Hearing Li Rong’s words, Pei Wenxuan saw something unusual in Li Rong’s expression. He looked her up and down and couldn’t help but say, “What’s wrong with you? Were you bullied in the palace?”

“What are you thinking about?” Li Rong tapped Pei Wenxuan’s head with her fan and turned around. “Let’s go.”

The carriage was outside the palace gate. Pei Wenxuan chased after Li Rong, holding the umbrella over her head, somewhat unhappily saying, “You can talk all you want—why are you hitting my head?”

“Because I feel like it.”

Li Rong glanced at him sideways. Pei Wenxuan was rather helpless: “I’ve noticed you’re fine with other people, but why is it that whenever you see me, you start using your hands, feet, and mouth? Your Highness, you really need to change this habit.”

“Look for problems in yourself first,” Li Rong heard Pei Wenxuan complaining, and somehow, she felt the emotions from earlier dissipating. She just wanted to bicker more with the person in front of her, so as she boarded the carriage, she lectured Pei Wenxuan: “Think more about why I don’t trouble others but trouble you.”

“Ah, this question I understand very clearly.” Pei Wenxuan sighed. The two sat in the carriage. Pei Wenxuan put away the umbrella while Li Rong poured herself tea. She heard Pei Wenxuan say rather helplessly, “I can only blame myself for being too lovable. Even Your Highness finds it hard to guard her heart.”

Hearing this, Li Rong almost spat out her mouthful of tea. She forcibly stopped herself just in time, causing it to choke back into her windpipe, and she began coughing urgently.

Seeing her coughing so urgently, Pei Wenxuan stopped joking around and quickly moved forward, gently patting her back: “Next time don’t drink tea while talking.”

Li Rong raised her eyes to glare at him. Her pair of beautiful, lively eyes had been stained with moisture from coughing, suddenly losing their usual imposing aura, as if holding a pool of autumn water. That look, half-annoyed and half-angry, somehow made Pei Wenxuan shiver from his heart all the way to his fingertips. When his touch met the warm, soft skin beneath his hand, it folded back again. Coming and going, it softened half his bones and shook his composure.

Li Rong caught her breath. Seeing Pei Wenxuan somehow staring at her in a daze, she couldn’t help but poke him with her fan, asking strangely, “What are you looking at?”

Pei Wenxuan instantly came back to his senses. He calmly stood up and sat to the side, putting more distance between himself and Li Rong, and smiled: “It’s nothing. I just suddenly remembered something. Oh,” Pei Wenxuan changed the subject, “what were you dazing about at the palace gate earlier?”

Hearing Pei Wenxuan ask this, Li Rong smiled and only said, “Today I asked Mother Empress about the palace banquet. She said Consort Rou brought it up to His Majesty. I’m guessing Consort Rou probably wants to request a marriage decree at the palace banquet.”

“Just this little matter has you so worried?” Pei Wenxuan looked incredulous, examining her up and down. “That’s not like you.”

Li Rong was too lazy to pay him any mind. She retrieved the chess box from the side and only said, “The journey is boring. Let’s play a game.”

Li Rong invited him, and Pei Wenxuan readily accepted. He sat across from her, took the chess pieces, drew black and white with her, and began placing pieces.

The black and white chess pieces alternated. Li Rong looked at the board, her emotions slowly calming down. Whether joy or sorrow, everything seemed much more distant. Only then did Li Rong speak up with a question: “Speaking of which, I’ve actually always been curious.”

“Hmm?”

“In the previous life, why did Chuan’er become like that?”

Li Rong spoke slowly: “He became Emperor, unified the North, eliminated the aristocratic families—he got everything he wanted,” Li Rong raised her head to look at Pei Wenxuan, “so why was he still living in such pain?”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t speak. Li Rong frowned: “Was it because Qin Zhenzhen died? But loving someone—can you remember that long?”

“Does Your Highness know why His Majesty was so determined to unite the North?”

Pei Wenxuan looked at the board and only asked this one question. Li Rong pondered: “Because the northern border has been unstable for years and the people suffer?”

