Chapter 132

For an entire winter month, Rong Tang was bedridden, spending most of his time in a fevered haze. He was rarely awake, and only when the weather was clear would Su Huaijing carry him outside to watch the sun rise and set, to see the winter stars emerge in the evening sky.

They both knew the illness was difficult to treat, so they didn’t speak of it.

They both knew time was precious, so they treasured each other’s company.

But after a hotpot meal at Shudao Pavilion, when Rong Tang returned home, bathed in hot water, and let the warmth ease the weariness and sluggishness that had plagued him for the past month, his body finally relaxed. The water rippled gently around him… until, just as he felt truly comfortable, a sudden tension ran through his nerves.

Outside the room, Su Huaijing knocked before stepping in with another bucket of hot water. His voice was warm. “Come out once you’re done soaking. Be careful not to catch a chill.”

As he spoke, he began changing the water for him, ensuring not even the slightest hint of winter’s cold could seep through. But the person in the tub suddenly found himself unable to lift his gaze.

Su Huaijing paused, raising an eyebrow. “Tangtang?”

The water was crystal clear. From his vantage point, Su Huaijing could see almost everything. Rong Tang belatedly realised the situation and felt a slow, creeping wave of embarrassment knock against his senses.

The young prince shifted closer to the edge of the tub, pressing himself against it in an attempt to disappear, but his bare skin was smooth and slick with water.

Summoning his courage, he looked up and asked, “Is Shuang Fu asleep?”

Su Huaijing shook his head. “Still boiling water.”

Rong Tang hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding. “Then… can you call him in?”

Su Huaijing looked slightly surprised. “Now?”

Rong Tang struggled for half a second, then nodded again. “Now.”

Their gazes met. Rong Tang’s heartbeat pounded like a war drum, yet he refused to look away.

The main villain’s brows furrowed slightly, and his voice carried a quiet, teasing disbelief. “Tangtang… are you asking me to call someone in so they can see you naked in the bath?”

“…?”

Rong Tang blanked out for a moment, barely processing what had just been said. When he finally caught up, he immediately regretted his words.

His momentary courage shattered. Face burning, he pulled his knees up to his chest and stared at Su Huaijing, a flash of self-reproach in his eyes.

Su Huaijing was confused by his reaction, blinking in mild surprise.

Rong Tang reached out, voice laced with frustration. “Pass me a towel.”

Su Huaijing, still not entirely sure what was happening, instinctively handed one over. Rong Tang wrapped it around his lower half with great deliberation before repeating firmly, “Now call Shuang Fu. I need to speak with him.”

Su Huaijing frowned, clearly displeased.

Rong Tang’s expression was resolute. “Hurry up.”

The main villain fell silent for a few seconds, as though feeling wronged. He looked reluctant but ultimately obeyed. Under his breath, he muttered, “Tangtang is so mean.”

Then he cast a lingering, almost pitiful glance at him before turning to leave. For a fleeting moment, Rong Tang wondered if he had actually done something terrible. Was he really just asking Su Huaijing to call someone for him? Or was he… coercing an innocent man into depravity?

His eyes widened in disbelief at his own thoughts. Flustered, he smacked the water with his palm.

Before Shuang Fu arrived, Rong Tang had a moment of panic. Quickly, he called out in his mind: “System?”

[…]

No response.

Half relieved but still uneasy, he tried again. “System aaa?”

A faint, almost imperceptible crackle of static sounded before the system finally snapped, [I heard you, I heard you, you damn cabbage! Who the hell wants to see you?!]

Grumbling angrily, the system prepared to shut down but, before going into sleep mode, still found the need to warn him: [Overindulgence is bad for your health! Don’t go dying in bed, you hear me?!]

And then, with that final remark, it vanished. It left Rong Tang alone in the bath, face burning as though he were about to be cooked alive.

To be fair, after all these years together, the system really did understand him…

The door creaked open, and Shuang Fu stepped in, looking puzzled. “Young Master?”

Rong Tang’s throat went dry. He cleared it hastily, feigning composure. “Do we have any lubricant?”

Shuang Fu: “?”

—

When Shuang Fu later informed Su Huaijing that the young master had told him to go back to his own room to bathe, Su Huaijing froze for a moment, caught somewhere between disbelief and an inexplicable sense of grievance.

Then, after a brief moment of thought, he recalled something. Tangtang, when gravely ill, had half-coaxed and half-deceived him into a promise.

Instantly, his mood improved.

He had never really expected Tangtang to keep that promise.

The illness had come and gone strangely, and Su Huaijing had yet to figure out its cause. He wasn’t about to let Rong Tang take any risks.

