Chapter 892 Brother Liu's Sister? (Seeking monthly votes! or 2)

Dusk, on the beach.

The stars are twinkling, already high in the sky.

After Chen Jiaxin and her group left, the place became quiet.

Lu Jinghong's expression was one of disbelief, and his muttering broke the silence:

"Could this be a ruse? Could it be that the Queen has some secrets about the chicken soup that we don't know about? Did Chen Jiaxin know something beforehand before coming here to express her willingness to compromise?"

Sha Ergou scratched his head: "I don't know, but those two slaps were pretty hard, they didn't seem like acting."

Yu Mili didn't say anything, but glanced at Sister Song and noticed that she was staring in the direction Chen Jiaxin had left, lost in thought.

She turned to look at Ouyang Rong, and praised him with a smile:

“Brother Liu handled things very well just now. My mother often praises Sister Song, saying that she is calm in the face of big events. I think Brother Liu and Sister Song are somewhat similar. When things happen, they always give people a sense of composure and stability.”

Lu Jinghong felt uncomfortable holding the sword, so he shifted his position and muttered to himself, turning his head away:

"Brother Liu handled things quite well, but he's a bit too nice, too easygoing. Anyone can come up and provoke him, and he doesn't seem to get angry."

"Well, dealing with this chicken soup issue in this way is fine, but if we encounter something that touches on principles in the future, we can't do it this way. This is something my aunt said before... and I've always kept it in mind."

"Of course, I also have a bad temper. If Xiao Lanlan and Chen Jiaxin try to provoke me, they'll see what happens. Hmph, things won't end so easily."

As he spoke, he glanced at Song Zhian and noticed that she seemed to be looking over at him along with Yu Xiaoniangzi. Lu Jinghong assumed they were looking at him and raised his head even higher while holding his sword.

Li Wan snapped out of her daze, ignoring her son's overly familiar platitudes, and looked with a hint of appreciation at the dull young man standing next to her son.

"Although I don't know the specifics of what happened, as Jinghong said, Brother Liang's handling of the situation was quite prudent."

She paused for a moment, then asked casually:

"Brother Liang must have started working at a young age, and he must be the head of the household at home, right?"

Ouyang Rong nodded slightly:

"Yes. My mother is seriously ill and has been bedridden for the past two years. My younger sister is still young and needs care, but she can do some handicrafts and has been helping out since she was little. She's so sensible, it breaks my heart."

Sha Ergou empathized: "Brother Liu, you've worked so hard. My sister is the same way, always taking care of me..."

Yu Xiaoniangzi's focus was slightly different, and she suddenly realized:

"It turns out that just now in Drip Cave, in front of Chief Tang and the others, Brother Liu wasn't entirely making things up. He really does have a younger sister and wanted to take chicken soup and peaches out to nourish her. Brother Liu is truly a good brother. Any girl who gets to be with Brother Liu is incredibly lucky."

Lu Jinghong couldn't help but complain:

“What do you mean by taking chicken soup and peaches out? Jianze is so big. Last time we came here, it took us a long time. If Senior Sister Xi hadn’t come to inform us this morning, Brother Liu would have gone down the mountain as usual and left Jianze. By the time he got ashore and returned to Taoyuan Town, the chicken soup would have been cold and the peaches would have gone bad.”

He pursed his lips and raised his chin, saying:

"And don't forget, when we first arrived on the lake, we went through a large area of ​​poisonous miasma. The chicken soup and peach meat were contaminated by the miasma, so they were definitely inedible..."

"So, you actually believed Brother Liu's emergency words back then? Didn't you see that Brother Liu didn't bring it up again afterward? Miss Yu is really too naive, naive to the point of being cute."

"Ah, so that's how it is..."

Yu Mili was a little annoyed by Lu Jinghong's sarcastic remark, but she and Sha Ergou couldn't help but look at Ouyang Rong, scratching their heads in a daze.

Lu Jinghong reached out and patted Ouyang Rong's shoulder heavily, saying earnestly:

"Brother Liu, there's no need for further words. I understand you and how to adapt to changing circumstances... If I were in that situation, I might not have done much better than you."

He changed the subject abruptly and nodded calmly:

"However, upon careful review afterward, to be honest, your reason for asking why the fish soup was given to A-mei was a bit far-fetched. If someone had investigated as closely as I did at the time, things would have gone wrong, and I would have almost been caught out."

"Looking back now, it's fortunate that the Sixth Lady and the others came and attracted Xiao Lanlan and the others' attention, otherwise they would have been harassed and questioned again, which was really disgusting."

Ouyang Rong shook his head again:

"No, Brother Lu, you've misunderstood. I really prepared chicken soup and peaches for my sister, so it's inconvenient to share them with everyone. I feel a little bad. It seems that Miss Yu has been paying attention to this..."

