Chapter 55

The convoy traveled for another three or four days before slowly and leisurely entering Suzhou city at last.

Pleasant-sounding Suzhou dialect, and the fragrance of lotus seeds wafted about.

Shuiling Street in Yu capital is a towering opulence built from gold, jade and cosmetics, but the city of Gusu in Jiangnan is a gentle and graceful charm created by ponds and swirling mist.

Wang Xiuyu had written early to the people in charge of the estate in Suzhou. Rong Tang didn’t want to live in the estate, so the other party bought him a courtyard inside the walls of the city. According to his request, it was just across the street from the residence of the Suzhou magistrate.

On the second day after Rong Tang moved in, Jiang Shanxing, the magistrate of Suzhou, came to visit him early in the morning, but was rejected.

After arriving in new surroundings, Rong Tang was so excited that he didn’t sleep all night. Early the next morning, before daybreak, he took Su Huaijing out to explore Suzhou city.

In the past, when he was in the capital, he would always click on the map in the system space and take some time out of his busy schedule to explore it with the system bit by bit to see where there were still unlit areas, places he could revisit, and spots purely for leisure without official duties.

Rong Tang always considered this task simple. He believed that once he completed it and received a new body from Heavenly Way, he could travel free and easy across the country.

However, each time he died halfway through. Don’t mention going out to play; even if he avoided Sheng Chengli for a few days, Heavenly Way would likely remind him of the crisis by making him vomit blood. Rong Tang simply didn’t have time to leisurely stroll around.

But he enjoyed going out very much. When he was sitting in the largest restaurant in Suzhou for dinner, through the window, he spotted graceful dancers and singing on the boat on the lake in the distance, and then noticed the vendors wearing straw hats selling lotus pods downstairs. His good mood that sustained all morning instantly dissipated.

The restaurant had a special brewed green plum wine. Su Huaijing took a few sniffs and unprecedentedly poured Rong Tang a cup.

The clear, sweet aroma of wine brought Rong Tang back to consciousness. He blinked and eyed Su Huaijing in confusion, but his hand didn’t touch the slim wine cup.

Su Huaijing said, “It won’t make you drunk; you can drink a little.”

Since he said ‘a little’, it would definitely not be a lot. Except for the eighteenth of the third month when Rong Tang got married and had drank a bit, he hasn’t dared to take a sip these days for fear of provoking the main villain to become enraged and subject him to cold questioning.

But Su Huaijing personally poured him wine, and it would seem like a loss if he didn’t drink.

Rong Tang hesitantly picked up the wine cup and took a light sip. He kept his eyes on Su Huaijing, just in case he suddenly changed his expression.

Su Huaijing felt helpless beneath his scrutiny. He laughed and asked, “Tangtang, what kind of person am I in your eyes?”

Rong Tang thought for a while: “A terribly fierce person.”

Su Huaijing raised an eyebrow slightly, with amusement in his eyes: “When have I been fierce to Tangtang?”

Rong Tang counted silently in his mind:

When I went to see Chen Feiyi, when we got married and drank some wine, when Rong Zheng went to my courtyard to deliver gifts, when I passed out in Song Garden…… and you even locked me up not too long ago!

You say I have a bad memory, but your memory is way, way worse!

The more Rong Tang thought about it, the more he felt wronged, and he threw him a glare. Then he turned away indignantly and took a large gulp of wine.

Su Huaijing watched in shock; his eyes flashed, and he began to wonder with some uncertainty.

Was he really fierce towards Tangtang?

Before he could finish recalling it, Rong Tang put down his wine cup, licked his lips with a lingering satisfaction, and said softly, “Forget it; I was just kidding.”

Su Huaijing: “?”

Rong Tang said, “You are a very cute and kind-hearted child.”

In the scorching summer heat, the bright sun has scattered the clouds. Willows droop along the riverbank, and the lake’s rippling water reflects the sparkling light. Downstairs, people call out in the local dialect, and soft Suzhou dialect songs and music play inside the building.

Su Huaijing looked at Rong Tang for two seconds and smiled softly: “Thank you, husband, for complimenting me.”

Rong Tang’s ears gradually turned red. He told himself that it was because of the alcohol. Without any principles, he blamed the green plum wine, which might have only five percent alcohol.

