Rong Tang had been fasting and chanting Buddhist scriptures at Tuolan Temple for five whole days, and he felt that he had become very calm.
Although he was still thinking on his way down the mountain that if he returned faster he might be able to make it to Yong'an Lane for dinner, Rong Tang felt that he was not that eager to go home.
At most, the small can of tea had just been finished today, and if he wanted more, he would have to go to Su Huaijing's place. But as soon as Rong Mingyu said this, before he could refute, he turned around and got on the carriage and headed towards the palace gate.
Rong Tang was very confused, puzzled, and even a little depressed.
Someone who has not cared about his son for eight hundred years and doesn't even care whether his legitimate son marries a boy or a girl, would suddenly care about his health because of the change in weather
If you hadn't been so emotionless when you spoke, like a stick, I would have believed it!
Rong Tang returned to the yard very unhappy. Shuangfu and Shuangshou held their breath and didn't dare to make a sound.
As the weather warmed up, the red charcoal in the house was put away, the early blooming flowers fell, and the seasonal plants bloomed again, and the palace was filled with fragrance.
Rong Tang sat in the yard at dusk, looking at the vast twilight above the red bricks and green tiles, and asked Shuangfu: "Am I being put in solitary confinement?"
Shuangfu didn't dare to say it clearly, "Your Majesty is thinking about the health of the young master."
"Heh." Rong Tang sneered and said nothing more.
Rong Mingyu was the only king of a different surname in the Dayu dynasty. Emperor Renshou himself was a vassal king who led his troops north. He did not take any action in the first year after he ascended the throne. After he secured his throne, he began to reduce the power of the vassal kings.
During that period, Rong Mingyu was inevitably talked about wherever he went. All the officials who were on good terms with him kept their distance from him. They knew very well that once all the princes in other places were demoted, the one who would be unlucky would be the newly-appointed prince in the capital.
But no, as the years passed, day after day, the Ningxuan Palace was not only not raided, but it became more and more prosperous, with frequent visitors and officials coming and going. Rong Mingyu became a well-deserved close minister to the emperor.
Some people say that he was a silent dog raised by Emperor Renshou.
He looked gentle and kind on the outside, but in fact he did all the dirty things that were shameful and shameful.
Even if such a person is smiling at you, you should still be cautious.
So after Rong Mingyu said those words in front of the palace gate, Rong Tang really couldn't even go out for the next few days.
Rong Tang was a little annoyed. He held the triangular amulet in his hand. Inside was the incense ash he had specially picked up in front of the Buddha. He squeezed it, passed it to the side, and called Shuangshou: "Help me deliver this to Yong'an Lane tomorrow."
“Yes.” Shuangshou responded and stepped forward to take it. When his hand touched the amulet, Rong Tang hesitated for a moment and took it back: “Forget it, I said I would ask for it for him, so I should give it to him in person.”
The star curtain was spread out, Rong Tang frowned and said, "Go and tell Su Huaijing tomorrow that the prince has locked me up at home and we'll see each other at the wedding. If there's anything the mansion needs, go directly to the bank to get the money and send it to him."
The more he talked, the more annoyed he became. Rong Tang took the amulet back and went into the study holding the portrait of Buddha that Huimian had given him.
Originally, he wanted to set aside a separate room to display the portrait, but when he thought about it carefully, he was not a very devout believer. It would not be good to hang up the Buddha statue if he could not recite sutras every day. So he simply found a place to place it in the treasure pavilion in his study, and kept the amulet in his purse.
Rong Tang walked around the study room for two rounds, writing down some of the decorations he wanted to add, intending to buy them when Shuangshou left the house tomorrow. He also wanted to find out if there was anything new happening in the capital these days.
Unexpectedly, before Shuangshou came back, Rong Tang got up early and went to the princess' room to pay his respects, and saw Rong Zheng hurriedly tying his clothes while running out of his yard, with dark circles under his eyes, obviously he had not slept well for several days.
Rong Tang stopped where he was and waited for a while. Seeing him rushing past him, he called out slowly, "Where are you going, second brother, in such a hurry?"
Rong Zheng paused and saluted him awkwardly: "Big Brother."
"Yeah." Rong Tang smiled and stood beside him waiting for his answer.
