Chapter 14 The Xie Family's Daughter Has Grown Up

Being both thin and large is a real possibility in reality.

This wasn't just Ouyang Rong's imagination; it was proven by his junior sister.

Whether the Xie family of Chenjun, a top aristocratic family in Jiangxi, were all exceptionally talented and famous throughout the Southern Dynasty, Ouyang Rong was unsure. The only thing he was certain of was that the food at the Xie family's house in Wuyi Lane was exceptionally good.

If you say that commoners cannot produce outstanding children, Ouyang Rong might chuckle and argue about bloodline and birth. But if you say that commoners cannot produce a girl like Junior Sister, then he would agree a hundredfold and have no doubt about it.

Because the nutrition of a commoner's family could hardly keep up with the junior sister's growth rate.

Ouyang Rong admitted that he was momentarily stunned when Xie Lingjiang suddenly turned around to greet the teachers.

The half-heartedness he showed the day before was nothing compared to this; this was a high-level match with real intensity... And if I remember correctly, my junior sister is only sixteen or seventeen years old.

"Why are you so slow, my dear? Have you made your junior sister wait for ages?"

With a smile, Madam Zhen entered the room and immediately questioned Ouyang Rong. However, the latter knew that his aunt was definitely glancing at Miss Xie out of the corner of her eye, and he was probably secretly very pleased.

Xie Xun said to Ouyang Rong, "The boat arrived at Penglang Ferry this morning. Your aunt picked us up and took us up the mountain. We had just entered the temple to pay our respects to Buddha. We were originally going to wait for Lianghan to come with us, but your aunt said it wasn't necessary. Since it was indeed inconvenient to delay any longer, I had Wanwan stay behind to wait for you. We went to the chanting hall to burn nine sticks of incense. You should know each other by now."

They were more than just acquaintances; they almost ended up fighting. The person, whose back was still a little sore, thought to themselves.

Xie Lingjiang seemed about to apologize: "Father, I just made a mistake..."

Ouyang Rong quickly answered, "I know her. I just saw Junior Sister Jiang... It was quite a surprise. In the past two years, I have often seen Teacher mention her in his letters. Seeing her today, it is indeed true. Junior Sister is indeed a talented young lady, and she is also eager to learn. She just came to discuss Buddhist scriptures with me."

Xie Lingjiang glanced at this "senior brother," who was answering his father's questions without blinking.

"That's good. When Wanwan went to study at Bailudong Academy, you were just setting off for Luoyang to take the imperial examination. Later, you passed the examination, mourned your mother's death, and took up your post... It's been a long time since we last met. Wanwan heard a lot about your deeds as the eldest brother at the academy. One day, she even told me that her students had three wishes before they turned twenty: first, to read all the books in her family's collection; second, to meet a true scholar."

"I dare not accept such praise." Ouyang Rong smiled. It seemed that empty fame still had some use. What use? To fool naive and artistic young girls.

"Father..." Xie Lingjiang called out, looking down as if she were a little shy.

Ouyang Rong actually wanted to hear the "fierce" junior sister's third wish, but Xie Xun smiled and stroked his beard, saying nothing more.

"So there's such a beautiful story behind it. Your daughter admires your senior brother's deeds?" Zhen Shi, who was listening in, brightened up and immediately went over to take Xie Lingjiang's hand and exchange pleasantries. She didn't forget to turn around and complain about someone on her behalf: "Hey, Tanlang, you should write more letters to your junior sister. Why do you write to so many unimportant people every day? You're neglecting your own people."

“…” Ouyang Rong.

He's now terrified that his aunt might let slip her true feelings about "family" and "daughter-in-law"...

After paying homage to the Buddha, Xie Xun and the others were going to visit a pagoda in the Pagoda Forest behind the mountain. The abbot of Donglin Temple personally received them and led the way. However, Master Shandao had not yet arrived, so the group rested for a while at Sanhui Courtyard.

