My Son is a Transmigrated Prince

Extra 4

Facts proved that there is some truth to the saying ‘a tiger father does not have a dog son1.’

Although Rong Ting knew that his Emperor Father was treacherous and cunning and had dug a pit for him long ago in an attempt to hand over the burden and run away, he did not confront him, but silently acquiesced to his calculations. He even considerately cooperated with Emperor Father’s performance.

He accepted Emperor Father’s final lesson.

On this day, Rong Heng once again “fell ill,” nearly reaching the point of “delirium.” Rong Ting watched how his Emperor Father was immersed in his act and thought, powerful 2, really too powerful. Now he started to worry about Empress Mother. He wasn’t by Empress Mother’s side, and with Emperor Father’s shrewd schemes… could Empress Mother really be able to put up a fight?

Slander was slander, but when he came out of the palace, straining to keep his eyes wide open as the wind blew in such a way, his eyes reddened, and tears fell.

He had a look of grief, and it was difficult to hide the sorrow when he replaced Emperor Father in morning court.

After they were dismissed from morning court, the court ministers exchanged looks, sighing soundlessly. They didn’t know how long His Majesty could hold on. As for His Majesty’s health, they had mentally braced themselves. It had to be known that in the first two years, His Majesty had only suffered minor illnesses, and they were never a hindrance. Later, his body gradually grew weaker. Perhaps it was due to this buffer period that when they saw His Highness Crown Prince’s sorrowful appearance nowadays, they were not too surprised.

The only fortunate thing is that the passing of the throne was unlikely to lead to strife3.

Though His Highness was still very young, the talent he displayed was not inferior to today’s monarch. They could rest assured. Of the people who could truly reach the level of becoming a minister, who didn’t want to be immortalized in the annals of history? In all likelihood, only by following a good emperor could one more easily get ahead.

The ministers were all big pig trotters4. Don’t look at how sad they were now. In fact, they only felt a bit downcast. But thinking of the current line of succession, this heir wasn’t too bad… that bit of sorrow was nothing compared to their gratification.

Rong Ting didn’t know if his acting skills were too good. Ever since he acted in tandem with Emperor Father, the situation in court had quietly started to change.

He, the second-in-command, enjoyed the treatment of the first-in-command ahead of schedule. Those ministers who previously treated him like a child and tried to fool him now greeted him with great respect.

The night before Rong Heng left, he chatted for a long time with Rong Ting in a “final blaze of life5.” He talked about his childhood experiences, his ideals and aspirations, and Song Yuan.

Both father and son maintained a tacit understanding, neither of them laying the truth bare. Rong Heng guessed that Rong Ting was aware of his plan. As for why the child didn’t expose him, he thought, perhaps it had to do with a son’s affections for his father, as well as the ambitions of an emperor-to-be.

“Emperor Father, there is one thing I want to ask you. Have you ever regretted it?” Rong Ting tucked in Rong Heng’s quilt. He sat by the bed and asked in a low voice, “Do you regret going to the General’s estate that day?”

Rong Heng laughed. “If your Empress Mother asked me, I would tell her that I have no regrets.”

“And the truth?”

“I regret it.”

Of course he regretted it. From the moment he met her and fell in love with her, he had become a ruler unbecoming of a ruler. But remaining clear-headed did not make him content, either. In the end, he didn’t become the kind of monarch he had aspired to be when he was young. But that was life, and his regret was also a sweet suffering. In his next life, he hoped they would never meet again, but in this life, why not follow his heart?

Rong Ting didn’t seem surprised by his answer, only saying softly, “I think Empress Mother also regrets it. It’s strange; both of you have regrets, but neither of you is willing to cut ties.”

Rong Heng gave a slight smile. “Maybe this is love.”

Rong Ting: “…”

What to do, hearing this was physically uncomfortable.

The next day, the emperor passed away, and the whole country mourned. The new emperor succeeded the throne, weeping without pause.

Rong Ting knelt in the hall, taking advantage of the time no one was paying attention to sniff the “secret weapon” he’d ordered someone to make. The fumes were pungent, and one whiff made tears flow. Without using it, he couldn’t cry. Not only would he not cry, he might even curse down the streets. 

His Emperor Father foisted this heavy burden onto him while he ran off to modern times to chase his wife and live comfortably? Was this something a human would do? But he wasn’t worried; with Empress Mother’s character, she would definitely seek justice for him.

The new emperor was only thirteen. Not to mention a crown princess consort, there weren’t even side consorts. The harem was starkly empty.

The handling of the concubines of the previous emperor became an issue. Originally, it wasn’t the emperor’s problem to worry about, but unfortunately, there was no mistress in the palace who could be in charge, so this matter could only be decided on by Rong Ting.

Rong Ting knew that the number of Emperor Father’s concubines were not many, not to mention that a few had died over the past few years due to illness. At present, there were no more than 10 concubines in the hall.

In fact, they were still very young. The oldest one was only in her early thirties.

Rong Ting was stumped. For some reason, he recalled Empress Mother’s words from that time. Empress Mother had felt pity for these women.

In the end, Rong Ting asked the consort dowagers whether they were willing to start a new life with another identity. If they were willing, they would be given enough silver taels to last a lifetime and sent out from the palace. From then on, they would have no ties to the royal family. On records, they would be marked deceased. Whether they married someone else and had children, or lived the rest of their lives alone, they would have nothing to do with the royal family.

If they were not willing, they could remain in the palace as a consort dowager, and enjoy the treatment a consort dowager would be given.

The concubines of the late emperor had practically been living widows6. They had hoped to be favored by the late emperor and waited in their palaces day after day. From disappointment to despair to calm… they were still so young, but their faces were like still water, with nary a ripple.

