The death of a servant in Prince Ningxuan's mansion was never a big deal.
Compared to those, what was rumored more in the palace was that the prince attached great importance to the pregnancy of concubine Qian. Not only did he increase Qian's share of the monthly allowance in the courtyard, but all her food, clothing and other expenses were in accordance with the standards of the princess. Even the third young master Rong Yuan, the prince made an exception and bought him a piece of property.
Everyone in the house knew that Rong Mingyu doted on her unborn child to the extreme.
This was actually inappropriate. Rong Tang and Rong Mingyu had known each other for several lifetimes. Apart from the matter concerning Wang Xiu Yu, he would occasionally confront his nominal father a few times. In most cases, he observed Rong Mingyu as a politician - the only prince of a different surname in the Dayu Dynasty.
The result of the observation is very accurate with the positioning of Rong Mingyu in the original novel: a dog that does not bark and is kept at the feet of Emperor Renshou.
He is unfathomable, yet loyal to the emperor. Family matters and love affairs are far less important to Rong Mingyu than his position in the court. Apart from Princess Duan Yi, he basically doesn't pay attention to his family.
Why would he dote on an unborn child so much
Rong Tang couldn't understand it, just like he didn't understand why Rong Mingyu was so sure that the baby in Qian's belly must be a boy.
But it had nothing to do with him. The weather was getting colder day by day. The north wind was biting in the capital. Rong Tang was lazy and didn't want to move. At most, when the weather was fine during the day, he would go to the princess's courtyard with Su Huaijing to talk and help, so that she would have to worry less about trivial matters.
In the end, Qian still set her eyes on the red charcoal in Tanghua Courtyard. One afternoon, Rong Tang went to the princess' courtyard and happened to hear Si Mo, the maid beside Rong Mingyu, coming over to instruct her to prepare a portion of the red charcoal that the eldest master had used this winter for the concubine.
Rong Tang was unhappy and was about to go out to question him, but Su Huaijing pulled his sleeve and signaled him to stay calm.
After the other party finished speaking, Su Huaijing pushed open the door, walked over slowly, and said awkwardly: "The prince loves Auntie and is afraid that she will be cold in winter. It is understandable that he wants to add some charcoal. However, the flood this year has flooded many charcoal-producing areas. The red charcoal that the prince needs for his courtyard has been purchased at high prices from various farms since the end of summer. It took two months to prepare and collect these. The amount is less than half of that in previous years. If we prepare another portion for Auntie temporarily, where will the expensive expenses come from?"
Si Mo was slightly stunned, as if she had not thought that Su Huaijing and Rong Tang would be present when she said these words. She bowed slightly, saluted and greeted the prince and the princess, and then said: "The prince meant that the young master should allocate half of it to the concubine."
She seemed to think that what she said was outrageous, so she lowered her voice a lot, a look of confusion appeared on her face, and she didn't dare to look at Su Huaijing.
Su Huaijing had his back to Rong Tang, his expression slightly cold, but there was still a hint of smile in his words: "I'm afraid not. The prince has had two serious illnesses this year. Now is the time to take good care of him. If the supply of charcoal in the courtyard is suddenly reduced, there is no guarantee that the illness will not come back."
Si Mo frowned in confusion and looked at Su Huaijing: "Please give me some advice, my dear."
Su Huaijing smiled lightly, "Madam Qian is pregnant, so she really can't be frozen; but Tangtang's daily charcoal can't be reduced at all. Red Luo charcoal is in short supply, and if we go to look for it in a hurry, we may not be able to find it, and the price will be very high, which is not cost-effective."
Si Mo nodded: "My Lord is right."
Su Huaijing: "But I happen to have a friend whose family does business in the south. He stores a batch of high-quality black charcoal every year for emergency use. Although it is not as expensive as red charcoal, it is much better than the poplar charcoal used by ordinary people. If you want to use charcoal, you can go to him to buy some."
