Chapter 106: I Lived Another Lifetime Just To Admit I Was Wrong

“Ah,” Shangguan Ya saw Su Ronghua and snapped out of her brief surprise. “What’s Young Master Su doing here?”

As she spoke, Shangguan Ya gracefully adjusted her skirt, crossed her left leg over her right, rested her chin on her hand, and smiled. “Did Young Master Su escape?”

“You set me up.”

Su Ronghua spoke directly. Shangguan Ya chuckled lightly. “Why say that? This is like Zhou Yu hitting Huang Gai—one willing to hit, one willing to take it.”

Su Ronghua laughed bitterly at her words. “You’re really not afraid of offending me.”

“As if not doing this would mean I wouldn’t offend you. Everyone knows why you came to the Inspectorate,” Shangguan Ya said with a smile, though her eyes held a chill. “You and I stand on different sides. Why pretend to be a good person? I invited you, and you came. I schemed against you—didn’t you scheme against me too?”

“What did I scheme against you?” Su Ronghua clenched his fists. Shangguan Ya poured herself tea and said calmly, “You should ask yourself. Why were you so eager to get close to me?”

Her words stunned Su Ronghua. He reflexively asked, “I was eager?”

“Following me at the casino, pestering me at the Inspectorate, writing letters and teasing me,” Shangguan Ya listed his actions one by one, then looked at him with a half-smile. “If I were an ordinary girl, I might really think you liked me. But unfortunately, I’m very clear-headed. You’re the tutor of Prince Su, placed in the Inspectorate by His Majesty as Deputy Chief. Whether it’s the princess’s assassination or the resistance in daily investigations, your shadow is behind it all. If you liked me,” Shangguan Ya sighed, “that would be truly laughable.”

Su Ronghua didn’t speak. He stared at Shangguan Ya.

Only now did he realize how much effort he had unknowingly spent on her.

Looking into her emotionless eyes, he felt a bitter ache spreading in his chest. He couldn’t help but ask, “You don’t believe in feelings?”

Shangguan Ya paused, then asked in surprise, “After all this, you still think I’m easy to fool?”

Su Ronghua stared at her. After a long silence, he suddenly spoke slowly: “How pitiful.”

“What?”

Shangguan Ya didn’t understand. Su Ronghua repeated word by word, “I said you, like everyone else in Huajing, are just a pitiful creature.”

“You all have brains, but no hearts.”

“Aren’t you the same?” Shangguan Ya felt insulted and sneered. “We’re all the same. Why pretend?”

“Who’s the same as you?!”

Su Ronghua raised his voice. “If I were like you, I would’ve reported you the moment I saw you at the casino! A young lady frequenting such places—don’t you care about your reputation?”

“Then say it,” Shangguan Ya laughed. “If you did, you wouldn’t be able to get close to the Shangguan family’s eldest daughter. I’d just lose my reputation and stay home—better for me. You think I want to get married? But you’re different. You’d lose a valuable opportunity to use me.”

Su Ronghua nodded, laughing bitterly. “Impressive. Very impressive. I misjudged you. I thought you were different from the rest of Huajing.”

“We all eat the same food. What difference could there be?”

Shangguan Ya said mockingly, “Don’t flatter yourself, and don’t flatter me. If we were kind-hearted nobles, Pei Wenxuan wouldn’t be the Minister of Personnel, and you wouldn’t be in the Inspectorate. It’s all tit for tat. Your people hit mine, I hit back. Why cry injustice?”

“You’re right.”

Su Ronghua nodded. “It’s not unjust. I just want to see—what can you really do to me with these tricks?”

With that, Su Ronghua jumped off the carriage. Shangguan Ya didn’t look up and called out, “Take care, no need to see you off.”

Hearing that, Su Ronghua paused in front of the carriage and suddenly said, “I just didn’t want to break your wings.”

Shangguan Ya’s hand stopped mid-pour. Su Ronghua’s voice outside the carriage was quiet: “I think when you’re gambling, scolding people, and splashing tea—you’re truly alive.”

After speaking, Su Ronghua mounted his horse and rode away.