“That’s certainly a reason,” Pei Wenxuan smiled. He glanced at Li Rong and only said, “But besides that?”

Li Rong shook her head: “He never told me.”

“One year, I was drinking with His Highness the Crown Prince. He once mentioned to me that in the eighth year of Xuanzhi, the northern border and Great Xia fought fiercely. The aristocratic families sought stability and chose peace talks, so Princess Yunyan married into the northern border. Great Xia gave twenty million in silver, five hundred beauties, plus cattle, sheep, horses, and fine silks and satins. A year later, Princess Yunyan died in the northern border. His Majesty publicly claimed she died of illness, but everyone in the palace knew that Princess Yunyan died in the harem of the Rong kingdom.”

“His Highness told me that night you were so frightened you didn’t dare sleep. You kept asking the Empress whether one day you would also be like Princess Yunyan, married off to the North with no hope of return.”

Li Rong’s eyelashes trembled slightly, her voice flat: “I forgot.”

“Your Highness remembers that from that moment on, Your Highness told himself that one day, he would definitely launch a northern campaign, defeating those northern barbarians until they bowed in submission and never dared invade again.”

“I didn’t even know,” Li Rong laughed lightly, “that his desire for the northern campaign started so early.”

“Therefore, His Highness the Crown Prince is different from you,” Pei Wenxuan surrounded Li Rong’s pieces on the board. He raised his hand with a chess piece and said slowly, “Everything he wanted to possess and do in court mostly stemmed from certain emotions in his heart. He wanted the northern campaign to protect his subjects and family. He opposed the aristocratic families to ensure what he wanted to achieve could be realized. But in the end, though his goals in court seemed achieved, he also permanently lost what he originally wanted. Why would he be happy?”

“Lost Qin Zhenzhen?” Li Rong laughed mockingly.

“He lost you, lost Mother Empress, lost his wife, lost himself. Even possessing all the rivers and mountains meant nothing to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“He can’t find his way back and has no return path. If you can’t understand this point, you’ll never be able to understand His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Li Rong didn’t speak. She quietly looked at Pei Wenxuan: “What do you mean he lost me?”

Pei Wenxuan raised his eyes. He gazed at Li Rong.

“Your Highness,” he smiled helplessly and bitterly, “the years changed not only His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Li Rong was stunned. Pei Wenxuan lowered his eyes and said flatly, “But also you and me.”

Li Rong didn’t speak. Her expression was calm. Pei Wenxuan’s words seemed to have no effect on her at all. She calmly placed a piece, then reached out to take her tea. But the moment she touched the teacup, she discovered her hand was unconsciously trembling slightly.

Pei Wenxuan pretended not to see, looking at the board with a composed expression.

He looked at the game for a while, then raised his hand and pulled back his wide sleeves, placing the chess piece on the board.

“Those who abandon me cannot be made to stay. What’s past is past.”

“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan raised his eyes to look at her, his eyes carrying a smile, “losing this game doesn’t matter. Shall we start a new one?”

Li Rong didn’t speak. After a long while, she smiled and raised her hand to place a chess piece on the board.

In an instant, Pei Wenxuan suddenly lost more than half his territory.

Li Rong looked at the board, raised her hand with a piece, and while capturing pieces, smiled at Pei Wenxuan: “The one who lost is you. This palace hasn’t lost.”

Pei Wenxuan stared blankly at the board, then finally reacted: “You deliberately engaged me in conversation earlier?”

Seeing Pei Wenxuan’s shocked expression, Li Rong burst out laughing, delightedly saying, “All’s fair in war. If I hadn’t talked with you today, how could I have won?”

“Indeed, only women and petty people are hard to raise.” Pei Wenxuan tucked his hands into his sleeves and shook his head. “Today I’ve learned my lesson. In the future when playing chess, I can’t talk with you.”

“Don’t say that,” Li Rong said with smiling eyes. “You should talk with me more. I really enjoy listening.”

Pei Wenxuan showed a disgusted expression and sat to one side, not wanting to acknowledge Li Rong.

