In late August, we set out from Suzhou Prefecture, passed Huizhou, and Hangzhou, and slowly traveled all over the south of the Yangtze River, then headed northeast.
Rong Tang had asked Mu Jingxu what would happen to his position at the Dali Temple since he hadn't been back in Beijing for so long. Ke Hongxue was playing poker and getting candied fruit on their carriage at the time. Hearing this, he smiled and said indifferently, "I asked my father to donate another 500,000 yuan to the national treasury, just as if it were buying you a long vacation."
Rong Tang: “…”6.
It's my fault for forgetting that you are a cash player. I'm sorry.
The journey here took half a month, and the journey back took more than a month. By the time the huge convoy entered the gate of Yujing City, it was already mid-October, and charcoal was lit again in the carriage.
Rong Tang would get sleepy easily in winter. He would feel lazy all over and unwilling to move. He would spend almost half of the day in a daze sleeping.
In the first few days when the temperature dropped, Shuangfu and Shuangshou were very panicked, fearing that the young master would faint for many days again like in the past few years. Although the team was equipped with a doctor, some things such as medicinal materials were not complete. If Rong Tang fell ill, it would be very troublesome to recover. This was also the reason why the princess wrote to them from time to time to urge them to return to Beijing.
But after a few days of alternating hot and cold weather, when the temperature dropped steadily, Shuangfu discovered that although his young master was wrapped in thick cotton clothes again, he was in surprisingly good spirits.
Su Huaijing took good care of him. Apart from being a little sleepy, he was not so weak that people would think he was about to die.
On the contrary, Mu Jingxu stayed in the carriage all day long during the days when the temperature dropped. Occasionally, when he passed by the Dali Temple's simple carriage, he could hear a few muffled groans of pain.
He also refused to allow doctors to treat him. Su Huaijing went to visit him several times. The servants had no idea what he said specifically, but they only knew that every time the young master came out, Master Ke's expression outside the car would look a little better.
After three or two times, Ke Hongxue tied the man up and put him in his own carriage, which was of the same specifications as the Ningxuan Palace. The carriage was covered with red silk couches and had silver charcoal burning. Even the biting north wind could not get close to Mu Shaoqing.
The people in the convoy would occasionally gossip while eating, saying that both sides were extremely wealthy, but it was a pity that neither of them looked like they would have the chance to enjoy it.
Shuangfu silently took note of the person who spoke, and when he arrived at the next city, he immediately went to the escort agency to change the escort and gave him some money to send him off.
He couldn't bear to hear anyone cursing his young master in the slightest.
Fortunately, although the journey was slow, it was all safe. On a very ordinary autumn afternoon, Rong Tang once again heard the Mandarin accent of the people in Dayu Capital.
Before I left, there were people sitting on small stools on both sides of the road selling eggplants and cucumbers. When I came back, the people hawking their wares were still the same faces, but the goods in the baskets had become pumpkins and carrots.
The vegetables of the four seasons reminded them that half a year had passed.
Rong Tang sat in the car and opened the window. His eyes fell on the baskets placed side by side. He was absent-minded for a moment, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Su Huaijing poured him a cup of hot tea, and Rong Tang lowered the curtain, took it, and held it in his palm.
Su Huaijing asked: "What was Tangtang thinking about just now?"
Rong Tang lowered his eyes and looked at the mist drifting on the teacup: "I'm greedy."
Su Huaijing was stunned for a moment. He knew clearly that Rong Tang was being perfunctory, but he didn't know why Rong Tang was being perfunctory because he didn't want to answer. He just glanced outside and didn't see any details worthy of attention.
But Rong Tang didn't seem to want to answer. He drank half a cup of tea and returned to normal. He curled up on the small couch in the carriage, wrapped his whole body with a blanket, and said softly, "I'll sleep for a while. Tell me when you get home."
Su Huaijing really liked hearing the word "home" from Rongtang's mouth. He curled his eyes and agreed.
After entering the capital, they should separate from Ke Mu. The carriage of Ningxuan Palace turns west to Yong'an Lane, while Ke Hongxue goes north and returns to Dali Temple.
Rong Tang closed his eyes, and a mechanical beeping sound rang in his mind. The system asked him cautiously: [Host, what were you thinking about just now? ]
Rong Tang said with a smile: "Why are you the same as Su Huaijing?"
The system was a little unconvinced, but it did not argue with Rong Tang at this time. It silently digested it for a while and asked tentatively: [Do you not want to die? ]
"… "
Rong Tang did not respond for a long time. After he blocked his vision, his hearing became exceptionally clear.
The city of Yujing was bustling with people and the wheels were rolling forward. Su Huaijing sat quietly beside him, flipping through an ancient book he had bought in the south of the Yangtze River.
During the Lantern Festival of that year, he dragged his sick body from Prince Ningxuan's mansion to the imperial palace. For the first time, he truly felt that the characters in the book had vitality and were no longer just three or two short characters.
Now, after traveling from Yujing to Jiangnan, and then from Jiangnan back to the imperial capital, Rong Tang finally remembered a fact when he set foot in this prosperous and bustling city again and saw the different types of fruits and vegetables in the vendors' baskets:
It seems like he doesn't even have three years.
In the ninth year of Qingzheng, the drama began to be arranged; in the tenth year of Qingzheng, the court and the harem changed; in the eleventh year of Qingzheng, Sheng Chengli stood on the stage of winning the throne, and Su Huaijing entered the court of Dayu; in the twelfth year of Qingzheng, Su Huaijing "usurped the throne", and the plot line collapsed...
