Chapter 21

---

Su Huaijing has only ventured out that one time on the twenty-second day of the third month. His days that followed were so leisurely that even Rong Tang couldn’t stand it anymore and couldn’t prevent himself from asking the system if he’d given up on revenge.

The system told him that it was impossible. The character setting for the main villain of “The Emperor’s Journey” is to completely descend into darkness due to revenge. He won’t be able to give up this objective even if he dies.

But after providing this answer, the system no longer knew what Su Huaijing was up to.

He no longer brings tooth powder into the room for Rong Tang like he did that rainy day. However, he seems to be suffering from a ravenous condition and has to stay close to Rong Tang at all times.

After getting up, he knocks on his door, prepares his clothes that he needs to wear, then watches as he freshens up before they both have breakfast together.

In the morning, they would occasionally go to the Wang Fei’s chambers to make their greetings. When they return, they would do gardening and bask in the sun while waiting for lunch. After lunch, Rong Tang goes to bed as usual, so Su Huaijing reads alone in the study. When Rong Tang wakes up, one of them reads a book and the other, a storybook. Once they get tired of reading, they will play a round of chess or engage in other small amusements.

Su Huaijing told him about the conditions and customs of Sichuan, and Rong Tang would, intentionally or otherwise, reveal to him some information about officials and dignitaries of the capital.

But the main villain doesn’t appear to care about this at all. He thinks more and more about what he should do to make Rong Tang happy, whether they can go window shopping today, whether the newly bought dried meat has all been eaten, and whether they can plant another jujube tree in the courtyard. Rong Tang has tried the Sichuan restaurant mentioned in the letter once and wants to go there a second time, but Su Huaijing rejected his request because it was too spicy and not suitable for those who are sick.

As a result, within two days, a spicy rabbit head dish appeared on the table at Tanghua Courtyard. Shuang Fu said that it was cooked by Su Huaijing himself. Even the peppers had been pickled with sugar, which gave it a spicy taste without being overly pungent and stomach-scorching.

There is still a paper goldfish kite made two days ago in the warehouse. Su Huaijing said that when the weather gets warmer, he will take him to the countryside to fly the kite.

Rong Tang has died and lived so many times. It is only now that he truly relaxes and lives a life that is leisurely and comfortable. He doesn’t have to use his own brain for anything and can relax and act like a useless person.

It doesn’t matter that he is a useless person, yet Rong Tang always felt it is inappropriate for Su Huaijing to spend so much time with him. Moreover, ever since the system informed him that the male protagonist has come out of the cold palace, Rong Tang always felt vaguely concerned.

He entered the system space several times to take a look and unexpectedly discovered that the visually overwhelming blackness is showing signs of dissipating, with a light layer of foggy grey rising from them edges. However, the colour is too faint and merging into the black mist. It is difficult to spot it if one didn’t look carefully. At that moment, Rong Tang can’t figure out what it meant, but his gut told him it isn’t anything good.

This is the day of Duke Ningxuan’s family banquet at the palace. Rong Tang wore his spring clothes and took Su Huaijing to the main courtyard for the banquet.

Prince Ningxuan is considered the richest idler in the entire palace, and the whole family’s attitude towards him is surprisingly the same: respectful on the one hand and indifferent on the other.

On the surface, everyone respects him as the eldest brother and the heir apparent, but behind the scenes, they only treat him as a transparent person. Therefore, in the days since he married Su Huaijing, whether it is his uncles, aunts, concubine aunts, younger brothers, or sisters, Rong Tang has never permitted Su Huaijing to come into contact with them.

Eldest Princess Duanyi and her husband have three children; two sons and a daughter. The eldest daughter married far away to improve political relationships with border tribes. The eldest son was granted the position of Duke Ningxuan. The second son received a casual position as a minister in the Ministry of Rites. His official position isn’t high, but his entire family is imperially favoured and most trusted by Emperor Renshou.

The Rong family has not yet separated. The Eldest Princess is still alive; therefore, the whole family should be residing together. However, after Rong Mingyu was bestowed the position, he had to move out to the palace. The Eldest Princess was happy, and her second son, Rong Mingli, also moved in together according to her wishes. Right now, Duke Ningxuan’s Palace is actually occupied by both Rong Mingyu and Rong Mingli.

Rong Mingyu has three sons and two daughters, and Rong Mingli has two sons and three daughters. There are ten children in total for the younger generation. It is always very lively during New Year’s Eve and family dinners.

Rong Tang arrived late. His younger brothers and sisters are practically seated. Two tables have been set up. The main table is reserved for Rong Mingyu, Rong Mingli, his wife, and the children that are over fifteen years old. The second table is for children who are younger or those that need servants to wait upon.

