Li Rong asked Pei Wenxuan to stay in the princess's residence. They both waited for someone in the palace to come and question Li Rong about leaving the residence without permission and taking Pei Wenxuan away. Unexpectedly, the person who was to question her did not come the next day, but the news came that Concubine Rou had forcibly detained Wang Houwen.

Li Rong was stunned when she heard the news in the room. She couldn't help but look at Pei Wenxuan and said in surprise: "She even dared to arrest the Minister of Personnel. I was also a kidnapped and captured Xie Lanqing. Is Concubine Rou crazy?"

"She dared to detain him, so she must have evidence." Pei Wenxuan smiled, and used his good hand to hold the tea, and explained, "Wang Houwen gave her money before, and she was planning to release Wang Houwen, but now that I have caused trouble, everyone knows that Wang Houwen is a suspect. Even if she wants to release him, she has to consider her face."

"But she... doesn't have the courage to do that, does she?"

Li Rong frowned: "Wang Houwen gave her money, and she didn't help him, so why did they arrest him?"

Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan smiled and drank a sip of tea. Li Rong immediately responded: "What bad things did you do?"

"Last night I arranged for someone to impersonate someone from the palace and deliver a message to the palace. I wrote a poem satirizing Concubine Rou and her background."

Li Rong understood after hearing this. Although Concubine Rou had her own ways, there was one thing about her: both she and Hua Le cared too much about their backgrounds.

If it was in the past, it would be fine, but now that Concubine Rou has taken over the Inspection Office, everyone has to give in. At such a high point in her career, Wang Houwen dared to write a letter to ridicule her by relying on his noble family background. Naturally, she couldn't calm down.

After all, she held the Supervisory Office and was a noble concubine, so it was easy for her to arrest people. Pei Wenxuan could be said to be of a low rank and not worthy of being scolded, but as long as Concubine Rou had enough soldiers and horses, there was no one she could not catch.

But it is easy to arrest someone, but it is difficult to keep him. Li Rong thought about it and couldn't help but ask, "What if Concubine Rou meets Wang Houwen and finds out about Shi?"

"So what if it's revealed?" Pei Wenxuan smiled. "Wang Houwen was finally arrested by her. The other noble families watching will only think that she is too arrogant, and Wang Houwen will not swallow this breath. Your Highness should immediately fan the flames and let the people of Yu Shitai keep an eye on Concubine Rou's case against Wang Houwen. In this way, she will think that the letter was written by Your Highness. Your Highness wants to fight for power, and she will naturally be confused. If she doesn't handle Wang Houwen's case, His Majesty will not be able to establish her prestige in the Han clan. If she handles it, her way of secretly forming an alliance with Su Rongqing and other Jiangnan noble families will be cut off."

Pei Wenxuan put down his tea bowl and said slowly, "I want to see what she plans to do."

As the two were talking, there was a report from outside that someone was coming from the palace. Li Rong asked someone to look after Pei Wenxuan, then stood up and went to the hall.

As soon as she arrived at the hall, Li Rong saw Fu Lai leading the soldiers and standing in the hall. Li Rong went forward to salute and called out in a low voice, "Eunuch Fu Lai."

"Your Highness."

Fu Lai smiled and returned the greeting: "Long time no see."

"How come you have time today to visit me, father-in-law?"

Li Rong asked Fulai to sit down. Fulai shook his head but didn't sit down. He just said, "I am here on the orders of His Majesty to ask you what happened yesterday when His Majesty forced his way out of the palace and brought Minister Pei back to the palace."

Upon hearing this, Li Rong's face instantly turned cold: "Are you here to call me to task, eunuch?"

"I dare not." Fu Lai bowed quickly and said anxiously, "Your Highness, I am just following your orders. I hope Your Highness will not embarrass me."

Li Rong's expression froze when she heard this. She turned her head and said, "Go back and explain it to my father. Yesterday, Wen came to me and told me that Xiao Wei sent a visiting card to Pei Wenxuan. How long have I been divorced from Pei Wenxuan? How could Concubine Rou bully me like this? Pei Wenxuan was my former consort, and she let..."

"Your Highness," Fu Lai said hurriedly after hearing this, "Why don't you go to the palace with me to talk to me? These words..." Fu Lai showed an embarrassed expression, "It's not easy for me to convey them."

"I won't make it difficult for you," Li Rong stood up and said directly, "I will go to the palace and explain everything to my father."

Li Rong seemed to be extremely angry. He led his people to the palace. When they arrived at Yu's study, Li Mingzheng and Su Minzhi were viewing a painting of birds. Li Rong rushed in with great momentum and shouted, "Father, you have to make the decision for me, Father!"

