Li Rong said nothing.
Listening to these words, she felt an ineffable softness gently enveloping her.
Such gentleness was difficult for her to understand, yet extraordinarily reassuring. For that moment, she felt as if she were eighteen years old.
Only her eighteen-year-old self had the qualification to release her emotions without any concealment and still have someone understanding and comforting her.
She kept her head lowered for a long time before finally raising it, saying somewhat embarrassed, “I’ve made a fool of myself.”
“How could that be?” Pei Wenxuan smiled. “Seeing Your Highness in such a disheveled state actually makes me happy.”
Hearing this, Li Rong glared at him with still-reddened eyes. “If you don’t get scolded for a day, your skin starts itching, doesn’t it?”
“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan tucked his hands into his sleeves, “today you wronged me. Shouldn’t you make some gesture of compensation? Do you know how expensive the flowers you blew up today were?”
“How expensive? Isn’t it still my money? You seem to have forgotten where your money comes from.” Li Rong laughed coldly. “Spending money on such frivolous things all day—I’m being generous by not causing you trouble, yet you dare ask me for compensation?”
“Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan dusted off his sleeves, rather proudly, “you seem to have forgotten that I’m someone who inherited my father’s fortune.”
Only after Pei Wenxuan’s retort did Li Rong remember that after that incident with the Pei family, Pei Wenxuan had gotten all the money his father left behind into his own hands.
Li Rong raised an eyebrow. “I underestimated you?”
Pei Wenxuan nodded elegantly. “As long as Your Highness knows.”
Li Rong was momentarily at a loss for words. She waved her hand and walked forward. “Forget it, I won’t talk to you. I’m freezing to death.”
With that, Li Rong hurried toward the room. She had barely taken two steps when she felt Pei Wenxuan’s warm cloak drape over her. Li Rong glanced at him. Pei Wenxuan, dressed in a single robe, walked in the corridor with a smile on his lips, saying nothing.
Li Rong quickly averted her gaze and continued forward with her head down.
She didn’t know why, but when she was speaking, she hadn’t felt anything. But now that the conversation was over and Pei Wenxuan had interrupted like this, she felt an indescribable awkwardness surge up, making her entire face heat up.
Pei Wenxuan glanced at Li Rong from the corner of his eye and saw the faint blush floating on her face. He suppressed the smile at his lips and didn’t add fuel to the fire at this moment.
The two entered the room. Pei Wenxuan escorted Li Rong inside. Thinking about having to sleep face-to-face with Pei Wenxuan again tonight, Li Rong felt even more nervous.
But she didn’t want to push him away again right after they had finally come to an understanding. She could only pretend nothing had happened and busied herself washing her hands with her back to Pei Wenxuan.
Watching Li Rong deliberately busy herself with this and that, just refusing to turn and look at him, Pei Wenxuan didn’t enter the room either. He tucked his hands into his sleeves, leaned casually against the door frame, and smiled as he watched Li Rong bustle about for a while. When Li Rong heard no movement behind her, she finally found it strange and turned around to see the young man standing at the doorway. She couldn’t help but say, “Why aren’t you coming in?”
“Didn’t Your Highness permit me to sleep in the study?”
Pei Wenxuan’s response was perfectly justified.
Li Rong froze. She didn’t know why, but her nervousness suddenly decreased considerably. At the same time, concern rose about whether Pei Wenxuan was still angry. But as soon as this thought emerged, she forcibly stopped it, feeling that caring about whether he was angry or not was somewhat awkward.
For a moment her thoughts churned back and forth. Pei Wenxuan watched as her expression changed repeatedly before finally hearing Li Rong say, “Then what are you still standing at the door for?”
After finishing, Li Rong seemed to feel her words were too harsh and softened her tone. “Rest early. We still have to attend court tomorrow.”
Hearing her say this, Pei Wenxuan immediately laughed out loud. He straightened up, bowed to Li Rong, and said respectfully, “I respectfully obey Your Highness’s instruction. This subject will take his leave first.”
Li Rong stiffly acknowledged with a sound and watched Pei Wenxuan turn and leave leisurely.
She stood quietly in the room, unable to quite fathom Pei Wenxuan’s meaning. They had been talking so well just moments ago—why was he going to sleep in the study again?
Just as she was thinking this, she heard footsteps outside again. Then she saw Pei Wenxuan return. He came to the doorway and smiled. “Almost forgot something.”
