Rong Tang was unconscious for three days. When he woke up, the spring snow was melting outside the house and the fragrance of plum blossoms was wafting in the air.
He lay on the bed for a while and reorganized the plot.
This body of his is nineteen years old this year. According to the original plot, there are still four years until the villain ascends the throne. Rong Tang can only live until then.
The original owner had a respected status. Her grandmother was Princess Duanyi, who was personally conferred the title by Emperor Mingzong. Her father had served the current emperor well and was specially conferred the title of a king of a different surname. Her mother was the biological sister of the current queen.
He was the only legitimate son of a family, a true descendant of the royal family. Unfortunately, he was weak and sickly, and had a high fever when he was young, which damaged his brain and turned him into a fool with the IQ of a three-year-old child.
The original text has very few details about him. It only says that in the spring of the ninth year of Qingzheng, on New Year's Eve, Prince Ningxuan accidentally fell into the water, had a high fever for three days, and eventually died.
Rong Tang happened to come in at this time. In his previous two lives, he followed the routine, and after traveling through time, he was anxious to enter the palace to see the male protagonist, so as soon as he was able to get out of bed, he dragged his body, which was in pain with every step, to the palace with his parents for a banquet on the night of the Lantern Festival, secretly to bring warmth to the little male protagonist in the cold palace.
There is no such plan in this life. Rong Tang plans to take good care of his body and try to live a little longer before the plot line collapses.
But he definitely can't play a stupid character, it's too tiring. He can't even speak a few more sentences now, he doesn't have the energy for it.
Rong Tang went out wearing a cloak, holding a stove in his hands, and stood under the eaves, looking at the red plum blossoms blooming on the treetops in the courtyard, and asked, "When will Su Huaijing come to Beijing?"
[Soon.] The system said, [The imperial edict has been announced, and Li Changfu and his family are on their way to Beijing.]
Hearing the name 'Li Changfu', Rong Tang narrowed his eyes, stood there for a moment, and then turned and went into the house.
Li Changfu was a distant relative of Su Huaijing's maternal grandfather, that is, the late queen's mother's family.
At that time, there was a turmoil in the palace, and the seventh prince's nurse risked her life to send the eight-year-old young master to his maternal grandfather's house. At that time, Li Changfu happened to come to the capital to visit his relatives. Not knowing his identity, he took a fancy to several treasures on him and took him back to Shu to raise him for a few years. It was not until the beginning of this year that Li Changfu was promoted to the Minister of War and returned to the capital with the biggest villain in the whole article.
The original text's perspective mostly focuses on the male protagonist. Rong Tang knows how much the male protagonist was mistreated by the palace servants when he was young, and how thick the bedding on the male protagonist's bed is, but he doesn't know how Su Huaijing has been doing during the years he left Beijing.
Until the end, no one could see what Su Huaijing experienced in his childhood from a single word. A cold-blooded tyrant did not need anyone to peek into his childhood.
His only memory was a recurring nightmare from his youth.
His father, the emperor, and his mother were strangled to death by palace servants, and his wet nurse was fed poisoned wine; the letter sent back by his elder brother, the crown prince, said that he would return victorious, but the next day, he was killed by the enemy's horseshoes after the border was breached; his third brother, who was the most romantic and talented, put on his armor and said with a smile that he would take him to the hunting ground to catch rabbits when he returned, but in the blink of an eye, his head appeared in the flag above the blazing fire under the palace gate, and his pair of passionate peach blossom eyes became turbid and dead, no longer shining; his fourth sister put on a complicated and beautiful palace dress, jumped down from the city wall, and before leaving, she stuffed a piece of warm lotus cake into his hand...
The little prince was awakened by nightmares every night.
From this nightmare and Su Huaijing's eyes and movements as well as the attitudes of his subordinates, Rong Tang vaguely pieced together a childhood that was not quite real.
He just felt heartbroken, but didn't miss it too much.