Rong Tang can hear the laughter inside before even entering the door, but as soon as he stepped in with Su Huaijing, the sounds immediately ceased.

He raised his eyebrows, and a smile spread on his lips. He glances languidly around the hall, his sights finally settling on Rong Zheng. He said slowly, “What are you talking about so cheerfully?”

Rong Zheng has always felt that Rong Tang is very inscrutable of late, so he’s been avoiding him and eluding contact. When he heard him spontaneously ask him, he gritted his teeth in secret, then stood up to politely make his greetings and say, “It’s just trivialities. How is xiong zhang’s health these days?”

Naturally, as soon as he stood up, everyone else couldn’t remain sitting down. Having achieved his goal, Rong Tang casually led Su Huaijing to sit down and then said rather amiably, “Since it’s just trivialities, why don’t you tell me about it? Er di is being so cautious, I almost assumed that you brought crucial court matters to discuss at the dinner table.”

Su Huaijing pours him a cup of tea. When he hears this, he can barely conceal the satisfaction in his eyes. He then uses the opportunity while serving tea to glance at him.

Rong Tang takes a sip and puts the tea cup down, frowning slightly.

As expected, only Su Huaijing’s tea tastes the best.

Rong Tang is already unhappy with everyone since he isn’t able to drink good tea and has his leisure time of sitting in the courtyard reading storybooks interrupted. Seeing Rong Zheng not making a peep for a long time despite hearing him, he acted surprised, raising his chin and slightly widening his eyes: “Don’t tell me I’ve hit a bullseye? You’re actually treating court matters as a mealtime sideshow?”

Rong Tang clicks his tongue twice, looks Rong Zheng up and down, and shakes his head. “You’ve got some gall, er di.”

Su Huaijing is very nearly cute-ed to death by his little Buddha. He angled his head and asked Shuang Shou to brew another pot of tea. Then he wordlessly lifts Rong Tang’s arm and wipes his table clean with a handkerchief.

Rong Tang knows that he was mysophobic, so he let him be and appreciated with great interest Rong Zheng’s expression alternating between green and white.

He doesn’t feel that he is especially targeting Rong Zheng. Although Rong Zheng isn’t very bright and not particularly amusing, his calligraphy isn’t bad, so he respects him.

Despite Rong Zheng looking down on him in these past few lives, he’s never clandestinely given Rong Tang any stumbling blocks. On the surface, he will still greet his xiong zhang respectfully when he sees him.

Rong Tang torments him solely because he got incensed when he recalls the matter at Fengyue House.

Qin Pengxuan is a scumbag, the Second Prince is a fool, and he, Rong Zheng, is just an idiot underling for fools and scumbags! Those times in his two previous lives where Su Huaijing was sent to Wukang Bo’s house like that, even if Rong Zheng isn’t involved, he is still suspected of refusing to save him, knowing he was in trouble!

Rong Tang’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Rong Zheng. It seems that without an explanation from him, this matter won’t be resolved today. For a while in the hall, no one sat down.

The elders of both families aren’t present, and the person with the highest status here is Rong Tang alone. At this time, he is clearly seen to be censuring, and everyone who regards him is somewhat confused.

It has only been three months, yet the previously stupid and foolish da ge/tang ge* who they’ve been teasing behind his back has changed. The vigour revealed beneath his sickly appearance actually hides the edge of a sharp sword. The Shizi Fei sitting next to him has been gently and tactfully serving him tea and wiping the table from beginning to end, without any intention to mediate the situation.

Younger sister Rong Ning and Rong Zheng are from the same mother. She purses her lips upon seeing this and looks around anxiously. Ultimately, she still turns her gaze to Su Huaijing, seeking his help. She pretty much begged and called out softly, “Saosao…”

Rong Tang glances over and is about to retaliate when Shuang Shou brought over the brewed tea. Su Huaijing takes it and pours another cup of tea for Rong Tang. Then he turns to Rong Zheng and smiles: “The two slabs of smoky ink sent by er di are very good. I never had time to say thank you for your trouble.”

Rong Zheng is stunned for a moment, not being able to grapple with his abrupt kindness. Rong Ning, next to him—anxious for his improvement—stamped him with her foot. Only then did Rong Zheng react and say hurriedly, “Saosao needn’t be polite. If saosao likes it, I’ll go to the bookstore tomorrow and buy two slabs to gift to you.”

Su Huaijing smiled and said nothing. Rong Tang threw him a disapproving look, then turned back to Rong Zheng. Rong Zheng immediately said: “Earlier, I mentioned that His Highness the Third Prince is going to hold a flower-picking festival and invite all the noble scholars and talented ladies of the capital. I’m just asking my didis and meimeis if they want to go. No matter how brave didi is, I truly don’t dare discuss state affairs. Xiong zhang has really wronged me.”

