Li Rong quietly watched him.

The twenty-year-old Pei Wenxuan was far more handsome than the man in her memories, but that arrogance in his bones hadn’t changed one bit.

Just from looking at Pei Wenxuan’s eyes, she knew he was angry. In the past, he had been Chancellor Pei—when angry, he could quarrel and shout at her, which she understood. But now Pei Wenxuan was merely a small eighth-rank official. Where did he get the nerve to fight with her?

Li Rong laughed softly. She stood up, looking at Pei Wenxuan kneeling on the ground, and said gently, “Very well. This Palace’s word is as good as gold, and I’m clear about gratitude and grievances. You want to speak properly with me? That’s fine. But before that, what should be done about the mistakes you’ve made?”

“Your humble subject does not know where he erred.”

“You tore my book.”

Li Rong pointed to the book pages he’d torn on the table. “Also, as for how Ning Heir Apparent suddenly fainted and why the others couldn’t come—Young Master Pei must understand in his heart, yes?”

Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan’s heart sank with a thud. He hadn’t realized Li Rong could be so perceptive.

Had she sent someone to watch earlier?

Many speculations arose in Pei Wenxuan’s mind, but his face remained composed. “I wonder how the Princess intends to punish your humble subject?”

“Jump in.”

Li Rong raised her chin. Pei Wenxuan pressed his lips tightly together without speaking.

Seeing he didn’t respond, Li Rong knew he was quite angry. She smiled. “You want to become my prince consort, yet you can’t even endure this little grievance?”

“The Princess knows your humble subject wants to become your prince consort?”

Pei Wenxuan raised his eyes to look at Li Rong. Li Rong found it rather amusing. “Otherwise, what are you doing here?”

With that, Li Rong didn’t want to waste more words with him and said directly, “Either jump in and then we’ll talk, or get lost. But I’ll tell you this clearly—if you leave, wanting to come back won’t be easy.”

Pei Wenxuan clenched his fists. He was so angry his face turned pale.

In that instant, he seemed to return to his previous life. When he and Li Rong quarreled, Li Rong was always sharp-tongued, able to make his blood boil with rage every time.

Strange—he was always calm and composed with others. He’d been spat upon and cursed to his face in court, had people come to his home to curse him. There were plenty of infuriating incidents, yet he rarely lost his composure. Only with Li Rong—every argument with her felt like it shortened his life by ten years.

When this woman quarreled, she was both willful and unreasonable. He used to think perhaps married life had changed her. Now it seemed—where was the change after marriage? Clearly, she’d just disguised herself too well when they first married, and he hadn’t noticed.

This woman was inherently a shrew—domineering, unreasonable, willful, and reckless.

Pei Wenxuan could see she disliked him, and he’d had enough. He understood clearly that Li Rong would definitely keep one person today, and that person would most likely become her husband in the future. Of those outside, none were as suitable as him. Right now, she could only turn to him in her emergency.

Pei Wenxuan took a deep breath and said only one sentence: “Then your humble subject will take his leave.”

Then he kowtowed, rose, turned, and walked back the way he came.

Li Rong hadn’t expected him to leave so decisively. She was somewhat stunned and quickly called out, “You don’t want to speak with me anymore?”

“Not anymore.”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t even turn his head, loudly refusing. Li Rong tapped her palm with her golden fan and gave Jing Lan a look, calling loudly to Pei Wenxuan walking on the long corridor over the lake, “But this Palace wants to speak with you now!”

“My apolo—”

Before the word “apologies” could leave his mouth, a hidden guard suddenly burst out from the side, caught Pei Wenxuan off guard, grabbed him, and pushed him straight into the pond!

Laughter immediately erupted all around. Li Rong watched from afar, smiling as she lifted her feet and slowly walked to where Pei Wenxuan had fallen.

Pei Wenxuan knew how to swim. Though somewhat startled by suddenly falling into the water, he reacted extremely quickly, adjusted his posture, and emerged from the water.

Then he saw Li Rong standing at the edge of the upper corridor in her red phoenix-embroidered palace attire, looking at him with a smile. “All right, we’ll talk like this. This Palace is very satisfied.”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t speak. He stared intently at Li Rong above.

Attendants whispered around them, some maids laughing softly about who knows what.

Li Rong looked at Pei Wenxuan soaked through. His handsome face was adorned with bits of water plants. This disheveled appearance instead gave him an indescribable beauty.

He seemed like a lake spirit emerging from the lakeside—with just his face alone, just his eyes alone, he could bewitch people’s hearts.

Only those eyes held no seductive false sentiment, only anger and unwillingness, burning like fire in Pei Wenxuan’s eyes.

When such emotions showed through, Li Rong’s earlier joy slowly dissipated.

She suddenly felt there was no point. After all, the current Pei Wenxuan was not the man he’d become later. For her to humiliate him like this now was like bullying a child.

She looked down at Pei Wenxuan from her superior position, her expression turning to cold indifference. After a long while, she turned her head away and said flatly, “Enough, stop fooling around. Come up.”

With that, she instructed Jing Lan beside her, saying lightly, “Take him to change clothes.”

After giving her orders, she turned to leave. Looking back, she saw Pei Wenxuan swim to the shore and be pulled up.

The lake water was still somewhat cold in spring. He was shivering when he came ashore. Attendants rushed to hand him outer garments. To each person who helped him, he said thank you in a low voice, not overlooking anyone. His cautious, careful manner made one feel somewhat heartsick.

