Rong Tang went back to his room at dusk, saying that he felt sleepy after taking medicine.
Su Huaijing could see that he was worried, but he didn't ask any more questions. He just looked at him deeply for a while, chuckled, and asked, "Do you want me to prepare water for Tangtang to soak her feet?"
Rong Tang was slightly startled, and the sudden feeling of world-weariness was suppressed. Before he went downstairs, he turned around and shook his head: "Shuangfu will help me prepare, you haven't finished playing chess yet."
After he left, Ke Hongxue would naturally take his place. Su Huaijing's coming to Songyuan was a casual order from Rong Mingyu, and perhaps he also wanted to accompany Rong Tang to relax, but to say that he had no other purpose... Rong Tang had lived four times, so he was not that naive after all.
Su Huaijing stood up and watched him go downstairs and return to his room until the wooden door closed in front of him. Then the smile on the corner of Su Huaijing's lips suddenly disappeared, and his eyes instantly became cold, just like the opening night.
Ke Hongxue didn't look at him. He slowly bent down, lighted a lantern, and sat down where Rong Tang had been before. He swung the folded fan in his hand, making a crisp sound. He seemed to be thinking about something, but also found it quite interesting: "The prince's chess moves... I have never seen them before in my life."
"Is that so?" Su Huaijing turned around and sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and asked, "Why did Lord Ke say that?"
Ke Hongxue smiled, closed her folded fan, and pointed at a few white pieces in the air: "Here, here, here... If the prince had moved a little bit, he would have more momentum and a better chance; but here, here, and here, if he had changed the pieces in any of these moves, the game would have been decided long ago."
Su Huaijing was feeling a little depressed and didn't want to talk, but Rong Tang didn't want to be disturbed at the moment. And Ke Hongxue happened to be talking to him about Tang Tang, so Su Huaijing became more patient.
"According to what Lord Ke said, what does this mean?" Su Huaijing asked.
Ke Hongxue shook his head, took out a white piece from the chess cup, rubbed it in his hand for a while, shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. The way of playing chess is like the person. The prince seems to be a very interesting person, but I didn't expect his way of playing chess to be so contradictory."
Ke Hongxue is good at chess, and is also good at judging people through their chess.
Strictly speaking, he is good at judging people from many things.
Handwriting, calligraphy, piano music, singing, paintings... everything in this world created by humans can reflect people, and Go is no exception.
Ke Xuebao is a well-mannered businessman. When Ke Hongxue was a child, he was still a quiet person and would observe the customers coming and going in his family's shop.
But people will get tired and bored if they watch too much.
But Rongtang gave him a very novel feeling.
His chess moves are also very interesting.
Ordinary people play Go for competition or to win. There are always exceptions, but it is undeniable that most people who like Go and are good at Go generally have a very strong desire to win.
He is, and so is Su Huaijing.
Some people are on the surface, some hide it deep in their hearts, but no one can be said to be pure and desireless.
The only person who Ke Hongxue couldn't see through was Rong Tang.
He plays chess... like he's playing.
It's not like a child who knows nothing about Go playing with black and white chess pieces. On the contrary, it's clear from Rong Tang's chess moves that he not only knows Go, but is also an expert at it. If he plays the next game seriously, there might be few opponents for him in this Songyuan.
But he made his moves so lightly, so lightly that it seemed as if he had no aim or desire at all.
He played chess just to kill time, or to chat with Su Huaijing, or maybe simply to sit in the attic and wait for dusk.
But he was also very sharp and could see the clues in advance every time he was about to lose the game, make good moves, and save a game that was about to be lost in just a few steps.
Ke Hongxue originally thought that it might be Su Huaijing who let him go, but when he worked his way back along the chessboard, he found that Su Huaijing didn't let him go either. In fact, he was just as interested as himself, so much so that... he was quietly testing him.
The result of the test was that when Ke Hongxue saw this game of chess, he split Rong Tang into two people in his mind.
