“Husband and wife plan for the future in the carriage.”
Both of them excused themselves to everyone they came across along the way and got onto the carriage. As soon as they boarded the carriage, Li Rong breathed a sigh of relief. The moment she sat down behind the table, her entire person went soft. Pei Wenxuan took a seat across from her, rather exhausted as well. As he poured tea for himself, he began to say: “Having a meal with your whole family is awfully tiring. The meal is essentially a morning court session, but it’s all just subjects between you women, I was so uncomfortable I could die.”
“You think I’m not uncomfortable with it?”
Li Rong took a cup of tea he had poured, getting a little angry: “Who does Consort Rou think she is! Does she think she can just latch onto Chuan’er because of her niece alone? Has she even taken a look at herself—a toad wanting to devour a swan1, she got off too easily today!”
[1] Describing someone’s wishful thinking or foolish aspirations.
“So what do you want to do about it?” Pei Wenxuan took a sip of tea with a face full of seriousness, “Poison her to death?”
“I genuinely think I do,” Li Rong turned to face him, “Can you do that? If you can, I will give you a thousand catties of gold in exchange for her head.”
“Her Grace the Noble Consort’s head is worth a thousand catties of gold?” Pei Wenxuan laughed. Li Rong also let out a derisive scoff and turned her head away: “A thousand catties can be considered an overly generous price.”
“It’s just that…” Pei Wenxuan fell into thought and said in all seriousness, “His Highness’s marriage is indeed a situation that needs to be assessed.”
Li Chuan’s marriage from the previous life would be decided early spring of the coming year, which meant this was around the time in which the candidates were chosen. In fact, the Empress already had a candidate for Crown Princess in mind, and she was merely looking for potential Side Consorts.
Li Rong was pondering over it when she heard Pei Wenxuan say: “I wonder how Your Highness plans to go about His Highness the Crown Prince’s marriage? Will it be like how it was in the previous life? Join hands with aristocratic clans to establish the Crown Prince’s authority and secure the throne through marriage. Or do you have other plans?”
“What do you think?” Li Rong picked up the cup of tea and took a small sip.
In reality, the two of them fully understood that what they were discussing was not Li Chuan’s marriage at all, but rather, how to vie for Li Chuan’s right to the throne as Crown Prince from here on out.
“In the previous life, the Empress found a Crown Princess and four Side Consorts for the Crown Prince, and it did actually strengthen ties between the Crown Prince and the aristocratic families. If Your Highness feels that the Crown Prince will have to follow the same path in this life as he had in the previous one, borrowing the power of the aristocratic families to secure military authority in the Northwest to take a stand and fight His Majesty head-on, then this is indeed one way to go about it.”
Li Rong said nothing, then she lightly tapped the golden folding fan in the palm of her hand, “What would be another way?”
“Does Your Highness remember how His Highness the Crown Prince was deposed in the previous life?”
When Pei Wenxuan suddenly put forth such a question, Li Rong knew that he was not arbitrarily asking, so she thought about it and replied: “Chuan’er had no military power in hand, and all of his power came from the aristocratic families. Moreover, Father Emperor had Prince Su serve as a puppet while secretly supporting the landed gentry2, and every single influential clan that sought refuge under Prince Su was also chosen and promoted to fight Chuan’er.”
[2] Landowning classes below the imperial nobles, titled nobles, and officials of the imperial court (aristocrats)
Li Ming was an Emperor with extremely high patience.
His strategy of trapping and suppressing Li Chuan came from almost every direction. He supported the gentry, secretly supporting these second-class families in their fight against the first-class families, and suppressed support for Li Chuan in the imperial court.
He conspired to snatch the Yang family’s military authority and hand it over to Prince Su’s maternal uncle, giving him the means and authority to oppose Li Chuan.
At the same time, he proceeded to sow discord between several concubines in Li Chuan’s harem, and among them, the death of one of the Side Consorts severed the relationship between Li Chuan and his noble in-laws.
