When Rong Tang returned to the restaurant, Ke Hongxue had just finished talking to Sheng Chengming. When he looked up, he saw two people approaching the entrance of the hall. He was stunned for a moment, then he smiled: "My Lord, did your ear get bitten by a bug?"
Rong Tang paused and almost turned around and left.
Su Huaijing grabbed his wrist and did not let him run away. He raised his eyes and glanced at Ke Hongxue. No one knew what the latter was thinking of. He rarely teased Rong Tang further. Instead, he took a sip of tea in silence, with a lingering smile in the corner of his eyes.
Sheng Chengming also saw the teeth marks on Rong Tang's ear - it was really hard not to see.
Prince Ningxuan was like a snowman made of white porcelain. The only color on his body was his black glass-like eyes and his light pink lips. Where on his body was his skin so red that it looked like it was dripping with blood
It is so bright red that people unconsciously look over there. Once they look over there, they can see a little light white mark on the earlobe.
Before meeting Su Huaijing, Sheng Chengming hung out with Qin Pengxuan's gang in the capital, and frequented places of entertainment every day. How could he not see what this was
It's just... no matter how dissolute the prostitutes in Fengyue Tower were, they would never leave such marks on their patrons. But his lady actually bit a mark on her husband's ear so bluntly and marked him directly
Sheng Chengming really didn't know what to say. He was once again thankful that he had only said once that Rong Tang would die sooner or later, otherwise who knows whether Master Su would still assist him.
Sheng Chengming looked at the two of them, turned around and told the eunuch to wrap two pieces of ice in a towel and pass them to Rong Tang. He then said, "It's hot in summer, and there are a lot of mosquitoes. Cousin, apply some ice to reduce the swelling."
Rong Tang was slightly startled, and looked up at Sheng Chengming in surprise. The latter looked clear-headed, as if he really thought the mark on his ear was caused by an insect bite.
When he came to his senses and was about to say thank you, Su Huaijing had already taken the towel graciously. He thanked Sheng Chengming with a smile, then pulled Rong Tang to sit on his left, put an ice towel on his ears, and fed him some food in his bowl.
When Rong Tang glared at him, he just blinked his eyes, looking extremely innocent, totally unaware of why his husband was so mean to him.
Ke Hongxue was sitting next to them. Even though she had seen this young couple getting along with each other several times, she couldn't help but shake her head.
While eating, he looked outside the door, missing his fellow student terribly.
Sheng Chengming didn't want to disturb Su Huaijing and Rong Tang, so he brought the topic to him and asked, "Master, you haven't told me yet whether there is any progress in Lu Junxian's case?"
Ke Hongxue paused for a moment, raised her eyes and glanced at him lightly, then glanced at Rong Tang and the other man's faces and asked again, "Did the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess not tell Your Highness?"
Sheng Chengming was puzzled and asked directly: "What should I say to you?"
Rong Tang frowned. The temperature of his ears had almost dropped. If they were any colder, they would easily get cold. Su Huaijing removed the towel.
Rong Tang didn't look at Ke Hongxue. He felt more and more that this person was somewhat weird.
It would be fine if he said three-tenths of what he said was true and seven-tenths of what he said was false, but he always liked to bring the topic to them, time and again, and it was almost hard to tell whether he was testing them or having a genuine conversation.
But with his and Su Huaijing's apparent identities and positions, how could they know about Lu Junxian's case even if they had extraordinary abilities
Rong Tang frowned and looked at him, saying, "Huai Jing and I never passed through Hangzhou when we went south, and we never met Governor Lu. How can we know about his case?"
The atmosphere in the restaurant was a little cold for a moment. Ke Hongxue looked at him with a half-smile, then glanced at Su Huaijing and said, "That's what I took for granted. It makes sense. If the prince knew such a big secret long ago, how could he have allowed Lu Junxian to stay in the position of Jiangnan Governor for so many years? He should have reported it to His Majesty and arrested him."
When Rong Tang heard what he meant, he was startled and thought that Mu Jingxu had found out after all.
He turned his head and looked at Su Huaijing.
The villain didn't seem to care too much. He didn't care whether Lu Junxian was dead or alive, or how many crimes he had that could get him fired.