One is Rong Tang, a sickly person who doesn't care about anything, can get everything without paying anything, and is coaxed and protected by others, so that he doesn't have the slightest desire to fight for power and gain;
One is Rong Tang, the prince of Ningxuan, who was born into a noble family, whose name itself represents power, and who will struggle with the desire for power all his life.
No matter which one it was, Ke Hongxue found it interesting. He was bored for many years after returning to Beijing. If it were not for his senior brother, he would rather go back to Jiangnan to go boating on the lake or fishing on the snowy night than to work hard in this world of fame and fortune.
But Rongtang made him feel interesting.
Ke Hongxue's eyes lit up, and he tentatively placed a move along Rong Tang's path.
Su Huaijing followed the black piece silently.
Ke Hongxue went down again, and Su Huaijing continued to follow.
After dozens of moves, Ke Hongxue held the folding fan in his hand and did not take any more pieces. Instead, he chuckled and admitted defeat frankly: "I am not good at chess and have not understood the ways of the young master."
He suddenly became curious and asked, "Master Su, when you play chess with the prince, how does it usually end?"
Su Huaijing withdrew his gaze from the chessboard and said, "It ended without any illness."
He and Rong Tang often played chess when they were still in Yong'an Lane, but Tang Tang was always easily sleepy and lazy. No matter how the game went, whether it was good or bad, whether he had a big chance of winning or losing, he would always put down his chess pieces at some unexpected point.
Maybe it was the steaming snacks that Shuangshou had just bought from the street that made him hungry, or maybe it was the sun that came out and fell on a flower in the yard that made him happy, or maybe he suddenly remembered that there were only a few pages left of the storybook he had read in the morning, and he wanted to finish reading it...
Or maybe he was just tired. Rong Tang would put down the chess pieces, wrap himself in a blanket and lie down on the beauty couch, turning his head to look at Su Huaijing and unconsciously acting like a spoiled child: "Huaijing, I'm so tired, can you give me a massage?"
"… "
Su Huaijing naturally agreed to all his requests.
When you play chess again next time, the situation will be completely different.
Rong Tang didn't seem to have any strong desire to win, but he would not sit there and watch himself lose.
He would try his best to think and save a losing chess game - every time at that time, he would play chess with Su Huaijing most attentively.
He would frown slightly, purse his lips, and spend much longer thinking about each move than before.
Su Huaijing didn't urge him, but after this crisis was over, Rong Tang made his next move, as relaxed and casual as ever, chatting with Su Huaijing about random things while playing chess.
—'The women of the palace went out the other day to pick some flowers and brought back a bunch of them to the courtyard. I want to make them into dried flowers.' Such trivial things can be told by Prince Ningxuan as an interesting story.
His little Bodhisattva is indeed a person with few desires.
Su Huaijing's expression softened a little unconsciously when he thought of this, but what flashed across his eyes was the look on Rong Tang's face a moment ago when he stood in front of the railing, looking towards the distant horizon with no sadness or joy.
Su Huaijing... didn't like that look.
He frowned slightly, wanting to go downstairs to look for Rong Tang, but he restrained himself from moving any further. His hands hung at his sides, and he habitually touched the badge.
The amulet could actually comfort him better, but Su Huaijing was always worried that the talisman wrapped in talisman paper would not be able to withstand his frequent thoughts.
Ke Hongxue smiled as he put the chess pieces on the board back into the chess cup one by one, then spread his hands and said, "Master Su, shall we play the next game?"
Su Huaijing paused slightly and looked up at him.
The sky was dim on the attic, Songyuan was brightly lit, and tourists passed by from a distance with laughter and chatter from time to time. I don't know how many plays were changed on the Lanyue Pavilion, and how many dynasties were played.
Su Huaijing actually wanted to be with Rong Tang more, even if it was just him reading storybooks while he practiced calligraphy on the side.
But since Ke Hongxue took the initiative to invite him, he would definitely not refuse.
