Episode 6 recap: The princess and her husband meticulously investigated the case, stealing the account books.
In front of the civil and military officials, Pei Wen Xuan spoke sharply and without any pretense, passionately accusing the Yang family of deceiving the emperor, being overbearing and disrespectful, and colluding with foreign countries, disregarding the law. When a few senior ministers tried to refute him, Pei Wen Xuan fearlessly battled them one by one, leaving the entire court in silence.
The Emperor initially wanted to intervene, but seeing how formidable Pei Wen Xuan was, he simply sat back and watched the show until the other ministers had no more objections. As a result, the Emperor assigned the Yang family case to Li Rong for investigation, and appointed Pei Wen Xuan as the Censorate Official to assist, and also specially appointed the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, Su Rong Qing, to oversee the investigation.
Since the Emperor took into account the Yang family's past merits, they were not sent to prison but placed under house arrest. Li Rong first sought Su Rong Qing's help to obtain some account books from the Ministry of War. Without the presence of Pei Wen Xuan and Su Rong Qing in the court, their conversation became less courteous and more probing. Su Rong Qing deliberately mentioned his childhood betrothal, but Pei Wen Xuan avoided the topic and warned him not to bring up the princess again lest he overstep.
While Li Rong remained calm, Pei Wen Xuan was unusually agitated, and despite riding in the same carriage, he was still jealous of Su Rong Qing's interest in the princess. Yet, Li Rong showed no intention of delving deeper into conversation, and instead abruptly brought up a wealthy merchant named "Tuoba Yan" whom she had previously encountered.
This man frequently shuttled between the Northwest and the Imperial capital, with business interests spanning several countries. Outwardly a merchant, he was actually involved in money laundering. The aristocrats of the Imperial capital had extensive dealings with him. Li Rong openly stated that Tuoba Yan's ability to survive unscathed in various countries was not solely due to his business acumen, but more importantly, because he possessed the account books as a lifeline. Only by finding the account books could they have grounds to continue detaining the Yang family.
The Crown Prince sent his secret agent Feng Ming to deliver an invitation and trade correspondence to Li Rong, revealing that Tuoba Yan held a private gathering every month, inviting wealthy merchants from various countries. Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan would pose as a wealthy couple to approach Tuoba Yan and steal the account books. To ensure Li Rong's safety, Feng Ming decided to disguise himself as a maid and accompany her.
Owing to the comfort of Li Rong's carriage, and with Pei Wen Xuan having not slept the entire night, he was now too drowsy to respond to Li Rong's calls. Li Rong was well aware of Pei Wen Xuan's tendency to be a late riser, and in the previous life, she had successfully woken him up with a kiss, so she deliberately brought up the matter, and sure enough, Pei Wen Xuan immediately sat up alert.
On the other hand, Yang Wan heard that Li Rong and the others had already begun to investigate the Yang family, and immediately sent someone to the border to deliver a message, and personally went to the Hanqiu Palace to seek an audience with the Emperor. The Emperor closed the door and did not see her, so Yang Wan simply knelt outside the palace, shouting loudly that if he did not see her for a day, she would kneel for a day, using this method to force the Emperor to appear. In the blink of an eye, it was already dark, and the carriage arrived outside the door of Tuoba Yan's villa.
Li Rong followed Pei Wen Xuan, and the two of them took the invitation card and led Feng Ming, who was disguised as a servant, to enter the villa after the doorkeeper had verified the invitation card. As soon as they entered the villa, they saw a crowd of people of various nationalities and attires, and even Persian dancing girls performing on the stage. Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan walked in a dignified manner, which made them stand out greatly. Li Rong could only lean against Pei Wen Xuan's chest, coquettishly giggling, in an attempt to blend in with the atmosphere.
It was precisely because Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan looked rather young that Tuoba Yan became suspicious of their identity. Fortunately, the two of them cooperated well and were well-prepared, quickly dispelling the other party's doubts. During the gathering, Pei Wen Xuan took the opportunity to admire the flowers to lead Tuoba Yan to the backyard, while Li Rong pretended to have a stomachache and slipped into the other courtyards to steal the account books.
However, on the way back, Li Rong's identity was exposed, and she had to flee in a panic to avoid the pursuing troops. In the end, she was pulled into a room by Su Rong Qing around the corner. The situation was critical, and Su Rong Qing did not have time to explain much, arranging for Li Rong to change into a dancer's outfit. However, this attire turned out to be so stunning that during the process of avoiding the pursuit, the two of them inevitably had intimate physical contact.
In contrast, Pei Wen Xuan and Tuoba Yan were so drunk that Pei Wen Xuan, struggling to stand, saw the silhouette of Su Rong Qing and Li Rong walking closely together. Filled with rage, he immediately rushed over and pulled Li Rong away, declaring his ownership of her as the prospective son-in-law and taking her away from Tuoba Yan's villa.
At this moment, Li Rong was still thinking about Su Rong Qing's words, as he had asked Li Rong whether, without the interference of power, she would be willing to marry him. However, Pei Wen Xuan was just feeling unwell, especially after seeing Li Rong in the revealing dancer's outfit, and thinking about her relationship with Su Rong Qing, he could not help but express his displeasure.
Li Rong took Pei Wen Xuan to the street to watch the fireworks, and the two of them quickly grew closer. In his intoxicated state, Pei Wen Xuan kissed Li Rong. Faced with Pei Wen Xuan's straightforward confession, Li Rong was inwardly shaken. They agreed that if their feelings were genuine, Pei Wen Xuan would give his life to her.
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