Chapter 128 Passionate Love is Troubled by Heartless Love
Do you remember your name?
“Wei Lai, my name is Wei Lai.”
"No, it's Ye Weilai. Remember your name in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Your name is Ye Weilai."
These were the words Ouyang Rong suddenly turned to ask Ye Weilai, whose silver hair reached her waist, before getting into bed last night in the Meilin courtyard.
In the early morning, the cold wind on the main street in front of Meiluyuan made Ye Weilai hug her arms.
She understood what her master meant.
After returning to Nanlong to worship her ancestors and burn paper money, she was no longer a slave.
But she didn't understand what her master meant.
Why suddenly emphasize this?
After saying these words to her last night, Ouyang Rong lay down to sleep, and then remained silent all night.
Sometimes, the words exchanged before parting are few and far between.
The commotion outside the Deer Park in the morning attracted many neighbors from Luming Street.
Ouyang Rong stood inside the door, sleeves tucked in, silently observing for a long time.
He simply smiled at Ye Weilai, who kept glancing back at him from outside the door, without saying a word.
The eight carriages driven by Liu Ashan and others were loaded one after another, and Zhen Shi led Ye Weilai and others to board the carriages in single file.
Ouyang Rong stepped forward and boarded the lead carriage.
Along the way, the young magistrate closed his eyes to rest, occasionally responding to Zhen's casual conversation, ignoring the little maid who frequently glanced at him beside him.
Ouyang Rong's reaction today was unusually cold.
Seeing this, Zhen turned around, took Ye Weilai's small hand, and with an unusually gentle attitude, comforted her beloved.
Ouyang Rong took half a day off today to escort Zhen Shi and the others to Penglang Ferry to board the ship.
Nanlong is located south of Longcheng County. To return to Nanlong, you need to transfer through Jiangzhou City.
Longcheng has a well-developed waterway system, and the Yangtze River is right next to it, so taking a boat is naturally the most convenient way to leave Longcheng County.
In the early morning, the sun was just rising.
At one corner of Penglangdu Wharf, a boat that has been temporarily hired is moored.
The boatmen and sailors helped the servants from Meilu Park unload their luggage from the carriage and carry it onto the boat.
This method of hiring an entire boat and not stopping to pick up other passengers along the way is also known as "buying a boat," and it was a way for wealthy people to travel on the Yangtze River.
Ouyang Rong stood on the shore, his sleeves tucked in, his long robe fluttering in the wind.
He silently watched as familiar figures such as Zhen Shi, Ye Weilai, and Banxi boarded the ship.
With a "thump" of the ladder being retracted, the entire massive passenger ship seemed to have received some kind of command and gradually began to move, slowly leaving the dock at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Ouyang Rong, who had been calmly keeping his hands tucked in his sleeves, finally broke into a smile at this moment.
He waved to the several women of the Zhen family who were gathered at the stern of the boat, reluctant to part.
Just then, Ouyang Rong, standing on the shore, saw a blue-eyed girl with silver hair being blown by the river breeze on the high stern of the boat. Suddenly, she broke free from her female companion's embrace and rushed towards him without regard for her own safety.
The next second, it seemed as if it wanted to leap out of the boat and cross the river, which was already five meters away, to reach the shore.
Ouyang Rong's body trembled slightly, and he subconsciously reached out to catch it, but then his hand stopped in mid-air and he silently withdrew it.
Ye Weilai was pulled back by several women from the Zhen family behind her.
Seeing this, Ouyang Rong did not linger any longer and watched the boat sail away.
He turned away in silence, and left Penglangdu with Liu Ashan and his entourage without saying a word.
The ship behind him was sailing away.
As the women held Ye Weilai down, tears welled up in her eyes; the tears that flowed from her gray-blue eyes were actually clear and transparent.
Large, hot drops of water, like lotus leaf beads, streamed down her face. She covered her mouth tightly with her small hand, staring blankly at the slender back of her master as he left on the distant shore.
At one moment, a ribbon tied in one's hair broke free and flew away, drifting with the wind towards Penglang Ferry, where people bid farewell every day.
