Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Su Huaijing silently stared at the child on the wooden floor, his expression more serious than ever before.

Just as Rong Tang thought Su Huaijing might throw the child out, Su Huaijing spoke in a low voice, with an unexpected sternness, “Where did you steal these clothes from?”

Rong Tang: “?”

The boy: “?”

The child blinked, his eyes filling with tears, looking like he might cry at any moment. He inadvertently turned his gaze towards Rong Tang.

The person being watched hesitated for a few seconds, his heart trembling slightly, unable to bear it and looked away.

However, a snicker came from beside him. Su Huaijing lifted his foot, toeing the hem of the boy's clothes, coldly demanding, “No use pretending. Where did you steal the clothes from? According to Great Yu’s law, theft is punished with a hundred lashes.”

Rong Tang: “…”

The system sarcastically commented: [Your young master is really acting like the black-hearted uncle, isn’t he?]

What kind of law dictates stealing a piece of clothing merits taking three lives?

Does Sheng Xuyan seem like the kind of ruler who would enforce laws strictly?

Rong Tang felt a pang of sympathy, silently sighing.

The child’s clothing, hitched up awkwardly, tightened around his neck as he was pulled upwards. With a look of utter terror, he stared at Su Huaijing, his face deathly pale.

“I…I didn’t steal the clothes, sob sob sob.” The child’s voice started small, but soon he burst into loud wails, “Uncle, you’re wronging me, I didn’t steal the clothes, don’t… don’t beat me with a stick, sob sob sob wah!”

Su Huaijing stiffened, the child's crying was painfully genuine, tears rolling down his face.

Rong Tang couldn’t stand it anymore. He leaned over, patted Su Huaijing’s leg, grabbed the child’s arm, and pulled him closer. He wiped away the tears nearly covering the boy’s face and straightened his disheveled clothes.

Strangely enough, Su Huaijing had only mentioned that the small prince of Da Sui was his kin, without specifying their relationship. Rong Tang hadn’t met him yet, and even now, this agile child who had jumped onto their carriage looked nothing like Su Huaijing. Yet, Rong Tang was certain he was the prince of Da Sui, Su Huaijing’s little nephew.

“Quite unscientific,” he casually complained to the system.

The system scoffed, [What’s unscientific? Put these two together, and they could brew a pot of Longjing tea. Tell me what’s unscientific about that?]

“…” Rong Tang fell silent.

Indeed, very tea-like, wonder who he learned it from.

The next moment, as Rong Tang fixed the boy’s clothes, the crying stopped, leaving only soft sobs. The boy looked at Rong Tang with adoration in his eyes and crisply said, “Thank you, brother.”

Su Huaijing, who was just accused of being the unjust uncle: “...?”

The boy sat beside Rong Tang, clutching his sleeve, and asked in a small voice, “Brother is so nice. Do you need a servant boy at home? Can you take me with you?”

The system suddenly laughed: [Oh ho! He's trying to steal him away!]

Rong Tang looked somewhat helpless, while the person beside him had a face dark enough to scrub pots. He could almost hear the “click clack” of Su Huaijing’s fingers.

He turned and gave Su Huaijing a look. The latter slightly relaxed, took a deep breath, pulled the boy to his side, and continued questioning with a controlled temper, “Where did you get the clothes from? Return them to their owner. Who taught you to steal clothes at such a young age?”

The child’s lips quivered, on the brink of tears again.

Su Huaijing warned sternly, “Don’t cry.”

[Oh wow~ Adding a generation really boosts confidence, huh? When did the big villain ever dare to talk to you so boldly?] The system watched the drama unfold with unmatched joy.

Rong Tang remained silent, lost for words, and almost wanted to intervene from a distance.

[Don't interfere.] The system stopped him: [He's disciplining the child. Constantly interrupting won’t help.]

Rong Tang: “…”

He turned his head, convincing himself not to be an obstacle in the child’s growth, and not to disturb this warm moment of uncle and nephew meeting.

