Hearing Pei Wenxuan’s words, Li Rong couldn’t help but raise her eyes to look at him.

Pei Wenxuan had the upright face of a scholar, yet when facing her, his eyes seemed naturally filled with laughter.

Li Rong gazed at him for a moment. Pei Wenxuan smiled and withdrew, then led her to eat.

That evening was very lively. Li Rong had never had such an experience before. The entire New Year was both noisy and peaceful, without a trace of worry, and no need to fear saying the wrong thing. It seemed far removed from the palace and the court.

Pei Wenxuan drank some wine. These days he was nursing his stomach, so normally if he could avoid drinking, he didn’t. But during New Year, everyone was in high spirits, so he accompanied them for a few cups.

After drinking, whether it was happiness or alcohol fueling it, he seemed very happy overall.

When returning to their room with Li Rong, he pulled Li Rong along, walking ahead, humming a little tune like a child. Li Rong found it somewhat amusing. “What are you so happy about?”

“Happy about two things.”

Pei Wenxuan held her hand, walking backward in the corridor. Li Rong raised her chin. “Tell me?”

“First, Your Highness took the initiative to kiss me today.”

“You’re this happy about that?” Li Rong raised her eyebrows. “If you’re happy, I can also take the initiative to sleep with you.”

Pei Wenxuan smiled and shook his head. “The second thing.” Pei Wenxuan stopped walking. He held both of Li Rong’s hands and pulled them to his chest. “I made Your Highness happy.”

“If you just say fewer ridiculous things normally, I’ll be quite happy too.”

Li Rong responded with a smile. Pei Wenxuan continued shaking his head. He thought for a moment, raised his hands, cupped Li Rong’s head, and pressed his forehead against hers. “Rongrong, you’ve come out of the palace.”

“I know.”

Li Rong answered calmly. “From the day I married you, I moved to the Princess Manor.”

“In the future, I’ll give you a home. It will be different from the palace.”

“Your Highness,” he spoke exceptionally seriously, “I will heal all the wounds in your heart. From now on, Your Highness has the Prince Consort, and Li Rong has Pei Wenxuan.”

Li Rong said nothing. She lowered her eyes. After a long while, she spoke in a low, hoarse voice. “I know.”

From now on, Li Rong has Pei Wenxuan.

Hearing her “I know,” Pei Wenxuan smiled again. He turned around and pulled Li Rong back toward the room.

After returning, the two washed up separately and lay down to sleep.

Perhaps Pei Wenxuan was tired. Shortly after lying down, he fell asleep.

Li Rong watched him in the darkness. After a long while, she carefully reached out to touch him.

First, she extended her hand to rest on his chest. Seeing he didn’t wake up, she didn’t know how it happened, but she reached out to embrace him, then leaned against him.

She listened to his heartbeat, felt his breathing. At her nose tip was the fragrance he habitually used. She felt peaceful and calm.

In an instant, she felt somewhat unlike herself, but… she didn’t think it was bad.

The two slept until daybreak. Pei Wenxuan woke early from the habit of morning court. Opening his eyes, he saw Li Rong sleeping on his chest, so his movement to get up stopped.

After a moment, he smiled. He simply raised one hand to pillow behind his head and used the other to gently brush through Li Rong’s hair, stroking her hair over and over.

Li Rong’s hair was very soft, carrying the fragrance from her body. The sachets on her were all personally prepared by him. This scent belonged uniquely to him. Thinking of this, Pei Wenxuan lowered his eyes to look at Li Rong lying on his chest and couldn’t help recalling last night’s kiss when Li Rong had taken the initiative to stand on tiptoes.

When kissing her last night, he had wholeheartedly felt it was like pledging their love. Now, upon waking in the morning when he was already sensitive, with a beauty in his arms, the thought made Pei Wenxuan’s body feel somewhat uncomfortable. His gaze couldn’t help falling on Li Rong, from her hair to her thick lashes, her high-bridged nose, her lips plump as flowers.

He quietly watched the person before him. His gaze couldn’t help deepening.

When Li Rong woke up, the sky was already bright. She vaguely heard voices outside. Opening her eyes in a daze, she saw Pei Wenxuan looking down at her with a smile, his clear voice greeting her. “Your Highness, good morning.”

He smiled warmly. The way he stared at her was somewhat strange—clearly looking harmless and gentle, yet somehow, for some reason, she felt it carried a few traces of indescribable aggression.

Li Rong glanced at him and propped herself up. Only then did she discover half her body was numb. Pei Wenxuan noticed her discomfort and reached out to massage her arm.

His hand moved over her arm. The male’s hot, broad palm kneaded her sore muscles. Before long, Li Rong felt much better. Then she felt that although the hand kneading her arm tried hard to maintain clean and efficient movements, it still couldn’t help adding a few traces of caressing inadvertently.

Li Rong couldn’t help feeling somewhat puzzled and raised her eyes to look at him.

