On the second day of the Ghost Festival, spicy rabbit head was added to the Linyuan table.
Rong Tang walked into the restaurant and looked at the spicy rabbit head in silence, wondering who came up with this genius idea.
In the blink of an eye, I heard Ke Hongxue shouting outside the door: "Make way, make way—"
He is more respectable than the waiter in Liujin Tower and thousands of times more dedicated than the boss of Shudao Pavilion.
Rong Tang turned sideways and looked back, and saw Ke Hongxue holding a plate of double pepper rabbit.
Master Ke said with a smile, "I was strolling on the street early in the morning and saw a kid carrying two cages of rabbits and selling them. They looked very pitiful and skinny, so I bought them all at once and killed a few for dinner. I also kept some in the kitchen and will continue to eat them after they have puppies."
"…" Rong Tang: "You have such a dark heart."
Ke Hongxue said righteously: "But rabbit is so delicious."
Just as he finished speaking, the waiter came to serve the dishes, and Rong Tang saw cold rabbit, diced rabbit with flower kernels, and even someone was carrying a pot of rabbit hotpot in the middle of summer.
Rong Tang suddenly felt too lazy to argue with him, and instead, at that moment, he felt an extremely strong curiosity.
He really wanted to see how Mu Jingxu and Su Huaijing would react when they saw this table of food.
The Seventh Prince wanted his brother to take him to the hunting ground to catch rabbits, not his sister-in-law to prepare a rabbit feast for him!
Rong Tang was silent for a while, sitting on a chair and waiting quietly for everyone to gather.
The city of Suzhou will issue a series of compensation plans today for the victims affected by the floods that destroyed houses. Su Huaijing and Mu Jingxu were taken away by Sheng Chengming early in the morning and have not returned yet.
There were several bowls of cold dishes in front of Rong Tang. He was playing with peanuts with chopsticks while responding to Ke Hongxue's words from time to time.
He dreamed of many things last night. Those stories from his previous life were so long ago that they exceeded the time limit. Rong Tang's memory became more and more vague day by day, but after Ke Hongxue finished speaking, he suddenly connected those forgotten details and reasons in an instant.
He had been thinking that, even though Su Huaijing and he were on opposing sides in their previous two lives, there was always a tiny bit of friendship between them. So how could she be so indifferent when she saw his corpse, as if all their past friendship had never existed
It turned out that Su Huaijing had asked him before.
Rong Tang recalled that snowy night in winter and suddenly woke up with a palpitation in his heart. He felt a pain in his chest and sat on the bed with his eyes wide open, almost unable to breathe.
Mu Jingxu is his brother, but Su Huaijing never knew it.
He was just doing the necessary actions for his revenge as usual, treating each of Emperor Renshou's sons as targets that needed to be eliminated one by one.
So naturally, the first people to be subjected to these measures were the princes' staff.
This is normal, even expected.
But when it turned out that Mu Jingxu was his third brother, and Su Huaijing discovered this fact only after his death, everything turned into a time-delay dagger dipped in poison, stabbing Su Huaijing himself again and again.
So Rong Tang finally understood why there was such guilt and resentment in his eyes.
fortunately…
All the peanuts were turned in the same direction, like children sitting in a row. Rong Tang looked towards the main entrance of the restaurant, and outside there were rustling leaves.
Summer is coming to an end and autumn is about to arrive. The leaves of the paulownia tree are falling one by one, covering the soil where the autumn cicadas have just crawled into.
The blue-purple sunset spread, the sun moved to another direction, and someone walked in from the courtyard gate, his every move was like that of a mature adult.
Rong Tang curled his lips unconsciously.
fortunately.
Fortunately, everything has not happened in this life, and fortunately, Su Huaijing is not walking alone in the endless darkness in this life.
He raised his hand and beckoned. Su Huaijing's eyes lit up and he walked over quickly. Just as he was about to sit next to Rong Tang, Rong Tang suddenly asked, "Have you washed your hands?"
