Chapter 39 Qingyun Lychee Ice Wine.
Rong Chengzhou looked at the "tonic" his wife had thoughtfully prepared for him, and a vein on his forehead twitched almost imperceptibly.
His thin lips were pressed into a straight line, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Everything makes sense now.
No wonder he's been feeling like he has a lot of liver fire lately; it turns out it's this "ephemeral goat's nest" that's causing the problem.
Almost instantly, he connected the dots with Jiang Mingxue's strange words and actions these past few days.
"There's one thing we're compatible about."
"Your weaknesses are also your strengths."
Her secret conversations with his mother, her inexplicable kindness towards him, her unbridled flirting, and the occasional pity that flickered in her eyes when she looked at him.
......
He picked up a piece of epimedium, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the slightly grayish-green color, a surge of inexplicable emotion welling up in his chest.
It wasn't anger, but rather a complex emotion that was hard to define.
There was astonishment upon learning the truth, clarity upon resolving the confusion, bewilderment at when Jiang Mingxue had such thoughts, and a trace of loss that he himself did not even realize.
He didn't stay in the kitchen for long. In just a few minutes, he sealed all the medicine bags one by one and put them back in their original positions, so meticulously that he even restored the angle of the seal to be exactly the same.
Once everything was back to normal, he slowly closed the cabinet door, turned to his head and said, "Aunt Lian, don't tell Madam that I opened the cabinet."
"This..." Aunt Lian hesitated, unsure whether she should agree.
Although she was a servant arranged by the Rong family and had been trained by Madam Rong, she should obey the Rong family members.
But she also knew that the house belonged to Jiang Mingxue, and she dared not favor either side.
Rong Chengzhou saw her concerns and was satisfied with her reaction, which at least proved that she regarded Jiang Mingxue as the true mistress of the house.
He spoke calmly, "Don't worry, I won't hurt your wife. I will confess when the time is right. However, there are some things I need to investigate first."
Reassured by his promise, Aunt Lian said, "Okay, Mr. Rong."
Rong Chengzhou nodded slightly, took his car keys, went out, and drove towards the military compound.
Being questioned about having a physical defect is a humiliating and disgraceful thing for other men. But Rong Chengzhou is not someone who cares about other people's opinions, and this kind of thing does not cross his bottom line or his self-esteem.
Even after learning that his wife, with whom he shared a bed, had misunderstood him for over a year, he did not feel the urge to prove himself.
Instead, he carefully followed the clues, dissecting the intentions and motives of his talented wife bit by bit.
--
Jiang Mingxue's work at the clinic today wasn't heavy, so it should have been quite easy, but for some reason, her brow kept twitching.
His fingertips rested on the patient's wrist, and he lingered there for a long time.
Could it be because taking wedding photos yesterday was too physically and mentally taxing, and then choosing photos last night, causing you to go to bed late?
"Dr. Jiang."
"Dr. Jiang?"
She didn't stop until the patient called out to her.
"......Feel sorry."
Jiang Mingxue came to her senses and sincerely apologized.
Seeing her so worried, the patient couldn't help but suspect he had a terminal illness, and asked with a pained expression, "Dr. Jiang, is there no cure for my disease...?"
Jiang Mingxue quickly explained, "No, it's my fault. I didn't sleep well last night and just spaced out. You only have a common fever; a few doses of medicine will do the trick."
The patient breathed a sigh of relief, then said with a lingering sense of fear, "That's good, that's good. Dr. Jiang, you must get some rest and take good care of yourself."
Jiang Mingxue nodded and smiled: "Thank you for your concern, you too."
After the patient left, she pressed her brow, which had been furrowed with anxiety, and took out her phone to call home.
"Mom, are you, Dad, and Grandpa all home?"
Su Yun answered the phone, puzzled: "I'm here, what's up, Peipei?"
Jiang Mingxue was relieved: "It's nothing, it's just that my eyelids have been twitching all day, so I just wanted to make sure you're all safe."
