Chapter 357 I Remain Unmoved

"Wang Lengran is despicable, shameless, and short-sighted. How dare he question his senior brother?"

Inside the study of Juxian Garden in the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, Xie Lingjiang spoke in a clear, cold voice:

"He didn't even use his pig brain to think that Li Zhengyan and Wei Shaoqi's group had passed through Xunyang City and lingered there for a long time, just to carry out what is now the Guizhou Uprising and look for an opportunity."

"If it weren't for the senior brother constantly dealing with them and keeping an eye on them, they wouldn't have been able to find any loopholes in Xunyang City. The one who would be imprisoned, beheaded, and whose head would be sent to several prefectures would not be Lan Changhao, but Wang Lengran, the Grand Prefect Wang."

Today, only one lamp is lit in the room, quietly placed on the desk.

The evening breeze wafted in through the open window next to it, and the flames flickered in the wind.

The orange glow made the reflections of Ouyang Rong, Li Xian, and their family on the wall sway and wobble.

After Xie Lingjiang finished speaking indignantly on behalf of her senior brother, the room fell silent for a brief moment.

Li Xian, Li Dalang, and the others turned to look at Ouyang Rong, who remained motionless.

He sat on the pearwood chair, warming his hands with a teacup that Wei Mei had just handed him, staring at the tea leaves floating on the surface of the water without saying a word.

"Of the four prefectures that produced the statues, besides Taiyuan Prefecture in the north, the three prefectures in the south were Yangzhou, Jiangzhou, and Guizhou, which were the three prefectures most affected by the central government's statue-making turmoil."

“Li Zhengyan and his comrades were resentful after being demoted, and they were looking for a greater cause and the support of the people. Guizhou was the biggest weakness.”

It was Li Guo'er who spoke. Today, she hadn't brought the cat. Instead, she leaned against the chair, her pretty face, painted with the delicate red makeup of a noblewoman and adorned with a plum blossom between her brows, slightly furrowed.

"Looking back now, Jiangzhou was actually better than Guizhou, followed by Yangzhou. If I were Li Zhengyan, I would also choose these two prefectures to start an uprising."

She paused, then pursed her red lips into a thin line:

“Especially in Jiangzhou, my father and elder brother are here.”

"During their time in Xunyang, Li Zhengyan and his men must have genuinely been unable to find an opportunity, which is why they went all the way to Guizhou to take advantage of the situation."

"Lan Changhao, Lan Changhao, was ambitious but narrow-minded, talented but lacking in insight, arrogant and complacent. In the end, he helped Li Zhengyan succeed. It was bad enough that he was stupid, but he also caused the situation in the southwest to deteriorate. He deserves to die."

"Alright, there's no point in saying all this now."

Li Dalang sighed, his face showing lingering fear:

"Fortunately, my father and I did not see Li Zhengyan at that time, otherwise we would have been in big trouble and would have been unable to defend ourselves."

Wei Mei was deeply worried:

"I'm afraid that things might still be suspicious, and Li Zhengyan might bring up the so-called 'Imperial Edict in the Belt,' which can neither be verified nor disproven. His Majesty might have doubts about us."

Xie Lingjiang raised her head slightly: "I didn't do it, that's all. I'm not afraid of their investigation. If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear. Aren't the astrologers and fortune tellers at the Imperial Observatory supposed to be amazing? They can come and investigate if they want."

Li Guo'er, who was standing to the side, lowered her head to adjust her cuffs and spoke softly:

"The important thing is not whether we did it or not, but whether Grandmother believed it or not. Public opinion can destroy even the strongest people."

Xie Lingjiang said crisply:

"The Wei family does not hold absolute power in the court. They can slander and smear us at will. My father is in Luoyang. With him, my teacher, and Uncle Shen there, the emperor will not be misled."

"Besides, Empress Wei is not stupid. She may be suspicious, but back when Uncle Li was deposed, didn't some people rebel in Uncle Li's name?"