“What…”
Before the words were finished, she saw Pei Wenxuan approach her, bend down and give her a light kiss on the cheek, saying softly, “Your Highness, good night.”
Before Li Rong could react, he straightened up, turned, and walked out.
Li Rong stood there expressionless. After a moment, she raised her hand, wiped her face, and muttered, “Flashy tricks.”
Only then did she finally truly relax. She removed Pei Wenxuan’s outer robe and hung it to the side, then walked to the bedside and gently sat down.
She hadn’t been sitting at the bedside long when she heard Jing Lan enter. Looking Li Rong up and down, she said with restraint, “Your Highness, this servant heard that the Prince Consort will sleep in the study tonight.”
“Mm,” Li Rong said indifferently, “add an extra quilt for him.”
“Your Highness,” Jing Lan said with difficulty, “married couples shouldn’t hold grudges overnight…”
“We have no grudge. Stop worrying unnecessarily,” Li Rong raised her eyelids and said flatly, “The Prince Consort and I—this is called marital interest. Don’t bother us.”
“Huh?” Jing Lan exclaimed in surprise. Li Rong stood up and walked toward the washing room, instructing Jing Lan, “In a while, send the Prince Consort a bowl of ginger soup so he doesn’t catch cold. Also, have someone find out how much money the Prince Consort spent recently buying those peonies and other flowers. Withdraw silver from the treasury and send it to him.”
Jing Lan silently listened to Li Rong’s words, becoming more alarmed the more she heard. Even spending money had to be paid back—what kind of marital interest was this? This was clearly living separately!
But she understood Li Rong’s temperament. If she said anything more at this moment, Li Rong would be annoyed with her and dislike her along with it. So Jing Lan could only swallow all her words and silently note down all of Li Rong’s instructions.
Meanwhile, Pei Wenxuan walked to the study by himself. After entering, he closed the door. Thinking of Li Rong’s final astonished expression, he laughed happily out loud.
He lay down on the small couch. Not long after, he heard Tong Ye’s voice from outside. “Young Master, I’ve brought the quilt.”
Pei Wenxuan quickly sat up and called out, “Come in.”
Tong Ye carried in the quilt and squeezed through the door. Pei Wenxuan stood up and watched Tong Ye lay out the bedding. As Tong Ye made the bed, he couldn’t help but say, “Young Master, why are you having a quarrel with Her Highness? Moving here to sleep so proactively—Her Highness must be furious with you.”
“Aiya, what do you know?” Pei Wenxuan said disdainfully. “This is called advancing by retreating, playing hard to get. This is tactics.”
“I don’t understand your tactics.”
Tong Ye made the bed while muttering, “This servant only knows that this small couch in the study is hard as stone. If you really want to sleep separately, why not find a guest room to sleep in? Sleeping in the study—aren’t you just tormenting yourself?”
“Go, go, go,” Pei Wenxuan said, seeing Tong Ye had finished making the bed. He waved his hand. “How can the study be the same as a guest room? Sleeping in the study is to wait for Her Highness to summon me back. If I sleep in a guest room, would I have any excuse to return?”
“Then why didn’t you just stay in the first place?”
Tong Ye asked with perfect justification. Pei Wenxuan was stumped by his question. After a moment, he reacted and said with a hiss, “How come your courage grows bigger and bigger? Don’t you want to work anymore?”
“I’m concerned about you,” Tong Ye said earnestly. “Young Master, feelings can’t withstand torment. Since you’ve placed Her Highness in your heart, you should be more direct—be shameless and persistent. Even a virtuous woman fears a persistent man. You originally had the advantage of being close to her, but now you’ve moved yourself to the study—cold, hard, and lonely. What’s the point?”
“The point?” Pei Wenxuan raised an eyebrow. “Of course the point is to win the Princess. Stop talking,” Pei Wenxuan walked over and waved his hand. “Go down. I need to sleep.”
Seeing that Pei Wenxuan wouldn’t listen to him, Tong Ye sighed and turned to leave.
After Tong Ye left, Pei Wenxuan extinguished the lamp and lay down on the bed.
He first lay flat on his back, then after a while turned over, thinking about what Li Rong might be doing and thinking at this moment.
He could tell that Li Rong was probably very embarrassed after saying those things to him today. She might need a very long time to accept him, so he withdrew, giving Li Rong this period of time.
