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Translator: Cheese
Extra 7
Although Rong Ting wasn’t an excellent poet by any means, he had read through the histories of previous dynasties and the ancestors of the current, and it seemed that many emperors liked to write poems. In order to follow this trend, Rong Ting claimed that he was also a scholar, and he would also occasionally write one or two poems. He always humbly expressed that his skill level was not high, in fact, he could be considered among the middle or upper ranks of the literati. But the strange part was that when he wrote poems, seven or eight out of every ten were about missing his mother, while the remaining two or three poems were about the weather or the scenery…
One day, the retired Imperial Tutor sought him out and implicitly and tactfully suggested that he should write one or two poems in memory of his Emperor Father.
Rong Ting: “???”
Alright, he had no choice but to hold his nose and write, but he was rendered helpless as his emotions weren’t in place, and he lacked inspiration. After several months of pondering, he barely managed to compose two or three poems, though they were subpar for his normal standards.
Rong Ting felt that although the relationship between him and his Emperor Father was not bad, it definitely couldn’t be called close.
Before the age of six, the image of Emperor Father in his heart was like a mountain, strict and unapproachable.
After the age of six, the towering image of Emperor Father diminished greatly, until he discovered Emperor Father’s plan to fake his death and run away. To be honest, it was already in good conscience that Rong Ting didn’t write a few poems to castigate him. And now he had to write poems singing praise of Emperor Father. He had promised Empress Mother to be an honest person. Although it was inevitable while seated on this throne that one would speak words that went against one’s thoughts, he couldn’t go too far, right? He should stop before excess.
Therefore, in the eyes of the future generation, of the countless poems Emperor Jiayuan wrote in his fifty-eight years of reign, most were in memory of his mother As for the poems about his Emperor Father… the number could be counted on one hand, and they were all acknowledged as inferior to his other works. The sentiments held within them were dry and not as rich. Some later generations speculated that Emperor Jiayuan and his father had a strained relationship. Since ancient times, most crown princes did not have a good end. If Emperor Wuqing had not passed away early in life, perhaps the father and son would have turned upon one another in a power struggle?
Of course, that is a story for later.
Because of Rong Ting’s actions, some overly shrewd people began to overanalyze.
These people all thought that he had a bad relationship with the previous emperor, and he had lost his mother in his early years, so he could be said to have lacked family affection. No fatherly affection, and no chance to enjoy motherly love–so he must be yearning for the warmth of a family!
The spies in Rong Ting’s hands were very capable. When he saw this rumor, he couldn’t help but laugh. After having a laugh, he then became angry.
To say that he lacked fatherly affection was outrageous enough. And why the hell did they say that he had never enjoyed motherly love?
Your whole family has never enjoyed motherly love!!
I and my mother are doing well, my Empress Mother loves me the most!
He couldn’t stand others saying he had never been loved by Empress Mother, so he secretly wrote poems, boasting that his Empress Mother made him many toys, that his Empress Mother personally sewed clothes for him, that his Empress Mother wrote a book in full detail about his diet, that all the diaries left behind by his Empress Mother talked only about him…
Rong Ting allowed the State Preceptor, who Emperor Father had deeply trusted, to remain in the palace. The State Preceptor didn’t know what grand adventure they had encountered, and even if he was curious, he did not ask.
State Preceptors were learned and talented, and their scope of knowledge was beyond the reach of ordinary people. He himself was indifferent to fame and fortune, and he was completely different from those treacherous State Preceptors or prior dynasties.
Rong Ting would occasionally chat with him in his free time.
One day, Rong Ting was busy with government affairs and was about to take a stroll and look at vegetation to protect his eyesight when he bumped into the State Preceptor, who had also come to appreciate the flowers.
The State Preceptor was already in his forties this year, but there was no trace of the passage of years on his face. He was always calm, his expression gentle, with an attitude of desiring nothing.
He asked the State Preceptor: “Have you ever seen zhen’s Empress Mother?”
The State Preceptor froze before shaking his head. “I have only heard of her.”
“Sigh, there are fewer and fewer people in the palace who have seen her. In the future, zhen does not know who zhen can talk to about her.”
The State Preceptor laughed softly. “His Majesty’s love for his mother is very pure.”
“Mn.” Rong Ting gave a low hum. “Zhen has always regretted being unable to stay by Empress Mother’s side and fulfill my filial responsibilities.Zhen does not know if there is an afterlife, and if there is, whether zhen will be fortunate enough to become her child again.”
The State Preceptor thought for a moment, then said, “A sincere heart begets attainment1.”
“Did you also say the same to Emperor Father?”
After a brief pause, the State Preceptor nodded with a slight smile.
“But zhen does not feel that Emperor Father was very sincere, yet he has already reunited with Empress Mother. If zhen and Empress Mother could not reconnect our mother and son relationship, would it not be too unreasonable?
The State Preceptor had an ominous premonition.
