Chapter 166 A Few Poems Presented

Hidden within a private flower hall in the garden.

A family with an uneasy atmosphere gathered together.

Why doesn't my brother speak?

Su Guo'er looked at Su Fu, the eldest son of the Su family, and asked directly.

Su Fu remained silent for a while, then simply shook his head.

Su Xian, who was sitting in the main seat, had just put down the scroll in his hand when he picked it up again, opened it, and looked down at it.

The patriarch of the Su family was quite fond of it, and remarked to his wife, daughter, and eldest son:

"Ouyang Lianghan's article is fluent and easy to understand, yet it is not bland. On the contrary, it has an undeniable and captivating momentum, which is completely different from the ornate parallel prose that is currently popular among scholars. It stands out from the crowd."

He stroked his beard and said, “Every time I read it, it’s like drinking cool ice in summer or brewing yellow wine in winter—it’s exhilarating and makes my whole body feel refreshed.”

Su Guo'er turned around and commented:

"Of course, it is imposing. The whole article is logically rigorous, well-reasoned, and written in one go. The author of this article must be someone who is extremely confident in his own academic views, otherwise he could not have poured out such momentum."

Su Xian pondered and nodded: "Good. Judging a person is like judging their writing. Although I have met him before, I only know him as a true talent today."

Wei Mei withdrew his gaze from the calligraphy, which was as elegant as a dragon's stroke, and nodded:

"Therefore, regardless of rank or age, wherever the Way exists, there the teacher exists... I like this sentence."

She paused, then turned to Su Xian and said:

"If we could hire him as a teacher at Juxian Garden and have him as a close confidant of Dalang, offering advice and strategies, that would be wonderful. He would be a good teacher and helpful friend, and also someone of the same age, full of youthful vigor."

"It's much better than having Dalang face an octogenarian scholar every day, creating a gloomy atmosphere. I mentioned this to you before, but you kept putting it off until now..."

"Mother..." Su Dalang couldn't help but call out when he heard his mother's evaluation of his teacher who was still on his sickbed.

Wei Mei ignored him, only glancing sideways at Su Xian.

The latter sneered.

Seeing his parents and sister pause in their conversation, Su Fu hesitated for a moment, then interjected:

“But Lianghan said it was a gift from a senior when we were students. He said he only slightly modified it before giving it to me…”

Su Fu paused mid-sentence, noticing that Su Guo'er, Su Xian, and Wei Mei in front of him all had strange looks in their eyes, casting ambiguous smiles at him, who seemed innocent.

"All right……"

Su Fu shut up, also thinking that it was probably Liang Han's humble remark, something even a fool could see.

At this moment.

Su Guo'er suddenly asked:

"Brother doesn't want Ouyang Lianghan to know about our affairs, and doesn't want him to be your advisor?"

The atmosphere immediately fell silent.

Su Fu hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Su Xian asked kindly:

"Does Dalang think Ouyang Lianghan is unsuitable? Or... do you have a different opinion that you can share with us?"

Su Fu lowered his head and said:

"Brother Lianghan is a very good friend... I don't want to harm him."

"Even without gambling, with his abilities, he has a bright future ahead of him. Why get on our little boat that could capsize at any moment, living a life of uncertainty..."

"I already feel so guilty towards my teacher... If I were to cause Brother Lianghan further..."

Su Fu paused, then shook his head to himself.

"Brother!" Wei Mei frowned and shouted, "Think carefully, are you being fair to our ancestors by saying such discouraging words?"

Su Xian looked distressed, sighed softly, and offered no criticism.

Su Guo'er lowered her eyes and remained silent. Beneath her blue skirt, one foot, clad in a pink embroidered shoe, arched and silently hooked onto the leg of the empty embroidered stool. She gently rocked the stool, lost in thought.

Su Fu mustered his courage and said:

“Mother, sister, think about it, why is Miss Xie so close to Brother Lianghan, yet she hasn’t revealed our family’s affairs to him, nor has she brought Brother Lianghan into the family?”

“I think this already says a lot… Miss Xie also feels that doing this might not be a good thing for Brother Lianghan.”

Su Xian, Wei Mei, and Su Guo'er couldn't help but look at the kind and benevolent young man in front of them, and listened silently to the end.

There was no immediate response.

The silence didn't last long.

Su Guo'er nodded slightly to Su Fu, indicating that it was perfectly acceptable, and said in a nonchalant tone:

"Alright then."

In fact, she also felt that this was just icing on the cake and unnecessary.

Currently, Su Guo'er is focusing her main energy on matters related to Donglin Temple.

Inside the flower hall, the pretty young woman with plum blossom makeup, her expression rather indifferent, withdrew her leg, placed the embroidered stool firmly, and stood up.

Before turning away, he left with these words:

“Since you have made a decision, then let’s listen to you. That’s good. You have your own opinions now.”

Seeing that even her most important younger sister had spoken up, Su Fu breathed a sigh of relief.

Sometimes in this family, the younger sister's words carry more weight than the father and mother's.

