“I Want to Go to Bed.”
Seeing how tense Ling Zhenli was, Pei Xuanlin’s gaze darkened slightly. He could vaguely sense that she did not actually know how to wield a sword.
That was hardly surprising. The Chancellor had likely only wanted to shape his daughter into an image of someone proficient in all eighteen martial skills, deliberately spreading the word that she could dance with a sword. One could only blame the Chancellor for being crafty and calculating—this was not her fault.
Besides, Pei Xuanlin knew very well that noble families often exaggerated their children’s talents to make them seem extraordinary. They liked to fabricate reputations for skills their sons and daughters were not truly good at, making it appear as though their families produced exceptional figures. On one hand, this built momentum for their children; on the other, it consolidated the family’s status. Such cases were far from rare and certainly not unique to the Chancellor’s household.
A minor issue.
On the floor, Xiao Chongheng was clearly displeased that Pei Shang’er wanted to bully Ling Zhenli. He reminded her, “Jin’an, the Crown Princess is, after all, the Crown Princess.”
Pei Shang’er snorted and shot Xiao Chongheng a glare, signaling him to shut up.
Pei Xuanlin stood up directly and said with authority,
“Jin’an, the Crown Princess injured her hand at the polo match some days ago, so she is likely unable to dance with a sword to entertain you. How about I, as her elder brother, dance a sword form for you instead?”
His gaze carried an unmistakable note of coercion. From his expression, it was clear that if Pei Shang’er refused, she should not even think about stepping down from the stage gracefully.
For the Crown Prince to personally dance with a sword at this wedding banquet was already an immense honor. The Crown Princess, holding her breath in stubborn pride, certainly would not dance a sword for Pei Shang’er.
After weighing her options, Pei Shang’er agreed.
Soon, palace attendants brought forth a treasured sword from the Princess’s residence and presented it to Pei Xuanlin.
Pei Xuanlin grasped the sword and stood in the center of the hall. Silver light flashed as the blade moved like a roaming dragon and a startled swan, leaving the entire hall of guests holding their breath.
The Emperor and Empress watched with great satisfaction, and the imperial son-in-law Yang Chengxiu also let out a relieved breath.
As the dance reached its climax, the sword tip lightly lifted a tender pink rose from the table and steadily offered it before Ling Zhenli.
Amid the crowd’s gasps, Ling Zhenli covered her lips and smiled softly. As she pinched the flower between her fingers, her wide sleeve slipped down, revealing a coral bracelet on her wrist. She then tucked the rose into her hair, giving her an especially graceful charm.
A smile glimmered in Pei Xuanlin’s eyes. As the sword dance ended, the hall was left in awe.
Especially the moment when he presented the flower to the Crown Princess—and when she placed it in her hair—the couple’s deep affection was unmistakable, drawing envy from all around.
Pei Shang’er herself let out a laugh, though it was a cold one.
Pei Xuanlin’s swordsmanship was superb. He had led troops into battle before, and if not for Yang Chengxiu stopping her, she would have insisted on sparring with him.
Only Xiao Chongheng watched the entire display with a darkened expression, his face cold and grim.
Xie Daojian’s eyes could not hide his admiration. Chen Rao had noticed something off about his son the moment they took their seats—his gaze kept drifting toward another spot.
A young man harboring romantic feelings was normal enough. Xie Daojian was already of an age where marriage should be discussed. If the young lady’s character was decent, it would not hurt to take advantage of the festive atmosphere of the wedding banquet to inquire about her family’s intentions.
Yet when Chen Rao followed his son’s gaze, all he saw was the Crown Princess.
Coveting the Crown Princess was a capital crime punishable by beheading.
What a misfortune for the family.
Rather than letting his son stray down the wrong path, it would be better to arrange a marriage for him now and send him to an external post—far preferable to being beheaded one day for coveting the Crown Princess.
With that thought, Chen Rao ignored everything else and pulled Xie Daojian outside to talk.
“Zhen’er, you’re not young anymore. Princess Jin’an is three years younger than you and is already married. Since His Majesty and Her Majesty are both present today, quietly tell your father which family’s daughter you fancy. As long as her character is upright, I don’t care whether her father’s official rank is high or low—I’ll see to it that she’s married into our family.”
“Father, the woman I once admired perished after her family was confiscated and punished. Since then, your son has had no intention of marrying.”
Chen Rao frowned.
No intention? Then why were you staring at the Crown Princess the whole time?
Could it be simply because she was too beautiful?
“I saw you staring at the Crown Princess throughout the banquet… I know she is beautiful, but a woman’s looks alone are not enough—you must also consider her character. I remember Minister Lu’s only daughter, Lu Xin. She is delicate and lovely, from a noble family, and renowned for being dignified, generous, gentle, and virtuous. Why don’t I ask on your behalf?”