From the inner courtyard to the imperial court, there was not a place that seemed safe.
“His Highness the Crown Prince was bound to be on the same boat as these powerful noble clans, but His Highness had the world in mind, not any clan’s interests in particular. So later on, the Crown Prince and these powerful noble clans appeared to be on a united front, yet they were divided in their hearts. Both sides had their disputes, and then Left Prime Minister Shangguan died of illness, and the Shangguan family subsequently fell into decline. The Crown Prince was forced to forge closer ties with other influential clans, but those landed gentry were not wholeheartedly devoted to His Highness. After Qin Lin won battles on the frontier, His Majesty’s suspicions for the Crown Prince reached its limit, and the Taizhou case came into being.”
Pei Wenxuan’s calm voice and mild tone brought Li Rong back to the events of their previous life.
The Taizhou case was the nominal reason why Li Chuan was deposed. It was Lady Nie, one of the Crown Prince’s Side Consorts, whose family seized and occupied nearly a thousand acres of people’s fertile land in their hometown of Taizhou in the name of the Crown Prince, slaughtering nearly a hundred people in this manner. One of the victims managed to luckily escape and went to Huajing to redress the wrongs.
Pei Wenxuan’s calm voice and mild tone brought Li Rong back to the events of their previous life.
The Taizhou case was the nominal reason why Li Chuan was deposed. It was Lady Nie, one of the Crown Prince’s Side Consorts, whose family seized and occupied nearly a thousand acres of people’s fertile land in their hometown of Taizhou in the name of the Crown Prince, slaughtering nearly a hundred people in this manner. One of the victims managed to luckily escape and went to Huajing to redress the wrongs.
This case shocked all of Great Xia, and not one person lacked resentment towards it. Prior to that, there had been more than one instance of nobles that bent the law and implicated Li Chuan. Adding on this case, the people of Great Xia were resentful, and scholars from all across the country wrote essays condemning Li Chuan. Hundreds of officials knelt in front of the doors of the Imperial Study, disregarding their lives and begging for the Crown Prince to be deposed. Li Chuan had no military power in his hands and also lost the support of the people, so it was no surprise that he was deposed.
After Li Chuan was imprisoned, Li Ming announced a thorough investigation of the Shangguan clan in a show of righteousness, and so Li Rong was imprisoned, Qin Zhenzhen fled to the Northwest, and Pei Wenxuan solicited support from officials everywhere.
In the end, Pei Wenxuan successfully appealed to those powerful noble clans, making them fearful of supporting a Prince Su of commoner origins in ascending the throne. With the promise of great profits, he was able to unite the rich and powerful families at last, and they forced their way into Huajing alongside Qin Lin, assisting Li Chuan in ascending the throne.
Defeated at the hands of the noble clans, and yet also victorious with the hands of the noble clans. Li Chuan could clearly see and understand the nature of the existence of the noble clans. Its existence was like that of a blood-sucking behemoth hovering over this country, and the Emperor was a mere puppet in its hands—they could make him or break him.
Throughout the rest of his life, Li Chuan walked down the same old road as Li Ming once had and spent his life opposing the aristocratic families.
“So why not have the Crown Prince keep some distance from the aristocratic families in this life?”
“Keep some distance from the aristocratic families?” Li Rong frowned, “Then, who will be assisting Chuan’er in the future?”
“Aren’t we still here?” Pei Wenxuan turned his head to look at Li Rong, “Now that we’ve sent Qin Lin to the Northwest, he and Cui Qinghe can join forces, and we will once again quietly support them in consolidating military power on the Northwestern frontier.”
“Then what?”
“I will take refuge with His Majesty and cooperate with His Majesty in cultivating the influential lower class families he seeks to use to oppose the Shangguan clan. As for His Highness the Crown Prince, there is no need for him to do anything. He just needs to be a good Crown Prince—not forming a faction, not having his reputation tainted in the slightest and winning the hearts of the people. That will suffice.”