A quarter of this repetitive timeline has passed, but Rong Tang suddenly doesn't want to die anymore.
He went to Jiangnan and met old friends and acquaintances, and suddenly... he didn't want to die anymore.
He replied softly to the system: "Who wants to die?"
Who doesn’t want to live in peace and health? Otherwise, what’s the point of him struggling in the time loop for so many years
[…] The system remained silent, and stayed in that three-dimensional space, staring at the pixelated man curled up in a ball on the carriage.
It also doesn't want the host to die...
What should we do
-
After resting in Yong'an Lane for three days, Rong Tang's fatigue and tiredness from the long journey were almost gone, and they finally returned to Ningxuan Palace.
Rong Tang was not interested in greeting them, but Su Huaijing secretly memorized a circle of faces.
They got off the car at the door, and the gate of the palace opened to welcome the master. The doorman hurriedly ran into the palace to inform the news that the prince had returned.
Rong Tang raised his eyebrows, turned his head and said to Su Huaijing: "This is the second time in my life that I have been so valued in the mansion."
Su Huaijing held his hand. Rong Tang's hands and feet were cold in winter, so Su Huaijing held his hand as if he was holding a piece of beautiful jade that needed to be appreciated, and warmed it up carefully bit by bit.
Su Huaijing asked: "When was the first time?"
Rong Tang said without a second thought: "Marry you."
Su Huaijing was slightly startled, then he smiled and clenched his hands tighter: "Tangtang deserves it."
Rong Tang is the prince of Ning Xuan, and he deserves all the attention he gets, not to mention that it is just a notification from the doorman.
Rong Tang had a bad feeling in his heart, and he mocked, "I hope it's not a Hongmen Banquet."
Su Huaijing was slightly startled, his brows subconsciously frowned slightly, but there was no other reason, he just didn't want to see Tangtang being so alert in his own home.
Su Huaijing unconsciously recalled what he had said to him: he had never been stupid. What kind of living environment would force such a noble prince to pretend to be crazy and stupid and damage his own reputation in order to survive
The more Su Huaijing thought about it, the colder his eyes became, and a surge of hostility overflowed uncontrollably. If the princess didn't really miss Rong Tang, he actually wouldn't even want to go back this time.
Su Huaijing suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and said gently, "Let's ignore those things and go back to the courtyard after having dinner with mother, okay?"
Rong Tang was thinking about something else and nodded absentmindedly when he heard this. Seeing this, Su Huaijing's eyes became even darker.
Wang Xiuyu prepared countless food and welcoming gifts, but she burst into tears the first time she saw Rong Tang. She pinched his arm and kept muttering, "You've lost weight, you've lost weight..."
Rong Tang's eyes were also a little warm. Counting the time since the flower-picking party began, he hadn't lived in Ningxuan Palace for more than half a year. When he met Wang Xiuyu at this time, he found that he also missed his mother.
Su Huaijing watched for a while and then quietly stepped out, leaving space for the mother and son to communicate.
King Ning Xuan was a very special courtier in the court of Dayu. Su Huaijing stood outside the princess's courtyard, watching the people coming and going in the back garden from afar. Occasionally, a few officials from the court appeared, with dark eyes and it was unclear what they were thinking.
"Huai Jing."
A voice came from behind, clear but with a hint of softness, and a hint of coquettishness that she herself probably wasn't aware of.
The dark moments in Su Huaijing's eyes were replaced by a bright smile. He turned around and naturally took Rong Tang's hand, gently stroking it a few times to help him warm up: "Why don't you talk to your mother for a while?"
Rong Tang glanced at the garden, and withdrew his gaze from the people Su Huaijing had just looked at: "Mother asked me to come find you."
The smile in Su Huaijing's eyes deepened. Sometimes he felt that he was getting too demanding. Even though Tang Tang was by his side, he still wanted him to have his heart devoted to him. But sometimes he felt that he was very satisfied. When Rong Tang took the initiative to find him and stayed with him obediently, Su Huaijing could spontaneously suppress all the thoughts in his heart that could not be told to outsiders.
Some are good, some are bad, some are related to Rong Tang, and some are related to the court.
But no matter what it was, no matter how many calculations he had on his shoulders, it couldn't compare to Tangtang taking the initiative to come over and call him by his name.
"Go back and stay with your mother," he said.
Rong Tang turned his head and glanced at Su Huaijing's expression calmly. After confirming that there was nothing unusual, he nodded and walked into the yard with him.
Over the past few months, events in the capital have become more and more serious, and the drama of the ninth year of Qingzheng has just begun to be performed.
Even though the butterfly effect is as mysterious and unpredictable as it is, the established plot line written in the novel is bound to happen, sooner or later.
For example, the Ningxuan Palace is about to welcome a newborn little master.
For example, the second prince's mother, Concubine Yi, was found to be pregnant by the imperial physician in the autumn of the ninth year of Qingzheng.
For example, the hero of "The Emperor's Journey" reaches the age to leave the palace and set up his own house after the New Year.
Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether it is the author’s own bad taste or the bad nature of the characters in the book.
The mansion bestowed by Emperor Renshou on Sheng Chengli is located on Xuanwu Avenue, directly opposite Princess Duanyi's Mansion.
—The Duke's Mansion, which was once named "Xian", was overgrown with weeds, had a dilapidated gate and was uninhabited.
The place where Major General Wei Zhun grew up was Su Huaijing's maternal grandfather's home.
It was given by Emperor Renshou to his least favorite son.
Rong Tang couldn't help but think: How can Sheng Chengli be a good match
(End of this chapter)