Chapter 16 Yue Maiden A Qing
"Father."
"What's wrong?"
Xie Lingjiang hesitated for a moment.
Xie Xun stood at his desk, head down, spreading out paper. His headscarf draped over the table, and without looking up, he said:
"Grind the ink for me."
"good."
Xie Xun took a small wolf-hair brush, lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then began to dip it in ink and write. This was a letter.
Xie Lingjiang, who was grinding ink nearby, watched her father's focused expression for a while, then turned to close the window; it looked like it was about to rain outside.
"Don't close the window." Xie Xun paused. "Rain is a good thing."
Xie Lingjiang stopped and said directly, "Father, Ouyang Lianghan is not what I imagined."
What kind of image do you envision?
"I thought we were kindred spirits, and we had a very pleasant conversation."
"But what about in reality?"
"Actually... it's a bit strange, serious yet somewhat unserious, quite different from what you said before."
"oh?"
Xie Xun paused writing, "People change, especially those who have experienced such ups and downs at such a young age."
Xie Lingjiang hesitated for a moment, then recounted the "misunderstanding" that had occurred at Sanhui Courtyard that afternoon, summarizing it as follows:
“He also lied, even though it was to curry favor. But my daughter doesn’t like this kind of social nicety.”
As she finished speaking, she frowned and turned around, only to find her father looking at her with great interest, having stopped writing.
“I used to think it was inappropriate. How could two upright gentlemen live together? How could they be so rigid and respectful? But now that I hear what you say, I think it’s quite suitable.”
Xie Xun chuckled.
"What do you mean by 'living together' and 'quite suitable'? What is Father talking about?"
"It's nothing, I'll tell you when I get back tonight."
Xie Xun put down his pen, placed the letter by the window to dry the ink, and turned to fetch a grayish-blue paper umbrella:
"Come on, I'll take you down the mountain to meet a family we've known for generations."
"A family with a long history? We are a prominent family that has been together for six generations. In this small Longcheng County, or even Jiangzhou City, are there any families that can be considered family friends with the Xie family?"
Xie Xun nodded calmly: "If it weren't for this family's 'family friendship,' how could I have built the pagoda in this county and this temple?"
Xie Lingjiang was taken aback.
...
"First of all, I haven't offended any of you."
Ouyang Rong spoke with a serious expression.
"Secondly, I have never expressed any support for the marriage that my aunt forced upon me. Even if, by some chance, my junior sister becomes obsessed with men and agrees because of my looks, I will still politely refuse her tomorrow. I need to go home and not delay that talented young woman."
"Again, the child bride that my aunt mentioned who pricked me with needles... I think her name was Xiu Niang. I didn't mean any harm. I remember she did prick me, but it didn't seem like acupuncture to save someone. Could it be a misunderstanding? I can only guess that she had some kind of illness, otherwise why would she murder her husband?"
"so……"
In the Hall of Merit, amidst the swirling clouds and mist, Ouyang Rong paused, then tried his best to coax the small wooden fish bearing his title in a gentle voice, "Can you return my merits?"
He paused, then added a slight threat:
"You're just arbitrarily deducting money. Aren't you afraid Buddha will revoke your business license? So just give it back to me, or even more V50 will do, and we'll pretend nothing happened, okay?"
After employing both soft and hard tactics and sincerely pleading for justice, Ouyang Rong waited expectantly for a long time, but the Merit Pagoda remained silent, and the cyan-gold characters above the small wooden fish remained completely still:
Merit: 90
"Grass!"
Ouyang Rong flung his sleeves and left.
With a stern face, he left the black-hearted pagoda of merit.
He's in a bad mood right now; an adult's breakdown can happen in an instant.
I haven't even started earning merit yet, and so much has already been deducted, and they don't even support appeals for wrongful deductions... I can't live like this anymore.
It was approaching evening.
Yan Liulang went to Donglin Temple again and delivered a packet of medicinal herbs to Ouyang Rong.
After saying goodbye to the former, Ouyang Rong opened the package and checked it:
It contains cicada molts, scorpions, and Arisaema cum Bile, all prepared according to the prescription. There is also a pot of yellow wine and mugwort for disinfection.
This tetanus treatment recipe was learned by Ouyang Rong during a summer vacation in his hometown village from a barefoot doctor. At that time, a relative of his had contracted tetanus, and he had personally witnessed the terrible state of the patient, which left a particularly vivid memory.
At that time, the very mischievous Ouyang Rong also had a similar wound on his arm. The old barefoot doctor scared him by saying that he would also get the same disease, which frightened him so much that he foolishly memorized the prescription and went to get the medicine. Later, he was naturally teased by his relatives and friends...
Therefore, it had a profound impact.
Just like how you might sometimes forget what your first love looked like, but you still vividly remember the plaid dress she wore when you first met her...
Ouyang Rong brought the medicine to Liu Ashan's house.
It was the same closed, dimly lit room again, the same meeting with one person standing, one person lying down, and two people kneeling, and the same oppressive atmosphere that permeated the room when he didn't speak.
Ouyang Rong didn't waste any words this time. He carefully examined Liu Ashan's condition and was slightly relieved to find that the tetanus infection in Liu Ashan's wound was still in its early stages, just when the symptoms were starting to appear.
Intervention at this point offers some hope, but honestly, in the end, it all depends on how resilient he is and whether he can pull through.
Ouyang Rong was not confident either.
Just as he was hesitating about how to explain to Liu's mother and the others that a young county magistrate knew how to treat this kind of thing.
Boom—!
Thunder rumbled outside; the thunder and rain that had been pressing down on the clouds all day poured down like a waterfall.
Ouyang Rong couldn't leave for the time being.