A strong wind blew the girl's waist-length silver hair wildly through the air.
...
"Sir, won't you stay a little longer?"
Liu Ashan's voice came from behind, but Ouyang Rong didn't turn his head and said:
"We'll have to part ways soon anyway, it'll only make us more reluctant to leave. It's normal for a young girl to be sentimental, she'll get used to it after all the partings."
Liu Ashan thought for a moment and nodded: "That's true. Anyway, Madam Zhen and the others will only be gone for two months and will be back before the end of the year."
Ouyang Rong remained silent.
After a long time.
He, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around and said:
"Ah Shan, everyone has to part ways. Look ahead."
The tall, thin, and taciturn man was taken aback. Looking at the carefree smile of the young man in front of him under the sunlight, he nodded blankly.
The leave he had taken in the morning was still valid, but Ouyang Rong took Liu Ashan directly back to the county government office.
Having bid farewell to Zhen Shi and Ye Weilai, among other "relatives," Ouyang Rong was now practically alone, finally able to focus all his energy on important matters.
Actually, the reason he made an excuse to send Zhen and Ye Weilai back to their hometown to pay respects to their ancestors was that he was genuinely worried that Liu might act desperately after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
There's also the personal motive of resolving this entanglement.
The disaster relief has been completed. Once he has successfully controlled the floods and survived the rainy season in Jiangnan, he will either confiscate the Liu family's property or lock them in cages.
Then one can arrange one's affairs after death, find a pretext to resign from officialdom and retire into seclusion, and go to the Pure Land Palace with a light heart to try one's return and receive blessings.
Rather than hastily cutting ties and letting go at that time, it's better to gradually decouple now and prepare in advance.
Sending Zhen Shi and Ye Weilai back to their hometown to pay respects to their ancestors was the first step, and also the hardest step for Ouyang Rong to give up, since they were "family" he had spent every day with.
However... it seems to have succeeded.
Ouyang Rong turned his back to Penglangdu and strode away, facing Digongzha, where the ribbon-cutting ceremony was about to take place.
He didn't turn around.
...
The sun is setting in the west.
Yin and Yang are separated.
The Deer Park, which used to be bustling with activity after the male owner finished his shift, suddenly felt rather empty and desolate.
Ouyang Rong walked through the quiet corridor, pushed open the gate of the plum grove courtyard under the setting sun, and went inside alone.
A quick glance out of the corner of my eye.
He paused for a moment, then walked to the bedside where only one set of bedding and pillows remained, and reached out to pick up a neatly folded, brand-new blue scholar's robe.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head.
Twisting and grinding the fabric with the fingertips.
The stitches are a bit clumsy and awkward.
He lightly pinched two fingers together, squinted, and 'pulled' a thin, long silver hair out from the new clothes.
Watching the silver threads sway gently in the air.
A few images flashed through Ouyang Rong's mind: the white-haired maidservant dozing off under the lamp, her hands holding needle and thread.
He silently put down his new clothes, walked to the table, tucked the silver hair between his fingers into a book, and then put the book back on the bookshelf.
Ouyang Rong turned around.
The setting sun casts long shadows; I gaze silently at the empty room.
He suddenly realized how quickly time had passed and how long he had been in this world.
"I shall return... Wealth and honor are not my desire, the imperial capital... is beyond my reach..."
The young magistrate murmured to himself.
...
night.
On the river.
The bright moon is hidden behind the clouds, and the wind and waves are quite high.
On the dark river, a lone sail sways gently, heading towards the bright moon.
The chartered boat has been sailing on the river for two days.
At this moment, the bow to the stern of the ship was empty, with the occasional snores of the boatmen coming from the cabin, and a few servants on night watch walking by on the veranda.
Thanks to the severe crackdown on river pirates by various prefectures and counties in Jiangnan in recent years, navigation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is quite safe.
Moreover, as the boatmen and sailors knew, the noblewoman who had chartered the boat was no ordinary person; she was the wife of an official, and her young nephew was serving as the magistrate of a large county under the jurisdiction of Jiangzhou.
The entourage included many capable servants, and the generous Mrs. Zhen was also a shrew. The boatmen had learned their lesson over the past few days and naturally both respected and feared her.
