Chapter 437 Hungry, I Eat My Junior Sister

The midday sun was shining brightly.

In the quiet courtyard, an empty swing sways.

In the southeast corner of the courtyard, there is a small spring that continuously emits a soft "ding-dong" sound and emits a hazy mist like a light veil, as if it were a rare hot spring, which is quite precious in this slightly chilly autumn day.

The autumn wind swept across the fallen leaves on the bluestone slabs. Although the spring was surrounded by a small circle of pebbles, leaves that bravely danced in the air would still fall into it from time to time, drifting on the warm water like little boats braving the wind and waves...

The faint sound of spring water echoed and amplified, making the atmosphere in the courtyard even more tranquil.

The fragrance of orchids lingers after a beautiful woman's bath, mingling with the scent of camphor chrysanthemums in a vase, a fragrance that even the autumn wind cannot easily dispel.

At a certain table, two figures stood side by side, their figures inseparable even in the autumn wind.

Two figures, a man and a woman.

The man is handsome and the woman is beautiful.

They were all tall and slender.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, where malnutrition was common, both of them were considered tall or slender.

If outsiders were present at this moment, and they saw the tall, slender young man and the elegant woman standing side by side at the table, they would all enviously remark, "A perfect couple," a match made in heaven...

Perhaps it was because Ouyang Rong's flower arranging skills were clumsy and inexperienced, the two people standing in front of the table would occasionally bump shoulders lightly.

As they bumped into each other, a tall, beautiful woman moved aside, creating some distance.

After the tall young man noticed, he took a step closer to her without making a sound.

They bumped shoulders again and pressed together.

She moved away again, he moved closer again, she moved away again, he moved closer again...

In the end, the tall, beautiful woman was squeezed to the far right edge of the table by the slender young man, with nowhere left to retreat. Annoyed, she turned her head and glared at him fiercely, then, as if to vent her anger, forcefully bumped his shoulder...

The tall young man suddenly fell to the ground, startling the elegant woman who immediately dropped her vase, squatted down to help him up, her face full of concern. But as she pulled him up with a close embrace, she turned around and saw a winking "smirk" that was still jumping around. She gritted her teeth in anger, pushed him away, and turned her head away, not wanting to pay any more attention to this liar.

But this rascal persisted like a leech, continuing to arrange the flowers in the vase while relentlessly pressing his body against her shoulder. Even stepping on his instep with her red rope clogs couldn't scare him away. This shameless rascal even brought his nose close to sniff, as if he had taken a liking to the orchid scent on her neck after her bath... It was both infuriating and hilarious.

In the end, Xie Lingjiang could only give in slightly with a stern face, letting him stand close to her shoulder and occasionally nudge her lightly. Not to be outdone, she would nudge his shoulder back every time. So the two of them would nudge each other back and forth, acting both childish and sulky, and also... in perfect harmony.

However, Xie Lingjiang's stern face, whether it was a normal reaction of her skin being steamed and turning rosy after a bath or something else, had a faint blush on her fair skin, somewhat like the pink of plum blossoms in early winter, which was quite beautiful.

This attracted frequent glances from Ouyang Rong, who looked at him from left to right.

"I'll beat you up if you keep looking."

Xie Lingjiang revealed two small tiger teeth.

"You're so good-looking but I can't look at you, huh? If you're so capable, then don't be so good-looking."

"Then if you're so capable, don't look."

"I'm incompetent."

"..."

Ouyang Rong grinned, causing Xie Ling and Jiang Xiang to bump him with their shoulders:

"The maid was supposed to help me arrange flowers in a vase, but you showed up halfway through, so I had to ask them to leave. You have to make it up to me by arranging chrysanthemums for me. Autumn is the season for chrysanthemums, so I need to prepare a few to take to the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet later. I've already made an appointment with Sister Qin and Sister Guo'er."

"No, I'm here, why are you telling them to leave?" someone asked knowingly. "What does Junior Sister intend to do to me?"

She was a little itchy-toothed: "Ru Liang?"

Ouyang Rong nodded without hesitation.

"Pah, shameless."

"Then I'll come earlier next time."

"If you had come earlier today, I wouldn't have opened the door for you. Dream on."

Why is that?

"Pretending to be stupid won't work, Senior Brother. Help me air out the books later. There are still some books in the room that the maid stopped working on. You stay with me this afternoon and finish them properly, understand?"

Ouyang Rong glanced at the courtyard without making a sound, taking in the surroundings.

Sure enough, there were many rare books spread out on the ground, as well as several familiar oil-paper umbrellas, which were carefully opened and placed on the ground to bask in the sun, with the poems and love words on the umbrellas faintly visible.

It was the umbrella that Ouyang Rong gave to Xie Lingjiang as a token of their affection.

The sun is shining brightly today, a rare sunny day in autumn. Junior Sister must have taken a bath and perfumed herself before going out with her maid to take out some books and items from her boudoir to air them out in the sun and remove any dampness.