“Father, I was only looking at the Crown Princess because the Crown Prince’s sword dance reminded me of Jin’an’s conflict with her earlier. I had no other intentions. As for marriage… I do not wish to delay Miss Lu. Please do not bring this up again.”
Xie Daojian cupped his hands, looking utterly resolute in his refusal to marry.
Chen Rao grew anxious. “Your mother has no other children besides you. She doesn’t say it aloud, but in her heart she still hopes you’ll start a family and build a career.”
Xie Daojian hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke, “Father, you and Mother are still healthy. Why not give me a younger brother or sister? I also feel the household is a bit lonely with only one child.”
It was not loneliness he feared, but rather that being the only child meant all the pressure to marry fell on him alone.
“Bearing a child is like passing through the gates of hell! How can you say something that would send your mother through such danger?”
“That’s exactly it. And so your son does not wish to send a wife through the gates of hell either. Father, please do not mention marriage again.”
“…”
Chen Rao was a man of martial training and knew he could not outargue a scholar like his son. He could only sigh deeply toward the heavens.
This matter would have to be set aside for now.
…
At the banquet, Pei Chanlian had already been humiliated by Xiao Chongheng and then mocked by Pei Shang’er. Her face flushed red with anger. She did not return to her seat and instead claimed to be unwell and wished to leave early, even sending her maid to quietly summon Yang Chongzheng to return home as well.
Yang Chongzheng shook his head helplessly. Seeing his elder brother in difficulty, Xiao Chongheng truly could not understand and asked, “Brother, why must you fall for a woman like Roujia?”
Hearing this, Yang Chongzheng only sighed. “If you don’t like her, of course you’ll find fault with everything about her. But to me, she is simply very endearing.”
Xiao Chongheng still did not understand. “Brother, are you blind at heart? She slept with you, yet insisted on marrying me instead of you. She even had you and Mother pressure me into marrying her. When I ignored her, she continued to entangle herself with you after the marriage. She wouldn’t marry you, yet she used you—this isn’t fair to you!”
“Chongheng, in matters of the heart, there is no such thing as fairness…”
Yang Chongzheng patted Xiao Chongheng on the shoulder. “Especially after seeing how lost and devastated you were when you lost the woman you loved, I grew even more afraid. That woman may be strikingly beautiful or gentle and considerate, but in my mother’s eyes and mine, she is merely a woman of low status, unworthy of you.”
Xiao Chongheng immediately retorted, “Roujia can never compare to her. Her goodness—I could talk about it for three days and three nights without finishing…”
“Yes. Love has no solution. You love her for your reasons; I love Roujia for mine. I only fear that Roujia will never pay me any heed again. Even without a title or status, I still want to stay by her side. So I’m sorry—sorry. It was I who caused you to lose your true love forever. Even if you hate me, I would still do the same… people are selfish.”
After saying this, Yang Chongzheng left, leaving Xiao Chongheng deep in thought.
If Ling Zhenli truly had died, then he really would have hated his brother and mother for the rest of his life.
Fortunately, she had not died—and he never believed she had.
Ling Zhenli’s soul was so stubborn and unyielding, so indomitable, so fiercely alive. Even if she were reduced to ashes, she would find every possible way to be reborn from the flames.
Thus, the moment he heard news of her death, Xiao Chongheng could not believe it, did not want to believe it, and refused to believe she would die.
His obsession had been right—she had not died.
Being alive was the most beautiful thing of all.
Ling Zhenli understood this best: as long as one lived, everything could still turn around. Even a dead end could reveal a path forward. To seek death was to have nothing left. As long as one dared to face things head-on, accepted both wins and losses, tomorrow would be another day.
At night, the moon climbed onto the branches, then hid behind the clouds.
The Eastern Palace was always especially quiet at night. Red candles swayed gently on their stands, casting the couple’s shadows onto the gauze curtains beyond the bed.
Pei Xuanlin pressed down Ling Zhenli’s hand as she tried to remove her hairpin, speaking softly, “Let me.”
His fingers slipped through her thick hair as he carefully removed the golden phoenix hair ornament, afraid of tugging even a bit too hard.
Ling Zhenli watched his focused profile through the bronze mirror and could not help pressing her lips together in a smile.
“Your Highness’s sword dance at the wedding banquet today utterly captivated those noble young ladies,” she teased deliberately. “I saw the Minister Li’s daughter—she nearly twisted her handkerchief to shreds.”
Pei Xuanlin snorted lightly and removed another pearl hairpin. “And what about you, my consort? Were you also captivated by your husband?”
