This was truly a habit that had been developed over many years, and he was so accustomed to it that it had become like a backdrop without him even realizing it.

At that time, Liu Zhenqing basically spent time with Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo. Among their three families, Huo Feihan was the only one who had a younger brother, so he would naturally take the child with him when he had time to go out to eat.

But Er-gou didn’t talk much at that time, and because he was too young to participate in their conversations, the three of them would chat while eating and Er-gou would eat by himself in a well-behaved manner.

Liu Zhenqing got a fish bone stuck in his throat many times while eating fish, and spit out blood. Li Xingruo scolded him while helping him, and also used this mistake to teach Er-gou to be careful while eating fish and to pick out the bones carefully.

Perhaps this frightened Er-gou. After that, every time Er-gou ate fish, he would pick out the fish bones first. Not only was he extremely careful, but he was also extremely fast. After picking them, he would give some to the others to eat, which was equivalent to one person picking bones and four people eating fish.

Looking back now, he felt that the three of them were simply inhumane. They had enslaved him as child labor and created side effects for the kid.

Not only did he feel sorry for Er-gou, but he had even laid a trap for himself.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he felt as if Huo Fenglie’s usually cold black eyes seemed to be on fire. A layer of dark red appeared for an instant, then was quickly hidden in the black.

He probably didn’t expect that someone would still dare to enjoy the fish meat that he, the great general of the country, had picked the bones out of himself. Was he being used as a common laborer?

Overall, it was impossible for him to guess Liu Zhenqing’s identity because of a few pieces of fish, so he calmed down quickly.

Being stared at by three people, Liu Zhenqing showed the appropriate embarrassment and panic, and immediately stood to apologize: “I sincerely apologize. This…..this is because when I eat fish at the manor, there is always a small plate of prepared fish meat without bones. I was in a daze just now and didn’t realize, so I apologize to General Huo.”

The entire private room was silent. After an unknown amount of time, a low, hoarse voice was heard. “It’s fine. Young Master Liu, please sit down.”

Imperial merchants were naturally used to more luxury, so it was normal to have such a service.

When Liu Zhenqing raised his eyes again, Huo Fenglie was icy-faced once more, and the ominous dark red in his eyes seemed to have never appeared.

Liu Zhenqing sat down awkwardly. Looking across from him, he saw He Lan giving him a silent thumbs up, while Qin Yu was looking at Huo Fenglie with a slight frown.

In the end, no one dared to touch the plate containing fish. What surprised Liu Zhenqing was that Huo Fenglie ate very little himself, so what was that pile of fish doing there?

Sure enough, hadn’t he been enslaved into a bad habit by the three of them? They were guilty of sin.

The meal was not a pleasant one. After that, Liu Zhenqing was cautious and solemn, and Huo Fenglie stopped talking. The meal ended quickly, and the group left the private room.

As soon as he came out, he heard the sound of a child running happily in the corridor of the second floor. The sound came from behind, and Liu Zhenqing tried to get out of the way. Behind the child was an adult shouting anxiously for them not to hit anyone.

In the chaos, the child fell directly in front of the four people, and a small square thing rolled out of the child’s hand directly to Liu Zhenqing’s feet. Liu Zhenqing took a closer look, and his interest was piqued at once.

Wasn’t that a Rubik’s Cube? He hadn’t seen one since he was reborn, and thought they had long gone out of style. He used to like playing with them, and……

Liu Zhenqing was about to bend down and pick it up, when suddenly a middle-aged man rolled and crawled to kneel down in front of them. He lay down in a kowtow and covered the Rubik’s Cube. His entire body was trembling, as if he had made a big mistake, and he apologized to them continuously.

The child was also frightened and started to cry, but his father held his head and made him kneel down.

Liu Zhenqing was mystified by the situation in front of him. Jin Li on the side quickly stepped forward and tugged Liu Zhenqing, signaling for him to retreat.

Not only was Jin Li’s expression bad, but He Lan and Qin Yu also looked a little strange.

“Does he want to die? How dare he let his child play with that.”

“Isn’t that the work of the treacherous minister? He loved playing with it the most and carried it with him everywhere. I heard that he would kill someone every time he played with it.”

“After the treacherous minister died, no peddler dares to sell it, and people certainly don’t dare to play with it.”

“There’s nothing to be done about a child being curious. They usually just play with it in secret, and even if they get caught by the government, the most they can do is give a warning and confiscate the thing. But now he ran into……”

The Rubik’s Cube did not exist in this world. Liu Zhenqing, who had traveled through time, had created it by memory in order to relieve his boredom. At that time, there was a wave of enthusiasm in the capital. He really liked playing with it, and especially when mulling over a problem or relaxing, he had to have something to play with in his hands.

But it was just a small toy, so it shouldn’t be so taboo. After all, even his “Liu family” could be treated peacefully.

Liu Zhenqing looked to the side, and his heart sank.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes had darkened. He seemed to be staring the wooden Rubik’s Cube to death, which froze the surrounding atmosphere.

