Chapter 479 Two Women, Kings Meet Kings?

At the busiest time of day, the lobby on the first floor of Xunyang Tower was completely booked out.

It was used to receive Hu Fu, the newly arrived envoy from Luoyang and a eunuch.

This welcoming dinner was prepared by Wang Lengran, the nominal governor of Jiangzhou, and Hu Fu, who had just arrived in Jiangzhou, did not refuse.

It was an open secret in Jiangzhou's officialdom that Wang Lengran, the governor, and Ouyang Rong, the chief secretary, had a poor relationship.

It's just that I don't know if Khufu knew.

In any case, the presence of this envoy at the luncheon changed the minds of many who originally did not want to come.

For example, Ouyang Rong, Li Fusu who came on behalf of the Prince of Xunyang, and a certain cold-blooded girl in palace attire.

Anyway, Wang Lengran must have invited them, but they usually decline and don't join in the fun.

Therefore, today, Khufu, as the emperor's private envoy, still holds considerable influence.

Or rather, there are certain artistic considerations in official banquets throughout history.

Many things are different when discussed at a dinner table or over drinks compared to discussing them in a public place outside.

They might be stern and impartial in public, but at a semi-private dinner table, they might share a favorite dish, become a little more talkative, and their relationship might deepen. They might even be able to gauge someone's previously aggressive or cold attitude...

In any case, Wang Lengran was deeply versed in this matter.

Ouyang Rong and the others were naturally aware of this as well.

With the envoy showing him such respect, Wang Lengran, who had been feeling emboldened these past few days, stood up a bit more. As he passed by Ouyang Rong, his little mustache twitched with arrogance.

When Ouyang Rong arrived at Xunyang Tower in casual clothes, the luncheon had already begun a little while earlier.

After picking up the person from the dock with everyone else, he and his junior sister went back to the Huaiye Lane residence, changed out of their official robes, and went to the banquet in casual attire.

As he entered the building, he turned and glanced at Li Fusu, Wang Lengran, Yan Liulang, Chen You, and other officials who were seated at the front of the Jiangzhou Hall, who were drinking with Hu Fu at the main table.

That side was the center of attention, and everyone was quite drunk.

Among them, Li Dalang and his close associates noticed him and gestured to him with their eyes.

Ouyang Rong shook his head and did not go over. After looking around, he turned around and walked to a corner of the lobby on the first floor, to a seat by the window.

He sat down without any hesitation in front of the people he was chatting with.

Several people had already taken their seats at this secluded table.

Rongzhen and several leading female officials of the Control Yuan.

There was also a figure we had just become familiar with: the slightly chubby young man, Lin Cheng.

Everyone looked toward Ouyang Rong, who had taken his seat.

"Aren't you going to sit at the head table and keep them company?" Rongzhen asked, glancing sideways.

Ouyang Rong shook his head:

"My aunt told me not to drink, so let's forget it. Let them keep me company. It's not like I'm any less than a junior official. Besides, I don't like too much noise."

He glanced again at Rong Zhen, whose face remained expressionless:

"Why isn't Lady Rong going? From what you said this morning, you seemed quite familiar with the Imperial Envoy."

Perhaps in front of his colleagues and subordinates, facing Ouyang Rong, Rong Zhen's expression was icy cold, and his tone was also:

"Same here, I don't like crowds."

Ouyang Rong smiled.

From the moment Ouyang Rong walked over and sat down to chat with Rong Zhen, Lin Cheng, who was sitting next to him, kept turning his head to look at him with great interest.

At this moment, he waved his hand and interjected:

"Chief Secretary Ouyang, it's like this. We are Qi cultivators from the Imperial Observatory, so we are considered palace people. Eunuch Hu is also a palace person, but he is from the Inner Palace Attendants Bureau."

"Each supervisor and each provincial official is loyal to Her Majesty the Empress."

"As for too much contact... well, there are some unwritten rules that it's best for people from both sides to have as little interaction as possible."

