My Son is a Transmigrated Prince

On his bun face was a look of devastation. “Why does Empress Mother do this?”

The temperament around Rong Heng’s body changed.

In the past, he would have done everything he could to spend time with Song Yuan. If it had been before that incident had happened, he definitely would have toughened the skin on his face and followed Rong Ting to dinner today.

Now, he seemed to have returned to being the emperor who had everything in his control.

After Rong Ting and Song Yuan left, he went to the hotel dining hall to have a simple dinner. After returning to his room, he picked up the “Getting Rich” book he’d bought at the book café and carefully read through it. It wasn’t until someone knocked on the door that he lifted his head, stood up, and went to open the door. The person standing there was Sun Qiming. Sun Qiming carried a cage and announced as though presenting a treasure, “Boss, someone bought a parrot yesterday. I saw that Rong Ting seemed to like it very much, so today I went to the market1. There were plenty of parrots, and I saw that this one was very beautiful, so I bought it and brought it back for Rong Ting to play with.”

The bird in the cage was indeed very beautiful. Rong Heng also lowered his head to look at it.

Sun Qiming was really very concerned for his boss’s affections. Since he was taking the path of ‘saving the nation through roundabout means,’ he had to serve that little young master well. So what if he just brought the kid to eat? Little kids didn’t remember those things; it was better to go with things they wanted. If not for the conditions not being met, and him being uncertain whether Miss Song was interested in raising a dog, he would have gone to the pet shop to get a little puppy dog or kitten to give to Rong Ting.

The rich second generation boss still wasn’t too good at pursuing ladies. To pursue a girl, one must come and go. Gifting a pet to Rong Ting was an excellent reason to come and go.

Raising a cat or a dog was troublesome, but raising a bird saved a lot of worry. He believed Miss Song would like it.

“Rong Ting has gone back.” Rong Heng’s tone was flat.

Sun Qiming let out an ‘ah’ of regret, but he persisted, “Boss, can give this bird to Rong Ting. Children are very lonely alone at home. If he doesn’t like this one, I’ll find him something else next time.”

“Boss, next time can you ask Miss Song whether she’s interested in raising a dog or a cat? A friend I know has a dog that just had puppies. He also said he’d give me one, a little golden retriever. Goldies are docile.”

It wasn’t known if Rong Heng had heard this or not. He was still staring at the bird in the cage. “Give it to me.”

Sun Qiming hurriedly passed over the cage.

Rong Heng received the cage and entered the room. Sun Qiming saw that he hadn’t closed the door nor told him to leave, so he followed his boss in, thinking that he must have instructions for him.

“Tell me,” Rong Heng sat in front of the desk, staring at the cage he’d placed on the table, and spoke in a deep voice. “Do you think it is willing to stay in the cage, or does it wish to fly away?”

This question stumped Sun Qiming.

He wasn’t a bird. How would he know what a bird thought.

But he had to answer the boss’s question. He thought before replying, “This kind of bird is very easy to tame. If it’s used to being raised, it would die once it flies away.”

Rong Heng smiled. “Really?”

In one of their quarrels, she’d once told him that to her, the palace was like a cage, a cage that trapped her, and he was the one who tried to tame her.

He didn’t understand why she would say that when he was clearly offering up all his sincerity. During this period of time, even if he covered his ears and shut his eyes, refusing to look, he could still feel what meaning this world she lived in had to her, and how dull and depressed she felt in ancient times.

In the middle of the night, Rong Heng was having trouble sleeping. In fact, he hadn’t been able to sleep well for a long time now.

He thought of many things. He thought of his first encounter with her, thought of those words she’d once said that he’d believed to be treasonous.

In those later years, she indeed had lived an unhappy life in the palace, hadn’t she.

He simply got up from the bed, his gaze piercing through the moonlight to fall on the bird in the cage. Suddenly, he wanted to understand something. He walked over to the desk, carried the cage to the window, and opened the cage door.

