Rong Tang indulged himself too much, and the medicine he took the next day was so bitter that he almost cried.
But there was nothing he could do. After all, he was in the wrong, and he didn't feel comfortable going to Su Huaijing to act like a spoiled child again.
But after a while, he found some changes in his body.
Her body, which used to be difficult to get excited even in bed, would occasionally react in the early morning like an ordinary man.
The first and second times he thought it might be a coincidence, but as time went on, combined with the obvious change in the taste of the medicinal soup, it was hard for Rong Tang not to suspect something else.
By the time he finally reacted, Young Master Rong was so angry that he laughed.
That day, Su Huaijing returned home from court and was taken to the dining room by a servant. He asked in confusion where Tangtang had gone, but the servant replied, "The prince had dinner early and went to bed."
Su Huaijing was a little nervous at the moment, worried that Tangtang was not feeling well and went to bed early, and didn't want him to worry and send such a message. But he hurried to the East Courtyard, and saw Shuangfu blocking the moon gate, looking a little timid, not daring to look at her husband, but not daring to disobey the young master's wishes, and dutifully stopped Su Huaijing outside, whispering: "The young master has ordered that you are not allowed to enter his courtyard."
Su Huaijing: “?”
He was stunned for a moment, and the heart that had been hanging in his throat all the way was now half relieved. He paused and looked down at Shuangfu: "Why?"
Shuangfu lowered his head, not daring to look at him, but the words he spoke were inexplicably tough: "The young master said, 'You know what you did'..."
He paused, closed his mouth, and thought for a while before letting out a loud hum from his nose: "Hmph!"
Su Huaijing smiled instantly, his expression completely relaxed, and said happily: "Loyal servant Xiao, you have learned it very well, go to the storehouse to receive your reward."
It was clearly a good thing, but Shuangfu immediately made a bitter face when he heard it. He raised his head to look at Su Huaijing, and his eyes kept glancing at the room behind him, saying in a sad tone: "My dear..."
Su Huaijing turned around and left: "Since Tangtang doesn't want to see me, I'll come back later."
"… "
Shuangfu couldn't even cry anymore. He and Shuangshou looked at each other and saw something in each other's eyes.
-
"What is this all about?"
Two childish ghosts.
The person who everyone said had gone to bed a long time ago was still tossing and turning in bed in the middle of the night and couldn't fall asleep.
There was the sound of footsteps at the door, and he deliberately did not restrain himself so that the people in the house would notice his arrival.
Rong Tang was lying steadily, with a small lamp left for him by the system hanging on the head of the bed, emitting a faint glow. Young Master Rong uttered a soft "huh" and a layer of sarcasm appeared between his brows.
There were two perfunctory knocks on the door. Without waiting for the owner to invite him in, the visitor just stood outside for a while, letting the people in the room prepare themselves mentally. Then he pushed the door open and walked slowly inside.
Rong Tang sat up, holding up the quilt, leaned against the head of the bed, and looked at Su Huaijing with an unhappy expression.
The latter showed no sign of panic or shame for being caught in a night raid. She even had a pretty smile on her face. She put the lantern on the table, took out a steaming roast chicken wrapped in oil paper and a small pot of peach wine in a white porcelain bottle, and whispered in the night, "Tangtang, do you want to drink?"
Rong Tang: “…”
What can he say? His villain is really good at poking people.
Rong Tang leaned back and stared at Su Huaijing coldly for a long while, then he stretched out his hand and said dignifiedly, "Give it to me."
Su Huaijing smiled and asked, "Do you want to eat in bed?"
Rong Tang rolled his eyes at him: "Get me some clothes, it's cold."
"Okay." The villain responded softly.
The roast chicken was freshly baked in the shop on the street, and the wine was fine wine that had just been brought back from the market. It had been warmed with hot water and was now just the right temperature for a sip.
Rong Tang ate heartily and drank comfortably. He leaned lazily in the chair and didn't want to move.
Su Huaijing gently wiped his hands and asked, "Is Tangtang still angry?"
Rong Tang glared at him: "Why am I angry?"
"I don't know." Su Huaijing said these irritating words softly, but before Rong Tang could glare at him, he added, "Maybe Tang Tang is smart and discovered that I tampered with the medicine?"
Rong Tang was furious when he heard this, but he had just had a midnight snack, so the anger went into his stomach through his blood vessels and did not reach his head.
He glanced at Su Huaijing and said coldly, "Ha."
