The Princess Royal 度华年 Episode 22

In the main hall, Li Rong showed Lin Feibai's pendant token in public, which made Xie Lanqing look surprised and asked about its origin. Before Lin Feibai responded, Li Rong mentioned the past between Xie Lanqing and Lin Xia, a woman from the world. At that time, the two met and fell in love, but due to family obstacles, they could not stay together. Lin Xia left while pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy alone, named Lin Feibai.

Later, under the arrangement of his family, Xie Lanqing married the daughter of a famous family and found Lin Xia at the same time. However, Lin Xia did not accept Xie Lanqing because of this, and she did not want to become a concubine, leaving her child under the control of someone else in the Xie family. Therefore, Xie Lanqing did not force her, so he provided her with shelter and founded Qixingtang.

At Li Rong's strong request, the emperor ordered someone to bring a water bowl for Xie Lanqing and Lin Feibai to confess their blood. Sure enough, the blood blended together, confirming their father-son relationship. Lin Feibai was in a daze, but Xie Lanqing immediately panicked and insisted that Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan colluded with the killer and bribed the servants to frame him, hoping that the emperor would find out everything.

However, the evidence was conclusive, and the emperor did not listen to Xie Lanqing's words and ordered that the case be handed over to Pei Wenxuan for trial. Surprisingly, Pei Wenxuan recommended Pei Liming, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, to preside over the case. Logically speaking, Su Rongqing, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, was a more suitable candidate. The emperor cast an inquiring look at him, and he immediately stood up and agreed.

After the investigators were selected, Xie Lanqing looked very bad and tried to defend himself, but was kicked and wailed all the way, and was finally dragged out by the guards. After Lin Feibai left, the emperor looked tired and ordered everyone to disperse, leaving only Pei Wenxuan to explain the matter. Su Rongqing followed Li Rong out of the hall and asked her why she insisted on establishing the Inspectorate.

Li Rong replied that it was natural justice, but Su Rongqing said that although the family had moths, it was still the foundation of Daxia. If the foundation is shaken by small insects, the war may be reignited and the country will be shaken by storm. At that time, it will be difficult to preserve the people, the country, and justice. Li Rong was silent after hearing this, and Su Rongqing turned to care about her relationship with Pei Wenxuan, hoping that her marriage would not involve power and politics, and would be pure and without regrets. At this time, Pei Wenxuan came out of the palace, and Su Rongqing said goodbye to Li Rong respectfully. This move once again aroused Pei Wenxuan's jealousy, and he deliberately said some sensational words to Li Rong.

Later, Li Rong went to the prison to visit Lin Feibai, asking him to reveal certain things. Lin Feibai said that his mother never mentioned Xie Lanqing during her lifetime, but she still held the jade pendant tightly before her death and regretted that she could not see the owner of the jade pendant. Because his mother's last words mentioned that she owed Xie Lanqing three things, Lin Fei knew that getting involved in this matter would bring disaster to Qixingtang, but he still chose to help Xie Lanqing. Li Rong felt heavy in her heart after hearing what she said, and revealed that she came here with the intention of cooperating with Lin Feibai again to save his life. Before leaving, Shangguan Ya left a box of leaf cards to relieve Lin Feibai's depression.

At the same time, Pei Wenxuan was dealing with his uncle Pei Liming outside. The two knew well that Xie Lanqing was about to step down from the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice. Whoever took over this case would mean who would take over the position of Shangshu. Pei Liming stayed in the position of Right Minister for nearly ten years, and finally looked forward to the day when he would make his debut. However, this opportunity was not given by Pei Lixian, who was praised by the Pei family, but by Pei Wenxuan, who had been repeatedly framed by the family. Although Pei Liming didn't show any emotion on the surface, he already had some calculations in his heart.

The three of them left the Criminal Department and walked to the bridge. Shangguan Ya went back to the house first, leaving Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan alone. Li Rong curiously asked Pei Wenxuan about the scene he saw before he died. Pei Wenxuan recalled that in his previous life, he and Li Rong met on this street to enjoy the fireworks, but unfortunately they failed to do so. Now, Li Rong solemnly stated that if they agreed to watch the fireworks again, the promise they made would either remain unspoken or they would have to be kept for the rest of their lives. After saying that, the two of them hooked and stamped their seals to express their agreement.

As the New Year is approaching, Li Rong handles the Qin family case, the military pay case and Xie Lanqing's case together, and invites the Yushitai, the Ministry of Punishment and the Supervisory Department to conduct a joint trial in the court. Pei Liming listed various evidence of Xie Lanqing's crimes. Since Xie Lanqing was a veteran who served two dynasties, his merits and demerits were balanced, and he was eventually sentenced to exile. The other two cases were applied for closure by Li Rong, and the emperor approved them on the spot.

Just when Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan were about to leave, Su Rongqing suddenly stopped Li Rong and said frankly that Xie Lanqing wanted to meet her. On the way to the Ministry of Justice, the three of them rode in a carriage. Pei Wenxuan deliberately lied that the tea cup had a chip and insisted on sharing a cup with Li Rong, showing off his affection in front of Su Rongqing. Li Rong saw through Pei Wenxuan's little scheme, but did not expose it and allowed him to play tricks.

Xie Lanqing, who used to be powerful in the past, is now in a desperate situation, but he doesn't care at all and is eager to confirm Lin Feibai's identity through Li Rong. As Xie Lanqing said, he was born into a noble family for hundreds of years. When he was young, he strayed into the prosperous world. He naively thought that he could protect the two of them by himself. However, the rules of the aristocratic family do not allow him to marry a woman from the world at will, otherwise it will bring shame to the family.

Li Rong revealed to Xie Lanqing the clues that Su Rongqing had investigated in the previous life. This particularly attracted Su Rongqing's attention, and she finally learned that Li Rong was also reborn. In order to test, Su Rongqing deliberately mentioned what he had said to Li Rong, which shocked Li Rong, and Pei Wenxuan also noticed something strange. That night, Su Rongqing witnessed Li Rong leaving with Pei Wenxuan, and wondered why she would choose Pei Wenxuan because she had memories of her previous life. But now that both of them were reborn, Su Rongqing vowed to take Li Rong back no matter what.