Ashan's mother, Liu, came over and invited him to stay for dinner. Ouyang Rong didn't stand on ceremony; he only declined briefly before agreeing.
The guest rooms provided by Donglin Temple for pilgrims are quite nice; Liu Ashan's family stayed in a rather spacious courtyard room.
The dining area was a semi-open house facing the courtyard, somewhat like the living room in my previous life after the French windows were removed. People inside knelt and sat on the floor.
Rainwater trickling down the eaves formed a curtain of water, separating the outside from the inside.
Ouyang Rong was invited here by Liu's mother and sat alone for a while, waiting for the food.
As if to save money, no lights were on in the room. He turned his head and stared blankly at the rain curtain outside and the dark mountain peaks in the distance.
In this era of material scarcity, the nights are so dull; once night falls, it's pitch black outside, and there are plenty of insects and mosquitoes.
Come to think of it, Ouyang Rong noticed that he didn't seem to miss home as much at night as before; perhaps he had gotten used to it...
With a creak.
Someone carefully pushed the door open. Ouyang Rong turned around and saw the little girl named A Qing carrying a plate and a small lamp, squeezing in from outside the door. Because she couldn't free her hands, she could only push with her slender shoulders.
Ouyang Rong stepped forward and opened the door for her.
"Thank you, sir."
Ah Qing lowered her head and whispered something, then placed the lamp on the small tea table, knelt on the floor mat, and skillfully placed the bowls, chopsticks, and food in front of him one after another.
Ouyang Rong noticed that her dark hair was damp and stuck together, and he wondered if she had just been outside and gotten wet in the rain.
"Isn't your mother coming to eat?"
Aqing handed over the rice with her head down, gently shook her head, and didn't say anything.
Ouyang Rong thought for a moment and realized that Liu's mother was probably taking care of Ah Shan's meal, but he had asked a stupid question.
He coughed, took the rice, and ate a bite, only to find that Aqing was just sitting there blankly, not touching the bowl.
"Um, aren't you going to eat? You should eat some too, let's not be shy."
Aqing hesitated for a moment, but under the concerned gaze of the young magistrate, she also scooped up some rice.
Because the room was dark, the oil lamp on the small tea table was very bright, but it could only barely illuminate the two people kneeling and eating.
Only then did Ouyang Rong get a clear look at the girl in front of him by the light.
Like her brother, she was also branded on the face, a punishment called "ink punishment," which was standard for slaves in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The face or body would be marked with ink characters that demonstrated the master's authority, and even after being redeemed, the marks could never be removed.
Aqing has a small "Yue" character on her forehead, but it doesn't detract much from her delicate features; instead, it makes her look even more endearing.
She was very thin. Although she was already quite old at the age of 12, which was the age when she could get married in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the girl's nutrition was not up to par, and her figure was not fully developed. Her arms and legs were thin, like several sections of sugarcane sticks pieced together. Wearing a loose, coarse cloth skirt, she looked a bit dull.
However, Aqing has a pair of very intelligent eyes, with her pupils and the whites of her eyes clearly distinguished like black and white stones in Go.
But those dark eyes had been veiled in sorrow ever since Ouyang Rong first saw them.
"Your brother will be alright."
Ah Qing seemed to be thinking about something sad, biting her chopsticks and staring blankly at the ground. Ouyang Rong couldn't help but offer a word of comfort.
"Thank you, sir," she repeated, her face buried in her hands.
After finishing his meal, Ouyang Rong put down his chopsticks and began to think about how to explain his "treatment plan" to Aqing and Liu's mother. Some of the principles he took for granted were almost impossible for them to understand, and they could only blindly follow him.
Ouyang Rong was thinking about how to persuade Liu's mother and A Qing, and for a moment he did not notice the girl beside him.
After realizing what was happening, Ouyang Rong was surprised to find that A Qing hadn't taken the bowls and chopsticks out, but had moved them aside to make room for the two of them. Then, she stood in front of him with her head down, raised one hand, and pulled out the wooden hairpin from her hair. Her wet but shiny black hair fell down, while her other hand was not idle either. Before Ouyang Rong could speak, she had already untied her slender belt and thrown it aside. With a shrunken shoulder, her skirt slid down completely, leaving her naked—indeed, as slender as a peeled white sugarcane, unable to hold up her clothes.
"!!!"
Although he was a beat slow to react and his eyes widened, Ouyang Rong was quick-witted and nimbly stuffed the lamp on the coffee table under the low table.
The light was hidden, plunging the room into darkness, while the sound of the rain outside grew louder.
The orange flames, pressed low by the tabletop, only illuminated a pair of bare ankles belonging to a young girl, and the slender hands of someone who was leaning back in fright, supporting themselves on the ground.
"Aqing, what are you doing?" he asked in a low voice, his tone incredulous.
In the dim light, Ah Qing hadn't stopped. She called out "Master" softly, then stepped forward and approached Ouyang Rong.
The latter was so frightened that he jumped up and backed away, while simultaneously tearing off his outer robe and spreading it out to catch the girl who was rushing towards him. He then wrapped the robe tightly around her, leaving only her dazed little head sticking out.
Ouyang Rong pressed the little head, took a deep breath, and then asked, "Why did you take your clothes off for no reason?"
He asked again, "Did someone force you?" The young magistrate, barely twenty, began to feel anger rising within him.
“No one forced Aqing. We’re poor and don’t have much to offer Master.” Aqing shook her head blankly. “My mother and brother asked me to come, and Aqing did it voluntarily… As long as Master can have a good time, that’s fine.”
Ouyang Rong fell silent.
Because of the people who kept pressuring Aqing and her family...
It was him.
(End of this chapter)
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