Li Rong fell silent.
He Yan was the Left Vice Minister of Personnel, one rank higher than Pei Wenxuan, the Right Vice Minister of Personnel. Now that Pei Wenxuan had just transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, when He Yan took the initiative to host a banquet for him, naturally Pei Wenxuan had no reason to decline.
However…
“He Yan has quite the audacity.”
Li Rong spoke coldly. He actually dared to invite her Prince Consort to a brothel. Now that Pei Wenxuan hadn’t yet gained power, these people already had such boldness—what about in the future…
“Your Highness,” Zhao Chongjiu reminded her coolly, “you and Lord Pei have divorced.”
Li Rong: “…”
She felt Zhao Chongjiu’s words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her, bringing her much clarity. She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and angry, snapping in a low voice, “Mind your own business!”
Zhao Chongjiu remained expressionless. Li Rong composed herself in the room and finally decided she had to go see for herself.
On one hand, to see how Pei Wenxuan was conducting “business” at a brothel; on the other, Cui Yulang’s matter truly couldn’t wait.
Having thought it through, she suppressed the anger in her heart and raised her hand to give orders. “Have someone watch over Spring Breeze Tower, get me an identity to infiltrate, and be careful to keep watch—don’t let anyone discover me.”
Zhao Chongjiu acknowledged and went to handle it. After a short while, he sent a female guard back to lead Li Rong to Spring Breeze Tower.
Since Li Rong wanted to secretly enter Spring Breeze Tower, she naturally couldn’t take the main entrance. On the way, the guard explained today’s arrangements to her. “Lord Zhao has already bribed a dancer scheduled to attend tonight’s banquet. Tonight Your Highness may have to lower yourself somewhat and replace the dancer. What does Your Highness think?”
“As long as it gets the job done.”
Li Rong nodded, while also contemplating that being a dancer was fine—it would let her see clearly how Pei Wenxuan socialized outside.
Though she had great confidence in Pei Wenxuan, she had also inherited Li Ming’s suspiciousness. Even with those she trusted most, she reserved the possibility that they might turn bad.
After all, which woman didn’t think she understood her man well?
Li Rong stroked the small fan in her hand, lowering her eyes.
The female guard led her through the back door into Spring Breeze Tower, into a dancer’s room. When the dancer saw Li Rong, assuming her to be some madam, she repeatedly cautioned, “Madam, no matter what you see today, you cannot make a scene in our establishment, or the head mistress will surely have my head.”
“Don’t worry,” Li Rong smiled and consoled her. “I’m just going to observe. I won’t implicate you.”
“However, there’s one thing,” the female guard suddenly spoke up, “what if a patron inside takes a fancy to Your Highness?”
“Rest assured,” the dancer smiled. “Lord He who’s coming today is a regular customer of our establishment—he won’t make things difficult. Besides, I’ve already told the wine server who’ll escort you into the room that I’m not receiving guests today. The wine server will help you out.”
“That’s settled then.” Li Rong nodded. She thought for a moment. “If there truly is an accident… I have my ways.”
As long as she revealed her identity, Pei Wenxuan would naturally have to protect her. She wasn’t particularly worried.
Only after receiving these words did the female guard feel at ease, having the dancer lead Li Rong to change clothes.
Behind the screen, the dancer brought out a Persian dancer’s outfit and handed it to Li Rong. “Does Madam need my help?”
Li Rong looked at the golden outfit adorned with sequins before her, momentarily at a loss for words.
She was even beginning to suspect whether all of this was Pei Wenxuan’s trap…
Seeing Li Rong remain silent for a long time, the dancer carefully inquired, “Madam?”
Li Rong finally came back to her senses. Having come this far, even if it were Pei Wenxuan’s trap, she still had to see him. So she couldn’t worry about all that and said directly, “No need, I’ll change myself.”
The dancer curtsied gracefully and withdrew.
