Feng Tingshen didn't look at Rong Ci. He gently brushed Feng Jingxin's little nose. "Daddy has things to do. Be a good girl and listen to your mother."
"I know," Feng Jingxin said reluctantly. She glanced at Rong Ci, and as she walked to her side, she reached out her hand for her mother to take.
This was her way of initiating a reconciliation.
Rong Ci took her hand, greeted the butler, and they left.
By the time they reached the Rong home, Old Madam Feng had already been there for a while. Seeing only the mother and daughter and no sign of Feng Tingshen, Old Madam Feng's expression immediately darkened. "Where's Tingshen? Busy again?"
"Yes," Rong Ci replied simply.
Old Madam Feng angrily picked up her phone to call him, but Old Madam Rong stopped her. Old Madam Rong already knew that Rong Ci and Feng Tingshen were nearing a divorce and felt there was no longer any need for him to come.
"He's busy with work, I understand. Don't force him," Old Madam Rong said.
Once inside, Feng Jingxin went upstairs to play video games with Rong Yunhe. Rong Ci stayed behind to chat with the two grandmothers.
Old Madam Feng loved the two new paintings Old Madam Rong had done. Upon learning they were painted using the Four Treasures of the Study that Rong Ci had gifted her for her birthday, she became very interested in the set.
After seeing them, she was full of praise. "What about Tingshen? Surely he didn't come empty handed?"
"He prepared something," Old Madam Rong said, though she looked displeased at the mention of him. "The emerald jewelry he sent is of excellent quality, and the embroidered piece he helped you bring over is also quite nice."
Old Madam Feng smiled. "That's more like it. It seems he actually listened to me."
Rong Ci listened without interjecting. After a while in the study, the two elderly ladies went out to the courtyard for tea.
Old Madam Rong looked at the house across the street and remarked idly, "It's strange. That house was being renovated day and night a while back, as if the owner was in a hurry to move in. Then, just recently, the work suddenly stopped."
Old Madam Feng chuckled. "Maybe something happened and they couldn't move in."
"Perhaps."
Rong Ci wanted to get rid of that house, but she worried it might end up being bought by the Lin or Sun families again. So, she had left it alone. She hadn't even gone inside to look. Because the Sun family had handled it, she had no desire to set foot in it. And so, it remained abandoned.
Just then, she suddenly sneezed, a chill running down her spine. The two grandmothers immediately voiced their concern. "Are you alright? Did you catch a cold?"
Rong Ci pulled out a tissue to wipe her nose. "Maybe."
She might have caught a slight chill the previous night, but the reaction hadn't been this obvious until now.
Old Madam Rong and Old Madam Feng had been friends for years. However, Old Madam Rong hadn't said a single word to her friend about the incident at the birthday banquet or the affair between Feng Tingshen and Lin Wu. The two of them just chatted happily about various things.
Rong Ci sat for a while before Chu Zilan called. Her friend told her that she had run into Feng Tingshen and the Lin family again. Apparently, Tingshen was having dinner with them.
"Damn it, why do I always have to witness this kind of thing?!" Chu Zilan exclaimed. "I really don't want to see it!"
She then asked where Rong Ci was.
"At my grandmother's," Rong Ci replied.
"You went back alone?"
"Jingxin and Old Madam Feng are here too."
Chu Zilan understood instantly. "So Feng Tingshen won't accompany you to the Rong family, but he's over there with the Lin family and Lin Wu?"
Rong Ci said nothing.
After hanging up, she sneezed again. Rong Ci's aunt-in-law, He Mingxue, worried she was coming down with something, brewed her a bowl of ginger soup. After drinking it, Rong Ci felt her head grow heavier, and she drifted off to sleep shortly after.
When she woke up, she realized she had a fever. It was a high one, leaving her head spinning.
Feng Jingxin leaned close, looking genuinely worried. "Mom, are you sick?"
"Yes," Rong Ci whispered.
Old Madam Feng was also very worried. She wanted to take Rong Ci back to the Feng family so their regular doctor, Elder Zhang, could examine her, claiming his traditional medicine worked faster. Old Madam Rong felt that since the illness had struck so suddenly, it shouldn't be delayed. She agreed to let Rong Ci return to the Feng Ancestral Residence to see Elder Zhang.
Back at the ancestral home, Elder Zhang arrived and prescribed some medicine. Rong Ci drank a bowl, went upstairs, and fell back into a deep sleep.
By the time she woke up again, the heaviness in her body and head had significantly lessened. She opened her eyes to see a small side lamp lit. Turning her head, she saw Feng Tingshen sitting there, reading a book.
She paused. It took her a moment to remember she was at the ancestral residence, in Feng Tingshen's room. This was where he had grown up.
Sensing movement, Tingshen turned his head. "You're awake?"
Rong Ci's throat felt uncomfortable, and her mood was equally poor. She didn't want to talk to him, so she remained silent. She grabbed her coat to put it on, intending to get out of bed, but Tingshen brought a glass of water to her. Rong Ci hesitated for a second before taking it. She didn't say thank you.
Tingshen didn't mind. He reached out to touch her forehead, but even with her heavy head, her reflexes weren't slow. She dodged him.
Tingshen's hand froze for a moment before he withdrew it. He stood up. "Elder Zhang is still downstairs. I'll have him come up to check on you."
Without waiting for her to respond, he left the room. A few minutes later, Elder Zhang, Old Madam Feng, Feng Tingshen, and Feng Jingxin all entered the room.
Elder Zhang examined her and said she was doing much better, but she needed to continue the medicine. He noted that her constitution was weak and she was harboring deep-seated stagnation in her heart, which made her prone to falling ill from a simple chill. She needed to properly nourish her body.
Rong Ci nodded as she listened.
Old Madam Feng asked, "Ci, are you hungry?"
Rong Ci hadn't eaten much at lunch before sleeping. It was nearly evening now. She was indeed hungry, but she had no appetite. However, the old lady insisted she eat something and ordered Feng Tingshen to go downstairs and bring up the food the kitchen had prepared for her.
Tingshen complied and left. A moment later, he returned with a tray of food. Old Madam Feng and Elder Zhang departed.
Tingshen, however, didn't leave. While Rong Ci ate, he sat nearby and continued reading. Rong Ci glanced over and realized he was still reading the same book she had been reading at the Hot Spring Resort. She hadn't noticed before, but he had never returned it to her.
She frowned. "You"
Tingshen smiled slightly. "I spent half an hour reading it the other day and found some of your ideas quite interesting. They gave me some new perspectives, so I kept it to flip through whenever I'm free."
Rong Ci pursed her lips and ignored him. She already had a poor appetite; now it was practically gone.
Tingshen rested his chin on his hand, watching her. "It's been so many years. Do you still not even know how to pick a fight?"
Rong Ci turned her face away.
Tingshen sighed. "Alright, I won't annoy you. Just eat."
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