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"If anyone is going to profit from this farce, it's me."
Reason told Rong Tang that he should question Su Huaijing about this sentence.
This is a fight between royal heirs caused by conspiracy and intrigue. Whether it is death or injury, whether it is building a tall building on the ground or a century-old tree being eaten by insects, it is limited to the three princes involved in this calculation.
From Rongtang's perspective, none of it had anything to do with Su Huaijing.
He should have asked.
But it was early summer and the sun was shining brightly. The peacocks in the zoo were spreading their feathers. The dark green tail feathers were beautiful and stunning. Along with lazy and pleasant sounds, there was a very warm embrace in front of him. Rong Tang almost forgot to breathe for a moment, let alone question the loopholes in Su Huaijing's words that he didn't know whether intentionally or unintentionally revealed.
At the moment of the hug, Rong Tang came back to his senses. He didn't know whether his eyes were not used to the light or the colorful peacock's tail. He blinked slightly and finally asked, "What did you tell Ke Hongxue?"
Su Huaijing was stunned for a moment, showing some surprise, as if he had not imagined that this should be the first question Rong Tang asked.
Su Huaijing lowered his eyes and stared at Rong Tang for a moment, a faint smile appeared on his lips, a little like acting like a spoiled child, a little like being spoiled, anyway, very coquettish: "That's another secret, if Tangtang wants to know... kiss me?"
Rong Tang turned and left.
Su Huaijing chased after him with a smile: "Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore, I'll tell you something."
Rong Tang turned his head and looked at him suspiciously, not quite believing it.
Su Huaijing curved his eyes and said, "When have I ever lied to Tangtang? Let me tell you."
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Songyuan has gone through four owners since the previous emperor.
The late emperor, the third son of the late emperor, Emperor Renshou, Sheng Chengxing.
The third son of the late emperor had been praised by lecturers and companions for his intelligence and cleverness since he entered the Imperial Academy at a young age.
He was good at romance and creativity, and was proficient in writing poetry and painting. He was also good at drinking and fighting insects. Even in designing buildings, if he was given enough time to learn, he could become the best in the world.
He was so smart that one of his ministers once privately said that if a virtuous person was to be appointed as the crown prince, the third prince would be an excellent candidate.
When the Third Prince heard this, he would smile and wave his fan. He would wear an elegant and refined Confucian robe, lean on the railing of Fengyue Tower, listen to the folk songs inside the tower, look at the river lanterns outside the tower, play with a Ru porcelain wine glass in his hand, and his voice would be scattered but clearly audible: "In terms of seniority, I am not as good as my elder brother; in terms of virtue, I am a scoundrel; in terms of my heart towards the world... Sheng San has no ambitions. I only want to be a rich and idle man who walks birds and fights insects in this life. I really can't bear the lives and property of tens of millions of people in the world. I probably practiced asceticism for several lifetimes to get this life of wealth and honor. What else can I not be satisfied with? My lords, please don't say this again in the future. I am scared just by listening to it."
After he finished speaking, the Third Prince raised his head and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, laughing freely and carefreely, his pair of peach blossom eyes were full of exquisite brilliance.
He is the smartest man in the world, and also the most unruly and most prudent person in the royal family.
The late emperor bestowed him a Song Garden, and he spent three years personally creating a paradise with blooming flowers, summer lotus, autumn fruits, winter snow, and thousands of birds, insects and animals.
Today, Song Garden is extremely beautiful in the hands of Sheng Chengxing, but it was during the years when it belonged to the Third Prince that it became truly famous far and wide.
The royal palace was transformed into a heavenly palace. It was not only a place for the children of the Yujing families to gather and feast, but also a place for ordinary people to have fun.
Every year around the Lantern Festival, Songyuan is open to the public. No matter you are a high-ranking official or a poor man, as long as you want to come, you can find a corner in Songyuan to taste wine, eat meat, bask in the stars and sunlight, or even stay in a room, sleep on a high bed with soft pillows, and have a sweet dream.
When his companions told him to be careful of theft by unscrupulous people, the Third Prince narrowed his eyes like a fox and smiled: "If the things taken away from here can solve the urgent need, what's the harm in lending them to him?"
His companion said, "How can this be called a loan?"
The Third Prince, wearing a cloak, looked at the melting spring snow in the garden and said with a lazy smile, "You have a narrow view of human nature."
No one can say for sure whether anything was lost in Songyuan during those years, but the Lantern Festival venue was held year after year, and no one has ever heard of anyone causing trouble there and being sent to the government.
The villagers around the suburbs of Beijing knew that there was a magnificent manor here, and they also knew that the owner of this manor would invite a troupe to perform operas every Spring Festival and would give free banquets with good wine and meat. For them, the happiest days of the year were probably these days. There lived a god-like master in this manor.
Songyuan is beautiful, prosperous and popular, and it brings much more value than a temporary palace.
After the war, when Emperor Renshou ascended the throne, he saw the palace designed and maintained by his nephew and felt that there was probably no one in the world who was more elegant and more mercenary than Zhuangzi.
Thus, Songyuan became a royal palace again, with high painted gates and erected walls. There was no longer the lantern festival and theater every year, but there were concubines and maids dressed in jewels and jade living in the deep courtyard.
During the Lantern Festival in the second year of the Qingzheng reign, a guard at Songyuan went to the toilet at night and discovered that someone had hung a string of bacon on the courtyard wall, with a small basket of large, beautiful frozen pears piled underneath, emitting an enticing aroma in the cold night.
As time went by, Emperor Renshou seemed to realize that no matter how exquisite and luxurious Song Garden was, it was mostly due to the careful care of the Third Prince. After the Third Prince was beheaded by him, he only stayed in the garden three or five times occasionally, but he lost interest again.
