General, your wife has gone to deliver another calf for your horse.

"Arong, is that you?"

With the creak of the door opening, a man's surprised voice rang out.

A screen stood in front of the door, obscuring the view. A figure could be vaguely made out at the tea table in the clinic.

The next second, the figure peeked out from behind the screen. A beautiful face was filled with shock.

"I thought Lu Zhong was lying to me, but it really is you!"

As he spoke, he immediately closed the door and circled around Li Rong, looking at him intently.

This man was tall and slender, only slightly shorter than Li Rong. He had extremely fair skin, and his long robe, embroidered with gold thread and featuring a dark bamboo pattern, was slightly loose, exuding a relaxed and casual yet noble air. He was the kind of handsome man who would stand out in a crowd at a glance.

But as the man watched, he suddenly hugged Li Rong and burst into tears.

"Waaaah, Ah Rong, I never thought you actually managed to save your own life! You're amazing!!"

When Li Rong was first hugged, his eyes showed a slight emotion. But the next second, he felt two heavy blows to his back, so strong that they almost made him vomit blood. Li Rong's lips twitched, and he pushed the person away.

"Li Rong, how can you be so heartless! After so many changes, we haven't seen each other for three years. How can you not miss me at all? I'm so heartbroken."

As she spoke, she took out a handkerchief to wipe his tears.

"Alright, stop pretending." Li Rong rubbed his temples.

The handsome man, who had been wiping away tears, glared at Li Rong upon hearing this and said, "Why are you still so boring?"

After saying that, he crossed his arms and continued to look Li Rong up and down, then stretched out his foot and kicked Li Rong's leg: "Oh ho, you're not lame. The rumors say you're in a terrible state. One minute they say you've become a cripple and can't even walk. The next minute they say you were almost shot to death by an arrow and poisoned. It's making my heart jump around all day."

"Your news comes quickly." Li Rong sat down on his own.

"Of course." The handsome man sat down, chuckled, flicked his ponytail, and winked. "How about it? Don't I still look as dashing as ever?"

Li Rong looked over and saw that he was still wearing a huge purple-gold crown on his head, with a huge emerald set in it, which was so bright that it hurt the eyes: "Don't you feel tired wearing such a big crown?"

This person really has remained the same for decades.

Upon hearing this, the handsome man immediately pulled off the gold chain around his neck and gave it to Li Rong: "I'm a little tired, so here you go. Look at how you're dressed, you're not even as good as a beggar. Use this chain to buy yourself some clothes."

Li Rong's lips twitched: "Can't you change this habit? It's been so many years, how come you still give away your belongings to others so casually?"

The man scoffed, "Hey, I changed my ways a long time ago. If it were anyone else, I'd never give it to them! It's only because it's you. So take it."

Li Rong didn't answer, but frowned and asked, "Where's Lu Zhong? Wasn't he with you?"

"He went out to buy food." The man pointed down and said, "He went to that shop across the street to buy food. I saw that beef bun looked really delicious. I asked him to buy two. Hey? You haven't had any yet, have you? Let's try some together later."

As he said this, he leaned out the window and looked down, then exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, Ah Rong, look!"

Li Rong looked down in the direction he was pointing and couldn't help but frown: "What are you looking at?" The man smiled: "Those girls in the brothel are quite pretty. Shall we go together later? You've been suffering for a long time, you deserve some relaxation."

"Chi Heng!" Li Rong scolded him, "You're a Duke now, how dare you say such outrageous things!"

Chi Heng pouted: "How can you be so clueless? I was just trying to be nice to you."

"No need!"

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore, don't be angry." Chi Heng immediately smiled ingratiatingly, "Come and try the pre-Qingming Longjing tea I specially brought from Kyoto."

Li Rong rubbed her temples, averting her gaze from him to avoid being blinded by the eight rings and two thumb rings on his fingers. This guy really was annoying; even a glance at him felt like an eyesore. She then picked up her glass and downed it in one gulp. Only then did she feel her anger subside somewhat.

Now it was Chi Heng's turn to glare: "Hey! You big brute, you've really wasted my fine tea!"

Li Rong didn't say anything, silently poured himself another glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

Chi Heng, furious, sat opposite him, glaring and muttering repeatedly, "What a waste! What a waste!"

Li Rong's gaze fell on him: "Judging from your continued state, it seems that Xiao Yuanshan has not yet made a move against the Duke's Mansion. Ah Heng, you should be careful; you shouldn't have come on this trip."

"Bah! He wants to make things difficult! But three generations of my Chi family have died for the country. He thinks he can take action under the noses of so many veteran officials and then silence all the gossip? He's dreaming!" Chi Heng said with a sarcastic smile. "Besides, a spoiled brat like me who inherited the Duke's mansion poses no threat to him whatsoever. Naturally, he wouldn't want to go to any trouble. He might try to trip me up in the shadows, but he can't do anything to me!"

After he finished speaking, seeing Li Rong frowning at him, he waved his hand and said, "The Li family has fallen, and the Duke's mansion is a thorn in his side. Whether I, a playboy, come or not will not make much difference. Don't look so sentimental, it's disgusting."

As he spoke, he picked up a piece of pea flour cake to eat, but after taking only a small bite, he frowned and threw the pea flour cake back onto the plate.

"The snacks from this desolate place are really quite rough."

Then she clapped her hands and suddenly looked at Li Rong with curiosity: "Arong, how did you get better? You were poisoned by Xiao Yuanshan and your leg was broken, but now you're acting like nothing happened. Could it be that Doctor Que secretly treated you? That's strange, we've never had any relationship with him."

Li Rong was taken aback, his brows relaxed slightly, and his expression softened: "I did indeed meet a benefactor, but this person is not the Divine Physician Que."

"A benefactor? What benefactor?" Chi Heng looked puzzled. "A benefactor is fine, but why are you smiling so smugly? Li Rong, something's not right with you!"

Li Rong touched his face in a daze. When he came to his senses, he found that Chi Heng across from him was staring at him intently with narrowed eyes.

For no apparent reason, Li Rong suddenly felt a bit nervous and coughed lightly, "Don't talk nonsense. Have some tea."

Then he picked up the teacup again and drank it all in one gulp.

Chi Heng: "."

I was so stupid. How could I pour him just one cup of such good tea? I should have poured it for him drop by drop!
"We're back! We're back! Oh my, it's raining so hard!"

As the two were talking, Lu Zhong closed his umbrella, shook off the moisture from his clothes, and went inside. (End of Chapter)