Li Rong quickly changed into the dancer’s outfit behind the screen and came out. Then she had the guard quickly apply heavy makeup, ensuring that with the veil on, she wouldn’t be recognizable.
After changing her outfit, the dancer taught Li Rong the movements for tonight’s dance number in the room.
Li Rong’s position tonight would be toward the back—she didn’t need to dance particularly well, just follow along without making mistakes. So Li Rong spent an hour with the dancer memorizing the general postures and rhythm, and listening to the dancer explain the rules of Spring Breeze Tower. By this time, night was falling, lanterns were being hung outside, and the female guard had just lit the lamp when they heard a boy’s summoning voice from outside. “Sister Qinghe, the guests have arrived. The mistress is calling for you.”
The dancer deliberately lowered her voice, making it hoarse. “Coming right away.”
Hearing the dancer’s voice, the boy asked doubtfully, “Sister Qinghe, what happened to your voice?”
Hearing the boy’s words, the dancer walked to the door and opened it. She coughed lightly twice, her voice hoarse. “My throat isn’t well today. Wait a moment—I’ll come after changing clothes.”
The boy acknowledged, and the dancer closed the door. Walking before Li Rong, she lowered her voice. “This boy is called Xiao Gui. You needn’t say much later—just follow him.”
Li Rong nodded. The dancer estimated the time and indicated for Li Rong to go out.
Li Rong walked out of the room and nodded to the boy.
Xiao Gui, thinking Qinghe’s throat was unwell, didn’t say much. The two proceeded in silence. The boy escorted Li Rong to the front hall, where Li Rong saw a middle-aged woman—presumably the “mistress” Qinghe had mentioned.
This middle-aged woman wore heavy makeup and had her hands on her hips as she lectured a group of young women. “Tonight Lord He is hosting distinguished guests. You all must perform well and not be negligent. Lord He said that if the honored guests aren’t satisfied today, he won’t come anymore in the future. Put all your effort into it—be as seductive as you can be! Do you understand?!”
All the women responded in unison. Li Rong blended into the crowd, listening to these words. A stifled breath pressed against her chest, unable to come out or go down.
This was these women’s livelihood—she understood that. She had never been one to make things difficult for women, so whether to vent this frustration would depend entirely on Pei Wenxuan’s performance.
Li Rong calculated in her heart and followed the crowd to the back courtyard. After waiting there for a while, she heard the mistress downstairs greeting someone. “My lord, such a handsome gentleman as yourself is truly a rare guest…”
Hearing this, Li Rong quickly looked over. Looking down from the second floor, she saw Pei Wenxuan in a blue robe and jade crown, hands folded in his sleeves, leading Tong Ye upward.
He looked somewhat different from how she usually saw him. His face bore not a trace of a smile, appearing cold and distant, seeming particularly unapproachable. The usually gentle face like a spring breeze now showed a quality as lofty and unattainable as snow on a high mountain.
Others continuously smiled obsequiously at him along the way. His expression remained unmoved, as if he heard nothing at all, simply ascending the stairs.
This version of Pei Wenxuan left Li Rong momentarily stunned. Then she laughed at herself for making such a fuss. She had seen Pei Wenxuan’s cold expression countless times in her previous life. She had just grown so accustomed to Pei Wenxuan indulging her that she’d almost forgotten what kind of person he truly was.
Discovering she could see a different side of Pei Wenxuan, Li Rong suddenly felt this trip worthwhile. When Pei Wenxuan reached the doorway, the women waiting there quickly bowed in greeting. Li Rong also reluctantly bent at the waist. Pei Wenxuan casually glanced over and saw a sea of white, slender waists. Frightened, he quickly turned back, feigning composure as he pushed the door open and walked inside.
He Yan was indeed an old player of these pleasure establishments—even the dancers he selected were this bold.
Persian dance had initially been loved merely as exotic entertainment, but later the pleasure establishments discovered that Persian dance costumes were easier to design with novelty, and the waist-twisting movements more easily enticed men, so it became popular in pleasure establishments.
