Chapter 132

Chapter 132

For the entire winter month, Rong Tang was mostly bedridden and rarely conscious, only occasionally going outside with Su Huaijing on sunny days to watch the sunrise and sunset, and gaze at the winter evening stars.

Knowing the severity of the illness, they both refrained from speaking.

Knowing the preciousness of time, they cherished each other's company.

But after returning home from a hot pot meal at Shudao Pavilion and soaking in a warm bath to ease the month-long weariness of illness, the laziness in Rong Tang's nerves suddenly tightened.

Su Huaijing knocked from outside and brought in a bucket of hot water, gently saying, "Get out once you're done soaking, be careful not to catch a cold."

While saying this, he was changing the water, ensuring not even the slightest chill of winter night could touch Rong Tang, yet the person in the tub suddenly dared not look up at him.

Su Huaijing paused, slightly raising his eyebrows, "Tang Tang?"

The water was so clear that standing outside and looking down, almost everything in the tub was visible. Rong Tang's belated embarrassment surged up, tapping his brain.

The young lord moved closer to the edge of the tub, almost entirely leaning against it, slippery.

He looked up, gathering courage to ask, "Has Shuangfu gone to sleep?"

Su Huaijing shook his head, "He's still boiling water."

Rong Tang: "Can you call him in?"

Su Huaijing was a bit surprised, "Now?"

Rong Tang hesitated for half a second, then nodded: "Now."

Su Huaijing looked down at him, and Rong Tang met his gaze, his heart pounding like a drum, but his eyes unwavering.

Su Huaijing slightly furrowed his brow and asked in a deep tone, "Tang Tang, do you want me to call someone in to watch you bathe naked?"

“……？”

Rong Tang was momentarily startled, almost failing to comprehend his words. Once he realized what was said, he immediately wanted to retract his request.

The courage he had mustered quickly retreated. Rong Tang sat down in the tub, knees bent, and looked up at Su Huaijing, his eyes flashing with a fleeting look of frustration.

Su Huaijing, puzzled, blinked.

Rong Tang extended his hand, demanding, "Give me a bath towel."

Su Huaijing didn't understand his intention but instinctively handed him a towel. Rong Tang then wrapped the lower half of his body in front of Su Huaijing and repeated, "Let Shuangfu come in, I need to speak with him."

Su Huaijing frowned slightly, still somewhat displeased.

Rong Tang's expression was resolute: "Hurry up."

Su Huaijing remained silent for two seconds, appearing a bit aggrieved and reluctant, but obediently murmured, "Tang Tang is so fierce."

He then gave Rong Tang a long look before turning to leave, making Rong Tang momentarily question if he was some sort of terrible villain, not just asking Su Huaijing to call someone but forcing him against his will.

Rong Tang opened his eyes wide in disbelief and slapped the water surface in frustration.

Before Shuangfu arrived, Rong Tang hesitated and quickly called in his mind, "System?"

【……】

There was no response.

Half reassured but still uncertain, Rong Tang called out again, "System, are you there?"

A faint electronic sound buzzed almost imperceptibly, and the system grumbled, "Alright, alright, cabbage head! Who wants to see you anyway!"

Before going offline for a rest, the system couldn’t help but add, "Indulgence is harmful to health! Don't end up dying in bed!"

Then it completely disconnected, leaving Rong Tang alone, his face flushed and nearly boiling in the water.

Unspoken but acknowledged, after so many years of reliance, the system really understood him well…

Shuangfu opened the door and came in, puzzled, "Young Master?"

Rong Tang's voice caught in his throat; he cleared it and tried to sound nonchalant, "Is there any ointment?"

Shuangfu was puzzled: "?"

-

Su Huaijing was taken aback when Shuangfu informed him that the young master had asked him to bathe in his own room. He felt a mix of disbelief and a subtle sense of displeasure and hurt. But then he remembered what Rong Tang had half-heartedly promised when he was critically ill, and the great villain instantly let go.

He hadn't really expected Rong Tang to keep that promise.

The illness came mysteriously, and its departure was just as strange. Su Huaijing hadn't figured out its cause yet and naturally didn’t want to take risks with Rong Tang.

Besides, Rong Tang was always shy. If anything was actually done, even just a tease, there was no guarantee that Rong Tang wouldn't become furiously embarrassed and forbid him from entering his room for days.

That would be a real loss.

After all, Su Huaijing wasn’t in a rush; he had been patient for two years already, so there was no need to fret over a day or two.

Yet, Rong Tang's act of treating him like a plague and even sending him back to his room to sleep alone did hurt Su Huaijing a little. He felt wronged.

The great villain fell silent for a moment, then nodded indifferently, "Alright." He then turned and entered his room.