Li Rong bantered with him, saying one thing or another until they arrived at the Princess’s Mansion. After getting off the carriage, Li Rong returned to her room first and went to sleep early. Pei Wenxuan busied himself for a while longer before returning to the room. When he reached the door, he saw Jing Mei and Jing Lan standing at the entrance. He beckoned to Jing Mei. Somewhat puzzled, Jing Mei came forward. Pei Wenxuan lowered his voice: “Did Her Highness have a conflict with the Crown Prince in the palace today?”

“Not at all,” Jing Mei shook her head and honestly said, “They just talked for a while. It seemed to be about His Highness the Crown Prince not wanting to take secondary consorts. After talking, Her Highness wasn’t very happy. You should comfort her well.”

With that, Jing Mei squeezed her eyes: “Her Highness becomes much happier after talking with the Prince Consort.”

Pei Wenxuan smiled and didn’t say much more, only saying, “Don’t tell Her Highness I asked you these things.”

“This servant understands. The Prince Consort is secretly showing concern.”

Being told this by Jing Mei, Pei Wenxuan felt somewhat embarrassed. He lightly coughed and waved his hand: “Stop fooling around. Go on down.”

Jing Mei pressed her lips in a quiet laugh and returned to her position. Pei Wenxuan pushed open the door and entered. Li Rong had already gone to sleep. He washed up in the darkness, then returned to bed.

After lying in bed for a while, Li Rong mumbled, “You’re only sleeping now?”

Pei Wenxuan responded lowly in the night. Li Rong had her back to him, sleeping in another set of bedding. Her silhouette was very thin, making her whole person look small.

Actually, once Jing Mei spoke, Pei Wenxuan could roughly guess what Li Rong had discussed with Li Chuan. He knew Li Chuan’s importance in Li Rong’s heart and knew Li Rong’s temperament. After such a conversation today, thinking about Li Chuan’s matters from the previous life, Li Rong was probably quite unhappy.

He instinctively felt he should comfort Li Rong, yet didn’t know what to say. If Li Rong was sad or hurt, she liked to hide it by herself, not letting others know even a bit. If you were too obvious about it, she’d become embarrassed and angry, which might have the opposite effect.

But if he didn’t say anything at all…

He also felt that then this life’s Li Rong would seem no different from the previous life. Whether he was present or not, Li Rong would always wade alone through all sourness and bitterness.

Thinking this way, he felt he was being inconsiderate.

Although Li Rong was somewhat spoiled, she actually had a very good heart and treated him well. Having accepted Li Rong’s kindness, he should take better care of her.

So after thinking for a moment, he finally said somewhat clumsily, “Your Highness.”

“Hmm?”

“Today when I came to pick you up, were you happy?”

Hearing this, Li Rong slowly opened her eyes in the night.

She wanted to make fun of him, but suddenly remembered the warmth this person gave her standing behind her when the wind and rain came. For a moment she couldn’t bring herself to speak and only responded lowly, “It was alright.”

Pei Wenxuan smiled. He propped himself up, happily saying, “Then from now on, every time you go out, I’ll go pick you up. That way when you come back, you’ll have someone for company and won’t feel bored.”

Hearing Pei Wenxuan speak, Li Rong turned over and looked at Pei Wenxuan seriously.

“Pei Wenxuan,” she stared at him, “tell me the truth.”

“Hmm?”

“Are you trying to ask me for money again?”

Pei Wenxuan looked at Li Rong’s serious eyes, momentarily speechless. He felt his good intentions had been treated as a donkey’s liver and lungs. He simply turned over, pulled up the blanket, and said in a muffled voice, “A dog biting Lü Dongbin.”

Hearing this, Li Rong became happy. She lay flat on the bed, and after a while, kicked Pei Wenxuan: “Before we go our separate ways in the future, come pick me up every day. Did you hear me?”

“I won’t.”

Pei Wenxuan closed his eyes: “Sleep. You can have everything in your dreams.”

Li Rong knew he was saying the opposite and didn’t bother with him, smiling as she fell asleep.

As she lay in bed, somehow her heart felt much more cheerful, feeling that no matter how many bad things happened in the past life, they could all be changed.

