Chapter 59 Mrs. Qingyun, don't ask questions you already know the answer to.

Her voice was light and cheerful, yet it twisted his emotions into a knot, making it hard for him to breathe.

Guilt is like fine needles, gently pricking along the lines of the heart; the pain isn't sharp, but it's lingering and tormenting.

He desperately wanted her to yell it out, to vent her frustrations.

Instead of simply tolerating him.

He is not a good husband, and he will owe her a debt of gratitude for the rest of his life.

The jade from Hetian is extremely light, yet the jade pendant in my palm felt heavy, almost slipping out of my hand.

This hug instantly disrupted Rong Chengzhou's previously calm state of mind.

It turns out that the dilemma of having both family and country is so difficult to resolve.

His hand, hanging by his side, gently covered her back, and slowly tightened his arm.

A barely concealed tightness lingered in his throat:

"I will make up for everything I owe you."

"Peipei, wait for me to come back."

Jiang Mingxue nodded in his arms: "Okay."

She only hugged him for a dozen seconds before letting go first.

"Let's get going, don't miss the train."

As the warmth left his embrace, Rong Chengzhou lowered his eyes slightly and said, "Okay."

He couldn't hold her wedding as planned.

I can't tell her where I'm going.

I can't tell her when I'll be back.

Even hugs are timed.

He owed her more than just a wedding.

Jiang Mingxue smiled and urged him gently, "Get in the car."

Rong Chengzhou didn't move: "You go first."

He didn't want her to see his back.

Jiang Mingxue smiled faintly: "Okay, I'll go back first."

After saying that, he turned and went back to the clinic.

The sun was scorching and blinding. Rong Chengzhou stood still, watching the slender figure disappear from sight before slowly turning around.

Place the jade pendant inside your clothes, in the pocket closest to your heart.

He then said to the driver, "Let's go."

The wheels rolled over the asphalt road, kicking up a few fallen leaves.

The car's silhouette gradually shrank until only a faint trail of exhaust fumes remained, slowly dissipating in the wind.

--

Jiang Mingxue returned to the clinic to continue seeing patients, and during her lunch break, she announced the postponement of her wedding.

Fortunately, the plan was made in advance, and she only sent invitations to her colleagues at the clinic.

If it's a distant relative or elder, then it's not easy to take it back.

Upon learning this, the apprentices, without any regret about not being able to eat at Jin Ge for the time being, all comforted her:

"Director, don't be too sad. Your brother-in-law loves you so much, he will definitely come back soon."

"Waaaaah, military marriages are so tough, even the wedding was full of twists and turns. Sister Ming, I ordered you some milk tea. If we drink the milk tea, we won't be sad anymore."

"Huh? I just ordered one too. Will the curator be able to finish it?"

"You all ordered milk tea? Luckily I ordered a small cake; when you're unhappy, you can eat something sweet!"

Jiang Mingxue sat in the lounge, surrounded by a group of young girls and several senior doctors.

With her hands on her knees and a slightly helpless smile, she said, "Thank you, but please keep the extra milk tea for yourselves."

She smiled faintly, her voice as gentle yet firm as ever:

"The wedding is just postponed, not canceled, so don't worry about me."

The girls, being perceptive, felt that she was putting on a brave face and insisted on taking turns treating her to milk tea during this period.

Jiang Mingxue couldn't refuse, so she had to compromise and agree: "Remember to order sugar-free. The director of Yuanhe Medical Clinic has diabetes, and if word gets out, it will ruin our reputation."

The group of people stopped crying and started laughing. Seeing that she could still joke, they were all relieved.

Jiang Mingxue finished seeing all her patients at 6:30 p.m.

She habitually went out to look for the black SUV, but first saw the Rong family's butler, Chen, waiting for her at the door in a gray family car.

Jiang Mingxue was stunned for a moment before she suddenly realized that Rong Chengzhou had already left.

But in just a moment, he returned to normal.

She walked over with a smile and greeted the butler.

"Thank you, Uncle Chen. You're so busy at home, yet you still came to pick me up."

Jiang Mingxue sat in the back row and spoke to Butler Chen.