Besides, the young prince had always been thin-skinned. If he truly pushed him now, even just to tease, there was no guarantee that once Tangtang regained his senses, he wouldn’t be so mortified that he’d ban Su Huaijing from stepping into his room for three whole days.

That kind of loss simply wasn’t worth it.

Su Huaijing had never been that impatient. He had endured for the past two years; there was no need to rush now.

But still, Tangtang was avoiding him like the plague. He went as far as to send him back to his own room. It stung. Just a little.

After a pause, the main villain simply nodded. “Got it.”

Then, he turned and walked away.

…It’s fine. Worst case scenario, he’d just launch a night raid.

What kind of married couple sleeps in separate rooms, anyway?

Especially when Tangtang had, just earlier that night, told Yuanyuan that he liked him.

How could someone confess their feelings one moment and then, the next, make their beloved sleep alone in the freezing cold?

Absolutely unacceptable.

Grumbling to himself, Su Huaijing decided to bide his time. After bathing and changing, he lit a candle and settled down to handle political affairs.

Over the past two years, he had planted numerous informants in the capital, using Ke Wenrui and Zhou Gang as footholds. Combined with the faction that had once stood behind Sheng Chengming, he now had a considerable number of people under his control.

Though he had yet to win Emperor Renshou’s full trust, he already had the means to throw small obstacles in the path of any new court prince.

The only thing left to determine was exactly what Tangtang had meant by “nothing fatal.”

The winter night was bleak and silent. Su Huaijing sealed a few secret letters before calling, “Liuyun.”

There was a faint noise behind the house. A figure slipped through the window, stepping into the shadows beyond the candlelight. A low voice spoke. “Master.”

Su Huaijing didn’t look up. Holding a fine wolf-hair brush, he dipped it in ink and continued writing as he asked, almost idly, “Does Dayu have any appearance requirements for the heir to the throne?”

He already knew the answer. A cripple or someone with facial deformities would never be considered—unless the imperial family had no other direct heirs.

There was no response from Liuyun.

Su Huaijing murmured, weighing his options. “Would breaking a leg be too lenient?”

Liuyun said nothing. The candlelight flickered.

Finally, Su Huaijing asked something Liuyun could answer. “Has the emperor’s physician entered the palace?”

Liuyun replied, “Twenty were summoned. Three remain.”

Su Huaijing chuckled softly. Sealing the letter, he gave his next command.

“Find a doctor. Have him treat the leg.”

Liuyun hesitated but did not question the order. “Yes.”

Su Huaijing pressed the wax seal down and added, his voice light and careless—

“Then gouge out one of his eyes and bring it to me.”

Liuyun hesitated for a brief moment before bowing respectfully. “Yes.”

As soon as he spoke, he lingered, expecting further instructions from his master. However, his keen ears suddenly caught the sound of a light footstep.

Frowning slightly, he instinctively assumed it was an assassin concealing their presence. But before he could react, Su Huaijing swiftly extinguished the candle on the desk and stowed away the secret missives. Without any hesitation, he shed his robes and dove into bed. The sheer speed of it was astonishing, leaving Liuyun momentarily at a loss for words.

Still frozen in the corner, he watched as Su Huaijing pulled the covers over himself, then abruptly sat up, his brows furrowed as he urged in a low, urgent voice, “Leave!”

Liuyun was momentarily stunned, but his body obeyed the command before his mind could catch up. He vaulted out of the window.

Just as the window shutters closed, the door creaked open from the outside. Looking up, Liuyun caught sight of Rong Tang’s stealthy figure.

Slipping into the shadows of the courtyard, Liuyun was about to vanish when the absurdity of the situation finally struck him.

This… this looked exactly like the scene from a romance novel… where a newlywed wife secretly meets her lover, only to be caught red-handed by her husband.

It was the kind of plot one found in those books Master had him buy for the young prince when Xingfeng wasn’t available. Clandestine meetings over garden walls, midnight rendezvous in peony pavilions…

Liuyun stared blankly for a moment, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just imagined his master as a shy, newlywed bride.

He lingered a moment longer before vanishing into the night.

Inside the dimly lit room, the air was chilly, the brazier unlit. Rong Tang hesitated as he stepped in, involuntarily shivering.

Pulling his robes tighter, he made his way to the brazier, struggling for some time before finally coaxing a flame to life. The warmth slowly spread, casting soft, golden hues onto the walls.

Su Huaijing lay in bed, waiting. He waited and waited, yet Rong Tang never came over. Like an impatient youth, he resisted the urge to open his eyes and look… until the mattress beside him suddenly dipped.

He tensed slightly, but before he could react, the blanket was lifted, and a bare foot slipped under the covers.