The villain's lips curled up subtly. He wanted to laugh, but was afraid of making Rong Tang even angrier, so he held it back and said softly, "I was wrong. Tang Tang, can you give me a chance to explain myself?"
Rong Tang: "Since you are just quibbling, why should I give you a chance?"
"Because Tangtang loves me." Su Huaijing said shamelessly, a smile broke out at the corners of his lips. He looked at Rongtang with gentle eyes, lowered his body slightly, and wiped his hands for him. He was as gentle as water, not like a big villain who was strategizing, but more like a young master who was brought up in the boudoir.
Because she is favored, she is extremely dignified and pampered, has a sweet mouth and beautiful looks, and is particularly good at coaxing people.
Rong Tang's heart skipped a beat and he thought to himself that he was really useless, but Su Huaijing squeezed his hand nonchalantly and a tingling electric sensation spread from his fingertips to his arm.
He pulled his hand back abruptly, glared at Su Huaijing, and ordered unhappily: "Speak."
Su Huaijing said, "Tangtang is not in good health, and I am young and energetic. I am too careless. I am always worried about hurting you, so I want you to do stupid things with me day and night, which will drain your vitality and hurt your body. That's why I took the initiative to add a few herbs. I won't dare to do it again."
Rong Tang was stunned for a moment, and looked at Su Huaijing suspiciously. His vigilance did not decrease at all, and even intensified.
This person's attitude is too humble, which makes people more suspicious.
Su Huaijing followed up by saying, "Later, I saw that Tangtang was feeling better. When you told me that in the study that day, I reflected on it for a long time. Did I go too far and ignore your feelings? That's why I changed the recipe. Tangtang has...had some different reactions these days?"
Rong Tang's ears turned red, and his domineering aura instantly weakened. He gritted his teeth and cursed him: "Beast..."
"Well, I'm a beast." Su Huaijing obediently poured another glass of wine for Rong Tang and said, "Brother Tangtang, just treat it as a dog. It's understandable that he occasionally does some bad things."
"Right?" Su Huaijing held the wine in front of him, raised his eyes and looked at Rong Tang. As his gaze moved, his brows were filled with a gentleness of submission.
Rong Tang was still dwelling on his last sentence, and became even angrier.
It wasn't because he took medicine and had the nerve to say that he was 'weak and difficult to be emotional'; it was because everything he did was clearly for his own good, but because he didn't want him to be angry, he infinitely lowered his status and almost degraded himself to the dust. For a moment, Rong Tang felt an emotion called "hate iron for not being able to become steel".
He didn't take the glass of wine, but stared at Su Huaijing from top to bottom and said coldly: "Who taught you to say that about yourself?"
Su Huaijing blinked and asked, "Isn't this wrong?"
Rong Tang narrowed his eyes, his expression serious: "You are the seventh son of the previous emperor, and you will become the emperor of Dayu in the future. You open your mouth and say that you are a dog. Don't you have any dignity left?"
He cursed so fiercely that Su Huaijing curled his lips and said, "But I am willing."
Rong Tang was stuck for a moment.
Su Huaijing continued, "And Tangtang knows very well that my family was broken up and I was displaced when I was young. No one taught me what dignity is. When I was at my uncle's house, I had to coax my cousins to be happy before I could eat. What's the use of dignity?"
Rong Tang: “…”
The night was deep, and Rong Tang knew clearly that every word Su Huaijing said was anticipated and planned. He deliberately pretended to be aggrieved and weak, but he still couldn't help but be willing to be calculated by him.
He was silent for a moment, then whispered unhappily, "You're so annoying."
Su Huaijing blinked his eyes and simply stopped talking.
Rong Tang was helpless, sighed, and said in frustration: "Don't do this again in the future!"
Su Huaijing smiled instantly and nodded obediently: "Okay!"
Rong Tang: “…”
Young Master Rong glared at him for a few seconds, and then he was furious, and he had to vent his anger. The alcohol was slowly hitting his head, and he got bolder and got up and walked towards the bed without thinking: "Come here."
Su Huaijing followed his steps in confusion, but asked, "What is Tangtang going to do?"
Su Huaijing was stunned for a moment, but couldn't help but lowered his head and laughed softly: "Okay."
When the passion was at its peak, Rong Tang was immersed in the clamoring sensations and couldn't extricate himself. However, Su Huaijing didn't know what he was thinking about. He leaned close to his ear and called out in a hoarse voice: "Tang Tang."
"Hmm?" Rong Tang narrowed his eyes and looked at him, his purity was obscured by desire, and he was full of charm.