Su Fu thought for a moment, then said to Su Guo'er's departing figure:

"However, I will try to invite Brother Lianghan to your residence for your birthday banquet. It would be good if your birthday was a little more lively."

"Whatever."

Su Guo'er waved her hand dismissively, her tone indifferent, and her figure disappeared at the entrance of the flower hall.

...

The following day, in the evening.

The torrential rain that had been falling all day seemed to be coming to an end, with only a light drizzle in the night.

Ouyang Rong put down his oil-paper umbrella outside the courtyard, rested the tip of the umbrella against the wall, shook it left and right, leaned the umbrella against the wall, and stepped into the gate.

He brought some fruit to "visit" Mr. Yuan, but he still didn't go into the inner room, stopping in the front hall.

"Brother Lianghan, you've arrived!"

After giving him the medicine, Su Fu hurriedly came to the front hall to greet him, wiping his hands on the hem of his clothes.

"Here you go."

Ouyang Rong sat at the table, his eyes fixed on the light rain outside the door. He chewed something, his cheeks puffed out, and casually handed the basket to Su Fu, who took it and glanced at it.

"This is……"

Ouyang Rong spat out the grape skins, caught them with his hand, and nodded gently:

"Wei Lai and I picked all the fruit in the Melu Garden, except for some grapes, which are all gone now. They're all in the basket. You can take some to your teacher, and I'll take the rest to my junior sister later. She really likes grapes..."

Ouyang Rong muttered to himself as if they were having a casual chat.

Su Dalang took the basket and couldn't help but glance at Ouyang Rong's profile as he looked out at the rainy scene.

He pursed his lips and said:

"The teacher is almost out of danger, but... Brother Lianghan, won't you go in and take a look? You come every day."

Ouyang Rong shook his head:

"No, I'm afraid I'll make him faint again. I thought about it when I went back recently, and there wasn't really anything to argue about last time..." He paused, then muttered to himself, "Maybe he's reverting to his old ways. It's all because I typed too much during those arguments..."

As Ouyang Rong spoke the last few words of the sentence, his voice trailed off, and Su Fu didn't catch what he said at first:

"Ah, what did you say, Brother Lianghan? What do you mean by knocking too much?"

"It's nothing." Ouyang Rong rested his left elbow on the table, caught the grape skins with his right hand, and turned to smile.

Inside the inner room, an elderly man lying on his bed with his eyes closed but his ears perked up heard the faint voices coming from the front. He blushed slightly and let out a soft "humph."

In the front hall, Su Dalang sat down with Ouyang Rong and turned to ask:

"What have you been busy with lately, Brother Lianghan? Are you still keeping an eye on the Liu family?"

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong's expression turned slightly serious, and he shook his head, saying:

"Junior Sister is keeping an eye on the case left behind by Liu Ziwen, as is the Liu family. I've been tracking the water level of Yunmengze upstream these past few days, and the situation I've recorded is not good."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Ouyang Rong rubbed his face, pointed upstream in the direction of Butterfly Creek, and said in a slightly tired tone:

"This last wave of rain during the plum rain season is larger and more severe than expected. The water level at the water level markers along the Digong Gate has reached the danger line."

"Except for the last sunny day off, the rain has never stopped, with both heavy and light rain... This is not a good sign."

Ouyang Rong sighed.

"I need to go to Di Gongzha again tomorrow."

He couldn't help but rub his face and mutter to himself:

"This is the last hurdle. Surely they won't give me a big 'surprise,' right? If they do, it would be too melodramatic."

Su Fu looked at the young county magistrate in front of him who was muttering words he couldn't understand, and chuckled.

The eldest son of the Su family encouraged him:

“It’s alright, Brother Lianghan. You’ve done your best. Human effort can overcome anything. If I were God, seeing how hard Brother Lianghan is working to control the floods, and how united the people of Longcheng are under his leadership, I would never have the heart to destroy it again.”

Ouyang Rong nodded and glanced at Su Fu, who was quite good at comforting people.

However, he still turned back to stare at the sparse rain outside and muttered something:

"The water is rising...the water is rising...is it still rising...then besides the Di Gong Sluice and the Zhe Yi Canal, we really need to requisition some extra large boats. If all else fails, we can borrow them from Jiangzhou City."

"Oh, right, we also need to notify all the residents of the county of the warning. The suggestion that Ashan made before was quite good. We need to find a high place to build a shelter in advance. If it's high ground, like the Donglin Temple area of ​​Dagushan, that would be good..."

Seeing that Ouyang Rong was lost in thought and muttering something he couldn't understand, Su Fu didn't disturb him or ask any questions.

A short while later, Su Fu seemed to see his friend beside him let out a long sigh, as if he had come to his senses.

He smiled and said:

"Oh, right, there's something I forgot to tell you, Brother Lianghan. My younger sister's birthday is in a few days. Brother Lianghan, would you have time to come to our mansion for a meal, so we can all get together and celebrate?"

“Uh…” Ouyang Rong smacked his lips slightly, glanced at Su Fu, and then looked outside the door.

"What's wrong with Lianghan? Is something amiss?" Su Fu asked, noticing Ouyang Rong's somewhat strange expression.

"fine."