Su Yun smiled and said, "It's okay, don't worry about us. Huai Jing and Yun Shu are both at the company. Just take care of yourself."
Jiang Mingxue: "Okay, sure."
After hanging up the phone, I felt half at ease.
She sent Rong Chengzhou another message:
Are you home today?
I don't know what the other person was busy with, it took them half an hour to reply.
【CZ】: Not here.
There were only two brief words, without the usual announcement of where he went.
Jiang Mingxue was writing prescriptions for a patient and didn't have time to think much; she was just happy to know that everyone around her was safe.
I replied to him after writing the prescription:
【OK. 】
The conversation ended there, and it was no different from the couple's usual mechanical chatter.
Rong Chengzhou had just stepped into the detached villa in the military compound when he received Jiang Mingxue's reply and put away his phone.
"Hey, the sun's risen in the west! What brings you here on a Monday? Did you come here just to go fishing with me?"
General Rong stood up, leaning on his cane, and said with delight.
Rong Chengzhou stopped in his tracks and replied bluntly, "No."
The old man's face instantly fell: "Unfilial descendants!"
Rong Chengzhou didn't have time to coax him, he just asked, "Is Mom home?"
General Rong deliberately turned his head away and said with a stern face, "No, he went to the beauty salon with your Aunt Song."
Before he could finish speaking, the "unfilial descendant" strode upstairs.
"You bastard! When I die, you'll be the first one to shove dirt into my coffin!"
The footsteps faded into the distance, disappearing around the corner of the stairs in the blink of an eye.
General Rong was so angry that he took his fishing rod and went fishing by the lake by himself, grumbling to himself.
After asking the butler, Rong Chengzhou went to the storage room on the third floor and found the medicine that Madam Rong had asked him to get from Yuanhe Medical Hall a year ago.
He clearly remembers that he only took a month's supply initially, and has hardly touched it since.
The only missing dose must have been prepared by his mother for him on the day he was on leave, but he didn't eat it.
Every sign was confirming his deduction and revealing the true nature of the matter.
So the medicine he was given wasn't for his mother's health, but for his own use.
Dried medicinal herbs can be stored for a long time. Madam Rong originally planned to wait until Rong Chengzhou returned from his next vacation to consume them. However, he was gone for a year, and these herbs were left unused. Now, Rong Chengzhou has found them and they have become evidence of his crime.
Unlike Jiang Mingxue's prescriptions, which were kept at home, Yuanhe Medical Clinic prepared each dose of medicine for its patients in advance. Patients only needed to take out one packet to know the prescription.
Rong Chengzhou picked out those medicinal herbs and identified them one by one.
This prescription was not written by Jiang Mingxue, so it differs from her formula.
He could recognize most of the medicinal herbs inside, including one that looked like a white, stone-like block. He used his phone's image search function to find it.
The page suddenly displayed several large characters:
"Yangqi Stone".
Rong Chengzhou looked at those words and knew what it was for without even looking at its efficacy or description.
He simply went to the clinic to get the medicine according to the prescription without carefully reading the words on it.
So this is where it all started.
No wonder Jiang Mingxue stopped him the moment she met him and wanted to marry him.
He thought it was because of the military bias against him, but the real reason was this stone.
He casually toyed with the "yangqi stone" in his hand, and after a while, he suddenly raised the corner of his lips.
I was so angry I laughed.
"Young Master, is there something wrong with this medicine?" the butler asked, standing to the side.
Rong Chengzhou lowered his brows and looked at the fifty-nine well-preserved dried medicinal herbs. His deep, cold voice seemed to be squeezed out from his throat:
"No problem, it's great."
The word "good" here has a double meaning.
He was torn between blaming his mother for taking it upon herself to treat him with an illness he didn't have, or thanking her for the unexpected marriage she had arranged for him to marry a kind and virtuous wife.
"Ah..." The butler was stunned. If he thought it was good, why did he have this expression? He was so frightened that he shivered.
Rong Chengzhou didn't explain further. He put away the other medicines, leaving the last piece of Yangqi Stone out, and instructed the steward, "No need to tell Madam."