"If we and Lady Rongzhen go there, the Imperial Envoy will not be able to eat or drink to his heart's content."

Rongzhen didn't look at the talkative, warm-hearted, smiling, slightly chubby young man next to her, but she also remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"I see."

Ouyang Rong nodded in understanding, turned to Lin Cheng, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked Rong Zhen with a smile:

"Sir, would you mind introducing me, Madam?"

"He said that you two met at the ferry crossing this morning."

Ouyang Rong nodded, lowered his eyes, and picked up some food.

"That's true. Lord Lingtai Lang is quite outgoing."

Lin Cheng raised his glass in acknowledgment and smiled, saying:

"Yes, Chief Secretary Ouyang also had a rather unique and memorable self-introduction."

Rongzhen asked with a hint of curiosity, "How did he introduce himself?"

Lin Cheng thought for a moment and concluded:

"Tell the truth without any concealment, and treat others with the same sincerity as I do."

One praises two.

Ouyang Rong smiled, put down his chopsticks, and raised his glass to clink against his from a distance.

The two drank it all at the same time.

The people around looked at each other in bewilderment.

Ouyang Rong put down his cup and immediately asked:

"Is Lady Rong very familiar with Lord Lingtai?"

Lin Cheng, dressed in a simple black outfit similar to Ouyang Rong, waved his hand:

"I wouldn't call myself an adult. Chief Secretary Ouyang can just call me Xiao Lin, or A-Cheng. That's what the teachers in the prison usually call me."

Ouyang Rong nodded with a smile, but then turned his gaze to Rong Zhen.

The aloof, palace-dressed girl, who was about to speak, swallowed her words upon seeing his expression.

Then, she asked calmly:

"Why are we not familiar with each other? Does Chief Secretary Ouyang think we are not familiar with each other?"

Ouyang Rong was speechless.

Lin Cheng looked at Rong Zhen with a somewhat flattered expression.

"Familiar, of course we're familiar, we're all familiar."

Ouyang Rong smiled and nodded.

Rong Zhen said coldly:

"Lin Cheng, Xia Guan Lingtai Lang, one of the five Lingtai Lang of the Sitianjian (Imperial Observatory)."

"The man with the five senses and a spirit platform?"

Rong Zhen remained silent, Lin Cheng smiled, and a female historian beside him interjected with an introduction:

"The chief officials of the Imperial Observatory included the Spring Official, Summer Official, Autumn Official, Winter Official, and the Central Official Lingtai Lang, collectively known as the Five Officials Lingtai Lang. They were initially established to observe celestial phenomena."

Ouyang Rong nodded, not recognizing anything, but immediately launched into praise mode.

"Impressive! At such a young age, you've already become a Xia Guan Lingtai Lang. Brother Lin's future is limitless."

Lin Cheng glanced at the earnest young man before him, who was barely twenty years old but already held the rank of fifth grade official, and his eye twitched slightly:

"Is Chief Secretary Ouyang talking about himself?"

"No, I mean it from the bottom of my heart."

"You flatter me. He's not as capable as Chief Secretary Ouyang."

"I'm just average."

"modesty."

"When you're out in the world, you give yourself your own identity."

"..."

After exchanging a few words, perhaps because Lin Cheng was present, Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen didn't say much more.

The luncheon ended quickly.

After seeing off Ambassador Hu, everyone dispersed.

Rong Zhen, Ouyang Rong, and Lin Cheng were also at this table.

Rongzhen shook off her subordinates and did not leave. Instead, she went to the riverside balcony by the back door to get some fresh air.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Ouyang Rong followed and stood side by side with Rong Zhen, gazing at the river.

"How so?"

"What do you mean, how do you say it?"

"What's the background of this Xia Guan Lingtai Lang? Is he here to assist you, or is he from the Imperial Observatory... to replace you?"

"Not really, I'm not very familiar with him, but I've heard some of his deeds... He's not as simple as he seems, don't underestimate him."

"The visitor seems ill-intentioned?"

