“It’s been a long time, Eldest Brother Pei.”
___
Before long, she arrived at the Ministry of Justice’s prison. Wang Qing walked in front in a humble and respectful manner. Everyone knew in their hearts that as Li Chuan had not fallen, Li Rong would only be coming to the Ministry of Justice as a formality.
“Wang daren,” Li Rong gently said, “Can I choose which cell to live in?”
“Of course,” Wang Qing’s heart was still trembling when he looked at Li Rong at this moment, terrified that he might offend this person who was a golden branch with jade leaves among nobility. He hastily asked, “Which room has caught Your Highness’s fancy?”
“Can I stay in the room next to Pei daren?”
Li Rong smiled: “It won’t be as scary if you have an acquaintance.”
“Your Highness is right,” Wang Qing said with flattery, “The Princess and Pei daren are involved in the case and should naturally be together.”
Having said that, Wang Qing led Li Rong to the very back of the prison.
The prison cell at the end was set up in a particular manner, obviously for high-ranking officials and nobles to stay in. It occupied a single corner with a few neighboring cells scattered in the vicinity. There was no one else here apart from Pei Wenxuan, who was lying down in his cell and reading a book.
Pei Wenxuan had been lying in bed, looking through a travelogue. Seeing Li Rong come in, he immediately got up and put the book down on the small table. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, looking at Li Rong with a beaming smile.
Li Rong saw him looking over, but she chose the cell next to Pei Wenxuan and had people go in to prepare it first. Afterwards, she walked up to Pei Wenxuan. Pei Wenxuan looked her up and down and laughed: “Your Highness came so quickly. Could it be that Your Highness missed this humble official?”
A laugh escaped from Li Rong with a “pfft.” She covered the lower half of her face with a fan: “It seems that other people in prison have not had much of a learning experience, but Pei daren’s mouth has made quite a bit of progress.”
“Just as per usual,” Pei Wenxuan nodded and said in all seriousness, “Your Highness originally said that she would come to visit this humble official once a day. As a result, this humble official has waited for so many days but had yet to see Your Highness’s slightest shadow. This humble official thought about it day and night, tossing and turning in bed as he thought about gazing into translucent autumn waters.[1] All while anxiously waiting, finding joy in the sorrows, reminiscing the bitterness of yesterday and cherishing the sweetness of the present. Now that this humble official is able to see Your Highness, there are thousands of words in this one’s heart and so many surging emotions. If there is anything that offends Your Highness, may Your Highness be forgiving.”
[1] Gazing into translucent autumn waters — a metaphor for looking into a woman’s clear and bright eyes.
Hearing Pei Wenxuan’s light-hearted musing, Li Rong kept smiling all while covering her face with the fan.
Pei Wenxuan saw that Li Rong was in a good mood and knew that nothing serious had happened outside. He lowered his voice and whispered, “Is it all settled?”
“One of two things have been settled.”
Li Rong said. She glanced around before whispering: “Let’s talk later.”
Jing Lan and Jing Mei brought everything inside, cleaned the entire cell, lit incense and prepared a curtain to cover the cell entrance. Within moments, the entire cell looked almost the same as Li Rong’s bedroom. After everything had been set up, Jing Lan and Li agreed on a daily visiting time. Li Rong moved into the cell, then everyone else left.
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The Grand Princess
Historical Fiction[I don't own the story and the translation of this novel.] Description: Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan married at the age of 18. Li Rong used Pei Wenxuan's family background to avoid disaster, and Pei Wenxuan used Li Rong's identity as Princess to establis...