Rong Tang glances coldly at him. “Is that so?”

Rong Zheng feels panicked for no reason, being stared at by him, but he grits his teeth and responds, “Indeed, it is.”

He worries that Rong Tang will dig another hole for him to fall into like he’s done a few times before, and he is racking his brains thinking about it. Unexpectedly, after hearing the inquiry, Rong Tang merely looked away indolently and said softly, “If so, then it’s fine.”

Rong Zheng was stumped for a long time, and Rong Ning pulled him aside.

Rong Mingyu and Rong Mingli haven’t come over yet. Everyone else is gathering at the table next to them, amusing the children. They scarcely realises that at the main table, Rong Tang’s displeasure has dissipated a little after he took a sip of tea. However, he is still unhappy and looks askance at Su Huaijing while asking, “What are you doing for him?”

He heard it before he arrived. What Rong Zheng was talking about is clearly the matter of the second prince receiving another commendation from Emperor Renshou, even to the extent that the Emperor ordered the Second Prince to head to the patrol camp for training every three days. He also specifically implied that this was an imperial favour granted to His Highness, the Crown Prince. The whole family knows that Rong Zheng is close to the second prince. He is simply intimidating people by flaunting his powerful connections. These words made him even more suspicious of coveting the position of Crown Prince. That means if Rong Yuan is not around, then Rong Zheng will be waiting to die. It wasn’t wrong for Rong Tang to ply him with difficult questions.

But Su Huaijing actually helped him, which made Rong Tang a little unhappy.

Su Huaijing gently coaxed him and said in a very soft voice, “She called me saosao.”

Rong Tang’s eyes quivered for a moment, then converged again in an instant. He frowned and glared at him. “When she calls you saosao, you help her. Then why don’t you help me when I call you Husband?”

These words are somewhat deliberately provocative. Su Huaijing blinked his eyes and said most innocently, “But Tangtang has indeed never ever called me Husband aaa.”

Rong Tang is slightly stunned, so Su Huaijing counted them one by one: “Tangtang proposed marriage to me, married me into the household, gave me pocket money, bought me a house, ordered a carriage for me.….. But honest to goodness, you’ve never once called me Husband, furen*, or qizi* aaa.”

(*TN: furen and qizi are both translated as “wife”, although furen is more formal and can also be translated as “madam”, “lady” or “mrs.”. Qizi is a more intimate form of address.)

“Tangtang, you married me simply because you to pity me?” Su Huaijing asks, gazing at him with his eyes lowered, feeling a heavy sense of déjà vu.

[Oh I see——] The system silently watched the performance. [Host, the villain has learned your trick.]

Rong Tang: “…”

I now regret it very much, truly.

–

No sooner had she set foot into the hall did Wang Xiuyu notice a different atmosphere on both sides.

Rong Zheng, along with his younger brothers and sisters, are teasing his three-year-old cousin Rong Yao from their extended family. Except for Rong Yuan and his eldest son from the second branch of the family, Rong Zhe, who hasn’t arrived yet, all six remaining people has their eyes fixed on Rong Yao. They would rather be beaten to death than glance at the main table.

There are two people sitting at the main table. Rong Tang is wearing a goose-yellow spring garment today, making him appear very delicate and bright. Wang Xiuyu feels happy just looking at him. Tangtang’s newly-married wife is sitting next to him wearing an emerald green outfit. The fabric is the same as Rong Tang’s. It is the cloud-pattern brocade previously bestowed by Empress Wang.

The two of them are close together and appear like a beautiful couple, no matter how you look at them. The smile on Wang Xiuyu’s face deepened. She then saw Su Huaijing bend down slightly in an obedient and cute manner, raising his head to look up at Rong Tang. There is a smile on his face; all that is reflected in his gaze is Rong Tang. There are more imperceptible traces of rarely-seen redness on Tangtang’s usually pale face as he stared back with a very erudite expression.

Although they are staring at each other, the two of them are pressed extremely close to each other, and the atmosphere is quite intense.

Wang Xiuyu didn’t think much about it for a while; she just stood there, observing in silence. The rims of her eyes inadvertently began heating up.

On the day of the wedding, Hua Qin had gone to the bride’s room with the xipo. She is very aware of the close relationship between her Eldest Young Master and the bridegroom.

These days, sir’s kindness to the Eldest Young Master is as clear as day to everyone within the house. As such, when she noticed her Wang Fei’s expression, she knew what she was thinking. Lowering her head, she smiled softly and consoled: “Wang Fei, look, the Young Master and Sir and are very affectionate.”

Wang Xiuyu nodded before looking up and suppressing her tears. She gave a light smile: “Naturally, the person Tangtang likes is good.”

