Chapter 1015 The Pretense Turns Real: Aqing Goes Home
Ouyang Rong encountered Madam Chen on the second night when he returned to the dining hall after delivering the vegetarian meal.
At midnight, Madam Chen waited silently for him in the shadows outside the dining hall.
“Brother Liang, Miss has instructed me that the ship from the storeroom will depart tomorrow. Brother Liang, please pack your things and also make proper arrangements for the dining hall… Tomorrow evening, after you get up, you don’t need to come to the dining hall. Just come directly to the storeroom and board the ship with me. We’ll follow the path down the mountain…”
Ouyang Rong glanced at the somewhat obsequious woman:
"Alright, thank you for your trouble, Madam."
"It's nothing. You're a favorite of Miss now. I hope Brother Liang can put in a good word for me with Miss in the future."
Ouyang Rong waved his hand:
"Madam, you're too kind. We're all working for Miss. Besides, Miss should value you the most. I'm just doing what I can."
"Brother Liang is the most polite one..."
After exchanging pleasantries, Madam Chen relayed her message and prepared to leave quietly.
Ouyang Rong suddenly called out to her:
"Wait, madam, there's something else..."
Madam Chen stopped, glanced at him, and before he could speak, asked in a low voice:
"Brother Liang, you're right. Did Miss instruct me to go with you to see your family?"
Ouyang Rong remained silent, only looking at Madam Chen, seemingly in agreement.
The latter nodded quietly:
“I have already given instructions, so I will definitely go. Please forgive me, Brother Liang. I am just following the rules.”
Ouyang Rong simply said, "Alright, thank you for your hard work, Madam."
“Brother Liang, what are you saying…” After a pause, Madam Chen lowered her voice and said, “Well then, I’m just following orders. I’ll just go with you to take a look and won’t stay. It won’t interfere with your reunion with your family. I’m just going to check on things on behalf of Miss. If you have any difficulties, feel free to tell me.”
Ouyang Rong, his face expressionless, nodded:
"Thank you for your understanding, I am very grateful."
"It's nothing, it's nothing, haha."
Madam Chen waved her handkerchief, as if remembering something, and before leaving, she gave one last piece of advice:
"Oh, by the way, Miss also mentioned something else."
"Brother Liang, you should talk to Wu Cui about taking over your job. You should handle it. Make sure she doesn't say anything out of line when she sees the Five Goddesses."
"As for the Five Goddesses, Miss will personally speak to you about your leave for a few days. The reason definitely can't be that you went down the mountain to Peach Blossom Town. Just say that your family is also in the sect and you asked for leave to be with them... Anyway, Brother Liang doesn't need to say it himself. Just handle Wu Cui's situation well... Also, find out more about the story Miss made up for you."
This Miss Chen is also an impatient person, but she is indeed capable and thorough in her work, so Ouyang Rong doesn't need to worry too much, saving him a lot of trouble... In short, she is definitely not a bad teammate, and working with her is quite comfortable.
Ouyang Rong silently recited a phrase to himself, his expression sincere, and bowed to the woman before him in gratitude:
"Understood, thank you, madam."
"You're too kind..."
Immediately afterward, the two exchanged some more details about their trip. Then, Madam Chen took her leave and quietly went back to the warehouse.
Ouyang Rong stood there, silently watching the woman's figure disappear into the darkness. After a short silence, he turned around and strode into the Qingliang Valley dining hall.
As soon as Ouyang Rong entered, he saw Wu Cui working diligently.
As he entered, Wu Cui noticed him as well.
Ouyang Rong was not in a hurry. He pretended not to see it and returned to the stove as usual to prepare the vegetarian meal.
Wu Cui was clearly in a good mood today, and while working, she frequently glanced at Ouyang Rong.
Before long, she pretended to get something and walked up to Ouyang Rong.
"Liu Aliang, I've seen Fairy Chen..."
"Um."
Ouyang Rong's reaction was unremarkable.
Wu Cui couldn't hold back any longer. After waiting a while, seeing that he didn't continue speaking, she asked in a low voice:
"After Fairy Chen finished teaching me, she mentioned you..."
Ouyang Rong glanced at the freckled young woman, nodded slightly, and continued with what he was doing.
He was making vegetarian porridge late at night.
Wu Cui waited a while longer, then asked curiously, "Aren't you curious about what Fairy Chen said?"
After a while, Ouyang Rong seemed to realize something and belatedly asked:
"What."
However, judging from his demeanor, he seemed to have asked out of politeness and consideration for others, rather than showing any interest.
Wu Cui was speechless for a moment, swallowed her words, and didn't say anything more. Instead, she lowered her head slightly and asked softly:
"Liu Aliang, did you mention me to Fairy Chen and help me out?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head and said:
"No, Heaven helps those who help themselves. Fairy Chen valued your perseverance. This is your destiny, and it has little to do with others, including me."