Jiangzhou is located in Jiangnan, and Xunyang is near the river, so the humidity is quite high. My junior sister is very thoughtful.

"Junior Sister, what are you saying? You don't need to say it. I was going to spend the afternoon with you anyway, otherwise why would I come? Look, I've already bought chrysanthemum wine. After we arrange the flowers in the vase, we can have a few drinks."

"Oh, I hope it's not someone who's afraid of Auntie's random inspections in Xunyang, so they obediently come to scout the place regularly. Hmm, maybe seeing that it's safe, they've temporarily lost their sense of urgency and might slip away at any time. But I'm used to it."

"Ahem, what are you saying, Junior Sister? You're judging people based on limited observation. That's impossible today."

"It depends on your performance."

"After you've finished arranging these chrysanthemums, what's next? Tell me. I'll help you with what the maid didn't finish."

"First, air out the books, then..."

"And then you eat rice?"

"Then I did my eyebrows and did my makeup."

"..."

"What, you're not happy about it?"

"I'd love to; I'm overjoyed."

"You're just saying one thing and meaning another. If you're unwilling, then forget it. I was just going to lecture you."

"I'm willing, I'm willing, to be honest, cough cough, drawing eyebrows is my specialty."

"You've also painted portraits of other women? Wei Lai?" The tone was suspicious.

"No, I just said it offhand."

"Someone's safety is uncertain."

"No, really, cough cough, I finished arranging the chrysanthemums and went to air out the books. Where's your study again...?"

"Wait, come back."

"what."

"Your stomach is growling, didn't you eat lunch?"

"I don't think so. I just came to ask you to have a drink together, and I was thinking we could grab something to eat while we're at it?"

"Why didn't you say so sooner? Hmm, now I'm starting to believe you. I've already eaten. You...you wait a minute, don't go out in the sun like an idiot. I'll go make you something to eat, eat your fill before you do anything else..."

"It's easy to feel sleepy when you're full."

"Then go to sleep, I'll stay with you."

"Junior Sister is so nice today."

"Yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the day before that were all bad, right?"

"Okay, okay, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or the day after that is fine too."

"Virtue".

Xie Lingjiang arranged the vases filled with chrysanthemums and then turned to go to the kitchen.

Having nothing to do, Ouyang Rong didn't wait for her. He went to the study to retrieve the remaining books, returned to the courtyard, and quickly laid them out to dry on a bamboo mat.

After finishing, seeing that his junior sister hadn't prepared anything delicious yet, he started strolling around. During this time, he passed by the small hot spring in the southeast corner and glanced at it curiously.

The spring water looks quite clean... I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.

A moment later, Ouyang Rong walked into the kitchen and saw Xie Lingjiang's graceful figure in front of the stove.

This white dress, resembling pajamas after a bath, accentuated her tall figure.

Ouyang Rong suddenly realized that, apart from his future son's cafeteria, his junior sister's hips and buttocks were no less impressive than those of many voluptuous married women, with a captivating and alluring curve. However, because of her long legs and her usual men's clothing, this beauty was somewhat concealed.

Ouyang Rong stepped forward, pressed himself against her, and wrapped his arms around the waist of the beautiful woman who was preparing food in front of the stove from behind, resting his chin on her smooth, snowy shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

He glanced down at the stove and saw a fruit platter with pomegranates, pears, and oranges. His junior sister was carefully chopping the fruit into small pieces with a knife and putting them all into a plate. Then she took out a small jar containing icing sugar, plum syrup, and perilla seeds, and occasionally scooped a spoonful and mixed it into the fruit platter.

It's a bit like a fruit salad.

"This dessert is called Spring Orchid and Autumn Chrysanthemum. I just learned how to make it. Why don't you try it?"

Xie Lingjiang's eyes curved into crescents.

Ouyang Rong nodded, glancing discreetly at the "Spring Orchids and Autumn Chrysanthemums" on the plate.

Since he's said that, even if it's a terrible dish, he has to laugh and eat it all.

Xie Lingjiang suddenly turned her head and gently touched his slightly lowered head with her fair forehead: "What are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing, just be careful not to cut your finger."

"You don't trust my swordsmanship?"

As she spoke, the lady who had been so ladylike just a second ago suddenly flipped her fair little hand, and a kitchen knife spun and flew, almost becoming a blur. It was so easy.

Ouyang Rong sighed helplessly, "Be careful, don't let it fly in my face."

"Let's fly, let's fly."

"Then some people will have to live like widows."

"Then... wouldn't that mean we can eat at a banquet!"

“…??” Ouyang Rong.

Faced with his junior sister's playful, sidelong glance, he couldn't resist and quickly changed the subject:

"By the way, you've been spending time with Qin Xiaoniangzi lately. What's the progress between her and Dalang?"

"It'll be the same as always."

"What do you mean by 'that'?"