The butler hurriedly replied, "Yes, young master."
Rong Chengzhou left the Rong family home and sent a message in the group chat he shared with Yu Feijie, Song Shaojun, and Pei Yichuan.
【CZ】: Do you ride a horse?
Yu Feijie: [Brother, you went horseback riding on a Monday morning, so you're skipping the whole week, right?]
Song Shaojun: [Isn't your sister-in-law at the clinic? Is she off today?]
Pei Yichuan: [What time?]
Rong Chengzhou ignored the messages from the two men and replied to Pei Yichuan:
【CZ】: I will arrive at the horse farm at 11 o'clock.
Pei Yichuan: [OK]
Yu Feijie happened to be off work today, Song Shaojun had turned down a client, and Pei Yichuan, being in a high position, had more flexible hours. Everyone arrived on time.
Yu Feijie noticed that he had come alone: "Hey, your sister-in-law isn't here."
In their eyes, Rong Chengzhou only had time to ride horses with them when Jiang Mingxue was around.
Song Shaojun said, "My sister-in-law probably doesn't have time."
Rong Chengzhou remained noncommittal and took the lead in walking towards the harness room.
Yu Feijie followed up: "It's almost noon, why don't we have lunch first?"
Rong Chengzhou kept walking: "I have no appetite. You guys eat first if you're hungry, don't worry about me."
"Eh..." Yu Feijie wanted to say something, but Song Shaojun stopped him.
"Brother Rong is in a bad mood today, so say less."
Yu Feijie immediately fell silent and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
Song Shaojun shook his head: "I don't know, Brother Rong is rarely unhappy."
Although I'm rarely happy, my state of mind today was clearly different from usual.
Pei Yichuan watched Rong Chengzhou's retreating figure and said meaningfully, "It's probably related to his wife."
But Rong Chengzhou didn't say why, and none of the others dared to ask.
He simply risked his life to accompany Rong Chengzhou, riding horses with him all day long, and even their lunch was shared among the three of them.
In the blink of an eye, the sky had turned orange-red, and the sun was setting in the west. Yu Feijie sat on his horse, hands on his hips, panting heavily.
"Ouch, I can't take it anymore—"
"Take a break, Rong-ge. You didn't even have lunch. Where do you get all this energy? You've exhausted several horses. My legs are practically sparking."
Rong Chengzhou finally pulled on the reins and reined in the horse. After riding for five or six hours, his chest heaved slightly. He turned around and asked, "Has no one run away?"
Yu Feijie tumbled off his horse and plopped down on the grass: "I'm not running anymore. You were on steroids today, you left me in the dust twice."
Song Shaojun also waved his hand, picked up a mineral water bottle and gulped down water: "I can't do it anymore, I can't run anymore."
Pei Yichuan was better in comparison, sitting on his horse and looking back at him: "I can run a little longer, but I'm too lazy to run with you."
He remained silent all afternoon, his conversations were lukewarm, and all he knew was that he was driving a mad horse and beating them, which was why no one wanted to run with him.
After saying that, he dismounted and leaned against the railing of the pavilion: "How is it, Colonel Rong? You've been riding all day, have you figured it out yet?"
Rong Chengzhou glanced at him, said nothing, and slowly put away the reins and dismounted.
Pei Yichuan laughed, glanced at his watch, and continued to add fuel to the fire: "It's already 5:30, aren't you going to pick up your wife from get off work?"
Yu Feijie and Song Shaojun simultaneously stopped drinking water, looked up in disbelief, and gave him a thumbs-up in perfect unison.
Warriors!!!
Rong Chengzhou frowned, pondered for a few seconds, and finally took out his phone to call the butler, then sent a message to Jiang Mingxue:
【CZ】: I'm out with friends tonight, I'll have the housekeeper pick you up.
Upon hearing his instructions to the housekeeper, Yu Feijie clicked his tongue and said, "Indeed, love is the most fleeting thing. Yesterday he was showing off his affection on social media, and today he's dumping his wife on someone else."