Ouyang Rong shook his head.

Actually, his junior sister had mentioned this matter to him a couple of days ago. He had been visiting the Su residence frequently these past few days, so he naturally saw the Su family maids who were decorating the house with lanterns and streamers.

However, when his junior sister invited him before, Ouyang Rong didn't say much. After all, it was just his junior sister's best friend's birthday party, and it was a bit far from him. There was no need to go and join in the fun. If someone who didn't know saw it, they might misunderstand and think he had some ulterior motive for going there.

But right now, it was Su Dalang who personally invited him. As the elder brother, his invitation carried a different weight.

Seeing the hesitation on Ouyang Rong's face.

Su Fu waved his hand and shook his head indifferently:

"It's alright, it's fine if you don't have time. I was just asking. The important matters at the county office are more important. Brother Lianghan, there's no need to blame yourself if you can't go."

“Not entirely…” Ouyang Rong shook his head and asked in a low voice, “Um, may I ask if there were many people at your sister’s birthday banquet?”

Su Fu thought for a moment and nodded: "At that time... there might be quite a lot."

Ouyang Rong nodded, his expression showing no surprise.

After all, he had heard from his junior sister that this young lady of the Su family held an extraordinary position in the family, so it was normal for the old master Su to dote on his daughter with great pomp and circumstance.

Ouyang Rong immediately lost all interest in going to join the fun.

Firstly, Ouyang Rong doesn't really like this kind of banquet. If he goes and can't sit at the children's table, wouldn't he have to keep toasting and drinking all the time?

Secondly, there was that time when I accidentally walked downstairs from Su's younger sister's room while walking along Meilin Path, which still seems a little embarrassing to think about now.

Thirdly, as the magistrate of a county, he must treat all citizens of Longcheng equally, except for personal relationships. Even if the Su family has a good relationship and many goodwill towards the eldest son and junior sister, they must avoid suspicion.

Ouyang Rong shook his head.

Besides that, there is actually another small factor.

After delivering the fruit and bidding farewell to Su Dalang yesterday, he vaguely sensed that something was amiss with the Su residence; its origins seemed rather unusual…

He is destined to return to his hometown; it would be wise for him to stay out of it.

This is also the reason why Ouyang Rong has been living a regular life these days, going out early and returning late, going between the Sika Deer Park, the county government office, and the Di Gong Gate.

Now he fears that if something unexpected happens, he might be forced to get involved in other things, which would deepen his ties with this world.

In response, Ouyang Rong even restrained his impulse to take the opportunity to redistribute land and reorganize the equal-field system in Longcheng County after dismantling the Liu family during the "land reform" a few days ago, and did not meddle in other people's business.

At present, Ouyang Rong's eyes are only on flood control, and he only wants to deal with the possible floods.

He had already collected all 10,000 merits needed to exchange for the great blessing of the Pure Land Palace, and even had some left over.

So now all he has left is the same obsession he had when he first came down from the mountain to take up his post as county magistrate: disaster relief and flood control.

Regarding bonds, we should deal with the existing bonds as much as we can.

As for new bonds, let's not have them.

Su Fu turned his head and asked, "So, Liang Han still doesn't want to come?"

As if in a state of profound tranquility, Ouyang Rong, his mind utterly drained, hesitated slightly:

"No one doesn't want to come..."

Actually, they just didn't want to come.

He suggested tactfully:

"Well then, we'll see how things go. If I have time, I'll definitely attend the banquet. But if I'm too busy with official duties at the county office, or if something unexpected happens and I really can't get away, then please forgive me, elder brother and your sister, what do you say?"

After listening to Ouyang Rong's long string of sincere words and looking at his friend's earnest expression, Su Fu was momentarily speechless.

Su Dalang really wanted to say, "Brother Lianghan, you don't need to be so gentle and roundabout. Even if you can't come, my sister won't care."

A-mei is always preoccupied with her thoughts, and sometimes even her family members can't guess what she's thinking. It's likely that her birthday banquet, which seems very important to outsiders, is just a trivial matter to her.

However, these are the kinds of truths that are not convenient to tell one's close friends.

Su Fu readily agreed to Ouyang Rong's suggestion, nodding directly: "No problem."

The two chatted for a while longer before the young magistrate, carrying grapes, got up to take his leave.

Just before stepping out the door, Ouyang Rong suddenly stopped, lowered his umbrella, and turned back with a smile:

"Even if you can't come, your heart can still be kind. But you know me, my brother, I'm so poor that all I have left is a white-haired maid, who has a great appetite... How about this, since I have nothing else, I'll just offer you a poem, how about that?"

Su Fu was taken aback, then teased, "Let me guess... Hmm, was this poem also given to you by a senior when you were studying? Or is it just being passed on?"

"Even the eldest son can answer the questions now..."

Ouyang Rong smiled sheepishly, "A long time ago, I occasionally heard people mention some of your sister's hobbies. She might like this poem..."

Su Fu didn't pay much attention and nodded with a chuckle:

"Alright, I'll accept it on behalf of my sister. Thank you for your trouble, Brother Lianghan."

(End of this chapter)