Li Ming was stunned when he heard Li Rong come in directly. Su Minzhi smiled and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I will take my leave first."

Li Rong entered the room and was stunned when she saw Su Minzhi. Then she quickly bowed and said with a feeling of grievance, "I have met Mr. Su."

Su Minzhi returned the greeting with a smile and then walked out.

As soon as Su Min left, Li Ming immediately frowned: "Look at your rude expression, what kind of words are you talking about!"

Li Rong's eyes were red when she heard this: "Yes, my daughter is not a decent person. My daughter has been bullied so badly, and you don't care about it. And you still say I am not a decent person!"

Li Ming quickly glanced at Fu Lai who followed him in, and Fu Lai explained, "Your Highness is here to explain why you left the palace without permission yesterday."

Li Ming nodded after hearing this, sat down, and said calmly: "Tell me, why did you leave the house when everything was fine? I heard that you even brought Pei Wenxuan back to the house?"

Li Rong quickly told Xiao Wei about meeting Pei Wenxuan and how Wen Shi had informed on her, and then she said angrily, "I went to find Pei Wenxuan to discuss the matter with him, but before I could trouble him, I saw someone stabbing him in the street. Su Rongqing was in charge of escorting him to the Ministry of Justice, but he was seriously injured in the street, so I took him back to the mansion for treatment."

Li Ming listened quietly, poking the tea in the teacup with the tea lid, and said slowly: "Then you have done a good thing. How is Pei Wenxuan now?"

"Fortunately," Li Rong's eyes turned red when she heard this, "She's still alive, she just needs to be taken care of."

Li Ming frowned and thought for a moment: "Then send the person back to Pei's house."

"I won't."

Li Rong decisively refused: "Send it back. Who knows when Xiao Wei will come to visit again?"

"You and he have separated!" Li Ming said with dissatisfaction, "Why did you force him to stay in the mansion?"

Li Rong turned her head away, looking angry: "Then why did Father want to separate me from him?"

"I don't like you," Li Ming said angrily. "How can you, a princess, chase after a man like this?"

"You are the emperor," Li Rong turned her head, as if puzzled, "I am a princess. Pei Wenxuan is nothing. How dare he divorce me with your order? It is obviously you who want to break us up!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Li Ming slapped the table, but he also felt a little guilty.

Li Rong burst into tears immediately after he saw her yelling at her. "Not only did you seize the Inspection Office and give it to Concubine Rou, you also forced me to divorce you and asked Hua Le to come to my house and beat me up. You also asked me to be under house arrest in order to keep Concubine Rou in the Inspection Office. What's wrong with my daughter? I listened to you one by one, but you still let Concubine Rou humiliate me like this? I have never liked anyone in my life. Pei Wenxuan was chosen by you, and I finally liked him. You agreed to his divorce, and now you want Xiao Wei to meet him in front of me..."

Li Rong scolded Li Ming one by one, and Li Ming felt guilty for a moment. Li Rong raised her hand to wipe her tears: "You are forcing me."

"Don't be sad, Your Highness," Fu Lai saw Li Ming embarrassed and stepped forward to pull Li Rong, "You are His Majesty's most beloved daughter, and His Majesty also cares about your reputation."

"What Fulai said is true," Li Ming coughed lightly and watched Fulai pass the steps to him. "I am also concerned about your reputation. If you don't like Xiao Wei, then don't let Xiao Wei see him."

"I don't trust anyone else either," Li Rong wiped her tears and said decisively, "He's injured now. I'm worried if you leave him somewhere else."

Li Ming paused for a moment, and Li Rong was indeed thinking the same thing. If Li Rong hadn't appeared in this assassination, Pei Wenxuan might have died.

Pei Wenxuan is now one of the most direct executors of all his will. If he died like this, other people would not dare to step forward, and he would also lose someone to do things.

In the entire court, I'm afraid no one cares more about Pei Wenxuan than Li Rong.

After all, other people have more vested interests in Pei Wenxuan, but Li Rong...she has Pei Wenxuan in her heart.

When Li Ming thought of this, he felt somewhat relieved and a little upset at the same time.

Fortunately, he could use the relationship between Pei Wenxuan and Li Rong to create more rifts between Li Rong and Li Chuan. But he also had an inexplicable feeling... that the cabbage in his field had been dug up by a pig.

Li Ming hesitated for a while, and finally made up his mind: "Okay, let him stay there and come back as soon as he recovers."