Song Shaojun warned him with a forced smile, "Be careful, Brother Rong might ride his horse over your corpse later."
Yu Feijie quickly shut up.
Rong Chengzhou listened expressionlessly, revealing no emotion.
He handed the horse to the apprentice and went back to the harness room to change his equipment.
Pei Yichuan caught up from behind and patted him on the shoulder: "Let's go to Jingyunhui for a few drinks tonight?"
Before Rong Chengzhou could speak, Yu Feijie interjected, "Brother Rong doesn't drink, so why is he going to Jingyunhui?"
Pei Yichuan simply said in a calm voice, "It's up to you whether he goes or not."
Several people's eyes simultaneously focused on him.
The man in black knight's attire tensed his jaw, remained silent for a moment, and slowly uttered a single word:
"go."
--
Jiang Mingxue got off work at five o'clock today, but she hadn't seen Rong Chengzhou's car. She guessed that he must have had something come up and couldn't make it, so she didn't urge him and just sat in the lounge and waited for him quietly.
Half an hour passed and he still hadn't appeared. Instead, they received news that he couldn't make it.
Jiang Mingxue didn't think much of it and waited in the lounge for a while longer.
The military compound was quite far from Yuanhe Medical Clinic, and she waited for almost half an hour.
Yan Ze hadn't left yet. He handed her a glass of warm water: "He didn't come today?"
Jiang Mingxue accepted the gift and thanked him, saying, "Yes, Chengzhou has something to do today."
She can drive herself, but recently Rong Chengzhou has been driving her around. She only drives her car to Songyunting and then stops driving it back, so she has to wait for the housekeeper to come.
Yan Ze's expression turned colder, but he still spoke softly: "I'll take you."
Jiang Mingxue smiled lightly: "No need, Chengzhou sent the butler, he'll be here soon."
Yan Ze didn't say anything more, and stayed with her until the Rong family's butler came to pick her up before leaving the clinic.
Jiang Mingxue returned to Songyunting, ate alone, took a bath, and Rong Chengzhou still hadn't returned.
It was only 8 p.m., still early, but I still sent him a message:
What time will you be back tonight?
Rong Chengzhou replied to her ten minutes later:
【CZ】: Is there something you need?
[Jiang Mingxue]: No, I just wanted to see what time you'd be back. If you're back early, I'd like you to bring me a glass of lychee iced wine.
【CZ】: Tomorrow, I might not be back tonight. Go to sleep if you're tired.
Jiang Mingxue was puzzled and felt that he was talking strangely today.
But looking at the indifference revealed between his words, he seemed no different from usual.
After thinking about it for a long time without figuring it out, I finally put down my phone and went to my study to read.
She doesn't need to prepare the medicine tonight, so she has more time to study.
It was past ten o'clock in the blink of an eye, and Rong Chengzhou still hadn't returned.
Jiang Mingxue didn't wait for him any longer, turned off the light, and went to bed.
It was only when I was lying in bed that I realized for the first time how big this two-meter-long bed was; no matter how I turned over, I couldn't fall off.
I touched the side of the bed; it was no longer as hot as usual, and I felt a strange emptiness in my heart.
She withdrew her hand, suppressing the inexplicable emotions in her heart.
It's probably because it's not used to having something to hold.
She still needs to ask Rong Chengzhou to buy a few more cushions so she can use them when he's not home.
--
Meanwhile, in the opulent private room of Jingyunhui, empty wine bottles were scattered all over the floor.
"No, I can't take it anymore... hiccup—" Yu Feijie had thought that he would be in a good mood at drinking parties after his disappointment at the horse farm. He was sure he could take advantage of the drinking to deflate Rong Chengzhou's arrogance, since he rarely drank.
Unexpectedly, Rong Chengzhou had an amazing alcohol tolerance, and he was the first one to be drunk.
"Brother Rong is acting strangely today, so strangely! Has he been possessed by something? He's not even human!"
Song Shaojun patted his round belly, his face already flushed: "If I had known, I wouldn't have turned down the client. This is simply losing money and suffering for nothing."