Compared to genuine performing dancers who had actually come from Persia to the streets, the dancers here wore even shorter tops, exposed more of their slender waists, and had lower necklines. For those more generously endowed, the entire upper body’s lines could only be described as breathtaking.
However, this also made it seem overly explicit, so refined scholars didn’t care for this style—only old gluttons of pleasure establishments loved this sort of thing.
Pei Wenxuan formed a rough understanding of this future “colleague” in his mind. This assessment wasn’t beyond his expectations.
From the intelligence he had gathered, He Yan was a person who coveted wealth and women, was skilled at socializing. Today’s behavior was quite in line with his expectations.
He hadn’t wanted to come, fearing Li Rong’s misunderstanding. But getting on good terms with He Yan was crucial for his next steps. If He Yan took the initiative to host a banquet for him and he didn’t go, he would appear too aloof. In the future, wanting to get close to He Yan would be difficult.
So he still came with gritted teeth, only planning to explain to Li Rong later when he returned.
Of course, not explaining wasn’t impossible either. If he didn’t explain, when Li Rong came to question him, he would ask her about Cui Yulang. She would be in the wrong and naturally wouldn’t dare say much.
The moment Pei Wenxuan entered the door, he had already planned out how to quarrel with Li Rong afterward.
After confirming he could win the argument, he smiled and bowed to He Yan, who was already seated. “Lord He.”
Then he bowed to the others in the room. “Greetings to all the lords.”
“Lord Pei has arrived.”
He Yan stood up as he spoke. He appeared to be in his early forties, thin and wiry, sporting a mustache that gave him a somewhat crafty appearance.
He greeted Pei Wenxuan to take a seat. “Come, come, sit down. Tonight follow your elder brother’s lead.”
In just a few words, He Yan was already addressing Pei Wenxuan as brothers. He Yan had Pei Wenxuan sit down and introduced everyone in the room to him one by one.
Almost everyone in the room was from the Ministry of Personnel—officials of various ranks, all future colleagues they would work with. Everyone sized each other up while exchanging pleasantries.
Pei Wenxuan knew when to advance and retreat. In no time, he had become familiar with everyone. Seeing the atmosphere improve, He Yan waved his hand to have the women brought in.
Li Rong followed the crowd into the room, staying in the back row. She scanned around and, after confirming they were all from the Ministry of Personnel, roughly understood tonight’s banquet purpose.
As she danced, she carefully listened to Pei Wenxuan’s conversation with the others.
The group exchanged pleasantries in the room, speaking only official talk, going back and forth without ever getting to the point. They drank quite a bit of wine while saying much nonsense.
Li Rong followed along in the crowd, spinning and twisting her waist, while using peripheral vision to watch Pei Wenxuan. After three rounds of drinks, everyone had become familiar. He Yan raised his wine cup, actively approached Pei Wenxuan, raised his hand to clasp his shoulder, and said happily, “Brother Pei, you’re a straightforward person—I like you. Rest assured, from now on in the Ministry of Personnel, I’ve got your back.”
“Then Wenxuan thanks you, elder brother.”
Pei Wenxuan smiled and immediately changed how he addressed him. He Yan patted Pei Wenxuan’s shoulder and sat beside him, sighing somewhat emotionally. “I know Princess Pingle bullied you terribly. Now you’ve finally divorced and gained your freedom, right? Come, let loose tonight. Your brother is treating,” he said, raising his hand toward the women, “look carefully—whichever one you like, just call her over.”
Everyone heard these words, including Li Rong.
Li Rong stared at Pei Wenxuan from within the crowd. She wanted to see what Pei Wenxuan would say.
If he dared to accept, she’d deal with him when they got back.
Pei Wenxuan was also somewhat troubled. Having finally built a good relationship with He Yan, refusing now would likely offend him. But to actually accept…
Before Pei Wenxuan could refuse, He Yan saw his intention and quickly said, “You’re young—I know you’re shy. Come, let your brother help you choose. You see, a woman’s most beautiful feature is her waist.”