"But……"

"What but?" Li Ming looked up at her and said in annoyance, "Why don't you get married again?"

Li Rong seemed a little embarrassed when she heard this: "She's living in my house anyway... You have to consider my daughter's reputation, otherwise..."

"Are you talking to me about reputation now?" Li Ming laughed sarcastically, not wanting to pay attention to her, and just said, "Go down."

"Father, what about Su Rongqing?" Li Rong stared at Li Ming. "He arrested Pei Wenxuan and took him to the Ministry of Justice, which gave Pei Wenxuan the opportunity to be assassinated and cause him to suffer such serious injuries. Are you just going to let it go?"

Li Ming thought about it, and finally said: "I will punish him, but after all, he is just a poor protector, not a murderer, so you don't have to worry too much."

"They must be punished," Li Rong said immediately, "They must be taught a lesson, otherwise they will all be staring at Pei Wenxuan. Who will dare to help you in the future?"

These words touched Li Ming's heart. Li Ming waved his hand and said, "Go back and do more embroidery and calligraphy. Don't think about these things anymore."

Li Rong curled her lips, knelt down and kowtowed. When she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered: "Father, what about my house arrest order..."

"Let's withdraw."

Originally, it was done for others to see, to establish Concubine Rou's authority. Now that Concubine Rou has arrested Wang Houwen, there is no need to confine Li Rong to save face for her.

Concubine Rou's reputation is now very important.

Li Rong bowed with a smile and left happily. When he returned to the house, Pei Wenxuan saw the joy on Li Rong's face and knew that everything was going well. He raised his hand and pointed at the two letters on the table and said with a smile: "I have written the memorial. Please send it to Yu Shitai and have someone keep an eye on Wang Houwen's case."

"Your shoulder is injured, how can you still write memorials?" Li Rong smiled and sat down next to Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan looked up at her and chuckled. "Not only can I write memorials," Pei Wenxuan propped himself up and approached Li Rong. "I can do a lot of things, Your Highness, do you want to try?"

"Pei Wenxuan," Li Rong pushed his head with her fan, "you are such a pervert."

"To die under the peony flowers, even as a ghost, is romantic." Pei Wenxuan approached and tried to kiss Li Rong. When Li Rong saw him coming, she felt a little itchy and stood up with a giggle. "I won't tell you this. I still have business to attend to."

As he spoke, Li Rong went to the table to get Pei Wenxuan's memorial. Pei Wenxuan sighed and fell back on the bed: "Your Highness has used me and now that you see I am useless, you have ignored me."

"Yes, I didn't use any of that shit." Li Rong passed by him and tapped his stomach with her fan. When she reached the door, she thought for a moment, turned around, and gave him a meaningful look, "You should take good care of yourself."

She looked at him very slowly that time, as if it contained countless romantic implications and was alluring enough to make one ecstasy and heart-wrenching.

Pei Wenxuan took a breath of cool air and watched the woman push the door open and walk out.

Li Rong delivered the memorial to Yu Shitai's men. The next day, when Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan were eating oranges in the house, they heard the news that Yu Shitai had reported to Wang Houwen, saying that he wanted to assist Concubine Rou in investigating the case, but was rejected by Concubine Rou.

Su Rongqing was fined three months' salary for failing to protect Pei Wenxuan, and at the same time, Pei Liming, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, was promoted to the new Minister of Justice.

The position of the Minister of Justice had always been undecided between Su Rongqing and Pei Liming. Now Su Rongqing had injured Pei Wenxuan, which was apparently a salary deduction, but everyone knew that for someone like Su Rongqing, salary was not an important matter. So the real punishment for Su Rongqing was to make Pei Liming the Minister of Justice.

These two pieces of news made the two of them eat two more bowls of rice. Li Rong privately asked people to keep inquiring about the news of Wang Houwen and Concubine Rou.

After Wang Houwen was detained by Concubine Rou, it is said that he cursed Concubine Rou in prison, so Concubine Rou directly ordered people to be subjected to "dark punishment". The so-called "dark punishment" refers to torture that does not leave any visible marks.

Wang Houwen had never experienced such a vicious method, and he confessed soon after.

After Wang Houwen was beaten and confessed, Concubine Rou finally went to see him. Wang Houwen had been tortured to death by her. He smiled and said, "Lord Wang, how do you feel?"

Wang Houwen had been tortured for several days and dared not say much, but he could not accept bowing to Concubine Rou, so he remained silent. Concubine Rou flicked her nails and spoke slowly: "The crows were busy in the pig-eating alley, and one day they became phoenixes on the branches. They were wearing yellow caps, green mouths, and pearls, but they could not hide their bodies stained with night fragrance. Lord Wang," Concubine Rou turned her head and looked at him and smiled softly, "Do you still think this is a good poem?"