Even this scoundrel Pei Wenxuan could talk so nicely with her—what couldn’t be changed?

Li Rong closed her eyes and fell asleep smiling.

The two stayed home for a few days. Pei Wenxuan drank tea and played chess with her, wandered around here and there, and the marriage leave ended.

Pei Wenxuan began attending court. During his court hours, Li Rong went to various tea houses to listen to scholars’ discussions, seeing if she could encounter a few useful people, or visited aunts living outside to pay calls and cultivate relationships.

In the blink of an eye, it was the seventh day of the seventh month. The Empress hosted a banquet in the palace, inviting all young men and women of suitable age from ministerial families to celebrate Qixi together in the palace. Li Rong had been waiting for this day for a long time. She prepared early and led Pei Wenxuan into the palace ahead of time. After arriving at the palace, Li Rong mentally reviewed her people in the palace, then raised her eyes to look at Pei Wenxuan: “I’ve given you so much money—it should have some use by now, right?”

Pei Wenxuan was helpless and gave her two names: “These two are both serving today. If anything happens, you can find them.”

Li Rong nodded, then asked again, “Did you find out if there’s anything special about today’s palace banquet?”

“Everything else seems normal, but I heard one thing.” Pei Wenxuan leaned against the table, looking at the documents in his hand, and said leisurely, “This palace banquet prepared many identical incense burners and brought in much incense material.”

“Hmm?”

Hearing this, Li Rong thought for a moment: “They’re planning to blend incense at the banquet?”

“If they want to request a marriage decree, naturally they need some reason.”

Pei Wenxuan said directly, “I heard Consort Rou wants to recommend a young lady who excels at blending incense.”

Li Rong understood. She smiled: “Looks like tonight will be very interesting.”

Pei Wenxuan made a sound of agreement without saying more. Li Rong leaned over to look at the documents he was reading and found they were all impeachment memorials.

In the previous life, Pei Wenxuan came from the Censorate—this was his specialty. Li Rong propped her chin: “You’re quite busy.”

“A new official needs to light three fires,” Pei Wenxuan smiled. “His Majesty intends to use me as a blade, so naturally I must help him draw some blood. If I don’t work hard, how can I get promoted? Move over a bit.” Pei Wenxuan raised his hand and pulled the carriage curtain open more, glancing disdainfully at Li Rong. “You’re blocking my light.”

Li Rong shrugged. She shifted her position and pulled out a book from the side. After reading for a while, she felt bored again. Thinking about the palace banquet, she couldn’t calm down. She turned to Pei Wenxuan and said, “Don’t you have any other feelings about this?”

“What feelings?” Pei Wenxuan looked at the official documents, unperturbed. Li Rong poked him with her fan: “You’re going to see your dear sister Zhenzhen today.”

Pei Wenxuan’s movements stiffened. He looked up with a frown: “Are you bored or not?”

Seeing he was really angry, Li Rong quickly straightened up and lightly coughed: “Just making casual conversation. It’s Qixi Festival today, so stop looking at documents for now.” With that, Li Rong pulled away the memorial from his hands and looked at him. “Let’s chat about private matters. Qin Zhenzhen is going to see Chuan’er today. Aren’t you worried?”

“What do I need to worry about?”

“What if they take a liking to each other?”

“Isn’t that something you should worry about?” Pei Wenxuan glanced at her coldly and reached for his memorial. Seeing he had no intention of engaging with her at all, Li Rong propped her chin: “I’m thinking of you. If you don’t make a move first and cultivate feelings with Qin Zhenzhen, what if after our divorce she marries someone else?”

“What’s that got to do with me?”

Pei Wenxuan spoke directly. Then without waiting for Li Rong to speak, he immediately said, “Rather than caring about this, you should care more about the fact that Su Rongqing is also coming tonight and how you can say a few more words to him.”

Li Rong was choked by him. Seeing her silenced, Pei Wenxuan raised his eyebrows with a smile: “But it’s not good for you to say too much directly now. Don’t worry, I’ll hint to him tonight.”