He could always make a night raid.

What kind of married couple sleeps in separate rooms? Rong Tang had just told Shuangfu that evening that he liked Su Huaijing. How could one profess love one moment and then send someone to sleep alone in the cold the next?

That was really unfair.

Su Huai Jing, feeling gloomy, decided to plan a night raid. After returning to his room to wash up and lighting a candle, he calmed down to deal with political affairs.

Over the past two years, he had planted many secret agents in the capital. Using Ke Wenrui and Zhou Gang as breakthrough points, along with those originally behind Sheng Chengming, he actually had many people at his disposal.

Before the time to act, he had not yet gained the complete trust of Emperor Renshou, but with these people in hand, tripping up a prince new to the court wasn't too difficult.

The only thing he needed to consider was how far he could go without "harming a life," as Rong Tang had said.

In the desolate winter night, all was quiet. Su Huai Jing replied to several secret letters and called out, "Liu Yun."

A slight noise came from behind the room, someone climbed through the window, and stood in the shadow where the candlelight couldn't reach, calling "Master" softly before falling silent.

Su Huai Jing, head bowed, holding a fine wolf-hair brush and dipping it in expensive ink, asked casually while writing, "Does Dayu have any physical requirements for a successor to the throne?"

Those with physical disabilities or unseemly facial features, unless the royal family had no other direct descendants, would be excluded from succession.

Su Huai Jing knew these rules better than Liu Yun, so it was just a casual question. Liu Yun, being his shadow, naturally did not respond.

He asked in a low voice, both doubting and weighing, "Is breaking a leg too lenient?"

Liu Yun didn't speak. Amid the flickering candlelight on the table, Su Huai Jing finally asked a question Liu Yun knew the answer to, "Has the emperor's summoned physician entered the palace?"

He replied, "Twenty entered the palace, three remained."

Su Huai Jing chuckled softly, slowly sealing the envelope with burning wax, "Find a physician to take care of him, to properly heal his leg."

Liu Yun, puzzled, never questioned Su Huai Jing's orders: "Yes."

The sealing wax melted silently. Su Huai Jing bowed his head, stamping it onto the envelope. Then he spoke, cold-hearted and cynical, treating life as mere black and white pieces on a chessboard, easily tossed and destroyed at will.

He said, "Then gouge out an eyeball and bring it back to me."

Liu Yun paused slightly, then respectfully bowed his head: "Yes."

As his words settled, Liu Yun wanted to wait for more instructions from his master, but his ears sharply caught a very light footstep.

Liu Yun frowned slightly, thinking it was an assassin hiding to strike, but Su Huai Jing suddenly blew out the candle on the table, swiftly gathered the secret letters, and then quickly stripped off his clothes and lay on the bed. The speed was astonishing, leaving Liu Yun momentarily at a loss for words to describe the situation.

Still dazed, standing in the corner, Su Huai Jing pulled up the covers and then sat up again, looking at him with furrowed brows, his voice low and urgent, dismissively hurrying him: "Go!"

Liu Yun, startled, acted instinctively before he could think, leaping out of the window.

As the window closed, the door was opened from the outside, and Liu Yun looked up to see Rong Tang's sneaky figure.

The shadow guard disappeared into the backyard, and with the moon hanging in the clouds, the previously elusive description suddenly became clear.

It was very much like... a scene where a newlywed wife secretly meets her lover, only to be caught by her husband.

It's just like in the storybooks – when there’s nothing else to do, the master would have him buy these for the young lord. Stories of rendezvous on rooftops and in Peony Pavilions, they all played out like this.

Liu Yun thought blankly, not realizing anything wrong in picturing his master as a newlywed, shy wife.

He stood there for a moment, then leaped away, disappearing into the courtyard.

The light inside the room was dim, and the charcoal hadn't been lit. The moment Rong Tang stepped in, he shivered unconsciously.

He gathered his robe around him and walked to the charcoal basin. After much effort in lighting the charcoal, the room gradually warmed up.

The dim yellow light cast warm glows on the walls.

Su Huai Jing lay on the bed, waiting impatiently for Tang Tang to come to his side, restless like a young boy, eager to open his eyes and look, when suddenly the bed dipped beside him.

He was slightly startled, and before he could react, the quilt was lifted, and a foot slipped in.

The bedding rose slightly as the person beside him undressed. A heavy cloak fell to the floor, meeting the footsteps beside the bed with a muffled thud.

It's hard to resist when your beloved climbs into bed in the middle of the night and undresses to slip under the covers; anyone would need a doctor to resist that.

And Su Huai Jing was a doctor himself.

