Chapter 217 Lianghan Returns Home!
The clatter of horses' hooves echoed through Luming Street.
The carriage carrying Li Xian and his family slowly returned to the Su residence.
As they passed by the gate of a quiet little courtyard next to the Su residence, the curtain on the right was slightly lifted, and Li Guo'er's gaze swept over the unlocked Meilu Garden.
On the street in front of the courtyard gate, a pretty young girl with a tattoo on her forehead was sweeping the dust in front of the gate with a broom in both hands. She would stop from time to time to wipe her sweat and turn her head to look in the direction of the dock.
His pupils were somewhat unfocused, as if he were gazing absently at a distant green mountain that he could never reach.
Her once bright and expressive eyes had lost some of their former sparkle, replaced by a touch of sorrow.
Li Guo'er knew this girl with the character "Yue" tattooed on her forehead.
Her name seems to be Aqing. She is the younger sister of the attendant named "Ashan" who serves Ouyang Lianghan. Her family also lives in Meiluyuan.
It seems they've stayed behind and are holding onto the courtyard.
Aqing paid no attention to the passing carriages. She silently took out a blue paper butterfly from her bosom, stared at it, and murmured something.
The carriage passed by in a hurry, and Li Guo'er paid no attention to the girl and the blue butterfly origami flower. She looked away and lowered the curtain.
Before long, before jumping off the carriage, Li Guo'er pursed her lips, then suddenly tilted her head and bent down, quickly picking up a key from among the pile of papers on the ground and throwing it into her sleeve.
"This will not be repeated."
Under the curious gazes of Li Xian and Wei Mei, the young girl in plum blossom makeup gracefully jumped off the carriage, her face tense, and left with an air of haughtiness...
Luming Street is not usually bustling; it is inhabited by wealthy families living in large, secluded mansions.
Especially in the afternoon when most households are taking a nap.
On the southeast side of the street, a relatively low high wall suddenly had a tile fall off, shattering into pieces with a "crack".
Unfortunately, it didn't attract any attention.
As for the gray figure that secretly slipped inside the wall, no one knew about it.
"You're acting like a thief even in your own home, you're really something... But I guess my wall-climbing skills are still pretty good, right? I haven't practiced in ages. Back when I was in school and living in the dorms, climbing over walls in three steps was a piece of cake. I've gotten rusty..."
"Well, other people's three-step layup at eighteen, my three-step wall jump at eighteen... both emphasize being a young prodigy."
In a secluded corner of the inner wall of the Meilu Garden, Ouyang Rong patted his clothes and clapped his hands, muttered something self-deprecatingly, and walked towards the plum grove courtyard without looking back.
On the way, he would occasionally slow his pace and look around at the deserted house.
"The other maids all left with Wei Lai, so now only A Qing's family and a few old gatekeepers are left. They shouldn't be able to find anything."
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly and headed to the plum grove courtyard with practiced ease.
His attire today was different from usual; he was dressed in a gray black robe, a commoner's outfit that wouldn't stand out on the street. However, his handsome face was too much of a hindrance, so he had to wear a felt hat and walk with his head down to cover it.
After all, quite a few people recognize his face.
In addition, Ouyang Rong was carrying a rather large bundle on his back, which made it a bit difficult for him to climb over the wall.
With his mind wandering aimlessly, searching for excuses and lost in thought, Ouyang Rong arrived at the plum grove courtyard again without incident.
Having parted ways with everyone today, Ouyang Rong felt much more relaxed, and his mind was no longer burdened by the seriousness he usually felt in front of others and the pressure of being cautious in private as the magistrate of a county.
He regained some of the carefree attitude he had when he was preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam.
Ouyang Rong was making sarcastic remarks and laughing all the way, but for some reason, there wasn't much of a smile on his face.
As he approached the plum grove courtyard, he became even more composed, moved quietly, and fell silent.
The courtyard of Meilin was quiet and still. On the windowsill of the main house, a pot of clivia swayed in the wind.
Ouyang Rong lowered the brim of his hat, glanced back at the way he came, silently took out his key, and opened the tightly closed main door.
The clanging sound of the door frame echoed slowly in the room.
I don't know if it was just my imagination, but the sound seemed to echo for several rounds and still lingered.
The familiar main house seemed somewhat empty.
It was indeed empty; not only were Ouyang Rong and Ye Weilai's bedding and clothes gone, but even their desks, calligraphy, and bookshelves were all emptied.
Right now, they should be on a ship some distance away, drifting with the waves of the river towards their hometown of Nanlong. Originally, these books were intended for Su Dalang, but now it seems unnecessary. He's not taking the imperial examinations; he's competing for the throne, so we won't disturb him.
