Chapter 18

It took Rong Tang what felt like a century to finally speak, “He’s really good at this.”

This time, the system didn’t contradict him: [Indeed.]

He sat in the chair, taking a long time to mentally prepare himself, before reopening the envelope.

The letter was three pages long. Rong Tang read it slowly, taking an entire afternoon to finish.

The letter began: Tangtang, my husband, seeing your words is as good as meeting you. Six days apart felt like years.

Rong Tang took a long break before he dared to continue reading, his ears burning hot.

The letter roughly expressed: [These days without you felt incredibly empty. Hearing of your return yesterday, I was overjoyed all night, longing to see you.

"In the past few days, when I occasionally left the residence, I saw some newly arrived storybooks from Jiangnan at Lu's Bookstore in the western part of the city. Knowing you enjoy them, I bought some and placed them in the study for you to read."

"There's a newly opened Sichuan restaurant in the southern part of the city. Even from the street, you can smell the spicy aroma. It reminded me of the flavors of home, but I remembered you once said we could go there together someday. This thought filled me with joy, eagerly awaiting your return."

"Your uncle visited a couple of days ago. I initially didn't want to see him because you dislike him. However, he brought some unique dried fruits from Shu, which I found exceptionally delicious and well-crafted. Knowing you might have never tasted them in the capital, I let him in. You can enjoy them while reading those storybooks."

"A camellia bush has bloomed in the courtyard, with delicate pink and white flowers. I thought of picking some for your chamber, but I'm not sure if the blooms will last until your return."

……

"I've named our residence. I planned to show it to you today, but unfortunately, you weren't here. I've warned Shuang Shou not to tell anyone, so don't press him. You'll see it on our wedding day."

"The weather in the capital has been changing frequently. With your health, it's best not to go out, especially in the mornings and evenings. Be careful with your clothing, to avoid catching a cold."

"I'm doing well, and I hope that you are doing even better."

The last line of the letter still featured his beautiful handwriting, but the words were increasingly tender and affectionate.

"[I respectfully send this letter, hoping for your reply.]"

'Jade seal' is also a way to indicate a reply. Xu Huaijing cautiously and gently suggests: I hope Tang Tang will write back to me.

Rong Tang felt overwhelmed. His tea had gone cold, and drinking it in one gulp did nothing to cool the heat on his face.

Rong Tang glanced out the window, where half of the peach blossoms had fallen, yet it was still not summer.

"[Host, you're blushing.]" The system coolly observed after watching for a while.

"I am not!" Rong Tang protested. "I'm just..."

He couldn't finish his sentence, and the system, recalling the world from which the host had come, inferred, "[Host, have you never received a love letter before?]"

"Of course, I have!" Rong Tang instinctively retorted, but then he realized why he was so flustered.

This was just like a love letter, so embarrassing.

Rong Tang's appearance in the modern world was quite similar to his current one, just a bit taller.

"The minor differences in my appearance are only because in the modern world, I was healthier, not afflicted with the pale sickness that I have now."

"This inevitably meant that not only did I have no shortage of admirers, but there were also many who pursued me."

"During my school days, I received several love letters. But some phrases, when written in modern vernacular as opposed to classical Chinese, give a completely different impression to the recipient."

"When reading them in vernacular, all I could do was appreciate the sentiment while politely finding ways to decline their affections."

"But reading them in classical Chinese, not only did the plain ink and paper gain an added charm, I habitually translated them as I read. By the time I finished, my mind was void of all thoughts except one: he's too skilled."

"[Is it possible that the others were just classmates, but the person writing to you now is your soon-to-be spouse?]" the system coolly added, "[And your expression while burning secret letters in your past life was not the same as this.]"

Rong Tang despairingly covered his face: "Stop it..."

"My face feels so hot I could fry an egg on it..."

"I really wonder, how can the big antagonist so calmly accept the 'wife' role and talk about 'marrying me' as if it's the most natural thing in the world!?"

"Just seeing it makes me feel embarrassed."

"If it weren't for Shuang Shou telling me about recent events in the capital, and if I hadn't read the original story and lived through two lifetimes in this book, I'd really think Xu Huaijing had been pining for me like a lovesick person in Yong'an Alley all these days!"

