After the imperial examination, the court of Dayu ushered in another blood transfusion. The situation in the capital became more and more confusing, and undercurrents were everywhere beneath the calm surface.
At the end of April, Rong Tang returned to Ningxuan Palace as usual.
Qian's baby was about to be full-term, but he was still a little worried.
Rong Tang originally wanted to take the princess to Yong'an Lane to stay temporarily, but firstly, the lack of a mistress in the palace might cause criticism, and secondly, Wang Xiuyu herself was unwilling to leave.
There was no other way, Rong Tang could only go back regularly and ask Doctor Lin to check her pulse every time, to prevent any negligence from causing the same ending as in the previous two lives.
But it is not known whether it was because the eldest princess moved back to the palace that Rong Mingyu and Qian Shi restrained themselves, or whether Wang Xiuyu herself came to her senses and delegated power to the second room, so that they would have less work to do. In short, she was in good health, and apart from the stubborn illness left over from childbirth in her early years, she had almost no problems worth worrying about.
Rong Tang was about to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing these words, but Wang Xiuyu curved her eyebrows and said to the doctor, "Take Tang'er's pulse too."
So the situation would often turn into the old doctor frowning while taking the patient's pulse, and together with the princess, he would remind Rong Tang, the real patient, to take good care of himself and not to worry too much.
Su Huaijing usually kept silent at this time. No matter how many times Rong Tang looked at him and asked him to help, he pretended not to see it. He might even agree with the doctor and ask him what he thought about Rong Tang's physical condition, leaving Young Master Rong alone to be attacked from all sides.
Rong Tang regretted why he instigated this incident, but when he returned home next time, he would still ask a doctor to take Wang Xiuyu's pulse.
There was nothing he could do. He couldn't just watch the original owner's mother make the same mistake again.
It happened that Su Huaijing was on vacation that day, so Rong Tang took him back home to have lunch with the princess.
Afterwards, he returned to Tanghua Courtyard for a short rest, and Su Huaijing went to the eldest princess's courtyard.
Early summer is lazy and perfect for a nap. The chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects outside the yard are all soothing music.
Rong Tang woke up and Su Huaijing had not returned yet. He relaxed in the yard and slowly walked along the path to the garden, wanting to breathe some fresh air.
The age difference of the children of this generation in Ningxuan Palace is not big. Except for the four-year-old little brother of the second room and the unborn baby in Qian's belly, the others are around 20 years old. They are all brothers and sisters who have grown up together since childhood.
But no one can tell exactly how much kinship there is.
Rong Tang walked to the garden and saw two figures standing by the pond. He paused and was about to leave when one of them turned around and called out in surprise, "Brother, are you back home?"
There was no other choice, Rong Tang could only go over there with gritted teeth.
They are Rong Ning, the younger sister from the eldest house, and Rong Ying, the eldest sister from the second house.
After a few people greeted each other, Rong Ning smiled and started to talk about some topics. She was always lively, and was spoiled by Rong Mingyu and Rong Zheng, so she naturally had a naivety that was not familiar with the world.
Compared to her, Rongying appears to be much more mature and stable.
Rong Tang looked at her and always felt that this time they met, her face had a hint of gentle sadness.
He was distracted for a moment, thinking of a plot that was briefly mentioned in the original book.
Queen Wang's legitimate son died young, the Empress Dowager had no children, and the Emperor had no legitimate son. The harem faction was apparently divided into three, forming a three-way balance of power, and was closely related to the previous dynasty.
Queen Wang relies on the Wang family of Jiangnan, Concubine Hui relies on Generalissimo Xia Jingyi, and Concubine Yi relies on Lord Zhang.
The former dynasty checked and balanced each other, while the harems were independent in their own way.
Concubine Hui gave birth to the third and sixth princes, Concubine Yi was the biological mother of the second prince, and the fourth prince's mother, Concubine Ruyuan, was a maidservant by her side. The empress, who had no children, seemed particularly embarrassed.
Although Concubine Fang was on good terms with the Queen, and the Seventh Prince she gave birth to had a tendency to be adopted by the Queen and become the Empress's legitimate son, on the one hand, the position of legitimate son was respected, and adoption was not that simple; on the other hand, Concubine Fang was a mother after all, and was actually unwilling to adopt her child to someone else.
Strictly speaking, the three-way balance of power in the harem is more like a bubble on the lake, which will burst with a slight poke.
This illusion lasted until Concubine Yi became pregnant again and was about to give birth to a dragon fetus, but it was on the verge of being completely shattered.
