After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 32.1
Chapter 32: First Banquet Attendance
Ruan An looked up helplessly towards Huo Pingxiao.
Before the opening of the medical hall, the two had agreed not to disclose their relationship publicly.
Thus, in front of Li Yifang, her identity was that of the bell doctor Ruan Shi, not Huo Pingxiao’s cousin and wife, Fang Shi.
However, this identity as “Miss Ruan” seemed inseparably linked to the Marquis of Dingbei. Others believed that Miss Ruan was not like the usual concubines but was Huo Pingxiao’s confidante outside the manor.
Thinking of this, Ruan An slightly pursed her soft lips and said seriously, “Mr. Li is the last patient of the medical hall today. After I diagnose his pulse, I will examine the Marquis.”
Ruan An had previously made it clear to Huo Pingxiao that although most of her patients at the medical hall were women and children, she occasionally treated male patients. However, she would only touch their wrists during diagnosis, avoiding any suspicion for more private ailments.
Huo Pingxiao had agreed, and Ruan An did not want him to interfere too much with her medical consultations.
After Ruan An finished speaking, Huo Pingxiao did not reply.
The man’s oppressive gaze lingered on Li Yifang, emitting a subtle ferocity. His black eyes harbored threats and dominance, resembling a lone wolf targeting its prey.
Li Yifang, though not afraid of Huo Pingxiao’s power, felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze but still planned for Ruan An’s sake.
Ruan An was somewhat at a disadvantage in front of Huo Pingxiao, the overbearing king. Li Yifang, fearing Huo Pingxiao might trouble her after he left, suggested, “Marquis, why don’t we step outside and talk?”
Huo Pingxiao scoffed coldly and questioned, “Are you really sick or not?”
Li Yifang was momentarily speechless and uneasy under his aggressive questioning.
Meanwhile, Ruan An sensed the increasingly tense atmosphere between the two men.
Li Yifang happened to visit her medical hall that day, and Ruan An planned to explain her relationship with Huo Pingxiao and her sudden disappearance last time.
Unexpectedly, Huo Pingxiao also visited her medical hall in the evening, creating a scene as if catching an affair.
It seemed she needed to clarify things quickly to Huo Pingxiao. Li Yifang was not her fiancé, and the supposed fiancé, who was to become the Prefect of Jingzhao, was a fiction from her early years.
What a coincidence…
Ruan An sighed helplessly.
Recently, Li Yifang heard about the Marquis of Dingbei marrying Fang Shi’s cousin. The child born from that union should be Ruan An’s son, Ruan Xi.
Li Yifang had been searching for Ruan An for over a month, even taking leave from the Jingzhao Mansion to visit Jiazhou, but to no avail.
He hadn’t expected Huo Pingxiao to settle her in this medical hall.
From Ruan An’s attitude towards Huo Pingxiao, Li Yifang deduced that their current relationship was somewhat romantic, but Huo Pingxiao, relying on his status, was unwilling to give the girl any formal status.
The more Li Yifang thought about it, the angrier he became.
Had he known this, he would have cast aside his useless pride and expressed his feelings to Ruan An before she left Chang’an, asking her to be his wife.
He could have dealt with his mother’s disapproval later. It would have been better than Ruan An’s current situation, where she didn’t even have a proper status.
Thinking of this, Li Yifang finally spoke up, not willing to show weakness, and questioned Huo Pingxiao: “The Marquis of Dingbei slandered me at the city gate, accusing me of keeping a mistress outside and having a lack of private virtue. May I ask, what is your relationship with Miss Ruan now?”
“It has nothing to do with Mr. Li, I advise you to mind your own business.”
Huo Pingxiao’s voice was deep, and he looked at him coldly.
The righteous posture that Li Yifang displayed seemed hypocritical and false in Huo Pingxiao’s eyes.
—”Stop arguing, there is a misunderstanding here, let me explain…”
Ruan An tried to stop their quarrel, but Huo Pingxiao interrupted her, speaking in a low voice: “We’ll talk about this after outsiders leave.”
The ‘outsider’ he referred to was naturally Li Yifang.
Li Yifang realized that Huo Pingxiao was asserting his authority with his every move, confirming his relationship with Ruan An.
Yes, after all, they had a child together.
Seeing a fleeting sadness in Li Yifang’s expression, Huo Pingxiao’s tight lips gradually relaxed.
In a moment, the man’s demeanor changed from thinly-veiled anger to mocking scorn, and he mockingly asked him: “By the way, I heard that recently Mr. Li has been frequently visiting Pingkang Alley while patrolling Chang’an, haven’t you?”
