Chapter 134

A massive screen had appeared in the bedroom, stretching across the middle of the room, neatly dividing the inner chamber from the outer. The bed inside and the beauty couch outside were now separated by an invisible Chu-Han boundary. Sacred and inviolable.

The couch itself wasn’t particularly long; Rong Tang could only just stretch out fully when lying on it. But for Su Huaijing, with his taller frame, lying there felt cramped and pitiful.

Not that Rong Tang cared to notice.

In any case, by the time he woke up each morning, Su Huaijing had already left for court, and at night, the man would stubbornly wait for Rong Tang to settle in bed before quietly slipping out to sleep elsewhere.

Rong Tang was determined not to spare a single glance at Su Huaijing, curled up miserably on the small couch through the freezing winter. He refused to let himself feel even a shred of sympathy… anything that might soften his heart and leave him open to being taken advantage of.

Meanwhile, the system drifted about the room like an overexcited child who had finally managed to squeeze into their father’s bed after their parents argued. It whispered incessantly in Rong Tang’s ear, urging him to cast off the main villain once and for all.

It nagged and nagged until one early morning, when, half-asleep, Rong Tang thought he heard a few muffled coughs from the outer room.

The sound was faint but unmistakable. Almost the instant it rang out, someone slipped off the couch, opened the door, and disappeared into the cold dawn. Silence fell once more.

The sky was still dark, and exhaustion kept Rong Tang pinned in place. He slept in a little longer, then woke naturally, had breakfast, and sat by the fire flipping through a storybook. Only then did the vague memory resurface, like something from a dream, leaving his thoughts adrift.

Had he really heard Su Huaijing coughing? Was the main villain actually ill? A nagging question hung over him for the rest of the day. When evening came, and Su Huaijing finally returned home, he had barely stepped into the courtyard before turning his head and sneezing.

Then, lifting his gaze, he found Rong Tang standing in the doorway, staring straight at him.

Su Huaijing paused in surprise before smiling instinctively. He took a few quick steps forward—only for Rong Tang to take a deliberate step back, frowning at him.

Su Huaijing blinked. “Tangtang?”

Rong Tang hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, “You’ve caught a cold.”

His tone was firm. So firm that it somehow sounded more authoritative than Su Huaijing himself, a trained physician.

Su Huaijing was momentarily taken aback before brushing it off lightly. “I’ll be fine soon. You don’t need to worry, Tangtang.”

Rong Tang, thoroughly conflicted, stared at him for a long moment before turning away to eat dinner. After finishing his meal, he made up his mind. Expression cold and heartless, the young lord declared, “You’re sick. Don’t infect me. Go back to your own room to sleep.”

[Well done, host!] The system was practically bursting with joy, just shy of setting off fireworks to celebrate the return of its wayward cabbage.

Su Huaijing almost thought he had misheard. “Tangtang?”

Rong Tang’s face remained impassive, pristine as ever. He elaborated on his statement, adding convincing details: “The quilts have all been washed and dried. A few days ago, the estate even sent over new goose-down duvets. You won’t freeze. I, on the other hand, am in poor health. If I catch cold, I might not make it through the winter. So, go back to your own room and don’t pass your illness to me.”

He paused, then enunciated each word with grave seriousness: “Otherwise, you’ll be a widow.”

Su Huaijing: “…?”

It took the main villain several beats to fully comprehend why his little Buddha was being so uncharacteristically aggressive. When it finally dawned on him, he let out a low chuckle, coughed weakly, and asked in an almost pitiful tone, “If I become a widow… will people bully me?”

Yes! Yes, they will!

Rong Tang nodded resolutely. “Yes.”

“If I infect Tangtang and Tangtang gets sick and passes away, will Tangtang never come back to see me?” Su Huaijing pressed.

Yes! Yes, exactly!

Rong Tang: “That’s right.”

“Ah…” Su Huaijing sighed deeply. “How terrifying.”

Rong Tang nodded furiously in his mind.