Although Huo Fenglie said nothing in the end and walked downstairs, which seemed to prove that it wasn’t as taboo as everyone thought, Liu Zhenqing’s mood became indescribable.

Even though they had a meal together calmly, talked, and even offered a few words of favor, this could not change the fact that Liu Zhenqing wanted to ignore.

One small object tore away all concealment.

Huo Fenglie hated him. He had dug up his grave and burned his corpse. How could he not hate him?

Liu Zhenqing followed the few people downstairs, soothing himself with calm magnanimity: Forget it, let him hate. Anyway, the “Liu Zhenqing” he hated was already dead.

What else could the kid do to him? It was only a couple of days until he was sent away.

He didn’t even care about the Rubik’s cube. There were so many things he liked to play with before that he could ban them all if he had the ability, ah.

Tsk…..clearly, Er-gou had given him a Rubik’s Cube before……

He had set out to comfort himself, but the more he did so, the more depressed he became. Liu Zhenqing refused to wrong himself, so he stared hard from behind to calm down.

When they arrived at the gate, the three people watched Liu Zhenqing get into a carriage. Huo Fenglie had arranged for his men to handle the matter of him leaving the city, so this should be the last time they met.

Liu Zhenqing was not sentimental. He just saluted, thanked them, and said, “See you later.” Then he boarded the carriage.

Huo Fenglie watched the carriage leave. He felt stuffy for some unknown reason, and raised a hand to pinch his brow.

Qin Yu on the other side said: “Shall we go to Doctor Li’s place?”

He Lan asked doubtfully: “What’s wrong?”

Qin Yu frowned. “He almost had a recurrence of his old injury just now.”

Shocked, He Lan quickly took a careful look at Huo Fenglie’s eyes and said, “When did it happen?”

“While eating fish.”

He Lan suddenly realized that Huo Fenglie’s reaction had been abnormal at that time.

“No way, Brother. Just because of the fish?” He Lan said in surprise. “Aren’t the conditions for your recurrence a little strange?”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes flickered for a moment, then he said with a wave of his hand: “I’m fine. My sister-in-law left some medicine for me. I’ll leave first.”

Before He Lan and Qin Yu could speak, Huo Fenglie had already taken the reins of a horse from the waiter, mounted it, and rode off.

When he returned to the General’s Manor, he met Huo Yunci and Huo Yunqian on the path. The two seemed to be practicing martial arts. The moves were a bit strange when he glanced over, but Huo Fenglie’s mind was absent and he didn’t look carefully. When the two children saw him passing by, they quickly turned to greet him in a well-behaved manner.

“Jie, didn’t you say you wanted Second Uncle to help you try that trick?” Huo Yunqian asked in confusion.

Huo Yunci waved the dagger in her hand. “I haven’t practiced it yet. When I get good at it, Second Uncle will be caught off guard, and he’ll definitely praise me for my talent.”

Huo Yunqian looked at Huo Yunci helplessly.

Huo Yunci smiled and said: “Unexpectedly, Liu Xiaozhu doesn’t have the strength to truss a chicken, but his mind is rather bright. His last killing move was really interesting. I suppose he did it out of panic. I want to practice it and use it as my ultimate winning move!”

Huo Fenglie returned to his study with a head full of thoughts, opened one of the hidden compartments, and took out an exquisite brocade box the size of his palm.

It was called a brocade box, but it was actually a mechanism box. The mechanisms inside were complicated, with ten turns and a chain. It was a gift from a foreigner six years ago. Huo Fenglie looked at it in silence for a moment, then tried and failed to unlock it.

He put the mechanism box back into the secret compartment. Huo Fenglie lowered his eyes to conceal his emotions, returning to his usual indifferent expression. He left the study and habitually went to meditate quietly under the tree in the courtyard.

At the same time, Lui Zhenqing had returned home and entreated the Old Master to let him leave as soon as possible. When the second and third branches were notified, there was naturally a huge quarrel. Since Liu Zhenqing’s accident, many of his behaviors had been very strange, making them extremely uneasy. It was better to keep him close and watch him. Who knew what the Old Master was doing behind their backs?

Any objections were dismissed, his injuries were healed, the engagement had been canceled, and General Huo had given him his promise to get him out of the city, so what valid reason was there to keep him here?

In the end, the Old Master made his decision. Although Liu Zhenqing felt that there was no need to put his affairs in order and that he could just leave tomorrow, that would be like running away from home, which wasn’t appropriate. So according to Liu Zhenqing’s estimation, he would indeed set off on the third day. Tomorrow would be used to pack up and say goodbye to his relatives and friends, the day after that was the first day of spring and not suitable for travel, and the day after that was just the right time to go.

But what Liu Zhenqing never foresaw was that after getting through the first two days, he would fail to get through the third one.

Liu Zhenqing arranged for someone to deliver a letter to the General’s Manor, but it turned out that someone sent an invitation very early in the morning, inviting the three young masters of the Liu family to attend the First Princess’s spring outing banquet the next day.

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Chapter Fourteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixteen