095.Birthday

The light in the kitchen was bright, like an eternal light in this dark and turbid world, and Rong Se was standing in the light. In Liang Shenyu's eyes, this was the eternal light.

He sat in the yard, the sky full of stars above his head, but his eyes could not move away from that man even for a moment.

Soon Rong Se brought a bowl of noodles and placed it on the small table in the yard. The noodle soup was clear, and two whole poached eggs lay in the steaming noodles, with emerald green onions floating on them.

"Of course you have to eat longevity noodles for your birthday." Rong Se smiled and passed the chopsticks over. "I wanted to make more delicious food for you and have the whole family celebrate together, but you've been going out early and coming back late lately, so don't eat too much at night."

"That's enough."

Liang Shenyu took the chopsticks, picked up the noodles and took a bite. It was moderately salty and the noodles were chewy. The hot taste in his stomach was enough to dispel the fatigue of the whole day.

This is the most homely taste. Compared with Rong Se’s usual fancy dishes, this bowl of noodles is a little ordinary, but Liang Shenyu finds it very nostalgic.

Maybe it's noodles, but maybe it's also people.

Rong Se looked at him eating noodles with bright eyes, "Is it delicious?"

"Mm, it's delicious. Do you want to join us?" Liang Shenyu's eyes lost their coldness in the night, leaving only warmth. "I like that lamp, too."

"This is for the birthday star. You must eat it all so that you can live a long life."

As he spoke, Rong Se sat next to Liang Shenyu and looked at the lantern he had made himself, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Marquis Dingbei has seen the smoke in the desert, the sunset over the long river, and the prosperity and rare treasures of the capital. I can't think of anything else I can give you to please you. I heard from you that the Marquis's wife often leaves lanterns for the old Marquis to wait for his return, so I want to make one for you, but——"

He paused, rested his chin on the back of his crossed palms, and tilted his head to look at Liang Shenyu.

"My love is my lamp. No matter when or where you are, you must remember to come back and see the peaceful and prosperous times with me."

Liang Shenyu saw a hint of hidden worry in Rongse's eyes. His pupils were like sparks obscured by the night mist, hazy and dim.

"Okay, I'll keep it in mind."

Liang Shenyu's response was loud and serious.

No matter how long the years will pass, this bowl of longevity noodles today, the lamp filled with love poems, and... the beloved who is like a painting under the lamp, and everything related to him, are the most breathtaking sights among the thousands of mountains and rivers in this world, invaluable and worthy of being remembered for a lifetime.

Rong Se was pleased by the cherishment in his eyes, as if he was looking at a rare treasure, and in his eyes, Rong Se could only see her own shadow.

"Liang Shenyu..." Rong Se couldn't help but whisper, "I never thought before that we would have... this possibility. At first, I just wanted you not to kill me."

At this point, Rong Se also laughed.

At that time, he was truly worried that Liang Shenyu would join forces with that dog emperor nephew to take away his life that he had finally regained.

Liang Shenyu paused when he heard the voice and chuckled, "I didn't expect that either, but... Your Highness, you don't have to worry now. I love you so much that I can't bear to fight you."

Rong Se blushed at what he said and didn't respond.

Liang Shenyu ate quickly and finished his bowl of noodles, but he did not eat in a sloppy manner. He then cleaned up the meal very consciously and neatly.

Rong Se sat on the stone bench in the yard and waited. The moonlight fell on the tips of his hair like frost, while his eyelashes were filled with warm color.

He deliberately slept a little longer this afternoon, for he was afraid that Liang Shenyu would not be back until midnight. Therefore, instead of being too sleepy, he looked at the paper lantern he had made. A soft light shone through the light yellow paper, making the ink on it even clearer.

"My Lord..."

A deep and gentle voice came from behind, and Rong Se was immediately embraced in a warm and strong embrace. Before he could make a sound, he was picked up by the waist.

Rong Se seemed to be aware of something, and even the last part of his voice was trembling, "Liang Shenyu——?"

Then, someone pressed his thin back onto the stone table, with the lamp in front of him.

Liang Shenyu leaned over from behind and whispered in Rongse's ear, "The prince wrote this to me. I want to hear him read it out loud."

His strength was irresistible. Just like his nature which was rarely revealed in front of others, he was strong in his bones. However, the words he spoke were gentle and affectionate, even flattering, and fell on Rongse's ear along with the kiss.

"Okay? Prince, read it, read it to me."

Rong Se had been sleeping in the same bed with him for these days, so how could she not understand what this man was thinking now? He would even express his desires in words.

…That’s it.

On his birthday.

Rong Se closed her eyes gently and did not struggle.

Liang Shenyu's lips pressed against his neck, his eyebrows slightly raised, his voice was hoarse with desire, "You... have been very good today."

Rong Se buried his face in his arms and remained silent for a moment before speaking in a sullen voice, "I ordered that no one be allowed to come near tonight."

Well prepared.

Who knows what this vile bastard Liang Shenyu might do, and Rong Se will know that he will not spend this birthday honestly.

...But today is special, so it’s okay to give him a gift.

After a moment of joy, even the moon is shy away.

When the disheveled Rong Se was carried back to the bedroom by Liang Shenyu, she was dazed and not very clear-headed, but she still managed to hold his neck and whispered in his ear: "Sanlang, happy birthday, and peace for all years to come."

Liang Shenyu paused slightly, lowered his head and placed a kiss on his forehead, gently and cherishingly.

Rong Se was so sleepy that he curled up into a ball. The wind blew past his ears, and before he fell asleep, he vaguely heard a soft and ambiguous sound.

"Thank you."

.

So the next day, the Regent almost couldn't get up from the couch. The moment he opened his eyes, he wanted to faint.

Open your eyes again.

As expected, Liang Shenyu had already put on his court robes, looking neat and tidy.

"...a beast in human clothing."

Rong Se's hoarse voice made it almost impossible for him to speak. He hummed two syllables vaguely, and a cup of cool osmanthus tea was handed to him.

"My Lord..."

Rong Se looked up and saw Liang Shenyu's satisfied yet apologetic expression. He seemed a little hesitant and asked in a low voice, "Can you still get up?"

Rong Se endured the pain and sat up with difficulty. He took the osmanthus tea from Liang Shenyu's hand and sipped it. The refreshing taste made his dry throat feel better. Then he sighed softly, "My Lord, I want to live two more years."

Perhaps it was because Rong Se looked too weak and his eyes were too resentful, Liang Shenyu felt even more apologetic and whispered, "I'm sorry, I haven't touched you for a long time, and I couldn't help myself..."

Rong Se thought about it.

This was indeed the case with him and Liang Shenyu. They were so busy that they hardly saw each other, so whenever Liang Shenyu got the chance, he would ask for everything, including the principal and interest.

Once you get excited, you become crazy.

Rong Se couldn't blame him, after all, at that time, he also gave Liang Shenyu the most enthusiastic response.

After finishing the osmanthus tea, Rong Se threw back the quilt and prepared to get out of bed, "Let's pack up and go to court. When will this day of getting up early every day end?"

His reputation as the regent was not very good, and he could not bear the reputation of being lazy. Since he had seized the power from Rong Jing, Rong Se had to work diligently to avoid giving those censors any more excuses to criticize him.

At the morning court, the ministers mentioned state affairs in turn as usual. With Liang Shenyu by his side during this period, Rongse also learned a lot while handling memorials together.

In addition to current affairs such as agriculture and water conservancy in various places, there is also the treatment of the Xi family. Xi Yan abused his wife and beat the eldest princess, and Xi Chaoyi, who was half disabled, abused his wife. Not only is it shameful to make it public, but the victim was the eldest princess, which involved the reputation of the royal family. To put it more seriously, it was deceiving the emperor.

Rong Jing was reluctant to severely punish the Xi family, and after the debate, he said softly, "My dear ministers, Xuanhe's matter is my family affair. Moreover, Lord Xi is an old minister of two dynasties. He has been diligent in his official duties over the years and has never slacked off. It would be better to... punish him leniently."

Rong Se's face turned slightly cold.

As expected, he is still protecting Xi Yan.

When the officials under the Regent Prince saw that their master looked unhappy, they understood that he was unhappy, so they started to refute him.

"Your Majesty, this is a royal family affair, but it also concerns the royal family. Xi Yan is a minister, and it is natural for him to do his best for the emperor and the people. Moreover, he has been receiving a salary from the court for many years, which is a great favor from the emperor! How dare he bully the princess again? If this matter is not severely punished, who will care about the face of the royal family in the future?!"

"That's right. According to the laws of our dynasty, those who favor concubines and kill their wives should be punished with caning. Moreover, he actually allowed his concubine to punish the princess. This is a serious crime! How can he not be punished!"

The Regent Prince was like this all the time, but the officials of the Shangshu Mansion naturally spoke on Xi Yan's side. There was no other reason, they all used Xi Yan's contributions as an official over the years to excuse them. They argued like this for a long time, and Rong Se just watched coldly without saying a word.

Until the adults were almost tired of arguing.

Still no conclusion.

The regent, who had been silent the whole time, spoke coldly in the brief silence: "Xuanhe is a princess and a member of the royal family. Disrespecting the royal family is a great crime. Xi Chaoyi is a half-disabled person and is even less worthy of the title of princess. But your majesty and the others think that Minister Xi has worked hard and made great contributions. I will not argue with you about other things for the time being. I just don't know that the princess was humiliated and nearly died. What explanation will your majesty give to Xuanhe and the world?"

He turned his head and stared at Rong Jing with cold and oppressive eyes.

This emperor, who was once favored by fate in the original novel, is selfish, cowardly, hypocritical and incompetent. Even though Rong Se is not a truly scheming and scheming regent, he does not believe that he will lose to him.

This is the confrontation between them.

Rong Jing, however, could not meet Rong Se's clear and firm eyes. He turned away, clenched his fingers tightly, and forced a smile, saying, "Uncle, in my opinion, Lord Xi has admitted his mistakes, and a two-month salary deduction as a warning is enough. As for Xi Chaoyi... how about fifty strokes of the cane?"

The response was a laugh.

Rong Se's face showed no emotion, he just looked at him with a half-smile and asked, "Is this the explanation? Your Majesty, do you want to send Xuan He back to the Xi family?"

Rong Jing indeed thought so, but he could not say it out loud. As long as the eldest princess went back to the Xi family, he could declare to the outside world that it was Rong Zhixu's own will.

"This……"

"Xuan He has already said that she does not want to return to the Xi family." Rong Se raised the corner of his lips with a fake smile, and glanced at the ministers, "Although it is a family matter, Xuan He is a member of the royal family, and this is a state matter. If you do not believe it, please ask Xuan He to come to the palace and say it again."

Rong Jing's face suddenly lost all trace of smile.

Of course he knew why Rong Se was so confident.

Because Xuanhe had already said that she would never return to the Xi family.