Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Extracting Wang Xiuyu from Ning Xuan's residence wasn't easy. She married Rong Mingyu at sixteen and had been the mistress of a powerful family for over twenty years. Ning Xuan's residence was both a shackle and a responsibility for her, not easily discarded.

Rong Tang wanted to take her to Yong'an Lane, but Wang Xiuyu would surely find ten thousand reasons to refuse.

However, if Rong Mingyu himself asked his wife to temporarily leave the house, even if Wang Xiuyu was reluctant, she would maintain her dignity and graciousness on the surface.

— Especially since she was quite romantic at heart.

Su Huaijing's suggestion would indirectly hurt Wang Xiuyu, but both he and Rong Tang agreed that it was better for her to give up on him sooner rather than be dragged down by Rong Mingyu in the future. Hence, they did not intervene from beginning to end.

Until Lady Qian was close to giving birth and Rong Ying returned from Tuo Lan Temple with the Princess Royal, Su Huaijing received the news and went back to Ning Xuan's residence with Rong Tang.

Not everything could be predicted from the start. Lady Qian and Empress Yi being pregnant at the same time might have been a coincidence, but Rong Mingyu's desire for this child to be born was a fact.

He needed a young master in the Wang residence, to later legitimatize the son of Empress Yi as his own after fulfilling his ambitions.

For now, it was just a place on the family tree, a deception for the royal family and the emperor.

Rong Tang wasn't sure how long Rong Mingyu had been plotting to seize power, perhaps as early as ten years ago; and the past decade was nothing but pushing Emperor Renshou to prematurely stabilize his position.

He was not a dog raised by Emperor Renshou, but a wolf that could turn on its master.

Unfortunately, Rong Mingyu's plan was too drawn out, neither the world's consciousness nor the plot would allow him to take the final step.

The ruler of this world, apart from Su Huaijing, would only be Cheng Chengli. Rong Mingyu had no chance even for a share.

As Rong Tang stepped into Ning Xuan's residence, the air was hot and humid, signaling the arrival of the rainy season, with a storm looming.

The dining room was lit, and everyone was gathered. Rong Yuan had received a house from Rong Mingyu last year, but since he was not yet married, he couldn't move out like Rong Tang, and was waiting in the hall for the elders.

Rong Zheng had taken the imperial examination at the beginning of the year, but as expected, his years of idleness led to his failure.

Consequently, with his birth mother pregnant and favored by the prince, the third young master Rong Yuan was surrounded by admirers wherever he went in the residence.

When Rong Tang entered the hall, he saw his four-year-old younger cousin from the second house bouncing towards Rong Yuan, calling him “brother” in a soft, sweet voice.

Su Huaijing raised an eyebrow and turned his head with an inscrutable smile, "Not as cute as when I call you, right, Tang Tang brother?"

Rong Tang felt weak in the knees at his call, almost losing his balance and stumbling forward.

The instigator quickly steadied his partner, a teasing smile in his eyes, “After being married for so long, how can you still be so shy?”

Rong Tang steadied himself, looked up and glared at him fiercely, lowering his voice to scold, “What are you doing, comparing yourself to a child!”

Are you four years old just because he is?!

Su Huaijing looked up with a pitiful expression, gazing at Rong Tang, "So Tang Tang brother also realizes I'm not a child anymore."

Rong Tang, sensing something ominous, tried to stop Su Huaijing from speaking, but heard him whispering near his ear, "If I'm not a child, why haven't we consummated our marriage? Or does Tang Tang brother think that being in a relationship is just like schoolmates seeing each other every day in the academy, yet remaining innocently platonic?"

[Damn!]

The system always seemed to pop up quickly to kick its host when he's down.

Rong Tang, frustrated with both of them, gritted his teeth and asked Su Huaijing, "Where's your innocence?"

Su Huaijing, feigning innocence, blinked, "I am the purest of all, aren't I? My beloved is always around me, but other than kisses, hugs, and touches, have I done anything else?"

Rong Tang: "......"

Young master Rong didn't want to talk to him, glancing sharply at Su Huaijing, then quickly walked over to Rong Zheng, listening to his foolish younger brother babble about things in the capital or the academy.

Su Huaijing stood still, shaking his head with a smile. Then, lifting his gaze, his phoenix eyes casually swept over the people in the room.

Rong Yuan, harboring ill intentions and oppressing his elder brother, deserved death;

Rong Zhe, conniving and persecuting his elder sister, deserved to be killed;

Rong Zheng, impulsive but not malicious, and well-protected by Tang Tang, could be spared;

Rong Ning, naive and innocent, not worldly-wise, the first to call herself his sister-in-law on her wedding day, could be spared;

Rong Yao...

Su Huaijing's gaze fell to the little one not even reaching Rong Yuan's knees, trying to climb his legs, and paused for two seconds before indifferently moving away.

One shouldn't punish the innocent for the sins of their parents; it would be unreasonable to take revenge on a small child for Rong Mingyu's wrongdoings.

The evening glow scattered across the sky, casting an orange-red light on the marble floor inside the room, resembling fresh blood.

Su Huaijing lowered his gaze and watched silently for a while, a subtle smile gradually forming on his lips. Hearing footsteps behind him, steady and dignified, he put away his smile, turned, and bent to greet, "Grandmother, you must be weary from your journey. The Buddha surely appreciates your sincere devotion."

