With the conversation having reached this point, Li Rong could no longer keep up the pretense.

She lay on the floor for a moment. Seeing that Pei Wenxuan had no intention of coming to help her up, she got up by herself, pretending nothing had happened, and sat back in her seat with elegant composure.

She felt somewhat guilty.

Even though they had just quarreled, being caught red-handed with someone offering themselves to her bed was still rather awkward.

This wasn’t the first time she’d encountered such a thing. She remembered that in her previous life, there had been a good-looking top scholar who, having heard of her preference for beautiful men—whether attracted to her face or her power, she didn’t know—had one day taken advantage of an opportunity while discussing political affairs with Li Rong to secretly slip her a note.

She never brought romantic matters into court affairs. She had intended to handle it quietly, but somehow the news reached Pei Wenxuan’s ears. Pei Wenxuan showed no emotion on his face, and one couldn’t discern his pleasure or anger. Yet the next day, this top scholar was impeached, and subsequently demoted directly from Imperial Academy Erudite to a local prefect. In less than ten years, he was packed off from Hua Jing. It was said that less than five li outside the city, he was robbed by a band of mountain bandits who not only stripped him of all his money but also put a burlap sack over his head and gave him a thorough beating.

With such methods, if someone said it wasn’t Pei Wenxuan’s doing, she truly wouldn’t believe it. Only someone as petty and childishly vengeful as Pei Wenxuan could do such a thing.

In their previous life they had a cold war, so Pei Wenxuan could only use underhanded tactics behind the scenes. Now that he and she had established their relationship, he probably wouldn’t be satisfied with secretly working from the shadows anymore.

So Li Rong was constantly prepared, watching to see how Pei Wenxuan planned to make his move.

However, Pei Wenxuan said nothing. He quietly drank his wine. After a long while, he seemed to have adjusted his emotions before slowly saying, “I came to find Your Highness to apologize.”

“No need to apologize,” Li Rong quickly poured him tea. “These are all small matters. Calm down first. Whatever anger you have, let it all out. After you’re done venting, we can talk.”

Pei Wenxuan was choked by Li Rong’s words. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Your Highness, there’s no need for this.”

“You don’t need to fool me,” Li Rong raised her hand to interrupt him, filling the tea and holding it with both hands before placing it in front of him. “If there really was no need for this, you wouldn’t have dragged me here.”

“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “this small boat was originally prepared for Your Highness and me to view the lanterns together.”

“Do we look like we’re viewing lanterns?”

Li Rong asked decisively. Without waiting for Pei Wenxuan to answer, Li Rong gave him the answer herself: “This is kidnapping.”

“You quarreled with me, you scolded me, you disregarded your future prospects and acted willfully—I won’t hold any of these against you,” Li Rong pushed her hands through the air and looked at him seriously. “I only ask one thing of you: row the boat back now. Whatever matters there are, we can discuss them on shore.”

“Why does Your Highness make such a request?” Pei Wenxuan looked up at her. “This place has beautiful scenery and few people—it’s most suitable for conversation.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Li Rong immediately responded. “Most suitable for threatening and intimidating me. I can’t row a boat, the water is so cold—am I supposed to swim back?”

“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan looked at her, “I saw the letter you wrote at the North Yan Pagoda.”

Li Rong’s movements froze. The two fell silent for a moment. Pei Wenxuan poured wine and took another drink before saying slowly, “You said we’re both very good to each other, so why must we always walk toward a dead end?”

“If two people don’t want to love each other and separate, that’s one thing. But Your Highness clearly has me in your heart—why must we still make our path like this?”

Li Rong said nothing. She lowered her eyes.

“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan held his wine cup, somewhat weary. “What exactly is marriage to you?”

As Pei Wenxuan drank his wine, he asked slowly, “If you need it, you can marry someone you’ve never met. If you don’t need it, you can divorce and discard them. What exactly am I to you?”

Li Rong didn’t respond. Pei Wenxuan turned to look at her, his eyes carrying a bit of pleading: “Your Highness, tell me the truth.”

“You want to hear the truth?” Li Rong smiled. Pei Wenxuan looked at her, his unwavering gaze already expressing his attitude.

Li Rong picked up her wine cup. She took a sip of wine, then nodded. “Fine, then tonight we’ll speak the truth. I can easily divorce because in this matter, divorce is the best method. Father Emperor is suspicious. No matter how we explain, since the talisman incident made him aware of the possibility of your disloyalty, he will definitely test you. Your declaration of loyalty to him is imperative. You ask me why I would demand you divorce—I should be asking you, why not divorce?”

