Chapter 13

Finally, Su Huaijing removed his hand from Rong Tang's neck, and Rong Tang quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he saw Su Huaijing pointing to a black ointment jar next to the food box, "What's that?"

Rong Tang replied, "Ah, it's an ointment. I can't see it well and wanted you to help me apply it." After saying this, he blinked and looked up at the young man, "May I?"

Su Huaijing didn't explicitly agree or disagree, but after observing him for a moment, he seemed to sigh softly. He picked up the jar, scooped a little ointment onto his fingertip, lifted Rong Tang's chin with one hand, and began applying the ointment to his face.

His movements were still gentle but lacked the previously hidden murderous intent, simply and slowly spreading the ointment, "How could you end up hurting yourself while saving someone? Tang Tang, you shouldn't have left the house."

"But how could I see you if I didn't leave?" Rong Tang instinctively retorted.

Su Huaijing paused in his movements, remained silent, and after finishing applying the ointment, he let go, got off the couch to wash his hands, and then swapped places with Rong Tang.

The peach blossom cake was dense and delicate, still tasting great after a night. Rong Tang tried a piece and then watched enthusiastically as Su Huaijing sat beside him, roasting tangerines.

There shouldn't be a fire in the study, but if someone could bring a beauty couch into a place for reading sage's books, then Su Huaijing felt all proprieties were superfluous. Besides, Rong Tang was prone to cold, and he needed heat every day. Especially today, with the rain, even traveling by carriage, he must have caught some chill.

As Su Huaijing turned the tangerines, he asked, "Did you come today just to bring me peach blossom cakes?"

Rong Tang nodded, "Mainly for the peach blossom cakes."

Su Huaijing, discerning the slight difference in wording, glanced sharply at Rong Tang, "Speak."

Rong Tang hesitated, feeling that the arch-villain was less angry now, but still a bit upset. He wanted Su Huaijing to vent his anger, yet he was genuinely worried about his own survival after such a confrontation.

This hesitation reflected on his face as a mix of worry and indecision. Su Huaijing looked at him, then lowered his head to pick up a roasted tangerine, peeled it, and placed it on a side tray. He extended his hand forward, "Tang Tang, help me wipe my hands."

"Ah?" Rong Tang was startled, but Su Huaijing didn’t move. Quickly realizing what was asked, he hurriedly complied, "Right away!"

The original text described Su Huaijing as having delicate features, inherited from the late Empress. Somehow, he seemed to have altered his bone structure, making him look vastly different from his childhood, so much so that even standing in front of Emperor Renshou, he was not recognized as his own nephew.

Some fans of the villain character felt sympathetic, noting that from beginning to end, they never really saw what Su Huaijing truly looked like. Rong Tang, however, found his current appearance extremely attractive.

At 17, Su Huaijing was in the prime of youth, with handsome facial contours, a radiant complexion, and an elegant demeanor. Even his fingers were exceptionally beautiful.

Long and slender, clean and neat, with only slight calluses at the fingertips and the base of the thumb, lighter than those of a typical martial artist, more akin to the marks left by a scholar's frequent use of a brush.

But Rong Tang knew well that Su Huaijing's martial skills were far from lacking, in fact, quite excellent. In his past life, he wondered why such a skilled swordsman had no trace of martial training on his hands, to the extent that when he moved in court circles, people only saw him as a frail scholar.

Rong Tang, head bowed, diligently wiped the orange juice from Su Huaijing's fingertips, curiosity getting the better of him, he remarked, "Su Huaijing, you have so few calluses on your hands."

Su Huaijing responded, "Tang Tang, your hands also have few calluses."

Compared to Su Huaijing, the original owner of these hands was the perfect embodiment of 'fingers untouched by spring water', almost without a mark of usage.

Rong Tang paused, then lowered his head to examine his own hands, which in his previous life bore many scars.

Cuts, burns, needle pricks.

Fingertips pierced with silver needles, backs of the hands scalded with boiling soup, and foolishly blocking a cleaver not aimed at him.

