Chapter 275 Reunion After the Broken Jade
"My dear nephew Lianghan!"
Juxian Garden, Study Room.
He faced the figure of the young county magistrate and his strategist, who were sitting silently at the bottom of a row of seats.
Li Xian choked with sobs, tears wetting her sleeves, both happy and crying, unable to speak.
He was not a resolute, strong, or shrewd person, but rather someone who was indecisive, sentimental, and weak in the eyes of the world.
Unfortunately, he had a mother who was ruthless and power-hungry.
And yet, she was born into an imperial family by mistake.
He was not as intelligent and patient as his eighth brother, Xiang Wang Lilun.
This indecisive, sentimental, and weak personality might be considered kind, considerate, and loyal in the eyes of ordinary or wealthy families, making one a good husband and father to one's wife and children.
But he was neither a good emperor nor a good ruler.
Li Xian deeply felt this point long ago after experiencing the upheaval of the deposed emperor and being demoted to a commoner.
Those close advisors from the Eastern Palace who he had once treated with kindness and generosity have all left him, silently severing ties.
The only one who resigned from his official post to come was Mr. Yuan, who, though rigid and pedantic, was a man of integrity and propriety.
Having experienced the ups and downs of life, Li Xian was disheartened and numbed himself.
He changed his name to Su and spent more than a decade in a small town in Jiangnan, truly living up to the "leisure" in his name.
But how can ordinary people accept such a disparity between being an emperor and a commoner?
Li Xian actually held back. He was a weak-willed person by nature. He had told himself again and again that "being a wealthy man" was the best outcome.
Moreover, he was able to grow old with his wife and accompany Fusu and Guo'er as they grew up. This was a kind of true affection that was hard to experience in the imperial family. He should be content.
Until last month, when the Luoyang court sent another angel, who was none other than his old "love rival," he was terrified. The "jade pendant" given to him by his mother still makes him afraid to approach.
What truly changed Li Xian's mindset was the story of "Duke Zheng defeating Duan at Yan" that Ouyang Rong had told not long ago;
There was also the experience of Wei Shaoxuan tearing off the sheepskin and revealing his fangs to chase after his wife and children on the fifteenth day.
The latter ignited his anger and fear.
The former, however, saw his wise and resourceful nephew give Li Xian hope.
He no longer wanted to be a spineless coward who lived a precarious life, was ridiculed and hunted down by his nephews and nieces, and had his beloved daughter forcibly taken away.
Even though this thought made him tremble with fear, the figure of his iron-fisted empress dowager before him was so overwhelming that it filled him with despair.
Despite this, Li Xian still took the step and tried his best to persuade his nephew Liang Han to stay.
It wasn't for his own lust for power, but for Mei Niang, Fu Su, and Guo Er.
He just lazes around waiting to die; being a coward doesn't matter.
But Fusu and Guo'er are different. They are still young. They are Li family members who should have "courage" and their fate should not be the same as his, a useless man.
Li Xian trembled all over.
Today, I have family behind me.
There was no way to retreat.
Being weak does not mean you can be bullied without any limits.
Inside the study.
Li Xian strained to open his eyes wide, suppressing his tears, and looked at the young strategist in front of him who had once shredded Wei Shaoxuan, the sixth son of the King of Wei, into mincemeat. He was filled with intense emotions, as well as guilt for having resigned from his post.
Even though Ouyang Rong entered the Su residence today and went to the study of the eldest son, Fusu, he made a tacit statement.
Yet Li Xian remained completely grateful and held no grudges.
After all, his son would eventually be Fusu's, right?
This is a consensus that the whole family agrees on without any dispute.
Wei Mei doted on his eldest son the most.
Guo'er also had a very good relationship with her brother. The two were siblings, and Fusu doted on his younger sister from a young age, giving her everything she wanted.
Although Li Xian still had one or two illegitimate sons born to his concubines, they were still infants crying for milk.
If it weren't for the fact that when disaster struck, everyone would flee for their own lives, and she would have gone back to her parents' home with her materialistic concubine, far away from home, instead of coming to Longcheng with him to suffer hardship and live a precarious life.
His feelings for Li Xian, Li Fusu, Li Guo'er, and Wei Mei were naturally incomparable.
The four shared joys and sorrows in Longcheng, and their bond was the strongest.
Li Xian covered her face and wept for a while, then wiped away her tears, composed herself, and for a moment felt somewhat at a loss. She looked at Ouyang Rong with shame and said:
"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, my dear nephew Lianghan."
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "Uncle is truly a man of character."
Li Xian felt ashamed: "But I have delayed Liang Han's future."
Ouyang Rong shook his head, pondered for a moment, and said softly:
"I have promised Fusu that from today onwards I will come to your esteemed residence to do my part."
Li Xian quickly waved his hand: "Lianghan, what are you saying!"
At this moment, he couldn't help but glance at Ouyang Rong's eyes. Li Xian noticed that his eyes were slightly purplish, as if they had been like this since they arrived at the county government office.
I don't know if it's a lighting issue.
Ouyang Rong seemed to notice Li Xian's gaze and lowered his eyes slightly.