Madam Zhen continued to pull Xie Lingjiang aside for casual conversation, asking about her studies, her personal life, and whether she had a sweetheart.

However, this talented woman from the Xie family, who came from the Wuyi Lane lineage, seemed somewhat resistant to being held by the woman's hand and chattered incessantly. Nevertheless, she still answered questions politely and calmly, occasionally glancing at her father and senior brother who were reminiscing at the stone table.

On the other side, Ouyang Rong had no idea what Xie Lingjiang was thinking, and he was slightly nervous at the moment.

Ouyang Rong was actually somewhat afraid of his mentor, and this "fear" was more due to his guilt.

Xie Xun was born into the Jinling branch of the Chenjun Xie clan, one of the direct descendants of the Chenjun Xie clan. The Chenjun Xie clan was one of the five surnames and seven prominent families of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and together with the Langya Wang clan, they were known as the Wang Xie clan, a truly prestigious family that had ruled for six dynasties.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, after the migration of the elite south, the Wang and Xie families co-ruled the country with the southern imperial family, wielding immense power and enjoying unparalleled prestige. Even the emperor tacitly agreed to marry only daughters of the Wang and Xie families. Later, the Northern dynasty prevailed, unifying the country. With the establishment of several dynasties, the north rose and the south fell, and the Wang and Xie families declined, barely remaining at the bottom of the list of the five noble families and seven prominent clans. In recent years, it has been said that many direct descendants of the Wang and Xie families have moved back to Guanzhong, closer to the center of imperial power.

However, in Jiangnan, the Xie family of Chenjun remained one of the most respected and prestigious families among the Jiangnan gentry.

The Xie family of Chen Commandery was a family that favored Confucianism and metaphysics. Xie Xun was known for his Confucian scholarship and once served as the Grand Master of the Imperial Academy. He was a highly respected "great scholar" among the literati. However, after Emperor Wei Zhao became emperor and changed the name of Gan to Zhou, Xie Xun resigned from his post and returned to teach at Bailudong Academy. It is said that members of the Wei family personally visited him to offer him official positions, but he politely declined.

However, Xie Xun did not prevent his disciples from entering the court as officials. When Ouyang Rong first entered Chang'an, he had a smooth journey because he was Xie Xun's disciple. This protective umbrella even made Ouyang Rong suspect that the Empress's bestowal of an official position on him was also a way to curry favor.

Furthermore, Ouyang Rong vaguely knew that his mentor had not actually renounced worldly life and settled into seclusion. The plaque in his study bore the words "Drinking Ice," indicating that his fiery passion was still hard to quell.

As for which side the Li clan or the Wei clan should stand on, it is obvious.

However, Ouyang Rong's previous remonstrance had severely offended Princess Chang Le, who belonged to the pro-Li faction. Later, it seems that it was through his mentor Xie Xun's private favor that he managed to save his "disciple's" life through a nobleman in Luoyang, only to be sent to Longcheng County, which was severely affected by floods.

So how can he not be "afraid" of being questioned by his mentor right now?

"Why didn't you send a letter to let us know when the teacher came?"

"Didn't your aunt tell you?"

"No... um, maybe it was mentioned, but I was bedridden and often felt dizzy at the time, so I misheard."

"Is your injury still serious?"

"It's alright now."

"good.

"Once you're ready, go down the mountain and take up your post immediately. Don't delay."

"yes."

There was a moment of silence between the master and his apprentice, but this was the way they interacted in their memories.

Xie Xun was the kind of person who was usually easy to talk to, but when it came to serious matters, he became a completely different person, a scholar with a stern voice and demeanor, while Ouyang Rong used to be quick-witted but taciturn.

Even when expressing concern, the master and disciple would simply exchange a question and a reply, concise and to the point. If they said something was alright, then it was alright; they no longer cared about the severity of the previous injuries—they were in the past, and they only cared about the present. Unlike the womanly pity shown by Zhen Shi.

Xie Xun remained silent for a while.

