Chapter 116

Rong Tang had also been eighteen once. In the days leading up to the imperial examination, he would study until he passed out from exhaustion, only to be woken the next morning by his body’s natural reactions.

It was a perfectly normal phenomenon, nothing to be ashamed of. So, it was entirely expected that Su Huaijing would experience such things. There was no reason for him to feel embarrassed.

But Rong Tang was different. He had lived through three lifetimes. In his first two, he would occasionally wake up with such reactions. Yet, ever since marrying Su Huaijing in this lifetime, whether it was from transcribing Buddhist scriptures or simply no longer needing to help Sheng Chengli with his affairs, he had somehow reached a state of utter restraint.

He was so indifferent to desire that he could shave his head and become a monk without the slightest sense of incongruity. If a doctor were to bluntly diagnose him with impotence, Rong Tang would nod with a calm expression and say, “Yes, I am.”

Yet, when those words came from Su Huaijing (his nominal wife), who wore a perpetually dissatisfied expression, half-jokingly clinging to him in complaint, eyes tinged with grievance. Rong Tang, for once, found himself thinking: Why can’t I get hard?

If he couldn’t, then they couldn’t consummate the marriage.

—Young Master Rong had never planned on falling in love. How had things progressed to the point where consummation was even on the table? Not to mention, wasn’t it Su Huaijing who had coaxed him into a relationship on the condition that he wouldn’t have to be buried alongside him? And now, that very same person was using this to threaten him.

Su Huaijing was growing increasingly arrogant in his indulgence.

And Rong Tang, somehow, let him get away with it.

The next morning, during breakfast at the Wang Fei’s courtyard.

Wang Xiuyu noticed the faint shadows beneath Rong Tang’s eyes and asked with concern, “Did you not sleep well?”

Rong Tang, without so much as a flicker of hesitation, lied smoothly: “It was too hot. I couldn’t fall asleep.”

There was no way he would ever admit that he had spent the entire night lying in bed, mentally flipping through every erotic novel he had ever read… only to still be unable to get hard.

Utterly humiliating.

Young Prince Rong thought, silently lowering his head and drinking a bowl of dried scallion soup.

Su Huaijing, who had been kicked out to sleep in his own room the previous night, had no idea what had happened to Rong Tang. He had been a little worried at first, but when he saw the all-too-familiar, poorly concealed expression on Tangtang’s face. It was one he could picture with his eyes closed. He hesitated for a moment before breaking into a smile. Instead of pressing the issue, he simply let Tangtang sit there sulking like a mushroom.

Madam Qian’s “birth” was about to happen, and Wang Xiuyu was just one step away from moving out of the palace. Su Huaijing specially took a day off. After Rong Mingyu talked to Wang Xiuyu, they took the Eldest Princess and Wang Xiuyu in a carriage to the residence in the suburbs.

The Eldest Princess stood at the entrance. Rong Mingyu’s people weren’t even permitted past the outer courtyard.

Su Huaijing immediately smiled and bowed to her. “Then I shall not intrude. I hope zumu and Mother will find this place comfortable. The residence has been fully prepared, and the housekeepers left in charge are all trustworthy. You may both rest assured.”

Rong Tang glanced up and noticed Bi Xin at the doorway, directing the servants as they unloaded luggage.

Wang Xiuyu held his hand and spoke with him for a while. Seeing that the sky was beginning to darken, she finally let them go.

Just before getting into the carriage, Rong Tang turned back and asked Su Huaijing, “Why didn’t you escort them inside?”

Su Huaijing replied, “I can’t let zumu see me.”

Rong Tang frowned. “Why?”

The main villain, ever confident, said matter-of-factly, “If Her Highness sees me here, she’ll start thinking about how to convince me to give her this house. I’d rather not give her the chance.”

Rong Tang: “…?”

He paused for a couple of seconds, thoroughly speechless. “Are you being serious?”

The Eldest Princess might not be as wealthy as the Ke family, but she had her own fief and a generous stipend. Why would she need to fight a junior for a mere residence?