Butler Chen smiled and said, "Madam, please don't be so polite. Before the young master left, he specifically instructed me to pick you up and drop you off these past few days. It's just my duty."

Jiang Mingxue: "I understand. But I still have my grandfather and parents to take care of at home. My get off work hours are not fixed. If they need to use the car, it will cause delays."

"You don't need to come to see me off tomorrow. Chengzhou has reserved a car for me, and there's another one in the garage. I can just drive my own car to work from now on."

Butler Chen hesitated, "Isn't this a bad idea?"

He couldn't openly comply with his master's orders while secretly disobeying them.

Jiang Mingxue insisted, "It's okay, this way I won't be in a rush even if I get off work late."

"Oh well."

Jiang Mingxue is also a master; the male and female masters of the Rong family are equal.

Uncle Chen had no choice but to obey orders.

On the way, she took out her phone and discovered that Rong Chengzhou had sent her a message around 5 p.m.

【CZ】: I've arrived.

She was busy and didn't see it. She only had time to reply to him now:

Okay, be careful.

She wondered if the mission had already begun. She checked her phone several times on the way, but Rong Chengzhou didn't reply.

Jiang Mingxue adapted quickly to the familiar scene.

I put my phone away and rested against the car window for a few minutes.

When I got home, Aunt Lian had already prepared dinner.

Although she was alone, the meal was still very plentiful, and there were even a few new dishes.

The vegetable leaves in the soup bowl are curled up and covered with a transparent gel.

She scooped up a few slices with a spoon; they were crisp, smooth, and had a very unique texture.

Her eyes lit up, she swallowed the vegetables in her mouth, lowered her head and scooped up another spoonful, asking as she did so:

"Rong Chengzhou, what kind of dish is this? It looks delicious."

There was a two-second silence in the restaurant before Aunt Lian's voice rang out: "Madam, this is water shield, a specialty from the Jiangnan region."

Jiang Mingxue paused, her hand holding the spoon still.

Looking up at the opposite side, the seats were empty, not even plates were set out.

Realizing what had happened, she rubbed her forehead and chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Sorry, Aunt Lian, I've been so confused."

Aunt Lian sighed inwardly, stepped forward, ladled a bowl of soup for Jiang Mingxue, and then used a new pair of chopsticks to pick up a few pieces of fish for her.

These were all things that Rong Chengzhou had done personally before.

"Madam, please eat more meat. When your husband comes back, he'll be worried about how thin you've become."

Jiang Mingxue picked up a piece of fish from the plate and obediently replied, "Okay."

I looked up at the time; it was almost eight o'clock.

I was distracted for two seconds when I suddenly felt a sharp pain on my lips and tasted blood.

She forgot that there were bones in the fish.

Aunt Lian rushed forward: "Madam, are you not choking on a fish bone?"

Jiang Mingxue shook her head: "No."

I couldn't help but sigh with self-deprecation.

Habits are a terrible thing.

Rong Chengzhou had been helping her remove fish bones for a month, and on the very first day he left, she got pricked by a fish bone.

She picked up her cup, took a sip of water, swallowed the bloody taste, and said, "Aunt Lian, please sit down and eat with me. It would be a waste if I couldn't finish all this food by myself."

Aunt Lian hesitated for a moment before sitting down, upholding her original intention of taking care of her: "Thank you, Madam."

After dinner, Jiang Mingxue went to the bathroom to shower and wash up, and then, as usual, read books and organized medical records in the study.

He was undisturbed and even more focused than usual. The only time he checked his phone was because Su Yun called.

"Peipei, while Chengzhou is away, why don't you go home to stay?"

Jiang Mingxue put down her pen and suddenly found it somewhat amusing; no one had acted like this when Rong Chengzhou left last time.

"Mom, I'm just temporarily living in a different place, I haven't been abandoned."

Su Yun was momentarily speechless: "Of course I know you're in a long-distance relationship. I'm just worried that if Cheng Zhou suddenly leaves, you won't be able to accept it."

Jiang Mingxue lowered her head to straighten the corner of the page, and logically refuted her: "He left suddenly last time too, which is no different from this time. The only difference is that he changed the clinic where I usually live to our marital home, and it's more convenient for me to go to work now, isn't it?"

