The rain was getting heavier, and Li Ming's faint scolding could be heard. Pei Wenxuan withdrew his gaze from Su Rongqing, turned his head to look at the eunuch guarding the door, walked up to him, handed the letter in his sleeve to the eunuch, and asked him to pass it to Li Ming, then turned around and said to Li Rong, "Your Highness, let's go."

Li Rong looked at Yu's study with some hesitation, and finally nodded. She turned around and told the eunuch next to her that she would leave early, and then walked out with Pei Wenxuan.

The two of them walked in the wind and rain. After leaving the palace, Pei Wenxuan raised his hand, put it on Li Rong's shoulder, and used his wide sleeves to shield her from the flying raindrops.

"Why are you here?"

Li Rong whispered, "You came to the palace to pick me up so carelessly, aren't you afraid that my father will be suspicious?"

"I handed him a petition requesting to be the chief examiner of the imperial examinations," Pei Wenxuan explained patiently. "The various job transfers will be confirmed tomorrow, so it's normal for me to come here tonight to show my loyalty. Besides," Pei Wenxuan looked back at the palace, "he's not in the mood to pay attention to us right now."

"Su Ronghua has entered the palace." Li Rong reminded him, Pei Wenxuan's expression remained unchanged, he just said, "I know."

"From the perspective of your father, all he can find out is that someone brought Hongde to the palace, and Hongde's child was taken away by the Su family. Now the confession is missing, the memorial hall is on fire, and Hongde was killed. These three things corroborate the first two things. Although they are not ironclad evidence, they can convict Su Rongqing of the crime in your father's mind. Now that Su Ronghua has come out to admit to the first two things, it contradicts the last three things. These three things seem too abrupt..."

Li Rong frowned: "Then my father might think that we deliberately framed him."

"What do you think?" Pei Wenxuan said calmly. Li Rong thought carefully. "From your father's perspective, you can say that Su Rongqing did these three things to cover up what he did, but it is also possible that we did it to frame Su Rongqing. Why doesn't your father think that we deliberately framed Su Rongqing?"

"First, we have no reason to frame Su Rongqing. If we want to frame someone, we should frame Su Ronghua, who is the teacher of the King of Su."

"Secondly, Su Ronghua's arrival was too coincidental and too deliberate to be believed."

"Third," Pei Wenxuan turned his head and said softly, "Su Ronghua brought Hongde's child into the palace."

Hearing this, Li Rong was stunned.

Pei Wenxuan tilted the umbrella towards Li Rong and whispered, "Their best plan was to kill the child. As long as the child didn't come out of the Su Mansion and they refused to admit it, Your Majesty would have no solid evidence to punish them. But Su Ronghua not only didn't kill him, he also brought the child into the palace to return the hostage and admit his mistake."

"Hongde committed suicide. He would not have committed suicide unless there was evidence to threaten him. Now that Su Ronghua has brought the child into the palace, Hongde's death is closely related to the Su family. Therefore, Your Majesty is 80% sure that we were not responsible for Hongde's death. The remaining 20% ​​is just due to his suspicious nature."

Li Rong slowly calmed down after hearing Pei Wenxuan's words. Pei Wenxuan escorted Li Rong to the carriage and then collected the umbrella. He left the umbrella outside the carriage and stepped into it.

Li Rong's coat was a little wet, so he helped Li Rong take it off, took out spare clothes from the carriage, and asked Li Rong to change into them.

Li Rong sat in the carriage, looking at the person half-kneeling in front of her and busying himself, and listened to Pei Wenxuan continue: "Now that Su Ronghua has confessed his crime, Su Rongqing should be fine."

"What about Su Ronghua?"

Li Rong spoke softly. Pei Wenxuan was silent for a moment, then he said slowly, "Leaving the officialdom may not be a bad thing for him."

"Then you've gone through so much trouble," Li Rong said with a wry smile, "Isn't it all in vain?"

"Who said I wasted my time?" Pei Wenxuan raised his head and smiled, "Do you think I went through so much trouble just to make Su Rongqing bear the blame?"

This statement really took Li Rong by surprise.

Although Pei Wenxuan didn't say what he did, Li Rong had guessed about it. She thought Pei Wenxuan intended to seize Su Rongqing's position as the Minister of Justice, but she didn't expect that it was not the case?

"So your real purpose is..."

"Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan raised his hand and took the hairpin from Li Rong's head. His black hair fell down. He stared at the beautiful treasure in front of him and said softly, "Su Rongqing never troubled us for our own sake. And I never troubled Su Rongqing for Su Rongqing's own sake."