Jiangnan cuisine is on the sweet side, and Rong Tang felt that it was mediocre after tasting it. However, bearing in mind Su Huaijing’s preferences, he asked the waiter to recommend several sweet dishes, and after lunch, two plates of pastries were also served.

A plate of fried, crispy lotus flower pastries and a plate of golden silk shrimp balls.

Rong Tang ate one ball at a time, contentedly watching Su Huaijing pick up a lotus flower pastry and eat it slowly, bite by bite.

He noticed that Su Huaijing ate with great elegance, certainly more refined than himself. He neither wolfed down his food nor acted pretentious. Instead, he sat calmly, eating a simple pastry in a dignified manner, which was a delight to behold.

Rong Tang noticed that when Su Huaijing ate lotus flower pastry, he dropped even fewer crumbs than others.

He sighed to the system that the latter was indeed someone who had undergone etiquette training in the imperial palace since childhood. The system rolled its eyes at him, and the urge to ignore its host increased.

Su Huaijing didn’t say anything. After eating a piece of lotus flower pastry, he observed Rong Tang pushing the plate towards him, and a smile appeared on his face. He didn’t eat another one, but asked, “Tangtang still wants to go shopping in the afternoon?”

They had spent the entire morning shopping and bought some fashionable Jiangnan fabrics, jewellery, and cosmetics which they had planned to bring back as gifts to the Wang Fei. The rest were all storybooks and snacks.

Rong Tang sat in the chair, and seeing that Su Huaijing had no intention of continuing to eat, he lowered his eyes with some regret. He swallowed the golden silk shrimp ball in his mouth and then shook his head: “I don’t want to; I want to go back to sleep.”

Su Huaijing indulged him excessively. Hearing this, he handed over a handkerchief and asked him to wipe the stains around his mouth, then nodded and said, “Then I’ll bring you back.”

Rong Tang rubbed his belly. He was about to respond when he sharply noticed that this sentence appeared to have other meanings. He frowned and asked, “Are you going out in the afternoon?”

Su Huaijing smiled and nodded, and Rong Tang asked, “Where are you going?”

“Jiangnan region is a land of fish and rice, and in Gusu city, there are many grain shops that have been operated by families for generations. Now is the season of abundant produce, with the autumn grain about to be harvested and rice being quite cheap. I want to take Shuang Shou out to stock some up,” Su Huaijing said honestly.

Rong Tang spaced out for a long time.

Outside the building, the sound of lutes still echoes, while inside, people come and go as usual. Silks and satins flow endlessly, yet the water level of Lotus Lake has risen. The people in the city remain completely oblivious, unaware of what is going to happen.

Rong Tang sensed a bit of astringency in his throat. He felt a little dizzy, and he didn’t know if it was because of that cup of green plum wine.

He asked, “Why do we need to stock rice?”

The autumn grains are about to be harvested, and the rice currently on the market will soon turn into old rice. Although grain merchants can’t wait to sell off their stock, the price will not be much cheaper. If Su Huaijing wants to do business, instead of buying from them, it would be better to go to the village to get the latest crop harvest.

Su Huaijing’s eyebrows curled. The main villain in the original novel, who regarded the lives of all people in the world as nothing, smiled and asked him, “Tangtang has yet to remember it?”

“I said I wanted you to be happy. I said that we are husband and wife. All the burdens you carry, I should rightfully bear half of them.” He answered slowly, with a calm and natural smile adorning his remarkably exquisite face, even more captivating than the scenery of this Gusu city. “If you wish to come to Jiangnan to escape the summer heat, I will strive to ensure that you only do just that—escape the heat.”

“If it can’t be accomplished, Tangtang shouldn’t blame me, let alone feel guilty,” Su Huaijing told him softly. His bright phoenix eyes could see far clearer than the officials in their ceremonial crane robes in the Hall of Golden Chimes*.

(*TN: A popular name for the emperor’s audience hall in the imperial palace. It’s also known as the “Hall of Great Harmony”.)

He knew that they couldn’t actually save many people.

A natural disaster cannot change, and they do not have any official duties. If Duke Ningxuan himself came to Jiangnan, he may be able to suppress the governor. But if a prince of merely twenty years old travels from afar, it’s only right to extend wholehearted hospitality. However, if he interferes in political affairs, that’s going too far.

Between the two of them, they had four hands and were not yet forty years old combined. The idea of saving tens of thousands of lives seemed like a wild fantasy, far beyond their capabilities.