Pei Yichuan was still relatively sober and snatched the glass from Rong Chengzhou's hand: "Alright, stop drinking. You've almost finished the wine."
Rong Chengzhou let him take it away, and for the first time his posture was not so upright. He leaned back and slowly rested on the sofa.
Pei Yichuan: "What exactly happened? You still don't want to say?"
Rong Chengzhou's face was tense, but his eyes, which had been drinking, held a glint of light.
It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about it, but that he couldn't.
How can he explain to others that his wife and mother both thought he had a physical defect and conspired to trick him into drinking a month's worth of medication for impotence?
He himself found it absurd, let alone his friends.
Finally, she pursed her lips, her voice sharp, and suddenly asked, "Do you think Jiang Mingxue and I are a good match?"
Song Shaojun: "A soldier and a doctor, they make a good match."
Yu Feijie was sprawled out on the sofa, almost asleep, and mumbled with his fingers outstretched, "How could we not be a good match? We're a perfect match, a match made in heaven!"
Pei Yichuan laughed: "Why are you only asking this now? Wasn't it you who insisted on getting the marriage certificate on the spot without reporting it, and even took a big demerit for it? You even gave up the Golden Helmet. Shouldn't you know this best yourself?"
Rong Chengzhou sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, his long, slender fingers playing with the white stone he had brought from the Rong family, his eyes lowered as he pondered something.
He initially thought so too.
The soldier and the doctor are compatible in terms of profession, personality, views on marriage, and family planning, and both are trying to avoid pressure from their families to get married.
That's why he agreed to get the marriage certificate even though he knew he would be punished, because he didn't have much time and couldn't wait to come back next time.
The punishment and the golden helmet were nothing to him; he did not regret his decision.
But after discovering Jiang Mingxue's secret today, he felt somewhat lost.
He rode a horse all day and drank all night, but he only thought about one question.
He wasn't thinking about how Jiang Mingxue usually viewed him, nor was he angry because he was misunderstood.
Instead, they were thinking—
How much of what she said that day was true?
He asked her why she was so good to him.
She said they were husband and wife and would spend their lives together, so she hoped he would be healthy and that they would be together for a long time.
One man's meat is another man's poison.
Rong Chengzhou felt as if something was blocking his chest, and instinctively reached for the wine, but couldn't find it.
Pei Yichuan: "Stop drinking. How are you going to go home reeking of alcohol?"
Yu Feijie was already out of his mind and was rambling incoherently: "Then let's not go back. I've said it before, it's common for couples to quarrel. Only brothers are the most reliable. Look at how early Rong-ge got married. It's not as comfortable as us being single."
Rong Chengzhou didn't refute him, but only raised his hand to look at his watch.
It's already 10:30 pm.
Then he looked down and tapped a few times on his phone.
Pei Yichuan thought he wanted to order drinks and reached out to stop him, but he couldn't.
"What are you doing? Trying to drink yourself to death here?"
Rong Chengzhou lowered his eyes and remained silent, operating his phone for half a minute before putting it away.
Looking at his somber expression, a terrifying thought flashed through Song Shaojun's mind, and he slapped Yu Feijie hard beside him:
"Oh no, it's all your fault for talking nonsense. Brother Rong isn't planning on getting a divorce, is he?"
Yu Feijie instantly snapped out of it: "Huh?! No way?! I was just saying it casually, Rong-ge, don't be impulsive! Pei-ge, you have to talk him down!"
Pei Yichuan leaned back on the sofa, only noticing his phone screen when he put it away, but smiled without saying a word.
Two minutes later, Rong Chengzhou received a notification from his phone that a designated driver had been arranged, and he got up on his own.
"Better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage." Yu Feijie was terrified, nearly losing her soul, and cried out in panic:
"Hey, Rong-ge, what are you doing in the middle of the night?"
Rong Chengzhou opened the door, his broad, tall figure striding out, his deep, mellow voice echoing against the upholstered walls of the private room:
"Go buy some lychee ice wine."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
