Chapter 61

Chapter 61

The rain did not fall, as if heaven wasn't so cruel after all.

On June 21st, Suzhou City, and indeed the whole of Jiangnan, began post-disaster reconstruction.

The residence Rong Tang purchased in Suzhou was once the home of a top scholar from the previous dynasty, elegantly designed and beautifully crafted, named "Lin," symbolizing the mythical unicorn.

Since their arrival, Lin Garden had been bustling with activity. Suzhou Prefect Jiang Shanxing visited three times, managers from various estates and shops of the Ningxuan Wangfu came to meet the young master, and Sheng Chengming stayed with a group of officials under the guise of seeking lodging.

Only after the storm had passed and the sky cleared did the guests at Lin Garden disperse like fish from the river mouth.

Waking up in the morning to the crisp chirping of birds and insects outside, Rong Tang subconsciously checked for the lingering pain in his bones, surprisingly finding it less severe than during the torrential rains, when even the slightest movement felt like insects gnawing at his marrow.

He wasn't sure if the improvement was due to the sunny weather or the medicine Su Huaijing had prepared last night, but it was a relief either way.

But the thought of Su Huaijing made Rong Tang lie in bed for a long while, sighing silently with his eyes closed, his hand covering his face, feeling the residual warmth on his lips.

He was unsure how to face what had happened.

"Host." The system suddenly called out in a voice that seemed more aggrieved than a ghost.

Startled, Rong Tang asked, "Weren't you in sleep mode?"

"..." Do you think I could sleep?

Fortunately, the system didn't have a physical body, or else its dark circles might have been deeper than an owl's. It asked, "Are you planning to accept Su Huaijing's proposal?"

Rong Tang: "..."

After a long silence, he countered, "Can I live for more than four years?"

The system also counter-questioned, "Can Sheng Chengli become the emperor?"

As Shuangfu prepared Rong Tang's morning wash essentials outside, birds chirped on the treetops, and Su Huaijing's intentionally hushed voice occasionally drifted in with fragmented sentences. Rong Tang stared at the ceiling's wood carving of twin lotus buds about to bloom, blinked, and sighed softly, "That's why I can't agree."

It's an unsolvable question.

Having lived the same life twice, if he wished to live once more, it must be driven by a goal.

Rong Tang's initial goal was simply to protect Su Huaijing. Over these days, he had developed a faint hope.

Following the original story and the events of his past two lives, Su Huaijing would eventually become corrupted, turning into a behind-the-scenes mastermind instigating war, clearly an unkingly tyrant without imperial dignity.

Such a person as emperor would lead Dayu to destruction, a verdict by the heavens.

But what if Su Huaijing doesn't turn evil in this lifetime?

If he can be benevolent and diligent, a wise ruler, then even without the destined male lead, wouldn't this world still avoid collapse?

Nobody could discuss this speculation with Rong Tang, nor could he mention it to anyone else, but he couldn't help harboring such hopes.

Besides hoping to protect Su Huaijing, he wished for him to grow into a wise monarch.

With such hopes, how could Rong Tang ever let Su Huaijing join him in death?

What right did he have to ask someone to forsake their life to accompany him?

Or perhaps, no one in this world is worth sacrificing a life for.

Rong Tang was uncertain how Su Huaijing could speak of death so lightly, but he knew that Su's words were always sincere, a fact he reaffirmed last night.

If, in three or four years, following the storyline's progression and his body's gradual decline, he met an irreversible death, and Su Huaijing joined him, what would be the purpose of his brave struggle to live this life?

Rong Tang hoped Su Huaijing could have a good ending, even if destiny forbade it, he wanted to try. As for himself—

He was bound to Sheng Chengli.

If Sheng Chengli couldn’t become the emperor, and the minor world's storyline couldn’t return to its intended path, even if Rong Tang wouldn’t be punished, he couldn’t earn the reward promised by the system's mainframe.

He couldn’t regain a healthy body; he could only drag along this familiar, diseased body that had accompanied him for three lifetimes, desperately clinging to a few more years of life.

How could he possibly agree to Su Huaijing?

He wished him well.

Su Huaijing, having lost all his loved ones and enduring hardships, wandered alone in this world for so many years. How could it make sense for him, barely into his adulthood, to contemplate joining a terminally ill person in death?

In three years, he would only be twenty years old.

Rong Tang lay in bed for a long time. The door was knocked on, and Su Huaijing called softly from outside, “Rong Tang, are you up?”

Rong Tang blinked slowly, his thoughts gradually withdrawing. As the door was about to be pushed open from the outside, he spoke, “I'm up.”

Su Huaijing paused his movement but still entered the room through the door.

The light from the courtyard momentarily flooded the room and quickly retracted. As the door closed behind him, Rong Tang hurriedly sat up, and Su Huaijing entered, his gaze falling on Rong's slightly disheveled hair and dazed eyes.

He couldn't help wanting to laugh, turning to fetch a set of clothes for Rong Tang from the wardrobe, his efficiency bordering on virtuous: “The house is short-staffed, as we've assigned half to distribute porridge. Breakfast is simple today – just a pot of plain porridge and two side dishes. If you're not accustomed to it, I can make you a bowl of tofu pudding. The western courtyard was flooded recently, and Wu Bo caught a small bucket of river shrimp. I’ll sprinkle some on your tofu pudding.”

