After the sixth day of the first lunar month, Mu Jingxu and Ke Hongxue would go to the Dali Temple and the Imperial College respectively to take up their posts.
Therefore, Su Huaijing's birthday banquet was not served until the moon rose in the evening. The pork elbow that Rong Tang had been longing for years was finally on the table. Ke Hongxue had also ordered people to send many rare ingredients from home early on. The cook showed her skills. Rong Tang heated the hot pot, looked at the early spring snow outside the yard, and listened to the sound of charcoal fire in the house.
With a bowl of thick soup, a few ounces of rice, and friends and confidants whom you care about and cherish sitting around you, the world and the red dust suddenly have the meaning of retaining the traveler.
Rong Tang drank a few glasses of wine, looked at the brilliant flames from the candles, and reached out to catch them.
Su Huaijing asked: "What does Tangtang want?"
Rong Tang shook his head: "I don't want anything."
The present moment is good enough. If the burning fire can be caught in one's hand, does it mean that time can also stop
The obsession was short-lived. Rong Tang did not tell Su Huaijing what he was thinking. Instead, he curved his eyes and smiled again, saying, "Huaijing, happy birthday."
Sincerely and happily, I wish his arch-villain, his cub, his husband, who is also his boyfriend, countless beautiful wishes and future in this world.
Rong Tang thought that when he read the novel many years ago, this is the kind of Su Huaijing he liked.
A child of destiny, even if stuck in the mud, still yearns for light, and eventually grows into a dazzling adult.
How could he like a flashy protagonist like Sheng Chengli? And how could he die twice to help him
Rong Tang shook his head and laughed, saying, "Huai Jing, I'm going to sleep first, you can chat with brother for a while."
He said this without avoiding anyone. Ke Hongxue looked up at him sharply, but saw that there was nothing unusual about the two people around him. He raised his eyebrows unconsciously, feeling curious.
After everyone left, he deliberately asked, "Who is the elder brother?"
Mu Jingxu's hand holding the teacup paused, his eyes darkened for a moment, and he did not respond to him.
Su Huaijing smiled and said, "Lord Mu and I hit it off right away. I recognize him as my sworn brother. What's wrong with Tangtang following my lead in calling me brother?"
Ke Hongxue's lips touched the wall of the wine cup, she took a sip, curved her peach blossom eyes, and smiled softly with an ambiguous tone: "Really? Congratulations."
Su Huaijing changed the topic elsewhere and did not dwell on this title.
He just used this opportunity to confirm one fact: it was not Ke Hongxue who told Rong Tang about his and Mu Jingxu's identities.
Tangtang lied to him again.
Su Huaijing narrowed his eyes, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
Winter turned to spring, and the city of Yujing became luxurious and prosperous. After the Lantern Festival, Su Huaijing had to go to the Censorate to take up his post. Rong Tang had stayed in Yong'an Lane for half the winter, and finally saw the willow trees by the pond sprouting some fresh green buds.
He felt happy, and subconsciously turned around to look for Su Huaijing, but suddenly remembered that he had left the house.
Su Huaijing was going to enter the court, and the two people he was most concerned about were Sheng Chengming and Ke Hongxue. Even he, the person involved, didn't think as much as they did.
There were banquets almost every day these days. They each took Su Huaijing out to meet with officials of the current dynasty and discussed their political views and knowledge with each other. When they serve as officials in the same dynasty in the future, he will be able to open up the situation better than others.
Sheng Chengming introduced him to the sons of the powerful and wealthy, and Ke Hongxue took Su Huaijing to meet the civil servants and guests.
Rong Tang went there once, and was once again drawn out by the alcohol, sex, money, and energy at the banquet. When he left, Su Huaijing also left, but he was the protagonist of the banquet, so Rong Tang pushed him back and found another private room, lit a charcoal fire, and read a storybook with a hand warmer, waiting for Su Huaijing to finish the banquet and come to find him.
Rong Tang didn't know what they were talking about over there. Anyway, when Su Huaijing came over, he had only turned three or four pages of the storybook in his hand.
