âThis humble official, Su Rongqing, greets Your Imperial Highness.â
While Li Rongâs people silently sneaked into the Pei residence, Pei Wenxuan was standing in front of a basin of water, quietly examining his appearance.
He was actually reborn.
Seeing himself at the age of twenty, he couldnât believe his own eyes. It was just that he had learned to restrain his emotions from his years in the imperial court, so even if his heart had turned upside down, his face would remain calm.
The servant boy Tong Ye anxiously stood to the side, watching him and asked in a small voice: âYoung Master, are you alright?â
Early this morning, after Pei Wenxuan got up and asked him what day it was, he had been in a daze up until now. Although Pei Wenxuan usually wasnât very talkative, he had rarely ever been so silent. Tong Ye could not help but feel a little scared and said: âYoung Master, if you are not feeling well, let this servant invite a doctor.â
After hearing this, Pei Wenxuan finally looked up. After responding with a simple âno needâ, he washed his face and went straight out the door.
He walked out of the courtyard, and Tong Ye hurried after him. After holding back for a while, he finally said: âYoung Master, donât hold back if thereâs something, just say it and maybe it will help you feel better. About Miss Qin breaking off the engagement, Miss Qin cannot exactly be blamed, she is sincere to you too, itâs just thatâŠâ
âNo need to speak further.â
Pei Wenxuan saw that Tong Ye kept talking and talking, so he paused, turned his head and told Tong Ye: âIn the future, donât bring this matter up again.â
As he spoke, he stood outside the courtyard with his hands clasped behind him, looking at a tall pagoda in the capital city in the distance.
The top of the pagoda was hidden in the clouds. It had red-lacquered and gold tiles as well as copper bells hanging under the eaves. When the wind blows, a tinkling sound would follow, just like in his memory.
When he was back in the Left Prime Ministerâs residence, whenever he was troubled, he liked to stand in the courtyard and look up at the tall pagoda in the distance. Up until now, this habit has not changed. Now looking at the tall pagoda, he slowly calmed down and began to think about his situation.
He remembered that when he was twenty years old, he had just ended his filial piety mourning period in his hometown and returned to Huajing. His second uncle controlled the entire Pei family. His mother was weak and gullible and eventually pretended to be ill to avoid confrontation. Although it was most logical that he become the head of the Pei family, he had to endure being excluded from the family in all sorts of ways. Despite being the eldest son of the first wife of the Pei family, a noble and reputable clan in Huajing, he could only serve as a minor jailer in the Ministry of Justice.
This should be the day after his engagement was annulled.
Back when his father was still alive, his father had set up an engagement between him and Qin Zhenzhen, the daughter of the Qin family. At that time, they were both very young, so there was no formal ceremony and only jade pendants were exchanged as engagement tokens. He and Qin Zhenzhen had known each other since childhood. He had always wholeheartedly wanted to marry her, but who would have expected misfortune to arrive.
His father passed away too early, and the Qin family was currently on friendly terms with his second uncle, Pei Lixian, so it was understandable for Qin Zhenzhen to break off this engagement.
This engagement was not too formal, so it was also very simple to break off. There wasnât even a letter. The other side just returned the jade pendants and left some money, and everything was considered said and done.
Of course, he didnât blame Qin Zhenzhen. He himself was incompetent, so there was no reason to blame their familyâs daughter.
Then what?
Pei Wenxuan tried to remember.
Later, he should have caught the Emperorâs eye with his pitiful circumstances and bestowed a marriage to Li Rong.
With Li Rongâs current status, if the Emperor married her to a dirt poor man, the Emperor will lose all of his face, and there would be a lot of talk going around. If he married her into a reputable family, it would be like letting the tiger grow out wings, and the Emperor could not help but be even more wary of her. As for him, a man with a noble status but no future was the most suitable choice for Li Rong.
With his status of Prince Consort, the Pei family began to respect him again, and he had a powerful backer in the imperial court.
At this time, the marriage decree should soon arrive. Once again, he would have to marry Li Rong.
He couldnât help but smile as he thought of this.
He and Li Rong were enemies in the previous life.
After working with each other for a lifetime and guarding against each other for a lifetime, he thought that Li Rong would also consider him a friend, even if there was no relationship between husband and wife. He didnât expect that she would still be able to kill him without blinking an eye in the face of a power struggle.
But if he was dead, then she couldnât live either.
She gave him a sharp blade, and he gave her a bowl of poison in return.
There has never been any debt between them, the same goes for their lives.