He didn't move or speak, like a god blocking the road. Rong Zheng was annoyed by him, but everyone in the palace, from top to bottom, no matter what they thought in their hearts, acted benevolent, righteous, filial and fraternal.
If Rong Zheng dared to disrespect Rong Tang in the garden today, his hypocritical third brother would report it to their father tomorrow.
He thought for a moment and forced a smile, "I heard that the market has just received a batch of top-quality Chenquan ink. I want to buy some for the master, but I'm afraid it won't be available if I'm late."
Rong Tang stared at him for a while, then said with a smile: "In that case, please help me bring back two pieces as well, brother."
Rong Zheng's expression changed slightly: "Brother, why do you want this?"
Rong Tang was physically weak, and the princess felt sorry for him picking up a pen to write, so she never let him attend family school. Even though he is better now, Chen Quan Yan Mo's handwriting must be vigorous and powerful to bring out its maximum beauty, and Rong Tang obviously didn't have the energy for that.
Rong Tang smiled and said, "I'll give you my future sister-in-law."
Rong Zheng: “…”
He felt that his eldest brother had become a little evil since he recovered, and every time he said a word or two to him, he would get hurt.
Rong Zheng didn't dare to ask any more questions. He bowed properly and let Rong Tang pass by him before he hurried out.
The system suddenly spoke: [Host, he should be going to see the Second Prince.]
"The court hasn't ended yet, there's still time." Rong Tang said, looking at the sky.
He divided the study room into two halves, one half for Rong Tang and the other half for Su Huaijing. He was just worrying that the Mo Liqing he was using was not suitable for Su Huaijing, when Rong Zheng handed him a pillow, which relieved a lot of his depression caused by being confined by Rong Mingyu.
The system was also somewhat happy to see its host's smile after his little trick succeeded, and asked: [Do you need me to help you see what they are doing? ]
"No need." Rong Tang said, "Su Huaijing is much less troublesome than Sheng Chengli."
When assisting Sheng Chengli, even if Rong Tang had figured out the whole plan, he still had to worry about whether the villain would oppose him and sabotage it, so he had to use the system function again and again to confirm. But when it comes to Su Huaijing, not to mention that his kid is smart, the male protagonist has just come out of the cold palace and has no ability to go against Su Huaijing at all. Whatever he wants to do, is there anything he can't do
Why do we need the system to help us explore
Thinking of this, the corners of Rong Tang's lips unconsciously fell down again.
Rong Tang said with a slightly sad tone: "I miss my baby."
The big villain made his first appearance in front of the Second Prince, a minor villain in the early stages. Not only could he not see it, he couldn't even participate in it at all.
Melancholy to death.
[…]
-
Shangyang Inn in the west of the city.
The inn had been closed for several days, but the money in the counter was more than what it had earned in the past month.
Several nobles booked his small inn.
The shopkeeper, with his golden teeth showing in a grin, was counting money behind the counter when he saw a young man in a green robe come in from the door, followed by a servant. The servant was holding two heavy oil-paper packages in his hands, with the sign of Lu's Bookstore written on the packages in black pen.
Rong Zheng looked uneasy, and without even looking at the shopkeeper, he entered the courtyard through the back door. There were already quite a few people gathered at the back, with the Second Prince in the middle, with a smug smile on his face. When he saw Rong Zheng enter, his expression slightly stiffened, and he said, "Jingzhi is a little late today."
Rong Zheng's heart sank slightly, he quickly walked up and bowed, "Before leaving, my brother asked me to buy two squares of ink for him, so I took a detour, which delayed me. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
When the Second Prince heard Rong Tang's name, his expression improved a little and he didn't want to argue anymore. But Qin Pengxuan suddenly snorted, "Your sickly elder brother has barely been to school for a few days. What is he doing buying ink for?"
Rong Zheng frowned slightly.
He really did dislike his idiotic brother, but Qin Pengxuan was even more vulgar. Although he was the son of the Earl of Wukang, he behaved like a villain. The Second Prince did not rely on him originally, but somehow he was lucky enough to discover the whereabouts of the traitor Chen Fei this time, and then he showed his face in front of His Highness.
These days, relying on this achievement, Qin Pengxuan has been showing off in front of them.
