Chapter 88

After transmigrating to the Dayu dynasty, Rong Tang never had to personally handle preparations for the Spring Festival.

First, because of his poor health, second, because his energy was limited, and third, because of his status. As the heir of Duke Ningxuan, he was never expected to handle such trivial matters.

But after moving back to Yong’an Lane, the young prince was brimming with enthusiasm. Every day, he got up early, dressed himself neatly, bundled up tightly, and then sat in his room waiting for Su Huaijing to knock on his door and ask him which street market he wanted to visit to buy New Year’s goods.

This became an incredibly fun and rewarding task. When they reached the market, they would wave their hands grandly and bring back a whole pig, cow, or sheep. Watching the cook carefully divide it into portions, discussing which cut was best for which dish, while basking in the warm winter sun, made Rong Tang so happy his feet would curl up in joy.

Su Huaijing watched from the side, the corners of his lips lifting unconsciously.

Tangtang wasn’t normally the type to be so easily pleased. He came from a wealthy family, never lacking food or luxury. But now, he was enjoying himself simply because it felt fun, full of life, and a little… hopeful, like he was grateful to be alive.

Just like how he never paid attention to how much he ate.

As Su Huaijing thought about this, his gaze unconsciously drifted down to Rong Tang’s flat, soft belly.

Tangtang ate so much every day. Where did the meat go?

Perhaps the intensity of his gaze was too much, or maybe his curiosity was almost palpable. Rong Tang noticed his look, raised his head to meet Su Huaijing’s eyes, and blinked in confusion.

The light scattered gently above his head, while sparrows hopped around the courtyard. The few cats they kept were scattered, either chasing sparrows or lounging lazily. Life was peaceful and serene.

Su Huaijing shook his head with a smile, swallowing the question that would surely earn him a glare from Tangtang. Instead, he asked, “I heard someone selling rice wine at the entrance of the alley on my way back. Want to buy some to drink?”

Rong Tang’s eyes lit up instantly. “Yes, please!”

Su Huaijing’s smile deepened, his gaze full of tenderness.

Six days passed like this, from the twenty-third to the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month.

Ke Hongxue would sometimes drag Mu Jingxu, fresh off duty, to their courtyard for meals. As evening fell, they’d be too lazy to leave and eventually ended up staying over.

During these last days of the year, Rong Tang grew happier and more at ease by the day, almost forgetting why he had transmigrated to this era or why he had been repeatedly reborn.

It wasn’t until the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month when someone from Duke Ningxuan’s household arrived to escort them back. Reluctantly, Rong Tang climbed into the carriage. Before leaving, he made a detour to the kitchen and reminded the cook to save a pig’s knuckle for him to stew.

Just as the cook was about to agree with a smile, Su Huaijing added, “Auntie, please skim off the oil a few more times.”

The young prince’s face fell as he looked at his companion. “How can a pig’s knuckle be tasty without the oil?”

Su Huaijing took his hand and led him toward the door. “If the oil is too heavy, you’ll have to take medicine to scrape it out of your system. Do you want to take medicine?”

Rong Tang frowned, thought for a moment, then turned back and said, “Do as he says. Skim off the oil!”

The cook couldn’t help but laugh. As they left, she wondered when they’d return to live in this courtyard again. Even while leaving, they were still worrying about how to cook the knuckle.

The Master’s new husband seems a bit childish.

But that’s a good thing. It spares them from the hidden schemes often found in large households, and removes the need for constant suspicion. As a result, the Master has been smiling a lot more this past year.

However……

She glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall and let out a heavy sigh.

They still had to return.

……

On the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, before dawn, everyone in Duke Ningxuan’s Palace was already up.

They washed, performed the sacrificial rites, opened the doors to set off firecrackers, listened to the elders’ advice, and asked for red envelopes.

After Rong Tang received his red envelopes from the elders, he immediately handed them over to Su Huaijing. Even the Eldest Princess, who adored Su Huaijing the most, couldn’t help but take Rong Tang’s hand and advise him: “Keep them for yourself.”

Rong Tang blinked in confusion and replied, “But he’s so clever. Money in his hands makes more money.”

Now that it’s winter, every time Rong Tang goes out, he sees Shudao Pavilion packed with customers. People are even waiting outside in the freezing cold. There are some silk and preserved fruit shops nearby, and when people get too cold, they duck inside for a look. When they come back out, they’re usually holding three or five little trinkets.

Rong Tang had seen Xingfeng enter these shops, and the shopkeepers would greet him with utmost respect and lead him to the back. It was obvious who the real owner of these businesses was.

Not to mention the gambling house, Yu Zhong Qiu.

Rong Tang was starting to suspect that, aside from brothels, there wasn’t a single profitable business in the capital that Su Huaijing hadn’t invested in.

He might even own a brothel!

But for someone so wealthy, he still had to use tricks to win at poker when they first met. That was so frustrating!

Rong Tang thought about this, then turned to glare at Su Huaijing.

Su Huaijing was in the middle of a conversation with Wang Xiuyu, but he was paying attention to Rong Tang out of the corner of his eye. Noticing the glare, he paused, raised his eyebrows, and silently asked what was wrong.

Rong Tang ignored him. Princess Duanyi, seeing their little interactions, felt a mix of emotions. She couldn’t say anything, nor could she interfere, so she sighed, half-jokingly, and stuffed the red envelopes into Rong Tang’s hand, only to watch as he naturally walked over to Su Huaijing, opened his pocket, and dropped the envelopes inside.

The whole process was so smooth that Duanyi couldn’t help but wonder if her grandson just found the gold and silver too heavy to carry and had decided to treat Su Huaijing like a servant to hold his things.