"It was even more sensitive then, and Uncle Li was more suspected. Even Empress Wei did not give him poisoned wine, let alone now."

"No one knows a son better than his mother. Empress Wei must know Uncle Li's temperament well. He would not do, nor would he dare to do, a rebellion."

Xie Lingjiang spoke clearly, and with her slender hands, she habitually peeled a pear and handed it to a certain senior brother, saying with a firm tone:

"Moreover, as my senior brother analyzed, having Uncle Li return to the capital to assume the position of heir apparent is the most efficient option to end the conflict between Li and Wei with low intensity."

"Empress Wei must know that without conclusive evidence that Uncle Li is colluding with the enemy, a wise person would not disrupt the arrangements."

Ouyang Rong took a bite of the pear, chewed it, and said with his cheeks slightly puffed out:

“In this situation, the more mud the Wei family throws at him, the safer Uncle Li will be, because that sage knows perfectly well that this is most likely a factional attack by the two kings of the Wei family.”

Hearing him speak calmly, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Xian still looked worried, took out a letter from his sleeve, and asked with a troubled expression:

"Does Tanlang know about Wang Lengran's petition? Guo Yu from the Prince Xiang's residence has sent news from the Luoyang court that Wang Lengran has filed a complaint against me and has been communicating privately with Zhu Lingxu, the governor of Hongzhou, and Li Lou, the Prince of Teng."

"Now that these two have rebelled along with Li Zhengyan, suspicion has fallen on me. What should I do? What if the Empress Dowager really believes it?"

He was puzzled and felt that he shouldn't have been so complacent and impulsively accepted the replies from Zhu Lingxu and the Prince of Teng.

Not every olive branch should be accepted lightly; otherwise, it might become a source of trouble, just like it is now.

Upon hearing this, Wei Mei, Li Dalang, and the others immediately became worried:

"So Wang Lengran and the Wei family knew about this all along, and were just waiting for things to go wrong so they could file a complaint now, right?"

Wei Mei squinted and gritted his teeth.

Despite it being bad news, Xie Lingjiang remained completely calm.

She immediately spoke up for Ouyang Rong, who was eating a pear and couldn't open his mouth:

"The eldest brother learned of Wang Lengran's letter immediately and followed up with his own letter to resolve the matter."

"What do you mean?" Li Xian and the others were stunned.

Xie Lingjiang smiled and said, "Uncle Li, have you forgotten that Senior Brother took away the letters from Zhu Lingxu and Prince Teng?"

"That is indeed the case. What does my dear niece mean?"

"At that time, the eldest brother had already written a memorial reporting the matter in detail, and also attached letters from Zhu Lingxu and others, issuing a warning, but it was not taken seriously at the time."

"Now, I hear that the Phoenix Pavilion in the central government has found this dusty memorial in the treasury, and discovered that it was indeed reported long ago."

Xie Lingjiang smiled faintly:

"Heh, Wang Lengran has made a fool of himself. He's the one who's embarrassed now. His senior brother, who is the adjutant, has already reported this. He's only bringing up the same old tune now. Why didn't he say this before?"

"Anyone with eyes can see his little scheme, and in His Majesty's eyes, he's probably just a buffoon."

"Now the court has discovered that the eldest brother had warned Zhu Lingxu about the inappropriate relationship between him and Prince Teng, Li Lou, long ago. Uncle Shen and many other court officials have praised the eldest brother for his foresight."

Li Xian was taken aback for a moment, then his face lit up with joy.

Wei Mei and Li Dalang also breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Guo'er had been facing Ouyang Rong with her face turned to the side since she entered the room. Now, hearing that someone had silently regained the upper hand, her expression remained unchanged, but she couldn't help but glance at him, who was indifferent to praise or criticism.

Li Xian looked at Ouyang Rong with eyes full of admiration:

"It is thanks to Tanlang's foresight and foresight that we were able to take precautions; otherwise, our situation would have been much more serious and dangerous."

