"This..." Li Rong kept it a secret, then laughed, "You'll know when the time comes."

"You're going to hide this from me too?"

Li Chuan was quite disgusted, and Li Rong sighed: "To tell you the truth, I am not hiding it from you."

As she spoke, Li Rong turned her head, looked out the window, and said calmly, "I just really don't know."

After all, getting married is not just her decision.

If Pei Wenxuan didn't speak, she wouldn't speak either.

She didn't think it was a good thing to marry Pei Wenxuan, who had been reborn. There were too many entanglements between them, and putting them together would only cause them to rub against each other.

Pei Wenxuan has his Qin Zhenzhen. With his skills, even if he doesn't become a royal consort, there are still other possibilities. In this life, he can choose other ways to try. Even if it is a little difficult, it may be better than marrying her.

And she...

Li Rong slowly closed her eyes. There was no road that she couldn't walk. Whether Pei Wenxuan was willing to help her or not, she had her own way to go.

The carriage was rocking and swaying, and Li Rong dozed off for a while. After a long while, she heard the voice of an eunuch coming from outside, saying respectfully, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Princess."

Li Rong slowly opened her eyes when she heard the voice. Li Chuan walked forward and lifted the curtain, revealing a smiling face.

The man was wearing the attire of a palace eunuch. He looked to be less than 40 years old, with big eyes and a round face that made him look particularly likable. Li Rong recognized him as the eunuch Shan De who served her mother.

When Li Chuan saw Shan De, he was a little surprised and asked, "Eunuch Shan De? Why are you waiting here?"

"When the Queen heard that the Crown Prince had brought the princess back, she asked me to wait here. The Queen said that the Crown Prince was tired from traveling last night and should go to rest first. I will take the princess," Shan De bowed to Li Rong, then turned to look at the carriage behind, "and Master Pei to go to Weiyang Palace to see the Queen."

"Pei Wenxuan?"

Li Chuan was a little surprised: "My mother wants to see him?"

Shan De smiled and nodded: "Yes, the queen wants to meet Master Pei."

As he spoke, Shan De gave up his seat, and two sedan chairs appeared. He said to Li Rong, "The sedan chairs are ready, Princess, you may move."

When Li Chuan heard this, he looked back at Li Rong. Li Rong nodded, raised her hand, and handed it to Li Chuan. Li Chuan helped Li Rong stand up, and Li Rong got off the carriage with the help of others and moved to the sedan chair.

After getting on the sedan chair, she looked back and saw Pei Wenxuan also got on the sedan chair. She nodded to Li Chuan, and the sedan chair was lifted up. Li Rong held the golden fan in her hand, closed her eyes and rested.

After a while, the sedan chair arrived in front of the gate of Weiyang Palace. Shan De opened the curtain and said respectfully, "Princess, we are here."

Li Rong opened her eyes, stretched out her hand, and was helped out of the sedan chair. Then she raised her head and saw the steps of the Weiyang Palace.

Pei Wenxuan walked behind her, and the two of them, led by Shan De, walked up the stairs one after the other. Li Rong lowered her voice and whispered to Pei Wenxuan, "Master Pei, have you thought things through?"

Pei Wenxuan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he whispered, "Not yet."

Li Rong chuckled: "Then Master Pei doesn't have much time to think about it."

As they talked, the two of them arrived at the gate of Weiyang Palace. Shan De entered to report, and Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan stood at the gate one after the other. The palace servants scattered around. Li Rong said slowly, "Actually, I can't figure it out either. It's obvious that I can just pursue the profit, but I always feel unwilling in my heart."

It would naturally be best for the two of them to get married again, which would be in the best interests of both of them.

But when they found out that the other person was reborn, their interests seemed to be restrained in some invisible way, making them hesitant and uneasy.

Pei Wenxuan understood this feeling. He lowered his eyes and did not respond.

After a while, Shande came back and said respectfully, "Princess, please."

"Let's go together." Li Rong told Pei Wenxuan, who said 'hmm', and the two of them entered the hall together. When they reached the door to the inner room, Li Rong pointed with her golden fan and whispered, "Wait here, I'll call you in."

Pei Wenxuan replied respectfully, "Yes," and Li Rong walked in.