“But then what if Father Emperor still intends to harm him, wouldn’t he be all alone and helpless?”
Li Rong was a little worried, but Pei Wenxuan couldn’t help but laugh when he heard this.
“Does Your Highness still not understand why His Majesty would want to depose the Crown Prince?”
Li Rong didn’t immediately give an answer when Pei Wenxuan raised this question. She looked at Pei Wenxuan and contemplated for a moment before only saying: “Why do you think that is?”
“His Majesty does not want to remove the Crown Prince but rather, the aristocrats in the Crown Prince’s hands.”
Upon hearing these words from Pei Wenxuan, Li Rong turned the folding fan in her hand over, her eyes downcast.
There are many things you cannot quite understand when you are young, but if you look back when you’re older, some things become a little more clear.
Back then, Li Ming had been so persistent in wanting to depose the Crown Prince. Not only did he want to keep the Shangguan clan from growing stronger, he was also clearly aware of the pressure that these rich and powerful nobles and officials brought upon his reign.
Compared to Li Chuan, Li Ming was a more militant Emperor. Unifying the northern frontier was his greatest lifelong wish, but if he were to go to war with foreign countries, these aristocratic families who yearned for peace—these aristocratic families whose authority was established from above and below—must be at the core of the problem to be solved on the battlefield.
When he was young, Li Chuan advocated to rule by virtue and lead by example. Having also been born to the Shangguan clan, what he called a benevolent reign was the kind of reign that the rich and powerful century old families favored most. The closer the relationships Li Chuan had with the aristocratic families, the more Li Ming believed he was a puppet that had been cultivated by the aristocratic families—the Crown Prince of the imperial family that could be lifted and knocked down by the aristocratic families.
She could roughly grasp Pei Wenxuan’s train of thought and looked up: “As a result, you hope that Chuan’er can break away from the power struggle between the aristocratic families and the Emperor without becoming a target caught between both parties.”
“Indeed,” Pei Wenxuan affirmed, “Then, I will serve as His Majesty’s knife. I will help His Majesty gouge out the abscesses of those aristocratic families, so that His Majesty will have his sights set on them rather than the Crown Prince. That way, the Crown Prince will be out of harm’s way for the time being.”
“But Chuan’er can’t go without having anyone under his command,” Li Rong was still uneasy, “He must have someone to assist him.”
“Isn’t there an imperial examination system?”
Pei Wenxuan looked to Li Rong, and Li Rong was momentarily taken aback.
If it were not for the previous life, Li Rong would have laughed when Pei Wenxuan uttered these three words.
Ever since the imperial examination was put into place, needless to say, the vast majority of people chosen were the children of aristocrats. Even if there were those from poor, humble families that genuinely made it in, they would all be sidelined and assigned to be minor officials, fundamentally unable to enter the vortex of the power struggle in the least.
Nevertheless, Li Rong had seen how Pei Wenxuan had made use of this system. She had also seen the influence of these newly emerged forces in the hands of an Emperor, so after a moment of contemplation, she concluded: “Chuan’er only needs to look after himself, avoiding the knife’s edge for the time being while secretly supporting those from humble backgrounds for promotion and winning the hearts of the people. You will take the lead among the middle class families to fight against the upper class families to weaken Father Emperor’s authority as well as that of the currently most influential families. I will seek out the Shangguan clan and the other great families to stabilize the relationship between both sides, and if there is a day when Father Emperor wants to remove the Crown Prince…”
“The entire imperial court from the first class families to the poor and humble families from the imperial examination system—more than half will be His Highness’s people.”
Pei Wenxuan interrupted Li Rong mid-sentence and solemnly said: “Not only that, the Crown Prince will not oppose the aristocratic families to such extremes in the future. The Crown Prince of the previous life, the scenes of taking up arms and the bloody purge of the great families in the early days of the previous life—will not take place once again.”
