At the end of March, Sheng Chengxing's flower-folding party started again.
The second prince was made a king and given his fiefdom, the fourth prince passed away, the fifth prince refused to see guests, the sixth prince was Sheng Chengxing's younger brother, and the seventh and eighth princes were still very young.
The year is only halfway through, but Sheng Chengxing's influence in Beijing has been rebuilt again from the depression after Zhang Baoshan's downfall last year, so this flower-picking party is particularly lively.
Su Huaijing and Mu Jingxu both went, and Rong Tang and Ke Hongxue naturally went to Songyuan to join in the fun.
They still lived in the small courtyard with the red attic, but their mood was completely different from the first time they came.
On the first night of their stay, they set up a banquet upstairs, overlooking the flowers and sunset in the garden, chatting and laughing while drinking a few pots of wine.
When Rong Tang woke up the next day, he didn't see Su Huaijing. He went out and saw Ke Hongxue playing chess in the attic. Seeing him coming, Master Ke smiled and waved his hand: "Good morning, my lord."
So Rong Tang went up and sat opposite him.
The chess game is entangled, and it seems that the outcome has been decided, but in fact, there are dangers and opportunities for life everywhere, and everyone is fighting for survival.
He was too lazy to play chess, so he felt the late spring breeze for a while and asked, "Where are Lord Mu and Huai Jing?"
Ke Hongxue dropped a black dot and said, "I went to pick someone up outside the garden."
Rong Tang frowned, and a strange premonition came to his mind: "Who should I pick up?"
Ke Hongxue glanced at him lightly and said, "Fifth Prince."
Rong Tang was stunned for only a moment, then relaxed without any unnecessary emotions.
Ke Hongxue found it strange and asked him, "Aren't you surprised, my Lord?"
"I don't realize it." Rong Tang shook his head, his eyes focused on the chessboard, and whispered, "He should have been this kind of person."
If a leg is broken, one will try to stay away from the capital. If an eye is gouged out, disappearing for three months is already the limit. Why would Sheng Chengli keep himself away from the center of power for such a long time
Even if the ancestral system does not allow a disabled prince to succeed to the throne, but... isn't it okay as long as there are no other princes
There is always a way. As long as Sheng Chengli is alive, he can find a way to make himself the most likely one of Emperor Renshou's sons to become emperor.
But due to the restrictions of nature, Rong Tang couldn't kill him so early.
Therefore, any action taken by Sheng Chengli was completely normal in Rong Tang's view. There was no need to worry too much or panic.
Compared to the male protagonist, he cares more about the so-called orthodox heavenly way and the main brain. They are likely to do something beyond their cognition in order to promote Sheng Chengli to the top.
Ke Hongxue stared at him for a few moments, then suddenly smiled, casually placed a piece on the chessboard, and said softly, "Sometimes I always feel that we should have a deep fate."
Rong Tang, who had not shown any emotion when Sheng Chengli was mentioned just now, was inevitably stunned at this moment. He lowered his eyes to hide his guilty conscience and asked, "For example?"
Ke Hongxue: "For example, we have met in the previous life, or we are destined to be together for three lifetimes?"
He always spoke like this, half serious and half frivolous. Outsiders would think he was frivolous and just a joke. Even if Su Huaijing and Mu Jingxu heard it, they probably wouldn't feel unhappy.
Rong Tang's Adam's apple rolled, and he looked at the crisscrossing black and white chess pieces in front of him and whispered, "Maybe, who knows."
Ke Hongxue stared at him intently, but unable to meet his gaze, she looked at his jet-black hair.
After a long while, Ke Hongxue chuckled softly and said in an ambiguous tone, "I have been having a dream lately. In the dream, there is heavy snow pouring down from the sky, and the ground is covered with gold foil paper money. I am carrying a coffin, walking step by step from the gate of the Ke Mansion to the ancestral grave in the suburbs."
He asked, "My Lord, do you know who that is?"
