Chapter 283 What did he say to me?
Chi Heng's head buzzed for a moment, and his body stiffened as he slowly turned around. Sure enough, he saw a face that he knew all too well, yet which he least wanted to see at this moment.
Chi Heng forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Didn't you leave?"
“I was originally planning to leave.” Li Rong said halfway through his sentence, then looked down at Chi Heng’s painting.
Chi Heng's pupils dilated in shock. She frantically tried to put the painting away, but in her haste, it fell to the ground. Chi Heng froze for a moment before rushing to pick it up.
However, Li Rong was a few minutes faster than him.
A pair of rough, long hands quickly picked up the portrait.
Li Rong picked up the portrait, which had been slightly crumpled by Chi Heng, and carefully unfolded it. His gaze fell on the man and woman in the portrait, and his brows furrowed slightly, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Chi Heng."
"Here!" Chi Heng immediately straightened up and stood upright.
Li Rong squinted at him: "I need an explanation."
Chi Heng's lips trembled, and she tried several times, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Damn it, who will save him?
If you say that Chen Shu drew it on a whim and that he's never even met his wife, I wonder if Li Rong would believe you.
But whether he believes it or not, this petty man is unlikely to escape punishment. After all, he can't escape the fact that I ordered someone to secretly check on his wife!
“Um, Li Rong, can you believe me? I only wanted food at first, it was not intentional.”
After saying this, he held his breath and watched Li Rong's expression.
"Chiheng, you really have been doing a lot behind my back."
Upon hearing this, Chi Heng's heart trembled three times.
He steeled himself, grabbed Li Rong's ear, and squatted down in front of him, saying, "I was wrong, I was mean-spirited, I just wanted to make a living, hit me all you want, I promise I won't fight back today."
As he said this, he closed his eyes tightly.
However, what awaited him was not a slap from Li Rong, but a laugh from Li Rong that was rarely heard in a century.
"Heh, what's wrong with you? You just have a girl you like, how come you can't even speak properly? Besides, why would I hit you? I'm happy for you."
Chi Heng: "Huh???"
What kind of approach is this?
Hearing what the two were saying, Chen Shu, who was standing nearby, breathed a sigh of relief.
His heart was in his throat, after all, there had been rumors in the capital that General Li and his own Duke had some romantic entanglement, which was why neither of them had married.
Having just been spotted by General Li, and observing the Duke's demeanor, he momentarily thought the rumors in the capital were true. Thankfully, it seemed General Li had also married, and the Duke now had a woman he admired.
However, he then looked at Li Rong with a strange expression. According to his observation, the young Marquis Xie beside that woman had impure intentions. Although the Xie family had been raided, Xie Liangchen's name was still not to be underestimated.
Everyone knows that the Xie family was merely implicated in the crime back then, and even the emperor once told Young Master Xie that he was waiting for him to return to the court.
Compared to his master, a spoiled brat, he felt that his master had little chance of winning.
“Master, this lady is indeed impeccable in character and appearance. However, a gentleman seeks a beautiful and virtuous woman. I think if you want to propose marriage, you should hurry up.”
Chen Shu glanced at his master again with a strange expression and kindly reminded him.
Chi Heng: "???"
What is this idiot saying?
What did he just say to me?
Li Rong listened and nodded, saying, "That makes sense. You're not young anymore; you should start thinking about this sooner rather than later."
Chi Heng: "!!!"
He still thinks he's right?
What's so reasonable about it? Huh?
Li Rong's gaze fell on that painting at that moment, and he felt quite guilty.
Seeing how Chi Heng was protecting the girl in the painting, it was clear that this person was the apple of Chi Heng's eye. When Li Rong saw the woman's face, his heart skipped a beat for a moment. Even now, his heart was still unsettled, and he coughed lightly: "Well, your sweetheart looks quite like my wife."
His gaze fell on the portrait again: "My wife is plumper and more straightforward, with a richer expression, unlike your sweetheart, who seems more serene."
Li Rong thought that A Nuan probably wouldn't hide behind a man, and naturally wouldn't smile so dignifiedly. Dressed in such elaborate clothes, she looked like a mannequin. Chi Heng's sweetheart was indeed good, but compared to A Nuan, she was still quite inferior.
But this person's eyebrows and eyes were so similar to Anuan's that Li Rong was momentarily dazed and actually thought that this person was Anuan. Thinking of the misunderstanding just now, he couldn't help but laugh to himself.
He then smiled and handed the portrait to Chi Heng.
Chi Heng, her face stiff, subconsciously reached out to take it, her mind a complete blank.
So, could it be that Li Rong didn't even recognize that this was his wife?
He looked at Li Rong with a strange expression for a moment, but then breathed a sigh of relief. He knew it! Li Rong's wife was a girl he married in the village. Even if Li Rong's taste wasn't bad, where in the countryside could one find a woman with such breathtaking beauty? Even if such a woman existed, Li Rong was paralyzed before, so he definitely wouldn't have considered her. He figured Chen Shu must have secretly made her look much prettier. That's why Li Rong didn't recognize her.
However, upon seeing himself in the painting, Chi Heng was quite satisfied; the painting was remarkably realistic. He indeed possessed a tall and upright posture, a refined and elegant demeanor, clearly the noble young master with the air of a prominent family.
Before Chi Heng's smile could even fully bloom, Li Rong took the portrait back.
Li Rong frowned deeply as he looked at the signature in the corner of the portrait.
"July of the twelfth year of Shengjing, in Qingquan Village?" Li Rong then examined the background of the portrait closely, his expression growing even more somber. "The house behind this portrait looks very familiar to me."
Chi Heng's heart jumped again. Looking into Li Rong's dark eyes, he stammered, "Sister! Yes, she should be your wife's sister!"
Li Rong squinted at him: "What do you mean?"
Chi Heng: "Didn't your wife tell you that she has a twin sister?"
Li Rong's dark eyes remained fixed on him: "No."
Chi Heng: "Hehe, hehe, it must be that you two haven't had a heart-to-heart talk yet. If you don't believe me, go ask them later."
Chi Heng broke out in a cold sweat, forcing a weak smile as she looked at Li Rong.
Li Rong glanced at him: "If that's the case, then we're still brothers-in-law?"
Chi Heng stared wide-eyed, swallowing hard. "That's absolutely right."
Secretly, he planned to seduce Li Rong and then destroy the portrait to cover his tracks. He would deny everything and get away with it. After all, Li Rong had never been able to remember women's faces since he was a child. Even with Zhao Xiyue, his betrothed, it took him a long time to remember her face.
However, the next second, Li Rong rolled up the portrait and stuffed it into his sleeve.
Chi Heng's eyes widened: "Hey, what are you doing!"
(End of this chapter)
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