Pingkang Alley is where the Qinliu Chu Pavilion gathers.
Li Yifang suddenly looked up, only to see Huo Pingxiao meaningfully locking eyes with Ruan An.
The man seemed to be silently telling her, perhaps this Mr. Li suddenly contracted a venereal disease and came here to seek your treatment.
“Patrolling Pingkang Alley is part of my official duty.”
Li Yifang immediately explained, also looking towards Ruan An’s bewildered eyes, hoping she would not misunderstand his visit to such a place.
“Yes, official duty, but I guess, Mr. Li, while patrolling Pingkang Alley, you must have visited a few brothels and seen the top courtesans, right?”
“You…”
Li Yifang, who was dedicated to serving the public, really did not expect Huo Pingxiao to be so vile as to slander him for visiting such places.
He had often heard of Huo Pingxiao’s ferocity and toughness on the battlefield, but he did not expect his tactics against a love rival to be so cruel and ruthless.
After Huo Pingxiao said a few words to anger Li Yifang and make him leave, Ruan An’s face also showed some anger.
She naturally did not believe Li Yifang would visit such places and decided to take this opportunity to explain her relationship with Li Yifang to him.
“Lord Huo, my relationship with Li Zhao…”
“I don’t like you touching his hand.”
Huo Pingxiao stared at her eyes, suppressing the restlessness in his heart, trying to keep his tone calm, and then ordered Ruan An: “Don’t touch him in the future.”
Ruan An knew that this man occasionally showed a very dominant and overbearing side, but now, he wouldn’t even let her finish a sentence.
The tone he used to talk to her was like commanding a subordinate soldier, full of prohibitions.
“Do you speak to your benefactor in such a tone, Lord Huo?”
Ruan An looked at him indignantly, her tone unusually sharp, and questioned: “You’re being too unreasonable.”
Huo Pingxiao was slightly taken aback, and after a moment, the man leisurely met her gaze again.
Ruan An originally disguised herself as a kind and gentle old lady. However, when she got angry, her expression looked somewhat comical.
At this moment, the lady had lost the softness and sweetness she had as a wife in the Marquis’ residence. Her demeanor had become more pungent and stubborn.
The familiar appearance of his delicate wife was nowhere to be seen.
Looking at Ruan An like this, Huo Pingxiao couldn’t describe what he was feeling, only feeling as if something had pricked his heart.
That thing was not a sharp, pointed needle, but more like a feather with uneven edges, tickling him.
Men are born proud and haughty, naturally disliking blandness. This feeling, instead of being distasteful to him, seemed fresh and interesting.
Even stimulating.
Huo Pingxiao looked at Ruan An with amusement and asked indifferently, “Tell me, what did you see in that ‘big kid’ before?”
“Big kid?”
Ruan An was confused and asked.
—”Isn’t Li Yifang just his mother’s big kid? He’s in his twenties, older than Huo Xi, but still clings to his mother.”
The man’s tone was harsh, each word deliberately slandering Li Yifang.
Ruan An blinked several times, remembering the attitude of Li’s mother towards her.
But then she felt that what Huo Pingxiao said seemed to make sense.
“Such a man, no good.”
After saying this, Huo Pingxiao looked at Ruan An’s eyes again, feigning sighs, and added, “The person you liked before, even less so.”
The man’s eyebrows and eyes were handsome, and his tall and upright figure cast a shadow on the ground, seemingly immersed in this role-playing game.
Seeing him like this, Ruan An reminded him unhappily, “It’s getting late, Marquis Huo should go back to the Marquis residence to accompany your wife and children.”
Huo Pingxiao’s eyebrows slightly raised.
Fortunately, Ruan An still remembered she was a married woman.
He leisurely replied, “Yes, I should go back to accompany my wife.”
Huo Pingxiao left the medicine hall before Ruan An.
Ruan An, along with Tian Jiang and Tian Ya, checked the accounts of the past few days. When she finally left the medicine hall, she looked up to see that a blackwood plaque with the words “Ping An Hall” was hung above the door, not knowing when it had been placed there.
The writing on the plaque was bold and forceful, the brushstrokes distinct and powerful. To Ruan An, it was all too familiar—it was personally written by Huo Pingxiao.
He had chosen one character from each of their names, signifying peace.
The morning light shone on the brand-new plaque. Ruan An looked up, gazing quietly at those three words for a long time, her lips showing an imperceptible warm and sweet smile.
This incident today, could it be considered the first quarrel between them as husband and wife?
Not quite.
Ruan An shook her head.
This should be the first quarrel between Lady Ruan and Marquis Dingbei.