"Those who are good will not come."

“It’s easy to tell if someone is unkind, but sometimes it depends on who they’re dealing with. After all, even the fiercest dog has to grovel before its master. So, are they unkind to us as well?”

"I wouldn't dare do that to me, but with you... I'm not so sure."

"You looked unhappy, I thought you were your mortal enemy. It's okay, I've already toned him down."

Ouyang Rong laughed.

Rongzhen glanced at him sideways: "They clashed? At Xunyang Ferry."

"without."

He shook his head and answered truthfully:

Instead, we treated him to a piece of osmanthus cake.

"Then why did this guy become more restrained?"

Ouyang Rong nodded:

"When you see someone of your own kind, you should be more cautious and not underestimate them. Just like a tiger, when you come to someone else's territory, you can't let your guard down."

"Like-minded people?"

You can understand it as a smart person.

Hearing such a mysterious statement, Rong Zhen glanced at Ouyang Rong's expression and frowned, saying:

"You can talk a good game about ghosts and spirits."

She nodded:

"You two are indeed similar, both deserving of a beating, but there are also differences."

"What's different?"

"Your attitude in front of me."

"oh?"

“He is indeed a clever man, and he is very respectful in front of me.”

What about me?

Rongzhen had her back to him, seemingly gazing at the river view:

“You hypocrite, you’re not proper at all. You have no manners in front of me. You…you deserve to die even more.”

After saying that, she immediately turned and left, and Ouyang Rong could not see her expression.

Before leaving, Rongzhen left behind a sentence:

"The rank of the Five Senses Spirit Platform Attendant isn't actually that high, only a mere seventh-rank official, but the current Five Senses Spirit Platform Attendants are all extraordinary..."

"Lin Cheng is a Xia Guan Lingtai Lang, a sixth-rank cultivator in the Yin-Yang School, ranking third among the Five Officials, only after the Zhong Guan and the Chun Guan Lingtai. However... his teacher is a deputy director of the Si Tian Jian."

Ouyang Rong raised an eyebrow, chased after Rong Zhen, and pressed her for an answer:

"The Deputy Director of the Imperial Observatory? How powerful is that?"

To avoid being overheard by pedestrians in the corridor, he lowered his voice and asked.

“A senior who is more capable than me.” Rong Zhen did not turn around.

"That's not certain. After all, the deputy director sounds quite old. He's not as young, beautiful, and promising as Lady Rong."

"If you keep flattering me, I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Then you go first. I'll praise you later."

"I'm referring to cultivation level."

"That deputy supervisor is a high-ranking Qi cultivator?"

Ouyang Rong seemed to be deep in thought.

By this time, most of the people in the lobby on the first floor had left. The two of them crossed the lobby and walked out of Xunyang Tower.

Outside the main entrance of the building, the blinding sunlight and the hustle and bustle of the city rushed in, causing people to squint and take a moment to adjust.

Following behind Rong Zhen, Ouyang Rong was about to ask another question, but the next second, he saw the cold, palace-dressed girl in front of him stop at the door.

"What's wrong?"

He asked curiously.

Rongzhen remained silent, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

Ouyang Rong stuck his head out and followed her gaze; his expression immediately changed slightly.

At the entrance, Ali's carriage was parked by the roadside, and Xie Lingjiang was standing beside the carriage with her hands in front of her abdomen, holding a small wooden box.

Xie Lingjiang seemed to have been chatting with Ali, her gaze occasionally drifting to the entrance of Xunyang Tower.

As Rong Zhen and Ouyang Rong appeared one after the other at the door, Xie Lingjiang suddenly fell silent, prompting Ali to follow her calm gaze and look over curiously...

Ouyang Rong was completely unprepared for this meeting between the two women.

Even though it was a critical moment when the warning radar was blaring, his tense body was still partially focused on a slightly chubby young man not far away.

Lin Cheng didn't leave after lunch; he remained at the door, as if waiting for something.

