The Grand Princess

TGP Chapter 35.2: Ceremonial Gift

“I have a gift I wish to give Your Highness.”
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After tidying people up in one day, Li Rong was quite happy, eating well and sleeping soundly every day, but nevertheless, Pei Wenxuan was not living too comfortably.

He handled official business during the day, but in the dead of night, his thoughts were a bit all over the place.

In the past two nights, he would dream of his previous life. He dreamt that he heard the news of Li Rong being punished and rushed over to find her. He ran very fast every time. He didn’t know what was happening in the dream, but he only knew that he had to run a little faster. It was just that every time he frantically ran over, he would see two people there, one kneeling and the other standing.

The two of them stood together in the same place as if there was no one else around.

He was like a wandering ghost without incense offerings, floating beside them as half a lifetime went by in a flash.

He sometimes saw them drinking wine on the promenade, sometimes he saw them playing Go, and sometimes he would see it raining heavily, and Su Rongqing was there, holding an umbrella. Li Rong ran over in a few steps and squeezed in by his side, bringing her hand up to hold the crook of his arm.

The dream didn’t go on for long, so he always woke up in the middle of the night. Once he woke up, there was nothing but the emptiness of the room and the moonlight shining in from outside, just like on countless nights in the previous life.

In this moment of solitude, he would feel afraid and ashamed. As it grew closer to the wedding day, these feelings of shame became more and more pronounced.

He was vaguely aware of what was bothering him, but he didn’t want to face it.

He felt like a thief—like he had stolen something.

Li Rong was rather different from him in the previous life.

The longer he lived, the more his lived experiences narrowed down. It wasn’t until he was reborn and saw the beauty of the clouds, moon and mountains, witnessed the spirit of youth and chased after a dream in Tuoba Yan’s villa that he came to the sudden realization that he had wandered off the path.

But Li Rong was far more open-minded in terms of her outlook in life in the previous life.

With the exception of the moments before her death, Li Rong could be considered blessed in the latter half of her life.

He saw Su Rongqing taking care of Li Rong and saw them falling in love.

Li Rong said that she would never be with Su Rongqing in this life because she was old and could not like Su Rongqing who was only twenty now.

But in fact, Pei Wenxuan knew that there might be a kind of fear in Li Rong’s heart that was ingrained deep within her.

She was afraid of repeating the same mistakes. The Su Rongqing in her imagination was so calm and unperturbed that he had no understanding of emotions.

But Pei Wenxuan knew that beneath the surface of this prejudice was nothing but extreme means for Li Rong to protect herself.

How could a Su Rongqing who could lose his composure over a letter be as Li Rong had described—a cold-blooded instrument with not a care in the world aside from his clan?

Su Rongqing was quite good.

Much better than Li Rong had imagined.

It was just that Li Rong didn’t dare to think about it, and it was him—Pei Wenxuan, who just happened to take advantage of this loophole of an opportunity and received the marriage decree. His marriage itself was made possible through Li Rong’s misfortune.