Rong Tang averted his gaze, smiling gently, "I'm not physically strong, so my mother didn't let me attend school."

Not practicing writing, martial arts, or doing household chores, it was unlikely for his hands to bear any marks.

Rong Tang folded the handkerchief and picked a piece of roasted tangerine from the small plate to eat.

Sweet and warm, devoid of any bitterness, he couldn't help but give Su Huaijing a thumbs up.

Su Huaijing smiled and continued roasting more for him, saying softly, "My uncle also didn't let me go to school."

Rong Tang knew he was responding to his earlier question, and he also knew this wasn't the real answer, but hearing Su Huaijing say this made him feel a pang of sympathy.

He frowned slightly, leaning forward, a down quilt draped over him, and asked cautiously, "Do you want to go to school? I can arrange for your enrollment. You're so smart, you could surely top the imperial examinations."

Su Huaijing seemed taken aback for a moment, then looked at Rong Tang, shaking his head with a smile, "I won't go to school. I'll stay at home with you."

The spring rain continued gently, carrying with it the moisture and crushed fragrance of flowers, leaving Rong Tang momentarily stunned and blank.

He knew Su Huaijing was incredibly clever, almost supernaturally so, and understood he didn't need to struggle through school to achieve a title for his revenge plan; he had many safer and quicker ways. Rong Tang's suggestion to marry him was partly for protection and partly to offer him this shortcut.

The title of Crown Prince Consort of Ningxuan would be enough for him to integrate into the circle of the powerful. Once inside, Rong Tang believed Su Huaijing would be well-established.

Yet, he couldn't deny feeling somewhat moved by the arch-villain's statement.

"He's so good at this," Rong Tang quietly said to the system.

System: [He's even better at destroying the world.]

Rong Tang felt deflated, warming his hands over the fire, before finally addressing Su Huaijing's question.

"My mother has chosen a date. Someone will come tomorrow to take your measurements for the wedding attire. I wanted to ask if you had any thoughts about the wedding? Do you have any relatives or friends who should be invited? Should we invite Li Changfu?"

Su Huaijing: "Don't you dislike him?"

"I dislike him," Rong Tang admitted honestly, "but the position of Minister of War is not too high or too low, and it’s respectable enough. I've heard that if a wife's family has no influential members, the husband might face criticism. My younger brothers are not easy to deal with; I'm afraid they might bully you. So, I thought if you don't mind too much, I could invite him over for a drink at my place."

Rong Tang paused, then added sternly, "But I won't kowtow to him, he shouldn’t even think about it."

Su Huaijing couldn’t help but laugh, his gaze softening with a trace of his usual demeanor as he looked at Rong Tang, "I'll listen to whatever Tangtang brother says."

Rong Tang smiled at this, then rambled on for a while before getting to the point, "By the way, the date is set for the eighteenth of next month. It’s perfect because my aunt and uncle will be returning from the Taishan Ceremony and might attend."

Su Huaijing's fingers twitched slightly, which Rong Tang pretended not to see. He seemed somewhat fearful, "The Emperor… and the Empress, they will come too?"

Rong Tang sighed silently, wishing he didn’t have to keep up the act, but he was acting too. He leaned in and gently squeezed Su Huaijing’s hand, "My uncle might not come, but my aunt said she’ll definitely come to see my wedding. Don’t worry, I’ll be with you."

Su Huaijing’s long eyelashes fell as he looked at the hand holding his, now warm but entirely from the heat of the stove. He reciprocated the grip.

Rong Tang continued, sounding slightly troubled, "Actually, the eighth is also a good day, but my mother said my aunt and uncle would be leaving for the Taishan Ceremony on the tenth. Holding a wedding before the national rites might be inauspicious, so we postponed it."

This time, Su Huaijing finally caught the key phrase, "Taishan Ceremony?"

Rong Tang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had successfully steered the conversation.

