Chapter 65

By the time Rong Tang returned to the dining hall, Ke Hongxue had just finished talking to Sheng Chengming. He looked up and saw two people walking towards the hall’s entrance. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed: “Prince, did your ear get bitten by a bug?”

Rong Tang’s footsteps paused, and he nearly turned around to leave.

Su Huaijing held his wrist to prevent him from running away. He lifted his gaze to throw a look at Ke Hongxue. The latter, who seemed to be thinking of something, unusually refrained from teasing Rong Tang further. Instead, he silently took a sip of tea, his eyes still gleaming with a smile.

Sheng Chengming also noticed the teeth marks on Rong Tang’s ear—it was truly hard to miss.

Prince Ningxuan looked like an ice man made of white porcelain. Except for his obsidian-like black eyes, the only other colour on him was his pale pink lips. Where else would his skin be so red that it looked like it was dripping blood?

The redness was so striking that one’s gaze would unconsciously be drawn to it. Once noticed, the faint white marks on his earlobe were easily visible.

Before Sheng Chengming met Su Huaijing, he had been hanging out with Qin Pengxuan and his gang in the capital. How could he not recognise what kind of marks those were, having frequented the red-light district every day?

It’s just that…… Even the most wanton prostitutes in Fengyue House wouldn’t leave such marks on their patrons. Yet this young master had blatantly bitten his husband’s ear, leaving a clear mark.

Sheng Chengming really didn’t know what to say. He was once again glad that he had only mentioned once that Rong Tang would die sooner or later; otherwise, who knows if Young Master Su would still be helping him?

Sheng Chengming looked at the two of them, then turned around and ordered the accompanying eunuch to wrap two chunks of ice in a towel. He instructed someone to hand it to Rong Tang, saying, “It’s hot in summer, and there are a lot of mosquitoes. Biao xiong, please apply ice to reduce the swelling first.”

Rong Tang was slightly startled and raised his eyes in surprise to look at Sheng Chengming. The latter’s expression was clear, as if he genuinely believed the mark on Rong Tang’s ear was an insect bite.

He came back to his senses and was about to say thank you when Su Huaijing obediently took the towel and thanked Sheng Chengming with a smile. Then he tugged Rong Tang to sit on his left, placed the ice towel on his ear, and picked food into his bowl to feed him.

Rong Tang glared at him. Su Huaijing blinked, appearing extremely innocent and completely oblivious to why he was being treated poorly by his husband.

Ke Hongxue sat next to them. Even though he had witnessed the young couple’s interactions several times, he still couldn’t resist the urge to shake his head.

As he ate, he cast his eyes outside the door, terribly missing his senior.

Sheng Chengming, not wanting to disturb Su Huaijing and Rong Tang, shifted the topic to Ke Hongxue and asked, “Young Master hasn’t told me yet; is there any clue about Lu Junxian’s case?”

Ke Hongxue paused slightly, raised his eyes, and threw Sheng Chengming a light glance before sliding his gaze over Rong Tang and Su Huaijing’s faces. He asked again, “Shizi and Shizi Fei haven’t told Your Highness yet?”

Sheng Chengming was puzzled and said directly, “What should they have told me?”

Rong Tang frowned. The temperature of his ear had nearly cooled, and continuing to ice it might make it too cold, so Su Huaijing removed the towel.

Rong Tang didn’t look at Ke Hongxue, but he increasingly felt that this man was somewhat strange.

Forget about speaking three parts truth and seven parts falsehoods; he always liked to drag the topic to them over and over again. It was almost impossible to tell whether he was testing them or holding a sincere conversation.

But regarding Lu Junxian’s case, given his and Su Huaijing’s apparent identities and positions, how could they know about it even if they were extremely capable?

Rong Tang frowned and looked at him, saying, “Huaijing and I have never been to Hangzhou while heading south, and moreover, we’ve never met Governor Lu. How can we know about his case?”

The atmosphere in the dining hall was a bit tense at that moment. Ke Hongxue looked at him with a half-smile, then glanced at Su Huaijing and said, “I must have taken it for granted. Come to think of it, if Prince had known about such a big secret, how could he have let Lu Junxian continue serving as the governor of Jiangnan for so many years? It would have been reported to His Majesty long ago, and he would have been arrested.”

When Rong Tang heard what he meant, he was stunned for a moment, thinking that Mu Jingxu had found out after all.

He turned his head to look at Su Huaijing.

The main villain didn’t seem too concerned. He didn’t care whether Lu Junxian was dead or alive or how many charges he had on his head that could have him removed from his official post.

