Hearing this, Li Rong knew Pei Wenxuan was asking about Huale. She smiled carelessly, “She just grazed me. How could I really let her hit me?”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t say anything. He looked at her, and after a moment, he lowered his head and gently kissed her wound.

The kiss carried a ticklish sensation, making Li Rong’s whole body tremble. She couldn’t help but step back.

With her retreat, Pei Wenxuan followed, naturally pressing her against the door panel. His lips traced across her face and landed on her lips.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, wishing he could merge her into his bones and blood. Li Rong sensed the force of his grip and gently pushed him, saying vaguely, “I still need to enter the palace.”

Pei Wenxuan understood her meaning. As soon as the memorial reached the palace, she would have to enter the palace to find Li Ming. If any traces were left at this time, it would be hard to explain later.

So he straightened up and held her tightly in his arms, taking a deep breath. “You’ve been wronged.”

“How is this any kind of grievance?” Li Rong laughed. She raised her hand to poke Pei Wenxuan’s shoulder. “I thought you were going to ask about Su Rongqing?”

Hearing Su Rongqing’s name, Pei Wenxuan snorted coldly and lowered his head to kiss her fiercely. “You dare mention it?”

“As soon as I saw you, there was a strange smell all over you.”

“What kind of dog nose do you have?” Li Rong laughed out loud. “You could smell it from outside the carriage?”

It wasn’t strange that she smelled it being close to Su Rongqing, but for Pei Wenxuan to smell it upon meeting—that was somewhat frightening.

But she wasn’t surprised that Pei Wenxuan’s sense of smell was so keen. After all, Pei Wenxuan excelled at blending incense. Without an acute sense of smell, he wouldn’t have been able to learn this skill.

Pei Wenxuan kept a straight face and said nothing. Li Rong knew he was somewhat angry, so she raised her hand to hook around his neck, her whole body hanging on him, explaining, “I was pretending to sleep in the carriage, and he just draped a piece of clothing over me.” As she spoke, her face showed distress, and she leaned against Pei Wenxuan’s chest. “Brother Pei, I’m tainted. What should I do?”

Pei Wenxuan was amused by her and lowered his head to kiss her. “Tainted? Come, let big brother wash you clean.”

The two laughed and played for a moment, moving from the doorway to the bed. Pei Wenxuan knew news from the palace could arrive at any moment, so he didn’t go too far. By the end, he had only removed his outer robe, his clothes still intact. Li Rong curled against his chest, looking as if her whole body had gone limp.

Pei Wenxuan got up to fetch water and wiped the sweat from her. She hadn’t sweated much, and after recovering for a moment, she was no different from usual.

Pei Wenxuan lay beside her, raising his hand to stroke her arm, letting her feel that he was still by her side. He considered things and said, “What did Su Rongqing come to find you for?”

“He was afraid Huale would suffer a loss,” Li Rong said lazily. “You could guess I was scheming against someone. Having followed me for so long, how could he not figure it out?”

Pei Wenxuan’s movement slowed, but before Li Rong could notice, he continued stroking her hair and said peacefully, “He was probably also worried you would suffer under Consort Rou and Huale. They went through so much trouble trying to bring you to the Constabulary Bureau, probably intending to find a way to connect your killing of Chen Houzhao with the Crown Prince. With you falling into their hands, no one would feel at ease.”

Li Rong said nothing. She closed her eyes. Pei Wenxuan lowered his eyes and said quietly, “I originally wanted to go over immediately, but I was afraid of disrupting your plans, so I arranged everything first…”

“You did very well.”

Li Rong raised her hand to grasp his, pulling him closer. Her whole body nestled in his embrace. “You don’t need to explain these things to me. What you did is exactly what I wanted.”

Pei Wenxuan said nothing. Li Rong leaning against him gave him tremendous comfort.

“I didn’t go there immediately,” Pei Wenxuan sighed. “I feel guilty about it.”

Li Rong reached out to embrace his waist.

She actually knew that he wasn’t just feeling guilty—he was also afraid.

Afraid he was a step too late again, afraid he hadn’t given as much as Su Rongqing had, afraid he hadn’t done as well as Su Rongqing.

But she didn’t know how to comfort him either. No matter how much reasoning one spoke, most people in this world understood principles better than anyone, yet all wounds could only be changed through events and experiences.