"His target," Li Rong smiled bitterly, "is it Chuan'er?"

Pei Wenxuan did not speak. He was silent for a while, and finally said: "When the crown prince was deposed, the Su family and the Shangguan family, together with hundreds of families, joined forces to send troops to help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince regain the throne. But after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he repeatedly suppressed the aristocratic families for the sake of government affairs... Even if the Su family is not destroyed, if it happens again, no child of the aristocratic family will let such a crown prince ascend the throne knowing that the crown prince intends to suppress the aristocratic families."

Li Rong was speechless. Pei Wenxuan saw that she seemed sad, and he couldn't help feeling a little tight in his chest.

He didn't want to talk for a moment. After drying Li Rong's hair, he stood up and sat aside. He took out the letter and looked down at it.

After a while, he heard Li Rong come back to her senses and get back to the point, saying softly, "So, your target is Concubine Rou?"

"Yeah." Pei Wenxuan responded perfunctorily.

Li Rong continued to think and analyze: "The most difficult problem now is actually the alliance between Su Rongqing and Concubine Rou. I set up the Supervision Department with the purpose of controlling the noble families through my father's hand. According to our plan, you and I will arrange the personnel layout in the court in the next three years. After three years, if the prince is deposed again, there will be no need for the noble families to take action. We will directly support Chuan'er to succeed the throne."

"Chuan'er is kindhearted by nature. If we had resolved the conflicts among the noble families when our father was still alive, he could have directly implemented his own policies, and the situation in the previous life might not have happened. But now that Su Rongqing is back, he and Concubine Rou have joined forces, and Concubine Rou has become even more powerful. Su Rongqing will help him manage the power in the court, and the trust of our father is higher than ours. So whether Su Rongqing becomes the minister or not is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that he cannot join forces with Concubine Rou."

"After suffering a loss this time, Concubine Rou will certainly doubt his ability. Moreover, if Su Ronghua wants to admit his guilt, he must prove his relationship with Concubine Rou. Concubine Rou is implicated because of the two Su brothers. Given her personality, I'm afraid she will doubt the subsequent cooperation. If we take advantage of the opportunity to alienate them, and then defeat them one by one, it will be much easier."

Li Rong said this happily, and turned to look at Pei Wenxuan: "Then how do you think about this loophole?"

Pei Wenxuan said nothing, looking down at the book. Li Rong's smile froze. After hesitating for a moment, she asked hesitantly, "Why...are you angry again?"

"You can still tell that I'm angry?" Pei Wenxuan sneered, "Should I praise you for having good eyes?"

"That's not necessary," Li Rong smiled and waved her hand, "I'll give you a pair of embroidered shoes tomorrow. Don't thank me."

"Why are you giving this to me?" Pei Wenxuan frowned.

"Miss Pei," Li Rong lifted Pei Wenxuan's chin with a fan, "How many inches is the golden lotus?"

Pei Wenxuan sneered and raised his hand to hit her fan, but as soon as he raised his hand, Li Rong grabbed his hand. Then she slid on him as nimbly as a loach and sat astride him. One hand interlocked with his fingers, and the other hand pressed on his head and kissed him.

Pei Wenxuan wanted to fight to show his strength, but as soon as he moved, he heard Li Rong call him "Brother Pei" in a coquettish voice.

He suddenly felt that not only was he spineless, he was boneless.

After Li Rong finished kissing him, she hooked her arm around his neck and looked at his face, which had turned a little rosy under the light, and said with a smile, "What were you angry about just now?"

Pei Wenxuan said nothing.

Li Rong leaned against his chest and rubbed her face against his: "Tell me, I'll change if you tell me."

Pei Wenxuan still didn't say anything, so Li Rong teased him again: "Come on, you're not talking. Are you still angry with me?"

“I forgot.”

Pei Wenxuan spoke hoarsely, and Li Rong looked up to see his red ears.

So she was sure that Pei Wenxuan had really forgotten.

It was really embarrassing for Pei Wenxuan to forget why he was angry before because of this kind of thing.

Too spineless.

When the two of them were fighting and going back to the princess's mansion together, Su Ronghua was still kneeling on the ground, listening to Li Ming's questioning.

"If it's you, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I am guilty."

"Tell me now," Li Ming pointed at him, "was it you who did it or was it Su Rongqing?"