Pei Wenxuan heard these words and was about to respond when he heard Li Rong say decisively, “Because you suspect me.”

“Pei Wenxuan,” Li Rong poured herself wine, controlling her speech tempo, elegant yet slow, “actually, even if you don’t say it out loud, deep in your heart, you ultimately don’t trust me.”

“If you could trust me, what would you have to fear about divorce? Even if we’re separated, you and I would still be together—wouldn’t that work?”

Pei Wenxuan listened to Li Rong’s words and turned to look at the flowing water outside the window.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether he should continue speaking.

To continue would be like reopening those wounds—those hidden for many years, even somewhat humiliating past events that silently stood between the two of them. He had thought that by not mentioning them, they wouldn’t appear. But now he understood that any wound would, in different forms, affect subsequent choices.

He had truly thought he had let go, but now he knew he hadn’t.

“Not talking anymore?” Li Rong smiled. “Hit a sore spot? Coming here all high and mighty to accuse me of not valuing feelings—who’s the one who truly doesn’t value feelings?”

Pei Wenxuan gripped his cup, sipping wine without speaking.

Li Rong watched his silence. Her speculation was objectively confirmed, and her heart inexplicably ached. She suddenly struck the table with her fan: “Speak!”

“Do you want to hear the truth?”

Hearing Li Rong’s angry shout, Pei Wenxuan looked at the lake surface, using his last bit of calm to restrain himself.

Li Rong raised her hand decisively: “Please.”

“You want me to trust you,” Pei Wenxuan drank a large gulp of wine, as if giving himself courage. “But why should I trust you?”

Pei Wenxuan spoke, turning to look at her. “Based on the fact that you decided to marry down to me to avoid disaster? Based on the fact that you say you like me but immediately withdraw at the slightest difficulty? Based on the fact that you say you like me while turning around to seek others? Based on your hobby of seeking pleasure in entertainment when frustrated in romance?”

“You want me to trust you—is there anything about you that’s trustworthy?”

Pei Wenxuan held his wine and came before Li Rong. He knelt on one knee, leaning down to stare at her. “You’re absolutely right—I don’t trust you. Today you can divorce me for power. In the future, you really could leave me for power. Right now I’m still your husband—I won’t let go, and no one can separate us. But what if we separate?”

“Su Rongqing is still watching you and me,” Pei Wenxuan smiled. “I don’t trust you, and I don’t trust him either.”

Hearing these words, Li Rong kept smiling: “Understood.”

With that, she raised her head, her phoenix eyes lifting slightly, quite provocatively. “Then what is Lord Pei waiting for? Hurry up and divorce me, find a good girl and live a happy life—wouldn’t that be nice?”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t speak. He looked at Li Rong’s appearance, seeing the grievance and pain secretly hidden in her seemingly proud eyes, seeing her stubborn yet arrogant expression. He was so angry his teeth itched.

“What are you looking at?”

Li Rong smiled. “Can’t bear to part? Even if you can’t bear it, there’s nothing to be done. I’m perfectly willing…”

Before she finished speaking, Pei Wenxuan pressed her head and kissed her, simultaneously pressing his entire body on top of her, pushing her down onto the boat cabin floor!

Li Rong was full of anger. When Pei Wenxuan pressed on her like this, she kicked out viciously with one foot. Pei Wenxuan immediately used his leg to pin down hers. Both her wrists were caught by one of his hands and pulled above her head. He lowered his head to press against her lips and drove straight in.

Li Rong wouldn’t let him succeed in the slightest. She bit his lip and cursed indistinctly, “Bastard, scoundrel…”

Pei Wenxuan paid her no mind at all. The fishy taste of blood tangled between lips and tongues. The more she resisted, the more all her senses were amplified, and various sensations rose up.

“Curse.”

Pei Wenxuan spoke in a low, hoarse voice. His usually clear tone carried a bit of unspeakable desire as he said in a low voice, “Keep cursing. I’m listening.”

Li Rong desperately tried to keep herself clearheaded, organizing all the curses she knew to curse at this person. Whenever she got the slightest opportunity, she would scratch, bite, hit, and kick.

The two were practically brawling in the boat cabin, except Pei Wenxuan was always mindful of her, afraid of hurting her.

All anger and rage mixed with desire were vented through this struggle. Finally, Pei Wenxuan used his belt to tie Li Rong’s hands firmly, pressing his entire body on top of her before things finally came to an end.

Li Rong gasped for breath, looking at the man before her who had long lost his composure.

His jade crown had been torn off by her, his hair scattered messily on both sides, and his clothes had long since come undone.