Shangguan Ya’s teapot hovered in the air for a moment before finally pouring down.

“Let’s go back.”

She spoke calmly.

As Shangguan Ya headed toward the Shangguan residence, Li Rong’s people had already made arrangements layer by layer.

She couldn’t get too involved in this matter—it was best if everything was handled by Li Ming’s people. Their goal wasn’t to truly punish Su Ronghua. In Da Xia, it wasn’t a serious crime for an official to openly consort with courtesans. A couple of days in jail and a docked salary would be the end of it. Given Su Ronghua’s family background, even if Li Ming got angry, he couldn’t really do much to them.

What they wanted was simply for Li Ming to know that Su Ronghua had contact with Xia Wensi.

The setup wasn’t particularly sophisticated. Su Ronghua and Xia Wensi could easily claim they were framed. But they had no evidence. The courtesan was someone Su Ronghua often visited, the teahouse was booked under his name, and the invitation note was written by him. With Li Ming already suspicious, no further explanation was needed—he would draw his own conclusions.

Li Rong calculated Li Ming’s thoughts while gathering news about Su Ronghua.

Soon, word came that Su Ronghua had returned to the Su residence and been arrested. Li Rong was playing chess with Pei Wenxuan and asked casually, “What did Su Ronghua say?”

Su Ronghua would surely try to defend himself—but how he did so was the key.

Jinglan hesitated for a moment before replying slowly, “Young Master Su didn’t say anything.”

“What do you mean?” Li Rong frowned and looked up. “What do you mean he didn’t say anything?”

“Young Master Su rode back to the residence, knelt down, and confessed. He admitted to consorting with courtesans. Prime Minister Su gave him ten lashes on the spot and sent him straight to prison.”

Li Rong heard this and, after a long pause, finally said, “You may go.”

Jinglan bowed respectfully and left. After she was gone, Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong. “Your Highness, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking,” Li Rong said slowly, “why did Su Ronghua confess so quickly?”

“Because he knows denying it is useless now,” Pei Wenxuan placed a chess piece. “He can’t explain the note. If he admits it was written for Shangguan Ya, then His Majesty won’t suspect him of colluding with the Ministry of Personnel to frame you—instead, he’ll start questioning the relationship between Su Ronghua and the Shangguan family.”

“It’s better to admit everything clearly,” Pei Wenxuan said calmly. “The relationship between Consort Rou and the Su family was built by His Majesty himself. Her allowing Su Ronghua to stir up trouble with the Ministry of Personnel doesn’t fundamentally disrupt the balance His Majesty wants. At most, His Majesty will be slightly annoyed—but he won’t take serious action.”

“After all, in His Majesty’s eyes, the Su family is Consort Rou’s support, opposing the Shangguan family behind the Crown Prince. Her brother’s military power in the northwest counters the aristocratic military power in the Crown Prince’s hands. In three years, when Prince Su…”

Pei Wenxuan trailed off. Li Rong noticed and looked up, puzzled. “What is it?”

“I just realized you already know all this,” Pei Wenxuan smiled. After a pause, he added softly, “If I repeat it, I’m afraid it’ll make you sad.”

Li Rong held a chess piece and thought for a moment. Then she said gently, “I’m not sad. It’s been so many years.”

“Back then, I might have resented them—Consort Rou, Prince Su, Hua Le—thought they were disgusting,” Li Rong said as she placed her piece on the board. “But later, I realized they’re pitiful too.”

“Father paved the way for them not out of love. He suppressed me and Chuan’er not out of hatred. He doesn’t love or hate anyone. It’s just the heart of an emperor—he doesn’t want any one noble family to dominate.”

Pei Wenxuan listened quietly. Li Rong returned to the topic: “So by your logic, Su Ronghua’s quick confession is actually a strategic retreat—he confesses faster, and Father suspects him less?”

“Yes.”

“But there’s one more thing,” Li Rong thought aloud. “Why did Su Ronghua act so recklessly? I remember he’s a smart man.”

Pei Wenxuan rubbed a chess piece, seemingly hesitant.