“Your teacher’s wife was a Buddhist when she was alive. I erected a stone pagoda for her at Donglin Temple. Every year during the plum rain season, I would come to pay my respects on her behalf. This year was no exception, and I brought Wanwan with me.”

"I wasn't originally planning to notify you. You've just taken office in Longcheng, so you must be very busy."

"But when we were changing between land and water in Jiangzhou, we ran into your aunt. We knew each other when they visited you at the academy before. She was in a hurry to catch the waterway and passed by in a hurry, but she told me about your drowning injury... So I brought Wanwan with me today, hoping it didn't delay your business. But I'm leaving tomorrow, so it's fine."

Ouyang Rong remained silent.

The teacher and student sat together on the stone bench in silence. Above them were light gray clouds, and behind them, the bamboo forest was occasionally swayed violently by the mountain wind. For a moment, all they could hear was the rustling of bamboo leaves, but it could not break the silence between them.

Until the bamboo forest quieted down and the dark clouds dispersed, Ouyang Rong turned his head: "Teacher, about Luoyang..."

"The host should be done with his work. Let's go and wait for him at the Pagoda Forest on the back mountain." Xie Xun shook his robe, as if he hadn't heard, and got up with a smile to greet Xie Lingjiang and Zhen Shi.

Ouyang Rong watched his teacher's retreating figure and swallowed his words.

The group headed to the Pagoda Forest and happened to run into Master Shandao, who was interpreting a female benefactor's dream and fortune. After waiting for a while, the master finished his business and led everyone to the stone pagoda donated and built by Xie Xun on the back mountain.

This pagoda is nine stories high and surrounded by green bamboo on all four sides.

During the prayer, Xie Xun looked up at the spire for a while, with Ouyang Rong behind him.

“I used to laugh at her for being superstitious. But I later realized that sometimes people really need to build a ‘tower’ where they can store anything. That way, even if they are thousands of miles away, they can feel at ease knowing that it is there.”

My condolences to the teacher.

Upon arriving at the pagoda, Xie Xun seemed to become more talkative, while Ouyang Rong chose to remain a quiet listener.

Smoke swirled at the foot of the tower.

During a break in a Buddhist ceremony, amidst the wisps of incense smoke, Xie Xun suddenly turned to him and said, "Actually, you did nothing wrong... Lianghan, I am very happy to have a disciple like you."

Ouyang Rong was speechless.

...

After the ceremony, everyone turned around and left the Stone Forest. Xie Xun and his group would stay at the temple for one night and leave after having breakfast the next day.

On the way back, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Zhen and Xie Xun walked ahead chatting, leaving Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang behind.

The two siblings walked side by side, but their arms were quite far apart.

But Ouyang Rong thought it was normal, because he didn't know if his junior sister was shy and had secretly bound her chest so tightly that it was too flat, or if her arms were too slender. If they walked too close and bumped into each other, he really didn't know whether he would bump into her chest first or her arm first...

Why did you lie, Brother Lianghan?

"Don't be disrespectful, you should call him senior brother."

Xie Lingjiang frowned slightly, looking ahead, "No need to call me that. We're not that far apart in age anyway. Let's discuss things as equals. It would be better if we addressed each other as 'brother'."

Ouyang Rong noticed that his junior sister had a habitual pout, a gesture that would normally be cute on a woman, but because of her serious expression as she stared straight ahead, it seemed... even cuter.

"Brother Lianghan, do you think a small lie is no big deal?"

"I don't know. But what my junior sister said is all right."

"Brother Lianghan, do you indulge me because I'm young?"

"no."

Why is that?

"Because my junior sister is the oldest."

"Not the same thing?"

"They don't mean the same thing."

"It means the same thing!"

"Then let's stick to the same idea."

"..."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly realized that it wasn't entirely unreasonable for her senior brother to have been kicked by mistake.

Thank you for your support, brothers. I can't repay you in any way, so I'll just try my best to update every day. The beginning might be a little slow, but give me some space, and I'll definitely write about a few interesting characters for you all~

(End of this chapter)