Li Chuan was not very old and not as tall as Pei Wenxuan, but he had been practicing sword since he was young and was quite strong. He punched Pei Wenxuan and caught him off guard, causing him to fall backwards.
Li Chuan was still not satisfied when he saw Pei Wenxuan fall, so he rushed forward and kicked and beat him. Su Rongqing hurriedly stepped forward to stop Li Chuan and said anxiously: "Your Highness, calm down! Your Highness, calm down a little, this is an official appointed by the court, you can't do that!"
"Let go! I'm going to beat this bastard to death! Let go! Bring your sword! Let me kill him! Bastard, you bastard..."
Li Chuan punched and kicked in the air, while Su Rongqing and the guards held him tightly. Pei Wenxuan was stunned, then slowly came to his senses. He took a deep breath and said hurriedly, "Your Highness, please listen to my explanation..."
"I'm going to beat him to death! Let me go! Let me go..."
"Chuan'er."
Li Rong finally reacted. She saw Pei Wenxuan being beaten, especially when Li Chuan was beating him. She felt fond of Li Chuan as he fought for her. She felt that he was indeed her brother, and even when he called him a piece of shit, he spoke in the same tone. But she still had to pretend to be calm, hiding the secret joy in her heart. She coughed lightly and said, "You are the prince, be more calm."
Hearing Li Rong's scolding, Li Chuan froze. Su Rongqing and others tentatively let go of Li Chuan, and saw that Li Chuan clenched his fists and looked at Pei Wenxuan with a fierce look.
Pei Wenxuan was helped up, his expression calm. He bowed to Li Chuan and was about to explain when he heard Li Chuan say, "I don't want to hear your explanation. If you have anything to say, go talk to my father, the emperor and my mother!"
Pei Wenxuan choked up, and then could only say, "Yes."
"Return to the palace!"
Li Chuan shouted loudly, turned around and led his men away. Pei Wenxuan thought for a moment, walked to Li Rong and said, "Princess..."
Before he could finish his words, Li Chuan suddenly turned back and stood in front of Li Rong, warning her: "Stay away from my sister, you bastard!"
Pei Wenxuan: “…”
After saying that, Li Chuan dragged Li Rong and walked towards his red horse with great momentum. Then he helped Li Rong onto the horse and said, "Sister, you ride my horse."
Li Rong smiled, pulled the reins, and said gently, "Okay."
Li Rong rode Li Chuan's horse, and Li Chuan requisitioned Su Rongqing's horse. Then Su Rongqing and Pei Wenxuan led a group of servants and walked behind, following Li Rong and Li Chuan.
Li Rong and Li Chuan walked side by side. As they walked fast, they left the people behind them at a distance. Li Chuan spoke to Li Rong in a low voice. After asking her about her situation, he asked about what happened last night: "Did you see who those people were last night?"
"I saw it." Then she realized the problem, "You didn't catch anyone?"
"Where can I catch him?"
Li Chuan said angrily: "They ran so fast! They were gone in the blink of an eye."
"And there was no evidence left?"
"not."
"Well," Li Rong was not very surprised. The Yang family would not rashly do such things. They must have made plans long ago. So she nodded and said, "Is that so? It's a bit regrettable."
"Tell me," Li Chuan thought curiously, "What is Yang Quan asking for by doing this?"
"Can't you see?" Li Rong chuckled, "You want to marry me. If you marry me, won't you be tied to your big baby?"
"Why do they want to tie me together?" Li Chuan frowned. "Now everyone knows that my father doesn't like me, and he is looking for opportunities to depose me every day. If it weren't for the fact that the crown prince cannot be deposed without reason, he would have issued an order long ago. Now they are still leaning on me. What's wrong with the Yang family's brain?"
"What's wrong with Yang's brain?"
Li Rong reminded Li Chuan: "They are smart. You are not liked by the emperor, and they are even more disliked by him. Do you remember that they sought rewards for merits a few years ago? The emperor was forced by them to reward the border with 300,000 taels of silver. With the emperor's temper, can this matter be let go? The Yang family suffered a defeat a few days ago, and the direct lineage was almost exhausted on the battlefield. Now they have turned around and realized that the emperor wants to deal with them. Aren't they here to cling to your thighs?"