Pei Wenxuan noticed her gaze. He smiled and looked up. “What is Your Highness looking at?”

Pei Wenxuan’s gaze held not a trace of impurity. Li Rong’s heart felt even stranger. Pei Wenxuan wasn’t a gentleman who could sit unmoved by temptation in his bones. The two had slept together like this all night, and now it was morning. He was helping her massage her shoulders like this—could he truly have no reaction at all?

When Li Rong had questions, she sought answers. She raised her hand to lift the blanket. Pei Wenxuan had quick eyes and hands. He pressed down the blanket with one hand, somewhat nervously saying, “What does Your Highness want to do?”

Li Rong’s gaze swept downward, meaningfully. “Just a bit curious.”

“What is Your Highness curious about?”

Hearing her ask like this, Pei Wenxuan seemed even more nervous. Even his ears turned red. Seeing his appearance, Li Rong couldn’t help finding it somewhat amusing. “It’s not the first time getting married. What are you being modest about?”

Speaking thus, Li Rong leaned forward, lowering her voice. “Are you not interested in me?”

“Why must Your Highness ask when you clearly know the answer?”

Pei Wenxuan smiled bitterly. “Let’s get up. Today there’s still the palace banquet.”

“Pei Wenxuan,” Li Rong raised her eyebrows, “actually,” Li Rong raised her hand, attempting to explore inside from Pei Wenxuan’s collar, saying meaningfully, “I don’t mind so much.”

“Precisely because Your Highness doesn’t mind,” Pei Wenxuan held Li Rong’s hand and sighed, “I must mind even more.”

“In our previous life, Your Highness and I began unwillingly.” Pei Wenxuan pressed Li Rong’s hand onto the bed and took clothes from the bedside, draping them over himself and fastening the buttons. “The two of us were forced into marriage, and Your Highness submitted. But now I hope that in this matter, both Your Highness and I should be more solemn. We can’t accelerate the progress just because we’ve experienced it before.”

“We should reach whatever step we should reach naturally.” Pei Wenxuan lifted the blanket to get up, sitting at the bedside to put on his shoes. “Don’t rush the steps.”

Hearing him speak so seriously about these things, Li Rong somehow, amid her sense of security, developed a few thoughts of teasing.

If a man actively wanted this, Li Rong would instead feel somewhat uneasy. Now that Pei Wenxuan was so seriously refusing, she became interested.

Just as Pei Wenxuan was about to stand up, she suddenly pounced from behind onto Pei Wenxuan’s back, raising her hands to wrap around his neck. Pei Wenxuan’s body stiffened, then heard Li Rong speak coquettishly. “Brother Pei~”

Li Rong called to him, leaning forward, pressing her entire body weight on him, and said into his ear, “Moving forward bit by bit, we still need to move forward. Isn’t Brother Pei uncomfortable holding back?”

“Then what does Your Highness mean?” Pei Wenxuan turned his head to look at her, raising his eyebrows. Li Rong blinked. Her body leaned closer, resting on Pei Wenxuan’s shoulder, and her hands began moving.

Pei Wenxuan drew in a sharp breath.

“Lord Pei?”

Li Rong saw his appearance and laughed softly against his shoulder. “Sleep a bit more?”

Pei Wenxuan said nothing. He closed his eyes, couldn’t help tilting up his chin slightly, and said in a low, hoarse voice, “Your Highness commands, this humble official dares not disobey.”

Li Rong burst out laughing. She rolled toward the inside of the bed, raising her hand to summon him. “Come in.”

Pei Wenxuan lowered the bed curtains with elegant and composed bearing, then returned to the bed.

Even though it was already daytime, after the bed curtains were lowered, the entire bed was dim.

When Pei Wenxuan pulled her into his arms, he lowered his head to glance at Li Rong, who was pressing her lips together, smiling somewhat smugly. He pressed her head to his chest, not letting her see his uncontrollable smile.

The two frolicked until noon, then went to eat together. After eating, Li Rong followed palace protocol and brought Pei Wenxuan to pay respects to Shangguan Yue.

The palace generally held a banquet on the first day of the first month to entertain married princesses and important officials. New Year’s Eve was a small banquet within the palace. The first day of the first month was a grand banquet gathering many imperial relatives and nobles.

Li Rong hadn’t seen Shangguan Yue for a long time, so she entered the palace early, wanting to speak with Shangguan Yue for a while longer.

When the two arrived at Weiyang Palace together, they saw Li Chuan had already arrived early. He was sitting and talking with Shangguan Yue. As soon as Li Rong entered, Li Chuan became happy, stood up to welcome her outside the hall, saying excitedly, “Elder Sister!”

“Don’t put on that expression like we haven’t seen each other in ages and you miss me terribly.” Li Rong raised her hand to poke away Li Chuan, who had opened his arms to embrace her, and walked toward Shangguan Yue, mocking Li Chuan. “I see you every day in court. It’s just Mother Empress and I,” Li Rong turned to look at Shangguan Yue, “who indeed haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

“Your Majesty.” Pei Wenxuan raised his hand and bowed respectfully to Shangguan Yue.

