Li Rong looked at Pei Wenxuan who was leaning against the pillar in front of her. Seeing that he seemed to be smiling, she was stunned for a moment. Pei Wenxuan saw that she was silent, so he raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, why are you not talking?"

"Nothing," Li Rong came back to her senses, led Pei Wenxuan out, and said with a smile, "Let's go."

Pei Wenxuan followed Li Rong, and Li Rong just remembered: "Why were you so anxious just now?"

"Hmm?" Pei Wenxuan was a little confused. Li Rong reminded him, "Why did you do it?"

Pei Wenxuan didn't say anything. After a moment, he laughed and said, "I was impulsive."

"Oh?" Li Rong turned around and smiled, "What's so impulsive about you?"

"I thought you were going to jump off the building."

Pei Wenxuan was a little embarrassed: "I was anxious."

"Pei Wenxuan," Li Rong said in surprise, "I thought you wanted to kill me and inherit my property as soon as possible."

"If I kill you," Pei Wenxuan said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "I won't be able to inherit your property, and if you die in a place like this, I'm afraid I'll be buried with you."

"I like what you said."

Li Rong nodded, and Pei Wenxuan was a little confused: "What?"

"Buried with me." Li Rong looked up at him, her eyes lively. "If I die without Master Pei, I'll always feel a little lonely."

"You really love me." Pei Wenxuan sighed helplessly, "You think of me when something bad happens."

"That's right," Li Rong said happily, "Good things may not necessarily come to you, but bad things are always right."

Pei Wenxuan rolled his eyes at her, not wanting to bother with her, so he quickened his pace and walked out.

As he walked out the door, he looked up at the gardenias in full bloom in the distance.

In fact, he also wanted to know why he was in such a hurry just now.

The two of them got on the carriage and returned to the princess's mansion together. As soon as Li Rong arrived at the mansion, he ordered people to keep an eye on Concubine Rou and Shangguan Ya.

Pei Wenxuan couldn't help but feel a little strange: "It's fine if you stare at Shangguan Ya, but why are you staring at Concubine Rou?"

"You know what?" Li Rong leaned back in her chair and held up her teacup. "Women in the harem always have to rely on another woman to do anything."

Pei Wenxuan listened to this, thought about it seriously, and nodded: "Indeed."

The two men came back and rested for a while, then Pei Wenxuan went to check the progress of his expansion. He called back all his former subordinates, and began to contact beggars in the city and plant spies in various prefectures. He spent money like water every day, and after spending money, he naturally wanted to see results, so he had to pay attention to the specific situation every day.

Whenever Pei Wenxuan spent money, Li Rong would check the accounts. While Pei Wenxuan was busy with her own things, Li Rong would start to check her income and expenditure for the month, and then she would check and burn the information brought by spies from various places one by one.

One of them was busy building his own dark web, while the other was busy going out to visit friends and give them money and gifts. Half of the nine-day wedding leave was quickly over.

At this time, some ballads began to spread in Huajing.

As soon as this song came out, it reached Li Rong's ears. At that time, she was still half asleep, lying on the bed, and then she heard Pei Wenxuan chanting beside her: "The phoenix fell into the official courtyard, and the flowers bloomed for four generations without fading."

Li Rong was startled when she heard this. She looked up at Pei Wenxuan who was sitting next to her and throwing a piece of paper into the brazier. She shook her head and asked, "What did you just read?"

"The latest rumors in Huajing."

Pei Wenxuan laughed: "It seems that your friend has indeed taken action."

No song in Huajing starts spreading without reason, especially a song like this that carries the phoenix's foreshadowing.

Pei Wenxuan took another piece of intelligence from the side and said nonchalantly, "She is very courageous. You told her that the emperor had set his sights on the Shangguan family, but she still dared to spread such a rumor."

"It shouldn't be her."

Li Rong stood up yawning and called Jinglan in to serve her.

Jinglan, Jingmei and the others came in and began to help Li Rong get dressed. Li Rong continued to let them manipulate her while saying, "She's not crazy. Even if she wants to do something, she definitely won't do it this way."

Pei Wenxuan listened, thought for a moment, and responded, "Are you talking about the one in the palace?"

"Didn't she say last time that she wanted her niece to marry into the family?"

"Your Majesty will not allow it." Pei Wenxuan looked down at the intelligence and said calmly, "Your status is too low."

