But Ling Jinhua did not get angry. Instead, after seriously looking at Luo Ziling, he closed his eyes and signaled Luo Ziling to treat him.
Luo Ziling said nothing more and began treating Ling Jinhua.
The treatment lasted for about half an hour. By the time it was over, Ling Jinhua was dozing off.
After covering him with a blanket, Luo Ziling went over to call Huang Chen.
Huang Chen hurriedly had Ling Jinhua’s two nurses stationed by his side.
"How’s the Chief doing?" Huang Chen asked quietly while seeing Luo Ziling out.
"Great Grandfather’s health condition is still okay. Before we head to the Northwest, I’ll find some time to come treat him once more. By then, I’ll leave him a few doses of medicine. As long as nothing unexpected happens, there certainly won’t be any issues." Luo Ziling said, then smiled.
"By the time you return from the Northwest, I probably won’t be by the Chief’s side anymore." Huang Chen’s eyes showed a faint hint of loss, "After being by the Chief’s side for so many years, it’s really hard to get used to leaving!"
"You’ve completed your gilding. Leaving Great Grandfather’s side, your future will be even brighter!" Luo Ziling looked at Huang Chen with a smile, "Perhaps it won’t be long before I can call you General Huang."
"That’s something I didn’t dare to imagine!" Huang Chen laughed shyly, "Perhaps, before I get the chance, I’ll retire!"
"Opportunities might come soon; just seize them well when they do!"
Luo Ziling’s words left Huang Chen stunned for a moment.
He understood the implication in Luo Ziling’s words.
He was also aware of the events that had transpired recently, but he had never considered that he would be involved in them.
Luo Ziling said nothing more and left directly.
After leaving the Ling Family Old Mansion, Luo Ziling went straight to Ling Mingrui’s villa.
Upon leaving the old mansion, he called Ling Ruonan.
Ling Ruonan told him she would come over later and asked Luo Ziling to go ahead first.
Xie Enhua was definitely at home, and she asked Luo Ziling to go over and chat with his grandmother.
"Is Dad coming over?" Luo Ziling asked Ling Ruonan again.
"He probably won’t have time to come today." Ling Ruonan hesitated slightly, "These days, he has many things to do and temporarily can’t leave Dragon Rise. It’s not very convenient for him to go to Grandpa’s place now."
Luo Ziling understood Ling Ruonan’s meaning and didn’t ask further.
To Luo Ziling’s surprise, when he arrived at Ling Mingrui’s villa, Ling Mingrui was already back.
The two practically arrived one after the other.
Luo Ziling was about five minutes later than Ling Mingrui.
When he was led into the villa by a staff member, Ling Mingrui had just changed into shorts and slippers.
Ling Mingrui had come back dressed very formally.
This afternoon, he had received foreign guests and returned home directly from the reception, thus wearing a suit and tie.
With the weather being very hot, wearing this at home could easily lead to heatstroke.
"You arrived?!" As he changed and walked into the yard, seeing Luo Ziling come in, Ling Mingrui greeted him proactively, "It’s still early, come play a game of chess with me!"
"Yes, Grandpa!" Luo Ziling obeyed Ling Mingrui’s instruction and followed him to a corner of the yard where the sun no longer shone.
The staff set up a chessboard for them and brought fruit, tea, and snacks before retreating.
Luo Ziling asked them not to disturb their chess game.
Thus, all the staff stayed away, and no one dared to disturb them.
"Grandpa, why did you come back so early today?" Luo Ziling proactively started the conversation, but he didn’t ask about the events of the past days.
"Nothing happened, so I returned early. It’s rare to return early for dinner!" Ling Mingrui seriously placed a piece on the chessboard and then glanced at Luo Ziling, "Only a few days a month, I can come home for dinner."
"Grandpa’s dedicated service to national affairs is truly tiring!" Luo Ziling flattered him, "Grandpa, you shouldn’t overexert yourself and should take care of your health. Health is the capital of the revolution. If you overwork yourself, our country will suffer a huge loss."
Ling Mingrui ignored Luo Ziling’s flattery and gestured for him to hurry up and play chess.
Luo Ziling hurriedly placed a piece and then asked Ling Mingrui, "Grandpa, in a few days, I have to accompany Grandpa to the Northwest to gather medicinal herbs. Is it appropriate for me to leave the Capital at this time?"
"Aren’t you going to Hengdian tomorrow?"
"You know that too?" Luo Ziling felt a bit surprised.
"Go if you want; your absence from the Capital will ease a lot of people’s minds." Ling Mingrui said, placing another piece.
"Really?!" Luo Ziling looked at Ling Mingrui in surprise, "A small character like me, making so many people concerned?"
"Don’t play coy with me; I haven’t even settled scores with you yet. How dare you scheme against me!" Ling Mingrui glared at Luo Ziling.
"Grandpa, how dare I plot against you?" Luo Ziling quickly smiled apologetically, "Please don’t scare me!"
Ling Mingrui forcefully slapped a black piece onto the chessboard and glared at Luo Ziling again, "You deliberately bullied Yan Shiliang, which forced Wu Jiangshan to jump out; wasn’t that plotting against me?"
"I didn’t!" Luo Ziling naturally did not admit his little schemes, and said with a grievance, "Yan Shiliang approached me; I thought he sincerely wanted to collaborate with me, but he had a condescending attitude, asking me to do this and that. Of course, I was upset and snapped back at him. No matter who said those things to me, I would definitely retaliate. I didn’t expect him to be so petty and to seek revenge."
"It wasn’t him retaliating; someone used this incident to try to oust your dad from Dragon Rise. Hmph, hmph, do you know, your arrogance almost got your dad kicked out before he could stabilize his position." Ling Mingrui still wore a displeased expression.
"Grandpa, I didn’t do anything wrong, nor did my dad. Why should they kick us out?" Out of some spite, Luo Ziling made a strong move, directly attacking Ling Mingrui’s territory.
Ling Mingrui frowned at the chessboard and then seriously looked at Luo Ziling, "Do you think that not having done anything wrong means everything is fine? Whether or not you did something wrong isn’t important; what’s important is whether others think you did something wrong. If influential people think you did wrong, even if you didn’t, you’re wrong; if they think you didn’t do wrong, even if you did, you’re fine!"
Ling Mingrui’s tongue-twister-like words left Luo Ziling bewildered, but he quickly understood the meaning.
"So that’s how it is!" He looked at Ling Mingrui with a bitter smile, "So what you’ve done isn’t important; what’s important is how others perceive it!"
"Wrong!" Ling Mingrui once again tapped a piece on the chessboard.
"Huh?!" Luo Ziling couldn’t react for a moment.
"The most important thing is how the aspects of what you’ve done that are known to others make them perceive you."
"..." Ling Mingrui’s words were even more convoluted and harder to understand, leaving Luo Ziling at a loss for what to say.