Shangguan Yue nodded toward Pei Wenxuan, beckoning him to sit down, then looked toward Li Rong. “I heard you’ve been busy these days, so I didn’t disturb you. I’ve been hearing about your affairs from within the rear palace, one thing after another, hearing enough to make one’s heart panic. But I thought you must have your plans, so I didn’t ask more.”

“Mother Empress has gotten thinner.” Li Rong looked at Shangguan Yue. After examining her for a moment, she pulled Shangguan Yue’s hand, saying with some emotion, “As you age and we grow up, you shouldn’t overwork yourself. Take good care of your health. Living long—that’s the biggest winner.”

“Now I’m not worrying about anything anymore.” Shangguan Yue smiled bitterly. “You have your own ideas. I don’t want to have any conflicts with you. In court matters, someone always has to give way. Now that you want to move forward, and I’m old, I can only give way.”

“Is Mother Empress blaming me?” Li Rong raised her eyebrows. Shangguan Yue quickly explained, “Don’t wrong me. You’re my daughter. How could I have such thoughts?”

“I’m teasing you.” Li Rong linked arms with Shangguan Yue and leaned on her shoulder.

Shangguan Yue lowered her head to look at her daughter leaning on her shoulder. Her heart softened greatly. “Now I’m not managing anything anymore. I only worry about one thing. Chuan’er,” Shangguan Yue turned to look at Li Chuan sitting to the side, “even if you won’t marry Sister Ya, there are so many young ladies in this world. You should be able to find one to be Crown Princess, right?”

Pei Wenxuan and Li Rong exchanged a glance. Shangguan Yue looked at Li Chuan, who was sitting on the side, trying hard to maintain a smile and explain. “Mother Empress, it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that the right person is hard to find…”

“It’s not that you can’t find the right person. You’re afraid of marriage.” Shangguan Yue interrupted him with one sentence, then directly began lecturing. “Actually, marriage requires learning to compromise. Look at your sister and the Prince Consort. The two were also in an arranged marriage. Now they’re inseparable. What’s wrong with that?”

Hearing this praise, Li Rong couldn’t help turning her head and coughing lightly.

Li Chuan felt somewhat wronged and said in a low voice, “Mother Empress, I’m still young. Let’s discuss this matter later.”

“Later? When do you want to discuss it later?”

“Mother Empress, I’ve thought about it.” Li Chuan’s face was full of seriousness. “When the world is not at peace, how dare I speak of marriage? As Crown Prince…”

“You just don’t want to get married and you’re spouting nonsense to me about the world!”

Shangguan Yue directly interrupted him. “Now I’m too lazy to care whether you marry or not. But as long as you don’t marry, there’s a whole bunch of people watching. That niece of Consort Rou is still wandering around the palace, ‘coincidentally encountering’ you at the East Palace gates every day. Who doesn’t know what she’s scheming? If you can resolve her issue, you can marry whenever you want.”

Shangguan Yue spoke and sat in her seat, cursing in a low voice. “No ability whatsoever but wants to talk about romance. Simply selfish to the extreme!”

Li Chuan was scolded until he felt uncomfortable and kept his head lowered. Pei Wenxuan saw the atmosphere wasn’t right. After coughing lightly, he suddenly asked Shangguan Yue, “Your Majesty, recently this humble official discovered that during cold weather, Your Highness easily experiences leg bone pain. Does Your Majesty know why?”

Hearing about her daughter’s poor health, Shangguan Yue’s attention was immediately attracted. Once she started talking with Pei Wenxuan, she couldn’t stop. The topic was actively redirected by Pei Wenxuan, and the four continued discussing health preservation topics. When the time was about right, Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan had to depart to prepare for the palace banquet.

The two bid farewell to the Empress and Li Chuan. After leaving, Li Rong sighed. Pei Wenxuan looked over. “Why does Your Highness sigh?”

“Chuan’er’s marriage—Mother Empress is right. It really can’t be dragged on forever.”

Li Rong was somewhat worried. “Given Chuan’er’s temperament, if I go persuade and pressure him, he’d select whoever I want as Crown Princess.”

“But Your Highness won’t do that now.” Pei Wenxuan’s voice was calm. He raised his hand to hold Li Rong’s hand. “Your Highness hopes His Highness the Crown Prince can also walk this path well.”

Li Rong walked hand in hand with Pei Wenxuan in the corridor. Hearing his words, she remained silent for a long time. Seeing her deep in thought, Pei Wenxuan thought about it and said, “Actually, I have a method.”

“Mm?”

Li Rong raised her eyes to look at him. Just as Pei Wenxuan was about to answer, he heard a laughing voice call from not far away. “Isn’t that Sister Pingle? You entered the palace today?”