Songyuan is like a paradise, far away from the prosperity and chaos of the capital. Being accompanied by poetry and time every day, some people will feel confused and dazed.
The theme of the flower-picking party rotated every day: peony on the first day, gardenia on the second day, spring peach on the third day, and it was not until the sixth day that Sheng Chengxing decided on the theme of peony.
Lu Jiaxi came to the courtyard with the sign early in the morning. Rong Tang laughed sarcastically when he heard the news.
Su Huaijing peeled a bowl of yellow, round loquats, poked one with a fork, and handed it to Rong Tang: "Would you like one?"
Rong Tang hesitated for a second, turned his head, and took a bite of the loquat, which immediately bulged out. Su Huaijing wanted to poke it, but he held back and asked Lu Jiaxi, "Why today?"
Lu Jiaxi replied with two words: "The finale."
Ke Hongxue was originally urging Mu Jingxu to play Gobang with him. Hearing this, he paused, smiled so hard that his eyes could not close, and placed a piece in a line, then took it back one by one, and very slowly and suggestively took a white piece from Mu Jingxu, saying, "Sheng Chengxing is so courageous, can we say that he is worthy of being the descendant of Marshal Xia and Concubine Hui?"
The term "finale" is used in Chinese opera. Rong Tang sees it from a modern perspective. The opera teacher is an old opera artist who promotes traditional culture and is worthy of respect.
But in the feudal era of Dayu, those who perform operas are called actors. If Sheng Chengxing was not a prince, he would have no more heads than needed to chop off the pitiful actors and compare them with the empresses in the palace - even the queen who is the mother of the country.
Ke Hongxue said, "It just so happens that at an occasion like the Flower Picking Meeting, the attendees are either students who have not yet graduated from the academy, civil servants who are pretentious, or children of officials who have no brains and only know how to drink and have fun. When they hear Sheng Chengxing's words, they might really flatter him for actually thinking highly of the Empress, his biological mother, and even giving the Peony Poetry Meeting the finale treatment. In this way, the peony on the first day has become a brick to attract jade. Not only can it not be said that he does not respect her, but it is precisely because of respect that he even brought out his own biological mother to serve as a foil for the Empress."
Ke Hongxue smiled and made a move, not knowing whether to remind or watch the show. He glanced at Rong Tang and said, "Even if someone really sees through the intrigue and wants to report him, it's hard to guarantee that he won't fall into his trap. My Lord, the Queen will have to eat this humiliation whether she wants or not."
Rong Tang's face darkened. He knew this clearly, which was why he felt unhappy.
He spit out the loquat seed in his mouth and asked, "How old is Sheng Chengxing this year?"
At such a young age, he is full of evil intentions! Among the sons of Emperor Renshou, is there any good one
Even if Su Huaijing did not seek revenge and seize the throne, the throne of Dayu would be passed on to the sons of Emperor Renshou. How many generations could it last
Rong Tang once again felt that the author's worldview was problematic.
Su Huaijing replied, "The prince left the palace and established his own residence at the age of 16. The Third Prince is 17 years old this year." He paused, chuckled and added, "The same age as me."
Ke Hongxue was playing chess with a smile on his face. When he heard the title "Third Prince", he frowned silently and looked up at Mu Jingxu who was sitting opposite him.
The latter, on the other hand, was quite calm and composed, standing still without even a flicker in his eyes.
Ke Hongxue sighed in his heart, shook his head slightly desolately, placed a black piece, and watched Mu Jingxu's white pieces connect into a line and return to devour his chess pieces.
Rong Tang turned his head and saw the smile on Su Huaijing's lips, as if he didn't care about anything. He knew that he had taken this matter to heart and stopped worrying about it.
He has been very lazy lately and has become more and more trusting of Su Huaijing. If Su Huaijing can help with some brain-intensive matters, Rong Tang will simply give up thinking and not want to waste his energy.