And giving himself a period of time as well.
He hadn’t expected Li Rong would say such things to him. Yet when Li Rong spoke them, he saw clearly for the first time just how deep the wounds from their previous life had left on Li Rong.
He had thought time had allowed those wounds to heal, but now he realized there were no wounds that healed on their own. They were only hidden in deeper corners, as if they had disappeared.
But they always existed, and so they would play a role silently in countless choices throughout life.
Li Rong feared feelings.
She had been proud her entire life, yet in matters of the heart, she had not half a bit of confidence in herself. Because she knew she was inevitably the loser, she would decisively withdraw at the start of every beginning.
This was the deadlock between them. She couldn’t affirm herself, and he had been too weak.
So in their previous life, even without Qin Zhenzhen, without Su Rongqing, they would ultimately have led this relationship to a dead end over other matters.
He couldn’t force her.
Pei Wenxuan thought quietly. Li Rong was like a cat just arriving in the world of feelings. She feared everything. He could only let her explore—he couldn’t put everything in front of her all at once.
Coming and going should be by her decision. Only with enough decision-making power would there be enough sense of security.
The wait Li Rong wanted was probably like this.
The distance between them should be decided by Li Rong, not by him.
And Li Rong’s willingness to take the first step, her willingness to decide this distance, was already a very good beginning.
In the night, Pei Wenxuan pressed his lips together and couldn’t help but smile.
The two, each thinking about the night’s events, drowsily fell asleep. When dawn came, Li Rong vaguely heard someone calling her to get up. She instinctively wanted to call for Pei Wenxuan, then remembered he had gone to sleep in the study.
She drowsily called out, and Jing Lan entered holding a lamp. The piercing light made Li Rong momentarily unable to adjust, then she was roused from bed.
Previously, when Pei Wenxuan rose first, he would first use a handkerchief to cover her eyes, then return to the window and use his shadow to block the light, preventing the suddenly bright lamplight from stabbing her eyes. Then he would bring her clothes under the quilt to help her dress, ensuring she didn’t suffer the slightest invasion of cold air.
Now that he wasn’t here, even if the servants did their utmost, they couldn’t be this thoughtful.
With just one small detail, Li Rong was reminded of Pei Wenxuan’s goodness. She sighed lightly and turned to ask, “Has the Prince Consort risen?”
“The Prince Consort is already waiting in the dining hall,” Jing Mei said while serving Li Rong as she dressed, smiling. “Does Your Highness want to go and dine together?”
“Naturally I must go.”
Li Rong responded. After dressing, she went to the dining hall.
Pei Wenxuan had already changed into his official robes and sat reading the intelligence just sent back. When Li Rong entered, Pei Wenxuan looked up and smiled. “Your Highness, good morning.”
“Morning.” Li Rong smiled, her gaze falling on the newly arrived intelligence. “Is there any special news today?”
“Nothing much,” Pei Wenxuan put down the intelligence in his hands and looked Li Rong over. “Did Your Highness sleep well last night?”
“Quite well,” Li Rong said as she sat down beside Pei Wenxuan. “And you?”
“Not bad either.” As Pei Wenxuan spoke, Li Rong nodded, wanting to find a topic of conversation. Before she could think of one, she heard Pei Wenxuan say, “Regarding yesterday’s assassination, does Your Highness plan to impeach in court today, or do you plan to observe a bit longer?”
“Let’s observe a bit longer.” Seeing Pei Wenxuan proactively bring up business, Li Rong responded, “Perhaps even if we don’t impeach, the mastermind will proactively impeach him?”
“That’s not impossible either.” Li Rong nodded and said slowly, “Let’s wait and see.”
Pei Wenxuan acknowledged with a sound and began discussing other business matters with Li Rong. About last night’s events, Pei Wenxuan didn’t mention a single word, as if nothing had happened at all.
Li Rong went along with Pei Wenxuan’s words discussing business, but her heart held some vague unease.
She felt she should say something, yet didn’t know what to say.
After finishing the meal, the two went to court together. Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan walked side by side in the corridor. Usually Pei Wenxuan would always find some reason or method to hold her hand, but today Pei Wenxuan was extremely proper, as if their relationship was merely that of colleagues, without the slightest hint of romance, only discussing court matters the entire time.