Yet Rong Tang wanted to give it a try, so Su Huaijing accompanied him. Besides, he’d told him beforehand, “If it can’t be accomplished, don’t feel guilty.”

As long as they can save one person, having come on this trip of theirs from afar wouldn’t be meaningless.

Rong Tang stared blankly at Su Huaijing as the early midsummer sunshine of the sixth month streamed through the window, casting its rays on Su Huaijing’s face. He suddenly realised that, even though he thought he knew Su Huaijing well enough, this person could still surprise him immensely at any given moment.

He thoroughly couldn’t understand why such a person should be repeatedly hurt until he was forced to turn black.

Rong Tang felt a twinge of bitterness in his heart; he swallowed and said, “I’ll accompany you.”

The system sighed silently, gradually becoming more human-like.

It lingered in a three-dimensional virtual space, observing the two pixel-like figures in front of it, and was tempted to ask its host: [Didn’t you say you’re no longer the world’s saviour?]

Why place so much baggage on yourself?

But it couldn’t bring itself to ask; it just scrutinised the main villain again, who was supposed to be standing in opposition to Heavenly Way.

It found that it didn’t know what was right and what was wrong.

–

On the fourth day after Rong Tang moved into the city, Jiang Shanxing, the magistrate of Suzhou, was finally welcomed into the hall by the gatekeeper.

At the third quarter of the Chen period*, the sun was already high in the sky, and the sounds of birds in the courtyard were more livelier and diverse than in the capital.

(*TN: around 8:45–9:00 a.m.)

Rong Tang wrinkled his nose and downed a bowl of medicinal soup, then cast a bitter and resentful look at Su Huaijing.

The latter gently straightened his collar and asked in a low voice, “Tangtang wants to pass out again?”

Rong Tang was instantly frightened.

Collecting grain was not easy at all. Su Huaijing originally didn’t want to bring him along, but if Rong Tang truly insisted and was relentless in following him, the main villain would be powerless against him.

He was always reluctant to be fierce with Rong Tang, but Tangtang’s body could not withstand such treatment.

In his first two lives, Rong Tang worked for Sheng Chengli behind the scenes. He could handle dealings with officials and use strategies to bring people down. But now, in the water town of Jiangnan, hearing the dialect that sped up just enough to become incomprehensible to him and seeing the merchants’ flowery speeches for the sake of profit, Rong Tang realised that he seemed to have forgotten how to negotiate.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t. He was very rich; he was rich enough to buy several rice shops in Suzhou. However, no matter how vast the stock of rice in these rice shops, even if mixed with pebbles to make porridge, it still wouldn’t be able to aid that many people.

For the first time, the economic might of Prince Ningxuan seemed inadequate in the face of an impending disaster.

During these days, Rong Tang missed Ke Hongxue more than once.

Ke Hongxue has the gift of the gab, and his family is good at business management. He was responsible for all of Sheng Chengli’s business territories in his previous lives.

Unfortunately, Tutor Ke has just returned to the capital after paying homage to his ancestors and likely won’t come to Jiangnan again.

Rong Tang was stunned for a moment when he thought of this and suddenly realised that the matter of Ke Hongxue bringing Mu Jingxu back to his hometown to worship his ancestors had never happened in his previous two lifetimes.

Just like himself, they’d wracked their brains just to help Sheng Chengli establish his presence before Emperor Renshou. It was impossible for Lil’ Bro Mu to request leave and go back to his hometown with Ke Hongxue.

Rong Tang frowned. He didn’t know why, but he always felt that the butterfly wings in this life were fluttering too fast.

He walked to the hall with Su Huaijing. The Suzhou magistrate had been waiting for him for a long time. When he caught sight of him, he hastily stood up and bowed in salutation: “This lowly official greets Prince Ningxuan.”

There was no displeasure at being slighted, to the extent that the many rejections didn’t even seem to have occurred.

Jiang Shanxing is over fifty years old and has a lean build. There were strands of white in his hair beneath his official’s hat, and his beard was slightly scruffy. At first glance, he looked like he hadn’t been groomed for many days.

Rong Tang felt slightly reassured, knowing he hadn’t chosen the wrong destination.

He smiled and returned the salutation, ordered someone to serve tea, and then sat at the seat of honour. He raised his eyes to Jiang Shanxing and, without beating around the bush, asked, “Magistrate Jiang, is the flood season arriving?”