As she spoke, Su Huaijing caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye, and he concealed a little of the excessive teasing in his gaze. After pointing it out to him in a low voice, Rong Tang turned his head. Then two of them stood up together and took a few steps towards the Wang Fei.

Rong Tang smiled sweetly and said, “Mother.”

Su Huaijing followed his greeting: “Mother.”

“Aai, aai.” Wang Xiuyu replied repeatedly. She brought both of them, one on each side, back to the main table. At the second table, Rong Zheng hesitates whether or not to go over. Wang Xiuyu said warmly, “No need to stand on formality. Wait until your fathers arrive, then you can sit down.”

Rong Zheng truly couldn’t go over.

If she had witnessed this scene in the past, Wang Xiuyu would probably assume that Rong Tang was being ostracised by them. She recalls the scene she saw just now when she entered the door and the expression on Rong Zheng’s face when he heard her say that he didn’t need to sit down. He’d snuck a glance at Rong Tang before breathing a sigh of relief. Wang Xiuyu has an unrealistic guess.

She felt a little outrageous as she asked in a low voice, “You’ve bullied your younger brothers and sisters?”

Rong Tang said, “Mother is wrongly accusing me; how can I bully people?”

Su Huaijing felt he is cute when he noticed his aggrieved expression. He tilted his head and quietly laughed.

Wang Xiuyu looked at her son and then at her daughter-in-law. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that these two people aren’t expressing hidden meanings, but she didn’t know who to believe for a moment.

After changing her mind, she decides to trust her daughter-in-law, but she doesn’t blame Rong Tang. Instead, she whispers, “This is a good thing. Mother is always worried that you’ll be bullied.”

Consequently, Rong Tang can’t sustain his pretend grievance any longer. He then thought of the debt he owed to Wang Xiuyu for not caring enough about her in his previous two lives and felt a little guilty.

But before this guilty conscience had enough time to ferment, his hand that’s he placed on his leg is held by someone. The smile on Su Huaijing’s face faded. His voice was soft but somewhat resolute: “Don’t worry, Mother, I won’t allow Tangtang to be bullied by anyone.”

Rong Tang puzzlingly lowered his head and eyes the hand holding his own.

There are still no calluses, and it feels warm and clean to the touch. Rong Tang stares blankly at it for a while and inexplicably senses that Su Huaijing’s words were true.

What’s more… he seems to have heard similar words before.

–

The Third Prince is the most refined among the sons of Emperor Renshou. Some readers speculate that it might be because he is the third in line; similar to the three sons of the late emperor, he has considerable accomplishments in the realms of art and culture.

Ever since the Third Prince left the imperial palace himself and established his own residence, he has held a flower-picking festival every spring. The third flower-picking festival was held on the fourth month of the eleventh year of Qingzheng, which both Rong Tang and the male protagonist attended.

During that time, the imperial court was already quite turbulent. Earl Wukang’s entire family was exterminated, and the Second Prince was expelled and exiled. Su Huaijing walked out from behind the scenes to the forefront and stood in the court as a commoner. He then entered the imperial censorate to oversee the officials and gradually became Emperor Renshou’s confidant.

Sheng Chengli was seventeen-years-old, which is exactly Su Huaijing’s age now, but he was much more spirited, bold, and radiant than the main villain compared to his current situation of compromising due to being wronged.

He stood at the centre of the whirlpool of struggle for the heir position. With the help of Rong Tang and his numerous confidants, he already possessed a lot of power in his hands, and his thoughts became increasingly profound and unpredictable.

But in Rong Tang’s eyes, he was always the little prince in the cold palace who gazed all over the sky and prayed for someone to take him out.

Rong Tang couldn’t remember exactly what happened at that time. It was likely due to differences in political opinions. After New Year’s Eve in the eleventh year of Qingzheng’s reign, this kind of situation happened several times, and each time it ended with Sheng Chengli relenting voluntarily. Therefore, Rong Tang didn’t realise that some relationships have changed long ago.

He and Sheng Chengli got into a dispute in a corner at the flower-picking festival, and the male protagonist stormed off in a huff. Rong Tang stared entranced at a pink peony in front of him. During this period, several people came and went, including the male protagonist, as well as the Sixth Prince and other princes.

They all witnessed the quarrel between Rong Tang and Sheng Chengli, either ridiculing or pretending to win over each other. Rong Tang dealt with them one by one. It wasn’t until he heard another set of footsteps from beside him that he finally felt a little annoyed and turned to leave. However, the man behind him called out, causing him to halt: “Your Highness likes this peony?”

Rong Tang’s movements pause slightly, and he recognises Su Huaijing’s voice.