Rong Tang was silent for a long time, looked up at the morning light and the late spring sunrise in the distance, and asked in a low voice: "Do you think my brother is a cold snowflake or a warm sunrise?"
The wind blew through the clouds, and a conversation that should not exist in this era took place in the attic. Ke Hongxue was speechless for a long while, smiled lightly, put down the chess piece, stood up, straightened his sleeves and hem, and bowed deeply to Rong Tang.
There was no need for them to say anything; they all understood what this meant.
Therefore, Rong Tang did not stop him. He just collected the chess pieces one by one and then played a new game of chess with Ke Hongxue.
When Su Huaijing and Mu Jingxu came back, the chess game was halfway through and neither of them could determine the winner.
Shuangshou prepared breakfast and the four of them sat down to eat. Rong Tang caught a glimpse of Mu Jingxu's slightly frowned brows, and combined with Su Huaijing's obviously depressed mood, he understood something in his heart, realizing that something was probably out of control.
He took a bite of the fried dumpling and asked jokingly, "What's wrong? Is Sheng Chengli's eyes better again?"
Su Huaijing pursed his lips and said nothing. Mu Jingxu looked at him, and a strange color flashed in his eyes.
Rong Tang was slightly startled and said softly: "As expected..."
Su Huaijing asked: "Did Tangtang know this would happen?"
Rong Tang: "It was just a random guess. I got it right by sheer luck."
This is not a question of good or bad luck. Sheng Chengli's eyeballs were dug out by Liuyun himself and put in a box and sent to Su Huaijing. Not to mention that it is impossible for Sheng Chengli to take his eyeballs back and reinstall them, even if he did, they would just be dead objects without any use.
But what the officials who attended the meeting saw at the gate of Songyuan this morning was the intact Fifth Prince.
His legs were fine, his eyes were intact, and the three months he disappeared seemed to have been just a casual thing. There had never been any setbacks or sufferings. Because he attended the meeting impromptu, His Majesty even specifically ordered the eunuchs to pass on the message, asking all officials to welcome him.
What is this
Su Huaijing was in a very bad mood. He unconsciously held Rong Tang's hand, and the vague panic in his heart could hardly be hidden.
Rong Tang comforted him instead: "It's fine."
Su Huaijing was puzzled, with a hint of worry in his brows.
Heaven favors his hero to the extreme. No one can guarantee that if Sheng Chengli fails repeatedly, there will not be any more heaven-defying opportunities for him. Instead of thinking about this illusory possibility and being anxious all day long, it is better to fight each other openly like now.
Continue the path you should have taken in every previous life, playing with people's hearts and calculating conspiracies and plots.
Besides…
Rong Tang narrowed his eyes slightly and gently patted Su Huaijing's hand: "For me, this is a good thing."
Su Huaijing looked at him in confusion, but in the end he didn't say a word, just nodded.
The four people had different thoughts. Ke Hongxue looked at Mu Jingxu, and the question that Rong Tang had asked him before kept flashing through his mind.
Rong Tang took the opportunity to enter the system space, looked at the two clouds inside, and let out a low laugh.
After coming out, he raised his eyes to the sky above his head, with an indescribable emotion, and a slightly sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
It was a very common thing to meet Sheng Chengli at the flower picking party.
At the banquet in the ninth year of Qingzheng, the male protagonist was pretending to be sick and making plans behind the scenes, so it was not appropriate for him to show up in public.
In the eleventh year of the Qingzheng reign, with the case of Zhang Baoshan, the governor of the southwest, embezzling military pay and the favoritism of the emperor, Sheng Chengli was the most prominent figure in the entire flower-folding party, except for the host of the banquet.
Su Huaijing naturally did not restrain himself. No matter which life he was in, he was almost integrated into the center of power at this time. The Chief Censor was old, and the Censorate was about to become his one-man show. Emperor Renshou also trusted him quite a bit. He was only one step away from revenge, so it was impossible for him not to make more efforts in this regard.
