A hefty stack of scrolls filled Su Rong’s arms completely.
She carried them over to the soft couch, dropped the scrolls at random, and then slumped onto the couch, picking up a scroll to start reading.
Yan Huisheng glanced at her, his gaze landing on her slouched position on the couch, then shifting to the hefty stack of scrolls. He said nothing, continuing with his own matters.
Qin Luan carefully brewed tea and arranged a fruit platter. She set one serving on Yan Huisheng’s jade desk, then placed another beside Su Rong’s couch.
Flipping through the scrolls, Su Rong picked up a piece of tangerine and popped it in her mouth. "Thanks!"
Qin Luan paused mid-action. The room was so quiet that making noise felt inappropriate, so she bent her knee and silently withdrew.
Upon closing the door, Su Rong didn’t so much as look up, but Yan Huisheng glanced her way, inspecting her again.
Su Rong read fast, absentmindedly flipping through pages but her eyes never straying from the text. Other than the fragrance of tea drifting through the room, only the sound of turning pages filled the study, creating a rhythmic pattern.
As she finished one scroll and reached for the next, Yan Huisheng suddenly spoke, "Photographic memory?"
Turning to face him, Su Rong queried, "Did I bother you?"
Yan Huisheng shook his head and replied kindly: "The elders of the Yan Family Clan possessed photographic memories. After they passed, for several generations, no one possessed this ability until Prince Mingrui was born. He regained the ability of photographic memory from our ancestors. I didn’t expect to find it in you too."
Su Rong gave an inquisitive, "Ah?" and added, "Was it skipped a generation? No, wait, is it like a jumping gene?"
Yan Huisheng shook his head, "Probably!"
Scratching her head, Su Rong remarked, "I must say I feel honored to have inherited my grandfather’s strength."
Yan Huisheng let out a chuckle, "Indeed, it’s quite rare."
With a sigh, Su Rong commented, "Having this ability has its disadvantages and can be quite bothersome."
She sat upright, sharing her worries with Yan Huisheng. "For example, as a child, I taught myself to read, and I could remember all the content from a book without forgetting any of it. However, my mother thought I wasn’t interested in learning and made me attend school lectures. I loved playing and couldn’t tell her that I knew everything the teacher taught. I was afraid she’d realize my capabilities and force me to become a great talent using this bit of inherent advantage. So, I had to sit in the boring classroom, while my ears practically grew calluses, all the while engaging in a battle of wits with her."
Amused, Yan Huisheng commented, "You had it hard, didn’t you?"
"Yes, and that’s not even the half of it." Su Rong continued, "And then there’s Uncle Xie, Xie Yuan. He was more shrewd than my mother. He gradually figured out that I was just messing around, so he threw me into his Book Pavilion, demanding I read. He said if I read all the books in his Book Pavilion within a year, he won’t impose any rules on me ever again and I could do as I please."
Wailing, Su Rong recounted, "You have no idea, I was just seven years old. My mom had just passed away not long ago. There were tens of thousands of books in his Book Pavilion. Isn’t that bullying?"
"Did you do as he said?" Yan Huisheng asked.
With a sigh, Su Rong continued, "I didn’t want to do as he said, so I ran away. I ran off to Jibei with some escorts, my parents almost went mad looking for me. He, on the other hand, was calm and collected, not worried about me at all. He didn’t even send anyone to look for me. After three months, I was preparing to take off somewhere else when the escorts returned. Suddenly, he appeared, caught me, and said that I had wasted three months and only had nine months left."
"And then?"
With another deep sigh, Su Rong continued, "Then naturally, I resisted. I negotiated with him, asking him to extend the deadline, but he refused. He said if I didn’t want to follow his instructions, fine, as long as I could stand my mother hovering over me every day. He promised me that if I followed his instructions, he would be the one in charge, and my mother won’t be breathing down my neck all the time."
She finished and asked Yan Huisheng, "What do you think is more worthwhile? Reading tens of thousands of books within nine months, with your brain about to explode every day, to earn full control over your life all the way up to adulthood? Or refuse to read those books or listen to him and let my mother manage everything, just like my sisters who spent their days filled with endless lessons in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, even practicing calligraphy just before going to bed?"
"The former, I guess!" After contemplation, Yan Huisheng responded.
Suddenly animated, Su Rong exclaimed, "Right, I chose the former."