Su Huaijing then took the black piece and placed it on Tianyuan. He asked in a calm voice that only the two of them could understand: "Master Ke's answer to me today seems to be selfish."
Ke Hongxue smiled immediately, and made his move calmly without looking at Su Huaijing. He just replied softly in the night: "Master Su wants this answer, right?"
Everyone who asked the question and the person who answered it knew Ke Hongxue's answer. Anyone could say it except him.
Ke Wenrui was the imperial tutor of two generations and a great scholar of his time; Ke Xuebao was a world-famous wealthy businessman who donated large sums of his wealth every year to enrich the national treasury and provide relief to disaster victims.
Whether it was the late emperor or Emperor Renshou, no matter which emperor sat on the throne of Dayu, the Ke family was an unwavering supporter of the people.
Their family has been honest and upright since ancient times.
When he was poor, he opened a school at home and taught poor children who wanted to study free of charge; when he was rich, he helped the world and did his best to help those in suffering that he could not bear.
With such family tradition and education, how could Ke Hongxue say "If the people betray the king, you can go on a journey"
He does have selfish motives.
Selfish desires that cannot be shared with others.
Ke Hongxue didn't say anything, and Su Huaijing didn't ask any further questions. They just played a game of chess in silence, chatting casually about some things that might cause a world upheaval if they got out, but now only Yuehua and Xingguang heard them.
-
When Mu Jingxu came back, there was no one in the red-painted attic.
There are four rooms on the east and west sides of the courtyard, and no one disturbs each other. Mu Jingxu returned to his room and passed by Ke Hongxue's room. He looked inside through the window paper. There was no light, so he went back to his room without looking around.
The candles were lit and the room was very bright.
Ke Hongxue should have washed up and changed out of his fiery red robe, wearing only a moon-white undershirt. His hair was not tied up, but casually scattered behind him. He sat at the desk in a rather frivolous manner, holding a brush dipped in ink in his hand, and reviewing a table full of Dali Temple files.
Hearing the voice, Ke Hongxue smiled and said without turning his head, "Senior, why don't you recruit me to work as your assistant at the Dali Temple? These trivial cases of fighting, killing, stealing, and cheating seem to be very tiring for the eyes, and I don't want you to tire your eyes."
Ke Hongxue paused, glanced up at him, and let out a faint laugh.
"Is Sheng Chengli scared?" Ke Hongxue asked casually after an unknown amount of time.
The one who died was Yuerong, Sheng Chengli's nanny since he was a child. The Fifth Prince was able to leave the cold palace only after Yuerong desperately begged the Imperial Hospital to get the Emperor to show mercy to her.
She died outside the palace, and Sheng Chengli should have been frightened.
Mu Jingxu said, "He is very calm."
"Oh?" Ke Hongxue raised an eyebrow. "Why do I remember that when he rushed to the riverside tremblingly in the afternoon, he almost fainted from the heartache?"
He clearly had some hidden meaning as he stared at Mu Jingxu without blinking. Mu Jingxu frowned, paused slightly, and looked back.
After staring at each other for only a few moments, Ke Hongxue took the initiative to admit defeat, smiled and lowered his head to continue to help his Dali Temple Shaoqing correct official documents, and said, "Brother, you said you wanted to choose a wise ruler for the world. I won't stop you, but I just hope you don't choose the wrong person and tire yourself to death."
Ke Hongxue was a man who was not serious even when he talked about serious matters. When he said this, Mu Jingxu did not respond, but asked, "So why did you go back to Su Huaijing like that today?"
Ke Hongxue asked back, "What's wrong with what I said?"
Mu Jingxu suddenly became angry and said in a deep voice: "Ke Hanying!"
Ke Hongxue was stunned for a moment, put down the pen with some surprise, and looked up at Mu Jingxu.
His senior schoolmate was always calm, with eyes like the snow that never melts on the top of a mountain, cold and distant. It seemed that no one and nothing in this world was worth his attention.