At this moment, Wei Mei and Li Guo'er came over with tea and snacks.
Wei Mei was extremely kind, pouring tea for Ouyang Rong. Li Guo'er stood quietly by his side, offering a helping hand. However, the usually proud and arrogant young lady with plum blossom makeup was noticeably quieter in the study today.
"Nephew Lianghan, clear your throat. This is a little snack I made. Try it; it will help cool you down."
Ouyang Rong shook his head, "Junior Sister likes to eat this, let her try it."
He gestured to Wei Mei, asking them to bring the ice cream-like crispy mountain to the junior sister sitting opposite him, who had just been staring at him expectantly.
The two senior and junior students are becoming more and more in sync.
Li Guo'er saw it all, including the sweet smile on Xie's sister's lips.
I can refuse iced snacks and desserts, but I can't refuse tea.
Li Xian's expression turned serious. He called over Li Fusu, who was scratching his head, and ordered him to perform the courtesy due to Ouyang Rong. Li Fusu obediently complied.
For a moment, this father and son, who were direct descendants of Emperor Taizong, served tea and water to Ouyang Rong as if they were servants.
Ouyang Rong reluctantly took a sip of tea, immediately stood up to decline, and pressed them to sit down.
“Uncle and Dalang, there’s no need for such formalities.” He paused, then nodded and said, “From now on, don’t call me ‘my dear nephew Lianghan,’ just call me Tanlang.”
Li Xian and Li Fusu were overjoyed.
"Uncle and Aunt, Dalang, and Miss Li, please have a seat."
Ouyang Rong said casually, lowering his eyes to conceal the purple aura within them. At that moment, his mind was slightly distracted, preoccupied with something else.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the direction of Luoyang where the imperial envoy Song Hao had left.
Just as he politely declined the imperial edict and saw Song Hao out of the courtroom, a bronze bell in the ancient tower in his mind suddenly trembled and emitted a familiar purple mist.
An unexpected blessing.
This surprised Ouyang Rong somewhat.
Two thousand [merit points] are required.
On his way to the Su residence, Ouyang Rong glanced at it briefly.
Very well, he's not good enough.
at present.
[Merit: 1,581]
Ouyang Rong sighed.
These days, he has found that "merit" is very difficult to earn.
After the flood control project was completed, Ouyang Rong spent all the merit points he had carefully accumulated on the fifteenth day.
The growth of merit is very slow.
Recently, he has been busy with the construction of the new ferry crossing at Zheyi Canal, as well as overseeing the reconstruction of some scattered buildings that collapsed during the floods and in the corners of the area, and providing support to the families of the martyrs who died in the flood control efforts.
In the past half month, Ouyang Rong has only gained a little over 1,500 merit points, and is still short by nearly 500.
Ouyang Rong was ready to give up, but it seemed that this new blessing would last for a rather long time after it was triggered.
Even after the celestial envoy Song Hao and his entourage had gone far away, the purple aura still lingered in their eyes.
It's unclear how long this will last.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head to drink his tea, concealing his intentions, and temporarily put the matter aside.
At that moment, the young magistrate looked up and found himself the sole focus of attention in the study, with all eyes on him.
He was sitting at the very end of a row of seats, but Li Xian and Li Fusu did not sit down. Instead, they stood beside him and served him tea.
Wei Mei and Li Guo'er also stood upright behind him, their beautiful eyes fixed on him.
As for the junior sister, she was eating a crispy mountain with a silver spoon across from him, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons as she glanced at him.
"We have important business to attend to today, Uncle and Dalang, please take your seats."
Ouyang Rong had no choice but to get up and pull the two of them to sit down, and the latter had no choice but to comply.
Ouyang Rong didn't sit down again, and asked the crowd directly:
"Uncle, where is the jade pendant His Majesty gave me before? Please fetch it."
Li Fusu immediately went out and soon returned with a jade pendant.
Ouyang Rong reached out and took it. The jade pendant was wrapped in a brocade box and red satin. The pendant was like a hollow full moon, but it was missing a corner, which was a real pity.
Seeing this, Li Xian asked expectantly, "What brilliant explanation do you have, my lord? Could there be a hidden meaning in the jade pendant that Mother gave you?"
"A hidden meaning?"
Ouyang Rong glanced at the jade pendant and shook his head. "I don't know." The next second, he suddenly raised his hand and threw the jade pendant to the ground.
"Clang—!"
A crisp sound.
The jade pendant bestowed by the Empress shattered into pieces, scattering debris all over the room.
Everyone was astonished, and Li Xian showed a hint of fear on his face.
"Sorry, it slipped my hand. Da Lang, you can clean it up later." Ouyang Rong patted the dust off his hands and chuckled, "Heh, since it's a jade pendant and has a chip, let's just leave it."
The crowd was filled with doubt and surprise, but seeing his calm and composed expression, they calmed down a bit.
"Elder brother, clean it yourself. Make sure no outsiders see it," Li Xian instructed in a low voice, his expression still showing some panic.
Ouyang Rong turned directly to Li Guo'er and Wei Mei and asked:
"How much money is currently available in the manor? Well, that includes your birthday gifts over the years."