The maid assisting the dignified elder released her hand and stepped back two paces. The imposing gaze of the Princess Royal landed on Su Huaijing, who met it unflinchingly, stepping forward to gently support the elder's hand on his arm, the epitome of filial piety.

The elder glanced at him, then looked away, prompting everyone in the room, whether standing or sitting, to quickly rise and pay their respects.

The Princess Royal, who did not eat after noon, showed her face before retiring to the side hall for tea. Su Huaijing and Rong Tang followed.

The elder's gaze was heavy as she surveyed the room, then asked, "Whose idea was this?"

Rong Tang was about to respond when Su Huaijing interjected, "It was my idea."

"Quite the schemer, aren't you?" The elder sipped her tea slowly, then said, "Such superstitious nonsense, only fools would believe it."

Su Huaijing smiled, "Your Highness is certainly no fool."

The elder inquired, "What do you plan to do with that girl, Rong Ying?"

"Linyuan Academy operates independently of the government, outside of politics. Earlier this year, the academy's dean discussed with Minister Ke about recruiting external scholars. I think my cousin is a suitable candidate."

Rong Tang was startled, having never heard of Su Huaijing's plan.

Even the Princess Royal was taken aback, her eyes flickering as she asked, "A woman teaching in the academy?"

Su Huaijing smiled back, "Why not?"

The inner chamber was quiet for a long while, with guards outside ensuring that no one could overhear their conversation.

The elder and Su Huaijing locked eyes, bridging a gap of fifty years. The former top female minister of Dayu gazed at the future emperor, and chuckled softly, giving a comment that was neither clearly good nor bad, "You and your brothers are indeed alike, making light of matters that defy the world's conventions."

Su Huaijing responded, "My brothers just weren't as lucky as I am. If they were alive, Your Highness might not see this as audacious."

If the former crown prince were still alive and had ascended to the throne, after three imperial examinations, who could say for sure that there wouldn't be female officials in the court today?

"I'm merely sending a female scholar to the academy; how is that such a grave defiance?"

The elder chuckled, her eyes inevitably clouded by the passage of time, yet still clear-sighted. She nodded, "Indeed, that's good."

She then asked Rong Tang, "Where do you plan to take your mother?"

Rong Tang replied, "To the residence in Yong'an Lane. Though it's not as to the prince's estate in luxury and grandeur, it won’t overly discomfort mother."

The elder inquired, "Is there a Buddhist hall?"

Rong Tang was momentarily startled and shook his head honestly, "I am not devout in my Buddhist practices, so I haven’t set up a Buddhist hall in the estate."

"Pity," the Princess Royal remarked ambiguously.

Before Rong Tang could react, Su Huaijing said, "There's also a residence in the suburbs, a birthday gift from Tang Tang at the beginning of the year. It has largely been renovated but still has some empty courtyards without furniture. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, we can place a Buddha statue there as a Buddhist hall."

The elder chuckled, about to respond, but Su Huaijing added a note of caution, "However, that residence was specially prepared by Tang Tang for me. I haven’t had the chance to stay there yet. It's very precious to me, so Your Highness can stay, but you can't take it from me."

Rong Tang: "?"

The Princess Royal: "?"

Su Huaijing, unflustered and unabashed, continued, "The place is also quite secluded, scarcely populated, and I don’t wish to be disturbed. Barriers have been set up between the front and back courtyards, so if Your Highness wishes to entertain guests, they cannot be brought into the back courtyard."

Rong Tang remembered that Su Huaijing had converted the front courtyard of that residence into something ordinary and quite unremarkable, making it look nothing like the Duke of Xian's estate.

The elder, over sixty years old, showed a rare hint of perplexity on her face, for the first time feeling unable to comprehend Su Huaijing's words.

She asked, "Why would I want to take your residence?"

Su Huaijing smiled, his expression serene with a hint of a child's mischief, "I, too, hope that Your Highness won't."

Rong Tang, realizing the implication, felt his ears belatedly turn red.

What a mess.

Unable to hold back, he tugged on Su Huaijing’s sleeve, "Stop talking!"

"Alright," Su Huaijing replied sweetly.

Seeing them like this, the elder felt an indescribable knot in her heart and waved them out with a flick of her hand.

In the outer banquet hall, the queen saw Rong Tang approaching, her eyes lighting up, blissfully unaware of what was about to unfold.

Rong Tang felt a flicker of guilt in his heart, but it quickly faded away.

Indecision only leads to chaos. Avoiding a scoundrel is always the best course of action. Wang Xiuyu moving to the suburbs with the Princess Royal would actually be a relief.

Once he came to this realization, he lifted the corners of his lips and greeted with a smile, "Mother."

"You've lost weight," Wang Xiuyu said as soon as she spoke.

Rong Tang paused, lowering his head to glance at his belly hidden under his clothes.

Clearly, he had put on weight. How could his mother not respect the objective fact!

How infuriating!

He turned his head to look at Su Huaijing, but the latter wasn't looking at him. Instead, he was complaining to Wang Xiuyu: "Tang Tang doesn’t sleep well and doesn’t eat properly. He had finally put on some weight, but then lost it all again after getting a little sick. Mother, please talk to him; he doesn't listen to me."

Rong Tang: ?

？？？

Are you not even bothering to make your lies believable?

I clearly eat two big bowls every meal!

How infuriating!!