It was the first time he’d transmigrated. His relationship with Su Huaijing was very peculiar. They were neither acquainted with nor familiar with each other. Rong Tang clearly knows that this man was a round that must be defeated in his mission, and he also knows that his existence is the catalyst that led to the total destruction of the world. Therefore, he had no intention of acting in front of him, regardless of his own abilities.

He possesses a “Divine Perspective”, but he can’t view Su Huaijing’s position or hear his plotting. When all is said and done, Rong Tang still has scruples with regards to him.

But despite his scruples, he cannot deny that, deep down, Rong Tang is a person who admires strength.

He has never interacted with Su Huaijing before. The butterfly effect occurred in the original plot, and many storylines have somewhat deviated. Reasonably speaking, everything is undetermined. But unexpectedly, Huaijing could figure out his moves, and Rong Tang could guess his plans. Beneath the night sky and under circumstances where they’d never met before, they sat on both sides of an empty chessboard in the candlelight, guessing where each other’s next move would be. They then engulfed or surrounded each other, encircling territories and waiting for opportunities to counterattack.

Rong Tang actually… somewhat enjoys this type of mutual understanding.

Su Huaijing didn’t look at him, merely lowering his eyes to admire the peony with a trace of a smile on his lips. He appeared to be a jade-like young man and as gentle as water. He stood as the strictest censor in the world, in control of countless punishments, yet he is only a youth of no more than nineteen years old. At the age when he is at his most dazzling, he can only walk alone into an ever-darkening world and let hatred consume him.

Rong Tang turned around and didn’t leave. He shook his head and said, “It’s not that I like it.”

He paused for a moment, and before he uttered the next word, Su Huaijing smiled and continued, “Just because it happens to bloom here?”

Rong Tang was slightly startled. He fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

It was only because he needed to find a secluded corner to communicate with Sheng Chengli. It was just that his thoughts were in upheaval, his body wasn’t feeling well, his mood wasn’t good, and he couldn’t walk. As it turned out, a peony plant was blooming here.

There wasn’t any other special reason.

Too many people in this world are fond of speculating on other people’s opinions. If they could, they would want to disassemble each sentence and each move, unravelling the cocoon bit by bit, so as to give meaning to every syllable and action.

But, in fact, many things do not have a reason.

He would look at the peony only because it just happened to be there.

Dusk was dark. At twilight, lights illuminated the courtyard, and the distant sky was filled with a myriad of colours. Rong Tang stood before a peony blossom, silently observing its blooming under the evening glow with the main villain in this novel world, and witnessed the starry curtain being drawn up in the night sky. The universe is immense and vast, yet they stalled for a peony that happened to be in full bloom.

After a long time, Su Huaijing said, “If you’ve been bullied, Your Highness can seek me out.”

Rong Tang didn’t understand. Firstly, he didn’t feel that he’d been bullied. Secondly, he was very puzzled by these abrupt words from the main villain.

The starry sky is magnificent, and the flowers are covered by the vast night. Su Huaijing looked away and smiled at him, his thin lips raising slightly. His gaze appeared bright and seemed to reflect the stars. Rong Tang heard him say, “You seem to be a very interesting person. Sometimes I think that it’s good for you to be standing opposite me, just to keep things from getting too boring.”

Rong Tang’s eyes widened a little in disbelief.

At that time, Su Huaijing was a close confidant and a notable favourite of Emperor Renshou’s. Many people wanted to curry favour with him. Consequently, he remains completely defenceless and playfully tells Rong Tang in a courtyard filled with people coming and going: Our positions are different.

How different should the positions be? Everyone wants to seek the throne in the grand hall of the imperial palace.

It’s just that you want to burn it to the ground, but I want to revise the order.

Rong Tang suppressed his emotions and released a laugh: “You jest, Excellency Su. All this subordinate and you think about is Dayu’s continued prosperity, that’s all.”

Su Huaijing smiled, his gaze retracted from his face, and he shifted it back to the peony.

Rong Tang couldn’t remain any longer, and he departed after a while. Before completely leaving that corner, he caught a glimpse of Su Huaijing plucking the flower and glancing at the moonlight.

Su Huaijing’s voice was very soft and on the verge of whispering. Rong Tang heard him say, “But sometimes I feel that you should stand together with me.”

The sound was rather far away, and Rong Tang couldn’t hear it clearly, but he inwardly felt a little disconcerted. The flower-picking festival was very lively, with the participation of all the scholarly talents and fair ladies from the capital. There were many banquets in a day. Rong Tang left the corner where the peony bloomed and immersed himself in the chaotic banquet. He found Sheng Chengli and told him, one by one, who he ought to associate with there. It was as if the previous quarrel never occurred.

Rong Tang has always been in poor health, and he only seems to be doing well on the surface because he has completed tasks and is able to spend system coins in exchange for some life-extending medicine. However, in order to pave the way for the protagonist, he still drank at the banquet that night.