Su Huaijing spoke so naturally that Rong Tang unconsciously followed his lead, getting out of bed and slipping into the clothes: “Porridge is fine.”

Su Huaijing smiled and nodded, handing him an overcoat after he put on his inner garment.

As Rong Tang half-dressed, he suddenly realized something amiss, frowning and looking at Su Huaijing: “Why did you enter my room?”

Su Huaijing opened his eyes wide in surprise: “Why can't I?”

Rong Tang opened his mouth to speak but couldn't bring himself to say it, ending up just glaring at Su Huaijing again.

The latter blinked, as if suddenly understanding, approached, and helped Rong Tang with the robe he had half on, saying, “Does Rong Tang mean to say, because you rejected my courtship last night, I shouldn't come to your room today?”

Rong Tang couldn’t fathom how Su Huaijing could speak so casually without a hint of embarrassment. He pursed his lips and gave a muffled “Hmm.”

Su Huaijing's smile deepened, helping him dress and then picking up a belt from the bed, passing it to him. He looked somewhat regretful as Rong Tang tied it himself: “But I’ve always done this.”

Rong Tang paused, and Su Huaijing said, “Since our marriage, I’ve always helped you dress in the morning whenever I had time, prepared your water for washing at night. If the weather is bad, I would even bring breakfast to your room and wait for you to finish before washing your hands.”

He paused, opened his mouth wide in exaggeration: “Rong Tang, you haven’t forgotten, have you?”

Rong Tang: “...” I regret, I shouldn’t have indulged in momentary pleasures.

Su Huaijing waited for his reaction, then sadly lowered his head, pouting, whether genuinely or not: “Rong Tang, you really break my heart.”

“...” Left with no choice, Rong Tang could only say: “I haven’t forgotten.”

"You really didn't forget?" Huaijing immediately looked up at him.

Rong Tang choked up a bit, nodding, "I didn't forget."

Huaijing then smiled, "Since you haven't forgotten, Tangtang, you must know that not only you, everyone in the courtyard can see. If I have been acting this way for months and suddenly change now, wouldn’t Shuangfu and Shuangshou think I am up to no good, that I've tricked you into handing over all your wealth and then stopped taking care of you?"

Rong Tang felt a tingling in his scalp, listening to his nonsense.

"Now we're in Suzhou, my mother can't hear the gossip. But once we return to the capital, any servant in the mansion could chat with my mother, and wouldn't I be in an awkward position?" Huaijing raised his eyes, the fatigue and dark circles from days of labor disappearing after a restful sleep. Even the redness from last night's tears was gone, leaving his eyes still shining brightly, gazing up with an irresistible pitifulness.

He said, "But it's not like I don't want to serve you."

Huaijing's voice grew softer, tinged with a hint of grievance and barely noticeable accusation: "It was Tangtang who actively wanted to marry me, making me fall for you and confess my feelings, hoping to be a real married couple. But then you refused me, and now you won’t even let me enter your room."

"I'm the one who's most aggrieved, okay? If people continue to gossip and tarnish my reputation, how can I face anyone?" Huaijing asked in a muffled voice, even with a hint of a sob.

Rong Tang was at a loss for words, almost begging him for mercy.

But he stubbornly held his ground for once, not responding for a long while. Huaijing felt aggrieved for a bit, then glanced at him and nodded, his voice gradually growing colder: "I understand now."

Rong Tang was puzzled: "Understand what?"

Huaijing replied: "You won’t let me enter your room now, probably because you find my confession annoying. You haven’t expressed it outright due to our relationship, but in reality, you dislike me. Perhaps once we return to the capital, you’ll send me a letter of divorce, right?"

Rong Tang was shocked: "What?! No!"

After a moment of shock, his eyes widened in anger, glaring at Huaijing: "What are you even saying?!"

Huaijing looked up innocently: "No?"

Rong Tang firmly responded: "No! What are you thinking all day long?!"

Huaijing quickly replied: "Thinking about Tangtang."

Rong Tang choked, belatedly realizing he had fallen into Huaijing's trap again.

Huaijing leaned in closer, coaxing softly: "Tangtang likes me, right?"

Rong Tang averted his gaze: "No."

Huaijing lowered his eyes: "If it's not true, then it's not. I'm used to Tangtang saying the opposite of what he feels."

Rong Tang retorted: "…And you're always twisting the truth!"

Huaijing, scolded, doesn't get angry but instead laughs: "So Tangtang admits to saying the opposite of what he feels and likes me?"

Rong Tang: "？"

"I didn't," he stubbornly says.

Huaijing nods, tactfully taking a step back, but then untactfully straightens Rong Tang's crooked belt along his slender waistline: "Then not yet. But you'll like me eventually."

He asks: "Are you hungry, Tangtang? Let's go have breakfast. After that, I’ll take you out. Don’t you want to see if you’ve saved those people? I’ll show you."

To see the world you care for, the people you cherish. And then, please, take a little care of yourself.

I no longer ask for your longevity, only for you to be free from pain and suffering.