Both father and son loved to make things difficult for people. One the surface, they held an “I am enlightened, all things follow fate” appearance, but in fact, it was “If you can’t think of a way to realize my wish, then I will… hmph”…
They both thought like this: In any case, the State Preceptor is omnipotent. If you are not omnipotent, and even this little wish cannot be fulfilled for me, do you will have the audacity to call yourself the State Preceptor?
Heaven knows that he had also been forcibly sealed State Preceptor by the previous emperor.
It’s too miserable being the State Preceptor for your old Rong family!
The State Preceptor inwardly cursed while maintaining a light smile. “Naturally, Your Majesty will have your wish granted.”
This emperor was still much kinder than the previous emperor, and a bit more easily fooled. After all, His Majesty’s request was for the next life, not this one. In the next life, everyone will drink a bowl of Meng Po soup–who will remember whom?
Song Yuan still hadn’t fully taken over Song Haiping’s business and company. With her current experience, she still wasn’t fully qualified, so at present, she was just a manager in the B City branch. The focus of Song Haiping’s company was still centered around her hometown, so the branch in B City wasn’t very big. Stationed in an office building outside the Third Ring Road, including her and the cleaning auntie, there were only about ten employees.
They usually weren’t very busy, but now their hands were full with the year’s end closing in. On this day, she once again worked overtime until past nine. Her Moments were full of talk about B City’s first snow that she still hadn’t had time to see. Just when she was about to turn off the lights in the office, she found that snow was falling outside.
Even though Song Yuan had had her drivers license for several years now, in the face of such weather, she still didn’t dare to drive on the road.
In the past, she had always cherished her life, and since the separation of mother and son, she cherished her life even more.
After all, she still held onto the hope that one day, Rong Ting would suddenly appear in front of her. Just like his father, appearing in front of her with an umbrella in hand and the words “long time no see.”
The office was some distance away from the subway station, but there was a bus stop not far off that went directly to the gate of her apartment community. Plus, she hadn’t taken the bus in a long time.
After packing up, she left the office and headed for the bus stop. There, she waited for several minutes until her bus arrived.
She scanned the code with her phone and walked towards the back of the bus.
There weren’t many passengers, and several seats in the back were empty.
Suddenly, she spotted a person who shouldn’t have been there.
Rong Heng was sitting by a window.
She originally should have been able to spot him at first glance–after all, his head of white hair was particularly distinctive and stood out among a crowd. But this time, she found that he had dyed his hair black.
Song Yuan took the seat next to him and asked in surprise, “Didn’t you say you’d be back in two days?”
Rong Heng smiled but didn’t speak.
He came back today but told her he would be back in two days, just to give her a nice surprise.
But looking at her expression and appearance, it seemed that there was only surprise and no joy2?
In order to fabricate this surprise, he had taken this bus route back and forth several times. Fortunately, the bus driver wasn’t the same person. Otherwise, wouldn’t he think he was insane?
He knew that she definitely wouldn’t dare to drive on such a snowy day, and she was more likely to take the bus. That was why he did such a silly thing.
“Are you not happy?” Rong Heng asked her.
Song Yuan clapped her forehead. “My brain is just frozen. Give me a minute to process and I think I’ll feel happy.”
What kind of answer was this?
Could it be that she still hadn’t processed it yet?
Yes, she was indeed such a slow-witted person.
“Anyway, why did you dye your hair black?” Song Yuan pointed to his hair, asking curiously.
Rong Heng’s heart was steeped in bitterness and despair!
His actual age was now in his thirties, while she was only in her twenties. Their age difference was ten years! The one good thing was that at least on the ID card, Rong Heng was under thirty years old.
Otherwise, with his future father-in-law’s nitpicky3 character, this age difference would definitely become an obstacle.
Back when he was in ancient times, he had paid great attention to maintaining excellent health, and it was the same in the modern era. Although she always said that he looked like he was only in his twenties, he always felt that she was comforting him. In order to make them look a little more compatible, he didn’t mind dyeing his hair once in a while.
She had never asked him why his hair had turned white, but he believed she knew.
Perhaps it was also a form of proof that he loves her.
In the past, he used to mind that she didn’t love him as much as he did her. He was a person who cared about and fussed over losses and gains. Something like giving too much and not receiving the same amount in return, he had only done it once in his life, and only for one person.
“Is it alright?” Rong Heng asked her.
Song Yuan carefully studied him. In fact, she had almost forgotten what he had looked like with black hair. Looking at him now, his appearance vaguely overlapped with what he had looked like back then.
“It’s not bad.”
Rong Heng’s lips curled slightly when he heard her verdict.
In the first snow in B City, the two of them sat on the bus just like this. Unlike last time, this time, the two faced each other candidly.
[1] 心诚则灵: heaven rewards diligence
[2] The word he used for nice surprise is 惊喜, which is made up of the characters for surprise (惊) and joy (喜)
[3] 鸡蛋里挑骨头: lit. to look for bones in an egg; to find even the smallest fault in something or someone
Cheese: next chapter is the final extra! Hard to believe i’ll be finished with my first solo project soon ㅠㅠ
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