"Then they should be nicer," Li Chuan said immediately, "They are crazy if they come to tie you up directly!"
"I'm afraid he doesn't want to kidnap me." Li Rong said slowly, "The best thing is to scare me and then come to the rescue. Who knows I'm too smart? Then he can only destroy my reputation and force me to marry him. If I marry him, can I still get a divorce? If I want to have a child, can you still ignore me?"
"Despicable!" Li Chuan immediately scolded. Li Rong nodded and replied, "Indeed, despicable! Worse than dog."
"Yes," Li Chuan nodded, "Not as good as Pei Wenxuan."
As he spoke, Li Chuan suddenly remembered something and looked at Li Rong, hesitatingly saying, "Well, sister..."
"Um?"
"Pei Wenxuan..." Li Chuan pursed his lips and said with some difficulty, "Does he..."
"Um?"
"Did I... bully you?"
"You mean..." Li Rong asked cautiously, seeing Li Chuan's tangled face. Li Chuan was a little embarrassed, but he continued, "Did I... kiss you?"
Li Rong: “…”
She thought it was some kind of bullying.
She coughed lightly and then said, "Well, Pei Wenxuan is a talented person and would not do such a thing. You should be nice to him, maybe you can use him in the future."
She didn't mean to say anything good for Pei Wenxuan, but Pei Wenxuan was indeed a sharp knife to Li Chuan, and she didn't want anything to go wrong between Li Chuan and Pei Wenxuan. However, after hearing this, Li Chuan didn't change his attitude, but lowered his head and said nothing, as if he was disappointed.
Li Rong couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong with you?"
"Alas, my mother said that a married woman is like spilled water. You are not even married yet, but you are already speaking for other men."
"Of course," Li Rong said immediately after hearing what Li Chuan said, "If you really don't like this bastard, I will support you even if you beat me to death!"
"That's right," Li Chuan raised his eyebrows, and he moved closer and whispered, "Sister, you have to promise me one thing."
"Speak." Li Rong was quite happy to see Li Chuan trying to please her. Li Chuan smiled, showing his cute fangs, "Even if you get married in the future, I will still be the most important man in your heart!"
Upon hearing this, Li Rong burst out laughing. Li Chuan felt a little unhappy when she laughed at him, but he felt that if he really showed his dissatisfaction, he would appear too childish, so he put on a stern face and said nothing. Li Rong saw that he was unhappy and hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, don't worry," Li Rong soothed, "You must be the most important man in my heart, okay?"
Li Chuan sighed and said in a serious tone, "I know you are just trying to fool me, but I am very satisfied to hear this."
Li Rong couldn't stop laughing when she heard Li Chuan's pretentious words.
Pei Wenxuan and Su Rongqing followed behind, and saw from a distance that Li Rong was laughing non-stop in front. Su Rongqing said gently: "The prince and the princess really have a deep relationship as siblings. Even among our noble families, it is rare to have such a relationship."
"They grew up together," Pei Wenxuan said calmly, "The princess is a person who values love."
"Master Pei knows a lot about the princess," Su Rongqing nodded, as if remembering something, "But, Master Pei, do you know that Concubine Ning visited Mingle Palace and Weiyang Palace in succession last night?"
Concubine Ning was a noble concubine from the Yang clan, while Mingle Palace and Weiyang Palace were the residences of Concubine Rou and the Empress respectively.
Concubine Rou is now in great favor. Her son Li Chang is only ten years old, but he is extremely intelligent and is deeply loved by the emperor. At such a young age, he was promoted to prince, making him the youngest prince since the founding of the dynasty.
Last night, people from the Yang family visited two places in succession. Although we don’t know what they did specifically, they must be inextricably linked to Li Rong.
Su Rongqing's words were a reminder. Pei Wenxuan pondered for a moment and then asked, "Does Your Highness know?"
"I have already reported this to His Highness." Su Rongqing nodded, "But I think Master Pei should also know."
Pei Wenxuan listened to this and looked at Su Rongqing. Su Rongqing looked at Pei Wenxuan with a smile.
"Mr. Su has helped me so much, what do I want?"