Yet Su Huaijing wore a look of absolute certainty, as though of course she would try to snatch it away. Rong Tang could hardly bear to look at him.

Like a proud peacock, utterly full of himself.

Shaking his head, he turned away, lifting the carriage curtain to let the cool evening breeze wash over him. As they passed a medical clinic upon entering the city, his gaze lingered for a few seconds before he casually looked away.

Su Huaijing was reading at the time and didn’t notice. Upon returning to the estate, he resumed dealing with the confidential letters sent by his subordinates, until Xingfeng arrived, looking somewhat troubled.

He waited for a moment, but when Xingfeng remained silent, he asked lazily, “What is it?”

Xingfeng seemed hesitant, as if the words were stuck in his throat.

Su Huaijing disliked it when his subordinates were hesitant. He set down his brush and looked up, his expression turning cold.

Xingfeng immediately straightened up and reported, “The Young Master secretly brought someone back to the estate.”

Su Huaijing: “…?”

He blinked, his expression softening slightly, though he remained puzzled. “A friend of Tangtang’s? I told you to protect him, not spy on him. There’s no need to report such trivial matters.”

Xingfeng felt deeply wronged. As if you aren’t the one who gets jealous whenever he so much as looks at another person.

After a brief silence, he gritted his teeth and said, “It’s a doctor.”

Su Huaijing’s fingers stiffened around the brush. He withdrew his hand slowly, rubbing his fingertips together, his tone unreadable. “A doctor? For what?”

The physicians in the estate were highly skilled… but none could be better than himself. Why would Tangtang need to seek help from an outsider?

He recalled checking Rong Tang’s pulse only the day before; there had been no sign of illness.

A flicker of displeasure surfaced within him. He suddenly found it difficult to sit still—he was this close to storming into Tangtang’s room to eavesdrop on whatever he was discussing in secret.

Xingfeng, though already past thirty, rarely blushed when reporting to his master. Yet this time, he lowered his head, unwilling to meet Su Huaijing’s gaze, frowning as he racked his brain for a more tactful term.

At last, he cautiously said, “A weakness of the meridians.”

Su Huaijing was momentarily stunned. It took him two seconds to process before he looked away uncomfortably. “I see. You may go.”

A weakness of the meridians, a lack of use of the reproductive organ—commonly known as… impotence.

Su Huaijing pressed a hand against his forehead, silent for a long time. Then, at last, he let out a muffled chuckle.

What to do… If I secretly add something to his medicine, will Tangtang notice?

Traditional Chinese medicine places great emphasis on vital essence and spirit. The more delicate one’s constitution, the more they must conserve their essence. Tangtang was only twenty, in the prime of his youth, yet Su Huaijing worried he might weaken himself through self-indulgence. So, he had deliberately added medicinal ingredients to his prescription to suppress his desires.

Dr Lin’s previous prescriptions had contained similar ingredients, but their effects had evidently been less pronounced. As a result, after being repeatedly provoked by Su Huaijing, Rong Tang had secretly begun seeking medical treatment.

Su Huaijing was caught between laughter and exasperation.

No doctor could cure Rong Tang. The medicine had been personally prepared by Su Huaijing himself. Unless Tangtang’s health saw a marked improvement, he had no intention of altering the formula. Any remedy prescribed by another physician would be entirely futile.

Sitting behind his desk, Su Huaijing lowered his head in deep reflection for a long while. He reminded himself to exercise some restraint. Just because Tangtang never got angry with him, he could not keep taking advantage of that.

This was not good at all.

Resolving to rein himself in, Su Huaijing remained unusually quiet for the next few days. While managing affairs at the Censorate, he secretly dispatched men to Dasui to locate the young prince and ensure his safe passage.

—

By the sixth month, both Concubine Yi in the imperial palace and the side consort in the duke’s Palace had given birth to sons. After the full-month banquet was held, autumn began to settle over the capital.