Lu Jinghong turned to look at his somewhat sincere profile, then waved her hand and said:

"Alright, Brother Liu, we're not in the Dripping Water Cave anymore. We're all back here, and everyone here is family. My mother is very tight-lipped, so we can speak our minds freely."

Miss Yu nodded in agreement:

"That's right, and the chicken soup incident is all in the past. Xiao Lanlan has already admitted defeat and won't dare to cause any more trouble. So what if they hear the truth?"

Sha Ergou grinned and muttered:

"Hehe, it's mainly because Brother Liu always has a serious face and doesn't talk much. Sometimes I can't tell when Brother Liu is serious and when he's joking. They all seem the same, so I usually just believe him first. Like today, I didn't think much about it, hahaha."

He couldn't help but sigh:

"...Now that I think about it, Brother Liu is quite flexible and adaptable at times, which is better than me. When I lie, my face turns red and my eyes dart around. It's obvious that I'm guilty, especially when there are many people around."

“My sister used to say that I’m the kind of person who can’t keep a secret at all, unlike Brother Liu. Today, in front of Chief Tang and the others, he made up a story about my sister to help us clear our names. He didn’t even blush or skip a beat. I almost believed him.”

Li Wan's gaze was still fixed on the direction Chen Jiaxin had left, her expression suggesting she was lost in thought. However, she hadn't missed the conversations around her. At this moment, she snapped out of her reverie, smiled, and offered a word of praise:

"That's the good thing about Brother Liang. He keeps his mouth shut and never lets anything slip. He's a man who can do great things. It's a waste of his talents to be a cook."

Yu Mili chimed in, "That's right, that's right!"

Sha Ergou immediately started grumbling, waving his fist: "It's just a bone age, but they're fixing it so tightly."

Everyone nodded, feeling sorry for him.

Ouyang Rong glanced helplessly at the indignant Sha Ergou.

Aside from the carefree Yu Mili, Lu Jinghong and Li Wan probably only said it lip service and expressed their regret for him. Only you seem to have taken it all seriously, which is a bit too honest of you.

The reason why Li Wan and her son Lu Jinghong had the leisure to feel sorry for him is because Lu Jinghong himself entered the Bamboo Hall with the highest score among the men. He was already in a high position, and when he was "well-fed and well-fed," he naturally had extra sympathy to feel sorry for his fellow student who was not selected.

It's like only the wealthy and well-fed have the extra energy to sympathize with or even give alms to the hungry and poor.

If you also fail to be selected and suffer hunger and hardship, see if people are in the mood to feel sorry for you. At that time, you might become their psychological comfort.

Ouyang Rong shook his head. In fact, he didn't care about these subtle and undisguised emotions between the young men and women, including the excessive pride and arrogance that Chen Jiaxin had just displayed. He just watched it quietly.

This mindset isn't about being condescending; it's about observing things gently, sometimes laughing, sometimes finding them amusing and endearing.

Therefore, he consistently tells the truth.

Ouyang Rong looked around at everyone and emphasized again:

"Everyone is flattering me, but I really do have a sister, and she's here too..."

Upon hearing this and seeing his serious expression, everyone smiled.

"Very well, Brother Liu is right..."

"Hmm, Brother Liu is too tight-lipped..."

"Actually, she was right about some things."

Just then, Song Zhian, who had been quiet for a long time, suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone's joking conversation.

"ah?"

"What are you saying, Sister Song? What's wrong?"

Lu Jinghong, Yu Mili, and Sha Ergou all looked at Song Zhian with suspicion.

Ouyang Rong stopped explaining and turned to look.

Song Zhian didn't participate in the topic of Brother Liu's "fabricated sister" at all, skipping over it entirely. Instead, her pretty face became unusually serious as she addressed the crowd solemnly:

"I thought about it carefully. In all the time I've been in Jianze, although Chen Jiaxin likes to form cliques and have a group of sisters from the Nine Clans surrounding her, she doesn't seem to have done anything underhanded or malicious."

"Whether it was the first three assessments, when we were always overshadowed by that Miss Liu Qing, or when Yu Mili and I disrespected her, refused to cooperate with her, and damaged her prestige, she always seemed to only speak to our faces and give us attitude, but never made things difficult for us in private."

"Actually, I was worried when I first offended her, but I haven't received any retaliation since then, except for today when Xiao Lanlan complained and caused trouble, but she wasn't there either. It seems she went to the Queen's place to become her disciple..."

"To be honest, she just said with an arrogant look that she disdains using underhanded tactics and considers it shameful... There's really nothing wrong with what she said."

