Chapter 85

Chapter 85

A wound appeared on Su Huaijing's index finger, narrow yet deep enough. When medicine powder was applied, it quickly permeated the area.

Rong Tang, with a cold expression, sat on the beauty couch watching Su Huaijing apply medicine to himself, silent the entire time.

After bandaging his wound, Su Huaijing approached Rong Tang to act cute, lifting his handsome face to smile at him, and placed his finger before Rong Tang's eyes: “Tang Tang, look, it’s not bleeding.”

Rong Tang glanced at him, remaining silent.

He actually really liked Su Huaijing's hands and appearance.

In terms of looks, the major antagonist would definitely rank in the top three in this world; and in terms of intellect, Su Huaijing couldn't possibly lose to anyone.

A beauty as pristine and lovely as spring flowers and autumn moon standing before him could easily move one's heart, not to mention that this beauty, with his unadorned hands, was manipulating the entire world’s situation.

The intense contrast concentrated in one person made all his beauty and handsomeness his weapons, exceptionally captivating.

Whether readers perceive the antagonist, fans admire the character, confidants see a soulmate, rivals view an adversary, or even when men look at another man, from any perspective, Su Huaijing definitely possessed a physical form and soul that Rong Tang admired.

That's why Rong Tang couldn't bear to see him hurt.

Perhaps it was because their first meeting in this life was at the Moonlit Tower, where the powerful and composed antagonist of the previous two lifetimes was seen in tattered clothes, chained at his feet, confined between a bed and a chair, unable to move. Rong Tang instinctively felt more protective and sympathetic towards him, thus particularly distressed at seeing him injured.

But injuries always occurred.

Whether it was getting cut by grass while collecting dew before going to the Flower Folding Festival, or getting scratched by stones while traversing disaster areas in Jiangnan, odd wounds always seemed to appear on his body, not fatal, but glaringly uncomfortable.

Considering that Su Huaijing had his own dangerous affairs to attend to, often having to personally venture into perilous situations, Rong Tang, though heartbroken, wisely refrained from prying.

But this time, the wound on his hand was outrageous, clearly self-inflicted.

Rong Tang couldn't understand how Su Huaijing could hold such a grudge against himself, seemingly unfazed by pain, to pinch such a deep mark into his hand.

Rong Tang was very annoyed and didn't want to deal with him, but Su Huaijing kept moving closer, lifting his head and blinking his eyes, drawing out his words as if summoning a spirit, "Tang Tang—"

"Brother Tang Tang—"

"My husband—"

"My dear—"

"Are you annoying?" Rong Tang interrupted Su Huaijing, looking down and squinting at him.

Su Huaijing immediately laughed, looking super obedient as he shook his head: "Not annoying."

Rong Tang choked, asking irritably, "Do you have a tendency for self-harm?"

Su Huaijing: "No, Tang Tang is wronging me."

Rong Tang: "?"

He reached out, grabbed Su Huaijing's wrist, and shoved his freshly medicated, dirty fingertips right under his own eyelids: "You call this nothing?"

"Ah—" Su Huaijing was stunned for a moment, as if he had just noticed the injury, nodding his head seriously and solemnly, "Then, I guess I do."

Rong Tang: "?"

He was almost infuriated to death by Su Huaijing's attitude, turned away, not wanting to see him.

Su Huaijing lowered his head, poured him a cup of hot tea, let it cool to a drinkable temperature, then carefully handed it to Rong Tang with both hands.

Rong Tang initially didn't want to pay attention to him, but Su Huaijing deliberately held the scalding cup with the hand he had just applied medicine to, making it impossible for him to ignore.

Without a second's delay, Rong Tang quickly took the cup, not knowing whether to hold it or put it down, drank most of it in one gulp, and placed the cup on the low table, looking at Su Huaijing: "You really are annoying."

"Is brother Tang Tang disgusted with me?" Su Huaijing asked.

Rong Tang was startled, thinking that this man was really good at changing the subject. He pursed his lips and glared at him without speaking, expressing his anger through his expression.

Su Huaijing glanced up, smiled, added a piece of charcoal to the stove, and finally got serious, replying: "I don’t have a tendency for self-harm, and I didn’t intend to get hurt. It's just that at the time, I was puzzled and angered by something, lost in thought without realizing it, and by the time I came back to my senses, my finger was already like this."

He cunningly said: "I really didn’t do it on purpose, brother Tang Tang, please forgive me."

Rong Tang's thoughts lingered on Su Huaijing's previous statement.

He pondered carefully, wondering what could have happened between yesterday, after returning from Ke Hongxue's place, and this morning, that would leave Su Huaijing so puzzled and infuriated.

It surely couldn't be because he said even zombies wouldn't eat his brain.

Unable to figure it out, Rong Tang simply asked, "What happened?"

Su Huaijing seemed surprised by this, raising an eyebrow, "Tang Tang never used to ask me these things."

He didn't ask how Rong Tang knew he was helping Sheng Chengming, and Rong Tang never inquired about what exactly he was doing. They both maintained an unspoken understanding, not needing to explicitly discuss these matters.

This was the first time Rong Tang had actively inquired.

Rong Tang paused, slightly furrowing his brows, countering, "Wasn't it you who gave away your secret?"

He previously didn't ask, partly because he had little energy to meddle, and partly to give Su Huaijing complete freedom. But this time, it was Su Huaijing who broached the subject, and it seemed only natural for Rong Tang to follow up, yet it surprisingly led to the antagonist asking a question, which Rong Tang found very odd.