Li Rong remained silent. Pei Wenxuan saw that she wasn’t saying anything, and with a bit of guesswork, he knew why she was hesitating.
“You still aren’t fond of people from lowly backgrounds.”
“People born of lowly and humble backgrounds…” Li Rong looked up at him with a sharp, piercing stare. “Most of them have an insatiable bloodlust for power. Once you give them power, they cannot help themselves and their lust for riches. Such is the case with aristocratic families, let alone them?”
“All people are like this,” Pei Wenxuan calmly replied, “Why distinguish between the high-born and lowly?”
“How many times have you said this to me over the years?” Li Rong let out a derisive laugh, “How many of your people have been investigated for corruption and bribery? Do you still need me to say it?”
“Then, how many of your people are like corpses given vegetarian meals,[3] deceiving those above them and concealing from those below, leading to failure? Do you still need me to say it?”
Pei Wenxuan subconsciously retorted. Li Rong fixed a cold stare at him, and Pei Wenxuan paused once her gaze swept over him. After a moment, he didn’t know why he suddenly felt a little short of breath either.
[3] To occupy a position (or job) while possessing no talent and not doing anything useful; there is no point in that person being in that position like the deceased having vegetarian meals.
He slightly coughed and turned his head away before slowly saying: “I was just making a suggestion. In any case, the final decision will be left to Your Highness. If you choose the first route, then we will follow the same old path. In the days to come, His Highness the Crown Prince will be the same as he had been in the previous life.”
Li Rong said nothing and only drummed her fingers against the palm of her hand. Pei Wenxuan cast a sideways glance at her and proceeded to say: “Or perhaps we could try to take the second route. There is no immediate danger, and once it succeeds, His Highness the Crown Prince will ascend the throne one day without any obstacles. It’s not necessary to oppose the aristocratic families, so you don’t have to work so tirelessly in maintaining the relationship between the Shangguan clan and His Majesty. His Majesty will be happier that way, and your relationship with His Majesty will also slightly improve…”
Li Rong listened as Pei Wenxuan discussed the key points for the future as if his life depended on it and couldn’t help but lower her head and let out a laugh. Pei Wenxuan saw her smiling and leaned over to ask: “What does Your Highness think about it?”
“Pei Wenxuan,” Li Rong turned to look at him, “It’s a shame that you weren’t sent into the palace to serve, truly a shame for this clever mouth of yours to have gone to waste.”
“It’s not a waste,” Pei Wenxuan smiled at Li Rong, “Serving Your Highness is more or less the same thing.”
“First, just do as you said.” Li Rong flatly said, “But if this is the case, Chuan’er cannot marry at this time. Even if he were to marry, he must never marry an aristocrat. The other Side Consorts will be an easy matter to speak of, but the Shangguan clan…”
Pei Wenxuan knew that Li Rong and Shangguan Ya had an extraordinary friendship, so he raised his eyebrows and asked: “What do you plan on doing?”
“I have to see Shangguan Ya.” Li Rong lifted her gaze as she folded the fan against the palm of her hand and calmly stated, “This matter is one that the Shangguan clan must bring up themselves.”
Otherwise, it meant that the Shangguan clan would have spent so much blood and sweat to help, only for Li Chuan to go back on his word. From there, perhaps no one would dare to help Chuan’er in the future.
Pei Wenxuan brought his hands up and applauded when he heard that: “Excellent strategy.”
Li Rong cast him an indifferent glance: “You’re exaggerating.”
“Then, let’s decide on this,” Pei Wenxuan returned to his usual expressions, picking up his cup of tea as he nonchalantly said: “I will be responsible for staying with and assisting His Majesty. You will be responsible for contacting the ranks of nobility such as the Shangguan and Su clans, so that they don’t feel as if the Crown Prince has completely severed all ties from them.”