The Eldest Princess was amused by her own thoughts for a moment. She shook her head and smiled, instructing her maid to fetch some hundred-year-old ginseng from her room and send it to Tanghua Courtyard.

After all, since the money always ended up with Su Huaijing, it couldn’t hurt to send some medicinal ingredients.

——This was a truth that Sheng Chengming had figured out six months ago.

Once all the affairs of Duke Ningxuan’s Palace were settled, the sun hadn’t even reached its peak when an imperial messenger arrived, summoning the Eldest Princess and Duke Ningxuan, along with the women and children of the family, to the palace for a banquet.

Every year on the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor hosted a grand banquet for the officials to show that the monarch and his ministers were one family.

Neither Duke Ningxuan nor Princess Duanyi could avoid attending this meal.

The carriage departed from Duke Ningxuan’s Palace and moved slowly along the road, encountering many other officials’ carriages along the way.

The officials took this as an honour and opened the curtains of their sedans to make small talk.

Rong Tang was dozing off in the carriage but, unable to bear the long journey and constant scrutiny, he pulled Rong Zheng inside, taught him how to play poker, and the three of them started a card game of “Fight the Landlord.”

Rong Zheng was confused: “If there are no landlords in the estates, where would the farmers who don’t own land go to work?”

Rong Tang was stunned by the question, realising that his own common sense didn’t align with this world at all.

It was fine if they didn’t interact for long. In his previous two lives, he’d always been on edge.

But now that the tension had eased, the people around him, who spent every day with him, were beginning to notice the little inconsistencies in his behaviour.

And most of those inconsistencies were blatantly exposed to Su Huaijing.

Yet, despite being so cautious and suspicious by nature, Su Huaijing had never once questioned him.

Rong Tang thought back to when they first met, and how terrified he was that Su Huaijing would grow suspicious and kill him. Then he looked at himself now, utterly unafraid, and wondered… who had changed whom?

Had he changed Su Huaijing, or had Su Huaijing changed him?

Rong Tang twirled his fingers, thinking about how to respond to Rong Zheng’s question. Then, he saw Su Huaijing casually pick up a card and speak offhandedly, “The people need a monarch because they lack education. The common trades are not suited to the millions. But if one day, the farmers who toil with their faces to the soil can recite poetry, discuss the past and present, and pursue careers of their own, they might no longer need an emperor. So why would they need a landlord to provide them with work?”

He spoke so naturally that the others in the carriage were left stunned. The carriage moved at a snail’s pace, and outside the window, officials in black gauze hats exchanged polite words across sedan chairs. Inside, Su Huaijing’s words caused a shock.

Rong Zheng, his worldview shaken, couldn’t grasp where Su Huaijing had read such radical ideas. Rong Tang, however, was stunned by the modern depth of Su Huaijing’s thinking. Especially since Su Huaijing was a royal descendant, how could he possess such revolutionary thoughts?

Su Huaijing urged them to play cards and shot a glance at Rong Tang, as if he hadn’t just uttered something astounding. Rong Zheng fumbled with his cards for a while, finally recovering enough to hesitantly say, “That’s… impossible, right?”

The monarch needs the people to support his reign, but don’t the people need a monarch to anchor their beliefs? The idea of educating the masses sounded simple, but even after hundreds of years since the founding of the Yu dynasty, and despite the country’s wealth, only a small fraction of people received education. Most of those students were farmer’s children, who would return to the fields after finishing their basic schooling.

Don’t mention tutor’s fees and books, even brushes, ink and paper were luxuries that ordinary families couldn’t afford. It could take three generations working the fields for decades just to raise a scholar. While it seemed like many participated in the imperial exams, the number of test-takers was a mere drop in the ocean compared to the masses. Even in the prosperous capital, half the population was still illiterate.

Su Huaijing’s words seemed too easy, too flippant, for such a monumental challenge. Rong Zheng, after thinking it through, realised it was an impossibility. If anyone else heard it, they’d probably burst out laughing.

Su Huaijing, however, smiled and said, “Maybe not in ten or a hundred years, but what about in a thousand?”

He had read too many books and seen too much of the world. He couldn’t fully predict the future, but he could see a faint outline. What he suggested wasn’t entirely impossible. And Tangtang’s deck of cards, so different from the Dayu norm, might not be as absurd as it seemed.

Rong Zheng wanted to ask more, but Rong Tang interrupted, “Play the card.”

Su Huaijing glanced at him. Rong Tang was looking down at his cards, his face expressionless, but his fingertips had turned white from gripping the cards too tightly. Su Huaijing looked away and continued playing with them until the carriage arrived at the palace gate. After the inspection, they prepared to enter the palace. Su Huaijing took Rong Tang’s hand as they alighted, his fingers slowly circling his as if easing away the almost imperceptible pain.

The weather was fine. Sunlight gleamed off the red brick and yellow-tiled palace walls.

People walked in rows along the palace path, each one steady and cautious, appearing as small as grains of sand against the towering walls. Su Huaijing asked casually, “Tangtang, the way you play that deck of cards is so novel. Why did you name it that way?”

Rong Tang’s heart sank. He didn’t know how to respond and pressed his lips together in silence.

Fortunately, Su Huaijing never pushed him. Smiling, he offered a way out: “Did you also see it in a dream?”

Rong Tang was startled and hesitated for a moment before nodding, “Ng.”

Snow piled high against the palace walls. The grand and ancient architecture of Dayu’s most majestic building stood open, welcoming all its guests. Majestic dragons carved into the pavilions overlooked the national borders. The sunlight reflected off the glazed tiles, casting its light on old friends long separated.

Su Huaijing narrowed his eyes and smiled softly, “How nice. When will I get to enter your dreams and have a look too?”