"So much for hometown flavors. Is he playing me because I 'don't know' that his ancestral home is in the imperial city?"

"I feel utterly defeated, as if, despite standing on the same side as the big antagonist, I'm still unable to outplay him."

Rong Tang, like a defeated groundhog, slumped in his chair, staring at the three sheets of paper, his eyes alternately blank and bashful.

The system, after observing for a while, urged: [Host, you should reply.]

“Go into hibernation!” Rong Tang said.

[Tsk… Tangtang is flustered.]

His system, acting smart, went offline immediately after these words, leaving Rong Tang unable to even scold it.

Rong Tang spread out the paper, holding the brush in his hand for a long time without writing a word, quickly placing it back in the inkstone before the ink dripped.

[Huaijing, my—]

He wrote three words then got stuck, frustratingly crumpling the paper and tossing it aside.

[Huaijing, joyous upon reading your letter.

Overwhelmed with delight receiving your cherished words.

……]

Initially hesitant, Rong Tang's writing gradually flowed more smoothly, and before he knew it, he had written three and a half pages.

He not only replied to every point Su Huaijing had made in his letter but also shared that the apricot blossoms at Tuolan Temple were stunningly beautiful, the renowned Hui Mian Master was actually a young man around thirty years old; today, he had Kong Rong buy two excellent ink sticks, and the Princess Consort greatly liked this daughter-in-law who hadn't yet entered their home…

After finishing his writing, Rong Tang read the letter again, the shy feeling of wanting to hide in a hole gone, replaced by a subtle sense of pleasure.

Today, he had just realized how well Su Huaijing understood him, and they had exchanged letters to share about their recent lives.

It didn’t feel like a love letter anymore, but rather like one between close friends.

Having lived four lifetimes, this was the first time he had made a friend so effortlessly.

After waiting for the ink to dry, Rong Tang folded the letter, placed it in an envelope, sealed it with wax, and then took it out, intending to call Shuangshou.

It was already dusk, the courtyard dimly lit. Rong Tang looked up and surprisingly found a yellow and white camellia blooming in the corner of the wall.

Delighted, he bent down to look at it and impulsively plucked it, placing it in clean water on his desk. After a moment's thought, he reopened the letter and added a line at the end.

[A yellow and white camellia bloomed in my courtyard too. I like it very much and have already picked it. Tomorrow, it will join me in reading the storybook.]

His brush paused, and unable to resist, Rong Tang drew two wavy lines and a 'v' at the end of this sentence.

He didn’t know if Su Huaijing would understand it, but he did.

After doing all this, Rong Tang resealed the envelope and handed it to Shuangshou.

Shuangshou, upon receiving it, smiled: “Master Su said to visit again tomorrow morning to collect a letter. Now, I can deliver and collect letters at the same time.”

Rong Tang was slightly surprised, “He asked you to go again tomorrow?”

“Yes!” Shuangshou nodded, “Master Su said you’re not one to sit still, and being confined at home might be suffocating. He plans to write you a letter every day to chat with you.”

Rong Tang’s mouth opened in surprise, and it took him a while to respond blankly, “Understood.”

After Shuangshou left, the system woke up from hibernation and, seeing his expression, instinctively asked: [Host, why are you smiling?]

Rong Tang pressed his lips together, his expression stern: "You're not allowed to speak."

【……？】

That night, Rong Tang didn't have any nightmares. The next morning, while assisting the Princess Consort, he was distracted, frequently glancing outside. After misplacing a pair of pearl earrings, he was chased out of the storeroom by Wang Xiuyu: "Go on, you're just making more trouble."

Heading towards Tanghua Courtyard, Rong Tang didn't stop to feed the fish at the pond. Upon entering the courtyard, he looked around. Shuangfu, understanding his intention, casually asked a servant and then reported back, "Young Master, Shuangshou hasn't returned yet."

"Oh," Rong Tang looked away, trying to seem nonchalant as he coughed lightly, "I wasn't looking for him."

Shuangfu struggled to hold back a smile: "Yes."

It was a while after lunch before Shuangshou returned. He had been in Yong'an Alley. Rong Tang was napping at the time and woke up to find a letter on his desk in the study, positioned exactly like the day before. The seal appeared to have been reopened and resealed, and the letter was thicker than yesterday's.