But then he heard the kid start to cry again, almost hyperventilating, while sobbing and complaining, “I said I didn’t steal it, I didn’t steal it!!! I exchanged it for gold, why do you keep accusing me, wah wah wah wah!”

Su Huaijing was taken aback, his grip loosened, and the child darted to the side, hugging Rong Tang’s waist, burying his head in his stomach, crying as if he had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

Even the system fell silent for a moment, murmuring: [The blue is made out of the indigo but is better than the indigo.]

But then it reacted: [That’s not right, the little prince hasn’t lived with the big villain, how did he master his tactics so perfectly? Is it genetic?]

Rong Tang didn’t know; he was almost melted by the child’s crying. He glanced at Su Huaijing, who looked like a child who had done something wrong, fingers suspended in the air, wanting to touch the kid but afraid of causing a backlash. He retracted his hand after a long hesitation, his lips tightly pursed, showing his nervousness.

Rong Tang: “…”

He patted the child's back, soothing him until he stopped crying, then turned the child's face towards Su Huaijing, giving him a stern look: “Apologize.”

In his life, aside from Rong Tang, Su Huaijing had hardly ever conceded to anyone.

But the child, with tears in his eyes, wearing patched clothes typical of a Great Yu civilian child, his chubby cheeks red and dirty, looked so pitiable…

The villain’s voice softened, and he quietly apologized: “I’m sorry.”

“Hmph!” The child turned his head away, clinging to Rong Tang’s clothes, not giving Su Huaijing another glance.

Su Huaijing: “…”

What to say?

Just his mysterious origins, full of lies, and exceptional skills in jumping onto the carriage were all worrying clues, but the big villain couldn’t bring himself to be harsh.

It wasn't about prejudging or wronging anyone; it was just the fear that his little relative, having been outside for over a decade without proper guidance, might have picked up bad habits.

But to make someone cry incessantly upon first meeting...

He really did seem like the heartless uncle.

Su Huaijing hung his head, unexpectedly appearing a bit dejected...

Rong Tang found this amusing, barely containing his smile as he took two candied fruits from the little table, giving one to the child and secretly feeding the other to his adult companion.

He also took the chance to gently pat Su Huaijing’s head while the child wasn’t looking, offering some comfort.

Once the emotions in the carriage stabilized, Rong Tang asked the child, “What’s your name?”

“Yuan Yuan, the Yuan from ‘Zhi in Yuan, Lan in Li’ Yuan Yuan. Mother says I’m her little fragrant treasure.”

Rong Tang was momentarily surprised, then burst into laughter, increasingly convinced that some things are indeed carried in the genes, beyond reason.

Glancing at Su Huaijing, he asked further, “Which uncle at home wanted to send you to someone else’s house?”

His question was not without reason.

The Wan Shou Festival banquet had just ended, and that entire street was filled with dignitaries returning from the palace feast. As the Da Sui Crown Prince, Yuan Yuan must have dined in the Shao Hua Hall with the emperor and empress. The statement about being sent to a sixty-year-old lady to be a junior husband, if not a rumor, must have been heard there.

But within the entire Great Yu, who could be eligible to sit in the main hall of the Shao Hua Hall during the Wan Shou Festival and be a single female over sixty...

Only his grandmother, ah.

Yuan Yuan's gaze shifted slightly, seemingly reluctant to answer, but since Rong Tang kept looking at him, he simply played coy, lifting his arm and burying himself in Rong Tang's stomach, hugging his waist and rubbing gently.

Rong Tang felt a slight pain from the impact, seemingly hearing Su Huaijing gritting his teeth nearby.

The little guy said in a muffled voice: "Yuan Yuan doesn't know, just heard she's called Duan Duan, a very fierce and scary big sister. If Yuan Yuan becomes her little lord, she will surely whip me every day to fetch her foot washing water, wuwuwu, and not let me eat, wuwuwu. Handsome brother, take me with you, okay? Can I be your little lord? I'm super well-behaved, two buns per meal are enough for me!"