Rong Mingyu expressed his sincerity to his wife and came up with the idea of sending his niece to the palace as a concubine to assist Queen Wang.
But before everything was arranged, Wu Kangbo's rebellion was exposed, Concubine Yi was demoted, Zhang Ge Lao begged for his death, the Second Prince's party could never rise again, and the Fourth Prince died soon. Emperor Renshou gave the newly born Eighth Prince to the Queen. The Queen now had a legitimate son in name only, which saved Rong Ying from entering the palace.
Rongying is the same age as Rongtang, but because she is two months older, Rongtang has to call her cousin.
Girls in Dayu can choose a husband and get married at the age of fifteen. Powerful families do not want their daughters to marry off too early, so it is common for them to keep them at home for a few more years, but usually no more than twenty years old.
The second wife has not yet found a husband for her eldest daughter. I guess Rong Mingyu's plan has been made known to them.
Because this had not happened in the previous two lives, Rong Tang had not thought too much about it. But in this life, the butterfly flew too fast and too far, so that even he didn't know how it would turn out in the end.
If the person who was destined to die is rescued, will the flowers, which were originally alive by instinct, wither
Rong Tang frowned slightly and looked at Rong Ying calmly.
A maid came trotting over from the other corner of the garden, saying that the second young master had returned home and brought a lot of outside toys for the young lady, and called Rong Ning to go and see.
The little girl was so happy that she turned around to look for her brother. As soon as she turned around, she turned around and asked her cousin, "Sister, will you come with me?"
Rong Ying smiled and said, "I'll chat with Atang for a while."
Rong Ning didn't think about it and went back to his yard in high spirits.
A few early lotus flowers have bloomed in the pond, and lush green dragonflies are landing everywhere.
Rong Ning was staring at the lake, wondering what she was thinking. Rong Tang did not interrupt her, but waited patiently for her to speak until Rong Ying asked, "Which bond do you think is deeper, blood relationship or clan genealogy?"
Rong Tang was stunned, looking at the original owner's cousin without quite understanding. The latter had beautiful eyebrows and a pair of sharp eyes as she looked at the rippling lake. The corners of her lips were slightly curled with a smile, which was both gentle and generous.
Rong Tang asked: "Why do you want to make a comparison?"
A trace of confusion flashed across Rong Ying's face. It was clearly a question she had asked herself, but she was also the one who felt confused: "I don't know either. I just suddenly became curious."
Rong Tang asked her tentatively: "But is there anything at home that worries you?"
Rong Ying paused for a moment, then smiled and shook her head: "How could there be anything that could upset me?"
She is the nominal eldest daughter of the Ningxuan Palace. Her father is the Minister of Rites, her uncle is the Ningxuan Prince, and her grandmother is the noble Princess Duanyi of Dayu. She is born with dignity.
Rong Tang was startled, because she had a bit of arrogance on her face when she said this, and she was even more confident and assertive that she herself didn't even notice. That was a temperament that belonged to Rong Ying alone, in addition to her gentleness and generosity.
Rong Zheng said, "My uncle is cautious, and so are all my second cousins."
But behind such caution is extraordinary wisdom.
Rongying may be much smarter than her younger brothers.
Because of this, Rong Tang's rather parasitic and escapist mentality trembled slightly at this moment. He hesitated for two seconds and did not follow Rong Ying's words to skip this topic. Instead, he asked her: "Why hasn't my cousin married yet?"
This question was extremely abrupt. In that feudal era when men and women were strictly separated, even cousins would not express their doubts so directly. So Rongying's face froze for a moment and she looked at Rongtang in surprise.
The latter did not evade at all, met her eyes, and asked softly: "Haven't you found a suitable family, or do you not want to get married?"
He couldn't ask Rongying directly if she was waiting to enter the palace, but this sentence made the meaning clear. If Rongying was really a smart person, she should understand what he was asking.
There was silence all around, and no one was talking. The summer lotus was swaying in the wind, and the emerald green frogs were jumping nimbly on the lotus leaves. Every jump caused countless water droplets to fall into the lake, creating ripples.
Rong Ying stared at Rong Tang for a long time, and her eyes suddenly turned light red.
But the red spot was gone in an instant. Rong Ying had already turned her head and looked at an unknown spot on the lake. Or maybe it was just the trace of sunlight shining on the waves. She said softly, "Even if you are as famous and talented as grandma, how can you decide your marriage?"
Rong Tang remained silent, making sure that she already knew Rong Mingyu's plan.
"If you don't want to, no one can force you," he said.