Suzhou is a land of fish and rice, and now is the season with abundant aquatic products. Due to the raging floods, fish and shrimps could be caught every day in Linyuan some time ago.
There was a bowl of thick white crucian carp soup and a plate of crayfish on the dining table. Su Huaijing remembered that Rong Tang liked spicy food, so he asked the kitchen to add more chili peppers. Now he was peeling them for him with great concentration.
As for what happened to Lu Junxian, he really didn't care at all, until he heard Ke Hongxue say: "Lu Junxian is the younger brother of the late Concubine De who was living among the people, and the uncle of the late Third Prince—"
Su Huaijing paused and froze in place. All his experience and cunningness disappeared in an instant. Su Huaijing looked up blankly and met Ke Hongxue's gaze. There was a layer of confusion in his eyes, like a child who desperately needed an answer.
Seeing this, Ke Hongxue sighed silently and confirmed once again that his guess was mostly true.
He straightened his face and stopped being nonchalant. Instead, he spoke slowly, "In the last few years of the previous emperor's reign, the border of Dayu was repeatedly harassed by barbarians. The emperor was killed... His virtue was unworthy of the position."
Rong Tang frowned and looked at Ke Hongxue, but seeing a hint of sarcasm in the corner of his eyes, he knew that his previous remarks were only meant for Sheng Chengming.
He stood up silently, poured a cup of tea for Su Huaijing, and lowered his eyes without saying a word.
Ke Hongxue said: "Your Majesty received the order from heaven to start the uprising in the south. Emperor Lu sent the third prince to the south to persuade them to surrender. Lu Junxian was the accompanying officer in the army that went south at that time."
Su Huaijing was a little dazed and lowered his head. His emotions leaked out for a moment, but then he restrained himself. He looked into his own eyes in the teacup and listened to what Ke Hongxue said bit by bit opposite him.
"At that time, the enemy invaded the northern border, and the young general of the Duke Xian's family went to the northern border with the late crown prince. The old general was old, and the young commander was away on a campaign. There was no one available in the court. The late third prince went south alone, and she was worried. So Concubine De asked him to bring Lü Junxian, who was the editor of the Imperial Academy at the time, as his accompanying secretary."
"And this Lv Junxian is actually the illegitimate son born to Concubine De's father and his concubine in his early years. He never dared to bring him home until he passed the imperial examination and became an official in the court. Only then did Concubine De's biological father tell Concubine De."
Ke Hongxue said: "Illegitimate children have always had no name or status. Even if they hold high positions, their ancestral roots cannot be traced. Concubine De asked my brother and the third prince to go south. In fact, she thought that if they could make meritorious deeds and return to the court, they would have a reputation for Lv Junxian to recognize his ancestry."
Sheng Chengming didn't know why he felt something was wrong the more he listened. He frowned and said, "Father's uprising was God's will. How can their actions be considered meritorious? It's simply nonsense."
Rong Tang glanced at Su Huaijing's hands under the table and saw that they had clenched tightly. Such a clean person didn't even think it was disgusting to have spicy oil on his hands.
Rong Tang felt distressed when he saw this, and silently stood up to bring a basin of water to wipe his wound.
Rong Tang felt so distressed that he grabbed his fingers.
Su Huaijing looked up in surprise. Rong Tang whispered to Shuangfu to bring a basin of clean water and put it beside him. He then took him to wash his hands in the basin with him.
Oil stains are the most difficult dirt to clean. Rong Tang rubbed the two people's fingers with soapberry, then lowered his head and rubbed Su Huaijing's hands gently and patiently.
Ke Hongxue was still slowly telling the secrets revealed through torture. Rong Tang lowered his eyes and washed his little villain's jade-like hands very carefully.
A beautiful jade should not be stained. Suddenly, for a moment, he resonated with what Ke Hongxue said a moment ago:
If you have seen beautiful jade, how can you be envious of a stubborn stone
Rong Tang held a handkerchief and helped Su Huaijing wipe the water droplets off his hands. During the whole process, Su Huaijing remained motionless, neither teasing him nor acting coquettishly. He just sat there in a daze, lowering his eyebrows and watching Rong Tang's focused movements.