"I did it." Su Ronghua said decisively, "I dare not admit it, but I can't bear to see my brother being wrongly accused, so I have to come here to confess. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"Since you did it, why did Hongde confess that it was your brother?"

"When I went to look for Hongde, I did not show up," Su Ronghua repeated with his head down. "Hongde may have guessed that I was a member of the Su family based on something. My brother is more famous than I am in the capital. Hongde may have recognized the wrong person."

"You recognized the wrong person." Li Ming nodded, obviously not believing his explanation. "If you recognized the wrong person, then why did you set fire to the memorial hall and kill him?"

"I am not aware of the fire in the memorial hall. As for Hongde, it was a misunderstanding. I did tell Hongde that if anything happened, he would protect me, but I don't understand why he committed suicide on the road."

This was half true and half false. Li Ming quietly distinguished the truth from the falsehood of his words. He stared at Su Ronghua. Su Ronghua kept repenting: "Your Majesty, I was also confused for a moment. I am the Crown Prince of Prince Su, so I am naturally devoted to Prince Su and Concubine Rou. Her Highness Pingle is the head of the Inspection Department, with a high position and power. She and the Crown Prince are siblings, so how could they be separated? Concubine Rou took this into consideration, so I thought of this method..."

"You idiot!" Li Ming was very angry after hearing this. Even though he knew that Su Ronghua was doing this for Concubine Rou and Prince Su, he couldn't help but scold her, "You and Concubine Rou are two idiots! Why did I activate Pingle? Without Pingle, would your Su family be willing to fight against such a huge force as the Shangguan family? The Shangguan family can use the power of the entire clan for the prince, can you?"

"Now Pingle is fighting with the noble families for power under Pei Wenxuan's instigation. Regardless of whether they are true or false, the Shangguan family now has a vacant position in the court, and the noble family has vacated a position so that my people can go up. This is the result! Why is she anxious? It's okay for her to be anxious, but why are you anxious too? Is this your way of helping her?!"

"I know I was wrong. I was short-sighted and could not understand your majesty's deep meaning. I hope your majesty will forgive me."

Su Ronghua nodded desperately, appearing extremely flustered.

Li Ming looked at Su Ronghua and felt a little tired. He was silent for a moment. After a long time, he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, go down. You are not suitable to stay in the court anymore, let's go."

"Thank you, Lord, for your grace."

After hearing what Li Ming said, Su Ronghua stood up, turned around and left.

After he went out, he saw Su Rongqing waiting outside Yu's study. The guards outside Yu's study were far away from him. He was quietly looking at the rain, as if he was waiting for him.

Su Ronghua walked to Su Rongqing's side, and the brothers watched the rain side by side. After a long time, Su Rongqing said calmly: "You shouldn't have come today."

"If I don't come," Su Ronghua said with a wry smile, "what will you do?"

"Rongqing," Su Ronghua looked up at the sky, "Although I don't know what you are doing, don't forget that I am your brother, and you are not walking alone."

"But some roads," Su Rongqing said calmly, "are destined to be walked alone. When I reach the end, if I die there, you can come and collect my body if you wish."

"Rong Qing!" Su Ronghua said in a stern voice, frowning, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"Don't bother me anymore."

Su Rongqing turned his head and stared at him coldly: "What happened today must never happen again. I will walk my own path and bear my own sins. If you want to be good to me," Su Rongqing looked at the stunned young man in front of him. In his mind, he kept thinking about how Su Ronghua cut his throat with a tile in his previous life. He couldn't help but trembled, "Just please, just be yourself."

"Let's go back." Su Rongqing turned his head and walked towards Yu's study, saying hoarsely, "Go and have a drink with Shangguan Ya, and find a suitable time to propose marriage."

Su Ronghua stood there in a daze, watching Su Rongqing walk into Yu's study. His back was lost in the darkness. Su Ronghua watched for a long time. Someone gave him an umbrella and reminded him that he finally realized it was time to leave.

He walked down the stairs and out of the palace in the rain. When the palace door closed behind him with a creaking sound, he could not help but look back.

The towering palace gate was like the gaping mouth of a giant beast. He stood in front of it, feeling a little bewildered for a moment.

He didn't know where to go. He didn't want to go back to Su Mansion, but he didn't know where to go.

He watched as power corrupted the person he loved most. The entire Chinese capital was like a pot of warm water placed over a flame, boiling the person beyond recognition without him noticing.

Although he didn't understand what Su Rongqing said, he vaguely knew one thing.

His younger brother is on a completely different path from him, and their lives ahead will never intersect.