Si Mo thought for a moment: "But this price...?"
Su Huaijing smiled: "I have a good relationship with that friend, so I don't think he would sell it too expensively. If Auntie takes out some money from her monthly allowance, it will be enough to get through a warm winter. Even if she is thinking about the fetus in her belly, she will definitely not be reluctant to part with this little thing. What do you think, sister?"
He was natural and casual from beginning to end, decisively rejected and then offered a solution, and finally threw out a question with a smile. Si Mo stood there thinking for a long time, then bowed: "My Lord, what you said makes sense. I will go back and report to the concubine."
She turned sideways again, bowed to Rong Tang, and then left.
Su Huaijing turned around and walked back into the house with a smile.
Rong Tang looked at him suspiciously: "How can you have a friend who keeps charcoal at home?"
Su Huaijing asked back: "Isn't Master Ke considered a friend of ours?"
Rong Tang: “…?”
When Ke Hongxue heard this while sitting in the private room of Liujin Building, she smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed. She swayed a white porcelain wine glass in her hand and almost spilled all the wine.
He turned his head and asked Rong Tang, "My Lord, how much do you think is appropriate for me to sell this charcoal to her?"
Rong Tang didn't want to pay attention to him at first, but after thinking it over, he couldn't help it and raised his index finger.
Ke Hongxue raised his eyebrows: "What does this mean?"
Rong Tang was very serious: "Give me 10%."
Ke Hongxue was startled: "?"
Rong Tang: "This business was brought to you by my Huai Jing. I don't care how much you sell it for, just give me 10% of the profit."
There were five people sitting in the private room. Lu Jiaxi had just finished his shift and was very hungry. He was only thinking about eating.
When Mu Jingxu heard Rong Tang's words, he paused for two seconds and laughed softly.
Ke Hongxue originally wanted to argue with Rong Tang, but seeing this, she said nothing and just gave him a "dumb" sign.
Rong Tang was slightly stunned. Ke Hongxue said, "Twenty percent. I'll give you twenty percent commission."
Rong Tang: “…”
He looked at Ke Hongxue, then slowly turned his gaze to Mu Jingxu.
After a moment, Young Master Rong rolled his eyes from the bottom of his heart: "What a waste."
Ke Hongxue laughed and didn't even think of refutation. He was very diligent in serving food and soup to his senior.
By the Jinfen River, frost condensed on the grass leaves. Rong Tang sat in the elegant room of the Gilded Building, listening to them casually talking about some stories.
Because of his meritorious service in disaster relief, Lu Jiaxi was promoted to the Ministry of Rites as an exception after returning to Beijing. He followed the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Rites, one of the Four Departments, to learn all matters related to memorial ceremonies. Now he can truly be regarded as Lord Lu.
While Rong Tang was bargaining with Ke Hongxue, he had eaten half his fill. Just as he put down his bowl and chopsticks, he saw the four people at the table looking at him.
Ke Hongxue smiled and asked him, "Are you full?"
Little Master Lu was a little embarrassed and smiled shyly: "Almost done."
Ke Hongxue didn't believe him, so she called the waiter to add a few more dishes, and said casually, "The Crown Prince's wife just negotiated a big deal for me. Don't worry, I'll treat you tonight, and you can eat as much as you want."
He was too lazy to look at him and just leaned closer to Su Huaijing, who then naturally took his hand and slowly squeezed it.
Occasionally, Rong Tang felt a little uncomfortable with his pinching and wanted to pull back, but Su Huaijing would blink and look at him aggrievedly. Rong Tang would immediately soften her heart and lie quietly, letting him rub her.
Su Huaijing had a smile hidden in the corner of his eyes, but it couldn't be stopped from slipping out. Seeing him like this, Mu Jingxu also felt a lot more relaxed and happy unconsciously.
He had thought about what Xiaoqi would be like when he grew up. He thought that he would be similar to himself, handsome and romantic.