Then Su Huaijing said, “I suppose I should move back to my own room, then.”

Rong Tang’s expression relaxed just a fraction.

Suppressing a smile, Su Huaijing added, “But once I’m better, can I move back and sleep with Tangtang again?”

Rong Tang was about to refuse outright… until he caught sight of Su Huaijing’s pale, frail appearance, as if he might faint at any moment. He hesitated, then said, “We’ll discuss it later.”

With that, he turned on his heel and left, not sparing Su Huaijing another glance. The main villain remained where he was, chuckling softly to himself for a long while.

That night, Rong Tang tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. The absence of a familiar presence beside him, the lack of steady breathing from the outer room. It all felt strangely unsettling.

He stared at the wooden canopy above, hesitated for two seconds, then, after confirming that the system was in sleep mode and wouldn’t pop up to scold him, quietly slipped out of bed. Throwing on a robe, he tiptoed out and snuck into Su Huaijing’s room.

Ever since that night, he had instinctively avoided stepping into this room. This was his first time entering of his own volition.

The chamber was dimly lit, with only the warm glow of a charcoal brazier in the corner. Rong Tang blinked, adjusting to the darkness, then stepped forward toward the inner room.

The duvets were brand new this year, stuffed with goose feathers and wrapped in silk. There was no way they could be anything but comfortable.

Rong Tang walked to the bedside, leaned down, and reached out, gently pressing the back of his hand to Su Huaijing’s forehead.

After a few seconds, he pulled away, compared the temperature against his own, and confirmed there was no fever. Then, without a word, he poured a cup of tea, placed it on the bedside table, and silently slipped out of the room to return to bed.

With his mind finally at ease, he slept soundly that night.

Not long after, the door to Su Huaijing’s room closed again. In the dimness, the main villain opened his eyes, gaze falling on the steaming cup of tea at his bedside. He chuckled quietly.

Afraid of infection, are you? Little liar.

Su Huaijing lifted the teacup and took a sip. The tea he drank every day now carried a faint sweetness. He set the cup down and turned over, settling in for the night.

His “illness” lasted five days. Rong Tang, deeply concerned, debated calling a physician, but Su Huaijing continued brewing his own medicine.

Rong Tang eyed the dark, murky concoctions warily. The word “quack” sat at the tip of his tongue, but what came out instead was: “Serves you right for overindulging. You’re young, yet you’ve already ruined your health.”

Su Huaijing blinked in surprise, staring at him. Rong Tang, however, remained righteous and serious. “You’ve never fallen ill before.”

Whether he was working tirelessly on political affairs, personally overseeing disaster relief, or staying up night after night to care for Rong Tang, Su Huaijing had always been in peak physical condition. He never showed signs of fatigue or sickness.

And yet, he had fallen ill right after…

Rong Tang couldn’t help but suspect that excessive indulgence had taken its toll on the main villain’s body.

He even had proof!

—Though the evidence had been thoroughly cleaned away, it had certainly existed. And had lasted quite some time.

Young Prince Rong did not mention a word about letting the main villain sleep on the small couch for several days. Instead, he condemned him with solid reasoning. Su Huaijing was stunned for a while, then laughed in exasperation.

What illness was he pretending to have? And now, great. Tangtang thought he wasn’t up to it.

Su Huaijing drank half a bowl of medicine and asked casually, “Did Tangtang sleep well these past few days?”

Rong Tang countered, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Oh?” Su Huaijing leaned back lazily. “Then who was it that snuck into my room every night, touched my face, and kissed my lips?”

Rong Tang’s eyes widened in disbelief. “When did I ever kiss you!?”

“So Tangtang admits to touching me?” Su Huaijing shot back.

Rong Tang instantly fell silent, the tips of his ears slowly turning red.

Su Huaijing continued leisurely, “I thought Tangtang was just worried about me, checking my temperature every night to see when I’d recover. But as it turns out, he’d simply developed a taste for it and was left wanting, frustrated that I was taking so long to get better… unable to make my husband comfortable.”