When Pei Wenxuan didn’t hold her hand, Li Rong felt an indescribable strange sensation in her heart. It was as if she had made this into a habit—now that Pei Wenxuan suddenly stopped doing it, she felt an inexplicable… unaccustomed feeling.
She didn’t show it on her face, only quietly moved closer to Pei Wenxuan and walked shoulder to shoulder with him.
Pei Wenxuan felt Li Rong move closer. Their sleeves rubbed against each other, and as the two walked, her hand inadvertently brushed against the back of his hand. Just this brief intersection stirred up an indescribable itch. Pei Wenxuan couldn’t help but glance up at her once, then pretended not to know anything and continued seriously discussing business matters.
He didn’t dodge, but he also didn’t take initiative. He allowed Li Rong’s robe hem to brush past, only keeping his eyes lowered, bowing his head slightly as he discussed court matters with Li Rong.
“According to what you said, if it really was Xie Lanqing who instructed Lin Feibai to help the Chen family assassinate you, then given the Xie family’s current position, would they still be willing to support the Crown Prince?”
As Pei Wenxuan spoke, the two arrived at the carriage. At this moment, Pei Wenxuan finally extended his hand, allowing Li Rong to rest her hand on it as he helped her board the carriage.
Li Rong’s hand rested on the back of his hand. The skin of the two finally overlapped in large areas. Pei Wenxuan’s face remained completely calm, treating this as merely a polite gesture.
But Li Rong, taking advantage of their hands being together, slowly traced her fingertips across the back of Pei Wenxuan’s hand. She felt this gesture of goodwill should be obvious enough, but Pei Wenxuan remained unmoved.
The two settled into the carriage. Pei Wenxuan continued analyzing for Li Rong: “Moreover, given Xie Lanqing’s scheming mind, in today’s morning court, he’ll probably proactively impeach the Chen family. If Your Highness waits to impeach another day, won’t it be too late?”
“Let’s see first.” Li Rong’s response was perfunctory.
Anyway, Xie Lanqing was just a grasshopper after autumn—he wouldn’t hop for much longer. Right now she was only concerned about one thing.
They had talked so well last night—why was Pei Wenxuan going back on his word today?
What exactly did Pei Wenxuan mean? If he had rejected her last night, he shouldn’t have turned back to kiss her.
If he had agreed to her, why did he go sleep in the study, and why was he treating her so indifferently this morning?
Li Rong thought about it from every angle. Pei Wenxuan’s words went in one ear and out the other. These were all questions she had already thought through last night anyway—she didn’t want to repeat them.
She just listened to Pei Wenxuan talking beside her, occasionally looking him over.
Getting her gaze, Pei Wenxuan knew in his heart—yielding just this one inch, Li Rong had indeed taken the bait.
His expression didn’t change as he continued spouting nonsense about court matters.
Li Rong thought the whole way. When they got off the carriage, Pei Wenxuan extended his hand to help her down. Li Rong coughed lightly and decided to make her goodwill even more obvious. “Pei Wenxuan, um, the small couch in the study is very small. It must not be comfortable to sleep on, right?”
“In response to Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan replied with a smile, “after sleeping on high beds and soft pillows for so long, the small couch has its own unique flavor.”
Seeing Pei Wenxuan still wouldn’t take the bait, Li Rong couldn’t help but laugh. She said gently, “If it’s so comfortable to sleep on, why don’t you sleep in the study for the rest of your life?”
“Your Highness jests,” Pei Wenxuan immediately said. “This subject will eventually have to return. After all, between this subject and Your Highness,” Pei Wenxuan looked up at her with a half-smile, “we have a long future ahead.”
Li Rong said nothing. She stared at Pei Wenxuan’s smiling face. She looked for a long time before finally understanding.
Those peonies had indeed been quite expensive.
She finally figured it out. Pei Wenxuan wasn’t trying to part ways with her. Having agreed to her words, he was probably still upset about that mountain full of peonies being destroyed, so he decided to find a place to vent his frustration and put on airs with her.
Li Rong thought for a moment, gently tapping her small fan against her palm, saying understandingly, “I understand your meaning.”
Pei Wenxuan looked somewhat confused. Li Rong looked up and said seriously, “I’ll compensate you for the peonies, but in the future, you must not be so willful.”
Pei Wenxuan: “…”
He clearly recognized every single word—so why, when put together, did he not understand at all?