“Hint… hint at what?” Li Rong was somewhat frightened. Seeing her scared, Pei Wenxuan pressed his lips in a smile, lowered his head to look at the memorial, and stopped talking.

After sitting quietly for a while, Li Rong still couldn’t help but poke Pei Wenxuan with her fan: “What are you going to hint at?”

“Hint to him that we’re fake husband and wife who will divorce in the future. That way when you interact with him later, he won’t be mindful of me.”

Pei Wenxuan lowered his head to look at the memorial, and somehow, saying these words made his chest feel tight.

But he controlled his emotions. He thought his long-standing dislike of Su Rongqing had become a habit. If he wanted to help Li Rong, he needed to adjust his mindset.

Hearing Pei Wenxuan be so planned and action-oriented, Li Rong lightly coughed: “Actually, I feel that Su Rongqing and I aren’t really…”

Pei Wenxuan looked up at her. In that instant, Li Rong recalled what Pei Wenxuan had said that night.

She was afraid Pei Wenxuan would lecture her again like reciting scriptures. Moreover, vaguely, she also felt that perhaps following Pei Wenxuan’s advice and trying again might not necessarily… be a bad thing?

Not seeing Mount Lu’s true face, only because one is within the mountain. Pei Wenxuan was an outsider—perhaps what he saw was clearer than what she saw.

Just like how she could see Pei Wenxuan more clearly than Pei Wenxuan could see himself.

Although she felt somewhat strange about it in her heart, she still reluctantly accepted: “Then I’ll also have a good talk with Qin Zhenzhen.”

“No need.” Pei Wenxuan immediately said, “It’s not time for that yet.”

“Indeed,” Li Rong nodded. “I also think it’s a bit early. So you also don’t need to say too much to Su Rongqing.”

“Just mention it casually.”

The two spoke in unison, reaching some inexplicable tacit understanding.

The two chatted idly all the way to the palace. When they arrived, many people were already there. Seeing his colleagues, Pei Wenxuan smiled and exchanged pleasantries with them. Li Rong greeted him and went to the women’s seating area by herself.

The men’s banquet seating was in the great hall, while the women’s seating was set up in the imperial garden. By the time Li Rong arrived, quite a few daughters of aristocratic families had already arrived.

Shangguan Ya came from a high-ranking family and was talking with the eldest daughter of the Su family and several county princesses. Her voice wasn’t loud and she spoke calmly, but because her voice was clear, as soon as Li Rong entered the garden, she recognized Shangguan Ya’s voice. She looked up, and Shangguan Ya, hearing the announcement of her entry, glanced over lightly, then looked away as if she had never seen her before.

Then she stood up with the others and bowed to Li Rong together.

Her posture was elegant, proper and respectful, no different from the person in Li Rong’s memory, but completely inconsistent with the girl from the gambling den before.

Li Rong felt somewhat like laughing for a moment, but she suppressed her smile and walked to Shangguan Ya’s side, taking her hand: “Sister Ya also came today.”

Shangguan Ya’s body was somewhat stiff. She forced a smile and only said, “Your Highness arrived quite early.”

“Sister Ya isn’t late either. Is this your first time entering the palace today?”

“I came once when I was young.” Shangguan Ya gradually calmed down, relaxed considerably, and began conversing properly with Li Rong.

After the two talked for a while, most people had arrived. Li Rong glimpsed Qin Zhenzhen in the distance also walking in with a smile, chatting with several young ladies, then being guided to sit behind Shangguan Ya.

With so many female guests, the seating became several rows. With Qin Zhenzhen’s status, she naturally couldn’t be in the first row on either side, so she retreated to the first seat of the second row, right behind Shangguan Ya.

Li Rong glanced speculatively at Qin Zhenzhen, and saw Qin Zhenzhen act as if she had never seen her before, looking straight ahead, respectfully bowing: “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Then she looked at Shangguan Ya and politely bowed: “Greetings, Miss Shangguan.”

Li Rong and Shangguan Ya returned the courtesy, which counted as greetings. Qin Zhenzhen sat in her seat, then observed her nose with her eyes and her heart with her nose, properly not speaking anymore.