"..." Su Yun was so angry she couldn't speak. "I'm so angry at you two siblings!"

Jiang Mingxue laughed: "The wronged should have their own culprits, and the debtors should be held accountable. Don't drag me into Huai Jing's mistakes. I didn't do anything."

Su Yun sighed: "Fine, if you don't want to come back and live here, then forget it. Just eat on time over there, you hear me?"

"Okay, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Mingxue glanced at the message. Rong Chengzhou hadn't replied, so she put it back.

I fell asleep hugging my soft, smelly teddy bear at night and woke up on time the next day.

His daily routine was no different from when Rong Chengzhou was there.

On the weekend, Jiang Mingxue got up in the morning and first went to the study balcony to water her herbs and potted plants in turn. Then she took off the stinky bear's outer clothes and washed them.

Without asking Aunt Lian for help or using the washing machine, I put in a lot of laundry detergent and fragrance beads to make the clothes smell nice. That way, the stinky bear becomes a fragrant bear.

I had just hung the stinky bear's clothes to dry on the balcony when I heard the door open outside.

Aunt Lian called out to her from the living room, "Madam, the lady of the house has come to see you."

Jiang Mingxue hung the clothes rack up and went outside. She saw that the accompanying housekeeper, Chen, was carrying a large suitcase. Before Madam Rong could speak, she spoke first:

"Mom, did you come here specifically to keep me company because Chengzhou left?"

Madam Rong was stunned for several seconds before smiling helplessly: "You child, how can you be so insightful?"

On the way, she racked her brains for a long time, trying to figure out how to find a legitimate reason to stay with her daughter-in-law for a few days without mentioning her daughter-in-law's painful past.

Jiang Mingxue smiled, helped her sit on the sofa, and spoke gently:

"Before Chengzhou left, he instructed Steward Chen and Aunt Lian, so I guessed that you must also be involved."

Ren Rushuang glared at her: "If I had known, I wouldn't have thought about it so much on the way. All that effort has turned my hair white."

Jiang Mingxue smiled and said, "You really don't need to do this. I'm used to living alone, and Aunt Lian takes care of me. Nothing will happen."

Madam Rong held her hand, genuinely pleased:

“You are much stronger than I was back then. When Chengzhou’s father returned to the army, I packed my bags and went back to my parents’ home. It wasn’t until I gave birth to Chengzhou that I became more mature and could no longer take the Rong family’s grandson back to the Ren family’s home all the time. Only then did I gradually accept the life of a widow and her child.”

"I argued with Lao Rong a lot about this back then. I know it was unreasonable of me to make a fuss, and that they were going to do something important, but I just felt wronged. My husband was away from home for more than 300 days a year. What difference is there between being married and not being married?"

Aunt Lian brought over teacups and a teapot, and Jiang Mingxue poured tea for Madam Rong, saying, "There's no difference. You've worked hard all these years."

This is why she initially chose Rong Chengzhou.

Madam Rong picked up her teacup. With the passage of time, she had long since let go of her resentment: "Fortunately, Old Rong has a good temper and doesn't argue with me, otherwise we would have divorced eight hundred times over."

Jiang Mingxue chimed in, "Yes, Chengzhou has taken after Dad's personality."

Madam Rong nodded: "And Mingxue, you're not the type to argue with people either."

She sighed, "If Chengzhou weren't a soldier, you two would definitely be living a very prosperous life."

Jiang Mingxue smiled without saying a word. If he weren't a soldier, she wouldn't have chosen him in the first place.

Everything has a cause and effect. She only proposed marriage because Rong Chengzhou was not often at home. Now that everything has gone her way, she naturally has nothing to complain about.

It takes time to get used to something, and even longer to change it.

That's all.

Madam Rong eventually listened to Rong Chengzhou's instructions and stayed with Jiang Mingxue for two days before returning home on Monday morning.

Rong Chengzhou replied to her message on Sunday night.

【CZ】: Sorry, I just got my phone.