Wu Cui was taken aback.
I felt a little embarrassed.
A moment later, just as she was about to leave, Ouyang Rong suddenly said:
"There's something I need your help with."
Wu Cui was taken aback and subconsciously said, "Okay... um, what is it?"
Ouyang Rong gestured for her to come closer... After a short while, the two whispered to each other.
Wu Cui couldn't help but point to herself: "You mean, you want me to go into the water dungeon in your place to deliver vegetarian meals?"
"Um."
Wu Cui asked curiously, "Where are you going? Why are you on vacation?"
"It's a family matter."
Wu Cui became increasingly interested and wanted to ask more, but seeing his blank expression, she didn't delve into it further, and simply said:
"That's fine, but what do you mean by not disturbing the goddess?"
Ouyang Rong said calmly:
"The goddess is currently in seclusion and should not be disturbed. Go in and deliver the vegetarian meal, but speak as little as possible..."
Without much thought, Wu Cui agreed immediately, based on her goodwill and trust in Ouyang Rong.
"Don't worry, I'll follow your example. I'll deliver the vegetarian meal to her every day and leave immediately. I'll be careful with my words and actions and won't disturb the goddess's important business. You can trust my mouth; it's the most secure one."
Ouyang Rong added a reminder:
"Remember, there's also a bucket. Every other day, fill a bucket with water from the waterfall."
"Understood."
Wu Cui murmured:
"The fact that the goddess sent Fairy Chen to teach me is already a great favor. How could I become a burden to her..."
Ouyang Rong silently observed Wu Cui's expression, and upon seeing this, nodded slightly.
Wu Cui raised her head, her small face serious, and said:
"It starts tomorrow night, right? Leave it to me, you just be careful."
"OK."
Ouyang Rong was quite at ease with Wu Cui, mainly because she was very intelligent and capable of making decisions, so he didn't need to worry too much about her causing trouble.
After chatting privately for a moment, the two went their separate ways to get to work.
At midnight, Li Ruotong and her group arrived as scheduled. Ouyang Rong brought vegetarian food and followed the group into Qingliang Valley.
On the way, Ouyang Rong briefly explained the matter of changing personnel during the vacation, but Li Ruotong didn't take it too seriously and just gave a perfunctory response.
Tonight, the vegetarian meal was delivered to the water prison, and everything was as usual. Yun Xiangyi was still the same as before, sitting blankly at the table, flipping through Buddhist scriptures.
Ouyang Rong placed the food box for the prisoners by the wooden door inside, and then went to fetch five buckets of waterfall water, placing them by the door as well. He had prepared two extra buckets, enough for several days, so that Wu Cui wouldn't have to go out to fetch water every time, which would be more convenient for her.
After doing all this, Ouyang Rong glanced at Yun Xiangyi's quiet back, turned around and left, preparing to close the wooden gate behind him.
Yun Xiangyi suddenly looked up at the extra water bucket by the wooden gate, and her voice came:
"Xiaoxin told me you're going to take a few days off."
Ouyang Rong stopped in his tracks, feigning surprise and flattery:
"Reporting to the Five Goddesses, this is indeed the case."
He paused, then added:
"But Goddess, rest assured, the delivery of vegetarian meals will not be delayed. I have already found a reliable and dutiful dining companion to deliver the meals for a few days in my place... You may know this person, Goddess, whose name is Wu Cui. She has also delivered vegetarian meals for you before..."
Yun Xiangyi turned her head to the side, and the graceful shape of her slender waist could be faintly seen twisting beneath her gauze dress.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, seemingly oblivious to whether she had heard the dull young man's words. She didn't press him for details, but instead, ignoring his respectful tone, she asked softly:
"Xiaoxin said you're going to see Amei?"
Ouyang Rong lowered his head slightly, and under the clear gaze of the white-clad female ruler, he said woodenly and honestly:
"Yes."
After a moment, Ouyang Rong heard a woman's soft voice coming from ahead:
"Alright, I understand."
He paused slightly, then continued:
"That pickled vegetable you made..."
Ouyang Rong immediately added, "Pickled cabbage."
Yun Xiangyi seemed to chuckle softly:
"Yes, prepare more pickled cabbage, and have Wu Cui deliver it every night along with the vegetarian meal, so that it doesn't run out."
Ouyang Rong was somewhat surprised to hear this, but he refrained from looking up at the white-clad female ruler, displaying a respectful expression:
"Yes, Goddess."
Yun Xiangyi straightened her waist and continued reading the Buddhist scriptures, her intention to see the guest off was very clear.