Rong Tang was slightly stunned and hadn't reacted yet when he faintly heard the teeth-grinding sound beside him intensify.

[Seems like that bit of guilt isn't enough to stop the big villain from hitting this little brat, huh~] The system commented cheerfully, seemingly never having been this happy in this lifetime.

Rong Tang hesitated, wondering if he should intervene if Su Huaijing hit the child.

After hesitating for two seconds, the carriage came to an abrupt stop, blocked by a group of Jinwu guards on patrol.

Yuan Yuan instantly buried himself in Rong Tang's stomach and didn't move.

Su Huaijing looked down for a moment, seemingly contemplating whether to throw him out, but quickly stood up, opened the carriage curtain, and asked the guards at the door, "What's the matter?"

The squad leader said, "Please forgive us, my lord. There was a group of thieves stealing on Danping Street during the Wanshou Festival, causing a disturbance. We've been ordered to check all passersby and vehicles."

The little figure that sprouted from Rong Tang's stomach stiffened as if frozen.

The system: [Oh—wow—]

Rong Tang: "..." This is a disaster.

Outside the carriage, there was a brief silence. Su Huaijing chuckled softly and asked warmly, “Do you think I would steal, or does the Ning Xuan Wang heir need to stoop to thievery on the streets for trinkets?”

The patrol leader panicked, quickly bowing his head, “Lord Su, please don't take offense, I am merely following orders.”

Su Huaijing nodded, “I see, you think we're harboring criminals?”

“Not at all, my lord!”

“It doesn’t matter if you do,” Su Huaijing said and turned to get back on the carriage.

Rong Tang caught a glimpse of Yuan Yuan lifting his head in his arms, swiftly scanning the windows on both sides, apparently assessing his chances of escaping by jumping off.

But before he could decide, Su Huaijing had already climbed back on board, giving the child a chilling glance, then grabbed a blanket to cover Rong Tang before lifting the carriage curtain, “Go ahead and search, but please make it quick. The heir is frail and cannot withstand the cold.”

How could a thief be related to a carriage as distinguished as that of Ning Xuan Wang’s? So, the patrol leader merely glanced cursorily, gratefully saying, “Thank you both for cooperating,” and allowed them to pass.

Yuan Yuan's rigid body relaxed, raising his eyes to look bewilderedly at Su Huaijing, who was still frowning. Blinking, his tone suddenly changed, sweetly smiling, “Thank you, kind uncle—”

Su Huaijing pinched his mouth, “Don't call me that.”

Then, with one hand, he methodically stripped off the child’s clothes, turning him around.

Throwing the clothes onto the carriage, they jingled merrily.

Among the child's possessions were a grasshopper toy, a rattle-drum, marbles, sugar figurines, candied fruit, and even a hairpin and a box of rouge pilfered from some stall...

Rong Tang stared in astonishment, as Su Huaijing looked down at the heap of items for a long time before he lifted the carriage curtain and ordered hoarsely, “Change course, to Mu Mansion.”

Rong Tang, taken aback, softly suggested, “Brother is still sick, wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

“It won’t disturb my brother,” said Su Huaijing, his fingers itching, repeatedly pressing down and pinching his knuckles hard. “Someone is too eager to be his uncle.”

What’s there to manage?

Stealing, lying, acting pitiful, and even having designs on his wife?

Darn kid, if it weren’t for his good father…

Su Huaijing looked down at Yuan Yuan, their eyes meeting. The little boy, stripped to his undergarment, hugged his legs and shivered on the floor.

Su Huaijing: “…”

The villain raised his hand and pulled out his own blanket from a hidden compartment, throwing it over the boy's head.

Out of sight, out of mind. Really wanted to wallop him.

Su Huaijing opened the window, exhaling heavily.