When Li Rong entered the inner room, the first thing she saw was a woman, wearing a gorgeous red dress with phoenix embroidery and golden armor on her hands. She was lying on a small couch, seemingly in a light sleep.

Li Rong walked forward, knelt respectfully, and said softly: "Your son has seen the Queen Mother. May you live a thousand years."

The queen did not speak. Li Rong knelt on the ground without saying a word. After a long time, the queen slowly spoke: "I heard that you were with Pei Wenxuan last night."

"yes."

Li Rong answered without hesitation. The Queen opened her eyes and looked at Li Rong. She looked at her with scrutiny and asked calmly, "How do you plan to deal with your marriage?"

Li Rong smiled, raised her eyes to look at the Queen, and said gently, "May I ask what you think my daughter should do?"

"You have an idea."

The Queen definitely spoke up, but Li Rong asked, "Could it be that the Queen Mother didn't?"

The Queen did not say anything. During the moment when the two of them were talking, the Queen intuitively noticed that Li Rong was different from before.

Although Li Rong was smart in the past, she would never be like this now. She spoke like the court officials she had known for a long time, pushing the topic around but not getting to the point.

The queen hesitated for a moment, and without beating around the bush with Li Rong, she said directly, "I want to marry you to Yang Quan."

Li Rong didn't say anything. She had thought about this possibility before. Since the Yang family went to both palaces last night, it was impossible that they didn't do anything. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "What did the Yang family promise to my mother?"

The queen had not expected Li Rong to be so calm, and she was a little uncomfortable with it, but it was a good thing, as it saved her a lot of trouble, so she calmly replied to Li Rong: "Military power."

"Does the Yang family still have military power?"

Li Rong said sarcastically, "Doesn't your mother know what the previous emperor did to the Yang family?"

"I know." The Queen said calmly, "That's why they are so panicked now. They came to the palace last night and said that if you marry Yang Quan, Yang Quan will become the head of the Yang family and take over the direct line of the Yang family..."

"All their direct descendants have been killed on the battlefield. How many are left?"

“We can build it.”

The Queen raised her voice, suppressing Li Rong's voice, and then continued: "We have people and soldiers. As long as the Yang family is still in the northwest, the position is still theirs. With the supply of military rations, we can expand quickly. What problems can there be?"

"Mother," Li Rong looked at the Queen in disbelief. She lowered her voice to warn, "You are forcing Chuan'er to death!"

"It's your father who is forcing us to death!"

The Queen suddenly said, "Do you know why he abolished the Yang family? It was to help Li Chang's uncle become the King of Northwest! He wanted to give Li Chang military power! He is only ten years old! He has already been conferred the title of Prince, and now he wants to give military power to this infant child!"

Li Rong was not shocked to hear this. Later, Concubine Rou's brother Zhao Ziguang did serve as the general of the Northwest Zhenbei Army. Li Ming would not abandon the Yang family for no reason.

He abolished the Yang family, firstly because the Yang family was so powerful and arrogant that it threatened the emperor, and secondly because he wanted to make room for the person he wanted to promote.

But it was only a matter of time before the Yang family was defeated. Back then, the Yang family was cleaned up thoroughly. Li Ming acted with swift tactics, and the empress had no idea how many chess pieces he had planted to bring down the Yang family.

Li Rong looked at the queen and said calmly, "Mother, calm down. I don't know what you heard, but now Chuan'er is the crown prince. As long as His Majesty doesn't find fault with him, His Majesty will be unable to do anything to him in a short time. If you let me marry Yang Quan, His Majesty has been targeting the Yang family for a long time. I'm afraid he has already collected a lot of evidence. By then, all the faults will fall on Chuan'er."

"So what?" The Queen looked at him coldly, "As long as we can get the military power, even if Chuan'er is wrong, what does it matter?"

Li Rong raised her eyes and stared at the empress.

The queen looked at her, and the situation between mother and daughter seemed to be a silent battlefield.

Li Rong knew that Li Chang's promotion to prince was already a great humiliation to the empress, and now Li Ming wanted to give Li Chang military power, which was already a complete threat to Li Chuan.

In fact, Li Chuan was almost deposed because of the issue of military power.