Ouyang Rong shook his head: "It was just a coincidence. I didn't expect it to actually work. It was an unexpected stroke of luck."

Li Xian patted the back of his hand and said sincerely, "My dear, please don't be modest."

When Wei Mei, the Princess Consort of Xunyang, saw him put down his teacup, she immediately stepped forward and gently poured him another cup of tea.

Ouyang Rong immediately stood up, but Li Dalang pulled him down: "Why are you being so polite, my lord?"

Wei Mei smiled and said:

"What Dalang said is right. We are all family. Serving tea is something that women do. It's just that Guo'er is lazy and is the youngest. She should be the one to do it. Ah, what can I do? I gave birth to a little darling."

"Don't."

Upon hearing Li Guo'er's name, Ouyang Rong instinctively reached out to stop her.

Wei Mei and the others looked on curiously, but he couldn't explain. However, he glanced at the tea leaves floating in the steaming teacup, which looked like intestines.

Li Guo'er suddenly stood up, took the teapot from Wei Mei who looked slightly surprised, and walked over gracefully to fill his teacup.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the teacup.

Goodness, isn't it customary to fill tea to seven-tenths full when serving guests? Pouring it to the brim, almost overflowing, makes it look like you're trying to drive the guest away.

Whether it was accidental or intentional, Ouyang Rong composed himself and thanked her.

He turned to Li Xian and said again:

"Uncle Li immediately wrote another memorial, saying that he was willing to go to the capital to meet the emperor to prove his innocence."

Li Xian paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up:

"Does Tanlang mean... to take this opportunity to show his loyalty and then return to the capital?"

"That's right."

Ouyang Rong nodded:

"Furthermore, like Prince Xiang, I hope to receive a surname bestowed by His Majesty."

Li Xian hesitated, unable to swallow her pride: "This... isn't quite right."

"You can submit your memorial like this first. Whether it will be successful or not is another matter. What's important is your attitude."

"I will do as you say, my lord, and write it right away."

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Li."

"It's Tanlang who has worked hard."

Ouyang Rong suddenly asked, "Wang Junzhi, has your uncle seen him recently?"

Li Xian quickly shook his head, saying awkwardly, "I haven't seen you for the past two days."

"Let's talk less."

"What Tanlang means is..."

"This person has a close relationship with Li Zhengyan. At this sensitive time, it's best to avoid contact with him."

"good."

...

For the next few days, Ouyang Rong dutifully went to the Jiangzhou main hall to take his duties every day.

Meanwhile, we await the court's response.

Xie Lingjiang and Yan Liulang noticed that he had an optimistic attitude.

However, during this period,

Having been tricked by Ouyang Rong's memorial, Wang Lengran began to interfere in the official affairs of the Jiangzhou government and subtly sidelined Ouyang Rong.

It seems they were worried that Ouyang Rong would defect to the enemy, join forces with the rebels in Hongzhou, and surrender the city to Cai Qin.

Many officials in Jiangzhou could sense that the conflict between the two chief officials had become public.

Ouyang Rong was neither humble nor arrogant.

Continue to strengthen the defenses of Xunyang City and increase the inspection efforts on passing ships at Xunyang Ferry.

On this day, Ye Weilai suddenly told Ouyang Rong that the flower pots on the wall of Zhenguang Street had been replaced.

Qin Heng has something to ask me to see.

Inside a private room on the third floor of Yunshui Pavilion.

Ouyang Rong and Qin Heng met again.

The atmosphere was silent.

The two looked at each other.

The affair between Cai Qin and Li Zhengyan has almost declared that the drifting officer Su is beyond redemption.

Qin Heng glanced at Ouyang Rong, a hint of guilt in his eyes.

"I heard that Wang Lengran is ostracizing Chief Secretary Ouyang and intensifying his surveillance of the Xunyang Prince's Mansion."

He suddenly spoke.

"It's alright." Ouyang Rong smiled and waved his hand in a relaxed manner: "General Qin, there's no need to worry."