Rong Ying smiled softly: "It's easy for Atang to say that. You are the prince, and the princess dotes on you so much. You have your own choice and will not be forced."
Rong Tang said: "The love and preferential treatment I received were all because of my poor health and my impending death. My mother knew that instead of putting pressure on me, it would be better to let me live a leisurely life for the next few years. That's why I am living a life that everyone thinks is 'free and easy'."
Rong Ying was stunned and turned to look at him.
When ordinary people say they are going to die, they are usually reluctant to give up. But in Rong Tang, she didn't see any reluctance at all. He was just stating an established fact in a normal way.
You can't change your fate, so just accept it.
But what he said next was completely different from this statement: "But it's different, cousin. You are the top female winner of this year's flower-picking competition. If there is a gentleman you like, you can marry into a good family with red dowry and green clothes. If not, do you have to obey your parents' orders and live in ignorance for decades?"
Rongying's expression changed suddenly and she looked at him in disbelief.
Rong Tang smiled slightly, removing some of his solemnity and seriousness, and said in a gentle voice: "My cousin's poem is very well written. Even if it is attributed to someone else's name, it is still admirable."
Compared with the previous year, the flower picking party in the tenth year of Qingzheng attracted more talented men and beautiful women in the capital.
It was the time of the imperial examination, and Yu Jing had attracted students from all over the country, who happened to come to witness this flourishing scene.
Rong Tang wasn't very interested, and Su Huaijing didn't have any vacation, so they simply didn't go.
It was Master Ke, who was good at dancing, who came back from Songyuan, fanning himself and said with a smile, "A female champion has emerged."
Not many people know that the first-place poem was written by Rong Ying, but how could Ke Hongxue be an ordinary person
Rong Tang read the Wing Chun poem at that time and felt that it contained heroic spirit hidden within its tenderness, a rare talent.
Now when he said this to Rong Ying, the latter stood there in a daze for a long time, with a flash of emotion in her eyes.
Rong Tang did not urge him, but he felt a little tired after standing for a long time, and began to shift his center of gravity quietly to relieve his fatigue.
Until Rong Ying calmed down and asked him: "If I don't want to... what should I do?"
Rong Tang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Grandma is a Buddhist, and the first day of the lunar year is coming soon. Cousin, why don't you ask Grandma if she wants to go to Tuolan Temple to light a stick of incense and eat vegetarian food for a few days to clear her mind. If the Buddha gives any instructions by then, I won't dare to disobey."
He spoke very lightly, without any consideration for the eldest princess's guilt and fear. Rong Ying stared at him in a daze for a long time, then suddenly laughed.
She said, "You have been said to be very smart since you were little, but it's a pity that you have been suffering from mental illness for many years. It's really admirable that you are well now. With your eloquence and strategies, I am beginning to look forward to a panacea to cure your stubborn illness."
Rong Tang nodded slightly: "I'll borrow my cousin's good words."
Rong Ying looked away for a moment, then quickly retracted her gaze and bowed to Rong Tang: "Thank you, brother. I have the answer to your question."
Rong Tang stopped and waited for the next words, but he heard footsteps behind him. As soon as he turned around, he bumped into Su Huaijing's chest.
Rong Ying lowered her head and smiled, then turned and left without giving Rong Tang an answer.
Rong Tang was stunned for a moment, and stretched out his hand, subconsciously wanting to chase Rong Ying, but Su Huaijing took the opportunity to hold his wrist and asked with a smile: "What did you say to your cousin?"
Rong Tang was helpless. When he turned his attention, Rong Ying had already walked away. He had no choice but to tell Su Huaijing, "My cousin asked me which was more important, blood relationship or clan genealogy, but I didn't know the answer. She just said she figured it out. I was about to ask when you came."
"…" Su Huaijing was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Tangtang wants to blame me again."
"I didn't." Rong Tang replied in a muffled voice, stamped his feet lightly to relieve the numbness from standing for so long, and wanted to walk back with Su Huaijing.
But Su Huaijing suddenly looked down, let go of his hand, took a step forward and squatted on the ground.
Rong Tang was startled: "What's wrong?"
The villain turned around and said, "Come up."
Rong Tang was stunned for a second, then immediately said: "It doesn't hurt that much."
Su Huaijing: "Then I'll carry you back?"
Rong Tang: “…” What kind of choice is this!
He looked around and felt like a thief in his own home, so he finally lay on Su Huaijing's back.
And after his legs were hanging in the air, he couldn't help but secretly cross his feet.
Well, it does hurt a bit, but it’s also really comfortable to have someone carry you home!
(End of this chapter)