His neck and chest were covered with scratch marks from her, his shoulders bore bite marks, and his lips had tooth marks from her biting—only his face had escaped being scratched.

She herself wasn’t much better off, though compared to Pei Wenxuan, she was still considerably more presentable.

But Pei Wenxuan was handsome, so even at a moment like this, he didn’t look ugly. On the contrary, with his robes half-open, he displayed a kind of romantic allure rarely seen in the outside world.

Both were exhausted. Pei Wenxuan, afraid she would go mad, pressed her down without moving. He breathed lightly and shook his head. “Li Rong, you shrew—where is there even half a trace of a princess about you?”

“Where are you any better?” Li Rong sneered coldly. “Calling you indecent would be an insult to those two words.”

Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan couldn’t help but laugh.

He looked at Li Rong’s glare—those eyes so lively and vibrant, completely different from her appearance when saying hurtful things earlier.

He gazed at her for a moment, then lowered his head and kissed her forehead. “Don’t do this anymore. When you say hurtful things, it pains me to hear them.”

“What does your pain have to do with me?”

Hearing his words, Li Rong inexplicably felt aggrieved, her eyes growing somewhat sore. “Get lost.”

Pei Wenxuan laughed softly. He reached out to embrace her, saying gently, “Rongrong, you’re a good girl. Don’t carry so many thorns.”

Li Rong didn’t respond. She turned her head away, not wanting to speak with him.

Pei Wenxuan turned to his side, not wanting to press all his weight on Li Rong. They lay facing each other. Pei Wenxuan reached out to gently stroke her back, speaking warmly, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken to provoke you. It’s not that I don’t trust you—I’m just too worried, so I’m afraid.”

“I’m not certain of my place in your heart, nor am I certain of Su Rongqing’s place in your heart. When I think of your past together, when I think of those years I lost, I can’t help but say the wrong things. Don’t be angry, all right?”

Hearing Pei Wenxuan’s apology, Li Rong lay quietly.

After the physical exertion, she actually calmed down. She pillowed her head on Pei Wenxuan’s arm, leaning against his embrace. Like a small boat returning to harbor, she had found shelter and gained peace.

Actually, she knew she was being willful. Pei Wenxuan’s apology wasn’t because he was wrong, but because he had always been tolerant of her and indulgent toward her.

This kind of concession gave Li Rong an unprecedented sense of security. She couldn’t help but raise her eyes to look at Pei Wenxuan.

Seeing her looking at him, Pei Wenxuan smiled gently. “Why are you looking at me?”

“Pei Wenxuan,” Li Rong called to him softly, “actually you’re right. I have nothing that can make you trust me. I shouldn’t blame you.”

Hearing her admit fault, Pei Wenxuan said nothing. Li Rong gently touched her forehead to his chest, somewhat weary. “I was careless. I didn’t think you would be afraid. I thought too little about what you needed. But Pei Wenxuan, it’s not that you’re not important—I just want to give you the best.”

“Since birth, everyone has told me that power is the most important thing—it’s the foundation of our position, our roots. Actually, I’m afraid of divorce too. I worry that you’ll like someone else. But I’m more afraid that you’ll ruin your prospects for my sake.”

“I’m afraid you’ll sacrifice for me, and then one day when you’re old, or when you’re at a dead end, when you don’t like me so much anymore, you’ll remember everything you did for me. At that time, you’ll resent me.”

Hearing Li Rong’s rare candor, Pei Wenxuan gently stroked her hair.

“Why aren’t you speaking?” Seeing Pei Wenxuan remain silent for so long, Li Rong raised her head to look at him. Hearing her inquiry, Pei Wenxuan smiled lightly. “I’m angry.”

“Angry?”

Li Rong was surprised. “I’m speaking so nicely, and you’re still angry?”

“Yes, I’m thinking—you really look down on people. Over such a small matter, my prospects would be ruined, I’d grow old, and I’d blame you in the future.”

Pei Wenxuan smiled and rolled over. Li Rong pillowed on his arm as Pei Wenxuan turned to look at the starry river outside. “You really think too poorly of me.”

“Who knows?” Li Rong laughed softly. “Different environments raise different people. If you don’t become Chancellor, who knows what kind of Pei Wenxuan you’ll become?”

“I won’t talk to you about these useless things.” Pei Wenxuan shifted his gaze from the starry sky to her. “Just wait and watch in the future. Having lived one lifetime already, don’t you understand what kind of person I am?”

“Very clearly,” Li Rong raised her hand and turned her firmly bound wrists before him. “Your rope-tying skills are excellent.”

Seeing Li Rong waving her hands, Pei Wenxuan sat up. Li Rong also sat up and extended her hands to him.