Inside the cabin at this moment.
The cabin, second only to that of the noblewoman surnamed Zhen, was pitch black.
A little moonlight shone through the crack in the tightly closed window on the right, illuminating a dimly lit bed in the upper left corner of the cabin.
The bed was tightly covered by blankets, with a bulging bulge in the middle.
It seemed as if someone had buried their head in the covers and fallen into a deep sleep.
A few strands of silver hair peeked out from the edge of the blankets. As the boat rocked, the silver hair swayed and slipped off the edge of the bed, almost touching the floor under the low bed.
The little owner of this bed wasn't sleeping on the pillow, but rather curled up inside the blankets, his hands tightly clutching the pillow, as if he were holding onto something he never wanted to let go of.
Her large, tightly closed eyes seemed to be moving, as if she were lost in some kind of dream.
The white-haired girl's brows furrowed frequently, more often than they relaxed. At one point, the moonlight outside the window dimmed, and the boat began to rock violently, as if it had encountered a significant storm.
Meanwhile, a murmured voice could be heard from inside the bed:
"Master, please don't...please don't sell your slave...please don't!"
The white-haired girl suddenly opened her eyes. The top of the blanket fell to the ground, revealing her messy silver hair. The girl hugged the pillow and backed away in terror, turning her head to look around in fear.
After my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see the real place I was in.
As her fear subsided slightly, her small face looked dazed and wistful as she gazed at the moonlight filtering through the crack in the window.
"It was just a dream..."
Ye Weilai just dreamt that she was back in the small iron cage at Jinxiaokou Horse Stable, and was forcibly taken away from Ouyang Rong.
The small iron cage was loaded onto the cargo hold of the ship, swaying and rocking on the river, destined to be sold to a distant and unfamiliar place.
This is her childhood experience, and also the nightmare that often resurfaces in the middle of the night after she left her owner these past few days.
Ye Weilai reached into her bosom; the red embroidered pouch containing two copper coins was still hanging on her chest. Feeling the hardness of the coins in her palm, her expression softened a little, but the low bed beneath her hips swayed rhythmically with the river, and lingering fear remained in Ye Weilai's eyes.
The instant I woke up.
The pitch-black cabin, the swaying lodging, the loneliness of curling up alone... For a fleeting moment, she truly felt as if she had returned to the little cage where she drifted along with the current as a child.
This fear is ingrained in one's very bones.
Even after being taken back to the Sika Deer Park by her master, Ye Weilai rarely had such dreams anymore.
However, forgetting does not mean that we have overcome it.
Ye Weilai's eyes adjusted to the darkness. She leaned forward, opened the small window, sat on the low bed in the cabin, and gazed up at the bright moon over the river.
Ye Weilai's milk-white face was illuminated by the moonlight, making her appear clear and bright, and her soft silver hair gave her a somewhat holy look.
However, her gray-blue eyes and small face remained blank and dazed.
These past few days, I've been away from Longcheng, drifting on the river, bidding farewell to my master for the first time.
Ye Weilai gradually began to realize something.
Under the moonlight, the girl curled up against a pillow and murmured softly:
"The cage... the cage... so you've always been here."
Why did it seem as if he had already disappeared before?
The girl, led out of the cage by Ouyang Rong, murmured to herself:
"Without him... what difference would this outside world be from a cage?"
The cabin continued to rock, the windows remained open, and the bright moon continued to hang high.
In the depths of Ye Wei's grey-blue eyes as she gazed at the moon, the confusion gradually dissipated, and a certain clarity returned.
Her gaze slowly hardened.
It seems a decision has already been made.
...
early morning.
The sky cleared up.
The wind howled on the river, constantly blowing against the sails.
Early riser, Madam Zhen, dressed in a blue skirt and a white blouse, moved gracefully to the bow of the boat.
In the sunlight, she craned her neck slightly, curiously observing the boatmen casting their nets to catch fish.
A short while later, Madam Zhen turned her head and glanced in the direction of Jiangzhou.
This is the third day since we boarded the ship, and we have already left the Jiangzhou area.