Outside came the announcement of the Empress’s entry. Li Rong also didn’t linger, stood up, and said to Shangguan Ya with a smile, “This palace will return to my seat first. Sister Ya, please feel free.”

Shangguan Ya bowed to see Li Rong off. Li Rong sat across from Shangguan Ya. Then she saw the Empress leading four other noble consorts to their seats. Everyone stood and bowed. After the Empress sat down, she let everyone rise and be seated.

“Today is Qixi. You should have been celebrating at home, but this palace thought it would be better for everyone to be lively together, so I specially summoned you all here,” the Empress opened, smiling. “Don’t hold any resentment in your hearts.”

“Mother Empress is joking,” Li Rong picked up the Empress’s words from her seat. “Young ladies all love liveliness. You inviting everyone here—everyone is delighted and can’t wait.”

Li Rong saying this, voices of agreement came from below one after another. The scene became lively for a time, with everyone talking, providing conversation topics.

The Empress relaxed and announced the start of the banquet according to procedure. In the front great hall, Li Ming presided, leading Li Chuan to feast with the young officials.

After the group of young ladies finished eating, they began playing around, taking needles and thread to thread for a long time, then started making wishes.

Li Rong had already married and truly had lost interest in these things in her heart. She sat in place, watching a group of girls being lively and bustling.

Consort Rou drank some wine and seemed somewhat intoxicated. She looked up at the Empress and said, “Your Majesty, the time is about right. Why not have someone bring up the incense burners and let everyone compete?”

Hearing this, Li Rong looked up at Consort Rou. Others were also somewhat puzzled. Only the Empress seemed to already know, nodding: “Then have them brought up.”

Getting this response, Consort Rou immediately called for everyone to return to their seats, then said, “In previous Qixi banquets, everyone had to find some entertainment. Now it’s a palace banquet with too many people—those usual games of drumming and composing poetry probably won’t work. So today, Her Majesty the Empress has changed poetry composition to incense blending. Today, all unmarried young ladies present will blend incense together. Then they’ll be sent to the great hall for His Highness the Crown Prince to select the top three. There will be great rewards. How about it?”

Everyone hearing this was stunned, then various expressions appeared on their faces.

Anyone who wasn’t a fool could understand Consort Rou’s meaning. The Empress had summoned all unmarried daughters of aristocratic families into the palace and had them blend incense for the Crown Prince to select. Now the Crown Prince had not yet taken a wife, and Li Rong had just married—what this meant was all too obvious.

So some revealed joy and eagerness to try, while some showed confusion and bewilderment.

As for high-ranking daughters like Shangguan Ya and Su Rongwen, most had calm expressions—they should have known the news early, or like Qin Zhenzhen, seemed completely detached from the matter, their faces fully displaying “this matter has nothing to do with me” composure and calm.

Li Rong observed everyone’s expressions and smiled with interest, suddenly saying, “Mother Empress, I think this is inappropriate.”

As soon as she spoke, everyone looked over. Li Rong said with smiling eyes, “Everyone came to attend the banquet. Why should they blend incense to get rewards while I can’t? I want to join too.”

“Rong’er, why are you interfering?” The Empress frowned, signaling her not to cause trouble.

Seeing the Empress’s expression, Li Rong knew this matter was probably decided jointly by the Empress and Consort Rou.

Consort Rou’s purpose was simple. She wanted to request a marriage for her niece, so she needed a reason. Having Li Chuan select her niece’s blended incense was the best excuse.

The Empress agreeing was naturally because in the Empress’s eyes, she could control the situation, having Li Chuan select Shangguan Ya’s incense, then the Shangguan family could simply go along with it and request marriage for Shangguan Ya and the Crown Prince.

They each had their own calculations, treating the Crown Princess position as a reward, then made the same decision together.

Li Rong didn’t know whether Li Chuan knew, but what she was certain of was that today among those present, anyone could be chosen except Shangguan Ya, Consort Rou’s niece, and Qin Zhenzhen.

So Li Rong didn’t back down, smiling at the Empress: “Adding me doesn’t make it too many. Mother Empress, just agree, won’t you?”