"Currently, the Zhechong Prefecture only has five hundred soldiers. I've recently sensed that Wang Lengran has tightened his control over the Zhechong Prefecture, and the garrison at the Xunyang Prince's residence is becoming increasingly vigilant..."

"General Qin, please don't overthink it."

"This token, Chief Secretary, please take it."

Qin Heng suddenly took out a token from his pocket and handed it to Ouyang Rong.

Taking the private token, Ouyang Rong asked curiously, "This is..."

Qin Heng remained calm and said, "Some of my soldiers in the General's Office see this token as if they see me. Besides, Wang Lengran is unaware that I am familiar with the Chief Secretary."

Ouyang Rong remained silent for a moment, then lowered his eyes and asked:

"What rumors has General Qin heard?"

Qin Heng shook his head and sighed, "No, but I just don't feel at ease... just in case."

Ouyang Rong hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Before they parted, he added, "If anything happens, please contact me anytime."

"good."

Qin Heng left cautiously.

Ouyang Rong sat alone in the private room, poured himself some tea and drank it by himself for a while.

His gaze fell on the small bronze token beside him.

A short while later, Ouyang Rong's figure disappeared from the third floor of Yunshui Pavilion.

They took the token.

In the following days.

Wang Lengran's suppression became increasingly severe. As the chief official of Jiangzhou, he subtly directed Ouyang Rong to gradually marginalize.

I don't know if it's a coincidence.

On this day, a military intelligence report suddenly arrived from the direction of Hongzhou.

Cai Qinjun, who responded to Li Zhengyan's call to restore the country in Guizhou, left Hongzhou City without waiting to join up with Li Zhengyan's troops heading north.

Cai Qin, Zhu Lingxu, and others are leading troops toward Jiangzhou by both land and water, their forces heading straight for Xunyang City.

Meanwhile, the imperial army was still on its way from Yangzhou, nearly ten days' journey away.

The situation in Jiangzhou instantly became tense.

Wang Lengran stopped pretending and immediately intensified his intervention and interference in the Jiangzhou Hall.

They began to openly "guard against" Ouyang Rong, who might be colluding with the enemy.

For example, things that Ouyang Rong had previously prepared and worried about, such as strengthening the city's defenses, inspecting Xunyang Ferry, and the iron chains across the river.

All of it was taken away by Wang Lengran through a brutal process, taking advantage of his identity.

Ouyang Rong was almost completely sidelined.

Yan Liulang was also ostracized.

It was at this point that the absolute power of a prefectural governor was fully revealed to everyone.

Moreover, it seemed they had noticed his current predicament, where he and the Xunyang Prince's Mansion were suspected by the imperial court.

Many Jiangzhou officials who had previously subtly shown goodwill towards Ouyang Rong quietly distanced themselves from him.

Ouyang Rong experienced firsthand the coldness and indifference of human relationships this time.

However, as Yan Liulang said bitterly,

With a formidable enemy at hand, the fact that the Jiangzhou government is still embroiled in internal strife is truly disheartening.

Even with such distrust, Ouyang Rong remained calm and composed.

Every day, I would go to the Jiangzhou Hall on time and sit down to work in the empty main hall.

He would do whatever was at hand, even if it was just sitting idly and reading battle reports from the front lines, noting how much closer Cai Qin's army had gotten to Xunyang City.

Write down any opinions you have and give them to Wang Lengran, even if the latter looks wary and impatient.

Needless to say, Xie Lingjiang was indignant about this, and Li Xian's family was also worried about him and felt guilty for dragging him down.

But Ouyang Rong turned around and comforted him, calmly uttering three sentences:

If someone wants to bring you down, no matter how they try, you must not fall down yourself.

If someone tries to drive you away, no matter how they try, don't leave on your own.

No matter how someone tries to frame you, just don't die.

Li Xian, Xie Lingjiang, and the others seemed to be deep in thought.

Li Guo'er got up and silently poured another cup of tea for the person who remained unmoved.

This time it's seven-tenths full.

(End of this chapter)