Ouyang Rong threw the bundle and felt hat onto the octagonal table covered with a dustproof cloth.
He turned around, filled a ladle with water, went to the window in the inner room, and watered the clivia plant that Xie Lingjiang had given him.
"Come on, let's have a drink. Brother Lan, drink more. Next time, the one watering your plants will probably be your junior sister who comes with the keys."
“In a letter she sent from Jiangzhou a few days ago, she said that she had seen her father, but she still had to go to Longhu Mountain again. I don’t know what she was going to do. Was she busy with the antidote? Or was she doing something for her mentor? However, she said in her letter that she probably wouldn’t be back until after the 15th of this month.”
Inside the empty house, a man stood before the orchids, holding a water ladle, muttering to himself:
"What? You mean you can wait for her to come back before watering your plants? Who knows? What if she's not in the mood to water them then? You should drink more now, don't be picky. It's already kind of you that I remembered you, came over to water your plants, and chat with you..."
This person, with extremely thick skin and a rather arrogant tone, paused, looked thoughtful, and nodded, saying:
"But who knows? If you can use your charm to cheer her up after she reads the letter on the table, she might just water you when she's happy. As long as it's not tears, that's fine. So, I'd like to ask Brother Lan to comfort my junior sister for me back then."
"What? You're saying she doesn't care at all, just treats it like being bitten by a dog... Fine then, if that's how Junior Sister thinks, that's fine too. I was just being presumptuous. But to be honest, I, as the senior brother, have indeed acted quite like a dog."
"What? You're asking what would happen if I got to the Pure Land Palace and found I couldn't get back? Wouldn't that be embarrassing? And you're still 'laughing' about it?"
"Hehe, alright, then you wait here until I, your clown brother, come back and I'll continue to water and fertilize you, once in the morning and once in the evening. Guess why I won't water you at noon? Heh, I'll burn the seedlings and kill you."
Ouyang Rong glared at the orchid in the pot:
"Hey, you're deliberately trying to be discouraging, aren't you? Don't you know about Master Zhongma, who was also the grand-uncle of Master Shandao? Didn't that great man ascend to heaven in broad daylight in the underground palace? He even achieved Buddhahood in his physical body. This at least proves that the Pure Land Palace wasn't wrongly named. The chances are pretty good."
He nodded, gave a detailed analysis, glanced at the quietly listening Junzilan, relaxed his shoulders slightly, squinted at the scenery outside the window, and said softly:
"There are only a few days left until the 15th of this month... so I'm in a hurry to leave because I've already been dragging my feet for quite a while. My junior sister went to Gezao Mountain to ask for pills, and I should have started to say goodbye, but I was a little reluctant and hesitant."
"But after what happened at the neighbor's house, I suddenly understood some things and became more determined in my original intention. And just like me, the Zheyi Canal was also opened up a couple of days ago."
"I've fulfilled all the promises I made when I took office: disaster relief, flood control, and fairness. I've even exceeded some of them. I have no regrets... What, you're asking me about fairness?"
Ouyang Rong's face hardened, and he said seriously:
"You know perfectly well what I'm asking, don't you? The Liu family is gone, but aren't the people of Longcheng doing just fine now?"
“Look at Ah Shan’s family, isn’t that a reflection of most ordinary families in Longcheng? I also personally taught my fellow villagers how to fight and deal with bullies, isn’t that justice?”
"Moreover, from the moment I met Ah Shan's family until last night when we had dinner and said goodbye, I was quite pleased to see that their lives were indeed getting better and better. I guess it was a good beginning and a good end. The atmosphere is right now, so why not leave? Why not stay for dinner?"
"No, why do you have so many questions? What? You say justice has been served in Longcheng, but you're asking me about justice outside of Longcheng? You're asking me how to get rid of that biggest tyrant in the world in Luojing?"
The water flow from the wooden ladle in Ouyang Rong's hand stopped.
He suddenly smiled brightly, and said in a playful tone:
"Hey, don't be silly, Brother Lan, that's enough. You've accumulated enough merit, hurry up and leave. Know when to quit while you're ahead. Do you think you can manage all those hundreds of Longcheng counties outside? Besides, what do you need so much merit for? Be careful not to overdo it. Like water poured too much, you'll drown."
The young man in casual clothes chuckled nonchalantly, his logic perfectly consistent.
The orchid in the pot remained motionless, with only glistening water droplets condensing on its leaves, reflecting the gradually stiffening smile of an old man.
This clivia plant seems to have teardrop-shaped eyes staring at the young man.
It's as if they don't find it funny at all.
Suddenly a strong wind blew, causing the orchids to sway violently and water droplets to splash everywhere.
After a short while, Ouyang Rong wiped the water off his face and slowly suppressed his smile.