It was not until his previous life that he and Su Huaijing actually had some interactions and got a glimpse of many past events that were not mentioned in the original text. For the first time, Rong Tang had huge doubts about the system tasks.
It was also during that time that the system was so angry that it shut down his permissions.
But now, the system clearly saw what he was trying to do, but it did nothing to stop him.
Rong Tang couldn't help but think that this should be the revolutionary friendship cultivated over the years. In this world, only this ball of light that occasionally short-circuited and had a bad temper knew that he had gone against time again and again.
Rong Tang walked into the house with a smile. The original owner's father was the only king of a different surname in this dynasty. It was the Spring Festival now, and there were countless people visiting him. There were banquets every day. Only his small courtyard was relatively quiet and not disturbed.
-
Rong Tang was recuperated at home for more than a month. Everyone in the capital knew that Prince Ningxuan's mental illness had recovered. During this period, even the Queen came once to visit her nephew.
Until one afternoon, when the weather turned warmer, Rong Tang was leaning on the couch reading a book when he heard the system calling him: [Host. ]
"Um?"
[Li Changfu took action.]
Rong Tang paused, then smiled, and for the first time, a dark light that didn't match the gentleness flashed across his eyes.
He called Shuangfu: "Go and ask the second young master to come over."
Shuangfu was stunned for a moment, and a trace of worry flashed in his eyes when he looked at Rongtang. Rongtang smiled and said, "It's okay, just go and invite him."
The original owner was the only legitimate son of King Ning Xuan and the crown prince personally appointed by the emperor. He had been mentally ill for many years and posed no threat to his two half-brothers. However, during the time since he recovered from his mental illness, the second young master, the third young master and several concubines had secretly inquired about him more than once.
Openly they said that this was a blessing for the palace, but secretly they wished that he would die sooner.
The second young master Rong Zheng came after a long delay of half an hour. Rong Tang sat on the couch and smiled when he saw him. "How have you been doing with your studies these days, second brother? Do you feel tired?"
Rong Zheng felt a little awkward and contemptuous in his heart, thinking that you, a fool, dared to ask me about my homework. How could you have the courage? But he replied, "Thank you for remembering me, brother. I will have to share the worries of His Majesty and father in the future. I don't think studying is hard."
Rong Tang was still smiling, as if he couldn't hear the sarcasm in his words: "That's good. I heard people say that my second brother hasn't been to the Imperial College to attend lectures these days, but has been going to Fengyue Tower every day. I guess that's also made up."
Rong Zheng's face turned pale, and he looked at Rong Tang in disbelief. After a moment, he said in a deep voice: "I don't know where you heard the rumors, but these days the Second Prince has been attending court and occasionally invites you to discuss state affairs in the private room of the Liujin Building opposite Fengyue Building. Maybe someone saw it and started gossiping."
Fengyue Tower is the most famous brothel in Dayu, while Liujin Tower is a formal restaurant. Naturally, the two cannot be compared.
Rong Tang poured himself a glass of water: "Are you the only one?"
Rong Tang nodded and glanced at him: "If that's the case, I guess father knows about it too?"
Rong Zheng was stunned. He didn't expect that this fool could be so smart.
Prince Ning Xuan was a close minister to the emperor, and because of Princess Duan Yi, the young men in his family had a weak family relationship with the prince. When he was young, being close to the prince could be understood as a close relationship between the monarch and his ministers, but now the second prince has entered the court to listen to government affairs, and Prince Ning Xuan's legitimate son is weak and sickly and will not live long. In the future, the palace will most likely fall on Rong Zheng's shoulders. He is so close to the second prince, which implicitly represents the position of the palace.
Emperor Renshou is suspicious, which is not a good thing for King Ningxuan.
But Rong Zheng was stubborn and didn't change his words even in this situation: "It's natural."
Rong Tang smiled and said, "In that case, why don't you take me with you when you go to see the Second Prince tonight?"
"Why is this?" Rong Zheng wondered.
Rong Tang: "Since this is the father's position, as the prince, I should take responsibility, right?"