"So she wants everyone in Huajing to sing this ballad." Li Rong looked up at Pei Wenxuan and smiled, "After singing this ballad, maybe the emperor will have other ideas?"

Li Ming was never a gentle monarch, and the fact that such a song could come out of the Shangguan family might be a stimulation to him.

If it were normal, Li Ming would never let Concubine Rou's niece become the Crown Princess. But now that such a song is being sung throughout the city, Li Ming might have other ideas.

If she were Concubine Rou, she would do the same.

And why did Concubine Rou suddenly do this at this time...

Li Rong laughed and found this matter quite interesting.

As the rumor spread, Li Rong guessed that the next move in the palace would be made. As she expected, in the afternoon, she received news from the palace that the Chinese Valentine's Day would be five days later, and the Queen planned to hold a banquet in the palace and invite all eligible men and women from the noble family to attend.

Holding a palace banquet on the Chinese Valentine's Day must be related to Li Chuan. Li Rong thought about it and ordered someone to go directly to the palace.

When she went there, Li Chuan was there too. The Queen was talking to Li Chuan. Li Rong went in to report it. Seeing that both of them looked unhappy, she couldn't help but laugh: "Hey, what are you talking about? You two look so sad. Tell me about it."

"Why are you here?" The Queen's face suddenly brightened when she saw Li Rong. Li Rong smiled and sat next to the Queen. "You are joking, mother. I just left the palace, not married to a foreign country. I stay in Huajing all day, and I took the time to come and see you. What's so strange about that?"

The queen also laughed when she heard what Li Rong said. She looked at Li Rong for a moment and said with some worry: "Pei Wenxuan..."

"Very good," Li Rong knew what she was going to ask, and interrupted her, "Not bad, don't worry, how could I let myself suffer a loss?"

The queen looked at her daughter. She wanted to say something, but then sighed and said helplessly, "Forget it. Since you're married, just live a good life. Your final fate is not dependent on him."

"Let's not talk about him." Li Rong knew that the queen always disliked Pei Wenxuan's status. She didn't know why. She didn't feel anything when she disliked Pei Wenxuan, but she always felt a little uncomfortable when others disliked him. So she changed the subject and said directly, "I received a message from the palace. I heard that you are planning to hold a banquet in the palace on the Qixi Festival. Are you considering Chuan'er's marriage?"

"How can I do this?" The Queen smiled bitterly, "This is what Concubine Rou wants to do. She asked for your Majesty's permission and insisted on doing it."

"Oh," Li Rong nodded, "She is thoughtful."

"Those messy songs out there are sung every day," Li Chuan sneered, "but she is very thoughtful."

"You heard it too," Li Rong turned to look at Li Chuan and said with a smile, "You're not stupid."

"Everyone knows what Sima Zhao is thinking." Li Chuan showed some contempt in his eyes, "He keeps using these despicable methods all day long."

"She has been doing this for a while now," Li Rong recalled. "She is planning to hold this Qixi banquet. Do you know why?"

"She is probably going to recommend her niece," the queen thought and said slowly, "I'm afraid it will be used as an invitation to a banquet. I'm asking someone to bribe her people to see if I can find out any information."

Li Rong nodded, roughly understanding the situation. Seeing that she was worried, the Queen comforted her, "Forget it, it's not a big deal. Those in charge of the palace banquet are all from my side. When the time comes, we will just deal with it. If they want to ask for permission, there must be a reason, so we will be prepared. If they really ask for permission and they don't give Chuan'er face," the Queen sneered, "don't blame me for not giving them face."

"Look at what mother said," Li Rong stood up and stood behind the empress, pinching her shoulders, "How could she have such ability? Don't worry, mother, you are Tathagata Buddha, and Concubine Rou is Sun Wukong, she can't overturn your Five Finger Mountain."

The queen laughed after listening to Li Rong's words.

Li Rong confirmed the news and felt relieved. The three of them stopped talking about the previous topic and started discussing Li Rong's marriage.

This was the first time Li Rong returned to the palace after her marriage. The empress was reluctant to let her go, so she invited her to dinner in the palace. When Pei Wenxuan did not see Li Rong return at dinner time, he looked at the sky and decided to pick her up.

He had dinner with Li Rong these past few days. He was alone in the room, and for some reason, he didn't even feel like eating.