He was stunned, looked at the water clock, and asked, "Are you not going to continue?"
"See you another day." Su Huaijing came over with a smile. The smell of alcohol from the banquet did not stain his clothes at all. He had a fox fur cloak draped over his arm and put it on Rong Tang. He asked in a gentle voice, "Shall we go home?"
Coming out of the restaurant, we passed by the Jinfen River. It was almost the Lantern Festival and lotus lanterns were already floating in the river.
Seeing this, Rong Tang also bought two lanterns from the old man selling lanterns by the river, one for Su Huaijing and one for himself.
The villain asked him what he had written. Rong Tang held the lamp in his arms and looked at him warily: "Don't peek!"
"… That's too much." Su Huaijing complained with a chuckle, but there was no resentment in his tone. He took the pen and wrote down his own wish, which floated away along the river. "Then I won't tell Tangtang either."
Rong Tang was not curious about what he would write. After all, his wish was written in the character setting: revenge and overthrowing Emperor Renshou.
But if you just think about it, you will know that it is impossible to write it on the river lantern openly. Then Rong Tang really has no idea what Su Huaijing's wish is.
The system saw everything clearly and said disdainfully: [It must be related to you. ]
Rong Tang paused for a moment, feeling that what it said actually made some sense. His sight began to wander, and he glanced in the direction of the water flow a few times.
Seeing this, Su Huaijing took his hand and walked towards the carriage while smiling: "Tangtang wants to know?"
Rong Tang hesitated: "Will you tell me?"
Su Huaijing shook his head calmly: "It's a give and take, Tangtang tell me what you wrote, and I'll tell you mine, okay?"
The crowd was bustling, and young men and young ladies from various families were traveling together. Rong Tang immediately turned his head away, indicating that he was not curious at all, and said in a calm and solemn voice: "Not good!"
Su Huaijing: “…”
He smiled brightly, not trying to hide his good mood. Xingfeng hid in the corner and looked at the notes on the two river lanterns. He was slightly stunned, then put them back in place and let the water carry them away.
-
May Tangtang live a long life.
-
Huai Jing's wish came true.
How can you make a wish like this
He was very puzzled. After returning to the mansion, he found Bi Xin, who had left Wu Kangbo's mansion and worked as a housekeeper in Tang Jing's house. While helping her sort the herbs, he raised his doubts.
Bi Xin stood there for a long time without saying anything after hearing this. After an unknown amount of time, she finally let out a soft laugh: "You are a piece of wood, so you naturally don't know."
There was a very slight noise outside the door. The young man stood there with a cold face and two butterfly knives on his waist. He looked like a living devil.
Bi Xin clapped her hands, sorted the last package of herbs, and took out two red envelopes from the drawer.
Liuyun was puzzled: "What do you mean?"
Liuyun's face was still wooden, with a hint of bewilderment at most. Xingfeng felt a pain in his teeth and looked at Bixin, the expression on his face was self-evident.
[He is younger than us, what lucky money did he give us?]
Bi Xin shrugged: "Who knows, maybe he was in a good mood and Rong Tang gave him New Year's money."
From New Year's Eve to the ninth day of the first lunar month, there is one red envelope a day, no more, no less, exactly ten.
From the twenty-fifth year of Yuanxing to now, it is neither long nor short, exactly ten years.
So the master is happy and gives them New Year's money.
That makes sense.
Liuyun's logic was self-consistent. He nodded, took the red envelope and disappeared again.
Bi Xin laughed and continued to pack up all the herbs for her master and put them into different categories.
The master will come to use it later, and he has been thinking about a new prescription for the past six months. He was afraid to tell Rong Tang rashly and make him wait in vain, so he kept it hidden carefully, and his body was almost smelled by the medicine.
When have I ever seen him so cautious and unconfident? It was expected that he would ask Rong Tang to live a long life.
But Rongtang actually said that he hoped Su Huaijing's wish would come true, and Bi Xin couldn't help but laugh.