It just so happened that Sheng Chengxing had reached the age to leave the palace, and Emperor Renshou gave the garden to him without a second thought.
Emperor Renshou held such a shallow expectation that his third son might be as smart as his eldest brother's third son. If he could be a little smarter, he would be able to impress the people of the world.
This is how the flower-picking party came about.
Rong Tang listened to Su Huaijing talking about these things casually as if he was telling a story, and for a moment he didn't know what expression to make.
He wanted to comfort Su Huaijing, but Su Huaijing was smiling again, with his usual gentle and warm smile, as if the people in the story had nothing to do with him at all, let alone being his blood relatives.
But Rong Tang clearly noticed that when he spoke of the words spoken by the Third Prince, his tone was slightly softened; when he talked about the string of bacon that appeared outside Songyuan for no reason, there was a faint smile in the corner of his eyes.
He has the best brother in the world.
All he could do was to take Su Huaijing's left hand and let him walk with him seemingly aimlessly in the garden.
For a moment, Rong Tang wanted to ask him: "Do you want me to see the garden your brother built with his own hands?"
If so, it is really a very beautiful garden.
From the perspective of modern people thousands of years later, his works are still breathtakingly beautiful.
Your brother is enough to make you proud and show off to everyone.
But he didn't say anything. He just stayed silently beside Su Huaijing and walked around Songyuan with him.
I walked past countless houses filled with flowers and fragrant herbs, and passed by several banquet halls filled with laughter and joy. The bustling crowd passed by, and the air became quiet.
Su Huaijing took him to a yard.
The door is dilapidated and sparsely populated. The flowers and plants in the corner of the yard are in disarray, and the branches of the pear tree in the yard are overgrown.
The bright red stage has long lost its former color over the years, leaving only the vaguely visible prosperous lights and shadows.
When Rong Tang saw this yard, his eyes suddenly darkened and a guess arose in his mind.
Su Huaijing asked him: "Tangtang, do you know who lived in this yard before?"
Rong Tang pursed his lips and said nothing.
Su Huaijing said to himself: "Shufei, the lady who was banished to the cold palace in the second year of Qingzheng."
He chuckled: "Good character, virtuous and kind, what a good meaning... Our fifth prince should have an enviable background."
Shufei was the foreign singer brought back by Emperor Renshou from the Jiangnan pleasure boat.
The sorcerer predicted that the prince she gave birth to would be harmful to the emperor, but she was favored by the emperor all the way. She was brought from the private residence into the palace and even named a concubine. Anyone who saw her would praise her for her good means and good character.
In a sense, this is actually one of the golden fingers the author gave to Sheng Chengli.
Emperor Renshou had many concubines, both men and women, and he preferred beautiful women with gorgeous looks.
The Concubine Shu gave birth to a child for him, and was quite exotic, bold and enthusiastic, giving him very beautiful memories of his youth.
In the end, even though she died, Concubine Shu died at the best age of 30, when flowers were in full bloom, leaving the world with only her charming and alluring eyes.
In the previous two lives, after Sheng Chengli came out of the cold palace, he became the most beloved prince of Emperor Renshou. No one can say that this was not due to the contribution of his deceased loved one.
Rong Tang knew that this was the former residence of Concubine Shu, and this stage was specially built by Emperor Renshou for him to appreciate Concubine Shu's dancing.
He turned around and looked back through the gate at the road he had come.
Su Huaijing saw his movements, chuckled and said, "It seems Tangtang has guessed it?"
Follow the cobblestone path forward, pass a courtyard, turn a corner, and walk a hundred steps, and you will find Lanxinzhai, a place where fragrant herbs are planted.
This is also the place that everyone knows Yue Rong visited before her death.
Rong Tang looked slightly cold, and asked in a deep voice: "Does this matter have anything to do with the Queen?"
Su Huaijing smiled, and the admiration in his eyes could not be hidden, so he simply let it show. He raised his hand to help Rong Tang tidy up his hair, which was a little messy from the journey, and said in a gentle voice: "In the second year of Qingzheng, two major events happened in the Dayu harem."
"The first one happened in April. The eldest prince was critically ill. The Imperial Hospital worked day and night for three days to treat him, but the eldest prince was seriously ill and eventually died. The second one happened in September of that year. Concubine Shu was pregnant. It should have been a cause for celebration for the whole palace, but somehow, His Majesty was furious and banished the pregnant Concubine Shu to the cold palace, causing her to miscarry. In the twelfth month of the same year, Concubine Shu died in the cold palace."
Su Huaijing spoke in a very soft voice, talking about palace secrets that should not be revealed.
"According to the old people in the palace, a few months before the eldest prince fell ill, he received a fumigation recipe from the director of the Imperial Hospital, saying that taking it every day would help his condition. In the first two months, the originally weak eldest prince not only felt much better, but he could even ride a horse and shoot. Your Majesty and the Queen were very happy about this."
"But in the third month, the eldest prince's illness relapsed with great force. Within just three days, the weak legitimate prince died."
Su Huaijing raised the corners of his lips, leaned close to Rong Tang's ear, and whispered, "The Concubine Shu is pregnant, and His Majesty wants to give her the favor of the imperial concubine to show his favor. But by chance, the palace maid in charge of fumigating incense cleaned the room and found a bag of spices. Tangtang, guess what that smell is?"
Rong Tang said nothing, his hands and feet felt a little cold.
Su Huaijing was still smiling, looking very innocent: "What should I do, Tangtang? Someone thinks he is smart and is acting in front of me. I can't stand it and want to expose him."
"Tangtang won't blame me, right?"
(End of this chapter)