[Rong Tang, my husband, reading your letter is like seeing you (crossed out), the joy of receiving your letter feels as if I'm seeing you in person.]

Thus, the warmth Rong Tang had managed to suppress yesterday surged back to his head.

After reading the entire letter, Su Huaijing expressed his happiness that Rong Tang also had a camellia. Upon receiving the letter, he had clipped the white camellia and kept it by his couch, so that when he lifted his head while writing, he could pretend Rong Tang was there.

Rong Tang was stunned, instinctively touching the petals of the flower on his desk.

The last sentence of the letter had changed its tone.

[Longing as a crane, eagerly awaiting your precious letter.]

Birds chirped outside in the spring branches, a gentle breeze blowing. After a moment of thought, Rong Tang took up his pen to write:

[Huaijing, your letter brings joy.]

……

In the spring of the ninth year of the Qingzheng era, two major events occurred in the great nation of Dayu.

First, the Fifth Prince, long confined to the cold palace, emerged and was praised by the Grand Tutor as a talent capable of assisting in governance. Second, the Emperor and Empress, along with the Second Prince, left the palace to journey east to Mount Tai for ancestral worship. En route, they encountered a hero riding a white tiger, who proclaimed the Emperor's great achievements and the exceptional character of the heir apparent. Admiring their virtues, the hero offered a mythical beast as a tribute, expressing his desire to dedicate himself to the royal family and Dayu.

These two events more or less altered the future trajectory of Dayu. However, at Ningxuan Wangfu and Tanghua Courtyard, Rong Tang simply spent his days waking and sleeping with the rise and fall of the sun and moon, greeting the Princess Consort in the mornings and returning to his room to sleep at noon, day after day.

Waking up from a nap on a long spring day, he would open a freshly inked letter at his desk, read it carefully, then struggle to compose a reply, thereby passing the entire day.

As time flowed like quicksand, half a month passed in the blink of an eye, bringing the eighteenth of March.

With a high sedan chair and bridal attire, a procession adorned with gold and colorful paintings started from Ningxuan Wangfu, winding through half the imperial city before finally stopping at the residence of a newcomer in Yong'an Alley.

Later, people would say that on that day, firecrackers and red paper littered the ground, and passersby scrambled for the red envelopes, each containing real silver leaves.

The dowry extended over three streets, and the bridal gifts covered ten miles. Those in the know said it was the Crown Prince of Ningxuan Wangfu marrying a male spouse; those who didn't thought it was the Emperor marrying the Empress.

Indeed, it was an endless display of immense wealth and happiness for today's joyful event.

Unconcerned with the outside world's varied opinions, Rong Tang was currently sitting in a carriage, coughing so hard he felt his lungs might burst.

Princess Consort Wang Xiuyu originally forbade him from personally welcoming his groom, suggesting that Rong Yong or Rong Yuan do it instead. Even the letter Su Huaijing sent yesterday expressed concern about the long journey with frequent stops and worried about Rong Tang's frail health, suggesting he shouldn't come in person.

But Rong Tang was adamant. Initially wanting to ride a horse, he was vehemently opposed by Princess Consort Wang Xiuyu. After negotiating, she agreed to let him travel by carriage.

Little did he expect the wedding procession to be so exhausting. Even seated inside the carriage, not having to greet people with a smile, he found it unbearable—the smell of gunpowder from firecrackers, the incessant sound of musical instruments, and the laughter of people scrambling for lucky money...

Rong Tang felt his eardrums might burst and his lungs collapse.

Finally, the carriage stopped. After drinking half a cup of tea to soothe his itchy throat and straightening his clothes, he was about to step out to meet Su Huaijing when he heard gasps and exclamations.

The shouts were deafening, and countless people were celebrating wildly.

Before Rong Tang could react, someone, beaming with joy, entered the carriage and asked warmly, "Can I call you my husband today?"

“……”

Rong Tang was momentarily dazed, hearing the commotion outside the carriage, before finally realizing what was happening.

Very well.

He came to pick up the bride, and the bride herself had willingly climbed into the carriage.

Nicely done.

Author’s note:

What's better than a reunion after a short separation? Let's have a reunion, wedding, and online romance all in one!!!