The Taishan Ceremony was an annual ritual where the emperor went to the ancestral temple to pray for the prosperity of the nation, held on the fifteenth day of the third lunar month.

Emperor Renshou was extremely superstitious, as evident from his practice of having fortunes told for each of his sons. This year marked the ninth year of his reign. In ancient times, nine was considered a supreme number, so Emperor Renshou wouldn't miss the opportunity to grandly celebrate and reassert his divine mandate in the nation's prosperity.

The reason Rong Tang brought up the ceremony was that he had other ideas about the so-called "rebel remnants case."

A plan that didn't require Shen Feiyi's death but could still win a favor from the Second Prince.

Despite the risks, Rong Tang knew that Su Huaijing would understand, given the unspoken understanding they had developed over two lifetimes of opposition.

So he said, "Yes, this year's Taishan Ceremony will be grand. His Majesty will take the Second Prince to the ancestral temple, and my father will accompany the royal convoy." Counting on his fingers, he continued, "We leave on the tenth, probably passing through Yuanmeng Mountain and resting there for a day. The ceremony is on the fifteenth, and we return on the seventeenth. Our wedding is perfectly timed for the eighteenth."

He earnestly counted the days, seemingly unaware that he was revealing information that ordinary people or even officials wouldn't know.

Even now, the Ministry of Rites dared not confirm the route, as they had several plans, and the Emperor hadn't decided which one to take.

Rong Tang knew the details because in his previous life, he had accompanied the procession, nearly exhausting himself along the way.

He revealed this early because in the past two lifetimes, a day later, the Earl of Wukang would lead troops to capture Shen Feiyi, who would then be imprisoned until the Taishan ceremony, where he'd be sacrificed as a 'rebel remnant.'

Rong Tang worried that if he didn’t present another possibility to Su Huaijing soon, he would feel pressed for time.

After speaking, Rong Tang saw Su Huaijing deep in thought, then ate another tangerine, lay down with his face buried in the pillow, only his forehead and eyes visible, "I want to sleep for a bit. Can you watch the fire for me?"

Su Huaijing came back to reality, nodded with a smile, and after Rong Tang fell asleep, he let Shuang Fu in to keep watch and went to the backyard under an umbrella.

Xing Feng was already waiting there.

Su Huaijing closed his umbrella, water droplets falling onto the flowers behind him. He smelled of roasted tangerines and medicine, touching his fingertips where the handkerchief had left a cool sensation.

He relayed the plan to Xing Feng and instructed him to set it in motion, also telling Bi Xin to stay a few more days at the Earl of Wukang’s residence. Then, he went to the herb store to start a furnace and prepare peach blossom powder.

Li Panyan had to stay a few more days, so the medicine had to continue. Before leaving, his gaze lingered on the medicine cabinet, picking a prescription for body conditioning.

Xing Feng followed in, watching him work. With a furrowed brow, he said, "Master, this young prince is really peculiar. I think we cannot keep him."

Even if the master didn't mind whether what he said to the Prince Consort of Ningxuan was true or false, just his visit to Shen Feiyi's hideout yesterday was enough to arouse suspicion.

How did a homebound wealthy young master manage that, when even Liuyun had investigated for two days without success?

After Xing Feng finished, the herb store was silent. Cold sweat ran down his temples, while Su Huaijing sat on a stool, slowly fanning the furnace.

A long time passed before Xing Feng left. The herb store fell completely silent, save for the bubbling sound of the medicinal soup.

Su Huaijing murmured, "But the peach blossom cakes are really delicious."

Su Huaijing thought, he could just not think about anything, as long as Rong Tang always remembered to come back and cajole him.

He could choose not to kill him, he could even think of a way to cure him, as long as he was willing to rub against his wrist, even if it was a lie.

Su Huaijing lowered his gaze to his wrist, where a faint sensation lingered, finer and softer than fingertips, yet cold.

As if reminding him, this was a frail creature on the brink of death, who might close its eyes forever at any moment.