She recalled that early spring afternoon when a man, with a body that looked like he was about to die at any moment, walked into the Moon Gate with an angry look on his face, outshining all the splendor of the flowers.
Indeed... it makes sense.
As a maid, she didn't have any lofty ideals, but now she has one more goal, and she hopes that her two masters will be willing to help her achieve it.
May Rong Tang live a long life and may Su Huaijing’s wishes come true.
In this way, there will be hope every spring in the future.
-
On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, someone from the palace came to announce the imperial decree, officially welcoming Su Huaijing into the Censorate to gain experience behind the Chief Censor.
Huimian had not returned to the capital for a long time, so Sheng Chengli volunteered to go to the imperial mausoleum to guard it. After Emperor Renshou had put in enough effort to show off, he finally agreed to this matter after the director of the Imperial Observatory "persuaded him with his own death". He ordered the Fifth Prince to leave the capital after the first month of the year, guard the imperial mausoleum for half a year, and return to the capital in late summer.
Rong Tang did not move back to Ning Xuan Palace, so Yong'an Lane became a lot less interesting with one person less.
The Beijing storybook had not been updated for a long time. He looked at the lake surface that was beginning to melt and the willow branches that were sprouting, then returned to his room to copy the scriptures again.
After returning to the palace for a meal on the Lantern Festival, Rong Tang remembered the Buddha statue he received when he went to Tuolan Temple to burn incense last year. Somehow, he brought it back with him.
It was still not hung up, but just placed on the treasure pavilion behind him.
After he finished reading the storybook, he began to copy scriptures.
The system woke up from hibernation and was startled to see him like this. It asked hesitantly: [Tangtang, what's wrong with you? ]
The Little Idiot System's thoughts are very easy to guess, and it will call Tangtang when it wants to coax someone.
Rong Tang laughed: "Nothing, I just feel bored."
The system was silent for a moment, thinking about the reason why he felt bored, and even wondered whether the host's brain was bound to the system space or the water that entered the room due to falling in love.
It was speechless for a long time, then said angrily: [You are hopeless! ]
It was about to go into hibernation, but it still felt that the scolding was not enough to vent its anger, so it added: [Stupid host! ]
Rong Tang: "Okay, I'm the stupid host, and you're the smart system."
system:[… ???]
[There's something wrong with you.] It said dryly, it can't be that it changes its character just because of a relationship! Where is its former host who always scolds it with a sharp tongue?!
After copying a page, Rong Tang put down his pen and said with a smile, "You are not happy when I praise you. You are so hard to please."
A big villain is much better than a stupid system.
With one more person talking, he found it interesting again and unconsciously wanted to tease the system. However, before he could finish his teasing, someone knocked on the study door and Shuangfu came in to report: "Master, someone wants to see you outside the mansion."
Rong Tang was puzzled. The only guests who came to this house were Ke Hongxue, Mu Jingxu, and Lu Jiaxi. Even Sheng Chengming had never been here. But they were all on duty in the court at this time. Why would they come to see him, and why would they be so polite
Rong Tang asked: "Who?"
Shuangfu: "His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince."
The system that was jumping up and down to talk to the host suddenly got stuck, stopped in a daze, and subconsciously moved in the direction of Rong Tang.
On the other side, Su Huaijing came out of the Censorate and saw a carriage.
A man got out of the car and walked up to him.
Su Huaijing frowned slightly, then quickly adjusted his expression and asked with a smile: "Is Prince Qin looking for Tangtang? Unfortunately, he didn't come with me."
Qin Pengxuan shook his head: "I'm looking for you."
Su Huaijing slightly pursed his lips, leaned to the side, and smiled less: "What do you want to see me for?"
Qin Pengxuan was wearing a bright red coat, looking rich and heroic, but when the words came to his lips, he hesitated, as if he didn't know how to start.
Su Huaijing waited for a while, but when he heard no sound, he turned around and was about to leave.
Qin Pengxuan grabbed his arm and asked quickly, "Do you have a birthmark on your shoulder blade that looks like a crabapple flower?"
(End of this chapter)