Seeing Pei Wenxuan wanted to pick up Li Rong without even eating, Tong Ye couldn't help but laugh: "Young Master is so kind to the princess. You miss her after not being here for so long?"

Pei Wenxuan glared at him, looked through the umbrellas in the corner, selected an umbrella with a reed pattern, and whispered, "Just drive your horse and mind my business."

Tong Ye was laughing and didn't say anything else. Pei Wenxuan got on the carriage holding an umbrella. While sitting on the carriage, he raised his hand to look at the clouds outside. He thought that he had too little official duties and too much time, so he was so bored. He thought about picking up Li Rong.

But then he thought about Li Rong. She actually liked the company of others. She would probably feel bored if she came back alone. If he went to pick her up and they played chess and argued on the way, she would probably be happier.

Thinking of her happiness, Pei Wenxuan no longer felt that doing these things was boring. He felt that he was indeed a good person, so he would just do a good deed today.

He went to the palace happily. After Li Rong and the Queen Li Chuan had dinner, the Queen felt sleepy early and was a little tired, so she asked Li Chuan to take Li Rong out. Li Rong and Li Chuan walked out of the Queen's courtyard together. She asked, "Just now I saw that you and the Queen Mother looked unhappy. Did you have a quarrel?"

"It wasn't really a quarrel." Li Chuan was somewhat helpless, "It was just... a brief argument."

"This isn't considered a quarrel?" Li Rong laughed. "What were you arguing about?"

Li Chuan didn't say anything, and Li Rong hit him with her fan: "How old are you to be hiding something from your sister?"

"Not really." Li Chuan smiled bitterly, "I just said it out loud because I'm afraid you'd laugh at me."

"Hmm?" Li Rong raised her eyebrows. "Then tell me."

"My mother just told me that she wants me to marry more than one princess. She wants me to find a few more girls this time and decide on them all at once. She has chosen the ones and asked me to pick one."

"Are you unhappy?" Li Rong understood what he meant and Li Chuan remained silent.

Li Rong laughed: "Why are you unhappy? You are able to marry so many beautiful girls, so many people are jealous of you."

"But, what if one day I fall in love with someone?"

Li Chuan suddenly spoke, and Li Rong's face froze. Li Chuan raised his head and looked at her seriously: "If one day I like someone and she likes me, I have so many wives, what will she do? If I agree to my mother today, it means that I will not be qualified to like anyone again in this life."

Li Rong didn't say anything, so Li Chuan continued, "And, taking a step back, even if I'm not qualified to like someone anymore, then I can just marry a crown princess. I can be good to her alone. No woman can tolerate her husband being shared by others. My mother has suffered all her life, so do I have to ruin other people and make them suffer all their lives as well?"

Li Rong lowered her eyes. Seeing that Li Rong did not respond to her, Li Chuan smiled bitterly: "I know, sister, you must think I am very naive. I just said it casually. I know that I am the prince. I bear the expectations of you and mother. I can't be willful."

"It's okay. I understand."

Li Chuan seemed a little tired. He looked at the palace gate and said gently, "Sister, you go back first. I will take you here. I am tired."

Having said that, Li Chuan bowed, turned around and went back towards the East Palace.

Li Rong quietly looked at his back. At that moment, she seemed to see Li Chuan coming later. He and she were separated by a screen, on which his thin outline was outlined.

At that time he was taller and thinner than he is now. He looked very close to her, yet very far away.

Li Rong didn't know why, but she felt an indescribable sourness rising up. She suddenly felt that this imperial city was like a giant beast that swallowed people. It was clearly the summer breeze of early July, but it brought a bit of coolness with it. It rumbled past her with muffled thunder, making her feel cold both physically and mentally.

Big raindrops fell down and Li Rong was stunned.

At that moment, an invisible warmth suddenly came to her back, and a paper umbrella with a reed pattern was placed over her head.

The man instantly blocked the cold wind, and a voice with a hint of surprise and a hint of laughter rang out behind her: "What are you doing standing here like an idiot? It's raining, and you don't know how to go home?"

Li Rong turned around blankly and looked at Pei Wenxuan who suddenly appeared. Pei Wenxuan saw her surprised look and raised his eyebrows: "Why, you don't want me to come?"

"No," Li Rong responded. She spoke slowly, "You came at the right time."