Su Ronghua couldn't help but look up, trying to see the dark sky. At that moment, a cute female voice rang out: "Hey, you didn't get a beating?"

After hearing this, Su Ronghua slowly turned around.

The woman was asked to wear a blue dress, a bamboo hat on her head, a paper umbrella in her hand, and a wine gourd hanging from her waist.

"What are you wearing?"

Su Ronghua couldn't help but laugh: "It's the middle of the night, and you, a lady from a wealthy family, are you going to travel around the world?"

"Master Su guessed it right."

Shangguan Ya looked up at him and said with a smile, "I had originally planned to spend the night in the mountains and wait for the sunrise tomorrow, but when I heard that Lord Su had risked his life to save my brother and entered the palace, I came to take a look. I didn't expect Lord Su to be in such a good mood. Aren't you afraid of catching a cold in the rain?"

"I was thinking that Lord Shangguan would come to pick me up," Su Ronghua smiled as he walked in front of Shangguan Ya, raised his hand to hold the umbrella she was holding, and smiled as he lowered his eyes to look at her, "Do you want Lord Shangguan to feel more distressed?"

"You're wrong. I'm not the kind of person who feels sorry for others."

"It's okay," Su Ronghua tilted his head, "I did a good job on this matter."

"I brought some wine. Sir Su, do you have time to wait for the sunrise together?"

Shangguan Ya raised her hand and patted the wine gourd. Su Ronghua laughed out loud: "Of course, Lord Shangguan went up the mountain alone without a flower-guarding messenger. How can we feel at ease?"

"Then I have to thank Master Su." Shangguan Ya turned around, swung the jade pendant on her waist, waved her hand, and called her second brother, "Let's go."

Su Ronghua smiled, holding an umbrella and following Shangguan Ya.

He suddenly felt as if he had found a guide. He didn't have to think about anything. He just had to follow the girl's footsteps and move forward step by step.

At this time, Su Rongqing knelt in front of Li Ming and said, "I know that Your Majesty doesn't believe anyone now, but since you don't believe it, why don't you give it a try?"

Li Ming stared at Su Rongqing: "Try what?"

Su Rongqing raised his head, his eyes full of determination: "Try all the things that your majesty is confused about."

Pei Wenxuan thought he won, but how could it be so easy?

He had crawled out of twenty-five years of burning hell not to repeat it all over again.

He wanted to drag to hell all those who had destroyed all his faith and honor, family and hopes in his previous life.

At this moment, Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan also arrived at the princess's residence. They walked in side by side. Pei Wenxuan's mood improved and he finally remembered what bothered him in the carriage before: "What were you thinking about in the carriage? I saw you were absent-minded for a long time. Are you heartbroken?"

"What are you feeling sad about?"

Li Rong laughed. After she finished speaking, she immediately understood what Pei Wenxuan meant. She sighed, "Why should I feel sad? I just wondered, how could we become like we were in our last life when we are all fine now?"

"Su Ronghua is now willing to put himself in danger to save Hongde's child, but later he can poison Qin Zhenzhen for Shangguan Ya."

"Aya can now distinguish right from wrong, but later on she manipulated many things in the palace."

"Chuan'er was kindhearted by nature, but in the end he implicated the entire Su family because of the death of Qin Zhenzhen."

"And Su Rongqing...the noble young man with a clear mind and bright moon, eventually turned into a hellish Shura holding a sharp blade."

Li Rong smiled bitterly: "Tell me, who is at fault? Is it my father?"

"Your Highness," Pei Wenxuan said in a gentle voice, "He who is untainted by the mud is a saint. Most people, like you and me, are ordinary people."

"What we are doing now is to dig away the silt." Pei Wenxuan said, raising his hand and holding Li Rong's hand. "The people in the last life are the last life. And this life has just begun."

"What about you?"

Li Rong suddenly asked, Pei Wenxuan looked at her: "What?"

"You are a saint who is untainted by mud. Have you ever done evil in your previous life?"

Li Rong turned to look at him, somewhat curious. Pei Wenxuan said nothing. The two of them walked along the corridor. Li Rong was somewhat puzzled: "Pei Wenxuan?"

“I am also an ordinary person.”

Pei Wenxuan's voice was very calm, and no trace of sadness or joy could be heard: "It's just that in my last life, every time I wanted to do something evil, I would think of you."

Li Rong was stunned for a moment, Pei Wenxuan smiled bitterly: "I don't know why, even when I hated you the most, I didn't want you to look down on me."