Chapter 67

“You can’t.” Rong Tang lifted his head and seriously refused, yet his hands clenched tightly.

Su Huaijing blinked and asked softly, “Really can’t?”

Rong Tang displayed a sullen face: “No, you can’t.”

“Alright.” The main villain nodded regretfully, stepped back a little, and asked, “Then can I still stay in your room to sleep?”

Rong Tang frowned and was about to refuse when Su Huaijing said aggrievedly, “Tangtang invited me first.”

Rong Tang immediately fell silent.

He lifted his chin and deadlocked with Su Huaijing for a moment, then stood up to take out a thin blanket from the closet and place it on the couch.

Su Huaijing couldn’t help but want to laugh when he saw his movements, which resembled a little squirrel moving house.

The moon was high in the sky, and Suzhou city was surrounded by mist and water. Su Huaijing smiled and went out to prepare the washing utensils for Rong Tang. They looked like two children sitting in a row and washing up before laying down on the bed.

Rong Tang wasn’t actually that sleepy. The moonlight scattered in through the window, and he used the hazy light to observe the various patterns carved on the top of the bed.

Su Huaijing asked him, “Can’t sleep?”

Rong Tang nodded slightly, his hair making a faint sound on the pillow. Su Huaijing then asked, “Want to hear a story?”

Rong Tang’s interest was piqued. “What story?”

“What does Tangtang want to hear?” Su Huaijing gave him the choice.

Rong Tang thought for a while and asked, “You and young General Wei are biao xiong di, and you lived in Duke Xian’s mansion when you were young. Have you ever met the late emperor’s princes?”

The late emperor’s princes were all exceptionally handsome. When Rong Tang heard him talk about young General Wei and occasionally mention the former crown prince and the Third Prince, he couldn’t help but want to touch those memories hidden in the past—unpraised by others, unknown to anyone, and even erased from the history books.

Rong Tang said, “I always think they were very, very good people. If someone remembers them, doesn’t that mean they aren’t truly gone?”

His words fell on a midsummer night, with cicadas chirping and singing outside the courtyard. Mosquito-repellent incense was lit inside the house, and cooling ice had been placed in the corner. Everything was so peaceful and serene that it seemed completely unaffected by all the world’s conspiracies and intrigues.

Su Huaijing reached out to the side and grabbed Rong Tang.

Rong Tang was slightly startled but did not pull away. Then he heard the villain’s warm voice: “Then close your eyes and go to sleep, Tangtang. I’ll tell you slowly.”

He spoke of the meticulous and calm crown prince, the serious and simple Second Prince, and then mostly about the indulgent and willful Third Prince.

Actually, he also wanted to talk about the Fourth Princess, the most delicate, bold, yet gentle, and lovely darling in the palace. However, the underage princess rarely left the palace, and even if she did, she would most likely not have met any men. Given Su Huaijing’s status, he had no reason to see her, so he let it go.

They chatted for a long time, with Su Huaijing doing most of the talking. Rong Tang listened silently, occasionally responding once or twice, until sleepiness slowly swept over him.

The breathing beside him grew more even. The clouds couldn’t cover the moon, and her silvery white light gradually gleamed down. Su Huaijing slowly stopped talking. He turned his head, gently coaxed, and called softly, “Tangtang?”

Rong Tang’s brain was already turning into mush and on the brink of dozing off, but he still subconsciously knew someone was calling him, so he instinctively responded with a “ng”.

Su Huaijing smiled softly and asked him again in a gentle, graceful, and restrained manner, “Can I kiss you now?”

The drowsy Rong Tang couldn’t provide any sort of rational response. He merely gave a vague “mm”-like response that sounded like a soft “ng”.

Su Huaijing seemed to have received an imperial edict. His eyes curved slightly as he stood up very lightly and observed Rong Tang’s face in the moonlight streaming through the window.

A slightly pale complexion, delicate and slender eyebrows, thick and curled eyelashes, and somewhat thin and fair lips.

To be fair, his Tangtang really is a very handsome person.

He is like a work of art that has been patiently and meticulously refined by a world-famous artist.

His elegant bearing and handsome face have been carefully delineated with ink, each stroke just right. However, just as it was time to paint on the colours, the artist realised he’d run out of cinnabar ocher. The painting is devoid of colour, but its charm is enough to captivate. So, it was decided to leave it colourless.

Su Huaijing lowered his eyes and stared. His conscience was clear on the presumption that he had obtained his beloved’s consent, but he merely cautiously and tenderly placed a light kiss on Rong Tang’s forehead.

He truly likes Rong Tang very, very much. The moonlight and the evening breeze could all bear witness; the cicadas were their attendants, and the sky and the earth were their grand hall.

–

The seventh day of the seventh month, Qiqiao* Festival.

(*TN: Another name for Qixi Festival, i.e, Chinese Valentine’s Day.)

When Rong Tang woke up early in the morning, he saw a pair of beautifully styled lanterns depicting mandarin ducks hanging under the eaves of the front porch. The mandarin ducks were elegantly styled, playing in the water, and very affectionate.

Su Huaijing came over with breakfast. Rong Tang looked at him sideways and asked, “You hung them?”

Su Huaijing gave a faint smile. “Ng, do they look good?”

Young Master Rong gave him an incomprehensible look and asked, “Why did you hang them?”

“I’m praying for Cowherd and Weaver Girl to bless me so that my husband will fall in love with me,” Su Huaijing replied innocently.