His eyes were fixed on the orchid, as if he were intently trying to persuade this proud clivia, or perhaps he was talking to himself:
"I know, I know, stop nagging, of course I know."
"It's nothing more than widespread sorrow and bloodshed, all for the sake of saving the world... It's nothing more than the golden monkey wielding his mighty cudgel, clearing the sky of dust from ten thousand miles away..."
"But anyone with a conscience would feel pity upon seeing the devastation of the city being flooded. I'm just a little more prone to getting carried away with my emotions, which is normal. I'm young, right? I'm not as heartless as you."
"And what era are we living in? Why would anyone want to be a traditional savior?"
“A friend once advised me not to be a savior, not to have any savior complex. Whether it's picking up girls or doing things, just honestly take the postgraduate entrance exam and become a higher-paid office worker. Trying to save everything will only harm you.”
"I thought it made a lot of sense, so I honestly went to take the postgraduate entrance exam."
"And most importantly, I'm not the 'gentleman' who wrote those two lines of poetry. I'm just a graduate school entrance exam fanatic who spends his days browsing pornographic images in graduate school entrance exam groups. How much success can you expect from me? Right?"
"Saving a Dragon City is already so difficult. It's not that I haven't thought about looking out, but what do I see?"
"The entire world is just a larger Dragon City, with feudal and autocratic imperial power, empresses who treat family matters as national affairs, mythical powers of unknown origin, Qi practitioners who use martial arts to disrupt the law, and ordinary people wailing like mayflies under a prosperous and beautiful world."
"The more you come into contact with and integrate into this world, the colder and more real it feels. Brother Lan doesn't understand. You're so carefree, able to stay in the basin every day waiting to be served, wielding your power and pointing out the flaws in the world."
"To be honest, I don't regret coming to Dragon City, but I'm not proud at all of being such a short-lived savior."
Ouyang Rong's expression returned to calm. He lowered his head and continued to carefully water the plants, saying softly:
"Brother Lan, do you know when I was happiest these days?"
"My happiest and most joyful moments are when I hear the sound of shovels hitting stones and hammers striking wooden stakes, when the people of Longcheng work together to dig new canals and when the Di Gong Sluice Gate rises from nothing! These sounds are truly heavenly; I can listen to them from morning till night without getting tired of them!"
He suddenly raised his head, stared at the orchid, grinned widely, revealing three white teeth, his smile radiant like the sunshine outside, but the words that came out of his mouth were icy cold:
"Do you know what pains me the most? It's that one second they're working hard to create things, and the next second they turn around and bow down to me, calling me 'Master' or 'Lord,' and expressing their gratitude!"
Ouyang Rong maintained his smile, straining to open his eyes, which were already turning red, and tilted his head back, his chest heaving violently like a broken bellows.
"I eat the official salary squeezed from the people's hard-earned money, earn a huge amount of merit from them, and even have them help me build water conservancy projects. Then I can go to the court to claim credit and rewards, and by the way, I can become famous throughout the world. All the scholars and people in the world will praise me, Ouyang Lianghan, for doing a good job, doing a brilliant job, being a righteous gentleman, and being an honest official of the time! I can even be remembered in history and admired by future generations!"
"And what about them?" He raised his chin, gesturing towards the window: "It's as simple as just letting them have enough to eat and live a good life, yet throughout history, only a handful of people have managed to do it. What kind of bullshit world is this!"
"And the officials in the court and the Empress Wei, those high-sounding wolves, all turned around and praised me for doing a good job, for being a good man of the country, a minister of the state, and a good dog who herds sheep for the emperor!"
As he spoke, his face grew increasingly flushed, as if he had been greatly insulted and was filled with rage. The young man watering the flowers had an unusually ferocious expression, pointing to his feet and growling hoarsely:
"What else could this be but the Avici Hell that 'Master Ignorance' spoke of? What else could it be but the Avici Hell?! Compared to this world, that world is truly a Pure Land of Lotus Flowers!"
Ouyang Rong ripped open his collar with his right hand, panting heavily.
"My junior sister said she also wanted to be a herding dog like me, but I don't want to be a herding dog for even a second longer!"
"I'm not going to put up with this nonsense! I'm leaving. If there's a Pure Land, then I'll go back to the Pure Land!"
A water ladle clattered to the ground, spilling water everywhere. The young man with red-rimmed eyes suddenly turned around, went to the octagonal table, and opened a bundle.
On the windowsill, only a single clivia flower stands quietly alone, the water droplets hanging on its leaves seeming to gently watch over that person's departing figure.
Unaware of the noise.
Sorry for the slightly padded chapter, but if I don't write these, some readers will question the protagonist's logic and motives... Great, Xiao Rong has successfully padded another chapter!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