At first, they were dazed upon hearing Rong Ting’s words, but then their expressions lightened, and they sincerely knelt down. “We thank the Lord for his great kindness.”

Rong Ting sighed. “In the future, just be yourselves.”

The consort dowagers touched their foreheads to the floor. With eyes blurred by tears, they watched that dot of bright yellow grow farther and farther away.

Song Yuan had thought she would never see Rong Heng again.

She had thought that their separation was a farewell and had cried and suffered, but now, on a street in a foreign land, she saw him again.

“Long time no see.” Those were his first words.

“I heard that it’s not safe outside the country. You’re still eating dinner this late at night?” These were his next words.

The two went to a nearby tavern and found a relatively quiet corner to sit. After recovering her senses, Song Yuan asked impatiently, “How are you back? No, don’t tell me you didn’t leave? If you went back and came back again, why are you alone?”

For Song Yuan, it was a few months apart, but for Rong Heng, it was a full seven years.

Only a week had passed in modern times since he transmigrated from ancient times. Mrs. Xie hadn’t noticed his disappearance, so he continued to act as Xie Heng.

He listened to Mrs. Xie’s arrangements and continued to study. He thought that Song Yuan might need some time to calm down, so he didn’t bother her for this period of time.

In answer to this question, Rong Heng wanted to tell her that it was Rong Ting who always worried that she was alone and that she would be unhappy, that it was Rong Ting who wanted him to come back. But he remembered that he had promised her he would never lie to her again, so he honestly explained to her the entire sequence of events.

He was very good at avoiding the trivial and dwelling on the major points7 and passing over words that were not in his favor…it should be noted that during his reign, he had worked hard to pave the way for Rong Ting and remove all his obstacles. That way, when Rong Ting took over the throne, it would be much easier. And with Rong Ting’s ability, he could completely take on the responsibility.

But his verbal tactics were clearly useless to an old mother. When Song Yuan finished listening, she was nearly lost for words. She gaped in disbelief. “He’s only thirteen! He’s thirteen, only in middle school. If someone bullies him, how can he carry such a heavy burden when he’s still a child??”

That was a country!!

How much pressure must Gugu be enduring!

Rong Heng didn’t know how to explain to her. “No one will bully him.”

“How do you know?”

“He’s not a child, he’s an emperor with real power in his hands. No one would be shortsighted enough to bully him.”

Song Yuan knew he was telling the truth, but she still felt very uncomfortable.

Things have reached this point, and there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t force Rong Heng to go back, could she? Based on his words, he was already the late emperor. Wouldn’t he be a risen corpse if he went back now?

But Gugu was only thirteen, could he really handle it? Would things really be fine?

Wuwuwuwu, she really wanted to hug Gugu!!

After about half an hour, Song Yuan concluded that Rong Heng was now the only person who understood Gugu’s current circumstances, so she suppressed her emotions and asked him–

“Is Gugu okay? Has he grown? How tall is he?”

“Is he thin? Is he eating well?”

“Also, is he still picky? The book said that he was sick, was it serious? How did he get sick?”

“Is he healthy? There wasn’t enough time, so I could only get him those few vaccines, ai!”

Rong Heng watched her quietly, falling to the onslaught. He said quietly, “An hour and twenty minutes.”

Song Yuan was stunned. She looked at him puzzledly. “What did you say?”

Rong Heng shook his head.

He really didn’t want to say that it had been an hour and twenty minutes since their reunion, and she had only asked about him for five minutes. In the remaining hour and fifteen minutes, she was either asking about Rong Ting or thinking about him.

Forget it, don’t say it.

He owed Rong Ting this. Besides, he still had an entire lifetime.

“I’ll answer one question at a time.” Rong Heng’s smile grew warmer and gentler. “He’s very good, he’s grown taller. When I left, he should have been about 1.6 meters. He’s only thirteen, there’s still a lot of time for growth. Based on our heights, it shouldn’t be an issue for him to grow to 1.8 meters.”

“He’s not thin. At first, he didn’t like eating the meals prepared by the imperial kitchen, but after going hungry for a few meals, he stopped being picky. Occasionally, he’ll talk about wanting to eat your chicken wings. Of course, he misses Yakult the most.”

“He’s still a picky eater. “

“The sickness that time was due to his naughtiness. He sweated after riding horses and didn’t wash or change his clothes. He started coughing and having a fever when he was chilled by the wind, but he got better by the third day. In the past few years, he’s rarely been ill.” Rong Heng asked her with a smile, “Is there anything else you want to ask?”

The author has something to say:

Gugu’s arrangement of the concubines in the harem is unreasonable, but I sympathize with the girls in the harem (they haven’t done anything wrong, and they shouldn’t be trapped in other people’s feelings for their whole lives. They can also have their own future, even if it’s a bit late). Gugu has experienced so much and seen so much… I think he would have made this decision. En, be yourself!

(Author sends out red envelopes, says there are about 4 chapters left)

[1] 虎父无犬子: idiom used to praise a talented father for his similarly accomplished son

[2] 太拼了: used to refer to someone who is trying too (unnecessarily or exaggeratedly) hard

[3] 青黄不接: the yellow autumn crop does not last until the green spring crop; unable to make ends meet

[4] 大猪蹄子: typically part of the phrase “men are all big pig trotters,” to condemn men who 1. are lustful, or 2. scumbags who easily change their object of affection

[5] 回光返照: dying radiance of the setting sun; the last spurt of energy or lucidity before death

[6] 守活寡: often used to describe women who were shunned, disdained, or unfavored by their husband, so although their husband was still alive, they might as well have been widows

[7] 避轻就重: a modification of 避重就轻, which lit. means to gloss over heavy (topics) and dwell on light (topics)

Cheese: surprise! Missed me? Online classes have been smacking me around a bit, so free time is still a bit short at the mo. Thanks so much for your patience!