Rong Tang traveled through time at the age of twenty, and experienced three lifetimes, three years, four years, and two years, a total of nine years, during which he suffered from no less than a hundred illnesses, big and small.
He had long been accustomed to milder symptoms such as colds, dizziness and weakness, and more serious symptoms such as coma and loss of control.
The system told him that this was a weakness inherent in the shell itself.
It is said that if he completes the task well, he can obtain system coins and exchange them for medicines to relieve pain and alleviate his condition.
After two lifetimes, Rong Tang firmly believed this.
So much so that on the eve of this serious illness, he felt the pain coming out of his bones, but he could still smile and say to the system: "It looks like there will be a heavy snow this year."
The body is linked to the four seasons. When the temperature drops suddenly and a snowstorm approaches the city, Rong Tang will get sick. Many elderly people in poor health will also get sick. This is normal and not worth worrying about.
It's just that if the pain is too severe, he has to tell Su Huaijing in advance to prevent him from worrying.
But the next day, Rong Tang got up as usual and had breakfast as usual. Su Huaijing was not at home because he was attending court, so he took a carriage to find Mu Jingxu.
Yuanyuan was practicing calligraphy and reading in the study, while Rongtang and Mu Jingxu were sitting in the main room, chatting by the fire, watching the sky outside the door getting gloomy and the winter snow was about to come.
Then Rong Tang stood up, and his head suddenly hurt extremely sharply for a moment, as if a thorny needle had pierced into his flesh and twisted it. He lost his balance and almost fell down.
Rong Tang quickly steadied himself, and under Mu Jingxu's surprised and worried gaze, he said with a smile, "I've been sitting for too long, and I feel dizzy."
Then they chatted for a while as if nothing had happened, turned around and said goodbye, and got on the carriage back home.
People were hurrying along the road, the sky was dark, and Rong Tang felt an inexplicable sense of emptiness and tension in his heart, and his emotions could not be calmed down.
Until a loud noise came from the north, which seemed to blow up the thick clouds, and the continuous and shrill sound of firecrackers echoed throughout the ten-mile Yujing.
The horse pulling the cart was frightened. Rong Tang was slightly stunned, and for some unknown reason, he suddenly calmed down.
He paused and asked the system softly, "Sheng Chengli's mansion is completed, right?"
The system's light ball was circling around Rong Tang anxiously. Hearing this, it lowered its voice, fearing that it would disturb the host, and also fearing that he would have a headache and couldn't hear clearly. It whispered, like a child who had done something wrong: [Yes, Tang Tang.]
Rong Tang closed his eyes and nodded: "Got it."
How should he explain these things? Rong Tang found himself increasingly unable to figure out and speculate.
The two clouds in my mind change every day, the changes are subtle but real.
The gray fog became clearer day by day, and one could almost see the system space hidden under the fog; the black fog also weakened day by day, as if it was eroded and diluted by the gray, until the thick black turned into gray, and the gray turned into transparent.
Rong Tang held on to this hope and waited for the day when it became completely transparent.
But after Wu Kangbo's rebellion, the gray fog on one side did become more transparent, but the darkness on the other side thickened and condensed again, as if it had received some help.
It was not until he went in and took a look that large patches of black fog began to extend their claws to the other side.
That was Sheng Chengli, Rong Tang was almost certain.
After the Wukangbo incident, Emperor Renshou became even more fond of the Fifth Prince. Even though it was a year late, the hero could still follow the path that God wanted him to take.
The second prince left the capital, the third prince was powerful, the fourth prince passed away, the sixth prince had the mandate of heaven, and the seventh and eighth princes were too weak to compete for the throne for the time being.
Whether for the purpose of saving the emperor or for the purpose of balancing the court, Sheng Xuyan needs the appearance of a prince like Sheng Chengli to be his target.
The black fog weakened because Sheng Chengli left Beijing; the black fog returned again because Sheng Chengli once again stood before the emperor and became his favorite prince.
Rong Tang couldn't help but think, what is he then
So what exactly are these pains he is experiencing
The system was running anxiously. Rong Tang closed his eyes and began to endure the pain silently as he did every time before.
It started snowing outside the window, and the rustling sound of horse hooves on the snow was very pleasant to hear.
Halfway across the capital city, a magnificent mansion was completed, indicating that the capital had gained a new noble.
-
Zhou Gang resigned, and the position of Chief Censor became vacant. This fact was tacitly acknowledged by almost everyone in the court and the country that Su Huaijing was in charge.
Inside the Imperial Censorate, several senior Imperial Censors were sorting out documents and said to each other with a smile, "His Highness the Fifth Prince's new house has been completed. What gifts have you prepared?"
"The Censorate must be fair and impartial. Your Excellency, you should not get too close to the prince."
"It's just a gift." The person who spoke first didn't take it seriously. "It's not a show of flattery or a camp. The new house is completed and we congratulate the prince on his coming of age. Your Majesty has tacitly approved of this. Why do you make it sound so serious?"
As he spoke, he turned his head and asked a person who had not participated in the conversation from beginning to end: "Master Su, what do you think?"
Su Huaijing remained calm, put down his brush, raised his eyes and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is kind and values family ties. There is really no need to raise this matter to the level of forming a clique for personal gain. If it gets out, people will probably say that the Censorate is rigid and pedantic and inflexible."
So the man who had spoken at the beginning immediately raised his lips to the sky, and found a supporter. He asked with a smile: "In this case, Lord Su, after work today, why don't you go with me to the Fifth Prince's residence to congratulate him on his new home and ask for a glass of wine?"
"No." Su Huaijing refused straightforwardly, his eyebrows slightly curved: "It's going to snow today, and it will be difficult to travel later. I have to go home soon."