Rong Zheng's face turned purple, but he couldn't refuse.
-
That night, the lights in the Gilded Tower were on brightly, and looking out from the railing, one could see the Fengyue Tower across the street bustling with people coming and going.
The second prince was very angry today. He was annoyed by those old men in the court this morning, so he wanted to go to Fengyue Tower in the evening to have some fun and relieve his depression.
But this fool Rong Zheng actually brought his elder brother here!
If it was someone else, the Second Prince would not have paid any attention to him and would have directly brought him to Fengyue Tower, but he could not do that with Rong Tang.
Prince Ning Xuan is the emperor's most trusted minister, Rong Tang is the legitimate son, and he also has a relationship with the queen. His status in Dayu is several levels higher than that of the unpopular princes in the palace.
If the Queen knew that he brought Rong Tang into a dirty place like Fengyue Tower, she would probably make things difficult for him in front of the Emperor.
The second prince was so angry that he glared at Rong Zheng and cursed him for being a pig-brained man! The prince Wukang, who was sitting next to him, kept urging him to drink, hoping to calm him down.
In the midst of the awkwardness, Rong Tang coughed lightly a few times, stood up, clasped his fists and apologized to the Second Prince: "I am physically exhausted, I am afraid I have to leave first, I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
The second prince's expression brightened up immediately, and he stood up excitedly, saying with concern: "My cousin is not in good health, and he shouldn't have gone out. It was my inconsiderateness that caused my cousin to travel so far. Someone, send the prince back home."
Rong Tang smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I brought guards with me, so I dare not trouble Your Highness. But I hope Your Highness will not tell my aunt about this trip tonight, so as not to worry her."
The second prince was even happier and thought to himself, no wonder the queen had been praising Rong Tang in front of his father every day since she had visited Prince Ningxuan's mansion, this man was indeed a sensible person.
The Second Prince naturally accepted the offer, and the children of the rich and powerful stood up to see him off. Before Rong Tang left, he quietly looked at the Prince of Wukangbo for a moment, then smiled at the Second Prince and said, "I asked the servant to prepare two jars of twenty-year-old daughter's red wine as an apology. Your Highness, please taste it before you leave."
The second prince smiled even more: "My cousin, I dare not disobey your kindness."
Only then did Rong Tang go downstairs.
Shuangfu was waiting downstairs, and when he saw him coming, he lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and said, "Master, let's go back home."
"No need." Rong Tang raised his hand, "Go to the other side."
"Ah...ah?" Shuangfu opened his mouth in a daze.
There was a brothel across the street. Shuangfu thought about it and gritted his teeth to persuade him, "Master, your body... You really shouldn't go to that kind of place."
Rong Tang had been feeling an inexplicable emotion in his heart. He was stunned for a moment when he heard the words, but he laughed instead: "Don't think too much, I'll go find someone."
Shuangfu followed behind him with a wrinkled face, muttering quietly: "You can't come here to find anyone..."
Rong Tang ignored him and went into the brothel. Worried that the Second Prince and his men would soon catch up, he went straight to Gui Gong and asked Shuangfu to hand him a piece of silver. He asked, "Master Li told me that he prepared a gift for me?"
The turtle man was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly: "My Lord, you have come at the right time. The person has just been sent here. Please follow me."
A flash of coldness flashed across Rong Tang's eyes. He clenched his hands in his sleeves and followed Gui Gong upstairs.
The door was locked. Before Rong Tang could get angry, Gui Gong took out the key and said with an apologetic smile, "This young master has a very stubborn temper and has been trying to run away. We had no choice but to lock him up."
Rong Tang glanced at him impatiently and asked Shuangfu to throw a piece of silver to him.
The old man immediately smiled and said, "Then please come in, my lord. I will take my leave."
"Wait." Rong Tang ordered, "Don't let anyone disturb me."
The old man smiled ambiguously: "I understand, I understand."
Rong Tang clenched his fists and then stepped in.
(End of this chapter)