Perhaps he is like the Crown Prince, dignified and majestic, intimidating without even getting angry.
No side of him is like this now. He is clearly a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old, but he still acts coquettishly and plays tricks in front of Rong Tang.
Sometimes when Mu Jingxu saw the two of them getting along, he felt that Su Huaijing was still the carefree little prince who had been raised in the Dayu Palace for many years.
This is good, at least things and people are not the same anymore.
Until Ke Hongxue asked Lu Jiaxi as if to greet him: "What are you busy with recently?"
Master Lu frowned and said, "The New Year is coming to an end, and Master Yuanwailang is mainly busy with New Year ancestor worship and banquets."
"What about you?" Ke Hongxue asked again.
Lu Jiaxi: "I'm choosing a house for the Fifth Prince."
Rong Tang's whole body stiffened, and he suddenly looked up at Lu Jiaxi.
Su Huaijing was closest to him and was keenly aware of the changes in Rong Tang's expression and body, and was instinctively displeased.
He always felt that Tangtang paid too much attention to Sheng Chengli.
He really doesn't like it.
Su Huaijing unconsciously retracted his hand and held him tighter, but Rong Tang seemed not to notice at all and asked, "Have you booked a mansion?"
Lu Jiaxi shook his head: "I started selecting in the beginning of autumn. I proposed several positions and submitted them to the Minister, but they were all rejected."
He paused and glanced up at Rong Tang's expression.
Rong Mingli, the Minister of Rites, is Rong Tang's second uncle.
But Rong Tang didn't respond, he just asked, "And then?"
Lu Jiaxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, three houses were decided. The Ministry just presented them to the Minister two days ago. I wonder if it has been reported to His Majesty."
"The report was submitted yesterday morning. I think it has been finalized now." Mu Jingxu said softly.
He was standing in the Golden Palace at the time, so he naturally knew who had submitted which memorials.
However, such a trivial matter as selecting a residence for the prince did not essentially need to be discussed publicly in the court, so Rong Mingli only submitted the memorial and did not read it out in court.
Mu Jingxu looked at Rong Tang and asked, "What's wrong?"
Rong Tang shook his head, knowing that he had just lost his composure, and stepped back. Su Huaijing happened to be next to him, and as Rong Tang stepped back, he almost fell into his arms.
Su Huaijing felt a little better.
Rong Tang whispered, "I don't like him, so I don't want him to live in a nice house."
It was so childish, yet there was nothing suspicious about it. Even Mu Jingxu was stunned by him.
Lu Jiaxi nodded seriously, "They are indeed not very good houses. For one of them, the budget allocated by the Ministry of Revenue may not be enough to repair it."
Su Huaijing asked: "Where is that?"
Rong Tang lowered his head uncomfortably and looked at the wooden floor under his feet. He didn't know what he was thinking for a moment and inexplicably didn't dare to look Su Huaijing in the eye.
Lu Jiaxi: "Xuanwu Avenue, first show the Duke's Mansion."
The room was instantly silent, Rong Tang felt lost. Su Huaijing lowered his head and looked at the hairband on his head. He gently picked it up and twisted it around in his hands a few times, as if he didn't care at all: "That house."
Mu Jingxu frowned, revealing a rare bit of hostility.
Lu Jiaxi noticed that the atmosphere in the room was not right, but he had no idea what was going on.
Until there was a noise outside the Gilded Building and the sound of people running out from inside the building.
Su Huaijing laughed softly and raised his chin slightly.
"I'm afraid it's inappropriate," he said.
Outside the building, there was a blazing fire coming from a very far distance, rushing straight into the sky with a devastating momentum, almost lighting up the entire city of Yujing.
Su Huaijing lowered his head and looked at Rong Tang, with a smile on his lips but a scrutinizing look in his eyes.
"Tangtang, it seems that the house doesn't like him either."
Tangtang, it seems that you really hid a lot of things from me.
(End of this chapter)