"Why is Lord Su so anxious to return home after work every day? He neither socializes with us nor refuses to sit in the yamen for a while longer?" someone asked curiously.
Su Huaijing said calmly, "My husband has to go to bed at 4:45 pm every day, and he has to leave the Censorate at 2:45 pm. The journey back home takes 2:45 pm, and dinner takes another 2:45 pm. My husband and I only have one hour and six:45 pm to spend time together, not even two hours. How dare I waste it?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent. Some officials who were transferred here after the imperial examination this year even opened their mouths uncontrollably, obviously extremely surprised.
Su Huaijing smiled softly and continued, "After your shift, you should return home early. Madam has been waiting for you for a whole day. But it's just a short time for us to spend together. If we can't spend even this little time with our family, what's the point of drinking the wedding wine when we got married?"
The bell for the end of his shift rang, Su Huaijing stood up, packed his things, bent slightly and nodded, and was about to leave.
He paused, then smiled and said, "The Fifth Prince's residence has been completed. I wonder if the Third Prince and Marshal Xia will also go to watch the ceremony?"
After Su Huaijing said this, he nodded again and finally left the yamen.
The imperial censors in the room who had originally planned to go to the Fifth Prince's residence tonight were stunned for two seconds, startled, and looked at each other, seeing fear on each other's faces.
The heart of an emperor is unpredictable, so one must not infer his thoughts based on his momentary preferences. Emperor Renshou has recently been very fond of the fifth prince, but even such a beloved son had lived in the cold palace for more than ten years and guarded the imperial mausoleum for half a year.
Who dares to say whether this tremendous wealth and favor will be taken back one day
As for the Third Prince...
As long as Concubine Hui and Marshal Xia remain in power, the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince will always be the best candidates for the Crown Prince. What would the Third Prince think if they went together to congratulate the Fifth Prince today
Several people shuddered, and someone was the first to react. He stood up and packed up the documents, and said with a smile: "My wife said before she left that she had stewed soup tonight, and asked me to go back early. See you tomorrow, everyone."
One person takes the lead, followed by the second, the third...
"My naughty boy has not been paying attention to his studies these days. He has made his mother angry many times. I have to take good care of him today."
"My wife has been wanting to go to the theatre for a long time. Today I finally get off work early, so I might as well take her to see it."
"My wife..."
"My mother..."
"My daughter..."
All of a sudden, everyone in the government office scattered and returned home. At the banquet held at Sheng Chengli's new house that day, no one from the Censorate attended.
Su Huaijing sat in the carriage back to Yong'an Lane, looking at the heavy snow falling outside the window, feeling anxious.
Tangtang had some pain in his body yesterday, so he added an extra pain-relieving herb to the medicinal diet, but the snow was heavy today, and he was worried that the effect of the medicine would not be enough to help Rongtang get through it.
The charcoal fire at home was prepared before winter, but anyone would feel suffocated staying in a stuffy house all day.
Rong Tang had been used to going out to play with his brother these days, and occasionally he would sneak out with Yuanyuan, who was in disguise, to go to the street, buy him food and toys, take him to the theater and listen to books. He lived a life three times more comfortable than those dandy young men in the capital who had been living a life of luxury since childhood.
Su Huaijing was unhappy, but he couldn't stop Tangtang from going out.
But it snowed today...
As he thought about it, a slight frown formed between his brows. He pushed open the closed car door and whispered, "Drive faster."
If Tangtang felt any pain, he would immediately give him moxibustion and apply medicine.
Before the carriage came to a complete stop, Su Huaijing jumped down impatiently, not wanting to wait even a second.
The fallen snow in front of the steps covered the surface of my shoes, and soon soaked a large area of them.
He was unhappy and went straight to the bedroom, but he didn't see Rong Tang, and there was no one in the study either.
Just when Su Huaijing thought that Rong Tang might have finished his meal at Mu Jingxu's house today, Shuangfu passed by the door and called out in confusion, "My dear?"
Su Huaijing turned around: "Where's Tangtang?"
"In the kitchen," Shuangfu said, "The young master said he wanted to drink goose soup today, and he was discussing with the cook how to make it."
Su Huaijing's nervousness immediately dissipated. He let out a light breath and walked towards the kitchen.
Rong Tang was sticking his head out from behind the stove, his face rosy in the firelight, like a bright, juicy and delicious apple.
Su Huaijing's heart moved, and he stood in front of the door and called softly: "Tangtang."
Rong Tang paused for a moment, then turned his head and smiled softly when he saw the person coming: "You're back?"
Su Huaijing nodded and stretched out his hand: "Come here."
Rong Tang immediately put down the wood that he was about to put into the stove, patted his clothes, and trotted over.
Su Huaijing found it funny. When someone came closer and grabbed his wrist, his expression changed slightly, then returned to normal. He smiled and picked the grass debris from his hair, then pulled him to his side: "Why aren't you waiting for me in the room?"
Rong Tang explained casually: "I suddenly felt greedy."
Su Huaijing saw the pretense of being relaxed on his face, but he didn't expose it. Instead, he whispered, "But Tangtang stole half a minute from me."
Rong Tang was stunned for a moment and looked at Su Huaijing with some confusion.
The latter took his hand and walked towards the main room. When they turned a corner, they saw red lanterns in front of the eaves and heavy snow behind them.
Su Huaijing exerted force with his hands, and the two of them switched positions. Rong Tang was pressed against the wall by him, and the lantern swayed, casting shadows on his face from time to time.
Su Huaijing moved closer, lowered his head, looked into his eyes, smiled gently, and held his hand tightly.
As their noses met, Rong Tang heard him whisper, "Tang Tang, you have to give it back to me."
Kisses fell on the lips and heavy snow fell in the yard.
One is to hide panic, the other is to hide a secret, each is silent and fierce.
(End of this chapter)