The next day, Song Yuan heard from the homeowner group chat that the supermarket was holding an event. Early in the morning, she took 2-3 eco-friendly shopping bags and went out with Rong Ting.

As soon as she left the apartment community, she saw Rong Heng getting out of the car and walking over.

Song Yuan wasn’t surprised. He’d always been a straightforward person. Now that she thought about it, his previous ‘accidental encounter’ play had probably been something he’d planned after a long time of thinking.

“Where are you going?” Rong Heng looked at Rong Ting as he asked.

Rong Ting was acting abnormally today, neither taking the initiative to greet him after seeing him nor answering his question.

This was an extremely rare thing. Song Yuan was shocked. One had to know that every time her son opened his mouth, it was “My Emperor Father” and “the king reigns supreme.” Speaking conservatively, he was Rong Heng’s die-hard fan2.

It seemed that she didn’t know of the event that brought Rong Ting and his idolized Emperor Father at odds.

But she didn’t intend to get involved in the matters between father and son. Rong Heng was so smart; he would definitely know how to settle their discord.

“We’re going to the supermarket to go shopping. We’re planning to make a big haul3.” Song Yuan didn’t want to put a damper on the atmosphere, so she took the initiative to speak. “There’s an event going on today. A lot of things are on sale, and there’s a lottery. Someone in building 12 won a rice cooker, so I want to try my luck too.”

In fact, she didn’t lack a rice cooker… it was just that when one heard about a lottery, they couldn’t help but join in on the fun.

“That’s good. Since you’re making a big purchase, you must be short on coolies.” Rong Heng volunteered himself. “I’ll help you carry things.”

Song Yuan figured that she and Rong Heng had already talked things over, not to mention that Rong Ting was here, and she didn’t want to make Rong Heng lose face, so she nodded. “Then we’ll be troubling you.”

The three people headed to the supermarket.

Today was a workday, and the number of people in the supermarket couldn’t be said to be large, but compared to previous days, it was already quite lively.

Song Yuan pushed a shopping cart while Rong Heng and Rong Ting followed behind, squeezing through a crowd of raucous aunties. Rong Heng had originally looked calm and steady, but after being pushed and shoved by an auntie, his expression grew foul, and he unrestrainedly exuded low air pressure. If it were his ministers next to him, they definitely would have been so frightened they didn’t dare to move, but the aunties didn’t care so much. If they should push then they’d push, if they should shove then they’d shove…

Rong Ting was already used to such scenes. Like a little loach, he slipped through the throng of aunties, completely unaffected.

Song Yuan bought many things. Even for just the Yakult Rong Ting liked, she’d bought 4-5 packs, not to mention the spare pork ribs and the like.

Rong Heng stood a bit further away, watching her with a peaceful and fond gaze.

She was earnestly choosing bell peppers, comparing them with furrowed brows, her body giving off a fiery flavor. This appearance of hers also had a gentleness she wasn’t aware she had.

“Today will be beef stir fry4, that okay?” Song Yuan felt Rong Heng’s gaze and lifted her head. Two pairs of eyes met, but the look in his eyes was strange, and she couldn’t decipher it. She lowered her head to ask Rong Ting beside her.

“Okay. I don’t want green peppers. Empress Mother, do not substitute a cat for the crown prince5 and replace the bell peppers with green peppers.”

“Is that how ‘substituting a cat for the crown prince’ works?”

“I think it can be used.”

Song Yuan let out a laugh. “Nonsense. If you don’t want to eat green peppers then I also won’t force you, but I still want to eat vegetables.”

Rong Ting was fine with everything, but he didn’t like to eat vegetables. He had his own theory. For him, vegetables were no different from grass, and he was not a cow to be raised. Why should he eat grass?

“You have to eat meat and vegetables. Do you want to get sick and have to get an injection?”

At the mention of injections, straight-steel-little-man Rong Ting was terrified, and he had no choice but to reluctantly nod and agree.