Without hesitation, Li Guo'er gave a number.
Xie Lingjiang held a silver spoon in her hand, looked up and glanced sideways, with milk smeared on the corner of her lips, looking quite adorable.
As expected of a princess, her birthday gift was like robbery.
She pouted.
Ouyang Rong said calmly, "I will use it."
Li Guo'er asked, "Okay, how much do you want?"
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Take out a thousand taels of gold first."
"Hmm, not too much." Li Guo'er breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Ouyang Rong shook his head:
"I haven't finished yet. This thousand taels of gold is to be given to my junior sister."
"Take out all the rest immediately, don't leave a single coin. Dalang, take this money and go find Liulang first. He will find someone to escort you."
"..." Li Guo'er.
Ouyang Rong continued, "Go to Donglin Temple together, find Master Shandao, and tell him that I sent you. Give him all this money, and he will understand."
"What are we going to do with all this money?" Wei Mei interjected, slightly pained.
Ouyang Rong squinted: "It's not us, it's my uncle. My uncle suddenly felt a pang of conscience and donated to build the largest Buddhist pagoda in Jiangnan. Well, it's built on top of a certain underground palace, on the original site of that lotus throne. Is that right?"
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Why do you suddenly want to build such a large pagoda..." Li Xian's expression showed some hesitation.
Seeing this, Ouyang Rong turned to Li Xian and said:
“If you’re reluctant to part with it, I understand…” He stood up.
"No, no, no!" Li Xian quickly grabbed Ouyang Rong and nodded vigorously, "I believe you, whatever Liang Han says goes! Mei Niang, Guo'er, do as he says right away!"
"yes."
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly, put his hands behind his back, and said leisurely, "Junior Sister has a thousand taels of gold... Oh, right, I have some more, Junior Sister can take that too."
He took out the money from his sleeve, handed it over without hesitation, and smiled, saying:
"Junior sister, you must immediately go to the bustling Guangzhou Prefecture in Lingnan Road and buy a jade ring of the best quality and perfect condition. Remember, it must be a jade ring. Bring it back."
"Furthermore, look around the market; if you find jade rings from the same place and with similar texture, buy them all, and then..."
"Let's find a random spot and smash it like I did. We'll only keep that one. Remember, in the short term, we must ensure that there isn't a second one similar to the one in the Great Zhou. We need to make it unique."
Xie Lingjiang nodded without asking any questions.
Li Fusu asked curiously, "Lianghan, why are we buying jade rings out of the blue?"
Ouyang Rong chuckled: "What do you mean by buying a jade ring? We didn't buy one. Don't talk nonsense, Dalang."
"..."
He pointed to the jade fragments on the ground, then contradicted himself, saying, "Look, the jade fragment His Majesty gave to his unfilial son has actually come back to its original shape."
The young magistrate, facing the frowning crowd, chuckled and said:
“After the pagoda was built, my uncle stayed at Donglin Temple day and night to pray for my mother who was a devout Buddhist. You are a very filial son. Your conscience is aching, and you are repenting for your past mistakes. Don’t forget that.”
"Then, after Junior Sister brought Yu Huan back, then..."
He paused, nodded, and changed his words:
"Yes, it was the 'jade ring' in our pagoda that grew back into a jade ring on its own. Uncle, you were chanting scriptures day and night, and one windy and rainy night, you and many masters discovered it by chance."
"Hey, the jade pendant is like the moon, waxing and waning, this is an auspicious sign, congratulations, congratulations!"
"However, being a filial son has always been a physically demanding job that requires both physical strength and skills. Even if you move Buddha and your filial piety is evident when it's windy and rainy outside, your physical body can hardly withstand it."
Ouyang Rong turned his head again:
“I remember Junior Sister knows the Taoist doctor from Zaoshan in Yuqing Pavilion? Once you return from Lingnan, go and ask for a prescription immediately.”
"Ideally, it should be a medicine that makes people sick but not seriously ill, and the illness should be as severe as possible. Of course, an antidote must be readily available."
"Did you take medicine to get sick?" the junior sister asked curiously.
He laughed and said:
"Getting sick is something that can be simple or difficult. Sometimes it just won't come, and sometimes it comes without warning."
“Uncle is too honest and his acting skills are not good, so let him take the medicine, just in case.”
Everyone was stunned and turned their gazes toward him. Li Xian was also dumbfounded and stood there for a moment. Finally, he nodded obediently: "Okay, okay, I'll eat, I'll eat, I'll listen to Liang Han."
Ouyang Rong thought for a moment, then sighed:
"Finally, since this auspicious omen has appeared, we can't hide it from His Majesty, as that would be disrespectful. But presenting auspicious omens is a skill in itself."
"Hmm, I need to find someone to help me with this. I'm too shy, a real gentleman, not really suited for this kind of flattery. It's just not my style. So, which hero should I ask..."
The young magistrate's gaze slowly drifted towards the Longcheng County government office. After a moment, his brow relaxed, and he smiled and nodded.
"I've got it."
(End of this chapter)
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