She said nothing, just held Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan thought for a moment and knew that continuing to discuss these things would be overly sentimental, so he changed the subject and asked, “Did you talk about anything with him?”

“I asked him if he could stop.”

Li Rong sighed. “His doing these things is mainly because he doesn’t trust Chuan’er. If he could assist Chuan’er’s ascension to the throne together with us, things would be much easier.”

“What did he say?”

Pei Wenxuan already knew the answer and asked casually.

“Naturally he didn’t agree,” Li Rong answered lazily. “He said all monarchs won’t spare the influential families. He has no path to choose.”

“His best path is to assist King Su. King Su comes from a humble background, and Xiao Su doesn’t have much ability. After ascending the throne, he would inevitably depend on the influential families. He’s only eleven years old now. In two years when he ascends the throne, he’ll just be a tender thirteen-year-old child. At that time, if they eliminate the mother and keep the son, they can see if he’s obedient. If he’s obedient, they’ll keep him. If not, after he has a child, they can just replace him with another infant.”

As Li Rong spoke, she said flatly, “The calculations are quite good.”

Having received these words, Pei Wenxuan nodded. “Then there’s no need to force it. He’s different from us and doesn’t have much choice either.”

“Where is there no choice?” Li Rong laughed. “He’s just unwilling to give up the benefits in his hands.”

Pei Wenxuan said nothing. He hesitated for a moment and finally spoke, “Your Highness, the Su clan is different from the Shangguan and Pei clans. The Shangguan clan was always the weakest of the Eight Surnames, and the Pei clan is also from humble origins. Both have relied on the imperial family to reach where they are today, so we don’t have many choices. Whether it’s changing the Crown Prince or accepting the new policies, the losses are about the same either way. But the Su clan is different. It’s the foremost clan of Jiangnan. These centuries-old influential families—let alone the replacement of princes—have gone through hundreds of years, even through dynasty changes, without being seriously harmed.”

“So what?” Though Li Rong asked, she knew what Pei Wenxuan was saying. She smiled bitterly. “Whether Su Rongqing fights or not, most people in the Su clan and other clans won’t retreat. Rather than having Chuan’er ascend the throne and reach that point, wouldn’t it be better to directly depose Chuan’er first to avoid greater losses?”

Pei Wenxuan said nothing. Li Rong turned to look at him with an ambiguous smile. “You’re quite understanding. Don’t you dislike him? Why do you keep saying good things for him every day?”

“I don’t like him,” Pei Wenxuan smiled warmly and raised his hand to brush away the stray hair at her forehead. “But I hope Your Highness feels that many people in this world like you.”

He wanted Li Rong to see a better, warmer world. He didn’t want her to think of every matter in an extremely biased way.

Too many people in this world had taught her how to speculate about others with malice. But he wanted to teach her to open her eyes and search for all possible beauty in this world.

Even if that person was Su Rongqing.

Li Rong understood his meaning. She reached out to embrace Pei Wenxuan and lazily acted spoiled in his arms.

“I know Brother Pei is the best.”

Pei Wenxuan smiled, looking at the increasingly coquettish young woman before him. He lowered his head to kiss her. “It’s good that you know.”

Just as he finished speaking, Jing Lan’s voice came from outside. “Your Highness, news from the palace has arrived. His Majesty has already read the memorial, and Her Majesty the Empress has rushed over and is arguing.”

Hearing this, Li Rong quickly got up and instructed Jing Lan, “Prepare the carriage. I’m entering the palace now.”

As she spoke, Pei Wenxuan also stood up. He helped her arrange her clothing. Li Rong quickly dressed up and turned to instruct him, “Don’t stay at the Princess’s residence too long either. Go back.”

Pei Wenxuan smiled bitterly and replied, “I understand.”

Seeing that he seemed unhappy, Li Rong stood on tiptoe to kiss him as comfort. Taking her small fan, she stepped out.

As soon as she left the room, Li Rong immediately shed the charming demeanor she had in front of Pei Wenxuan. Leading people out, she walked forward while asking Jing Lan, “Did they ask what Her Majesty the Empress went to do?”

“They did,” Jing Lan followed Li Rong and lifted the carriage curtain to let Li Rong in, speaking quietly. “Her Majesty the Empress went over because of your matter. They’ll probably be arguing in the palace.”

Li Rong nodded without saying much. Her mother became extremely forceful whenever it involved matters concerning her siblings.

