Chapter 493 Is he afraid of his sister-in-law?
Li Rong did not live in his own general's mansion, nor did he go to Chi Heng's residence, nor did he go with General Wan to his newly acquired mansion. Instead, he bought a house in the eighth alley of the capital. Although the house was not large, it was very close to the palace.
The five-courtyard house that Xuan Ting bought for them was far too ostentatious and unsuitable for their current residence. This small three-courtyard house, on the other hand, suited them perfectly. After settling Wei Ke and his party in, Li Rong rolled up his sleeves and led people to tidy up the house, figuring out how to get everything ready before A Nuan arrived in the capital.
"Huh? A new family has moved into the biggest house in this alley?" As Li Rong was tidying up, an elderly woman from the neighboring courtyard passed by and looked over curiously. "Young man, are you also a newcomer?"
Li Rong was taken aback, then shook his head: "It's not me, it's my wife who's going to work at the Imperial Hospital in a couple of days."
The woman was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and it took her a while to react: "A female imperial physician?"
Li Rong nodded slightly in a friendly manner.
"Oh my, this is incredible! So she's also a colleague from the Imperial Medical Academy, just like my husband. There's even a female imperial physician here; she must be incredibly skilled!"
Li Rong responded, "Madam has studied medicine since childhood, and her medical skills are indeed excellent."
The aunt never expected Li Rong to reply like that. She was stunned for a while, then gave a dry laugh. She still found it unbelievable and praised Li Rong's wife for her competence several times.
Seeing Li Rong listening with a smile, she hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "And where does your husband work?"
Li Rong remained gentle: "I am but a commoner. I am here to accompany Madam to her new post."
The aunt was stunned. She never expected that the young man, who looked like a dragon among men, would say such a thing. After a long pause, she finally managed to say, "You...you are really very thoughtful and considerate. No wonder your wife is so amazing."
The aunt herself felt a little uncomfortable with the praise, and then gave an awkward smile.
“My thoughtfulness and attentiveness are no match for your wife’s. You will know this when you meet her in the future, Auntie,” Li Rong said, seemingly unconcerned.
The auntie paused for a moment, then said a couple more dry words before replying.
After walking quite a distance, she couldn't help but turn back to look at Li Rong. Then, she went out of the alley with three or five middle-aged women who were waiting for her. They talked about something, and the women kept glancing in Li Rong's direction.
Although these houses in the Eight Great Hutongs were three-courtyard houses, they were smaller than the usual three-courtyard houses. Most of the residents were people who served in the palace year-round, including officials from the Imperial Medical Academy, the Bureau of Imperial Sacrifices, or other respectable officials from the manufacturing workshops. The houses were close to the palace, with just the right amount of space; they weren't exactly wealthy, but they were certainly not destitute either, and they could even save some money, so it was quite nice.
Chi Heng had just carried a box over, getting covered in dust and dirt. He couldn't help but glance at Li Rong beside him: "How did you do that? What time is it now, and you still have the mood to lead everyone to clean up this house!"
Li Rong glanced at him sideways and suddenly said, "I think that auntie was absolutely right. My Anuan is really amazing."
"Yes, yes, amazing!" Chi Heng couldn't help but roll her eyes at Li Rong. "I've never seen a man so willing to be a good wife at home!"
The next second, Chi Heng realized she had been led astray and slammed the box on the ground with a "bang": "I'm talking to you about serious matters! You don't just want to sit here and wait to be slaughtered at Xiao Yuanshan's mansion in three days, do you?"
"I'm not trying to be mean, but with your crippled body, it would be better if you died, but don't drag your sister-in-law down with you!"
As he spoke, he frowned, "That bastard Xiao Yuanshan, is he planning to poison my sister-in-law? Should we send more people?"
Li Rong patted Chi Heng on the shoulder: "No need, A Nuan sent a letter, instructing that no one is needed, and also said that she will come to the capital the day after tomorrow."
Li Rong was taken aback, then frowned: "But why can't I settle down?"
"Don't you think Xiao Yuanshan has changed?"
Chi Heng was taken aback and looked over: "What's changed? Still as troublesome as ever, ha, you've definitely become even more annoying."
"He's probably scared too, isn't he?"
"Scared?" Chi Heng reached out and touched Li Rong's forehead, caring for him as if he were a fool, "You don't have a fever, so why are you confused? Rong, even so, you should take care of yourself."
What's there to be afraid of?
Is he afraid that if these people die, no one will be toyed with like a rat by him?
Li Rong pushed Chi Heng's hand away: "What are you afraid of? Isn't it obvious? Along the way, he sent people to assassinate A Nuan. Now that A Nuan hasn't even entered the capital, he has already started to use his methods to make me bring A Nuan to see him."
Chi Heng: "You don't actually think he's afraid of his sister-in-law, do you?"
In a daze, Chi Heng thought of Jiang Nuanzhi's face and found it all laughable.
Li Rong said calmly, "He went to great lengths to get me to take Anuan to the banquet, which means that his men didn't manage to harm Anuan at all along the way. How well did Xiao Yuanshan used to lie low? He never showed his emotions. He would never reveal his purpose to anyone until the very last moment. But we've only just arrived in the capital, and he's already so impatient. It seems that he's not so confident in his own poison anymore."
Chi Heng was stunned for a moment: "That makes some sense, but perhaps he's now in power and doesn't bother to hide it anymore?"
Li Rong: "If that's the case, then it's not necessarily a bad thing. Power always makes people lose their minds."
Then, Li Rong wrung out a rag and said, "Aheng, don't worry. Xiao Yuanshan is human too, he has his weaknesses. We're not necessarily at a disadvantage right now. Let's focus on cleaning the house, and we can discuss things more slowly when we set off tomorrow to pick up Anuan."
Chi Heng said "Oh," knowing that he was not as smart as him, so he simply stopped thinking about these messy things and said, "Alright, my sister-in-law is going to the capital, and she is probably lacking everything. I will have someone prepare it for her later."
Li Rong did not refuse and nodded to himself.
...
"Get out of the way, let me take a look!"
The next morning, Xuan Ting's carriage stopped at the entrance of the Eighth Hutong. He pushed aside the servant beside him and entered the carriage to inspect it carefully. He looked at everything from the cushions to the prepared snacks and fruits before nodding in satisfaction.
Then, anxiously calling out towards the courtyard in the alley, "Master! Are you done yet? Hurry up!"
"Here I am," Li Rong replied, then strode out the door and jumped into Xuan Ting's carriage.
The carriage slowly made its way towards the city gate. Xuan Ting felt inexplicably nervous: "It's been so long since I've seen Aunt Nuan, Baozhu, and Xiao Er. I'm so looking forward to it. I wonder if they miss me. Last time, that bastard Wang Fu dared to bully Aunt Nuan and the others. I wonder if Aunt Nuan is angry."
Before Li Rong could speak, Xuan Ting began to ramble on:
"If Aunt Nuan is angry, I will apologize to her. Master, you must speak up for me."
"It's a pity I won't be able to see Li Junping this time. But with his abilities, he should be able to pass the exam and come to the capital soon. Then I'll have him serve under me. Master, what do you think?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