Rong Tang choked; the words stuck in his throat and couldn’t be uttered. He went to the bathroom to wash up and then came back. Halfway through, his steps changed direction. He turned around to find Shuang Fu and said a few words before going to have breakfast with Su Huaijing.

By the time they came out again, the morning light was bright. The lanterns under the eaves had been changed. It was a pair of swans with their necks entwined. There were small bells at the bottom, which made a gentle sound when the wind blew by.

Su Huaijing took a closer look and turned his head to look at Rong Tang with a slightly surprised expression: “Tangtang ordered it?”

“Mmm.” Rong Tang nodded proudly.

“Why?” Su Huaijing asked.

“Mmm.” Rong Tang said, “Swans are monogamous. After they become a pair, they will only recognise each other whether they live or die.”

“So it’s like this,” Su Huaijing murmured, holding Rong Tang’s finger, showing a little doubt at the right time. “Then why did Tangtang help replace the prayer lantern in the palace for me?”

Rong Tang pursed his lips and said nothing.

Su Huaijing’s smile deepened, and he teased little by little: “Is it pity? Heartache? Graciousness? Or… because Tangtang has granted my wish?”

Rong Tang stared at the road beneath his feet and shook his head. “None of those.”

Su Huaijing asked, “Then what is it?”

“Making a wish for you.” Rong Tang whispered.

Su Huaijing was slightly startled, then happily laughed: “Tangtang knows that even the Cowherd and Weaver Girl can’t realise my wish. Only you can make it come true.”

Rong Tang muttered something softly, and Su Huaijing’s expression changed. He thought he’d heard wrong and asked, “What did Tangtang say?”

Rong Tang, feeling resigned, said, “You should like someone else.”

Their hands were still clasped together, making his statement extremely lacking in credibility. Su Huaijing was almost infuriated to the point of finding it laughable. He swung their clasped hands and demanded, “Why?”

Rong Tang wrinkled his face, trying to come up with a reason: “I’m not a good person.”

Ahead was an octagonal pavilion where a young man in purple and a youth in white were sitting and talking. Su Huaijing slowed his pace until he was half a step behind Rong Tang. He gazed at his profile and sighed softly: “I’ll say there isn’t a single truthful word in Tangtang’s mouth.”

Rong Tang was stunned and unconvinced: “You’re slandering me.”

“How did I slander you?” Su Huaijing, with a clear conscience, asked: “On the day you tricked me into getting engaged, you said at least you were a good person. Now that I’m confessing to you, you smear your own reputation just to reject me?”

He asked faintly, “Is it so disagreeable that I like you?”

The main villain was extremely sincere, feeling both aggrieved and wronged. His head dropped, his eyes narrowed, and golden sunlight shone on his eyelashes, making him look downright pitiful.

Rong Tang feared seeing Su Huaijing like this the most. He opened his mouth and almost couldn’t help but apologise immediately. The two people in the pavilion ahead noticed their presence. Ke Hongxue waved his folding fan and shouted from a distance, “Prince, come here for a chat?”

For the first time, Rong Tang felt that Tutor Ke was like his saviour. As soon as he made a move to step forward, his palm was tightly grasped, causing his entire body to remain in place, unable to move.

He looked back. Su Huaijing was still standing there, staring silently at him, as if insisting on an explanation.

Ke Hongxue continued to urge from the pavilion. Even Mu Jingxu, who disliked revelry the most, turned his head and eyed them with a furrowed expression, as if wondering why these two people had suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.

Rong Tang felt that his head was about to explode, so he decisively gave up his insistence and decided to apologise.

But just as he was about to speak, Su Huaijing pulled him forward again. His voice fell softly into his ears.

“It’s just that I like Tangtang too much, so I am anxious for a response. I shouldn’t force my expectations on you. Don’t be angry, Tangtang.”

Rong Tang: “?”

Su Huaijing added, “I just don’t want to hear you slander yourself. You are a very good person. Don’t utter nonsense just to reject me. That will make me angry, but I don’t want to be angry with Tangtang.”

This was an endless loop. Su Huaijing couldn’t get out of it for a while, so he was stuck in place, staring childishly at his little Buddha.

But a helpless expression appeared on Rong Tang’s face, and Su Huaijing immediately felt that this wasn’t possible.

He should not embarrass Rong Tang or make him apologise because of his selfish desires in such a public setting.

In private, he could do whatever he wanted. He could coax Tangtang well, and outsiders would not see his helpless appearance. But in front of others, Su Huaijing hoped that Rong Tang would always be the smart and noble young Shizi. He shouldn’t act in a way that aggrieves himself in the slightest just because Su Huaijing likes him.

He held Rong Tang’s hand and walked into the pavilion. Ke Hongxue and Mu Jingxu were both looking at them. The former was full of smiles, while the latter was cold and distant as usual. However, when he glanced at Su Huaijing, a pondering gaze flashed in his eyes.

The morning breeze blew by the pool, and Rong Tang was a little startled.

Just as they were about to enter the pavilion, he reached out to tug Su Huaijing and whispered, “I lied.”

Su Huaijing also lowered his voice: “I know.” Tangtang has always been duplicitous, and he has long been used to it.

Rong Tang raised his eyes to glance at his profile.

The main villain’s face was still elegant and handsome, with a decent smile on his lips. It’s only that there was a hint of unnoticeable desolateness in his eyes.

Rong Tang pursed his lips and said in his heart, You don’t know.

I hope your wish comes true, but……

It seems that I don’t want you to change to someone else.

But I don’t want you to be buried with me. What should I do?

Rong Tang was very confused.