Yujing was a city with a very large area.
As the imperial capital of Dayu, it is rich, prosperous, vast and majestic beyond compare to any other provincial capital.
The royal family lived in the north of the city, inns and teahouses lived in the south, restaurants, gambling houses and exquisite mansions lived in the west, and large residential areas lived in the east.
In this way, a large area of fire lit up in the cold north in winter, which was worthy of the attention of all passers-by.
Rong Tang was stunned for a moment and didn't react. He turned back in shock and saw the smile and scrutiny in Su Huaijing's eyes. His throat tightened instinctively and his gaze avoided unconsciously.
Lu Jiaxi was still in shock, staring out of the building with his mouth wide open. It took him a while to find his voice amidst the noise: "Is that... the direction of Xuanwu Avenue?"
Mu Jingxu looked cold and nodded slightly.
That is indeed the direction of Xuanwu Avenue. A little further north should be the Imperial Palace.
He withdrew his gaze and looked at Su Huaijing.
He didn't know who set the fire. It could be anyone. The most likely person was sitting at the table, looking down at Rong Tang.
But how could this be possible
Even Mu Jingxu didn't know which house the Ministry of Rites had chosen for Sheng Chengli. How did Su Huaijing know about it in advance and set such a big fire without telling the inspectors of the Jinwu Guards
Thinking of this, a face suddenly flashed through Mu Jingxu's mind. He was stunned and looked at Su Huaijing with a complicated expression.
Su Huaijing finally had some time to think about it. He looked at Mu Jingxu and nodded silently, as if responding to his guess.
Except for Lu Jiaxi, almost no one touched the food on the table. The singing and dancing in Fengyue Tower stopped, and the guests in Liujin Tower all leaned out to look into the distance.
Thick smoke rolled up into the sky, and the house that had been prosperous and wealthy for a hundred years was now burned down by a huge fire.
The sound of the Jinwu Guards' iron hooves stepping on the air could be heard along the long street, and the crowded crowd began to disperse.
Something unexpected happened in the capital city and the curfew was brought forward. Before the dinner party was over, soldiers in uniform and armor came in and urged everyone to go home.
Everyone waited for a while until the fire-fighting officers and soldiers quickly ran away from the long street, and then they left their seats and went out.
Ke Hongxue asked the waiter to bring a lunch box and packed up all the uneaten dishes for Lu Jiaxi to take back. This made little Lu look puzzled. He subconsciously touched his stomach, suspecting that he was actually a glutton in the eyes of his senior.
Ke Hongxue stood at the horse hitching post outside the Gilded Building and said goodbye with a smile: "The weather is dry, it would be better for the prince to return home as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble."
As he said this, he raised his eyes and looked at Su Huaijing meaningfully, then turned around and coaxed Mu Jingxu into his carriage.
Almost as soon as they left, the long street became quiet. Guests dispersed, shops closed, and even Fengyue Tower, which was the most popular building at night, had its door half closed.
They may not know which house specifically caught fire, but with a fire of that direction and size, anyone could make the powerless common people lose a layer of skin with just a stomp of their feet.
Rong Tang got on the carriage, charcoal was burning in the carriage. It was winter and Yujing was very cold. Su Huaijing poured him a cup of tea and said nonchalantly, "Tangtang, don't you want to ask me anything?"
Rong Tang paused slightly, looked at the swaying reflection in the teacup, and shook his head: "No."
Su Huaijing chuckled and poured him a cup of hot tea: "Really?"
His tone was clearly gentle as always, without any of the coldness and mockery he would have towards others, but Rong Tang just felt that Su Huaijing was not in a good mood.
It can even be said that he seemed a little angry.
Rong Tang felt inexplicably guilty.
He really didn't want to ask, but it seemed he had no choice but to ask.
Rong Tang took a sip of tea. As the carriage was bumpy, Su Huaijing considerately put another cushion under him. Rong Tang put down the teacup and hugged the hand warmer, as if trying to find a sense of security.
He paused, then asked hesitantly, "How do you know it was the Duke Xian's mansion that was burned?"
Su Huaijing saw his panicked yet calm look, and sighed helplessly, and took the initiative to complete his question: "Tangtang wants to ask, was it me who set the fire?"
Rong Tang: “…” What else do I need to ask
The system clicked its tongue twice: [His ideas really coincide with yours. ]
As early as the days when he just returned to Beijing, Rong Tang thought about how to change this plot line so that the Duke Xianguo Mansion would not be given to Sheng Chengli by Emperor Renshou.
But no method is safe. Rong Tang has been a beneficiary of heaven's favor to the hero for two lifetimes. He knows better than anyone that this is Sheng Chengli's chance, and it will fall into his hands no matter what.
—The only exception is Su Huaijing.
If the initiative was taken away by the villain, then the male protagonist's staff can only think about remedying it rather than taking it back.
Sometimes, when Rong Tang looks at Su Huaijing with modern thinking, he feels that he is a bug, an NPC in the game that is out of program control and has its own consciousness.
In this way, the so-called male protagonist and the tasker become game players, being manipulated by the NPCs who are supposed to follow the plot line.
But they are not in this kind of relationship, so Rong Tang is not sure what kind of existence Su Huaijing is in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao in this world.
He is clearly more suitable to be the male lead than the male protagonist, but he is a villain who is not tolerated by heaven.
Let's go back to the matter of Emperor Renshou giving Sheng Chengli a house. Rong Tang is not Su Huaijing, and he has no power and influence in the court, so there is almost no overt way to stop it.
The rest are secretive, like... burning down the house.