Li Rong noticed and asked, “What are you thinking?”

“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan said after a pause, “when Young Master Su came today, he had clearly dressed up.”

“So?” Li Rong didn’t understand. Pei Wenxuan smiled and reminded her, “Young Master Su probably never imagined Miss Shangguan would set him up.”

“Isn’t that ridiculous?” Li Rong laughed at the idea. “Everyone in the Su family is sharp. Even if he had some feelings for Ah Ya, how could he be so naïve as to think she wouldn’t scheme against him?”

Pei Wenxuan placed his chess piece gently on the board, his expression calm. “Your Highness, do you think I’m a smart man?”

“Of course.”

Li Rong spoke with certainty, placing her chess piece beside Pei Wenxuan’s. Pei Wenxuan looked up with a smile: “But back then, until the very last moment, I believed Your Highness wouldn’t strike against me.”

Li Rong fell silent. Pei Wenxuan placed his piece calmly and continued: “You and Miss Shangguan see the worst in people. But often, people aren’t as purely rational as you both imagine. Deep down, everyone has a bit of inexplicable trust and reliance on others. Young Master Su may stand on the opposite side, but he’s a man of genuine emotion. He values feelings deeply—he’d go through fire and water for someone he loves. He admired Miss Shangguan and didn’t guard against her. Isn’t that perfectly natural?”

“You speak as if you know him well.”

Li Rong raised an eyebrow. In her memory, Pei Wenxuan and Su Ronghua weren’t close. Pei Wenxuan pressed his sleeve aside and placed a chess piece at the far end of the board: “Though I never had close dealings with him, I was involved in the Su family’s case back then.”

Li Rong froze slightly at those words. Pei Wenxuan noticed her reaction but pretended not to, sipping his tea: “Your Highness, do you know why the Crown Prince was determined to kill Su Ronghua back then?”

Li Rong hadn’t expected Pei Wenxuan to bring up the past. She hesitated, unsure if she dared ask—but she knew this was a hurdle she’d have to face eventually.

She lowered her gaze. “Why?”

“Because the Crown Prince suspected that Qin Zhenzhen was poisoned by Su Ronghua.”

Li Rong looked up abruptly, shocked. “That’s impossible! Why would Su Ronghua kill her?!”

Back then, many people had motives to kill Qin Zhenzhen, but none seemed connected to the Su family.

The Su family had no women in the palace. Why would Su Ronghua poison Qin Zhenzhen?

“I couldn’t understand it either. For a long time, I thought the Crown Prince was mistaken.”

Pei Wenxuan took a sip of tea and looked at Li Rong: “Until today, I finally realized—Su Ronghua might have had a reason.”

Li Rong didn’t dare speak. Pei Wenxuan continued: “In this life, Su Ronghua and Shangguan Ya met at the same casino—before Your Highness ever got involved in their relationship. So in the previous life, is it really impossible they met before?”

“Qin Zhenzhen was poisoned. The mother was supposed to die with the child, but the child survived. Your Highness, who benefited most from that?”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t need to say more—Li Rong already understood.

“Ah Ya… isn’t that kind of person,” Li Rong said with difficulty.

“Maybe not,” Pei Wenxuan replied calmly. “But what about Su Ronghua? Given Qin Zhenzhen’s favor and the emperor’s stance toward noble families, the chances of Miss Shangguan’s child becoming crown prince were slim.”

“Su Ronghua never married in his past life. When I investigated him, every courtesan he met said he only enjoyed music and dance—never romance. If he didn’t have someone in his heart, why remain alone until death?”

Li Rong didn’t speak for a long time. She held a chess piece, staring at the crisscrossed board, as if in a daze.

Pei Wenxuan looked up at her. “Why aren’t you saying anything, Your Highness?”

“Pei Wenxuan,” Li Rong gave a bitter smile, “I suddenly feel like my past life was a joke.”

“I supported the noble families, and now you tell me they were full of corruption. I thought Chuan’er was cruel and immoral, and you say he was forced into it. I believed the Su family was innocent, and now you tell me Qin Zhenzhen died by Su Ronghua’s hand. Living another life…” Li Rong’s voice turned ironic, “Did I come back just to admit I was wrong?”