Ouyang Rong silently backed away, and after exiting the wooden gate, he closed the door behind him. His respectful expression returned to calm as he turned and walked into the darkness.
After walking a few steps quietly, Ouyang Rong's expression changed slightly.
The taciturn young man slowly stopped.
He glanced back at the wooden gate he had closed behind him.
A hazy orange light shone through the crack in the door.
Although the view was obstructed by the wooden gate, it was easy to guess that the woman in white was still sitting at that table, chanting scriptures with her eyes lowered...
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, then looked away and continued forward.
He left the waterfall and followed the path out of the Cool Valley.
Instead of immediately returning to his residence as usual, he took a detour and quietly went to another small island near Qingliang Valley that he rarely visited...
...
As the sun sets and dusk falls, fishermen sing their evening songs.
On the small island, the figures coming and going are mostly elderly women and young women returning from a day's work, coming back from the pier or raft.
Occasionally, the figures of Yue women dressed in snow-white Wu skirts could be seen moving among them, attracting attention.
If this were in Xunyang City, at this hour, there would certainly be many fishing boats returning home late on the river.
But this is Yunmeng Sword Marsh. The boats and rafts that come and go on the lake are all used to transport the Yue women to and from the small islands, and today is no exception.
Compared to the bustling activity on the island outside, Ouyang Rong's courtyard, located in a secluded corner of the island, seemed rather deserted.
Ouyang Rong's schedule was somewhat upside down. While the other laborers on the island were returning from their work, he had just woken up and was beginning to wash up.
A moment later, a storeroom servant came in with a message from Madam Chen. Ouyang Rong, with a gray handkerchief around his neck wiping his face, nodded slightly after hearing the servant's message:
"Understood. Go back and tell Madam Chen that I will arrive on time tomorrow."
The servants left immediately.
Ouyang Rong watched the figure disappear, but there was no dissatisfaction on his face.
As for Madam Chen, the time for her to descend the mountain has been postponed because the Yue women from Lantang have something urgent to attend to and need to leave tomorrow. The warehouse's boats must leave Yunmengze with the Lantang fleet and cannot leave on their own, so they have to be postponed as well. The original plan was to leave tonight.
Ouyang Rong didn't care; a day later or earlier wouldn't make a big difference.
However, he didn't speed up his washing up, as if he had no intention of going to the Qingliang Valley Dining Hall again tonight.
Ouyang Rong has temporarily entrusted the task of delivering vegetarian meals to the water prison to Wu Cui.
Ouyang Rong washed his face again, and in the process, he touched his mustache, which had grown quite thick.
That's the downside of being away from home; before you know it, your beard grows long. And since there are no women around to help you shave or trim it, you have to do it all yourself. In the past, when I came to Xunyang City, it was always my junior sister and aunt who would eagerly do it. It seems that women in this era like to trim the beards of the men they are close to in the family, which can be considered a custom of expressing affection and care.
Right now, Ouyang Rong only has Miao Si by his side. He can't rely on the female immortal. If he asks her to help him shave, she might just chop someone's head off with a single stroke.
Ouyang Rong stroked his beard with his fingertips for a while, thinking that there didn't seem to be any razor blades around. There were probably no barbers in Yunmeng Sword Marsh, and even the men were few and far between. The Yue women of Sword Marsh didn't have any need for shaving at all; at most, they would trim their long, black hair from time to time.
The young man turned his head and glanced in the direction of the house.
The door opened, and a bronze scroll lay quietly on the table.
He didn't have a razor, but he possessed one of the sharpest objects in the world.
Ouyang Rong grabbed a towel, wiped his face, and prepared to wash it again before going inside. Just then, he heard light footsteps outside the courtyard gate.
Looking up, I saw a pretty young woman in a snow-white Wu-style dress walk into the courtyard with her hands behind her back, her steps light and cheerful. Her voice and footsteps mingled together.
"Brother, why did you suddenly decide to call me back?"
It's Aqing.
Returning from the Queen's Palace.
The pretty young woman tilted her head and asked her dull-looking brother, who was squatting by the well washing up, with a smile on her face.
Anyone who didn't know better would think she had a miraculous encounter in the Queen's Palace.
However, judging from what the young lady said, it was her brother who called her back.
Ouyang Rong glanced at her, said nothing, grabbed the handkerchief around his neck, and wiped his face.
Aqing stepped forward tacitly, gently pushed him away, poured out the dirty water, and took the initiative to fetch a basin of well water for Ouyang Rong. With her two fair hands, she pinched a new towel and handed it to him to wipe himself.
Ouyang Rong was a little slow. Just as he raised his hand to take it, Aqing, who seemed to think he was too slow, stepped forward, took a towel, and gently wiped his face, which was covered with water droplets.
(End of this chapter)
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