Su Huaijing's heart skipped a beat and he couldn't help but lean over and kiss him.
After the kiss, their breathing became heavy and intertwined. Su Huaijing asked Rong Tang, "Tangtang, do you think Master Huimian is a good person?"
Rong Tang was puzzled. He didn't understand why he was talking about someone else in bed, nor did he know what was wrong with this person that he would mention being a Buddhist disciple to him under the impulse of the most primitive and pure desire in the world.
But his brain was so dull that it was hard for him to think rationally and logically at this time. He paused for a moment and answered instinctively: "The master has the world in his heart and saves all living beings. He is a kind person."
Su Huaijing's eyes flickered, and he nodded gently: "I understand."
It was a bleak late autumn, but on the bed separated by a wall, the colors of spring were all over the silk, with untimely pear blossoms blooming.
Su Huaijing laughed hoarsely and sighed from the bottom of his heart: "I like Tangtang so much..."
-
Li Changfu was executed a month ago.
Even if there was an amnesty before, people's hearts were always the easiest thing for him to control. It was not difficult to let Emperor Renshou overturn his previous amnesty and send a criminal who had already been sentenced to death back to the execution ground.
On the day of the beheading, Su Huaijing went from court to the Censorate. Halfway there, for some unknown reason, he ordered Shuangshou to drive the carriage to the city entrance. He got off the carriage and walked with the crowd for a while.
Su Huaijing changed into court robes, traveled lightly, and hid himself in the crowd. He was just a handsome young man, not the chancellor who could decide life and death with a single word.
The crowd was bustling and the people had simple emotions. No matter who was in the prison car, as long as he was shackled and put on the prison car, and was ordered to be beheaded by the judge or even the emperor, he would be an unforgivable evildoer.
Whether it was corrupt officials or unruly people and bandits, on the days when the execution ground was open, the common people in Yujing City were easily aroused, generous and excited, following the prisoners from one end of the street to the other, using the most vicious words they had learned, cursing the prisoners in the prison car, cursing them to go to the eighteen levels of hell after death, and cursing their wives and daughters to be oppressed and miserable for the rest of their lives. From time to time, they would throw rotten vegetable leaves to express their anger, and the whole street was noisy, like a carnival, or a feast of unknown origin.
Su Huaijing walked or stopped with the crowd, looking at the people being pushed in the prison cart, and felt waves of emptiness in his heart.
He looked at the excited people around him and for a moment he didn't know what he was thinking.
After Sheng Xuyan ascended the throne, he issued an edict, ordering it to be spread throughout the country within six months and to educate every household. The edict listed dozens of faults of the previous emperor, saying that he appointed corrupt officials, indulged in beauty, imposed heavy taxes, colluded with foreign enemies, and allowed the people to live in misery and war.
There were even places that, to show their loyalty to the new emperor, regularly organized officials and civilians to give lectures, either fabricating or embellishing stories, telling lies about the disgrace of the previous emperor, whom they had never met in their entire lives. They would then use tricks to reduce taxes, grant small favors, and let the people in the fields say for themselves how difficult their lives were when the previous emperor was in power, and then say that the villagers would be able to have enough food to eat after the new emperor ascended the throne.
Who can tell what is true or false
The previous emperor was dead and there was no evidence to prove his guilt. All the loyal ministers of the previous dynasty were killed. The ones who survived were either Sheng Xuyan's lackeys or ministers who were forced by current events to not tell the truth.
The people of the capital were closest to the imperial power and perhaps had some ability to judge right from wrong. For the people of other territories in Dayu, the highest official they would see in their lifetime might be the local county magistrate or village head.
All they have heard in their lives is information that has gone through multiple screenings and subjective judgments. The way of life they have known since childhood is that the people should not fight against the officials, and they believe whatever the officials say.
People dared not to believe. Those who did not believe would be labeled heretics, sentenced, executed, dragged to the vegetable market, and looked down upon by passers-by, perhaps cursed, or even thrown with vegetable leaves and slop like today, and cursed that they deserved to be put to death.
Su Huaijing had heard those so-called preachings, and heard his father being belittled again and again. Some people even said outrageously that the dog emperor's body should be dug out and fed to wild dogs to commemorate the soldiers who died on the frontier in order to clear Dayu's grievances.
He once released malice indiscriminately, and he once hated everyone in the world equally.
He had clearly read books and studied history, and knew that principles could help him distinguish right from wrong. However, when the pain happened to him, he was still involuntarily led by his emotions and had many irrational thoughts.