As He Yan spoke, his gaze fixed on the dancers’ twisting waists, his eyes like a wolf eyeing meat as he commented. “A good waist needs three things: first, slenderness; second, flexibility; third, grace. This Persian dance tests a woman’s waist strength…”
“Brother He…” Pei Wenxuan couldn’t bear to listen and looked up wanting to change the subject. Just as he raised his head, he saw He Yan staring at one woman without letting go, praising, “Little brother, look at this.”
Hearing these words, Pei Wenxuan instinctively looked over, then heard He Yan say, “What a waist!”
Pei Wenxuan’s gaze landed and he froze.
He saw a golden Persian dancer’s short-sleeved top adorned with gold sequins. Beneath the swaying sequins, a woman’s slender, supple waist twisted like a serpent.
That waist had not an ounce of excess flesh, looking firm and beautiful. The curves above and below connected extremely smoothly, rising and falling in waves. Most importantly, between those sequins, at the edge of her spine, a small red mole flickered in and out of view under the lamplight, as if summoning something, making one unable to look away.
Li Rong had just seen Pei Wenxuan staring blankly at her, and anger rose within her. Today she wore heavy makeup—Pei Wenxuan couldn’t possibly recognize her. Staring at her so blankly, he must have been unable to look away after seeing a pretty woman.
However, Li Rong felt she couldn’t jump to conclusions so quickly, so she waited for Pei Wenxuan’s next reaction.
Pei Wenxuan’s daze also sparked He Yan’s interest. He turned his head, suppressing a smile. “Brother Pei, you’ve taken a fancy to this one?”
“She is indeed quite good.” Pei Wenxuan came back to his senses and realized this was probably Li Rong.
As for why Li Rong appeared here, it wasn’t hard to guess—she was probably anxious to discuss Cui Yulang’s matter with him and had followed him here.
Thinking of this, Pei Wenxuan felt somewhat annoyed, but the more annoyed he felt inside, the brighter his smile became on the surface.
He looked at He Yan and joked, “Has Lord He also taken a fancy to her?”
“Since you’ve taken a fancy, how could I compete with you?”
He Yan smiled and turned to point at Li Rong. “The one in the back row—come here. Today’s honored guest has taken a fancy to you. With such a handsome lord, you should be secretly delighted!”
Hearing this, all the dancers laughed. However, the wine server supervising became anxious and quickly stepped forward. “My lord, this is one of our pure entertainers…”
“Here’s one hundred taels.” Before the other could finish, Pei Wenxuan directly pulled out a banknote and placed it on the table. The other froze, then heard Pei Wenxuan smile and say, “Tell me, should I give this silver to you, or to your boss?”
This much money was enough to redeem a dancer. If this money went to the boss, any pure entertainer could become impure.
The wine server had received Qinghe’s instructions and naturally knew Li Rong wasn’t one of theirs. He quickly searched for words, wanting to help Li Rong escape trouble. But before he could think of anything, he saw Li Rong bow and say in a hoarse voice, “I won’t make things difficult for my brother.”
With that, Li Rong stepped forward, came before Pei Wenxuan, bowed to him, and said respectfully in a raspy voice, “Serving my lord is only proper. Young master need not spend so much.”
Are you kidding? That was one hundred taels.
Pei Wenxuan had never seen Li Rong show him such a respectful manner. An unprecedented feeling of satisfaction rose within him. He smiled at Li Rong and patted the spot beside him. “Miss, please sit.”
Hearing this, Li Rong was so angry her teeth itched.
Look at his gentle, considerate appearance—he’d probably lost his wits to lust.
But she still wanted to see how far Pei Wenxuan could go, so she bowed, deliberately speaking timidly. “Thank you, my lord.”
Seeing Li Rong’s manner, He Yan laughed heartily. “She understands propriety.”
With that, he rose from beside Pei Wenxuan and returned to his own seat. He called three women over—one on each side and another kneeling behind for him to lean on. He looked thoroughly content.