Li Rong took a small mirror and looked at the wound on her face, then hurriedly entered the palace.

Li Ming hadn’t expected Li Rong to enter the palace at night. He was arguing with Shangguan Yue when he heard Li Rong had arrived. It was Shangguan Yue who reacted first. She sniffled and said with forced composure, “Let Her Highness come in first.”

Li Rong brewed her emotions outside for a while, then entered with five parts anger and five parts grievance.

When Shangguan Yue saw Li Rong enter, she first saw the bloody scratch on her face. She really couldn’t contain herself. She turned to look at Li Ming and spoke in a low, angry voice, “Your Majesty, look at what’s on Rong’er’s face! How dare you still say nothing happened?!”

Seeing the bloody mark on Li Rong’s face, Li Ming also froze for a moment. Li Rong knew her mother had made too much of a scene. She knelt down and respectfully said, “Greetings to Imperial Father.”

“Pingle, entering the palace so late—what matter brings you here?”

Li Ming pretended to know nothing about the previous events and refused to discuss them. Li Rong’s expression was calm as she said flatly, “This daughter has entered the palace to discuss with Imperial Father the matter of the Constabulary Bureau’s current case investigation.”

Li Ming was silent for a moment. He had originally thought Li Rong would still come in crying and making a fuss, but unexpectedly Li Rong was so composed. After recovering for a moment, he slowly said, “Then… Empress, you should withdraw first. I will chat with Pingle and will certainly give Pingle justice.”

Shangguan Yue glanced at Li Rong, then at the Emperor. Seeing that Li Rong also seemed not to want her there, she didn’t linger. She sniffled, stood up, and left.

After Shangguan Yue left, Li Ming quickly stepped forward to help Li Rong up. “Pingle, what happened to you? Tell Imperial Father properly.”

“Imperial Father should have heard,” Li Rong restrained her anger and looked up. “Today Huale brought people to my residence. There was a conflict with my residence guards. She publicly assaulted me. This daughter has been recuperating until now and just recovered enough to enter the palace.”

“Huale actually treated you this way?” Li Ming feigned anger. “I will summon her immediately and scold her properly.”

“Imperial Father,” Li Rong looked up at him calmly. “This daughter’s matter is a small matter. This daughter has now entered the palace not for such a trivial thing. This daughter came here because I’m worried—if younger brother Cheng acts like this, the Constabulary Bureau may not be able to be preserved.”

Hearing Li Rong’s words, Li Ming paused his movement, then slowly said, “What do you mean by ‘can’t be preserved’?”

“Imperial Father, Huale acted this way, and today she entered my residence. If it were a different minister, and she assaulted that minister in his residence when he was merely implicated in a case, does Imperial Father think this matter could end like this?”

“Taking a step back,” Li Rong continued, “if today it weren’t me but any other minister, does Imperial Father think Huale could have taken that person from his residence? I fear the Constabulary Bureau’s people would all be lost there.”

“How is that possible?” Li Ming smiled. “You’re overthinking.”

“Imperial Father,” Li Rong’s expression was flat. “The Constabulary Bureau was established single-handedly by this daughter. I understand its difficulties better than anyone. This daughter is a princess, the Crown Prince’s eldest sister, the Empress’s daughter, backed by the Shangguan clan. During the investigation process, I still encountered countless assassination attempts and obstacles. With Huale acting like this, the danger must be enormous.”

“This daughter asks—which influential family can endure Huale’s slap?”

Li Ming said nothing. He pondered Li Rong’s words. Li Rong continued, “This daughter knows Imperial Father doesn’t trust me. The original intention of this daughter establishing the Constabulary Bureau certainly included my personal interests, but beyond that, it was also the hope that within the court, there could be someone to restrict the power of the influential families. Although this daughter has now left the Constabulary Bureau, the Constabulary Bureau has always been my life’s work.” Li Rong spoke with some sadness. “If it just disappears like this, this daughter’s heart can’t bear it.”

“What you say also makes sense.”

Li Ming considered it. “So according to your meaning, Huale should restrain her manner and not be so forceful in the future?”

“Huale should still be firm when she needs to be firm, but she can’t humiliate people’s dignity like this,” Li Rong said earnestly. “Besides this, Imperial Father also needs to assign more personnel to the Constabulary Bureau. First, to ensure the safety of Consort Rou and others. Second, so the Constabulary Bureau has confidence in its work. These influential families all have their own residence guards. If Huale can’t suppress people, I fear she won’t even be able to bring them in, let alone investigate cases.”