Resentment between people was born out of the lack of fairness. There was no unfairness between them for the past thirty years. There was someone in his heart, and there was someone by her side; she gave him a slash of the sword, and he immediately gave her poison.
Thinking about it, even if she killed him, he didnât have much resentment. Now that he had been reborn, he thought about having to marry Li Rong again but didnât feel very resentful.
It was to the extent that he couldnât help but think about it.
Eighteen year old Li Rong was still a bit innocent and kind. She would even occasionally blush when she sees him. On the day that he lifted the veil, she raised her head and looked up at him with a bit of sincerity and seriousness. After that, she lifted the cup of wine and said to him, âPei Wenxuan, no matter how we came to be together, having become husband and wife, I still want to live with you for the rest of my life.â
If he didnât let Li Rong find out that he still cared about Qin Zhenzhen all his life, or if he had stopped caring about Qin Zhenzhen for the rest of his life, she wouldnât have gotten angry, wouldnât have left him, wouldnât have gotten closer to Su RongqingâŠ
Perhaps, they can still be an ordinary couple and grow old together.
He was also tired of the suspicions and conflicts of the previous life. If he could, he would also want to have an ordinary family and live a peaceful life.
As for Qin ZhenzhenâŠ
He could not be with her in his previous life, but he had protected her for a lifetime. Having lived a lifetime, his sense of responsibility surpassed his love, and his regret surpassed his yearning. Since they were not destined to be together, just give up and let it be.
Thinking through these things, Pei Wenxuan eventually calmed down. He turned his head and calmly said to Tong Ye, âIâm going back.â
He didnât need to do anything now. He just needed to wait for the marriage decree.
However, he waited in the residence for a few days, and the Imperial edict still did not come. Instead, an invitation notice to Princess Ping Leâs1 spring banquet was sent to the residence.
Ping Le was Li Rongâs title. Looking at the extravagant card, Pei Wenxuan felt a little uneasy. He frowned and couldnât help but think about itâdid he attend the spring banquet that Li Rong hosted in the previous life? Was he too old and forgetful, or had reality derailed from his memory?
[1] Ping Le â meaning âpeaceful melodyâ
While Pei Wenxuan was at home, trying to figure out what happened at this spring banquet, Li Rong was in the palace, happily preparing for the spring banquet.
She liked these kinds of lively occasions. When she was young, she felt they were too noisy, but when she got older, she realized that the elderly liked to see the excitement of young people yet simultaneously disliked the chaos.
This made her feel invigorating!
She still had many things to do in addition to arranging the spring banquet.
First, she went through her clothes again, sending back all her black, white or dark colored clothes to the bottom of the chest and specifically had some red and gold clothes tailored, which would enhance her beautiful appearance!
Then, she went through every step of her beauty routine in her previous life. From dawn to dusk every day, she soaked in warm, perfumed water and applied creams, not missing a single detail as she fully enjoyed the privileges of being a princess.
And finally, when she had time, she listened to Jing Lanâs reports on the four gongziâs activities.
Lu Yu stayed at home and counted ants every day. He had counted two ant hills and made a few more good ant friends.
Yang Quan recently had a fight on the training grounds, forcing three of his colleagues into the infirmary. Then, he was beaten by his father and had been bedridden for the past two days now.
Cui Yulang had been staying at brothels lately and wrote thirty poems, all of which were quite well received.
As for Pei Wenxuan, he went to work every day and practiced calligraphy. Although he was still young, he gave off the feeling of an old minister. The strangest thing was that he would stand at the doors of his familyâs residence every day as if waiting for something.
Of course, in the end, he finally succeeded in receiving her long-awaited invitation to the spring banquet.
âThe Heavens do not disappoint those with sincere hearts,â Li Rong was soaking in the flower petal pool as she listened to Jing Lanâs report. She couldnât help but ask, âAt that time, was he surprised? Did he seem surprised when an eighth-rank minor official like himself managed to receive an invitation from Princess Ping Le? Surely he was hysterically happy, right?â
âNo,â Jing Lan looked calm, âAt that time, Pei darenâs face did not look very good. The servant boy named Tong Ye by his side saw he had received an invitation card and asked whether it was sent to the wrong person.â
âWhat did he say?â
âPei daren said,â There was no emotion on Jing Lanâs face, âThat the invitation was not sent to the wrong person, Considering how good-looking he was, this invitation was most definitely meant for him.â
Upon hearing this, Li Rong couldnât help but spit out water.