He couldn't hold back and reached out, pretending to be drowsy, trying to embrace Rong Tang. The moment their skin touched, the villain in him couldn't stay calm anymore, and he froze on the bed.

Rong Tang felt his movement and stopped trying to be quiet. He dived under the covers, snuggling up to Su Huai Jing, nudging his nose and whispering softly, "Don't pretend to be asleep."

Su Huai Jing's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, his eyelashes trembling slightly as he slowly opened his eyes.

The weak glow from the charcoal furnace cast a dim and intimate light in the room. The fresh scent of soap nuts after a bath lingered in the air by the bed, far more tantalizing than any perfumed fragrance, easily stirring the heart.

The eyes of the person on top of him were like clear pools of water, like stars, with flushed ears, softly complaining, "Why didn't you come to my room?"

Su Huai Jing was puzzled, unsure where to place his hands, feeling that any touch would be too bold, his gaze even wandering beneath the bed.

He was astonished, unable to believe that Rong Tang had stepped out of his room wearing only a cloak, which now lay on the floor. The person on top of him was completely bare, their warm and soft toes occasionally brushing against the fabric covering Su Huai Jing's legs.

"It's a tease, yet innocent; he seems naive, but indeed… not entirely pure."

Su Huai Jing's voice was hoarse, his mind almost unable to think, he could only honestly reply, "Tang Tang told me to go back to my room."

“……”

Rong Tang never expected him to be so rigid. Previously, when they couldn’t do certain things, he was all talk, but now when he's willingly offering himself, he’s like a block of wood.

Young Master Rong curled his lips, lowered his wrist, grasped Su Huai Jing’s fingers, squeezed them, and then guided his hand behind him: "I only asked you to go back to the room to shower, not to leave and never come back."

He muttered softly, "I waited for you for so long, not sure if you’re done. You do it for me; I don’t want to touch it anymore."

Su Huai Jing: "Touch... what?"

The next second, Rong Tang’s fingers gave him the answer. Rong Tang moaned uncomfortably, still not accustomed: "I used ointment and expanded it myself, but it might still not be enough. If you want it to be comfortable, focus on it, or there won't be a next time."

Speaking in a breathy voice, nearly unable to form a complete tone, Rong Tang finished speaking and buried his head in Su Huai Jing's neck, refusing to look up at him.

Su Huai Jing was still in shock, his voice deep, his lower abdomen tight, his fingers still, not moving in or out. The warm and slippery sensation clearly told him what Rong Tang had done before waiting for him.

Su Huai Jing took a while to regain his almost lost rationality and asked in a muffled voice, "What is Tang Tang doing?"

The sensation of the foreign object, motionless and neither advancing nor retreating, was too uncomfortable. Rong Tang frowned slightly, twisted his waist a bit, raised his head, and looked at Su Huai Jing, more surprised than him: "What are you hesitating about?"

Su Huai Jing: "Do you know... what you are doing?"

"Of course, I know," Rong Tang replied candidly and openly, "I am fulfilling a promise and enjoying life."

He lowered his head and nuzzled Su Huai Jing’s nose, like the bewitching spirits described in fantastic tales: "Life's spring nights are short; why waste them like this?"

Su Huai Jing met his gaze, maintaining the last shred of his sanity to confirm with him: "Is Tang Tang clear about what he is doing?"

Rong Tang nodded, kissed his lips, and smiled, "I know."

After saying this, Rong Tang paused for a second. Su Huai Jing was about to withdraw his finger and get out of bed, but Rong Tang frowned slightly, somewhat embarrassed: "However, I can't cure my impotence right away. Could you help me find the spot at the back? I couldn't reach it just now—"

There was a loud "snap" in Su Huai Jing's mind, as if a string had broken.

He stared intensely into Rong Tang's eyes and turned over to pin him beneath him.

Rong Tang was slightly panicked at first but then smiled broadly, extremely accommodating: "Thank you for your hard work, Huai Jing."

His little one was so obedient; it was only right to give him a bit of sweetness.

……

An hour later, Rong Tang, frightened, burrowed towards the headboard of the bed, whimpering, "Enough, enough, wu—"

Two hours later, Rong Tang could hardly open his eyes, wishing he could just faint, tears smeared across his face: "I was wrong, Huai Jing, stop—!"

Three hours later, as dawn broke and the morning breeze swept through Yu Jing, Rong Tang couldn't muster any strength in his body.

Su Huai Jing brought over a cup of hot tea, gently coaxing him to drink it.

Rong Tang drank half a cup of tea in a daze, then turned his head to see the messy, damp bed that was unfit for sleeping. After being stunned for a few seconds, he lifted his foot and kicked Su Huai Jing, his voice hoarse and raspy:

"You beast..."