Suzhou is the land of fish and rice, and now is the season when aquatic products are abundant. Due to the devastation of floods, fish and shrimp could be caught every day in the Lin Estate.

There was a bowl of thick white crucian carp soup stewing on the dining table, and a deep dish of shrimp had been served. Bearing in mind that Rong Tang loved spicy food, Su Huaijing had specially ordered the kitchen to add more chilli. Right now, he was focused on peeling the shrimp for him.

As for what happened to Lu Junxian, he truly didn’t care in the slightest, until he heard Ke Hongxue say: “Lu Junxian is the younger brother of the late Concubine De, who lives among the commoners, and the biological uncle of the Third Prince—”

Su Huaijing’s movements froze, and he stiffened in place, all his experience and sophistication disappearing in an instant. Su Huaijing blankly lifted his head and met Ke Hongxue’s gaze. There was a layer of doubt in his eyes, like a child desperately seeking answers.

Seeing this, Ke Hongxue released a silent sigh, confirming again that his conjecture was most likely true.

He adjusted his expression, no longer absent-minded, and slowly spoke: “In the last few years of the late emperor’s reign, the border of Dayu was repeatedly harassed by barbarians. The Slayer Emperor’s…… virtue wasn’t worthy of his position.”

Rong Tang frowned and looked at Ke Hongxue, but saw a hint of sarcasm in the corners of his eyes and knew that his earlier remarks were meant for Sheng Chengming’s benefit.

He stood up silently, poured a cup of tea for Su Huaijing, and lowered his gaze without saying anything.

Ke Hongxue said: “His Majesty, by the grace of heaven, rose in revolt from the south. The Slayer Emperor dispatched the previous Third Prince south to persuade them to surrender. Lu Junxian was the accompanying officer in the army that went south at that time.”

Su Huaijing was a little confused and lowered his head. His emotions leaked out for a split second before he calmed down again. He looked at his reflection in the tea cup as he listened to Ke Hongxue across from him, speaking little by little.

“At that time, there was an invasion of foreign enemies in northern Xinjiang. The young general of Duke Xian’s family went to Northern Xinjiang together with the previous crown prince . The veteran general was old, the young commander was on an expedition, and there was no one available in the court. The previous Third Prince went south alone, and they were worried. Therefore, Concubine De permitted him to bring Lu Junxian, who was then the compiler of Hanlin Academy, as his accompanying clerk.”

“And this Lu Junxian is actually the illegitimate son of Concubine De’s father, who had an affair with his mistress in his early years and had never dared to bring him home. It wasn’t until he passed the imperial examination and entered the court as an official that Concubine De’s father informed her.”

Ke Hongxue continued: “Illegitimate children have never been allowed a name or status. Even if they are in a high position, they cannot trace their ancestral roots. When Concubine De sent her brother to the south with the Third Prince, she actually thought that if they could perform meritorious services and return to the court, it would allow the now-renowned Lu Junxian to recognise his ancestors and return to his clan.”

Sheng Chengming listened to his words. He didn’t know why, but the more he listened, the more uncomfortable he became. He frowned and said, “Imperial Father’s uprising was the will of heaven. How can they call it meritorious service? It’s simply nonsense.”

Rong Tang caught a glimpse of Su Huaijing’s hand under the table, clenched tightly at some point. For such an immaculate person, he didn’t even notice the spicy oil on his hand.

Rong Tang felt distressed looking at it and silently stood up, wanting to fetch a basin of water to wipe him clean.

But as soon as he got up, Su Huaijing stretched out his hand, as if wanting to hold him back. Yet the moment he was about to make contact, he realised his hand was dirty and withdrew it, pursing his lips.

Rong Tang felt extremely distressed and grabbed his fingers directly.

Su Huaijing lifted his head in astonishment. Rong Tang whispered to Shuang Fu to bring a basin of water to be placed next to them. He brought him and put both their hands together in the basin to wash.

Oil stains are the most difficult to clean. Rong Tang wiped their fingers with soap locust, then lowered his head and scrubbed Su Huaijing’s hands gently and patiently.

Ke Hongxue was still slowly talking about the secrets revealed during torture. Rong Tang lowered his gaze and earnestly washed his little villain’s jade-like hands.

Beautiful jade shouldn’t be contaminated. All of a sudden, there was a split second where he resonated with what Ke Hongxue said a moment ago:

If you have seen beautiful jade, why would you spare a glance for a hard rock?

Rong Tang held up the handkerchief and helped Su Huaijing wipe away the droplets on his hands. Su Huaijing remained motionless throughout the whole process. He neither teased him nor acted coquettishly; he just sat there in a daze, watching Rong Tang’s focused actions with his eyebrows lowered.