For the first time, she learned how confident Pei Wenxuan was in his face.
ButâLi Rong quickly became suspiciousâhow did Pei Wenxuan know that she had a thing for good-looking people?
This question continued to linger in Li Rongâs heart.
Time flew by. Just when Li Rong felt like she had adapted to living in Chang Le Palace, the day of the spring banquet had arrived.
On the first day of the spring banquet, she had gone to her residence in the outskirts of the city in advance to avoid coinciding with the other Huajing familiesâ travels on the second day. Early morning on the second day, the young masters and young ladies of various families flocked over. There were many extravagant carriages outside the courtyard. The carriages were luxurious and exquisite, and the servants were lined up, one after the other, in an orderly and satisfactory fashion.
Not long after, two carriages with jade beaded curtains arrived, one after the other. The carriage in front had a âSuâ character on the curtain in front, and the carriage in the rear had a âPeiâ character.
The two powerful clans in Huajing arrived back to back. Everyone made way for them.
After some time, the two carriages came to a stop. A person from the Su family carriage stepped out first. This person was dressed in white brocade robes and a jade coronet. He had gentle brows, and his elegant and scholarly temperament rippled in peopleâs hearts.
As soon as he appeared, someone urgently cried out and exclaimed, âSu gongzi, you also came!â
âThe Princess has sent an invitation,â Su Rongqing spoke up and responded with a smile, âHow could I not come?â
Having said that, he climbed down the carriage and asked the carriage driver to quickly make way for the carriage behind them.
As soon as Su Rongqing appeared, everyone gathered and excitedly chatted with Su Rongqing. When Pei Wenxuan got out of the carriage, few people raised their heads to look at him.
Pei Wenxuan got down from the carriage by himself. Hearing Su Rongqingâs voice, he couldnât help but look up.
This was the person who accompanied Li Rong for the next twenty years. He didnât like him very much.
His hatred for Su Rongqing almost became an instinct.
After all, even if he and Li Rong made it clear that they would have their own lives, Su Rongqing was always an insult to his dignity, just like Qin Zhenzhen was to Li Rong.
This kind of hatred was not about love but the dignity in oneâs heart.
It was just that this was the present life after all. Pei Wenxuan felt a little irrational to be concerned about the previous life, so he quickly turned his head away and led Tong Ye to the courtyard.
Su Rongqing kept walking even as he was talking to people, entering the courtyard right behind Pei Wenxuan.
Li Rong had also just woken up around this time. She had gotten dressed and finished doing her makeup and hair. She let out a yawn on her way to the courtyard where the main banquet was held. She heard a familiar voice when she reached the door to the courtyard.
That voice changed a little afterwards, but she had still engraved it in her heart.
She was so familiar with that voice that she subconsciously turned her head.
Then she saw the people in front of her.
One person in white robes and a jade coronet was standing there with a smile; the other person in blue robes and a golden coronet was looking at her in a daze.
One of them was gentlemanly and elegant, the other was handsome and upright. The two of them stood not too far from each other, both strikingly handsome.
Li Rong looked at the two of them and was stunned for a moment. At this time, Su Rongqing was the first to return to his senses and saluted Li Rong. Between his lips were the words that he had spoken countless times that year.
âThis humble official, Su Rongqing, greets Your Imperial Highness.â
The author has something to say:
At this time, letâs do a multiple choice question:
If you are the princess, you would:
1ââRespond to Su Rongqing and chat with Su Rongqing
2ââPolitely respond to Su Rongqing and chat with Pei Wenxuan
3ââPay no attention to anyone, respond politely and leave immediately
Come on, 1, 2, 3, start voting, the number of comments to choose the most determines the beginning of our next chapter!
ăMini Theateră
Pei Wenxuan: I am the only choice that my ex-wife has. Now, I just need to wait for the Emperor to grant me a wife. I will put my greatest efforts into waiting by the door.
On the first day of waiting by the door, the marriage decree did not arrive.
On the second day of waiting by the door, the marriage decree still did not arrive.
Waiting by the door on the third dayâŠ
Future wife sends someone: Hello, your spring banquet husband selection invitation is here.
Pei Wenxuan: Why do I have to compete to be your husband?!
Li Rong: Excuse me, I have at least four spare tires, so line up neatly and work hard, promise me, okay?!
Autumn: In the novel description, Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan married at age 18, but TBH the wording of that sentence is a bit ambiguousâit could have been in Li Rongâs POV or a mistake on the authorâs part. Pei Wenxuan is 20, same as in the previous chapter.