Lu Jiaxi tentatively invited him: "Do you want to go to Lanyue Pavilion? The Purple Jade Troupe has arranged a new play, and they said it will be performed for the first time today, specially dedicated to His Royal Highness the Third Prince."
After the words fell, Ke Hongxue, who should have been the most enthusiastic, did not move at all, playing Gobang, a game that even a three-year-old can play, without even raising his eyelids: "It's hot, I'm too lazy to move, you guys go ahead, and come back and tell me what you performed."
Rong Tang was slightly surprised. In his impression, Ke Hongxue was a person who loved lively occasions. Whenever there were opera troupes from other places visiting the capital, he would drag a few friends along to watch the opera even if he didn't have meals.
His first choice was naturally Mu Jingxu, but if he couldn't invite his fellow student, he would come to Ningxuan Palace to find Rong Tang. Rong Tang himself couldn't remember how many opera theaters he had visited with him or how many Spring and Autumn performances he had attended.
Now that a new play is being performed, how could Ke Tanhua resist not going
Rong Tang was surprised, but before he left, he saw Ke Hongxue turned his head and looked at Su Huaijing with a somewhat inquiring look, and suddenly asked: "Mr. Su is seventeen this year? When was your birthday?"
Rong Tang stopped walking, turned around and looked at the villain, and suddenly realized something:
He doesn’t know Zizi’s birthday!
Novels don’t write about the villain’s birthday. In the previous two lives, Rong Tang and Su Huaijing had met each other, but neither of them was the type to drag the other to birthday parties. So when Ke Hongxue asked this, Rong Tang suddenly realized that he had never known his wife’s birthday!
This was actually very unreasonable. When asking for the bride price, one had to provide the couple's birth dates, which could be remembered at a glance. However, Rong Tang's schedule during that period was very simple: he went to Yong'an Lane to find Zizi, went to the outskirts of the city to find Shen Feiyi, accompanied Wang Xiuyu to the temple, and tried every means to get more betrothal gifts for Su Huaijing...
He really didn't think of taking a look at the villain's birth date.
Perhaps it was because his eyes were too intense, or perhaps Su Huaijing was subconsciously paying attention to Rong Tang's condition. Seeing his expression, he was stunned for a second, then smiled and asked, "Tang Tang doesn't know my birthday, either?"
Rong Tang felt a little guilty, Su Huaijing said softly: "I'm so sad..."
Rong Tang apologized immediately: "I'm sorry..."
He almost didn't dare to look at Su Huaijing, but the latter laughed loudly, answered Ke Hongxue's words, looked at Rong Tang, and said: "My birthday is Chuntian, the eighth day of the first lunar month, Tangtang, did you remember it?"
There was a light "click" and a collision sound came from the chessboard.
Before Rong Tang could reply to Su Huaijing's words, he subconsciously looked over when he heard the voice, and saw Ke Hongxue leaning over to pick up a white piece from the chessboard, and then restored the chess game that was disrupted by the white piece piece by piece, and finally put the chess piece into Mu Jingxu's chess cup, and smiled and joked: "I told you not to worry about those things when you go out to play. One moment you are helping others to clean up, and the next moment you are handling official business. Even if you are an iron man, you can't handle it."
He suggested softly, "Would you like to take a rest later?"
Rong Tang looked towards Mu Jingxu. He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he saw a hint of… a confused expression on Mu Shaoqing’s face, which was always as white as frost and snow
Rong Tang was about to take a closer look, but saw that Mu Jingxu had calmed down. He glanced at Su Huaijing indifferently, then retracted his gaze and went back to playing chess. He uttered "hmm" in a very light voice as a response to Ke Hongxue's suggestion just now.
Rong Tang felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what exactly was wrong.
After the two days of heavy rain, Mu Jingxu and Ke Hongxue were obviously much freer, and she rarely mentioned Sheng Chengli in front of them, intentionally or unintentionally. This was the first time in Rong Tang's life that he saw some out-of-control emotions on Mu Jingxu's face.