Rong Zheng said coldly: "Brother, these are the four treasures of the study for my eldest sister-in-law."
Qin Pengxuan's voice froze, as if he had thought of something, and a strong hatred flashed across his face.
The Second Prince suddenly became interested and raised his eyebrows and asked, "Does Rong Tang really want to marry a man?"
Rong Zheng: "Really."
"What a strange thing." The second prince murmured.
Someone whispered behind him: "With his body, even if he marries a man, he doesn't know who will be crushed."
These words were vulgar and should not be said in front of the prince, but everyone had been hanging out with the Second Prince day and night and had been to Fengyue Tower so many times that they burst into laughter when they heard the words.
Rong Zheng stood in front of everyone with an unclear expression. He did not join in the teasing, but asked the Second Prince: "I wonder if everything is OK for your trip, Your Highness?"
The group of people who had just laughed fell silent immediately. The Second Prince waved his hand and said, "Why are you all so nervous? With the help of the Young Master, everything will be done naturally."
Rong Zheng frowned. This was not the first time he heard the Second Prince call him "Young Master", but he had never seen him before.
The first time he heard about it was when Qin Pengxuan just discovered Chen Fei. The Second Prince was immediately overjoyed and wanted to report to the Emperor and send troops to capture him.
To be on the safe side, he even came to Shangyang Inn in person to observe. However, he changed his mind when he returned and said that there were other ways to win the emperor's favor.
So everyone has been busy from the end of February until today, just waiting for the Emperor and Empress to leave the palace to worship their ancestors in a few days.
In recent days, the Second Prince has even seldom visited Fengyue Tower. He often sighs and stares at the moon in thought: "Young Master, you are noble, just like the bright moonlight. Whenever I talk to you, I can't help but feel ashamed of myself."
Rong Zheng really wanted to know who this "young master" that the second prince kept talking about was. If the second prince was not averse to homosexuality, Rong Zheng would even suspect that he was actually suffering from lovesickness.
Fortunately, after this matter was mentioned, the Second Prince finally became serious, calmed down, and gave orders for what to do in the next few days.
At this time, at Tang Jing's residence in Yong'an Lane, the 'young master' that the second prince had been thinking about was standing at the door, watching the servants hang the newly made plaque on the door.
Rong Tang gave him absolute autonomy over this house, even letting him name it himself. Su Huaijing didn't decide on the name at first, so it couldn't be directly called "Su Mansion" after all, his last name wasn't even Su.
But it couldn't be left empty all the time. One afternoon, Rong Tang was lying on the beauty couch reading a book, and Su Huaijing was sitting at the desk practicing calligraphy. He looked up at Rong Tang, then came back to his senses and wrote Rong Tang's name on the rice paper.
After writing it down, he found that not only did the young master's style of doing things suit his taste, but even his name made him happy.
Su Huaijing likes sweet things, and this name sounds sweet. After thinking about it, he simply took out a piece of blank paper, wrote some words on it, and asked Xingfeng to take it out to find someone to make a custom plaque. Now that the paint has dried, it can be hung up.
Su Huaijing's mood improved a little because of the new plaque. He looked at the sky at the door, estimated the time, and simply decided not to go back.
He ordered, "Xingfeng, go to the study and make some tea. Prepare two plates of dried fruits and oranges. Take out the book stack on the left side of the bookshelf and place it in front of the couch. Don't take the books on the third shelf. They are all read."
Rong Tang didn't like cakes, but he liked to eat nuts when reading storybooks. He also ate a lot of roasted oranges last time. Su Huaijing thought that he had been fasting in the temple for five days and must be almost suffocated. After a little thought, he considered whether to prepare some spicy snacks for Rong Tang. He seemed to like the hot pot made in the kitchen last time.
Xingfeng's face twisted a little when he heard this, but he still agreed and did everything according to his master's instructions.
But Su Huaijing waited at the door for a long time, but the gold-painted carriage did not come. Only Shuangshou appeared from the alley entrance driving a small ox cart. He was stunned for a moment when he saw him standing in front of the door, then hurried over in two steps, panting, "Why are you waiting here, Master Su? Our young master is not coming today!"
Su Huaijing: “?”
not coming
He narrowed his eyes, and his expression suddenly became gloomy.
(End of this chapter)