In her previous life, she married Pei Wenxuan. Because the empress failed to participate in the arranged marriage, the marriage had already been arranged when she found out. In her previous life, the Yang family did not know that they had the possibility of marriage, nor were they forced into a desperate situation to be willing to hand over all military power to the empress. The empress did not have such a huge temptation, so she asked her to endure and marry Pei Wenxuan.

When she asked her to marry Pei Wenxuan, she told her that women should have power. So at that time, she thought that it was not her mother who watched her die without helping her, but that she was powerless.

In this life, her marriage was tainted with the military power of the Yang family, and the Empress had the possibility of getting involved, so she immediately decided to let her marry Yang Quan.

Li Rong looked at the queen quietly. She didn't know why, but suddenly asked, "Has mother ever thought of me?"

When the queen heard this, she was stunned.

Li Rong asked without regret. She knelt on the ground, straightened up, and looked at the woman in gorgeous clothes and a golden crown on the high seat. She said calmly, "Mother, you have been talking about military power and the position of crown prince. May I ask, mother, have you ever thought about your daughter for a moment in this marriage?"

The queen listened to Li Rong's questioning and came to her senses. Her lips trembled, and she opened her mouth and finally said, "You and I can't choose."

"Aren't we choosing now?"

Li Rong said seriously: "I have already spent a night with Pei Wenxuan. Mother knows that I am not without a choice."

"So you want to choose that gigolo who can't give you anything, right?!"

"It's not that he can't give me anything," Li Rong said clearly, "His status can give me stability. He just can't give the queen military power like the Yang family."

She didn't call her mother, she called her "Empress". The Queen clenched her fists, listened to Li Rong looking at her, and said calmly: "In the Queen's heart, my marriage is just a bargaining chip, and I am just a chess piece. You don't have to care about the chess piece's happiness, who she likes or dislikes, and you don't have to care whether she lives a good life. Since the Queen Mother thinks so," Li Rong looked at the Queen and couldn't help laughing, "Why not make it clear as soon as possible that a daughter is not a daughter, but a sharp knife in the hands of the Queen..."

Before she could finish her words, a loud slap landed on Li Rong's face.

The sound was so loud that it suddenly shook Pei Wenxuan's heart.

Pei Wenxuan stood outside the door. The two people in the inner room seemed to have completely forgotten his existence. He could clearly hear their conversation. This was Li Rong whom he had never seen before.

In his memory, Li Rong was always high and mighty, the center of attention, and no one in the world could hurt her in the slightest. She was always so arrogant.

He hated her arrogance and disliked her harshness, but at this moment, when he heard the sudden slap in the face, he felt as if it had been scraped against his heart.

He clasped his hands in his sleeves and listened to the queen's trembling voice inside: "How can you say that? How did I treat you before? Don't you have any heart? Just because I begged you once, you have to say this to me?"

No, not once.

Pei Wenxuan closed his eyes. He knew very well what Li Rong was concerned about at the moment.

In Li Rong's heart, a relationship must be clean and clear, so that she knows clearly what she has.

It's not that she can't tolerate turbidity, it's that she can't tolerate impurities.

Just like that year, she asked him "Why didn't you say it earlier", in fact, it was not that she couldn't tolerate Qin Zhenzhen, she just couldn't tolerate it, she thought they were husband and wife, but he went to provoke Qin Zhenzhen.

He felt a tightness in his chest, and then he heard Li Rong say calmly, "Mother, I'll beg you this time, too."

Li Rong stood up and said, "Tell me what difficulties you have and I will solve them. But this time, you have to be my mother, not the queen."

The queen stared at Li Rong in a daze. Li Rong stood up. She was already taller than her. She looked at her quietly: "You are now blinded by jealousy. You will understand in the future that you cannot get involved with the Yang family. Chuan'er should have military power, but he should not be a member of the Yang family. I will arrange it in the future. And my marriage can be used as a bargaining chip, but it should be more valuable."

"I don't need you to do anything, mother. You are not fit to be a politician. Leave these matters to me and Chuan'er. You only need to do one thing."

She stared at the empress, her expression slightly changed. The empress stared at her blankly. Li Rong looked at this woman who looked a little old and said in a low voice, "Be a good mother."

After saying that, she turned around and walked out of the palace.

The queen stared at Li Rong blankly. When she saw her approach the door, she suddenly laughed and said, "Am I not a good mother?"