He asked in disbelief, and Su Huaijing, unusually at a loss for words, took a moment before replying, "Qin Pengxun hasn’t visited for a long time."

Such an irrelevant answer made Rong Tang unsure whether Su Huaijing was diverting the topic or sincerely answering.

Qin Pengxun's visits to Ning Xuan King's Mansion or the issues arising from the Flower Folding Festival, where he offended Rong Tang and incidentally had Sheng Chengming and Su Huaijing's support, resulted in the decision that Qin Pengxun needed to come and apologize after the festival.

But Rong Tang fainted on the last day of the festival, stayed in Yong An Alley for a long time, then immediately headed to Jiangnan, hardly ever returning to Ning Xuan King's Mansion, let alone encountering Qin Pengxun’s visit.

Rong Zheng mentioned that Qin Pengxun initially brought gifts frequently, which he gladly accepted and stored in Tang Hua Courtyard's storeroom, but Rong Tang never saw Qin Pengxun after his return.

He had almost forgotten about him, but since Su Huaijing brought it up seriously, Rong Tang followed up, "And then?"

As Su Huaijing brewed tea, he said, "I was puzzled whether the Marquis of Wu Kang's son no longer wished to visit, or if the royal mansion rejected his visits, or perhaps both were possible."

Rong Tang paused for a second, processing his words, then suddenly felt alarmed.

Su Huaijing wasn't just making up an excuse; he was genuinely puzzled about this matter, and he might even be uncovering a larger conspiracy behind this seemingly insignificant issue.

In the original story of "The Emperor's Conquest," the first direct confrontation between the major antagonist Su Huaijing and the male protagonist Sheng Chengli was indeed related to the Marquis of Wu Kang's mansion.

He thought carefully about what could have happened from yesterday, after returning from Ke Hongxue's residence, until this morning, that might have left Su Huaijing so puzzled and angry.

It couldn't be just because he said Su Huaijing's brain wouldn't even appeal to zombies.

Unable to figure it out, Rong Tang simply asked, "What happened?"

Su Huaijing seemed surprised by the question, raising an eyebrow, "Tang Tang has never asked me about these things before."

It was the tenth year of Qingzheng, autumn. The Marquis of Wu Kang's conspiracy was uncovered, leading to the demotion and exile of Sheng Chengming; the same year, the corruption case of the Southwest Governor Zhang Baoshan involving military funds was exposed.

This was the historical trajectory as set by the original story.

Now, with Su Huaijing not at the Marquis of Wu Kang's mansion, even if there were thoughts of rebellion, he shouldn't be suspicious at this time.

Rong Tang felt a slight unease, limited by the system in what he could say, he could only continue on the topic raised by Su Huaijing, "Is there any difference between these two possibilities?"

"No difference," Su Huaijing glanced at him and said, "Essentially, it's just that Qin Pengxun can ignore Sheng Chengming’s words. But I haven’t figured out what his confidence is based on."

Changing the subject, he asked Rong Tang, "Do you know, Tang Tang?"

Rong Tang instinctively wanted to clench his fist but quickly relaxed it, shaking his head, "I don't know."

Su Huaijing stared at him for a long time, then smiled, "I thought so."

Fearing further questioning, Rong Tang quickly changed the subject, "Speaking of which, I haven’t seen the Second Prince for a long time."

Su Huaijing was indifferent, "The prince has made contributions to disaster relief, and the Emperor has high expectations for him. He’s been assigned many duties in the court and is too busy. Furthermore, the faction of the Third Prince often hinders him, and Chancellor Zhang holds a grudge against him due to the execution of Lu Junxian. Empress Yi is pregnant, and he is hoping for an obedient and sensible grandchild to control from a young age, paying less attention to Sheng Chengming. Now, Sheng Chengming is facing enemies on all fronts and doesn’t have the time to appear in public."

Rong Tang was shocked, "Aren’t you helping him?"

Su Huaijing chuckled, "Haven’t I been helping him?"

He said, "If I didn’t help him, he would have been devoured by those old foxes long ago. How could he still have the opportunity to be involved in the six ministries and various departments of the court?"

Sheng Chengming’s every move now easily arouses the Emperor's suspicion. Staying alive is the priority, lest he dies unclearly due to the Emperor’s fear and betrayal by those close to him.

Rong Tang frowned, feeling it was a pity. He actually thought Sheng Chengming was one of the more moderate prospects among the Emperor's children and didn’t want him to be corrupted by the struggle for succession.

Su Huaijing, reading Rong Tang's expression, guessed his thoughts accurately, sighed silently, and consoled, "Soon it's going to be New Year's Eve, and we'll have to attend the palace banquet with Grandmother. When I see the Second Prince, I'll remind him a few things. Tang Tang, don't worry."

"Alright," Rong Tang agreed, but then puzzled, "I don't quite understand why Chancellor Zhang is so sure that Empress Yi's baby will be a boy?"

Just as Rong Mingyu was certain that Qian Shi was carrying a boy.

Although the plot indeed develops this way, in an era with such low medical standards, how do they manage to do that?

Su Huaijing smiled, "It's not 'certain,' but rather a hope, for the royal power and family business they want to control—"

He suddenly paused mid-sentence, and Rong Tang looked at him, "What happened?"

Su Huaijing came back to his senses, glanced at Rong Tang somewhat inexplicably, and shook his head, "It's nothing."

He almost forgot that Qian Shi's baby in her womb, inherently weak and not expected to survive beyond three months, was now already five months along, yet there had been no news of a miscarriage.