Pei Wenxuan lowered his head to untie the belt binding her hands, saying slowly, “Actually, today I was truly angered by you. In the future, think more before you speak, and don’t be so hurtful. You clearly mean well, yet you insist on saying such unbearable things.”

“But I won’t laugh at you,” Pei Wenxuan looked up at her and smiled. “Actually, my unwillingness to divorce today isn’t really about not trusting you so much. The main thing is, I was thinking—I was afraid you’d be hurt.”

“What would hurt me?”

Li Rong pulled her hands from the belt. Pei Wenxuan held the belt with one hand supporting himself and one hand resting on the knee of his bent leg.

He turned to look out the window. On the water surface outside, some river lanterns had drifted from somewhere. They floated on the river, reflecting with the stars in the sky, surrounding this small boat.

Pei Wenxuan looked at the lake surface, his voice somewhat distant. “Everyone around you is accustomed to abandoning feelings for power. Although you say the same, if I really did so, you would never know that some people’s feelings don’t contain even a trace of impurity.”

“I became an official, I fight for power—it’s to walk to your side. So if you asked me to exchange leaving you for power,” Pei Wenxuan turned to look at her, smiling lightly, “even if it’s just a temporary separation, a verbal separation, I’m still unwilling.”

“To exchange feelings for power—I can’t let the person I love become accustomed to such things.”

“But this is just a small exchange.” Li Rong frowned. Pei Wenxuan looked at her. “If I agreed to this small exchange without hesitation, would you truly feel nothing at all?”

“Rongrong,” Pei Wenxuan said, raising his hand to place it in her hair, “for me, not letting you suffer grievance is the most important thing.”

Li Rong said nothing. She quietly gazed at the man before her.

His hair hung loose, his robes half-open, his hair dancing lightly in the night wind. The steadiness accumulated through years overlaid upon his handsome youthful features, set against the lake and moonlight—like an immortal in a dream, breathtakingly beautiful.

The silence lasted only a moment. In the distance came the sound of bells. Shortly after, thousands of sky lanterns slowly rose from the distant mountains. Pei Wenxuan looked up, his eyes full of lamplight, carrying a smile.

“Rongrong,” he turned his head with a smile, “look.”

The instant he turned his head, the girl kissed him.

Pei Wenxuan only froze for a moment before he heard Li Rong speak in a low voice, “Pei Wenxuan, actually I like you more than you imagine.”

As Li Rong spoke, her arms encircled him. She turned and sat on top of Pei Wenxuan, embracing his neck.

Pei Wenxuan leaned against the boat wall. After a brief moment of stunned surprise, he realized what Li Rong was doing.

He felt his heart as if soaked in honey, coated in sugar. Just this small action made him feel everything was worthwhile.

He couldn’t help but curve his lips, raising his hand to brush away the hair on Li Rong’s face, then pressing his hand into the hair at the back of her head, deepening this kiss with force.

Pei Wenxuan’s familiarity with Li Rong far exceeded Li Rong’s understanding of herself.

He loved Li Rong, loved everything about her, and was willing to study and give everything for her, ultimately becoming expert in this way.

At first it was just a kiss, but then various methods emerged. By the end, Li Rong softly held Pei Wenxuan, her entire person leaning against him. Pei Wenxuan had one hand resting by the window, supporting his forehead, while the other arm embraced the person sitting on him and resting against him. His hand moved up and down along the spine on her back.

Li Rong had long since gone limp against him, yet he still maintained the appearance of a gentleman like the clear moon and fresh breeze, asking intimately by her ear, “Shall we return?”

Li Rong didn’t speak. She held him, feeling that although this person asked the question, he didn’t stop his hands.

After a long while, she finally spoke hoarsely, “Brother Pei…”

Hearing her form of address, Pei Wenxuan couldn’t help but laugh. He leaned forward a bit, raising his hand to embrace her, making one final confirmation by her ear, “Right here?”

Li Rong responded with a nasal sound. Pei Wenxuan kissed her earlobe.

“Good girl.”

After saying this, he gently laid her on the cushion, raising his hand to pull the belt from beside them and cover Li Rong’s eyes.

Li Rong could only hear the surrounding sounds of water and cicadas.

The sky full of stars and river, a thousand lanterns reflected on the water. The small boat floated and swayed on the water surface, concealed by thin mist in the night.

When emotion deepened, Pei Wenxuan intertwined his ten fingers with hers. He called her name softly, with a wildness completely different from usual, until finally, he faintly whimpered.

Only then did Li Rong finally understand that desire ultimately needed emotion to bring the joy of human connection.