As he spoke, Pei Wenxuan suddenly remembered something and looked up at Li Rong, concealing a vaguely unidentifiable sense of bitterness in his heart: “Your Highness can use this opportunity to cultivate some feelings with Su daren.”
“Then I will have to request that you take good care…” Li Rong’s expressions were flat, “In seeking out Second Miss Qin and cultivating some feelings. She and Chuan’er are ill-fated, so it’s best for them to never meet again.”
Pei Wenxuan felt a headache coming when he heard this, resenting himself for his slip of the tongue for a few moments before rushing to change the subject: “When you meet my family in a bit at the Pei residence, if there is anything that upsets you, just don’t take it to heart.”
Li Rong heard Pei Wenxuan bring up the people in his family, but she had already prepared herself, so she just nodded.
The two of them didn’t say anything for a while and quietly sat in the carriage. After sitting there for a while, for some reason, Li Rong suddenly remembered Pei Wenxuan’s words from last night.
She didn’t dare to go in depth about this topic with Pei Wenxuan, so when Pei Wenxuan suddenly brought it up, she could only pretend to not care and disengage from the subject, playing it off as a joke in that way.
It was just that Pei Wenxuan was too persistent, forcing her to think and even consider it.
She raised the curtain with her golden fan and saw the birds flying by outside.
“Pei Wenxuan.”
She suddenly called Pei Wenxuan’s name, and Pei Wenxuan blankly looked up, just as Li Rong turned her head and quietly looked at him before saying: “For once in my life, I will believe you again, but if you lead me down a crooked road, I will have you decapitated and dragged out to be fed to the dogs.”
Pei Wenxuan was at somewhat of a loss for a while, and he didn’t know what it was that Li Rong believed in him for either.
He thought for a moment and supposed that it ought to be the plan he proposed to Li Rong in regards to taking the throne, so he confidently smiled, put his hand over his chest and gave a slight nod: “Rest assured, Your Highness. I have taken everything into consideration. There won’t be any problems at all.”
Li Rong saw Pei Wenxuan’s fully confident smile, and for a moment, she didn’t know if he was really overthinking it or thinking about it the wrong way…
But Li Rong didn’t want to bother with it either.
A person like Pei Wenxuan might catch others off guard when it came to certain things about him, but she was used to it.
The author has something to say:
【Mini Theater】
Li Rong (in her heart): “You said I should strive for love. I believed in your evils all my life, so I want to see what kind of tricks you will pull. But if you lead me down a crooked road, I will have you dragged out and fed to the dogs.”
Li Rong (on the surface): “Pei Wenxuan, for once in my life, I will believe in you again.”
Pei Wenxuan (in his heart): Believe in me? Believe in what? Believe in my backup plan? Ah, that’s absolutely foolproof!
Pei Wenxuan (on the surface): “Your Highness, I have taken everything into consideration. There won’t be any problems at all.”
Later on…
Li Rong: “Didn’t you say that this strategic decision to be brave and love would be absolutely foolproof?”
Pei Wenxuan, who was about to be dragged out to be fed to the dogs: “Your Highness, there’s nothing wrong with the plan, but there is something wrong with the subject at hand! However, this can still be corrected just in time!”
Li Rong: “No need to say more, prepare for a full burial.”
Autumn Pond Reflection 
Hahaha the mini theaters never fails to amuse me. 😆😄
Thanks for the chapter!
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Welcome back!!
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Thanks for the chapter! Love this story’s complex characters and their growth and love your beautiful translation.
Welcome back!
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thank you for the translations :))
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!!! The translations are so good, thank you
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This is sooo good. Thank you Autumn!
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Ahhhh crossed signals again 🤦🏻♀️
Thanks for the chapter 🙃
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I feel for the Imperial children. It must suck to have a parent who loves you with conditions rather than unconditionally. To walk on eggshell is one thing, but to know that the people who might point the knife at you are the same people who break bread with you.
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