Dizzy and muddled, he found it difficult to recall anyone ever giving him a second choice, or perhaps his position was never his own to choose.

Rong Tang returned to his room inebriated. There was tea on the square table, which was already cold, but it was perfect for relieving hangovers. Rong Tang subconsciously drank a cup. When he woke up, there was a loud alarm ringing in his head, telling him that the mission had failed.

Rong Tang thought of the peony that had been plucked by Su Huaijing and fell into a prolonged struggle, unable to break free from the conflicting vortex. It wasn’t until the system revealed that the poison wasn’t administered by Su Huaijing that Rong Tang withdrew himself from the trauma of dying right after conversing with the main villain in his previous life.

–

And the current seventeen-year-old Su Huaijing, with an innocent smile and his hand gently on his own, promised Wang Xiuyu softly, “I won’t allow Tangtang to be bullied by anyone.”

Rong Tang doesn’t know how he should think right now. He glances blankly at Su Huaijing. Su Huaijing smiles at him, and Rong Tang looked away in panic.

In his first life, Su Huaijing said, ‘If you’ve been bullied, you can seek me out.’ In the second life, when he saw Rong Tang’s body, he said, ‘What a pity, just bury him.’

Rong Tang has suffered too much unfair treatment. When he’d just come back in this life, he felt that the main villain was a rather good person and was willing to give him a burial place. But now he suddenly remembers, in the beginning—in the very beginning, the turning point that had made Rong Tang change his mind and get close to Su Huaijing—and he suddenly felt a little bewildered.

In the last transmigration, Su Huaijing had coldly said, “What a pity.” What exactly was he pitying?

How is it possible that, without any prior interaction, he could silently approach him, gaze at a flower, and then extend an olive branch, only to later, after enjoying moments together like appreciating the moon, lantern-gazing, and chatting over drinks, witness his lifeless body and casually remark, “What a pity?”

Did Su Huaijing encounter something else that he wasn’t aware of, or did he do something that caused him disappointment?

The uncertainty in Rong Tang’s eyes was so profound that Su Huaijing subconsciously frowned and tightened his grip. His voice was very soft, but revealed a hint of inexplicable danger: “Tangtang, what are you thinking about?”

Rong Tang came to his senses, shook his head, and inadvertently denied, “It’s nothing.”

He removed his hand and picked up the teacup on the table in passing, bringing it to his lips. He drank in small sips, pretending not to notice Su Huaijing’s increasingly gloomy look.

Wang Xiuyu is still immersed in what Su Huaijing had just said and didn’t perceive the sudden change in the atmosphere between the two people. Her gratitude-filled gaze is directed at Su Huaijing.

The three of them have different emotions. This subtle atmosphere was disrupted when Rong Mingyu, Rong Mingli, and his wife crossed the threshold.

When the head of the family enters, everyone should take their seats. Those who were still amusing themselves at the second table respectfully waited for the elders to take their seats before then occupying their own seats.

There are ten people seated at the main table, including Rong Mingyu, Rong Mingli, his wife, the eldest son of the main branch, Rong Tang, Su Huaijing, Rong Zheng, Rong Yuan, the eldest son of the second branch, Rong Zhe, and the eldest daughter, Rong Ying.

When the dishes were served, Rong Mingyu spoke a few words for social occasions before letting everyone begin eating.

Rong Mingyu behaved kindly and lovingly, occasionally showing interest in the studies of the younger generation. Rong Tang gazed at him and couldn’t stop his thoughts from turning to the one sitting on the dragon throne, which caused his appetite to drop a lot.

Although Su Huaijing was agitated by Rong Tang’s sudden avoidance earlier, he still paid close attention to his eating. Observing that he barely moved his chopsticks, he understood. He leaned over and asked softly, “Do you want to eat hot pot?”

Rong Tang’s eyes brightened, and he turned to look at Su Huaijing.

Su Huaijing’s irritated state of mind was obliterated by these glittering eyes. He smiled and whispered, “I’ll bring you out in a while. Shudao Pavilion has reopened in the past few days, and it is open at night.”

Rong Tang instantly nodded. He no longer feels like eating the food on the table. All he can think about is going out for supper later.

The family banquet in Duke Ningxuan’s Palace isn’t just a simple meal. There are many juniors in residence. In Rong Tang’s generation alone, there are four boys who are able to enter the court, so the allocation of resources is especially important.

They are much luckier than the students who intend to pursue an official career through the imperial examination. If they want to enter court as a government official, their parents’ only need to open their mouths and establish connections, and then they can get a position and enjoy the salary of the court, just like Ding Laibao.