After all, no other young master from an aristocratic family would conduct himself with such trepidation.

Li Rong’s prolonged gaze made Pei Wenxuan aware of it. Pei Wenxuan turned his head and saw Li Rong watching him. His gaze immediately turned cold, then he turned his head away and left in quick steps.

Seeing him glare at her, Li Rong couldn’t help but curl her lips.

Quite young in age, quite large in temper.

Li Rong sat by the lakeside, having someone warm tea while she read and waited for Pei Wenxuan. After waiting a while, Pei Wenxuan finally returned.

He’d changed into a white brocade robe with rolling cloud patterns, his hair bound high with a jade crown. Walking from a distance, he seemed to step out from a painting.

Li Rong stared fixedly for a moment. When Pei Wenxuan arrived, she imperceptibly shifted her gaze away. Pei Wenxuan kowtowed in salute. Li Rong said flatly, “Sit.”

Pei Wenxuan rose and sat down, kneeling beside Li Rong. Li Rong lowered her head to look at her book without speaking. After Pei Wenxuan waited a while, he heard Li Rong say calmly, “Whatever you want to say, say it.”

What should he say?

Originally, he’d come only to analyze the pros and cons with Li Rong, letting her know he was the best choice. But after these several exchanges, he already understood—Li Rong’s heart probably knew everything very clearly.

“What should be said, the Princess already knows.”

Pei Wenxuan’s voice was calm. After a moment of silence, he added, “If I must add anything more, your humble subject can only tell the Princess—if the Princess is willing to marry down, your humble subject will definitely treat her with sincerity.”

Hearing this, Li Rong raised her head, looking at Pei Wenxuan with considerable interest. “With sincerity?”

As she spoke, Li Rong leaned on the small table beside her, propping her chin. “Why don’t you tell me exactly what kind of sincerity?”

“In the household, the Princess shall be supreme.”

“As opposed to you?”

“For my entire life, Wenxuan will have only the Princess by his side.”

This was true, but it wasn’t that he’d remain chaste for her—it was for that former fiancée who’d broken off their engagement, the one in his heart.

Li Rong’s smile deepened. “Isn’t that as it should be? Not only should you have only me by your side, you should also have only me in your heart.”

Pei Wenxuan’s body stiffened.

He wasn’t someone who would lie, or rather, in matters of the heart, he wouldn’t lie. If he’d been willing to tell even a small lie back then, she wouldn’t have known there was another person in his heart, and perhaps she could have been deceived for a lifetime.

Whether such honesty should be cursed or praised was unclear.

Li Rong picked up her cup. She thought Pei Wenxuan would openly admit to her, as in their previous life, that this marriage was merely an alliance. She smiled as she waited for Pei Wenxuan to speak. However, after a long while, Pei Wenxuan said, “The Princess speaks truly. In the future, Wenxuan will not think of others either.”

Li Rong was somewhat stunned. After a moment, she couldn’t help but laugh mockingly. She suddenly discovered that compared to anger, she found deception more disgusting.

She slammed her cup on the table with a “bang” and said coldly, “Eat those eggs for me.”

Pei Wenxuan was somewhat confused. He turned his head to look at the plate of jade-white eggs beside them. Li Rong laughed coldly. “Didn’t you say I should be supreme? I worked so hard peeling these eggs, and you won’t even eat them when I tell you to?”

Pei Wenxuan didn’t speak. He frowned, and only after a long time said, “It’s too many.”

“Then eat them all clean anyway!”

Li Rong scolded lightly. The people around had long since retreated far away, watching the two from a distance. Pei Wenxuan didn’t know what had set off her temper again, but he didn’t want to let others see them as a joke. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to indulge her and could only say, “I just ate. Let me eat them later.”

Li Rong snorted coldly. Thinking she still needed to put on a show for that old fox in the palace today, she beckoned to Jing Lan beside her and called out louder, “Bring a chessboard.”

Playing chess was the way the two of them could coexist harmoniously under any emotional circumstances, because all their fighting and competition would be placed on the chessboard.

Jing Lan fetched the chessboard. Li Rong called Pei Wenxuan to sit before her. “Sit. Let’s play chess.”

Pei Wenxuan was somewhat puzzled. He’d actually been thinking that if the atmosphere was this awkward, they might as well play chess. But he didn’t know why—before he could say it, Li Rong had already thought of this method first.

As if she already knew how they should interact with each other for the best results.

Pei Wenxuan’s heart filled with even more doubts. Li Rong directly picked up a black stone and began placing it.

She was still the same as in her previous life, liking to open at the star point. Seeing her place her stone, Pei Wenxuan didn’t intend to let her win. He immediately followed his usual method, placing his stone at the star point diagonal to Li Rong’s.

Once the two began playing chess, they became extremely focused.

In Li Rong’s heart, facing a twenty-year-old Pei Wenxuan, she could probably secure victory with confidence. She should hold back a little, give him some face, lest she be accused again of an adult bullying a child.

In Pei Wenxuan’s heart, facing an eighteen-year-old Li Rong, he should still hold back slightly. Li Rong was always quite spoiled. If she lost too badly, she’d probably make a fuss again.

So the two, each harboring the mindset of holding back while ensuring their own certain victory, played their moves. Before they’d even reached one-third through the opening, both sides sensed something was wrong.

This chess style, these tactics, this pattern—what difference was there from how they played chess at fifty years old in their previous life?!