After she finished, she regretfully added, "I spent nine months, even sleeping in the Book Pavilion, and finally read all the books. I thought I had good days coming. Can you guess what happened? My mother wasn’t aware, she saw I was living with Uncle Xie at the Xie Residence for nine months. When I came home, I was not only lacking progress, but I was having even more fun. She was furious, she took a ruler, a bamboo board, even a feather duster, and would punish me if she caught me playing truant, saying I was out of control and she would straighten me out, that I must act like a proper lady. No matter what I said, she didn’t listen. When I went to Uncle Xie, he shamelessly said that a mother had the right to reprimand her child; he, being a teacher, couldn’t interfere with my mother’s right, and there was nothing he could do if my mother wanted to discipline me."
Yan Huisheng: "....."
Su Rong exhaled heavily, "So, having this photographic memory is a curse to me, isn’t it? I’d rather not have it."
Caught off guard, Yan Huisheng stared at the stack of files in front of her and took a moment before responding, "Some aspects might be helpful, at least you can save several times the reading time compared to an average person."
Seeing Su Rong sternly at him, Yan Huisheng stifled a cough, "With the saved time, you could play, rest or even sleep."
Su Rong was quite pacified and muttered, "No wonder you’re the Crown Prince, you’re good at comforting people."
Yan Huisheng: "..."
Waving her hand dismissively, Su Rong said, "Surprisingly, even now, I don’t need him to push me and I actively start reading books. The secret chamber you have, it’s so big, it must hold at least a thousand books, right?"
Yan Huisheng nodded, "You just need to skim them generally, no need to read them thoroughly."
Su Rong disagreed with this, "Your life is so hard, if I was to assist you, how could I not understand the whole world, just like you do?"
She sighed, "Alas, I’m indeed a qualified partner."
Yan Huisheng: "..."
The pair fell silent. Su Rong resumed reading the files in her hand, flipping page by page rapidly and systematically.
From his childhood years, Yan Huisheng spent most of his nights reading or learning, and then dealing with affairs as he got older. Having an additional person does not bother him. Instead, he finds it alleviates his sense of loneliness in the tedious days.
Particularly when that person is such an interesting one.
An hour later, Su Rong returned the stack of files back to the secret chamber, locked it up again and laid the key in front of Yan Huisheng. She then casually said, "Your Highness, I’ve finished my tasks for the day. I’m off to rest."
Somewhat taken aback, Yan Huisheng responded, "You keep the key, return it to me when you’re done."
Su Rong looked at him, "It’s such an important key, I shouldn’t have it, should I?"
"I trust you, you keep it."
"But if you need something from it, wouldn’t you have to come to me for the keys?"
"Yes, I have plenty of affairs to handle, and I don’t really need to review those matters anymore. If I need it, I’ll come get it from you. You’re free during the day, you can come here to read."
Su Rong picked up the bundle of keys, pressed on to remove the keys for the secret chamber.
Yan Huisheng stopped her, "The other keys are for my personal vault, secret room, and Book Pavilion. They’re not commonly used. You keep them, after all, you read fast."
He repeated his point, "If I need them, I will ask you for them. It would be troublesome to separate them and lose them."
Su Rong felt as though Yan Huisheng’s whole-hearted trust was too much. But could she take the keys at will? Naturally, she couldn’t. Those keys represented all of the prince’s secrets and assets. Even when he takes a princess as his wife in the future, he might not willingly hand the keys over?
She swiftly detached the two keys, then solemnly handed the other keys back to Yan Huisheng, "Your Highness, although you owe me a life-saving favor, and we technically share a cousin-like relationship, and now we have become partners, it is okay for you to trust me. But such extreme trust is not good."
She stated earnestly, "Uncle Xie said, everyone should have reservations, and can’t wholly rely on trust. Often those who stab you in the back are those who are closest and highly trusted. So, a sense of proportion, distance, and defense is necessary for interpersonal relations. Especially as a Crown Prince, your trust, I already feel it, but there is no need for such extreme trust, it would scare me."
Yan Huisheng was taken aback.
Su Rong’s cheerful tone returned, "You should rest early. You know, rest is crucial. How many of the ancient emperors lived a long life? They all wore out their bodies like this. You can’t replicate them. Now think about it, living up to a hundred years and making Daliang prosperous and militarily strong, versus living to forty and having Daliang only for a short peak. Which is the better deal? I’m off."
Having said that, she decisively turned and left, her footsteps light, her figure nimble. She even thoughtfully closed the study door for him, very quietly.
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