But this is not a proper path after all, so although there are children in the family who are over fifteen, except for Rong Tang, who is often sick, the rest of them have not taken this path. They have their own other paths, like Rong Zheng’s friendship with the Second Prince. In fact, it is actually the result of Rong Mingyu’s indirect permission, to some extent.

Establishing contact with the prince via his family background and then entering the court via the prince is the path that a majority of descendants from noble families will choose.

Today’s banquet, of course, mentioned the flower-picking festival. In fact, among this generation of the Rong family, it was Rong Yuan who has a good relationship with the Third Prince.

——This is exactly where Rong Mingyu is so brilliant.

He cannot openly side with any prince in particular. Currently, among the living sons of Emperor Renshou, only the Second Prince and the Third Prince have reached the age where they can leave the imperial palace and establish a residence. The emperor tacitly permits them to cultivate power in secret, and Rong Mingyu allows his sons to each follow one of them.

Once Emperor Renshou is no longer willing to let the princes wield too much power, Rong Mingyu will immediately put an end to his sons’ personal relationships with the princes. Anyway, he always acts according to the Emperor’s ideas and has never gone beyond the rules.

But today, it is Rong Zheng who Rong Mingyu asked: “The Third Highness is holding a flower-picking festival; are you going?”

Rong Zheng was dazed for a moment and instinctively looked at Rong Mingyu.

Duke Ningxuan always has a mildly indifferent expression, and it is difficult to detect any emotion from his face, but Rong Zheng’s intuition told him that this question is dangerous.

He hesitated for a second before replying honestly: “The day before yesterday, His Highness the Second Prince had just invited me to go with him.”

“Is that right?” Intentional or not, Rong Mingyu threw him a glance, and a cold light shone in his eyes. Rong Zheng knew that his perception of danger wasn’t baseless. He lowered his head as a chill ran through his hands and feet. His throat tightened as he said, “Yes.”

Rong Mingyu didn’t say anything, and the atmosphere at the table became somewhat stagnant. Rong Tang picked up a piece of peach blossom cake with the serving chopsticks and placed it on the plate in front of Su Huaijing. He said softly to him, “This was made by a chef from Jiangnan. It’s very sweet; do you want to try it?”

Su Huaijing wanted to laugh and raised his eyes to look at Rong Tang. He then lowered his head obediently and, in one bite, bit off half of the peach blossom cake, with the pastry falling off.

Rong Mingyu didn’t continue to exude that terrifying intimidation. Instead, he glanced at Rong Tang thoughtfully before turning to ask his Wang Fei, “I heard from the doctor that Tang’er’s health has improved a lot these days.”

Wang Xiuyu smiled and said, “It’s much better. He rarely faints these days. Huaijing is Tang’er’s lucky star.”

Rong Tang didn’t look at them, and the edge of his eyebrows twitched a little. Su Huaijing lowered his left hand to tug on him reassuringly.

Rong Mingyu then said, “In this case, let Tang’er and Huaijing attend the flower-picking festival together. They can also relieve their boredom.” He turned to Rong Zheng, “You have to take good care of your brother and sister-in-law, you know?”

He didn’t even need to ask Rong Tang and Su Huaijing if they wanted to go; instead, he straightaway made a decision. Rong Zheng hurriedly agreed and secretly released a sigh of relief. The look in Rong Tang’s eyes grew lazier and lazier. Su Huaijing didn’t touch his chopsticks anymore after eating the piece of peach blossom pastry.

After the family banquet was over, the two went back to Tanghua Courtyard to change clothes. Just as they were about to head out, Shuang Fu informed them that Rong Zheng had come to visit.

Rong Tang was in a hurry to go out and didn’t want to receive guests, but Su Huaijing said, “Listen to what he has to say.”

Rong Zheng didn’t come empty-handed; on the contrary, he’s prepared a heavy gift.

Two block of fine Wenfu ink ingots, a pair of Taicang writing brushes, a goblet of osmanthus wine from Pinnanxuan, and a Buddhist scripture from Tuolan Temple.

Shuang Fu and Shuang Shou looked dumbstruck. They’ve never seen the Second Young Master be so respectful to their Young Master. However, Rong Tang’s interest is lacking. Only when he caught sight of the ink ingots and the brushes did his eyebrows relax a little, and he raised his eyes to look at Rong Zheng. “Er di, what’s the meaning of this?”

Rong Zheng clasps his hands and gave a most respectful bow: “Didi thanks xiong and sao very much for helping me out of that predicament.”

Su Huaijing is packing up the things Rong Tang wants to bring when he goes out: a tea set, hand warmer, cape, and so on. He shows no intention of getting involved. Rong Tang stared profoundly at Rong Zheng for a while and said in a languid tone, “Er di, how old are you this year?”