Hearing this, Wang Houwen couldn't help laughing: "What a poem!"

He said loudly: "It couldn't be more suitable for the queen!"

"That's perfect," Concubine Rou said softly, "When the king is beheaded, I will go and see if he still thinks this poem is good."

As she spoke, Concubine Rou stood up and walked out. When she walked out of the door, she narrowed her eyes and turned to ask the guard next to her: "In Chen Houzhao's case, have you found any evidence that Pingle was involved?"

"Not yet." The guard whispered, "His Highness Pingle did it too cleanly."

Concubine Rou narrowed her eyes and said, "This girl is much smarter than her mother."

"But, Madam," the guard said with some concern, "the old lady sent someone to say that the case of Chen Houzhao was done by your distant cousin. Please take care of him."

Concubine Rou paused for a moment, then asked anxiously, "Who else knows about this?"

"Don't worry, madam. We are all family." The guard quickly comforted her, "The old lady said that as long as Chen Houzhao is gone, the rest will depend on you, madam."

After hearing this, Concubine Rou pondered for a moment and whispered, "I will combine this case with other cases and let my mother... not worry. But in the future, you must tell me about this kind of thing." Concubine Rou's eyes became stern, "This will not be a precedent next time."

"Don't worry, Madam. The old lady has already said that the family has been punished. Master Wen Zhang is still worried that Madam is short of money in the palace, so he sent two banknotes." Concubine Rou watched the guards secretly reveal the two banknotes. She glanced at the amount on them, her expression eased a little, and she only said, "After all, we are all family. If there are difficulties, we still have to help."

As Concubine Rou said this, she went out with the guards.

Since Concubine Rou had offended Wang Houwen, she naturally did not dare to offend other noble families again, so she began to make friends with noble families everywhere and give them money.

However, the news of her ruthless torture of Wang Houwen spread among the noble families. The noble families were cautious and afraid of her, so their attitude towards her became better. Concubine Rou only thought that the relationship between the noble families and her was easing. She did not care about the noble families or the supervision of the historian, and became more and more reckless.

Within half a month, she officially declared the case closed.

She arrested nearly thirty people, of whom nearly eight were interrogated and executed. Except for Wang Houwen, almost all of them were officials who had connections with the Shangguan family.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see what Concubine Rou meant, so some small families and the original poor families in the court vied to curry favor with her and became the "King Su's Party" in the court.

Along with Concubine Rou's closing of the case, she also gave the list of students who had taken the imperial examination. On the day Concubine Rou gave the list of more than 100 people who had been confirmed to have been replaced, a group of officials from the Ministry of Personnel arrived at the gate of the princess's mansion.

Pei Wenxuan and Li Rong were sitting and playing chess when they heard a group of officials from the Ministry of Personnel coming to the palace and wanting to see Pei Wenxuan.

Pei Wenxuan and Li Rong looked at each other, and Li Rong couldn't help but laugh: "I wonder if Master Pei's illness has healed?"

"Your Highness, don't you know whether I am OK or not?"

Pei Wenxuan put down the chess piece with a smile and said gently: "Take the person to the front hall, I will be there in a moment."

The people who came were all minor officials from the Ministry of Personnel, who were in charge of the specific management of the imperial examinations. When they saw Pei Wenxuan coming, they all became happy.

"Master Pei," the people bowed to Pei Wenxuan, "You are finally well again."

"Thank you colleagues for your concern."

Although Pei Wenxuan has been resting these days, he is still secretly communicating with these people through letters to handle matters. Although they haven't seen each other for more than half a month, they don't seem unfamiliar. On the contrary, they feel more familiar with each other because of their private friendship.

The group chatted casually for a few words, and some of them told Pei Wenxuan the purpose of their visit: "We came here this time because we got the news that Concubine Rou asked among us privately if anyone could serve as the chief examiner. We guessed that Concubine Rou was planning to change the master, so we came here specially to inform the master of this matter."

After hearing this, Pei Wenxuan glanced at a few people. These people were all children from aristocratic families. Although they were not considered first-class nobles, in Huajing, first-class nobles like the Su and Shangguan families were a minority after all. Most of the people working below were small nobles who had taken root in Huajing.

They came to tell him this openly, which was tantamount to explaining their position. Pei Wenxuan smiled lightly and said gently: "Don't worry, I will go back tomorrow."

"The matter of the imperial examinations still requires your attention."