“Then what about me?” Pei Wenxuan looked up at her, his eyes carrying a trace of helplessness, as if life itself felt absurd. “I thought you were arrogant and unreasonable, narrow-minded. But even with Qin Zhenzhen, you were willing to give her space. I thought you only cared about power, yet you spoke up for the people and investigated the military funds case. I thought the noble families were beyond saving, rotten to the core, but you brought Shangguan Ya to show me there are still good people among them. I thought you’d never bow your head in this life, but you told me to wait. If anyone came back to admit they were wrong,” Pei Wenxuan smiled, “it’s me.”

“Look at how little time has passed since we returned,” he sighed. “How many times have I already apologized to you?”

“Your Highness, if someone suffers for a while, they can blame others or fate. But if they suffer their whole life, then, to some extent, it must be their own doing.”

“So,” Li Rong lifted her teacup, as if resigning herself, “we’re both here to admit our mistakes.”

“No, Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan reached out and took her hand. “This isn’t about admitting fault. This is a chance—for us to start over.”

Li Rong froze mid-motion, holding her teacup. Pei Wenxuan’s words echoed in her ears. After a long hesitation, she finally looked up: “Then… about Ah Ya, shouldn’t we do something?”

“Do what?”

Pei Wenxuan looked puzzled. Li Rong struggled to find the words: “Su Ronghua and her… if they missed each other in the last life, and don’t end up together in this one,” she looked at him, “wouldn’t that be a pity?”

Pei Wenxuan was momentarily stunned—he hadn’t expected her to say that. Li Rong sought his opinion: “If Su Ronghua really likes Ah Ya, and she uses him, wouldn’t that hurt him?”

“Your Highness thinks Miss Shangguan shouldn’t break Young Master Su’s heart?”

Pei Wenxuan looked at her seriously. Li Rong frowned, answering as if it were obvious: “If he’s not sincere, then it’s mutual manipulation. But if he is sincere, then he deserves respect.”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t respond. Li Rong noticed his intense gaze and grew a little self-conscious. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing,” Pei Wenxuan smiled, lowering his head a bit sheepishly. “I just realized how many years I’ve missed out on you.”

“Now you know how great I am?” Li Rong was pleased by the compliment. She stood up.  

“Alright, I’ll send a message to Shangguan Ya. While Su Ronghua’s still in prison, it’s not too late to fix things.”

With that, she sent someone to deliver a message to Shangguan Ya, asking her to visit Su Ronghua.

Shangguan Ya was just about to sleep when she received the message. She sat on her bed for a long time before finally getting up, changing clothes, and heading to the Ministry of Justice.

Su Ronghua had already fallen asleep in his cell. When he heard footsteps outside, he pretended not to notice, turning his back to Shangguan Ya.

She stood at the cell door for a while. At last, she spoke: “Su Ronghua, I’ve come on Her Highness’s orders to check on you.”

“What’s there to check?” Su Ronghua kept his eyes closed, back still turned. “Did I grow a third eye or five hands that you had to come see me in the middle of the night?”

Shangguan Ya pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

After a long pause, she finally said: “I actually thought about what you said tonight.”

“I think maybe you were telling the truth.”

“You dressed up so nicely today—you clearly cared about that dinner. I used you, and that was my fault. How about this: let’s call it even this time. It won’t happen again.”

Su Ronghua didn’t respond. Shangguan Ya had never seen him so cold before, and it made her feel strangely uncomfortable. She muttered: “Don’t ignore me. How about this—we make a bet?”

She pulled out a deck of cards from her sleeve.  

“If I win, you stop being mad.”

“And if you lose?” Su Ronghua finally spoke.

Shangguan Ya rubbed her nose.  

“Then… then you can stay mad a little longer?”

—

** Zhou Yu hitting Huang Gai—one willing to hit, one willing to take it: 

• A well-known Chinese idiom, 
• It refers to a mutual understanding or collusion where both sides are in on the plan, even if it looks like one is hurting the other. 

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