Now it is the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, and the sky over Yujing is covered with clouds. Su Huaijing goes with the flow, looking at the people around him, and another idea suddenly comes to his mind.
Rong Tang was never wrong.
The reason why the people are called fools is because they are not educated.
Since there was no education and there was an unbridgeable gap between imperial power and the people, how could he expect every citizen in the fields and hills in the world to have the same perspective as him, and to know clearly that the late emperor was framed and that Emperor Renshou was the one who stole the country
The people's malice is not directed only at the late emperor or their family, but like Su Huaijing in the past, they simply treat every "prisoner" sentenced to death by criminal law under public power equally and without distinction.
The eight-year-old Su Huaijing can hate and dislike.
But now the 19-year-old Su Huaijing can't do that.
He wanted revenge, he wanted to create a better world, and he wanted more than just the hatred of a family that was torn apart.
Wang Xiu-yu has already selected a site in Jiangnan, and perhaps the first formal girls’ school in Dayu will be built next year.
But this is actually not enough. Not only girls need to go to school, but most people in the world should at least have basic enlightenment and a certain level of cognitive ability so that they don't just follow the crowd and make a fool of themselves.
But this is actually much more difficult than just building a girls' school.
The more you know, the more you want; the smarter the people are, the more unstable the imperial power becomes. Perhaps this is why no emperor has ever proactively proposed a policy of universal enlightenment over the centuries.
Su Huaijing lowered his eyes and pondered the pros and cons, but found that he didn't know what to do for a moment.
We cannot act too hastily and cause backlash. There are countless small countries around Dayu watching us, and there are also powerful countries like Dasui that are equally powerful. Once there are frequent internal strife in the country, it will be the time for foreign enemies to invade.
But it is impossible to remain indifferent when having this thought.
For the first time, he felt helpless.
Suddenly there was a cry of surprise from the crowd, mixed with the occasional barking of dogs, followed by applause and cheers.
Su Huaijing looked intently and saw a wild dog jumping in front of the prison van. It had been subdued by the escorting soldiers under the sticks, while Li Changfu in the prison van was rolling around holding his head in pain. Bright red blood flowed out from his fingers, covering the entire prison van. It seemed as if he would die suddenly at any time.
The pulled-out eyeball rolled to the ground, covered with a thick layer of dust. It was bitten by wild dogs, spurting out a lot of blood.
The person closest to him had a flash of fear on his face, but it was soon replaced by greater excitement. He raised his arms and shouted, as if this was a sign from heaven: "Those who do evil will eventually perish!"
Su Huaijing's eyes moved between several fixed points: Li Changfu, the wild dog, the bursting eyeballs, the excited crowd...
After a long moment, he sighed softly.
Take it slow. We can’t just sit there and let the people be exploited day by day and become “fools”.
It is very difficult, but we can't just do nothing. Just slow down a bit. There is always a way.
Just like the Jiangnan flood, he told Rong Tang that as long as one person could be saved, it would not be meaningless.
They can't be completely the same, but after all... it's not a bad thing that will be infamous for eternity.
Su Huaijing walked out of the crowd and came in front of the group of officers and soldiers who were somewhat at a loss. Li Changfu in the prison car was gradually losing his breath and was almost inaudible.
The leading official recognized Su Huaijing and immediately dismounted and saluted: "Sir Su."
Su Huaijing nodded: "What's wrong?"
The official was a little embarrassed and said, "You see, sir, he seems to be dying..."
Su Huaijing glanced at Li Changfu indifferently, without any resentment or evil thoughts in his eyes, not even the slightest sense of revenge.
He simply said calmly: "Keep going. The imperial decree says to behead someone, but you died during the escort. It is considered that you have failed in your duty and you shall be punished according to the law."
The official was stunned, his face suddenly became a little panicked, he said goodbye in a hurry, mounted his horse and rushed to the execution ground.
Su Huaijing stopped him again and said in a calm tone, "Reinforce the prison van when you get back. The prisoners will be dealt with according to the law. It doesn't make sense for them to be treated like this before they die."
The person in the prison van recognized his voice and stared outside with one eye, his blood-stained face showing a look of disbelief and astonishment. He wanted to see if the person who was speaking was someone he knew, but Su Huaijing had already turned and left.
Only those who cannot be punished by the law should be vicious, as for the rest...
Su Huaijing really felt that there was no need for it. It had nothing to do with who Li Changfu was or how many years he had raised him.
The moment he designed to have him imprisoned, their grudge was settled.
(End of this chapter)