Everyone stepped onto the historical stage in this year, and this flower-folding party became the beginning of many power struggles.
There was still opera playing in the Lanyue Pavilion. Su Huaijing and Mu Jingxu had politicians they needed to make friends with, so Rong Tang went to listen to the opera with Ke Hongxue.
When the moonlight filled the lake, the play ended, and everyone left, Rong Tang bent down to board the boat. As soon as he sat down, someone gently pushed the stern of the boat. Someone in apricot yellow clothes bent over and looked into the black-sailed boat. Her eyebrows and eyes were like paintings, like hooks and entanglements, like a natural beauty. There was a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye, which was charming and delicate, and adorned under her two clear eyes. Anyone who saw it would say that the Creator favored her to the extreme.
Sheng Chengli asked: "Can you give me a ride on the boat?"
Ke Hongxue declined calmly: "The space inside the ship is small, and your highness's body may not be suitable."
Sheng Chengli smiled gently, "Really? But the boats on the shore are full. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid we can only wait for an empty return boat. But this will not only waste time, but also tire the boatman."
He showed a bit of embarrassment when he said this, turned to look at Rong Tang, and asked again: "Cousin, can you give me a ride on the boat?"
Ke Hongxue frowned slightly and was about to continue to refuse, but Rong Tang made a gesture and looked up at Sheng Chengli. After a few breaths, he said, "Songyuan is originally a royal palace, and Your Highness is the owner. How can you make such a request to a guest?"
Rong Tang said calmly: "Please."
Sheng Chengli smiled slightly and stepped into the cabin.
Ke Hongxue didn't want him to come up, but since Rong Tang had agreed, he couldn't chase him down. Instead, he turned around naturally and sat in the same row with Rong Tang. He smiled and said, "Your Highness is already condescending to ride on the same boat with me. I really don't dare to sit on the same level with Your Highness."
Sheng Chengli's move to sit next to Rong Tang paused slightly, he smiled slightly, didn't care, and sat in Ke Hongxue's previous direction.
The boatman rowed, and the waves pushed the boat forward slowly. Sheng Chengli brought up the topic from time to time, and Ke Hongxue responded without revealing any words.
The moonlight was leisurely, and the entire lake was filled with the laughter of young men and women.
Rong Tang wanted to tell Ke Hongxue that there was no need to be so cautious, but he really didn't want to talk to Sheng Chengli, so he simply said nothing, leaned against the cabin, and looked out at the lake through the small window.
Until for some reason, there was a cry of surprise outside. Ke Hongxue leaned out to take a look and saw a young man from an unknown family who was drunk and in high spirits. He replaced the boatman and was rowing while reciting poems to the moon.
However, his rowing skills were too poor, and he rowed crookedly and hit countless boats along the way, and was about to row in their direction.
Ke Hongxue said with a light "tsk". "What a disgrace."
Rong Tang looked at the location and found that they were right in the center of the lake, deep in the water.
Without thinking too much, he looked up at Sheng Chengli and asked, "Did you do it?"
Sheng Chengli smiled happily: "Cousin is finally willing to talk to me?"
Ke Hongxue was slightly startled, and immediately became alert. He pulled Rong Tang up and wanted to jump onto another boat nearby.
Sheng Chengli stood still, his eyes were as beautiful as a pair of glass.
The chaotic flow of boats rushed around and finally hit this current, but it just touched it lightly and left. There was no expected trap at all, just like a farce.
Like a harmless punishment.
Sheng Chengli looked at the two people in front of him who were too nervous, and asked with a smile: "I'm just curious, cousin, why did you come to the meeting? Did you forget that cup of tea?"
In an instant, Rong Tang felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Although he didn't fall into the lake, he understood the implication of Sheng Chengli's words.
In the first life, in April of the eleventh year of Qingzheng, Rong Tang died after failing in his mission because of a cup of poisoned tea at the flower-folding party.
Sheng Chengli asked softly, very puzzled: "Why do you trust him so much?"
(End of this chapter)