Rong Tang opened his mouth, his whole face filled with disbelief.

Before he could call out Su Huaijing for twisting facts, the man dipped his head slightly and sighed in apology. “It’s my fault. I’ll make sure to recover soon, so I can properly keep my husband satisfied and happy.”

The redness at Rong Tang’s ears spread swiftly, flooding his entire face.

He realised something: this main villain had an outrageous talent for saying the filthiest things with a perfectly straight face. Every word sounded innocent, yet somehow, there was no way to refute him.

This wasn’t even a serious topic to discuss in the first place!

Seething, Rong Tang fumed in silence for a long time before finally flouncing away in a huff.

That night, though… whether it was Su Huaijing’s words getting to him or the fact that it had indeed felt very good, Rong Tang found himself drifting into an erotic dream.

He woke up dazed, the scent of incense still lingering in the room, the charcoal stove warm. Outside, winter insects and birds chirped softly. Footsteps sounded beneath the eaves. Someone approached, lantern in hand, pushed open the door, and rounded the screen… just in time to meet his gaze.

There was dampness beneath him. The young prince grew sulky.

Su Huaijing stood beside the bed. Seeing him awake, he paused briefly—then chuckled. “I was thinking of sneaking into bed in the middle of the night, but is Tangtang staying up to catch me instead?”

Rong Tang snapped, “I’ll drag you to the Imperial Court of Justice.”

“For what crime?” Su Huaijing sat down, handing him a cup of tea to ease the dryness in his throat.

Rong Tang took a sip and muttered sullenly, “Is being a scoundrel illegal?”

“It is.” Su Huaijing chuckled. “For commoners, twenty strokes of the cane and two years in prison. For officials, thirty strokes and three years.”

Rong Tang frowned. “That harsh?” he whispered.

“Very,” Su Huaijing murmured.

As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Rong Tang relaxed slightly. He wasn’t sure if he was fully awake, but his senses and desires were remarkably clear. Since life was short and one should enjoy it while one could, he hesitated for a moment before asking, “And what about harbouring a scoundrel? Is that a crime?”

Su Huaijing laughed. “Tangtang wants to shelter me?”

Rong Tang: “Are you over your cold?”

Su Huaijing nodded. “I recovered ages ago. I only played pitiful so Tangtang would feel sorry for me.”

“…That’s awful,” Rong Tang mumbled.

He glanced outside at the sky and asked, “What time do you get up for court?”

Su Huaijing: “Middle of the third watch, court starts at the end of the fourth.”

“So early.” Rong Tang frowned, hesitated, then asked, “Can you finish in half an hour?”

Su Huaijing blinked, realising what he meant. Then he gave an honest shake of the head. “That’d be difficult.”

Rong Tang immediately backed out. “Forget it. Go back to your room—”

Su Huaijing’s hand had already slipped under the covers. His voice was low and coaxing. “How about an hour?”

Rong Tang’s breath hitched. He clutched the blanket. “It’s bad for health…”

“Are you not feeling well?” Su Huaijing asked softly, his phoenix eyes gleaming, his gaze filled with teasing laughter. It was like the stars in the sky, or a mischievous spirit lurking in the woods.

Rong Tang’s heart pounded erratically. He struggled for a long moment before finally accepting his fate. Reaching under the covers, he grabbed the hand that had begun its mischief and threatened fiercely, “If you mess around again, this is the last time!”

“I was too reckless last time because I was inexperienced,” Su Huaijing assured him in a hushed tone. “That won’t happen again.”

Rong Tang held his gaze for a moment, then let go, lying back down. “Hurry up. I still want to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

Su Huaijing was utterly amused. He shed his outer robe, slipped into bed, pressed a light kiss to Rong Tang’s lips, and murmured, “Alright. Thank you, dear husband.”

Rong Tang: “…”

So annoying!

He really should send him to the Imperial Court of Justice!

The author has something to say:

Mumu: Am I part of your play, too?