Su Huaijing was stunned, and the light of joy in his eyes was replaced by another surprised expression. He blinked lightly. Rong Tang insisted: "Go wash your hands first and then come to eat."
Su Huaijing's face fell in an instant, and he went to wash his hands aggrievedly. Ke Hongxue was watching the joke on the side, and laughed out loud when she saw this, but was glared at by Mu Jingxu who walked in slowly. He frowned and stared at the table full of rabbit banquet without saying a word.
Ke Hongxue raised his head and looked at his senior classmate eagerly, as if he wanted him to praise him.
Mu Jingxu asked, "Are there any restaurants in the city that are open again?"
Sheng Chengming and Lu Jiaxi were just stepping in. They were slightly startled when they heard the words. Little Master Lu immediately listed everything: "The Furong Tower in the south of the city opened a few days ago. All the major restaurants, grain stores, and Qinlou and Chuguan are open for business. Only the teahouses and bookstores were severely damaged because their tea leaves, pens, inkstones, and brushes were soaked and rotted. They have not been able to resume business for a while."
Mu Jingxu nodded and looked at Rong Tang: "Do you want to go out for dinner, my Lord?"
Shaoqing Mu seldom invited people. Even if any important person in the capital had a banquet and invited royal relatives, they might not be able to invite Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, let alone him personally inviting him.
Rong Tang had no intention of eating the rabbit meat in the first place, so he smiled and said, "It would be disrespectful to refuse it."
Although Sheng Chengming was a prince, he was always humble in front of Su Huaijing and Rong Tang. He immediately asked, "Can you take me with you?"
Mu Jingxu nodded in agreement. Rong Tang stood up. Su Huaijing came back after washing his hands. They were about to leave. Ke Hongxue quickly stood up and looked at Mu Jingxu aggrievedly: "Senior..."
Mu Jingxu asked him coldly: "You prepared this table of food, but you don't want to finish it?"
Ke Hongxue said: "I will eat rabbit every day for the next three days. I won't waste any of it!"
Su Huaijing was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and seemed to have just realized what dinner was prepared in the mansion today. He looked at Mu Jingxu with a complicated expression, then retracted his gaze and held Rong Tang's hand.
Lu Jiaxi was stunned for a moment, looking at the table of rabbit meat cooked in Sichuan style. He was stunned for a moment and said, "I'm afraid the dishes won't last for three days in this weather. There is a team of ten people in the rescue team in the city. They are from Sichuan. A few days ago, I heard them say that the taste of Jiangnan is light and sweet, and it's not palatable."
He paused for a moment and asked tentatively, "If you don't mind, can I pack up this table of food and send it to them?"
The more he spoke, the lower his voice became, and he was a little unsure. But Ke Hongxue looked at him as if he had seen his savior. Her eyes lit up and she said hurriedly, "Of course! Just send it. I'm afraid this amount of food is not enough for ten people. Ask someone to go to the city and pack up a table of food and a few pots of good wine and send them over. It will be a reward for the brothers. The money will come from my account!"
Rong Tang was very happy watching the show. He sighed softly, walked to Lu Jiaxi in three or two steps, and patted him on the shoulder: "Little Master Lu will be promoted sooner or later."
"Huh?" Lu Jiaxi was confused.
Rong Tang smiled and shook his head without explaining. After Su Huaijing caught up with him, they walked forward together.
This kid is innocent and timid, but he always manages to solve other people's biggest worries by accident. I don't know how to explain it.
Su Huaijing said softly: "He is very lucky."
Rong Tang was slightly startled, and his hand was held in his palm again.
He was silent for a moment, then said, "But you have me."
Su Huaijing was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding. Rong Tang explained: "The Ning Xuan Prince's Consort is much more famous than Junior Brother Ke Shaofu."