I wonder how Tanlang is doing now.
Just then, Zhen heard familiar footsteps behind her, and without turning her head, she smiled and said:
"You silly girl, didn't I tell you to sleep in a little longer? Why are you up so early... Didn't you sleep well last night?"
After saying her last sentence, Zhen turned around and glanced at the white-haired girl's face as she approached the bow of the boat.
Her eyes were indeed a little red.
Madam Zhen understood immediately and sighed, "Still reluctant to part with it?"
Ye Weilai gently brushed the silver hair that had been blown down by the wind behind her ear, said nothing, and obediently stepped forward, squatted down and reached out to carefully straighten the hem of Zhen's clothes.
The beautiful woman in the silk dress smiled slightly, pondered for a moment, then reached out and gently touched the girl's silver hair.
She remembered that Tanlang liked to touch her like that, but she had never tried it before.
Ye Weilai, who had been looking down, suddenly spoke:
"Madam, how long until the next ferry dock?" She kept adjusting the hem of her skirt.
"We've reached Hongzhou territory. We should be able to reach the ferry crossing in Hongzhou City by noon today. Why are you asking this?"
Ye Weilai paused for a moment, straightened the skirt of the woman in front of her, and without standing up, she looked up at Zhen Shi with her small face upturned and mustered her courage to say:
"Madam, I... I can't take it anymore. I want to go back to my lover right away. I don't want to stop for a moment. Madam, could you... could you help me?"
Zhen's expression showed some surprise, but she was not surprised by Ye Weilai's idea.
She was just a little surprised by the girl's choice.
After a moment of silence, the woman in the silk skirt spoke in a tone that was half serious and half joking:
"This opportunity to go back to worship our ancestors and burn paper money as a relative of Tanlang is quite rare. It is the best opportunity that Tanlang has fought for you. It is a rare chance."
"I gave you a chance, are you sure you want to give it up instead of seizing it?"
"Ha, aren't you afraid that your beloved will meet a new favorite concubine and change his mind, thus denying you any status? Your beloved may be kind-hearted, but he is still a man after all..."
Zhen Shi smiled as she sized up Ye Weilai's expression.
The latter lowered her head, her lips moved slightly, then she suddenly stood up, stared into Zhen's eyes, and nodded vigorously, saying:
"I only want to be with my beloved, I don't ask for anything else. My heart trembles with fear if I don't see him for even a moment. I only beg you, Madam, to help me and let me go back."
Lady Zhen remained silent for a moment, then turned to look in the direction of Jiangzhou behind her. She pondered:
"It's not that it's impossible. I noticed your complexion has been off these past few days, but ultimately I can't force it."
"But since you've made up your mind, as long as you can bear the consequences, that's fine. If you go back to find Tanlang, then you have to be prepared to upset him."
After a pause, Zhen pouted, poked Ye Weilai with her index finger, and said with a sharp tongue:
“Stubborn girl, go think about how to explain this to him when we get back... I’ll find you a boat when we arrive in Hongzhou City at noon.”
"Thank you so much, madam!"
Ye Weilai beamed with joy and took Zhen's arm, but the latter sighed and shook her head.
Immediately, the silver-haired girl, who had made the bold decision, seemed unable to stay a moment longer.
She walked back and forth from the bow to the stern of the boat, pressing her small hands against her abdomen to hold down the hem of her skirt that was blowing in the wind. She strolled lightly, glancing back from time to time in the direction of Longcheng County, Jiangzhou.
What is Master doing right now...? Yesterday was the fifteenth, and he seemed to have been preparing for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the sluice gate. He should be done by now... Also, how should I explain this to Master when I get back? Will he punish me...?
An irrepressible anticipation rose in Ye Weilai's heart.
Like the rising sun over the river.
Ahem, Junzi finally got a bestseller recommendation... I'd like to recommend my previous book, "I Have a Sword Immortal Wife," which I poured my heart and soul into. It has a delicate love story, multiple female leads, a slow-burn slice-of-life story, and isn't a power-up novel. My good brothers who aren't interested can check it out~ (bows)
(End of this chapter)
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