"No." Rong Tang raised his head and refused seriously, but his hands were clenched tightly.
Su Huaijing blinked and asked softly, "Is it really not possible?"
Rong Tang said with a stern face: "No."
"Okay." The villain nodded regretfully, stepped back a little, and asked again: "Can I still stay in your room and sleep?"
Rong Tang frowned and was about to refuse, but Su Huaijing said aggrievedly: "Tang Tang invited me first."
Rong Tang fell silent in an instant.
He looked up and stared at Su Huaijing for a moment, then stood up, took out a thin blanket from the closet and placed it on the couch.
Su Huaijing couldn't help laughing when he saw his movements like a little squirrel moving house.
The moon was at its zenith, and Suzhou City was surrounded by mist and water. Su Huaijing smiled and went out to prepare toiletries for Rong Tang. They sat in a row like two little children, washed themselves, and then lay down on the bed.
Rong Tang was not actually that sleepy. The moonlight was scattered through the window frame, and he looked at the various patterns carved on the ceiling of the bed in the dim light.
Su Huaijing asked him, "Can't sleep?"
Rong Tang nodded slightly, his hair rubbing against the pillow, making a faint sound. Su Huaijing then asked, "Would you like to hear a story?"
Rong Tang became interested: "What story?"
"What does Tangtang want to hear?" Su Huaijing gave him the choice.
Rong Tang thought about it again and again, and asked, "You and General Wei are cousins, and you lived in Duke Xian's mansion when you were young. So have you ever met the princes of the previous emperor?"
The late emperor's princes were all handsome and elegant. When Rong Tang heard him talk about General Wei and occasionally mentioned the late crown prince and the third prince, he couldn't help but want to touch those existences hidden in the past, which were not passed down, unknown, and even erased from history books.
Rong Tang said: "I always feel that they are very good people. If there is one person who can remember them, then they are not really dead, right?"
The words fell on a midsummer night. Cicadas were singing outside the yard, mosquito repellent incense was lit in the house, and ice was placed in the corner for cooling. Everything was so peaceful and quiet, as if it was completely unaffected by all the conspiracies and intrigues in the world.
Su Huaijing reached to the side and grabbed Rong Tang.
Rong Tang was slightly startled, but did not break free. Then he heard the villain say in a gentle voice: "Then Tangtang, close your eyes and go to sleep. I will tell you slowly."
He talked about the meticulous and calm former crown prince, the dignified and simple second prince, and then devoted most of his time to the uninhibited and willful third prince.
In fact, he also wanted to talk about the fourth princess, the most arrogant and bold, yet gentle and lovely jewel in the palace. However, underage princesses rarely leave the palace, and even if they do, they are unlikely to meet men from other places. With Su Huaijing's identity, he had no reason to see her, so he gave up.
They chatted for a long time, and Su Huaijing was the one talking almost the entire time. Rong Tang listened silently, occasionally responding once or twice, until sleepiness slowly engulfed his brain.
The breathing beside him became more even. The clouds could not cover the moon, and the silvery white light slowly fell. Su Huaijing slowly stopped talking. He turned his head, coaxed gently, and called softly: "Tangtang?"
Rong Tang's brain was so sleepy that he was about to fall asleep, but he subconsciously knew that someone was calling him, and he instinctively said "hmm".
Su Huaijing chuckled softly, and once again asked him gently, appropriately, and with great manners: "Can I kiss you now?"
The confused person was unable to make any rational response, and just replied him softly with something that seemed to be "hmm" or "mm".
Su Huaijing seemed to have received an imperial order. He slightly curved his eyes, stood up very quietly, and looked at Rong Tang's face in the moonlight through the window.
Slightly pale skin, delicate and long eyebrows, thick and curled eyelashes, and slightly thin and light lips.
To be fair, his Tangtang is really a good-looking person.
It looks like a work carefully polished by a world-famous painter.
I used ink to carefully depict the handsome face, and every stroke was just right. But when I was about to add color, I found that I had run out of cinnabar ochre. The painting lost its color, but its charm was enough to overwhelm me. So I simply didn't add color.
Su Huaijing lowered his eyes and gazed at her. He felt at ease thinking that he had obtained the consent of his sweetheart, but he just carefully and gently gave Rong Tang a light kiss on the forehead.
He really likes Rong Tang very much. The moonlight and the evening breeze can testify to this. The chirping of cicadas are their bridesmaids, and the heaven and earth are their parents.
-
The seventh day of the seventh month is the Qiqiao Festival.
When Rong Tang woke up early in the morning, he saw a pair of lanterns depicting mandarin ducks hung under the eaves in front of the house. The lanterns were exquisitely designed, with the mandarin ducks playing in the water and showing their affection.
Su Huaijing came over with breakfast in his hand. Rong Tang looked at him sideways and asked, "Did you hang up?"
Su Huaijing smiled lightly: "Well, does it look good?"
Young Master Rong looked at him with a very puzzled expression and asked, "Why are you hanging this?"
"Please pray to the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to help my husband fall in love with me." Su Huaijing said innocently.
Rong Tang choked, the words stuck in his throat. He went to the bathroom to wash up and came back. Halfway through his steps, he changed direction, turned around, found Shuangfu, said a few words to him, and then went to have breakfast with Su Huaijing.
When I came out again, the morning light was bright. The lanterns under the eaves had been changed to a new pattern, with swans embracing each other, and tiny bells were decorated at the bottom, which made a ringing sound when the wind blew.
Su Huaijing took a closer look, slightly surprised, and turned his head to look at Rong Tang: "Did Tang Tang tell you?"