“Well, I…”
Ling Zhenli deliberately dragged out her tone, then turned around and grabbed his wrist playfully. “I got tired of looking long ago!”
Pei Xuanlin laughed despite himself, raised an eyebrow, and pulled her into his arms. The lingering scent of jasmine in her hair rushed toward him.
“Tired of looking?” he murmured near her ear, pleased to see the jade-like earlobe slowly flush pink. “Then why, when I offered the flower with my sword, did someone put it in her hair?”
Ling Zhenli blushed at once. “That was because the flower was pretty. I had planned to wear it anyway.”
Pei Xuanlin chuckled, his fingers touching the last golden hairpin. “A-Li, this little way you have of deliberately provoking people is truly adorable.”
“I wasn’t…”
Before she could finish, the hairpin had been removed, and her dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
“So beautiful.”
Just two simple words, yet they made Ling Zhenli’s heart race.
Pei Xuanlin seemed to love praising her.
At every moment, whenever he found the chance, he praised her endlessly. Women all liked being cherished, and Ling Zhenli was no exception—she was always coaxed by him into blooming with joy.
She turned to face him and found that his usually sharp brows and eyes were now impossibly gentle. The wine he had drunk at the banquet seemed to only truly take effect now. Without realizing it, she reached out and smoothed a crease on his robe that did not exist.
“Are you tired today?” she asked softly.
Pei Xuanlin took her hand and pressed a gentle kiss onto the scar on her palm, making Ling Zhenli’s heart itch.
“Your husband has plenty of strength.”
He was teasing her with suggestive words. Ling Zhenli grew shy and deliberately avoided his heated gaze.
Outside the window, a fine rain had begun to fall at some point, softly tapping against the panes.
Afraid things might get out of hand, Ling Zhenli quickly stood up and went to the table to pick up a small wooden box.
She opened it to reveal several delicate osmanthus pastries and handed them to Pei Xuanlin.
“I had the small kitchen make these for you. I saw that you barely ate at the banquet and was worried you’d go hungry.”
Pei Xuanlin’s eyes instantly lit up.
His precious A-Li truly thought of him at every moment—even such small details were not overlooked.
He quickly picked one up and took a bite. Flaky crumbs fell, and Ling Zhenli hurried to catch them with her hand, afraid of dirtying his clothes. Seizing the chance, he lightly bit her fingertip.
“Ouch! Are you a dog? You bit me again.”
She exclaimed, yet could not help laughing.
He did not argue, only gazed at her tenderly, a bit of sugar powder still clinging to his lips.
“Look at you—you even got crumbs on your mouth just eating a pastry.”
Ling Zhenli sighed helplessly and used a handkerchief to gently wipe the sugar from his lips, only for him to catch her wrist.
In the candlelight, his eyes were deep as a still pool.
“A-Li.”
He called her by her childhood name, his voice impossibly gentle. “I want to go to bed.”
Ling Zhenli froze. Go to bed?
The next second, before she could dodge, Pei Xuanlin lifted her chin and gently kissed her lips.
The sweet fragrance of the osmanthus pastry spread between their lips and teeth, more intoxicating than any wine.
When the kiss ended, Ling Zhenli’s face was red as she leaned weakly against his shoulder, breathing lightly. “Didn’t you say you wanted to go to bed?”
“Yes.”
Pei Xuanlin scooped her up in his arms, startling her into a soft cry.
“That night in our bridal chamber, what did you say we had to do before sleeping?”
“You—you still have early court tomorrow!”
“So we start early and finish early.”
…
The gauze curtains fell softly, and the candlelight gradually dimmed.
Cradled in Pei Xuanlin’s arms, Ling Zhenli listened to his steady, powerful heartbeat.
Outside, the rain grew heavier, making the warmth within the curtains feel even more like spring.
Ling Zhenli curled into Pei Xuanlin’s embrace, and he held her close in turn. They had just finished, and their affection was at its deepest.
“A-Li, were you happy today?”
“I was. Putting everything else aside, Princess Jin’an is really beautiful—no wonder everyone says she’s the most beautiful woman under heaven.”
“A-Li, why are you suddenly shy today? Don’t you usually think you’re the prettiest?”
Pei Xuanlin teased her, tapping her nose.
“Hey, of course I’m pretty—but I can’t just say outright that I’m the prettiest, or people would laugh at me.”
Laughing, Ling Zhenli reached out to pinch Pei Xuanlin’s nose in revenge for earlier.
“All right, all right, A-Li is the prettiest… By the way, you and Duke Yan, Xiao Xun—why did you two get into a dispute today? I heard from the palace attendants that you argued on the city wall?”
