Chapter 95

After returning from the palace banquet on New Year’s Eve, many relatives, old friends, and officials began visiting Duke Ningxuan’s household.

The snow in the capital had yet to melt, with large flakes still falling like goose feathers every few days. Rong Tang, accompanied by either Rong Mingyu or Wang Xiuyu, spent his time in the front hall, repeatedly dealing with people who came under the guise of offering New Year’s greetings but were really there to gauge his situation. He watched the snow fall on the steps outside as they made their inquiries.

Su Huaijing, fearing that Rong Tang would be bored, insisted on accompanying him. Rong Tang agreed for the first few days, but after four or five meetings each day, even he grew weary of it. He had no desire for the main villain to neglect important matters just to accompany him in dealing with trivial family affairs, and eventually refused to let Su Huaijing join him anymore.

Though Su Huaijing agreed, later, while Rong Tang was on the verge of falling asleep listening to some relative’s tedious chatter, Su Huaijing suddenly lifted the curtain of the reception hall and, with a calm and gentle tone, asked Wang Xiuyu, “Mother, Tangtang said yesterday that he’s been feeling rather fatigued lately, and Dr. Lin has returned home. May I take him out to see another doctor and fetch some medicine?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuyu was immediately alarmed. She hurriedly stood up and asked, “What’s wrong with Tang’er? Quickly, go with Huaijing.”

Then she turned to Shuang Fu, her expression unconsciously stern: “Young Master hasn’t been well, and you didn’t report it?”

There were still guests inside, so it wasn’t the place for further discussion. But once they reached the door, and the people inside could no longer hear their conversation, Rong Tang quickly explained: “Mother, I’m not unwell. Please don’t blame Shuang Fu and the others.”

Wang Xiuyu was unconvinced, turning her gaze to Su Huaijing, who gave a slight smile and nodded, “Tangtang hasn’t had any fun during the Spring Festival for years. The Liyuan Tea House in the city reopened yesterday, and several venues are now bustling. I wanted to take him out for a walk. If Mother thinks it’s improper, just blame my lack of sense.”

The Wang Fei blinked in surprise, her gaze moving between the two of them, momentarily speechless.

She had grown up in a wealthy family with strict rules, and later married into an even more tightly regulated imperial household. She knew how to act as a matriarch and had seen countless marriages that were superficial at best. But now, as she thought about it, she realised she had never seen a young couple quite like this, filled with such mutual admiration.

Su Huaijing stood under the eaves, with the snow-covered courtyard behind him, while Rong Tang stood before him. After hearing his words, Rong Tang’s face lit up with joy, though he couldn’t help but glance nervously at his mother.

From inside the house came the soft sound of tea cups clinking. Wang Xiuyu came to her senses and nodded with a smile: “Go ahead. These social obligations shouldn’t be your concern anyway.”

He may be the Shizi of the Ningxuan household, but in Wang Xiuyu’s eyes, he was still a child who hadn’t truly enjoyed his youth. It would be far too cruel to keep him bound to endless rounds of tea and socialising.

As Wang Xiuyu turned to re-enter the house, she noticed Shuang Fu and paused for a moment. “It’s New Year’s,” she said, “go to the storehouse and take some silver to have two new sets of clothes made for you and your brother.”

With that, she put on a faultless smile and stepped back into the endless social obligations her title of ‘Ningxuan Wang Fei’ demanded, leaving Shuang Fu and Shuang Shou, who stood behind Su Huaijing, exchanging bewildered glances.

Rong Tang was also momentarily confused but couldn’t help laughing once he realised what had happened.

Wang Xiuyu’s upbringing meant she wasn’t the type to apologise to servants for her own mistakes. But even so, when she realised she had unfairly scolded Shuang Fu, she still chose to compensate him with money to make up for her hastiness.

Even in modern times, that’s not a bad boss.

But Shuang Fu was utterly confused and asked Rong Tang, “Young Master, what did the Wang Fei mean by that?”

Rong Tang replied, “Mother couldn’t bring herself to apologise, but she knew she was wrong, so she’s compensating you. Just accept it.”

Shuang Fu, still puzzled, said, “Why should she apologise? The Wang Fei was just… was just…” He paused, his face scrunching up as he searched for the right words, but after a long moment, he couldn’t find them. Finally, Su Huaijing, unable to watch any longer, gently prompted, “Because she was worried?”

Shuang Fu slapped his forehead, “Yes! The Wang Fei only said that because she was worried about you, Young Master. She didn’t do anything wrong!”