The other officials also called for women, each embracing at least one. The women coaxed them to drink, chatted with them, while those not selected continued dancing. The scene became lively and chaotic for a time.
Li Rong walked around the small table and sat beside Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan turned his head, gently looking her up and down. Li Rong kept her head lowered, pretending to be shy, worried in her heart whether Pei Wenxuan’s eyes could see through her.
Meanwhile, Pei Wenxuan, looking at Li Rong’s rare coy manner, felt his heart melt halfway. He reached over and grasped her hand, speaking gently. “Dressed so scantily—aren’t you cold?”
“I’m alright,” Li Rong spoke softly, responding in a low voice. “It was a bit cold outside, but once inside it’s not cold anymore.”
Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan didn’t say much more. He simply removed his outer robe and draped it over her.
Watching from the side, He Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “The girl deliberately dresses scantily to entice you, yet you cover her with clothes. Lord Pei, you’re quite the compassionate one.”
“This little sister’s hands are ice cold,” Pei Wenxuan turned to respond, leaning back in his chair while naturally pulling Li Rong into his embrace. He raised his cup. “If I don’t cherish her properly, what if she catches cold?”
His movements were extremely gentle, but thinking that Pei Wenxuan might not have recognized her at all, Li Rong felt somewhat sour and stifled inside.
She leaned against Pei Wenxuan’s chest, listening as he asked her, “What’s your name?”
“Qinghe.”
Li Rong gave the dancer’s name. Pei Wenxuan nodded and only said, “It’s a good name.”
“Pretentious elegance—not worthy of the stage.”
Li Rong gave Pei Wenxuan no face at all, speaking poorly of her own name. Pei Wenxuan wasn’t bothered and only smiled as he asked, “How old are you? Are you twenty yet?”
“No,” Li Rong pretended very earnestly. “This humble one is almost nineteen this year.”
“Your age isn’t exactly young anymore.” Pei Wenxuan spoke while watching Li Rong handle him, finding it extremely interesting. “Do you have someone you fancy?”
“Yes.”
“Oh? What’s his name? What kind of person is he?” Seeing Li Rong being so adorable, Pei Wenxuan couldn’t help but tease her. Seeing Pei Wenxuan so interested in chatting with a young woman, Li Rong became angry and only said, “His name is Pei Tieniu—he’s a fool.”
Pei Wenxuan: “…”
He heard the resentment in Li Rong’s words. Looking carefully, he saw that although Li Rong was trying her best to restrain herself, her eyes still couldn’t completely hide her anger.
He observed for a moment and understood.
She was jealous.
Thinking that Li Rong was jealous over him, Pei Wenxuan felt so happy he wanted to hold her entirely in his arms and kiss her. But remembering He Yan was still present, he couldn’t show too many inappropriate emotions in front of him. So he only smiled and nodded. “What a coincidence—my surname is also Pei.” With that, Pei Wenxuan leaned close to her ear, suppressing his amusement. “You can call me Brother Pei.”
She didn’t want to call him Brother Pei. She only wanted to bash his head in.
But she couldn’t show it. She could only blush and give a soft “Mm” in acknowledgment.
“Lord Pei seems quite fond of this woman.”
Seeing Pei Wenxuan being so gentle with Li Rong, He Yan couldn’t help but tease. “Look at how considerate he is—he probably wasn’t even this good to the Princess.”
Hearing this, Li Rong quickly glanced at He Yan.
Very good at talking. She made a mental note of that.
Meanwhile, Pei Wenxuan didn’t deny it and only said, “The Princess is naturally noble, but I also like this little darling.”
“Then hurry and have your little darling remove her veil so everyone can see.”
Someone laughed teasingly. Li Rong’s body stiffened, then she heard Pei Wenxuan say, “If I remove it and let you see, if she turns out to be beautiful, you’ll compete with me for her.”