Pei Xuanlin thought that since Xiao Chongheng was as close to him as a brother, he did not want his wife to have too poor a relationship with his own kin and hoped to mediate a little.
“It wasn’t really anything serious…” Ling Zhenli fabricated awkwardly. “It was just that Princess Roujia insisted on competing with me in polo and ended up injuring my hand. Naturally, I didn’t feel like giving him a pleasant face.”
Though the lie was clumsy, Pei Xuanlin was not guarded against her and believed it.
“Roujia is always competitive and fond of comparison. Just ignore her next time. As for Chongheng… logically, he wouldn’t stand up for Roujia. If he did, it was probably because Princess Wuyang sent him to find you.”
At this, Ling Zhenli’s curiosity was piqued, and she probed casually about Xiao Chongheng.
“Isn’t Princess Roujia his wife? How could he not defend his own wife?”
“Well… that’s a long story. This cousin of mine is in love with a courtesan, but that woman is also a convicted criminal, so she cannot be brought back to the Duke’s residence. When Princess Wuyang found out, she was extremely displeased and used some means to force him to marry Roujia.”
“He’s Princess Wuyang’s son—would she really kill him?” Ling Zhenli said with a hint of resentment. “In the end, he just couldn’t let go of power and wealth. After weighing the pros and cons, he abandoned that woman.”
Pei Xuanlin assumed she was merely speaking up for another woman and disliked Princess Roujia, failing to notice the jealousy hidden in her words.
“You…” Pei Xuanlin flicked her forehead. “Princess Wuyang might not kill her own son, but do you think she couldn’t kill a courtesan?”
“…”
Ling Zhenli’s eyes widened instantly.
After a long while, she placed her leg over Pei Xuanlin’s lower abdomen and lay atop him, saying resentfully, “Princess Wuyang has been my father’s enemy for many years. My father despised her the most. Yet when Emperor Shizong was on the throne, he allowed Princess Wuyang to point fingers in court. My father advised Shizong many times, but was always rebuffed. I don’t like Princess Wuyang.”
“Among Shizong’s five children, the one he favored most was Princess Wuyang. And besides… perhaps my father as well.”
Mentioning his father softened Pei Xuanlin’s heart.
In his childish years, although his parents had not been married, they stayed together, raising him and guiding him through a happy childhood.
Later, however, Yang Mingkong forcibly assigned him to the deceased Crown Prince Zhanghuai, stripping him away to be raised in the Crown Prince’s residence, and everything changed.
Soon after, his father became emperor. The first thing he did was try to take him back and confer the title of Empress upon his mother—but Yang Mingkong would not allow it.
Desperate for her child, Pei Xuanlin’s mother knelt and kowtowed, begging Yang Mingkong to return her son, only to be executed for “grave disrespect”…
From that moment on, the bond between Yang Mingkong and Pei She was completely severed. Even though Yang Mingkong returned Pei Xuanlin to Pei She immediately afterward, it was already too late. Pei She was devastated. Perhaps unable to bear seeing his once-valiant son reduced to such misery, Yang Mingkong bestowed a cup of poisoned wine upon Pei She—and Pei She drank it.
The history books all recorded how much Yang Mingkong loved her youngest son, Pei She. The “She” in his name meant “grand amnesty.”
When Pei She was born, the Emperor and Empress granted a grand amnesty to the realm—a singular honor among imperial princes of the dynasty. It was because he resembled Yang Mingkong so closely, and because Yang Mingkong herself was her mother’s fourth child, while Emperor Gaozong had also been Emperor Taizong’s fourth child. With such emotional ties, Pei She was entrusted with immense expectations.
Pei Xuanlin could not help feeling sorrowful. Perhaps the one thing his father should never have done in this life was to love his mother and give birth to him.
“Sanlang… are you missing your father?” Ling Zhenli sensed his sadness and felt distressed as well.
“…Yes.”
They were both pitiful souls who had lost their parents.
Though he himself was grieving, Pei Xuanlin still comforted Ling Zhenli. “My aunt could even strike lethally against her own husband—how could she spare someone unrelated to her? No wonder. The imperial family is heartless. It’s only natural that you dislike her.”
After saying this, Pei Xuanlin realized it sounded wrong and hastily added, “But since you treat me so well, even if you made a mistake, I would still resolve it for you.”
Ling Zhenli nodded lightly in his arms.
She did not entirely believe those words, but since Pei Xuanlin was willing to say them, she was content just hearing them.
At last, the final red candle burned out. In the darkness, only their interlocked fingers remained.
Though Ling Zhenli was sleepy, she could not fall asleep for a while. Tomorrow she would see Xiao Chongheng again, and she did not know what would happen…
She hoped that she and Xiao Chongheng would not repeat the same mistakes as before.