But now, because of this little anger, it has become more vivid.
Ke Hongxue felt happy.
He even smiled sweetly and said, "Senior brother, you called me by my name."
Ke Hongxue turned his head to look out the window, and suddenly changed the subject, saying, "You know, this courtyard was almost called Hanying Pavilion."
The red-painted attic was originally built for him to enjoy the snow.
-
Songyuan is essentially a royal palace.
It is unclear in which dynasty it was built, but it has been used as a temporary palace since its construction. These courtyards in the manor were supposed to be the residences of the emperor and his concubines.
But in the previous generation, there were many palaces in Dayu, but the previous emperor was a homebody.
He didn't like going out, and would rather put a few basins of ice in his bedroom to escape the summer heat than go out with his wife and children.
But some of his children love to run away.
The third son of the late emperor was the most restless person in the entire palace. To some extent, the late emperor treated his sons equally.
The only difference between the legitimate prince and the illegitimate prince is probably the difference in ancestral rules and regulations on sacrificial rituals. The rest of the treatment is almost the same.
The late emperor's sons, at least until the day they died, never had the idea of competing for the throne.
Everyone knows that the future of this world belongs to the Crown Prince.
In terms of seniority, legitimacy, and illegitimate children, he is the only one who can be the best. The other princes are happy to have a leisurely life, while the Crown Prince is the one who has to learn the most, do the most, and bear the most in the entire palace.
But then again, the palace couldn't always be left unattended, otherwise it would be a waste of resources if it were abandoned. So the late emperor waved his hand and gave Songyuan directly to the third prince.
The Third Prince was ten years old at the time, and he was extremely excited to suddenly take over such a large garden.
The late emperor assigned him staff and funds, and even asked masters to teach him how to draw and manufacture, allowing him to design Songyuan himself.
The Third Prince spent three years building a garden for himself that was very much to his liking.
On the day when Songyuan was renovated, the late emperor, who was always too lazy to go out, brought Ke Xuebao, who rarely returned to Beijing, and they each brought their own children to visit Songyuan.
It was winter and there had been a few snowfalls. Although Songyuan was not as full of flowers as it is today, it did not look bleak at all.
Plum blossoms are in full bloom throughout the farm, and the rich fragrance of plum blossoms can be smelled everywhere. The sunlight shines through the clouds and is reflected on the snow on the ground. When three or two tabby cats walk by, a few small and exquisite plum blossom footprints are left on the ground.
The princes and princesses seldom left the palace, so they all went out to play. The thirteen-year-old Third Prince looked at the garden, which belonged to him, with satisfaction. He was very happy and proud. The reflection of his fiery red cloak on his face served as a foil to the youthful vigor and vitality.
That was the first time Ke Xuebao brought Ke Hongxue back to Beijing.
His family's business was in the south of the Yangtze River. It was winter when Ke Hongxue was born, and Ke Xuebao was away on business. When Mrs. Ke heard that her husband encountered bandits on the way, she fainted on the spot.
Fortunately, Ke Xuebao returned safely, and although Mrs. Ke had a difficult delivery, both mother and child were safe. However, Ke Hongxue had been through the gates of death several times since he was born, and could not stand the long journey. His family was afraid that he would die on the road.
Later, I became an apprentice and learned martial arts, and my health gradually improved.
He was twelve years old when he returned to Beijing, but he looked only seven or eight years old, very frail, wearing a pink winter coat and two small buns on his head. The first time the Third Prince saw him, he smiled and said, "Uncle Ke, your sister is so pretty, prettier than my fourth sister."
The hot-tempered fourth princess jumped up and gave her third brother a beating. Then, the "little sister" of Ke Xuebao's family burst into tears and shouted, "You are the prettiest! You are the prettiest! Your whole family is pretties!"