Then Ke Hongxue said, “But at that time, His Majesty had the will of heaven and was heading north with great force. Lu Junxian knew that there was no possibility of a smooth return from this trip, so he thought that instead of returning to become a nameless survivor of the former dynasty who might be killed at any time, he would rather abandon the wrong way of life and turn to the light. Therefore, relying on his tenuous uncle-nephew relationship with the previous Third Prince, he abducted him, drugged him, and chopped off his head with a cleaver. He rushed to His Majesty’s camp overnight and presented his nephew’s head as a sign of loyalty.”

No one had been eating at the dining table for a long time. The plate of shrimp that Su Huaijing had peeled lay in the bowl, listening quietly along with them.

When Su Huaijing heard the words “chopped off his head with a cleaver,” his body shook slightly, and he groped aimlessly under the table in confusion. Even he couldn’t tell whether he wanted to grab the waist tablet or Rong Tang’s hand.

But soon, his palm came into contact with a soft and slightly cool hand. Rong Tang took his hand and squeezed it gently, as if silently comforting him: I’m here.

This series of actions they made was extremely subtle. Even if Su Huaijing lost control, except for Rong Tang, even Sheng Chengming, who was closest to them, wouldn’t be able to detect anything strange.

He hid his emotions very well. Apart from the initial confusion and the sudden surge of grief just now, no one would know that the person being discussed at the dinner table was actually his xiong zhang.

Ke Hongxue stopped speaking and seemed unwilling to say more. Instead, he briefly told Sheng Chengming: “Whether or not Lu Junxian defected, there is no denying that he is the maternal uncle of the previous Third Prince. His Majesty already hates anyone connected to the Slayer Emperor. If His Majesty learns that Lu Junxian even concealed his true identity while defecting, then no matter who it is, it would be impossible to protect the governor of Jiangnan.”

Sheng Chengming was shocked and suddenly felt happy. He instinctively wanted to share his joy with Su Huaijing, but as soon as he turned around, Rong Tang pulled Su Huaijing up and, with a light cough, said to them, “I’m feeling somewhat unwell and want to go back to rest first. Please, Your Highness, do not blame me.”

Sheng Chengming was momentarily dazed, then quickly got up and asked about Rong Tang’s health before letting him leave with Su Huaijing.

He initially wanted to continue chatting with Ke Hongxue, but Tutor Ke stared profoundly at the two people’s backs for a while and, with a light laugh, said goodbye: “I’ve been out for so long, and I think my senior is awake now. I need to go deliver his dinner. Your Highness, please forgive me.”

Sheng Chengming: “?”

Alright, I forgive you.

……

The gardens of Suzhou are lush with greenery. In the seventh month, a faint moon hangs in the sky as Rong Tang lead Su Huaijing back by holding his hand.

It wasn’t until they entered the room that Su Huaijing belatedly reacted and worriedly pulled Tangtang to a halt: “Where do you feel unwell?”

Rong Tang felt unwell all over. Candles were lit in the room, casting a warm yellow glow. Outside the window, there was the faint sound of insects. He said, “My heart.”

Su Huaijing’s expression changed abruptly, and he reached out to grab Rong Tang’s wrist, but Rong Tang dodged, showing a bit of impatience. In a deep voice, Su Huaijing said, “Rong Tang!”

Finally, some vibrancy, Rong Tang thought.

The Su Huaijing he had just seen was unlike any version he had known in his three lifetimes.

He had never seen the main villain so dispirited, lost, and helpless.

In his eyes, the Seventh Prince should always be strategising, and the Deputy Minister of the Censorate should always have a hidden dagger behind his smile.

But it turns out that at seventeen, the main villain, who had just entered the capital, would still unconsciously have mood swings over minor things related to his family.

Rong Tang said softly, “My bones hurt too.”

Su Huaijing’s pupils involuntarily dilated, and his palms began to sweat, but he heard Rong Tang continue. “My stomach hurts.”

“Stomach hurts.”

“Eyes hurt.”

“……”

Su Huaijing was dazed for a while before gradually calming down. He sat across from Rong Tang, observing his expression by candlelight with some uncertainty: “What’s going on, Tangtang?”

Rong Tang could endure pain to death, but had he ever complained so unreasonably before?

Su Huaijing softened his voice and coaxed gently, “What happened? Tell me, and I’ll help you solve it.”

Rong Tang shook his head. “Nothing happened.”

“My body just hurts, and I don’t want to sleep alone.” Rong Tang raised his head, his clear eyes looking at Su Huaijing, and asked softly: “Can you stay with me tonight?”