Rong Zheng replied, “Seventeen.”

Rong Tang glanced at Su Huaijing subconsciously, recalling that he is also seventeen. One is so astute and abstruse that he can’t see through at all, and the other is so pitifully stupid yet thinking that he is smart.

That’s not right, either. He’s not stupid beyond hope. At least he still knows how to come to his courtyard and give thank-you presents.

Rong Tang said: “Since er di is seventeen, you ought to know which words can and cannot be uttered, what can and cannot be done. In a place as big as this palace, there are many people and mixed views. Even if you are in your own courtyard, you have to be careful what you say. How can you get carried away to that extent?”

Even if Rong Yuan and Rong Zheng weren’t present at the time, there were many staff serving in the hall. Even if they weren’t Rong Yuan’s people, doesn’t Rong Mingyu have a few confidants to keep an eye on the movements in the house for him?

Rong Zheng is exactly the same as the Second Prince: filled with pride when gaining a little achievement and speaking without thinking.

Rong Tang actually doesn’t want to help him, but then he considered it. Su Huaijing has just helped Rong Zheng before they’d started eating, so it wouldn’t matter if he just adds another “buff” for Su Huaijing.

Besides, Su Huaijing has already established contact with the Second Prince. Even if he doesn’t have contact with the Second Prince’s party as an advisor in the early stages, he will always be drawn to the forefront by Sheng Chengming in the future.

Letting Rong Zheng sincerely revere him now isn’t a bad thing.

Rong Tang stared silently at Rong Zheng, and the latter’s face heated up. He cupped his hands into fists. “Xiong zhang is right to guide me.”

The eldest son of Duke Ningxuan has always been a fool, and the eldest son of the second branch has meagre authority. In the palace, Rong Zheng has always been regarded as another eldest son and is used to being praised by others. Apart from his father, he’s never been reprimanded like this. But as soon as he heard it, it turns out that there isn’t as much resentment as he initially assumed.

When Rong Tang caught sight his expression, Rong Tang inwardly thought that the person who named him was truly a genius. After hitting him with a stick, he feeds him a sweet jujube.

Rong Tang lightly coughed twice and softened his tone: “You also know that I am a sickly person who doesn’t have long to live. In the future, the palace will have to rely on you to support it. If you don’t grow up, what’s going to happen to your mother and meimei in the future?”

Rong Zheng’s expression turned to shock, and he looked at Rong Tang in disbelief, but Rong Tang waved his hand and said, “You can head back. I will accept these gifts. Your saosao likes the Four Treasures of the Study very much. Thank you.”

Rong Zheng’s thoughts are whirling in his mind, and he spoke as soon as he was motivated: “It’s not troublesome. They are all small trinkets that can be bought with money. If da sao really likes it, in the future, didi will deliver the stationery needs for Tanghua Courtyard on time every month.”

Rong Tang lowered his head and raised his eyebrows a little. He is at least a little happy, but it doesn’t show on his face. After waiting for him to walk out the door, he turned in delight to Su Huaijing, “I cheated some treasures for you again!”

He possesses a lot of assets, but he still takes advantage of others, especially Rong Zheng’s. Rong Tang feels especially cheerful. After saying that, he gathered his clothes and urged Su Huaijing to go out to eat hot pot with him. He didn’t notice that Shuang Fu and Shuang Shou had left at some point.

Su Huaijing also stopped packing things. The anger that had been suppressed and risen continuously all night finally couldn’t be stifled any longer.

He came over with the cloak and lowered his head to put it on for Rong Tang. Their heads are leaning against each other’s, and their breaths intertwined. Rong Tang feels uneasy and turns to the side, but Su Huaijing’s hand tightens suddenly, and he used the action of tying the knot of the cloak to force Rong Tang to face him.

There is a smile on the corner of the main villain’s lips, but there are surging waves in his gaze.

He appears to be gently helping Rong Tang tie his collar, but it seems like he is trying to slowly strangle him to death.

Rong Tang belatedly senses some danger. His hoarse voice calls softly, “Su Huaijing? What’s going on with you?”

Su Huaijing’s eyes fell on Rong Tang’s Adam’s apple, which is rolling up and down as he speaks. His fingertips lightly twists the collar of his cloak, but he exercises great restraint and refrained from reaching out and squeezing it.

He said in a slightly calm voice, “Tangtang, I don’t like hearing what you just said.”

Rong Tang is a little stunned, unable to think of what he’s said to make the main villain displeased. Su Huaijing smiles, his eyes as gentle as ever, and his voice is tender: “Coax me.”

“If you coax me, I won’t be angry.”

The author has something to say:

In the first place, our Tangtang doesn’t know why daughter-in-law is angry. Miserable, Tangtang, miserable.

---