Li Rong glanced at the extra cup on the table. Pei Wenxuan, noticing her look, smiled. “That one’s chipped.”

How could there be a chipped cup on her table?

But she didn’t dare ask, fearing Pei Wenxuan might smash one on the spot to prove his point.

Su Rongqing held his cup, gazing at the ripples in the tea. With neither speaking, Pei Wenxuan broke the silence, chatting with Su Rongqing about the tea’s origins. The conversation eased the tension, and Su Rongqing, ever tactful, joined in. Li Rong pretended to read, staying silent.

Finally, they reached the Ministry of Justice. Pei Wenxuan helped Li Rong down, and Su Rongqing led them to the prison.

Xie Lanqing sat in his cell. A stool was arranged for Li Rong, and she sat, facing him as he sat on the bed. “I hear Lord Xie has matters to discuss with me?”

Xie Lanqing looked at her, offering no bow. Li Rong, twirling her fan, didn’t mind his lack of courtesy. They stared at each other in silence until he spoke, his voice hoarse. “Have you seen her?”

Li Rong remained silent.

“Lin Xia,” Xie Lanqing pressed, “you’ve seen her, haven’t you?”

“I haven’t,” Li Rong replied calmly. “I’ve been in Huajing. She died two years ago and sent someone to find you. You knew, but you didn’t go. I couldn’t have met her.”

Xie Lanqing’s eyes widened. “She died two years ago?”

“You didn’t know?” Li Rong smiled, then nodded as if understanding. “Of course. In twenty years, you never visited her. But Lord Xie,” she said, propping her chin, “though I never met her, I might know what you want to learn.”

After all, Su Rongqing had once investigated everyone around Lin Xia, piecing together the drifting life of this woman.

Born to a prominent martial family, she wandered into Huajing in her youth, was saved by a hero, and unexpectedly met a noble young man from the capital. His refined charm, born of a prestigious lineage, and youthful sincerity softened even her warrior’s heart into flowing silk.

“Feibai,” Xie Lanqing said, staring at Li Rong, “is he really my son?”

“You still think I’m lying?” Li Rong sighed. “Lord Xie, I wouldn’t fabricate such a thing. When you loved Lin Xia, you were forced by family pressure to part with her. She promised you three wishes, and your second was for her to leave.”

“She was already pregnant with Lin Feibai then.”

“But she never told me!” Xie Lanqing roared.

“Why would she?” Li Rong asked, puzzled. “You couldn’t marry her, and she had no intention of marrying anyone else. That child was her only solace—she wouldn’t harm him. If he entered the Xie family, he’d be a lowborn illegitimate son. Why tell you?”

Xie Lanqing stared, stunned. Li Rong continued calmly, “She left with the child, rejected by her sect and family. She and her junior sister hid, and out of necessity, she wrote to you for money.”

“You must have felt relieved then, no longer guilty about her. So, with a flourish, you gave her Qincu Mountain.”

“Later, she founded the Seven Stars Hall. Rumors spread of an ambiguous relationship with her right-hand protector, her senior brother, so you assumed Lin Feibai was his son. After all, you learned of Lin Feibai a year late.”

“Lin Feibai isn’t twenty—he’s only nineteen this year.”

“Lin Xia lived her life on Qincu Mountain, thinking of you until her death, sending for you, but you refused to go.”

“After she died, fearing enemies would target Lin Feibai for his youth, she ordered her death concealed, pretending she was still alive.”

“So when I visited the Seven Stars Hall…” Xie Lanqing began.

“It wasn’t her,” Li Rong confirmed.

Xie Lanqing sat, dazed. Li Rong watched him, tapping her fan lightly. After a long pause, she said, “Anything else, Lord Xie? If not, I’ll take my leave.”

“Did she hate me?” Xie Lanqing asked suddenly.

Li Rong considered. “I don’t know. But I’m curious,” she leaned forward slightly, “did you love her?”

Xie Lanqing fell silent, then laughed bitterly. “I dare not claim love.”

“I thought as much,” Li Rong stood, her tone cool. “Love, for people like you, is fleeting. What a pity for Lin Xia, a lifetime of wandering and hardship, wasted on someone like you.”

Xie Lanqing said nothing. As Li Rong walked out, he spoke hoarsely, “I wanted her to have a good life.”

Li Rong paused, turning back to see Xie Lanqing gazing at the sky through the window. “In my youth, I was naive, thinking I could risk my life to keep us both safe. I begged her to stay, married her in secret in Huajing. I thought if I gave up my life and riches, we could love each other.”

“But I learned that under a great family, love is a luxury. The nobility of a clan lies in bloodlines and alliances. As a Xie, marrying a martial woman would disgrace my house. My century-old honor would become a joke, affecting my clan’s marriages. The Xie family couldn’t tolerate us. I could die, but what about her?”

“A celestial being—why should she fall to earth?”

Xie Lanqing closed his eyes. “I told her to leave so she could live well. I didn’t see her because I knew it would only bring pain with no future.”

“I didn’t not love her—I simply had no right to say it.”

“I’ve asked myself countless times why. What did I do wrong? I loved someone who loved me—why should so many be punished, so many left unhappy? Was it my fault or theirs?”

“My parents weren’t wrong, my clan wasn’t wrong. And me? Loving someone outside my station was a sin—but why is it a sin?”

Xie Lanqing laughed, closing his eyes. “I thought about it my whole life, and I finally understood. Born into a noble house, I enjoyed its wealth, so I must uphold its honor. Pain means nothing, love means nothing—upholding the family is the greater duty. For centuries, millennia, it’s been so. I must protect the Xie name, its noble bloodline.” He turned to Li Rong. “You, of the imperial Li clan, married a lowborn. That’s bad enough, but you let this lowborn manipulate you, severing ties between the Crown Prince and the great families.”

“Your Highness, I couldn’t speak before, but now I ask—what is the purpose of your actions? To place the baseborn heir of Pei as the idol?”

Li Rong remained silent, gazing at this man, torn by contradictions.

She found Xie Lanqing pitiable, but she couldn’t pinpoint why.

Was it his bondage to rules, like her in her past life?

Or his rebellious heart within those rules, like Li Chuan in her past life?

She couldn’t speak, staring at Xie Lanqing, lost in an indescribable confusion and sharp pain.

In that silent moment, she felt a hand gently take hers.

“Everything Your Highness has done is to ensure that, in the future, no one like Lord Xie will have to ask ‘why,’” Pei Wenxuan said.

Xie Lanqing froze. Li Rong turned, slowly looking up.

Pei Wenxuan stood beside her, a steadfast pillar against the storm. He looked at Xie Lanqing, calm and resolute. “Loving someone, marrying the one you love—it’s not just about romance. It’s the most fundamental right of being human. Lord Xie says love means nothing, and perhaps it does. But haven’t you noticed? Under such rules, for the sake of family, it’s not just love that becomes meaningless—humanity, justice, and truth all lose their worth.”

“The world Your Highness envisions doesn’t prioritize family above all but seeks happiness and hope for every individual. It may not happen today, or even in a hundred or thousand years, but Your Highness still hopes for a day when no Lord Xie will question what he did wrong.”

“And no Lord Xie will accuse Your Highness, of imperial blood, of lowering herself to marry a lowborn.”

“Li Rong married Pei Wenxuan. Your Highness married a man who loves her and whom she loves,” Pei Wenxuan said, his voice steady as a mountain. “He can make her happy for a lifetime, love her for a lifetime, protect her for a lifetime—never failing, never betraying, never abandoning.”

“Even if he’s lowborn, that is not a mistake.”

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