What he said was half true and half false, with a hint of boasting in his tone, which immediately reduced the credibility of this sentence. Su Huaijing reacted for two seconds, smiled softly, and replied to him with a disappointed tone: "But my husband's heart is not with me."
Rong Tang: “…”
The system had just woken up and snorted when it saw this, mocking: [Why did you hire him? ]
Rong Tang: “…”
Young Master Rong shut his mouth and didn't want to say a word! -
Taverns and teahouses can be found everywhere in the city. Downstairs people play the pipa and sing ditties, and loud voices are almost unheard inside the buildings. The atmosphere is leisurely and comfortable.
Mu Jingxu asked for a private room. When he opened the door, he saw the railings overlooking the lake. When he raised his eyes, he could see the sparkling water of Lotus Lake against the backdrop of the sunset.
Singing and dancing began again on the pleasure boat, and they sat inside the building to have dinner.
Unlike the atmosphere of testing or fawning in every meal in the capital, they sat there and simply had a simple dinner. Ke Hongxue was quite good at livening up the atmosphere, and with a few words, he made Lu Jiaxi cry and complain, and frankly said how many infuriating things he had encountered in the disaster relief work in recent days.
—Like a family dinner.
Rong Tang unconsciously thought that this was a meal that was more like a family banquet than the Ningxuan Palace family banquet. Even Sheng Chengming had never eaten like this outside since he was born. At a certain moment, he even felt a sense of vague relief.
It was as if some shackles had been removed.
After three rounds of drinks, he and Lu Jiaxi kept talking about what had happened since they went south.
The two young men, about sixteen or seventeen years old, talked in a torrent of words. Ke Hongxue listened with a smile, responding from time to time, pouring wine from time to time, and coaxing them to talk more, pouring out all the hardships they had experienced in the past few days that they had no one to tell.
Mu Jingxu was still not very sociable and only ordered a few more desserts. One of them was a lotus crispy dish that had just been fried, with steam rising from the warm pastry.
Su Huaijing picked up a piece and gave it to Rong Tang, then lowered his head and ate a piece quietly.
Mu Jingxu's frosty expression seemed to be melted a little bit by the rising sun from somewhere.
He also lowered his eyes and picked up a piece of sweet lotus cake.
Rong Tang was inexplicably happy. He looked at Sheng Chengming and Lu Jiaxi drinking one glass of wine after another with a bit of envy. He turned his head to look at Su Huaijing.
The latter was slightly stunned, and came over and asked softly: "What's wrong?"
Rong Tang also whispered back: "I want to drink."
It looked so cute. The little animal in the jungle picked up a huge fruit and returned to its nest. But when it saw an even bigger carnivore, it was not afraid or hiding. Instead, it asked it in a low voice: "Can you let me eat the fruit first, and then you eat me?"
But in fact, predators don't want to eat it at all. They just want to keep it in captivity and plant a forest for it that will bear fruit in spring, summer, autumn and winter, so that it will willingly stay in its territory.
Su Huaijing laughed, took the wine glass, sniffed it, and poured him a glass: "Only drink a little."
"Yeah!" Rong Tang agreed readily, took the wine glass and sipped it happily.
Su Huaijing was very happy to see him like this. He even felt that he had not felt so relaxed in all these years.
Su Huaijing looked up and his eyes met Mu Jingxu's.
The latter seemed to be stunned for a moment, and his first reaction was to look away, but he quickly gave up the idea, pushed the chair over, bent down and asked: "Would you like to go out for some fresh air?"
Four people were drinking in the private room. The other three were chatting while drinking. When Rong Tang saw Mu Jingxu taking the initiative to find Su Huaijing, he was even more excited than the person involved. He hurriedly chased him out: "Go, go, he's always bothering me here."
Su Huaijing was inexplicably accused of something, feeling extremely innocent, but he really couldn't do anything to Rong Tang, so he could only remind him again: "Drink less."
"Yeah, yeah!" Rong Tang responded perfunctorily, but his eyes had already glanced at the wine jug.