"The closest we've ever walked is three fists' distance; I haven't even touched it yet."

"Isn't that just like normal friends?"

"Um."

"It's almost been ten days, why is it taking so long?" Ouyang Rong stroked his chin, wondering, "Could they be talking about a very new kind of love?"

“Yes, it’s too slow. I don’t know if it’s new or not, but it’s definitely time-consuming. We probably won’t live to see that day.” Xie Lingjiang nodded in agreement: “If Dalang had half the skill of his senior brother, Uncle and Aunt would have already proposed marriage. If only the senior brother were in charge, wouldn’t you agree?”

“That’s right, Dalang, it seems we’ll have to give him some pointers later…” Ouyang Rong stammered, “Wait, what do you mean by half my skill? What skill do I have? Don’t talk nonsense. What do you mean by ‘I’ll do it’?”

"Hmph. The more I think about it now, the more I realize you were dishonest before, taking advantage of my innocence and ignorance."

"Come here, junior sister, please put your hand on this and speak honestly. Is it a bit inappropriate to use the word 'innocent and ignorant' to describe you?"

"Pah, take your hand away, I'm cutting something, be careful the knife doesn't fly out and cut off someone's big pig's trotter."

Ouyang Rong gave her a quick pinch, then withdrew his hand, rubbed his face, and sighed softly as he watched his junior sister's skillful knife work while cooking.

"Something bothering you?" she asked gently, tucking her hair behind her ear with her little finger.

After thinking for a moment, Ouyang Rong briefly recounted what he had said to Lu Ya not long ago.

Xie Lingjiang immediately put down the kitchen knife, frowned, and turned around: "Why did Senior Brother suddenly ask about Lu Ya's talismans?"

Ouyang Rong thought for a moment, then silently took out a copy of "Zhen Gao" from his sleeve and tossed it next to the chopping board and kitchen knife.

Xie Lingjiang was stunned at first, then her eyes widened: "The core cultivation method of the Shangqing Sect? Wait, doesn't that mean it contains the ultimate techniques of the Shangqing Sect..."

Ouyang Rong nodded and gave a general account of the frivolous Taoist priest.

"Why...why didn't you say so sooner?" She stared wide-eyed.

"That night at Dagushan, I dealt with that frivolous Taoist priest in a casual manner. At the time, I suspected that the Three Pure Ones were playing both sides and was afraid of exposing them and causing enmity. Moreover, you and your teacher seemed to have a good personal relationship with the Three Pure Ones. It was you who introduced them to the Prince's Mansion. I was afraid that you would be caught in the middle and have an awkward situation. So I kept quiet and wanted to see how the Three Pure Ones would behave afterward to see if we needed to play dumb... I didn't mention it in the 'True Teachings' either. I never expected that I would master it in the blink of an eye."

"Don't do that again... Wait, Senior Brother can cultivate it?" Xie Lingjiang realized what was happening, her expression incredulous, and she looked at the somewhat unfamiliar... monstrous Senior Brother in front of her again.

Ouyang Rong calmly and simply said, "My meridian is slightly special."

He paused, then sighed softly:

"The main reason is that I learned the whole story from Lu Ya today. It turns out that the frivolous Taoist priest broke ties with the Shangqing Sect, and Master Yuan has left again, so I can rest assured."

"Senior Brother asked too directly today. Lu Ya might become suspicious. We must take precautions."

Xie Lingjiang showed no resentment at his concealment for so many days. Instead, she frowned and quickly put herself in his shoes, wholeheartedly thinking about his situation.

“I’ll go see him tonight and think about how to cover things up for you. Hmm, I need to make him think that it was me who mentioned it to you, which made you curious and ask... They say there’s always something fishy going on when things are out of the ordinary, so I need to find a reason for you.”

He wanted to say that there was no need for such trouble. If Lu Ya found out, he could simply return the "True Teachings" that he had already memorized and explain the accidental killing. In any case, neither Lu Ya nor the Shangqing Sect would ever imagine that someone who was not a Taoist could cultivate the core techniques of the Ancestral Hall and the unique skills of Shangqing.

But seeing the adorable frown on the face of the beauty in his arms, who was wholeheartedly trying to come up with ideas for him, Ouyang Rong paused, then suddenly lowered his head and pecked her forehead.

Xie Lingjiang gave him a disdainful shove and scolded, "We're talking about serious matters, you're never serious..."

Ouyang Rong frowned and forcefully pulled her into a hug.

At the same time, he raised one hand.

"Smack—!"

A crisp sound rang out from in front of the stove, followed by the lingering tremor of a certain pink buttock; he had used his subduing power to achieve his goal:

"Cook first, we'll talk later. I'm starving. If you don't bring it up soon, I'll eat you first."

"..."

Xie Lingjiang's face flushed bright red instantly.

There was silence around the stove, as if afraid the air would suddenly become still...

(End of this chapter)