Rong Tang: “……”

He stood there silently, watching Shuang Fu for a long moment, then finally opened his mouth to speak.

Su Huaijing opened the umbrella and stood under the eaves, waiting for him while listening to his rambling advice to Shuang Fu: “Don’t be so straightforward, think a little more about yourself”, “I’m your Young Master, not your father”, “Once your contract is redeemed, I won’t even be your Young Master”……

But all Shuang Fu could hear was the last part, his face filled with disbelief and shock: “Young Master, you don’t want me anymore? What did I do wrong?”

Rong Tang: “……” Well, that was a waste of breath.

He sighed heavily: “After you’ve been to the storeroom, go to my private treasury and take some money to buy walnuts to help nourish your brain.”

Young Prince Rong felt utterly exhausted and didn’t want to look at this blockhead any longer. He turned and ducked under Su Huaijing’s umbrella as they headed out into the snow. Shuang Fu stayed behind, confused for a moment, before eventually choosing to trail behind them at a distance with Shuang Shou.

Rong Tang had just been left speechless by Shuang Fu, but he still couldn’t contain his excitement and whispered to Su Huaijing, “Mother and Shuang Fu are both so nice.”

Su Huaijing added, “Shuang Shou is nice too.”

“Yes,” Rong Tang agreed, “You’re all so nice.”

Why on earth had he wasted two lifetimes helping Sheng Chengli when he had so many lovely people at home?

Su Huaijing chuckled and said, “It’s because Tangtang is good.”

Rong Tang understood the undertone but wasn’t embarrassed at all. Instead, he put on an obviously insincere expression, though in a way that wasn’t annoying: “Yes-yes-yes, I’m amazing!”

Su Huaijing: “……”

He wasn’t sure whether Tangtang was just overly happy or whether the New Year had brought out his childish side, but it was rare for Su Huaijing to be caught off guard. He shook his head and laughed softly.

Rong Tang refused to walk properly and kept stepping out from under the umbrella to stamp in the snow. Su Huaijing had no choice but to grab his arm and deliberately asked in a low voice, “Does Tangtang want to buy some walnuts too?”

Rong Tang replied casually, “Walnuts don’t actually nourish the brain.”

He just wanted to give Shuang Fu some extra New Year money, that was all.

Su Huaijing was rendered speechless for a second time by his straightforwardness. In the end, he could only let him be. Just as Rong Tang was about to jump into the snow that reached halfway up his calves, Su Huaijing stretched out his hand and pulled him back to his side, making him stay still for a moment.

Most shops were closed during the New Year, but there were always some that specialised in business during the festive season. Once the snow stopped, they all set up their stalls, so the streets were still bustling.

As another year passed, the candy seller at the street corner, Zhang, was still tirelessly creating sugar figures of the zodiac for this year. Lifelike little rabbits appeared in the hands of the waiting children.

Rong Tang’s eyes lit up, and without a word, he bought one for Su Huaijing.

Su Huaijing: “?”

Rong Tang: “Don’t you like sweets? And this rabbit suits you perfectly.”

Su Huaijing gazed thoughtfully at the clear, silly maltose rabbit on the stick.

How does it suit me? Should I place it next to my skull collection?

But Rong Tang’s attention had already shifted to the hoop-throwing game with the big goose on the other side. He took two quick steps forward before snapping back to reality, turning to grab Su Huaijing’s arm: “Huaijing, I want to win the goose!”

He probably hadn’t even noticed the hint of playfulness in his voice.

Rather than him wanting to win the goose, it was more like saying: “Huaijing, help me win the goose!”

Su Huaijing was slightly stunned but then smiled indulgently. Holding the sugar figure in one hand and being pulled along by Rong Tang with the other, they weaved through the noisy, lively crowd, celebrating a New Year like any ordinary people would.

Alright then, it does match after all.

He had originally thought he was setting a trap for Rong Tang to fall into.

But wasn’t he just like that silly rabbit, willingly jumping into Tangtang’s web?

Su Huaijing interlaced his fingers with Rong Tang’s, the bustling crowd swirling around them. He leaned close to Rong Tang’s ear, speaking in a volume he had never used before in his life: “How many geese do you want to win?”

Rong Tang: “Four!”

Su Huaijing was taken aback, not understanding why he needed so many geese.

Rong Tang began counting: “One to eat, two to raise, and one to give to gege!”