Hearing Li Rong’s words, Li Ming understood the hint within.

Previously, the Constabulary Bureau only needed so few people because Li Rong had face. Even if the influential families didn’t respect her, they had to respect Li Chuan.

Now with Consort Rou doing things, having no face, naturally they could only rely on more people to accomplish things.

Li Ming took it as Li Rong seeking credit, but hearing it, other thoughts arose in his heart.

The influential families all had residence guards.

Now with his establishment of the Constabulary Bureau and reform of the examination system, the military forces in the hands of the influential families were his greatest concern. Who knew when these influential families might unite and overthrow his position?

This possibility made Li Ming somewhat anxious. He couldn’t help wanting to increase troops and provisions for his direct military forces.

But all of this required money.

Strengthening the troops in his hands required money.

The memorial that had just come from the Censorate said that Qin Lin in the Northwest couldn’t get grain allocated. This autumn there would likely be war again. Last year there was no cultivation, there were too many refugees who needed to be pacified—that required money.

Now the Constabulary Bureau needed to expand its troops—that required money.

Everything was about money.

Thinking about all this, Li Ming felt his head swelling. He raised his hand to rub his brow. Li Rong observed and asked carefully, “Does Imperial Father have some concern?”

“What you say makes great sense, but expanding the Constabulary Bureau’s troops means spending money. From its establishment, the Constabulary Bureau has spent quite a bit of money. Now to expand troops again, I’m afraid the Ministry of Finance won’t allow it.”

Hearing this, Li Rong lightly tapped her palm with her small fan and slowly said, “What Imperial Father says is true. Actually, when I was at the Constabulary Bureau, I privately subsidized quite a bit.”

Hearing Li Rong’s words, Li Ming’s heart couldn’t help feeling somewhat guilty.

But Li Rong didn’t continue further. She turned and thought for a moment. “How about this—Imperial Father, you give younger brother Cheng a conscription order. If younger brother Cheng feels there aren’t enough people in the actual process, he can simply conscript some commoners himself. After last year’s war, there are quite a few refugees in the city. Conscripting refugees costs little. These common people just need to be fed. This way, it would stabilize people’s livelihoods and the Constabulary Bureau would also have more personnel. As for finances, younger brother Cheng is now a prince. He can’t expect Imperial Father to pay for everything. What does Imperial Father think?”

“Conscription order?” Hearing this, Li Ming shook his head. “That’s something for the military. How can it be brought to the Constabulary Bureau?”

“Special circumstances call for special treatment.”

Li Rong smiled. She hesitated for a moment, then somewhat reluctantly reminded him, “After all, the examination system is now being reformed. It’s an extraordinary period.”

Hearing Li Rong’s words, Li Ming’s heart sank. He looked Li Rong over, saw Li Rong spacing out, and couldn’t help sighing. He probed, “You’re Chuan’er’s sister. I never expected you would think so much about Cheng’er.”

“We’re all brothers from the same family.” Li Rong smiled and looked at Li Ming. “He’s still young, and he’s taken over my Constabulary Bureau. How could I not think about him?”

“He…” Li Ming hesitated for a while and slowly began, “Usually, I favor Cheng’er and Huale more. I thought you might feel somewhat uncomfortable about it.”

“Imperial Father is overthinking,” Li Rong sighed. “When I was young, I felt a bit uncomfortable. But after growing up, I understood Imperial Father’s difficulties. Chuan’er is the Crown Prince, I’m the eldest princess. We’ve already received a lot. Imperial Father doting more on other younger siblings is also to avoid creating enemies for us.”

Li Rong spoke sincerely. Li Ming felt somewhat embarrassed for a moment. Li Rong smiled with complete sincerity. “Besides, Imperial Father won’t depose Chuan’er. How could Chuan’er and I not know about Imperial Father’s affection?”

“What you say is correct.” Li Ming nodded, smiling with some difficulty. Li Rong observed him warmly. “I came today just to speak of my concerns. As for other matters…”

Li Rong’s face showed some sadness. “It’s not appropriate for me to pursue them. Huale is new in her position. If I pursue this matter against her, it will be even harder for her to get along with others afterward.”

“You’re magnanimous. That child Huale really is…” Li Ming was somewhat disappointed in her. “She went too far.”