Jiang Mingxue was in her study reviewing pharmacological analysis when she saw the message half an hour later:

I typed back to him: 【It's nothing.】

[Jiang Mingxue]: Have you finished your mission?

If Rong Chengzhou doesn't turn off the screen after sending a message, he usually replies instantly when he sees it.

But this time, three minutes passed without any message being received.

She frowned slightly. Hadn't only half an hour passed? Had they handed over their phones again?

Just then, my phone on the desk started buzzing.

Rong Chengzhou's image popped up on the screen.

He made a voice call right away.

Jiang Mingxue was taken aback.

They had always communicated via text message or face-to-face; this was the first time they had called each other.

I pressed the answer button, held the phone to my ear, and a familiar, deep voice came from the other end:

“Peipei”.

She hummed in agreement and asked softly, "Are you done with your mission?"

I don't know where he is, but I can faintly hear the chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs.

Jiang Mingxue leaned back in her chair and hugged her arms; the air conditioning was blowing too coldly, making her feel a bit chilly.

Rong Chengzhou: "No, it's just a temporary suspension."

Jiang Mingxue said "oh" and then fell silent. "How have you been these past few days?"

He seemed to be in the wild, his voice mingled with the sound of the wind.

Jiang Mingxue nodded: "Yes, I'm doing well. My mom even came to keep me company."

Rong Chengzhou's voice remained as indifferent as ever: "That's good."

"Mom is still in the second bedroom, she probably hasn't gone to sleep yet. Would you like to say a few words to her?"

"No need, I have a mission later, I can't fight for long."

"Is it that urgent?"

"Yeah, a little."

Jiang Mingxue, not wanting to disturb him, said, "Then you should go and get busy."

Rong Chengzhou: "No rush, there are still twenty minutes."

"Oh," Jiang Mingxue asked, "Are you outside?"

"Yeah, the signal was bad, so I found a field."

"Won't there be snakes and insects?"

The other person hummed in agreement, their voice deep: "Yes, there will be. One just ran over there."

Jiang Mingxue covered her lips: "Then why don't you hurry back?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a low, muffled chuckle: "Just kidding."

"..." Jiang Mingxue's tone became more forceful, "Rong Chengzhou—"

"I was wrong," he quickly apologized. "We haven't seen any snakes yet, but there are quite a few mosquitoes."

Jiang Mingxue said angrily, "I won't care if you bite me to death."

Rong Chengzhou chuckled, letting her vent her anger.

After half a minute, he stopped joking and asked her:

Are you afraid to live alone?

Jiang Mingxue shook her head: "I'm not afraid. I often stay at the clinic by myself."

Rong Chengzhou was relieved: "That's good."

“I sent you a message on Thursday and then went back to my unit. I didn’t mean to not reply.”

Jiang Mingxue: "Yes, I guessed it."

The air conditioner was getting colder and colder, so she got up and said, "Wait a minute, I'm going to get a blanket."

"good."

I had only taken a couple of steps when I suddenly realized that I didn't know where the blanket was in the study.

Rong Chengzhou used to bring it to her to cover it.

Before she could ask, Rong Chengzhou answered her on the phone: "It's in the wardrobe on the left side of the master bedroom."

"Oh," Jiang Mingxue replied, walked to the bedroom, opened the closet door with one hand, and took out the blanket.

Then he returned to his study, unfolded the blanket, and draped it over himself.

My phone was on the table, and because it was on WeChat, my ear accidentally touched Rong Chengzhou's profile picture while I was on a call, and I accidentally clicked on his profile.

Jiang Mingxue reached out, about to pick it up again, when her gaze suddenly fell upon his nickname.

The original [CZ] has somehow become [CM].

She remembered the meaning of his nickname: C stands for CHINA, and Z stands for ZHOU.

Today, "Z" has become "M".

What does that mean?

A bold conjecture flashed through Jiang Mingxue's mind, but she wasn't sure.

She disliked beating around the bush, so she asked directly, "Rong Chengzhou, what does your new nickname mean?"

A very soft chuckle came from the other end of the phone, drifting away on the wind.

Then came a deep, magnetic male voice, its ending slightly hoarse:

"Mrs. Rong, don't ask questions you already know the answer to."