“Lord Pei, I promise not to compete for your little darling,” the person teasing spoke with utter seriousness. “Everyone else’s dancers have removed their veils. Yours not removing hers doesn’t look good, does it?”
“Forget it,” Pei Wenxuan held Li Rong, speaking casually. “I’m quite particular. Having finally taken a fancy to this woman’s waist, if her face spoils my appetite, I’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”
With that, Pei Wenxuan changed the subject, looking toward He Yan. “Brother He, is Minister Wang truly going to manage this imperial examination?”
“The Minister has so many affairs to handle,” hearing Pei Wenxuan bring up business—though nothing major—He Yan responded carelessly. “Even if they say he’s managing it, he can’t possibly truly handle it. The imperial examinations aren’t important matters anyway—just a bunch of poor students wanting to leap through the dragon gate.” He Yan drank from the wine a dancer handed him and said casually, “How could the Minister have time for all that?”
As he spoke, he moved to kiss the dancer.
The dancer dodged with a smile, and he pursued. Everyone followed suit. The scene became extremely chaotic for a time.
Pei Wenxuan sat quietly amid the group, appearing somewhat too composed. He Yan laughed at him for being here for the first time. He only said, “I’m not accustomed to such things in front of others.”
Pei Wenxuan spoke while roughly discussing the Ministry of Personnel’s situation with the others. Nothing sounded particularly important. Li Rong lay against Pei Wenxuan’s chest as he absentmindedly stroked her back. Listening to their valueless conversations, Li Rong couldn’t help but grow drowsy.
When others toasted each other from afar, they didn’t drink themselves but had the dancers drink. When it came to Pei Wenxuan, he drank everything himself, not giving Li Rong any.
By the second half of the banquet, things had become improper. These people were energetic, making a ruckus with the help of alcohol.
Pei Wenxuan inquired with He Yan and others about the examination situation at the Ministry of Personnel while handling everyone’s toasts. Though the wine wasn’t strong and was even somewhat mild, drinking too much still had an effect, making all rational reactions sluggish.
This inevitably drew his attention to his surroundings. The others had long since begun their own entertainments. The extent of their activities was extreme. Pei Wenxuan averted his gaze to avoid looking, yet found it difficult to ignore Li Rong leaning in his arms.
Li Rong had been lying in his embrace for a long while, seemingly drowsy, drifting off to sleep in a daze, looking like a little cat.
Pei Wenxuan turned his head to watch for a moment. Under the dim lamplight, he saw the woman’s eyelashes were thick and long, her lips colored like cherries, slightly parted, faintly revealing the tip of her tongue.
Pei Wenxuan lowered his eyes, picked up his wine cup, took a sip, then turned back to discuss business with He Yan.
He Yan had already explained the entire examination process to him. Pei Wenxuan spoke slowly, “So according to what elder brother says, we actually don’t need to do much.”
As Pei Wenxuan spoke, the hand resting on Li Rong’s body couldn’t help but move downward.
He had earlier draped his clothing over Li Rong, covering her like a blanket. Originally meant to ward off cold, now it became the best concealment.
Beneath the clothing, no one could see what he was doing. Only Li Rong stiffened at his movements in that instant.
Pei Wenxuan knew she had awakened, but he pretended ignorance, his expression remaining composed and serene, as if nothing had happened.
“Indeed not much,” He Yan sighed, speaking meaningfully. “But the most crucial link is in our hands, so naturally we can’t avoid…”
He Yan smiled without continuing.
Hearing them discuss these matters, Li Rong became much more alert.
She leaned against Pei Wenxuan, pretending to sleep while eavesdropping on their conversation.
Meanwhile, Pei Wenxuan, seemingly knowing she wouldn’t open her eyes, became even more brazen.
“Then… what should we do?” Pei Wenxuan held his wine cup. “The methods for those below aren’t just one kind, are they?”
As Pei Wenxuan spoke, he took another sip of wine.
Li Rong bit down hard on her teeth, suppressing all sound.
She tried not to produce any feeling, any emotion.