Li Rong smiled and lowered her head without speaking.

Li Ming was silent for a while. He thought about it and knew he couldn’t just leave things like this. If he didn’t placate Li Rong, the Empress would continue making trouble for him. Moreover, Li Rong was also correct—even if Huale was wrong, he couldn’t slap her face, otherwise when she continued investigating cases, everyone would sing counter to her.

Li Ming thought and thought, finally saying, “You’ve been wronged. Is there something you want? Imperial Father will reward you.”

“What I want, I fear will put Imperial Father in a difficult position.”

Li Rong smiled bitterly. Hearing Li Rong relent, Li Ming knew she had a request of him and immediately said, “Speak. Imperial Father will certainly grant it.”

“Imperial Father,” Li Rong’s face showed distress. “The Prince Consort… can you let him come back?”

Li Ming hadn’t expected she would mention this. Seeing the dim look on Li Rong’s face, he also felt some heartache, but thinking of the worries at the bottom of his heart, he could only say, “Pingle, a melon forced from the vine isn’t sweet. Forget it.”

Li Rong’s face showed a dejected look. Li Ming thought for a moment. “Do you have anything else you want?”

“There’s nothing else really, just that I’m somewhat short on money. The Constabulary Bureau spent quite a bit before. I used to use the Prince Consort’s money. Now that the Prince Consort and I have divorced, with such a large Princess’s residence, food, clothing, and expenses—everything costs money. Several hundred taels of gold a year just disappear in a flash.”

“You should have told Imperial Father earlier.”

Li Ming grasped Li Rong’s meaning and quickly said, “How could Imperial Father wrong you? Fulai,” Li Ming turned to call Fulai over. “Have the Imperial Household Department take inventory of the treasury and deliver…”

Li Ming paused. Li Rong turned to look over. Li Ming gritted his teeth and finally smiled reluctantly. “One hundred taels of gold. Have it sent to Princess Pingle’s residence.”

“Imperial Father is so good.”

Hearing one hundred taels of gold, Li Rong immediately became happy. She stood up. “Then this daughter won’t disturb Imperial Father further. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Go ahead.”

Li Ming smiled with difficulty. “It’s getting late.”

Li Rong happily withdrew. Li Ming called out to her, “That matter with Huale—give her some face. She was also investigating the case. You should at least make a show of it and close your residence for a while.”

This one hundred taels of gold wasn’t given for free. Li Rong knew this. Li Rong smiled and said respectfully, “This daughter understands.”

With that, Li Rong withdrew.

Li Rong happily returned with the money. Li Ming stayed alone in the palace for a while, thinking about the one hundred taels of gold, thinking about Qin Lin needing money, thinking about Xiao Su needing money, thinking about the Constabulary Bureau needing money. The more he thought, the angrier he became. His chest felt tight and his head ached.

Fulai brought tea over and rubbed Li Ming’s head, comforting him, “Your Majesty, don’t get too angry. If you harm your health, that would be a disaster for the state.”

“Every single one of them asks for money every day. Those scoundrels from the influential families—the military provisions are so abundant, but when they reach the border, they don’t leave anything for anyone. Bullying people by sending Qin Lin to the front lines with no troops and no provisions—how is he supposed to manage?!”

“Then…” Fulai hesitated. “Why not have General Xiao…”

“How can Xiao Su be moved?!” Li Ming sat in his chair and slapped the armrest, cursing. “Now with the examination reform, who knows what these bastards will do! If Xiao Su goes to the front lines, all the troops lost will be my forces. If these influential families make any moves, what will I fight them with?”

Fulai said nothing more. Li Ming thought left and right, then heard Fulai quietly remind him, “Then, is there truly no method that doesn’t require the national treasury to spend money yet allows General Qin to have the strength to resist enemies and settle the people?”

Li Ming fell silent. After a moment, he slowly spoke, “There is one method.”

“Your Majesty has an idea?”

Li Ming said nothing. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the jade thumb ring on his hand.

Li Rong’s words still echoed in his ears: “There are quite a few refugees in the city. Conscripting refugees costs little. These common people just need to be fed. This way, it would stabilize people’s livelihoods and also provide more personnel…”

Dealing with refugees, low cost, increased military strength.

The Constabulary Bureau couldn’t use this method, but for Qin Lin, it was more than suitable.

Li Ming said coldly, slowly speaking, “A conscription order.”