One morning, as usual, Su Huaijing rose early to attend court. Outside, birds chirped merrily beneath the dim, pre-dawn sky, while the more indulgent slumbered on.

The main villain lay flat on the bed, pressing down the restlessness in his chest. Turning his head, he caught sight of Rong Tang’s sleeping profile. His heart gave an involuntary jolt, and before he could stop himself, he leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek.

As he pulled away, his gaze darkened. He hesitated, then bit down lightly on the dimple at the corner of Rong Tang’s mouth, muttering hoarsely, “I ought to change your prescription.”

But in the end, it was just a thought. He could never bring himself to be so selfish.

Sighing, Su Huaijing released him, pulled him into a brief embrace, and held him close. This… this fleeting warmth… was what made life feel precious, what made the world worth living in.

Only when the rooster crowed for the third time did Su Huaijing reluctantly let go. Carefully, he lifted the covers, moving with the utmost gentleness as he prepared to rise.

Yet just as he was about to get out of bed, Rong Tang let out a soft murmur, his lashes quivering ever so slightly. Whether he had been roused by Su Huaijing’s antics or simply by the shifting weight of the bed, it was impossible to tell.

Blinking sleepily, Rong Tang gazed at the dim, misty light filtering through the windows. He took a moment to gather his senses—then registered something pressing against his leg.

He froze.

For two long seconds, he could not quite tell whether he was awake or still dreaming, whether he was even fully conscious.

Su Huaijing, in the middle of slipping out of bed, went rigid. Calculating that Tangtang was likely to drift off again, he decided to wait.

Better to let him fall back into slumber than to risk disturbing his rest.

He shifted his weight back, and just as he was about to make a sound to coax Rong Tang to sleep again, there was a rustling sound from the quilt. A soft hand was exploring around inside. It felt until his waist and abdomen, before stopping slightly. Then it slipped in along the seam of his trousers.

Su Huaijing froze, his muscles all tense. He looked at Rong Tang in disbelief, his voice became hoarse, and he asked tentatively: “Tangtang?”

Rong Tang was clearly still sleepy, his voice was as muffled as if it were stuffed with cotton, and he threatened weakly: “Don’t talk, I’m so sleepy.”

While threatening him, he groped under the quilt with half-closed eyes for a long time, and finally caught the thing that kept poking him every morning.

In that instance, Rong Tang wanted to snap it off.

He didn’t know whether he was annoyed with it for being too energetic, or angry with himself for having no reaction at all.

But in the end, he didn’t go through with it.

With his eyes closed, he moved with hesitant unfamiliarity. It was impossible to tell whether his actions were meant as a reward or a punishment. Under Su Huaijing’s almost stunned expression, he continued from the dim light of dusk until the first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the windowpanes.

By the end of it, Rong Tang’s hands were aching, yet the main villain remained completely still. Frustrated, he finally squeezed him—hard—forcing a reaction out of him at last. Then, without a care, he wiped his hands clean on Su Huaijing’s body, turned over, pulled the covers over himself, and buried himself in sleep, grumbling, “Grown men are such a nuisance.”

“Go to court.” Without even opening his eyes, Rong Tang weakly raised a foot and kicked the still-bewildered main villain clean off the bed, not sparing him even a second of post-moment tenderness.

Su Huaijing: “?”

Did I imagine the whole thing?

The usually dignified and aloof Seventh Prince sat on the floor for a long time. When he finally processed what had happened, a silent laugh escaped him. Shaking his head, he got dressed and stepped out, returning shortly after with a freshly wrung, warm handkerchief. Moving with utmost care, he reached into the covers, took Rong Tang’s hand, and lowered his head to clean him as gently as possible.

Sure enough, even if it was his own doing, seeing Tangtang in such a state was oddly unbearable.

Only after finishing this did he finally drag himself off to that damned court session.

—Though he couldn’t have wanted to go less.

——

Later that morning—

Axue: Good morning, Excellency Su.

Susu: How did you know Tangtang rewarded me?

Axue: …???