She should be cursing, but her voice was sweet and cute, with a hint of the soft Wu dialect that you can't hear in the capital. Even her curses didn't sound as vulgar as those of the dandy boys in the capital. On the contrary... it was so cute that it didn't sound like cursing. When the Third Prince heard it, he wanted to say "Thank you for the compliment, sister" on the spot.
Fortunately, he held back his words and quickly apologized, saying that it was actually his younger brother who was so delicate and it was his fault for being blind.
The prince apologized. No matter how good the relationship between Ke Xuebao and the late emperor was, he could not make trouble for him. He smiled and patted his son's hand, and wanted the two little guys to shake hands and make peace.
But what does a child know? Even if he is a prince, he is a big fool who is blind and cannot tell the difference between male and female. Little Ke Hongxue does not want to be friends with this stupid prince!
So he glanced at the third prince arrogantly, turned around and ran behind his mother.
But he forgot that he had just cried out of anger, his eyes were red, and he glared at people like a spoiled child. The Third Prince had never seen such a person who acted like a spoiled child even when angry in the capital. His sisters were more hot-tempered than each other. The Fourth Princess, wearing a pink dress, was thinking about finding her aunt to learn how to beat tigers someday.
The way Ke Hongxue glared at him made the Third Prince feel a little... aroused.
He thought this younger brother was so cute. It would be nice if he was a younger sister, but it didn't matter if he was a younger brother. His seventh younger brother was still too young, and the others were all very naughty. He just needed a younger brother who was so well-behaved and cute.
So during the days that Ke Hongxue lived in Songyuan, the Third Prince would come to see him whenever he had time.
Nominally, he was following his father's orders to get along well with Uncle Ke's children, but in reality, his desire to get along well meant that he wanted to give all the delicious, fun and beautiful things to this cute little brother.
But after a few snowball fights and night shows, Ke Hongxue fell ill.
He was born in winter and his name contains the word "snow" (snow). He was a person who could not stand the wind or the cold.
The child lay on the bed with a red face, humming weakly, and the Third Prince's heart ached.
Ke Hongxue couldn't go out, but he loved watching the snow. He had never seen such a large snow scene in the south.
The third prince ordered people to build a attic in the yard. The bright red color of the attic was dazzling and eye-catching against the white winter snow.
The nobleman personally helped the man dress and fasten his cloak, carried him step by step from the house to the attic, placed him next to the stove, and watched an unparalleled snowfall with him.
The Third Prince said, "Axue, this courtyard is for you. When you grow up, you can name it yourself."
The Third Prince said, "Axue, if you get better soon, I will take you to the Jinfen River to release river lanterns, take you to Saibei to shoot goshawks, and take you to Minnan to cross the Insect Valley."
The Third Prince said, "I know many, many fun places. When you get better and I become king, I will take you there."
"… "
Ke Hongxue recovered. Anyone who looks at the famous Tanhua scholar in Yujing now would never imagine that he was once a cute and delicate patient like a little girl.
But he did not wait for the Third Prince, who was made king and prime minister by him, to take him through the northern border and across the grasslands, nor did he wait for him to take him to the Worm Valley to see the scenery of Miaojiang.
All he waited for was a rebellion, a head, and a lonely grave.
Then, many years passed, and he saw Mu Jingxu at Linyuan Academy, who looked nothing like the third prince.
Now that Ke Hongxue was handling official business for Mu Jingxu, he suddenly brought up this matter, but as usual, he received no response.
Ke Hongxue smiled, with a rare hint of bitterness, and said, "Brother, you said that the people of this world are innocent, and you said that you want to choose a wise leader for the world. I will follow you. Whatever you want, I will always agree to it."
“… but I want you to be happy.”
I hope you are happy and safe, and don't spend your life worrying about whether you should take the responsibility for your brother's death when you want revenge.
I hope you can be your unparalleled handsome young man. I hope that throughout your life you will be the Yu Jingzhuyu who can outshine everyone else even in red, rather than the cold snow on the mountains.
I hope you don't love the common people.
You can just love yourself, Your Highness.
(End of this chapter)