The cause…
He thought about it and it seemed like it was because of Su Huaijing’s birthday
There was a thread tugging at his mind, Rong Tang instinctively sensed something was wrong and wanted to ask in detail, but he saw Su Huaijing lower his eyes, looked at Ke Hongxue, and asked, "Master Ke, why did you suddenly remember to ask about my birthday?"
Ke Hongxue was wearing a pink dress today, and she didn't use a jade fan, but a gold-painted paper fan. The overwhelming wealth was both elegant and tacky, but very harmonious.
He said casually, "We happened to be talking about this, so I asked casually. I just suddenly remembered that I have a younger brother who should be seventeen years old this year, so I wanted to compare who is older between the two of you."
The breeze and the morning sun passed by the building, and the clouds were floating. Ke Hongxue and Su Huaijing were sitting and standing, both with smiles on their faces. Su Huaijing asked, "What's the result?"
Master Ke narrowed his eyes and stared at Su Huaijing. It was hard to tell whether those fox-like eyes were looking at him and missing someone, or were guessing. He opened his lips and smiled slowly, "Same year, same month, same day."
Rong Tang's heart tightened and his brows furrowed slightly. He moved and stood next to Su Huaijing, guarding against Ke Hongxue's asking of dangerous questions.
But Ke Hongxue's eyes flickered, and she waved her fan and said casually, "I should have asked you when and what time you were born, but my brother... was really unlucky and died early before he reached your age. If I ask too much, I'm afraid it will bring up sad memories, so I'll just not ask."
Ke Hongxue: "It happened many years ago. It would have changed a long time ago." He raised his hand and dropped a piece, forming a line again to eat Mu Jingxu's piece, and reminded Rong Tang: "The show in Lanyue Pavilion can't wait. If the prince wants to watch it, he has to hurry up."
The flowing clouds gathered and dispersed. When the three of them left the moon gate in the courtyard, Ke Hongxue withdrew his gaze and said casually, "Brother, do you have anything to ask me?"
Mu Jingxu looked at him: "What do you want to ask?"
Ke Hongxue: "For example, my family has only one son for three generations, so where would I get a brother from?"
Mu Jingxu pursed his lips and said nothing, but the cold snow that had condensed in his eyes all year round seemed to be showing signs of breaking.
Ke Hongxue looked at you with satisfaction for a while and then smiled: "You are still interesting this way. You don't laugh, get angry, cry or make a fuss. My grandfather is not as old-fashioned as you. Sometimes I wonder if you are a snowman."
Mu Jingxu didn't say anything, Ke Hongxue smiled and said, "Someone once called me Snowman, do you know who it was?"
Mu Jingxu looked into his eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "Ke Hanying, what do you want to say?"
Ke Hongxue felt happy and his eyebrows became more curved.
Ordinary people would call out names to show affection, but when it comes to his senior brother, he calls out names when he is angry, annoyed, or wants to distance himself...
The two most intimate words, when they passed through his lips and tongue, revealed only indifference and alienation, but it made people unable to remain indifferent and inseparable, and even a little addictive. They even wanted to make him more angry so that they could pronounce his name word by word, and feel the cold fragrance of winter snow.
Ke Hongxue smiled and said, "I'm just a little curious."
He played with a chess piece for a long time. "The capital has been peaceful for many years, but recently, the son of General Zuo Xiaowei was executed, a rare white tiger was presented to the emperor as a good omen, and even a Shudao Pavilion was opened next to Fengyue Tower. Even my naive and immature junior brother has the courage to go to the authorities to file a complaint—"
He paused, as if he had just remembered something: "Oh, by the way, I also heard that on the night Ding Laibao was executed, the Second Prince took people to capture someone and sent him to the Dali Temple in advance? Have you seen who it was, brother?"
Songyuan was full of people, some attending banquets, some watching plays, some recuperating, some calculating...
The two of them sat in the attic, enjoying the sunlight, playing a game of chess that even a child could understand.