"Yeah." Rong Tang nodded proudly.
"Why?" Su Huaijing asked.
Rong Tang snorted, "I always thought you were omnipotent and omniscient."
"..." Su Huaijing was silent for a moment, then asked uncertainly: "Tangtang seems to be scolding me?"
Rong Tang raised the corners of his lips and said, "That's right."
Su Huaijing: “…”
Rong Tang had a subtle feeling of teasing someone but was teased instead. His ears turned red as he said, "Yuanyang is actually not loyal at all."
"Male mandarin ducks are particularly fickle and will find many wives in their lifetime. The ancients were deceived by them and thought that mandarin ducks represent the love between husband and wife," said Rong Tang.
Su Huaijing pondered for a while and asked, "So the swan is a loyal bird?"
"Yes." Rong Tang said, "Swans are monogamous. Once they become a pair, they will only recognize each other for the rest of their lives, no matter life or death."
"Is that so?" Su Huaijing murmured, holding Rong Tang's fingers, and showing just the right amount of doubt at the right time: "Then why did Tang Tang help me replace the palace lantern for praying?"
Rong Tang pursed his lips and said nothing.
Su Huaijing's smile deepened, and he teased her bit by bit: "Is it pity? Love? Love? Or... Tangtang agreed to my wish?"
Rong Tang stared at the road beneath his feet and shook his head: "Neither."
Su Huaijing asked: "What is that?"
"Pray for you." Rong Tang said in a low voice.
Su Huaijing was slightly startled, then laughed happily: "Tangtang knows that even the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl cannot fulfill my wish, only you can make it come true."
Rong Tang muttered something softly, and Su Huaijing's face changed. He thought he had heard it wrong, and asked, "What did Rong Tang say?"
Rong Tang gave up and said, "You can find someone else you like."
Their hands were still clenched together. This statement was particularly unreliable. Su Huaijing was almost amused by his anger. He shook his clenched hands and pressed, "Why?"
Rong Tang frowned and thought of a reason: "I'm not a good person."
There was an octagonal pavilion in front of them. A young man in purple and a young man in white were sitting in the pavilion and talking. Su Huaijing slowed down his pace and staggered half a body length away from Rong Tang. He looked at his profile and sighed softly, "I said that Tang Tang never speaks the truth."
Rong Tang was stunned and very unconvinced: "You spread rumors about me."
"How could I have spread rumors?" Su Huaijing said with a clear conscience: "The day the prince tricked me into getting engaged, he said that at least you were a good person. Now that I confessed to you, you actually went so far as to tarnish your own reputation in order to reject me?"
He asked faintly, "Is it really so unbearable that I like you?"
The villain was extremely emotional, feeling aggrieved and wronged, his head drooped, his eyes closed, and golden sunlight sprinkled on his eyelashes, making him look extremely pitiful.
Rong Tang was most afraid of seeing Su Huaijing like this. He opened his mouth and almost couldn't help but apologize immediately. The two people in the pavilion in front noticed their presence. Ke Hongxue shook the folding fan in her hand and called out from a distance: "My Lord, come over and chat?"
For the first time, Rong Tang felt that Master Ke was his savior. He took a step to go over, but his hand was firmly grasped by someone, and his entire body was fixed in place, unable to move.
He looked back and saw Su Huaijing still standing there, looking at him quietly, as if he wanted an explanation.
Ke Hongxue urged them in the pavilion, and Mu Jingxu, who was the least fond of joining in the fun, turned his head and frowned at them, as if wondering why the two of them suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.
Rong Tang was overwhelmed and decided to give up and apologize.
But just as he was about to say that, Su Huaijing pulled him forward again, and his voice fell lightly into his ears.
"I like Tangtang too much, so I'm anxious for a response. I shouldn't force my expectations on you. Tangtang, don't be angry."
Rong Tang: “?”
Su Huaijing added: "I just don't want to hear you slander yourself. You are a very good person. Don't say nonsense just to reject me. I will be angry if I do that, but I don't want to be angry with Tangtang."
This was a vicious circle, and Su Huaijing couldn't get out of it for the moment, so he was stuck there, looking at his little Bodhisattva childishly.
But a helpless expression appeared on Rong Tang's face, and Su Huaijing immediately felt that this was not possible.
He shouldn't have embarrassed Rong Tang or even made him apologize in public just because of his own selfish desires.
It doesn't matter what he does in private, he can coax Tangtang and outsiders won't see him looking helpless. But in front of others, Su Huaijing hopes that Rongtang will always be the smart and noble young master, and shouldn't compromise his behavior in the slightest just because of his love for her.
He held Rong Tang's hand and walked into the pavilion. Ke Hongxue and Mu Jingxu both looked at them, the former with smiling eyes, while the latter was still cold and distant, but when he looked at Su Huaijing, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
The morning breeze blew across the poolside, and Rong Tang was a little dazed.
When he was about to step into the pavilion, he reached out and pulled Su Huaijing, whispering, "I lied."
Su Huaijing also lowered his voice: "I know." Tangtang always said one thing and meant another, and he was used to it.
Rong Tang raised his eyes and glanced at his profile.
The villain's face was still handsome and attractive, with a decent smile on the corner of his lips, and only a barely perceptible loneliness in his eyes.
Rong Tang pursed his lips and thought, you don’t know.
I hope your wish comes true, but...
It seems that I don’t want you to change someone.
But I don’t want you to be buried with me, what should I do
Rong Tang was very confused.
(End of this chapter)