The sun shone brightly after the snow, with last year’s weariness and the hard work of the coming spring yet to begin, leaving a laziness perfectly in tune with the season.

Su Huaijing, who had been tense for almost a decade, now felt that indulging in some idle time with Tangtang, figuring out how best to win a goose at the end of the street, wasn’t a bad way to pass the day.

He smiled: “Okay-o, give it to gege. Give one to my gege, and give one to Tangtang gege.”

Rong Tang was startled, and when he realised it, his ears turned red: “You are already eighteen years old!”

Su Huaijing pretended to be hurt. “Aaa, I am already eighteen years old, and my husband still wants to sleep in a separate bed from me. I am heartbroken.”

Rong Tang: “……”

The system ruthlessly commented: [His acting skills are terrible!]

Rong Tang nodded in agreement: “Indeed!”

This was the same person who had appeared so heartless and composed when they first met, looking every inch like a main villain who could win an Oscar. Yet now, he was smiling while pretending to be sad!

Rong Tang discreetly shook his head, starting to wonder what kind of person he had turned Su Huaijing into.

System: [You’ve raised a hopeless romantic.]

It paused for a moment before adding: [And you’re not far behind.]

Rong Tang: “……” How annoying!

Everyone’s so annoying!

Even a goose is cuter!

Ignoring them, Rong Tang eagerly bought fifty hoops from the stall owner, scattering them wildly in his attempt to win his lunch. Ten hoops in, and not a single goose was caught, while they all honked at him defiantly.

Rong Tang: “……”

It’s over. Even the geese aren’t cute anymore. I’m going hungry today!

Su Huaijing stepped forward and took the hoops from his hand: “Tangtang, if you sleep with me tonight, I’ll win you four geese.”

Rong Tang shot him a sceptical look: “Can you even do it?”

He had a feeling these geese were supernaturally clever.

Su Huaijing, offended by the doubt, confidently said: “Of course I can.”

Rong Tang stepped aside and watched as Su Huaijing tossed the hoops.

Then, after ten throws, it was the same scene: bamboo hoops on the ground, and geese honking away.

Rong Tang, suddenly feeling like a mature adult, walked over and patted him on the shoulder: “Let me handle this, you can’t do it.”

This was perhaps the first time in Su Huaijing’s life that he felt so defeated, his face darkening in frustration.

Rong Tang, feeling smug after their little back-and-forth, grabbed more hoops and tossed another ten——

History repeated itself!

It was typical for hoop-tossing games, where the odds of success were slim. But suddenly, a burst of laughter erupted from the side.

Ke Hongxue, dressed in a fiery red winter coat, pulled along Mu Jingxu, who had been watching for who knows how long, and teased: “Senior, what are they doing? Teasing the geese?”

Next to him, young Excellency Lu was trying to hold back his laughter, but he couldn’t and turned to let out a chuckle.

Rong Tang fell silent, briefly locking eyes with Mu Jingxu, who looked out of place in such a lively setting. They both quickly looked away.

Ke Hongxue kept laughing, and Su Huaijing, after observing how others tossed the hoops, took them from Rong Tang’s hand again.

Rong Tang hesitated: “Maybe we should stop?” He didn’t want Su Huaijing to lose face.

But Su Huaijing shook his head: “I’ve figured it out.”

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the proud, plump geese with its head held high had a bamboo hoop land neatly around its slender neck. It flapped its wings and took off, eerily resembling Tutor Ke!

Rong Tang’s eyes lit up as he watched Su Huaijing toss three more hoops in quick succession, catching three geese. He then glanced at Excellency Lu next to Mu Jingxu, casually tossed another hoop, and yet another goose was caught.

The stall owner was almost numb with shock. Quickly tying up five geese, he handed them over, eager to see the pair leave.

Rong Tang, now with the other three geese in tow, counted aloud: “One to eat, two to raise, one for gege, and one for Xiao Lu!”

Su Huaijing, with a cold expression, said: “No giving away.”

Rong Tang was confused: “Huh?”

Su Huaijing looked up at Ke Hongxue: “Let him buy them himself. He calls one of them ‘Senior’ and the other calls him ‘Senior’. It’s the New Year, shouldn’t he be the one giving gifts?”

Rong Tang was taken aback for a moment, almost overwhelmed by how cute Su Huaijing was being. He turned his head, laughing quietly.

Since when did you become so petty, my dear main villain?

Ke Hongxue, overhearing the remark: “?”

Don’t you think you’re being way too unreasonable? Didi?