The bedding rustled as a figure shifted, discarding thick outer robes that landed with a muffled thud against the wooden steps by the bed.

A lover slipping under the covers in the dead of night. Who could endure such a scene without reacting? Any man who could should see a doctor.

And Su Huaijing was a doctor himself.

Deciding there was no need for restraint, he feigned drowsiness and reached out, attempting to pull Rong Tang into his arms. But the moment their skin met, the main villain found himself utterly frozen.

Rong Tang, sensing the hesitation, abandoned any pretence of subtlety and burrowed deeper under the covers, pressing himself against Su Huaijing’s side. Lowering his head, he nuzzled against his nose and murmured softly, “Stop pretending to be asleep.”

Su Huaijing swallowed involuntarily, his lashes trembling slightly before he slowly opened his eyes.

The flickering glow of the brazier painted shadows across the room, deepening the intimate atmosphere. The scent of sandalwood and soap lingered on the sheets, far more intoxicating than the perfumes of brothel courtesans, stirring something primal.

The young man beside him had eyes like crystal-clear water, shimmering like distant stars. His ears were flushed red as he whispered in complaint, “Why didn’t you come to my room?”

Su Huaijing hesitated, unsure where to place his hands. Every possible position felt improper. He even found his gaze darting toward the floor.

He was truly bewildered. He couldn’t believe that Rong Tang had left his room with nothing but a cloak, and now that the cloak had fallen away, the person in his arms was utterly bare. The warmth of his skin, the delicate brush of his toes against Su Huaijing’s legs, made the reality of the moment undeniable.

Was this seduction? Or innocence? He didn’t know. But one thing was certain. Rong Tang was far from naive.

Voice hoarse, Su Huaijing struggled to maintain clarity of thought. “Tangtang, you told me to return to my own room.”

“…”

Rong Tang had not expected such obstinacy. When circumstances had forbidden intimacy, Su Huaijing had been shameless with his words. Now that the opportunity presented itself, he had turned into an immovable block of wood.

The young noble pouted, then reached down, grasping Su Huaijing’s fingers, guiding them lower. “I only told you to wash up in your own room. I never said you couldn’t come back.”

His voice was hushed, barely above a whisper. “I waited for ages. I didn’t know if you were done. You do it for me. I don’t want to touch it again.”

Su Huaijing blinked. “Touch… what?”

A second later, Rong Tang’s actions answered for him. The young prince let out a soft, suppressed whimper, clearly unused to the sensation. “I used lubricant, and I even prepared myself, but it still might not be enough. If you want to be comfortable, focus on this properly. Otherwise, there won’t be a next time.”

His breath hitched, his words fractured with need. Once spoken, he buried his face against Su Huaijing’s neck, unwilling to meet his gaze.

Su Huaijing was still in shock, his voice deep and rough as he struggled for composure. “Tangtang… what are you doing?”

The pause, the hesitation. It was unbearable. Rong Tang frowned, shifting his hips slightly, eyes filled with disbelief. “What are you hesitating for?”

Su Huaijing exhaled sharply. “Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“Of course I do,” Rong Tang replied with unwavering confidence. “I’m fulfilling a promise. And enjoying life.”

Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to Su Huaijing’s lips, his smile teasing, seductive. “A spring night is too precious to waste.”

Their eyes met, and Su Huaijing fought for one last sliver of restraint. “Are you sure?”

Rong Tang nodded, sealing the question with another kiss. “I know what I want.”

For a moment, time stood still. Then, Su Huaijing abruptly pulled away, moving as if to leave the bed. Alarmed, Rong Tang furrowed his brows and muttered, “Wait… I still have a problem. I… I couldn’t find the right spot earlier. You help me—”

BANG—

Something inside Su Huaijing’s mind cracked.

He locked eyes with Rong Tang, then flipped them over in one swift motion, pressing him firmly into the mattress.

Rong Tang stiffened momentarily, before breaking into a slow, knowing smile. “Be gentle, Huaijing.”

If his lover was this obedient, it was only fair to reward him.

—

Two hours later, Rong Tang whimpered, “Enough, enough—ah…!”

Four hours later, tears blurred his vision as he gasped, “I was wrong, Huaijing, stop—!”

Six hours later, dawn’s first light filtered through Yu capital, the morning breeze carrying the scent of blooming osmanthus.

Rong Tang lay utterly spent, unable to move a muscle.

Su Huaijing handed him a cup of warm tea, coaxing him to drink.

Rong Tang dazedly swallowed half before glancing at the utterly ruined bed that was too damp to sleep on. Stunned, he remained silent for a moment, then lifted a leg and kicked Su Huaijing squarely in the chest.

His voice was hoarse beyond recognition as he croaked, “You beast…”