Song Yuan was just scaring Rong Ting. She used to have a classmate who didn’t like to eat vegetables and insisted on eating beef every meal. His body was twice as strong, and he ate well. During the many years they were classmates, she hadn’t ever seen him get sick. Of course, this example couldn’t be told to Rong Ting; otherwise, he’d have even more reason not to eat vegetables.

Today, Song Yuan came to the supermarket to buy not just vegetables, but also fruits.

As she was getting ready to head to the fruits section, Rong Heng came to her side and placed his hands on the shopping cart. He said softly, “I’ll push.”

Song Yuan didn’t object and brought Rong Ting to the fruits section.

Today, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the supermarket had very good durians. In a brisk tone, she announced, “This durian looks very good, almost ready to burst open. It must have ripened to be very sweet.”

Before college, she hadn’t liked to eat durian and would even make a special detour around them. When she was a child, a cousin had given her durian candy to eat, and the taste was really… Later in college, she had a roommate who really liked to eat durian. One time the durian she’d bought was frozen, and brought it over to the room to give Song Yuan a piece. Song Yuan was embarrassed to reject it, and she was also curious to see why her roommate liked it so much. After a tentative taste, she opened a door to a new world.

She’d bought durian before, but the day after she bought it, Rong Ting threw it away.

She asked him, and he said that this thing was spoiled and stinky, so of course they had to throw it away.

Later, she wanted to give him a taste, but he made an expression of wanting to throw up…

So she could only give up. She rarely bought durians, but when she did she would eat it outside before going back home.

Rong Ting had originally forgotten what a durian was. As he followed his family’s Emperor Father and followed after her, someone happened to be peeling a durian. At that moment, the smell made Rong Heng and Rong Ting subconsciously take two steps back.

Song Yuan often ate durians and could see which were good and which were bad. The supermarket was having an event today, so the prices for durians were affordable, and the durians could also be sampled. She took a bite and found it very sweet, so she turned and called over Rong Ting to give it a try.

Rong Ting waved his hand, exaggeratedly pinching his nose. “I won’t eat, it’s poisonous.”

Rong Heng wanted to try it to grow closer to her, but his body was helplessly honest, and his feet were superglued to the floor, unable to move. It was obvious he agreed with his son’s point of view.

Song Yuan hmphed. “If you won’t eat it, I’ll buy it and bring it back to eat by myself!”

Rong Ting instantly remembered the terror of being dominated by the smell of durian. It was no exaggeration to say that even if it was covered in plastic wrap, this piece of durian would fill the fridge with its smell that forced one to make a hasty retreat.

On his bun face was a look of hesitation. “Why does Empress Mother do this?”

[1] 花鸟市场: specifically a market where people sell flowers, birds, fish, and insects. Compared to a regular flower shop or pet shop, it seems more like an alley or street market where many vendors come to sell their wares.

[2] 资深: veteran, senior, or highly experienced

[3] 大采购: does English have a specific term for this? Usually we just say we’re going grocery shopping, regardless of whether we’re buying a lot or not, right? Had to add in a clarification because Rong Heng makes a comment on what she says in the following bit of dialogue.

[4] 甜椒炒牛柳: stir-fried beef with bell pepper (sweet pepper)

[5] 狸猫换太子: comes from a play of a Song dynasty consort named Consort Li, whose son was secretly swapped with a skinned cat by a jealous Consort Liu. The swapped son eventually became the crown prince, and finally, Emperor Renzong (source: Wikipedia). Recorded history was nothing like the play, though.

Cheese: idk if there’s anybody out there who needs to hear this but birds are definitely not easier to raise than dogs or cats! please do not opt to raise a bird only because you think it’d be easier to take care of than other pets. and also, it’s rarely a good idea to gift someone a pet unless you’re sure beyond a doubt that they actually want a pet, were already planning to get a pet, and have the living conditions and ability to raise a pet

i actually haven’t had durian before, but i hear that you either love it or hate it. any people who’ve had durian before? what’s your take on it?