Yu Xiaoniangzi, who was originally the most dissatisfied with Chen Jiaxin and the other women, also looked thoughtful after hearing this:

"It seems that's really the case... Hmm, especially that Miss Liu Qing. She looks delicate and gentle, and has a very good personality, but her performance in every assessment is truly monstrous and abnormal. She always manages to dominate."

"But Chen Jiaxin seems to... well, she really didn't lead the team to bully anyone the whole time, and she didn't bully the few with the many."

"Even when she inquired about the other party's performance after the assessment, she did it in a roundabout way... It's clear that she was holding her breath and really wanted to surpass the other party, but unfortunately she was disappointed every time... But she didn't use any underhanded tricks. This Sister Chen is quite meticulous in her actions."

Song Zhian nodded slowly, a slight smile appearing on her face:

"Yes, that's right, that's exactly it. Mili, do you feel the same way? It seems my analysis was correct."

She turned her head and said to Ouyang Rong and the others:

"At least for now, aside from her unpleasant personality, her words and actions are consistent. So, regarding Brother Liu's matter, she may not have lied; it was indeed Xiao Lanlan's personal action. She didn't authorize or instruct her beforehand, after all..."

She paused, then tilted her head and said:

“I was selected for the Autumn Hall at the same time as she became a disciple of the Fifth Lady. She was going to the Fifth Lady's side, so she didn't have time to give any instructions.”

Yu Mili nodded: "That makes sense, but it's still... very annoying."

"It's annoying." Sha Ergou corrected himself in his local dialect, then fell silent for a moment.

Lu Jinghong also frowned slightly.

Li Wan maintained her smile.

She asked with some interest:

"Jinghong, is this young lady named Chen Jiaxin one of the two young ladies you mentioned before who ranked highly in the three trials and were already designated as the Queen's disciples?"

Lu Jinghong nodded: "That's right." Then she asked: "Why is Mother asking this?"

"It's nothing, I just think she has quite a personality. By the way, where is she from?"

Lu Jinghong said sullenly, "It's also from Taoyuan Town."

"Hmm, what a coincidence, our family line also originated from Taoyuan Town."

Li Wan made a joke, and her colleague took out a plate of pastries, gesturing for everyone to try them.

Everyone turned to look at him upon hearing this, and Lu Jinghong hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Yu Mili patted her chest and said, "Madam Li, my family is also from Taoyuan Town. Your ancestors were the same as mine!"

Li Wan: ...

Lu Jinghong and Song Zhian: ...

Ouyang Rong nodded secretly. As expected of you, Yu Mili.

Li Wan pretended not to hear and changed the subject:

"Just like Miss Song said, this young lady isn't bad at heart, but she's proud and aloof, and disdains using any tricks. It's very difficult to catch her eye. In your generation, there's probably only one young lady who can completely win her over, which is another disciple chosen by the Queen, the Miss Liu Qing you mentioned."

The crisp sound of the remaining rice grains interrupted:

"Of course, Miss Liu Qing is the champion of this year's competition. She has surpassed her in every assessment. What can she use to be arrogant in front of Miss Liu Qing? She should obediently bow her head."

Moreover, Miss Liu Qing is currently the direct disciple of the First Queen, while she is only the disciple of the Fifth Queen, thus placing her below her in terms of lineage.

Song Zhian nodded slightly, her eyes showing a somewhat complicated expression:

"Miss Liu Qing is indeed a true prodigy. It's a blessing that we can meet her in our year. Not only us, but even a young lady like Chen Jiaxin has to be humble."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jinghong nodded in agreement, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"Speaking of which, after the test in that secret room during the day, I saw Miss Liu Qing when I came out. However, we were too far apart at the time, so I didn't get a clear look at her face. I only saw her slender figure and her quiet demeanor from behind. She was standing at the very front..."

He stroked his chin, somewhat wistfully:

"Not at all arrogant. If you hadn't told me it was her, I would never have guessed. By the way, does she really have a tattoo on her forehead?"

Sha Ergou, who was standing nearby, also listened out of curiosity.

"Uh-huh."

Miss Yu nodded vigorously, looking like a little fangirl:

"Actually, I almost got to talk to her. I called out to her, and she turned around and even seemed to smile at me. Hehe, I really want to get to know her, even just say a few words..."

"It's a pity she's going to be by the side of the Great Queen. Besides, there are probably many young ladies and senior sisters in the sect who want to befriend her, so we won't be in the running. Hmm, I guess Sister Song might be able to... Sister Song is in Qiutang, so we might be able to see her occasionally."

Yu Mili, who had been in high spirits, sounded a little dejected.

Song Zhian pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, agreeing wholeheartedly:

"That's not quite right. However, if we happen to meet her nearby, I'll try to make her acquaintance for you. Actually, there are some things I'd like to ask her for advice on."

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but glance at them...

(End of this chapter)