"I taught you, I accompanied you, and I gave you and Chuan'er much more love than any other concubine in this harem! Now I just hope to survive, and Chuan'er must survive!"

Li Rong turned her back to her and said coldly, "Why did the Yang family threaten you?"

"If they want to rebel..." The Queen closed her eyes in pain, "If they rebel, they will accuse Chuan'er of being the mastermind."

"Your father has been looking for evidence against Chuan'er. If the Yang family identifies Chuan'er as the mastermind of the rebellion, Your Majesty will not give up this opportunity!"

Li Rong didn't say anything. She stood quietly for a moment, then said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. If you want to summon Pei Wenxuan, then go ahead. I'll go find Chuan'er first."

After saying that, Li Rong walked out.

When Li Rong walked to the door, she saw Pei Wenxuan who had been standing there for a long time.

Pei Wenxuan clasped his hands in his sleeves and stared at her quietly. His clear and handsome eyes expressed an indescribable emotion.

He looked at Li Rong in front of him and felt that she was familiar yet distant.

The person in front of him was still the proud phoenix in his memory of his previous life. She was always calm, peaceful and steady. Even if Mount Tai collapsed before her eyes, she would not change her expression.

But he also felt that this person was somewhat different. He vaguely saw the softness and gentleness deep in her heart. He vaguely touched the innocence that had never faded even after fifty years of ups and downs.

At this moment, she is like a butterfly falling into a spider web, and the moment she struggles hard, her stunning beauty emerges.

Both of them were lonely cranes forced into a desperate situation, their feet stuck in the mud, trying to raise their necks and look up at the blue sky.

They stared at each other silently. In an instant, fifty years passed by in their eyes. After a long time, Pei Wenxuan chuckled.

"Your Highness, do you think this marriage should happen again?"

Hearing Pei Wenxuan's question, Li Rong knew that he had figured it out. She couldn't help but smile: "Master Pei, do you pity me?"

"Your Highness's dilemma has its own solution, so you don't need me to pity you," Pei Wenxuan said calmly, "I just suddenly realized that Your Highness may be very different from the person I know. It may not be a bad thing to start over and make some new acquaintances."

"Master Pei is right," Li Rong looked into his handsome eyes. The sincerity and calmness in his eyes gradually calmed her originally uneasy heart. She nodded and said, "Then it's fine."

"Then I cannot tolerate your Highness's 'guest'." Pei Wenxuan smiled, as if joking. Li Rong raised her eyebrows, "Do you think I can tolerate Master Pei's sweetheart?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Pei Wenxuan rubbed his sleeves and said calmly, "It seems that Your Highness and I have reached a consensus. Let's settle this marriage now. Let's be patient with each other for a while. After two years, when we have power, you and I can get divorced. Then we can take revenge and complain. What do you think, Princess?"

"Alright," Li Rong raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ears, sighing, "Let's just make do with it for now. But if you want to marry me," Li Rong turned her head and looked at the empress who was still in a daze in the inner room, smiling, "It depends on Lord Pei's ability. If Lord Pei doesn't have this ability, I will not marry you."

Hearing this, Pei Wenxuan smiled calmly, put his hands in front of him, and saluted to Li Rong: "Princess, rest assured, Pei will bring Yang Quan's head as a betrothal gift." Then, Pei Wenxuan raised his head and said seriously, "To welcome the princess to the carriage."

The author has something to say: [Small Theater 1]

Yang Quan: A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated. Pei Wenxuan, you bastard, can’t use me to please your wife! !

Pei Wenxuan: In my heart, there is not much difference between you and wild geese.

【Small Theater 2】

Onlookers: Pei Wenxuan is poor, powerless and has no martial arts skills. He is just an eighth-rank official. Let’s see how he can kill Yang Quan!

Pei Wenxuan: It's time to show real skills.

【Small Theater 3】

Li Rong: I didn’t think you were so handsome before, why did you suddenly become so handsome?

Pei Wenxuan: This is my advantage.

Li Rong: What are the advantages?

Pei Wenxuan: I don’t release my charm to anyone other than my wife.

Li Rong: So...

Pei Wenxuan: You will be Mrs. Pei soon. Please go home and get ready. I will bring Dayan, no, Yangquan's head over here.