Then Ke Hongxue said, "But at that time, His Majesty was blessed by heaven and was advancing northward with great momentum. Lu Junxian knew that there was no possibility of returning smoothly, and thought that it would be better to turn to the light rather than go back to be a nameless and unnamed remnant of the previous dynasty who might be killed at any time. So he relied on the little uncle-nephew relationship with the former Third Prince, tricked him into drinking a drug, chopped off his head with a machete, and rushed to His Majesty's camp overnight to offer his nephew's head as a token of loyalty."
No one had been eating at the table for a long time. The dish of shrimps that Su Huaijing had peeled lay in the bowl, listening quietly with them.
When Su Huaijing heard the words "the machete chopped off his head", his body trembled slightly, and he fumbled under the table in a panic. He couldn't even tell whether he wanted to grab the badge or Rong Tang's hand.
But soon his palm touched something soft and slightly cool. Rong Tang held his hand and squeezed it gently, as if to silently comfort him: I'm here.
They performed this series of actions extremely covertly. Even though Su Huaijing lost control, apart from Rong Tang, even Sheng Chengming, who was closest to them, could not detect anything unusual.
He hid his emotions very well. Apart from the confusion at the beginning and the sudden grief just now, no one would know that the person being talked about at the dinner table was actually his brother.
Ke Hongxue paused, as if unwilling to say more, and simply told Sheng Chengming: "Whether Lu Junxian surrendered or not, it is undeniable that he is the uncle of the former Third Prince. Your Majesty hates anyone who has anything to do with the Slaughter Emperor. If Your Majesty knew that Lu Junxian had concealed his true identity even when surrendering, then no one would be able to protect the Governor of Jiangnan."
Sheng Chengming was shocked and felt happy. He subconsciously wanted to share his joy with Su Huaijing. But as soon as he turned around, Rong Tang pulled Su Huaijing up, coughed twice, and said to the two of them: "I feel a little uncomfortable and want to go back to rest first. Please don't blame me, Your Highness."
Sheng Chengming was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up and talked to Rong Tang and Su Huaijing about their well-being before letting them go.
He wanted to talk to Ke Hongxue, but Master Ke stared at the two of them for a while, then said goodbye with a chuckle: "I've been out for so long, I think my senior brother has woken up, I have to go and bring him dinner, Your Highness, please forgive me."
Sheng Chengming: “?”
Okay, I forgive you.
There are many green plants in Suzhou gardens. In early July, a faint moon hangs in the sky. Su Huaijing is walking back with Rong Tang holding his hand.
It was not until he entered the house that he realized what was happening. He stopped Tangtang worriedly and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Rong Tang felt uncomfortable everywhere. Candles were lit in the room, the light was warm and gentle, and there was a faint sound of insects chirping outside the window. He said, "Heart."
Su Huaijing's expression suddenly changed, and he stretched out his hand to grab Rong Tang's wrist, but he dodged. With a hint of impatience, he said in a deep voice, "Rong Tang!"
Finally it feels a little more alive, Rong Tang thought.
The Su Huaijing he saw just now was totally different from any side of him he had known in his three lifetimes.
He had never seen those lifeless, confused and helpless villains.
In his eyes, the Seventh Prince should always be the one making plans, and the Chief Censor should always be smiling but with a dagger hidden behind his face.
It turns out that when he was seventeen years old, the big villain who had just entered the capital would still unconsciously experience emotional fluctuations because of the slightest thing related to his family.
Rong Tang whispered, "My bones hurt too."
Su Huaijing's pupils dilated unconsciously, and his palms began to sweat, but he heard Rong Tang continue to say: "My stomach hurts."
"My stomach hurts."
"My eyes hurt."
"… "
Su Huaijing was stunned for a while, then slowly calmed down. He sat opposite Rong Tang and looked at his expression in the candlelight, a little doubtful: "What's wrong, Tangtang?"
Rong Tang could endure the pain even though he was in excruciating pain, so when had he ever cried out in pain to others in such an unreasonable manner
Su Huaijing lowered his voice and coaxed her gently: "What happened? Tell me, I will help you solve it."
Rong Tang shook his head: "Nothing happened."
"I just feel so much pain in my body, and I don't want to sleep alone." Rong Tang raised his head, looked at Su Huaijing with a pair of clear eyes, and asked softly: "Can you accompany me tonight?"
(End of this chapter)