He discussed the feasibility of this matter with the system, but even without mentioning such a large house, even if the fire was to be lit, it would need to be started everywhere at the same time to ensure that the fire would spread quickly and not be extinguished by the nearby Jinwu Guards. There was another fatal problem that tied Rong Tang's hands and feet.
[Are you willing to give it up? ] The system asked him.
Rong Tang was reluctant. He was reluctant to burn down Duke Xianguo's house; he had no right to make decisions for Su Huaijing.
His own home has now been occupied by someone else. In the vast imperial city, only the house opposite the Princess's Mansion still retains some of his childhood memories.
What right did Rong Tang have to destroy it
But someone else did it for him because he didn't dare to implement the idea.
Rong Tang was silent for a while, then took the initiative to look Su Huaijing in the eye: "So it was you who put it there?"
Su Huaijing curved his lips and asked, "What do you think, Tangtang?"
"... You're so annoying." Rong Tang couldn't help but complained in a low voice.
The temperature outside the car was extremely low. He curled himself up in a soft blanket. The candlelight was dim. He raised his pair of bright eyes like a little rabbit and looked at Su Huaijing with a little resentment.
Su Huaijing paused for a moment, then smiled and admitted generously: "I burned it."
Rong Tang was silent, waiting for his next sentence, but Su Huaijing tilted his head and asked him with a squinting look: "How did you do it without Tangtang asking me?"
Rong Tang: “…” You are really annoying!
He choked for a moment and could only continue following Su Huaijing's question: "Jinwu Guard, Chen Fei."
This time, it was Su Huaijing who was stunned. He paused for a few seconds, lowered his head and smiled softly: "I told you that you are very smart."
It was clearly meant as a compliment, but Rong Tang didn't feel happy at all.
Su Huaijing pushed him: "Tangtang, go over there."
Rong Tang glared at him, but still obediently wrapped in his own blanket and moved to the other end of the carriage. Su Huaijing then sat over there, spread out another blanket, and draped it over the two of them, while he pressed down Rong Tang's blanket with his feet.
The warm yellow candlelight brings a very warm feeling.
Su Huaijing explained slowly, "I saw him outside the Princess's Mansion on the Dragon Boat Festival. He owed Tangtang a favor, so I found him and used it to threaten her. It's just a house that has been abandoned for many years. Even if it accidentally caught fire, it's not worth making a fuss. He just needs to make sure that there are no patrolling Jinwu Guards around the Duke of Xian's Mansion when I'm ready to take action. It won't cause any loss to him, and he can also repay the favor of saving his life."
After Su Huaijing finished speaking, he looked up at Rong Tang and asked, "Is that so?"
When he asked this, Rong Tang, who was about to take advantage of the situation and nod his head, froze for a moment. With two layers of blankets on his legs and feeling warm all over, he didn't know what Su Huaijing meant.
The space in the carriage was compact and the two were very close to each other, so even the slightest expression could not escape the other's eyes. Rong Tang pursed his lips and did not answer.
He instinctively sensed danger.
Su Huaijing was clearly asking him with a smile, and leaned close to him for warmth like a child, but Rong Tang only felt danger.
He didn't answer for a long time, but Su Huaijing didn't get annoyed. He smiled and said, "Tangtang, I'll give you three chances to ask questions. I've already used one, so you still have two."
Rong Tang fell into a long period of silence and confusion. Emotionally, he knew that Su Huaijing would not do anything bad to him, but rationally, based on his understanding of Su Huaijing, this was clearly a sign of the villain's anger.
The milder, the more dangerous.
If this danger happened to someone else, Rong Tang would be frightened and fall seriously ill, but when it happened to him, Rong Tang inexplicably felt...
Dangerous, but not fatal.
Su Huaijing was within his control. He was alone, sulking, like a little catfish.
—Rong Tang inexplicably felt this way.
He thought about it and asked, "Why do you want to do this?"
Su Huaijing: "Because that's my cousin's house."
Rong Tang: “?”
There was a moment when he suddenly wanted to say: What else do you want me to ask
Su Huaijing smiled and added: "This is the answer that Brother Tangtang wants."
Just like the question of why Chen Fei obeyed his orders, Rong Tang himself provided the answer, like an omniscient spectator.
The long street became increasingly quiet. Half of the city's Jinwu Guards went to put out the raging fire. However, the culprit sat in a steadily moving carriage, bathing in the sandalwood in the carriage, and quietly looking at his little Bodhisattva.
Su Huaijing reminded: "You have one last question."
He seemed to be hinting at something, but just like the two answers Su Huaijing had just given, every question had other more logical and cognitive answers, and they were not unique. Rong Tang was a little unsure whether he wanted to expose it himself.
He was silent for a few seconds, then spoke slowly: "How do you know that the house will be given to Sheng Chengli?"
I don't know which word in this sentence touched Su Huaijing. His eyes suddenly darkened. He supported himself on the seat with his hands, leaned forward with his foreheads almost touching each other, showing a very strong suppressive posture.
Su Huaijing whispered: "Tangtang, you asked the wrong question."
Rong Tang's heart suddenly panicked and he instinctively stepped back a little.
Su Huaijing stared at him hatefully for a long while, but finally couldn't bear it anymore, so he lowered his head and bit his neck hard.
Rong Tang felt pain and let out a soft "hiss", then the force of his bite suddenly eased, just like the friction in bed.
Rong Tang couldn't hide, so he could only raise his head and let him bully him, with tears gathering in his eyes.
After Su Huaijing vented his displeasure and jealousy, he loosened his lips, raised his body and looked at Rong Tang. When he saw the sparkling tears in his eyes, his heart softened immediately.
It was obvious that he forced Rong Tang to ask him questions, but in the end he asked in return:
"Tangtang, who am I?"
(End of this chapter)