Pei Wenxuan spoke seriously, but Su Rongqing didn't say anything. He held a folding fan in his hand and walked in the forest. After a long time, he said slowly: "If the princess needs to choose between Yang Quan and Master Pei, I want to bet on Master Pei."
Su Rongqing turned to look at Pei Wenxuan, her pretty eyes showing some seriousness: "Mr. Pei, how confident are you?"
After hearing what Su Rongqing said, Pei Wenxuan stared at Su Rongqing quietly. He did not miss any expression on Su Rongqing's face, but Su Rongqing remained the same, with a smile on his face and no emotion in his eyes.
The two of them were silent for a moment, and then Pei Wenxuan bowed to Su Rongqing and said, "I thank you for your attention, but the princess's marriage should be decided by the princess. I am an eighth-rank official and dare not dream of it."
"Mr. Pei is right," Su Rongqing nodded and said casually, "We are just chatting casually, don't mind it."
The group chatted as they walked out of the woods. From a distance, they saw a long queue occupying the official road. The East Palace's unique carriage was in the middle, with East Palace guards in front and behind. In the front was a black flag with the East Palace's symbol fluttering in the air, which looked extremely impressive.
Li Chuan and Li Rong got on the prince's carriage, while Su Rongqing and Pei Wenxuan drove in front separately.
After getting on the carriage, the servants served tea and cakes, and Li Chuan asked everyone to leave. After everyone left, the carriage slowly started to move away. Li Chuan looked up and said, "I have something to tell you."
"What did the Yang family do last night?"
Li Rong found a place to lean against and started to speak lazily. Li Chuan was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Sister is really smart."
After saying this, Li Chuan showed a serious expression: "Last night, Concubine Ning visited my mother and went to Mingle Palace. After she left, my mother looked very bad and didn't tell me what Concubine Ning said, but I guess the Yang family might have come to propose marriage."
Li Rong nodded. Li Chuan hesitated for a moment and sighed, "The Yang family is too impatient."
"It's because my father pushed me too hard."
Li Rong spoke calmly: "I heard that some time ago, my father withheld one-third of the Yang family's military pay."
"Father, you shouldn't do this." Li Chuan shook his head. "Even if you want to weaken the Yang family, you should do it step by step, slowly marginalizing them and then demoting the common people. If you act so radically, the Yang family will probably be in chaos."
As Li Rong listened to Li Chuan's words, she unconsciously rubbed the Buddhist beads in her hand.
Seeing that Li Rong had been silent for a long time, Li Chuan couldn't help but ask, "Sister, do you think what I said is wrong?"
"Not really," Li Rong smiled, she turned to look at Li Chuan and said gently, "It's just that Chuan'er is so kind, this is probably why the emperor is dissatisfied with you."
"He must be dissatisfied." When Li Ming was mentioned, Li Chuan showed some disgust on his face, "If he has the guts, he can kill me."
"You're talking nonsense." Li Rong smiled helplessly, but she didn't tell Li Chuan directly that their father might really think so.
Sixteen-year-old Li Chuan still had hope for Li Ming, just like young Li Rong.
Although they knew that the royal family struggles were ruthless, they still had some hope for their parents in their hearts. Because of hope, they dared to rebel. They said, "If he has the ability, he will destroy me," but in their hearts, they always thought that this was his father.
Because there is hope, that’s why I truly feel despair when the sword falls mercilessly.
In his previous life, Li Chuan was almost destroyed.
If it weren't for Pei Wenxuan and her efforts to save the situation, Li Chuan's grave would have been left behind long ago.
But Li Rong did not point it out, because she knew that no matter how skilled Li Chuan was at talking about politics, he was still just a 16-year-old boy. If she really told him the truth, Li Chuan would probably think she was cold-blooded and too cunning.
She didn't want herself and Li Chuan to end up like they did in the previous life. Although there was a blood relationship between the siblings, there were many barriers between them.
She looked at Li Chuan, and the small golden fan gently patted her palm. Li Chuan ate longan and turned to look at her: "Sister, when we go to the palace to see the mother later, what are you going to say?"
"What?"
Li Rong turned to look at Li Chuan, who vomited his eyes and asked hurriedly: "As for your marriage, who are you going to marry?"