Su Huaijing: “…” How can I control you
He sighed silently, stood up and went out with Mu Jingxu.
Furong Tower is bustling with activity. Looking from upstairs, it seems that Suzhou city has never suffered from a flood, and residents are everywhere living and working in peace and contentment.
Su Huaijing leaned against the railing, looking at this Jiangnan water city that was gradually regaining its vitality, feeling the breeze from the lake and a smile on his lips.
Mu Jingxu asked him, "How have you been these years?"
"You asked me yesterday, brother." Su Huaijing seemed a little helpless, and his tone carried a hint of the ease and casualness that a seventeen-year-old boy should have.
That should be the attitude one should use to treat family members, but he still smiled and said, "The first few years were very bad. I was in a lot of pain and missed home. Xingfeng couldn't find me and no one was there to accompany me. I picked up a little mute and he stayed with me for a long time."
In a sense, he and Liuyun can be said to have depended on each other.
But Su Huaijing had no intention of repeatedly mentioning that past to Mu Jingxu. He brushed it off and said, "Later, I went to Beijing and met Rong Tang. You know everything after that. You should be able to see it."
Su Huaijing smiled and said, "I'm doing very well."
Except that Tangtang is still unwilling to admit that he likes her, everything else is fine.
Su Huaijing even began to ignore the fact that Rong Tang would not live long.
Mu Jingxu saw what he meant and frowned slightly, but he didn't intend to pursue it. He just asked: "Didn't you doubt him?"
The water in Suzhou City was rolling, and the wind was carrying waves. Su Huaijing was silent for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Do you know how good he is to me?"
"After you left, he was the first person who cared about whether I had enough to eat, whether I was warm, whether I was bullied, and whether I was wronged." Su Huaijing said, "I can't remember how many times, before I could react, he blocked all the difficulties and criticisms that might fall on me."
Su Huaijing said softly: "Sometimes I even feel that he was sent by my parents to accompany me."
Mu Jingxu was stunned and speechless.
He was not asking about Rong Tang, and Su Huaijing knew that he was not asking about Rong Tang, but the identity of the Prince of Ning Xuan.
But Su Huaijing kept silent about it, and Mu Jingxu didn't ask either.
His younger brother has been extremely smart since childhood, so he shouldn't worry about Su Huaijing.
But I can't help it, I always want to worry and make up for the time I have missed over the years.
Su Huaijing leaned against the railing, his eyes fixed on the room. He raised his chin, looked at the three people who were talking, and asked, "Have you told Ke Hongxue?"
Mu Jingxu was slightly startled and shook his head: "No."
"Then he...?"
"I guessed it myself." Mu Jingxu said, "I didn't admit it."
Su Huaijing paused and asked again: "Are you going to tell him?"
Mu Jingxu didn't say anything. After a long while, he asked, "Will you tell Rong Tang?"
The young master reached for the wine jug for the third time. Su Huaijing narrowed his eyes, tutted softly, and moved away from the railing, shaking his head: "No."
"I'll go in first." He said, "Tangtang is not listening again."
Mu Jingxu didn't react to his tone at once and nodded instinctively.
Su Huaijing walked in, Ke Hongxue raised his head, stood up and walked out, and the two of them crossed paths, one went towards the world with prosperous lights, and the other went to see the warm world with smoke and water.
Rong Tang was quietly drinking his third glass of wine when Su Huaijing walked over, pressed the back of his hand without saying anything, and said in a deep voice, "Tang Tang."
Rong Tang was a little drunk, but still sober. However, the wind from the lake made his head dazed. Suddenly, he grabbed him with his backhand and murmured, "Huai Jing, I caught you."
Su Huaijing was stunned and didn't understand what he meant.
Rong Tang raised his eyes under the lamp and whispered, "Ask me again."
Ask me again, and I will go with you this time.
Just follow you.
(End of this chapter)