Mu Jingxu did not respond, so Ke Hongxue asked and answered himself: "I have never seen him, but I heard that his name is 'Chen Fei'."
Mu Shaoqing finally spoke up at this time: "It's a very common name."
Ke Hongxue nodded: "It is indeed common—" He raised his eyes and added: "But it is also easy to disguise."
He said with a hint of meaning: "It's a pity that I didn't see his appearance, whether he was similar to my old friend."
Mu Jingxu's hand holding the chess piece suddenly clenched.
Ke Hongxue said one thing after another: "More than three months ago, the emperor ordered Li Changfu to return to the capital to serve as the Minister of War; two months ago, Lord Li brought his family and children to the capital to take up the post... What a coincidence? Not long after that, our Second Prince, who was a grassroots person, began to make frequent achievements; our Prince, who had been stupid for nine years, suddenly married a man."
The black chess piece was spinning on his fingertips. Ke Hongxue smiled nonchalantly, "There is another coincidence. I'm sure you are too lazy to guess. I'll just tell you directly."
He smiled and said, "Before coming to Songyuan, I asked someone to check. They told me that after Li Changfu took office, the women and elders of his family took the official road and took a horse-drawn carriage all the way from Shu to the capital. However, they encountered a group of mountain bandits at the border between Shu and Qin. They did not hurt anyone but only intercepted property. The money that Lord Li had worked hard to save for most of his life was burned to ashes. He had no choice but to send his legitimate daughter to the Wukang Earl's Mansion to be Qin Pengxuan's concubine."
Mu Jingxu's expression changed slightly, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you want to say?"
Ke Hongxue shook her head: "I don't want to say anything, I just think it's interesting."
"Brother, when all the coincidences in this world are unravelled and gathered together on one person, can they still be considered coincidences?"
Ke Hongxue dropped the chess piece he had been playing with onto the chessboard, and happily watched the black pieces connect into a black line like a caterpillar. He did not capture the pieces or take the chess pieces. Instead, he propped up his chin with one hand and said with a smile, "And this person told me that he was born on the eighth day of the first lunar month in the eighteenth year of Yuanxing. Do you think if I continue to ask, will he tell me that he was born at the hour of Chen?"
On the eighth day of the first lunar month in the eighteenth year of Yuanxing, at dawn, the rising sun set on the snow on the red brick and green tile palace walls, reflecting bursts of dazzling light, and a baby's cry was heard in Fengqi Palace.
The most favored seventh prince in the Dayu Palace was born at that time, and since then, all the love and favors were like the morning light at dawn, falling on him, just like the morning star passing by and falling into this world.
The prince's birth date is a royal secret and common people are not supposed to know it.
Mu Jingxu pursed his lips and said nothing. Ke Hongxue sighed softly: "So many coincidences, and yet they are not concealed in front of me at all. Either they are deliberately disguising, or..."
He paused and looked straight at Mu Jingxu: "Senior brother, do you believe that there is resurrection from the dead in this world?"
Mu Jingxu didn't respond. Ke Hongxue stretched out his hand, exceeding the limit in a rare move. He pressed down the back of Mu Jingxu's hand, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, and he said seriously: "I believe in it. I still believe in karma. I believe in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. I believe in the gods above us. There shouldn't be so many injustices like snow in June in this world. What about you, fellow student?"
Do you want to believe with me
The wind blew through the small building. Mu Jingxu sat in silence for a long time and slowly withdrew his hand: "I don't believe it."
Ke Hongxue suddenly became anxious: "Senior Brother—"
"Axue..." Mu Jingxu interrupted him, raised his eyes, looked into his eyes, and repeated in a cold voice: "I don't believe it."
Don't give me hope.
Don't let me hope and then be disappointed again.
I would rather rot in the ground than touch the light of dawn.
Living is tiring enough.
To me, the light and shadow in this world have long been an unattainable fantasy that will be shattered with a single poke.
Then... there is no need to expect.
I can't bear it.
(End of this chapter)