Although she intuitively felt Pei Wenxuan had most likely recognized her, when she thought about the possibility that he hadn’t, she felt resistant inside.
This sense of resistance mixed with the sensations Pei Wenxuan provided, like vinegar mixed with sweetness, making all the flavors more pronounced.
Actually, Pei Wenxuan wasn’t doing anything too excessive. He was merely caressing her like stroking a precious jade, an ancient qin—treasured and unhurried in his exploration. But it was precisely this submission after resistance, this inability to show or speak after submission, that exponentially amplified all perception layer by layer.
Li Rong listened to Pei Wenxuan and He Yan’s conversation while also irrepressibly immersing herself in a certain unspeakable pleasure.
“There are thousands of methods, but all must ultimately go through us. For example, the most common is simply changing a name.”
He Yan leaned over and said in a low voice, “At that time, people will come to ask you for help.”
Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan smiled. “So there are this many tricks to it.”
“Work hard.” He Yan raised his hand and patted Pei Wenxuan. “The Ministry of Personnel isn’t like the Censorate.”
“Yes,” Pei Wenxuan nodded. “In the future, I’ll still rely on elder brother’s care.”
“By the way, has this woman of yours fallen asleep?”
Seeing the time was about right, He Yan glanced at Li Rong. Pei Wenxuan turned his head and smiled at the pretending-to-sleep Li Rong, raising his hand to brush away hair that had fallen across her face.
The hand visible to others moved extremely gently, but where others couldn’t see was entirely different.
“She must be too tired.” Pei Wenxuan smiled. “This woman was probably exhausted today.”
“Even if tired, she must still attend to guests.”
He Yan blinked and smiled. “Little brother, why don’t you head back to your room first?”
“Then Brother He, you…”
“I’m leaving too.”
He Yan smiled. “After seeing off the other brothers, I’ll head to my guest room as well.”
“Then little brother will take his leave first?”
“Go ahead.”
He Yan waved his hand. “A moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold. You’ve probably been holding back all evening.”
Pei Wenxuan seemed embarrassed and said no more. When others were about to call Li Rong, they saw Pei Wenxuan shake his head.
Pei Wenxuan reached out, pulled the clothing draped over Li Rong securely, then lifted her horizontally in his arms and followed the attendant back to the guest room.
The attendant led them back and opened the door. Before the lamp could be lit, Pei Wenxuan placed her directly on the floor and without hesitation kissed her.
Li Rong pushed him away and stopped pretending, saying directly, “Get lost…”
Before she finished, Pei Wenxuan pressed her against the door, using his lips to stop her words. “Pushed me aside to go see Cui Yulang, and you dare tell me to get lost?”
He bit and nibbled at her lips indistinctly. “You have quite the temper.”
Hearing this, Li Rong knew why he had pretended not to recognize her today.
She frowned as Pei Wenxuan interlaced his fingers with hers, pinning her hands to the door. She took advantage of the gap when he kissed elsewhere to pant softly. “You recognized me early on?”
“Besides you, do you think I’d be good to any other woman?”
“Why not?” Li Rong hung entirely on him, smiling. “What if you had a sister or a friend or something—wouldn’t it be normal to treat her well?”
At these words, Pei Wenxuan suddenly froze.
Seeing Pei Wenxuan stop moving, Li Rong felt rather puzzled. She looked up at him.
In the night, Pei Wenxuan kept his head lowered. Light filtered through the gauze window, falling mottled and dappled upon him. Li Rong looked at his appearance, momentarily dazed. “Pei Wenxuan?”
“Never again,” Pei Wenxuan suddenly spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse. Li Rong stared at him blankly, then saw him raise his head and smile at her. His smile carried some bitterness, but he still seemed unwilling to let her notice, trying to be gentle. “I won’t be good to a second woman.”
“Rongrong,” he leaned forward, gently touching his forehead to hers. “I can’t lose you a second time.”
“I can’t walk alone for another thirty years.”