When he saw Rong Zhen and Ouyang Rong walk out of the gate, he went forward to greet them. However, after taking only a few steps, he sensed that something was amiss at the gate. Curious, he stopped and followed Rong Zhen's gaze to a beautiful woman with ethereal beauty and graceful figure standing by the carriage on the roadside...

At the main entrance of Xunyang Tower, a cold-looking young woman in palace attire and a beautiful young lady in red dress stood silently in place.

Two pairs of eyes met in the air.

A subtle standoff exists.

The atmosphere was somewhat quiet.

For some reason, Ouyang Rong felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

After staring at each other for a while, Xie Lingjiang was the first to look away, her gaze falling on the senior brother who was following Rong Zhen like a lackey.

"Junior Sister..."

Ouyang Rong immediately straightened up, stepped forward, and looked around, saying:

"Um, didn't you say you were tired and wanted to go back for a nap? Why did you wait until now..."

Xie Lingjiang didn't speak, nor did she look at him.

Ouyang Rong turned around and introduced:

"This is Lady Rong. I've mentioned her to you often. You should have met at the West Gate about half a year ago..."

"Rong Zhen."

The aloof, palace-dressed girl ignored Ouyang Rong and introduced herself directly to Xie Lingjiang, then asked:

"You must be Ouyang Lianghan's junior sister, right? His mentor, Mr. Xie's daughter?"

Ouyang Rong stepped forward, subtly blocking the way:

"Ahem, junior sister, I mentioned some things to Lady Rong..."

Like Rong Zhen, Xie Lingjiang ignored the person in the middle, staring at Rong Zhen with her bright eyes for a while before nodding slightly.

"Thank you Lingjiang. I have long admired the name of Ms. Shi."

"Same here, Ouyang Lianghan often mentions you."

"Really, Tanlang?" Xie Lingjiang finally turned her gaze.

"Yes, yes, junior sister!"

"I've told you so many times, call me by that name."

Ouyang Rong was taken aback: "Wan... Wanwan?"

"Mmm." She smiled faintly.

Rongzhen turned her head and asked, "Tanlang?"

Xie Lingjiang politely pursed her lips and remained silent. She did not acknowledge calling her senior brother by his affectionate nickname, but it was as if she had said everything.

Rong Zhen's expression changed slightly, and she tilted her head to look at Ouyang Rong.

The latter was helpless:

"Junior Sister, don't shout like that outside. You...you can shout like you did before..."

"Oh, I forgot, I'm used to it at home."

The food box was changed to a carrying handle. Xie Lingjiang stepped forward, casually took Ouyang Rong's arm, and smiled.

"I was going to go back and wait for you, but I was worried that you might have a hangover from the lunch party and have a headache, so I came to bring you some hangover soup."

She turned to Rongzhen and asked again:

"Is Your Excellency drunk? Would you like to try the hangover soup that Tanlang likes?"

Ouyang Rong asked in a low voice:

"Junior sister, no need for the hangover soup. But I noticed that Lady Rong hasn't eaten much, and neither have I. How about we go sit down in Huaiye Lane and have the auntie make us something to eat?"

"Thank you, but no need."

Rong Zhen turned and left without hesitation, leaving behind a single sentence as she passed Xie Lingjiang:

"The young lady is indeed a wise woman."

Xie Lingjiang did not stop her, but glanced at her politely and said:

"Ms. Shi, please go slowly without seeing me off."

Ouyang Rong was about to speak when Xie Lingjiang turned her head away.

He keeps his eyes focused on his nose and his mind focused on his heart.

Lin Cheng, who was not far away, immediately followed Rong Zhen's back. Before leaving, he couldn't help but turn back and look at Ouyang Rong with some admiration in his eyes.

Ouyang Rong ignored him and glanced at his junior sister, whose expression remained calm and composed.

The junior sister didn't look at him, silently watching Rong Zhen's figure gradually disappear into the distance.

Ouyang Rong, who was waiting to the side, secretly swallowed...

(End of this chapter)