Chapter 314 Saying Goodbye to the Old Year and Welcoming the New
Just then, the young monk in his monk's robes, standing by the kitchen sink, glanced discreetly at the spot where a certain noblewoman from the Xie family had inadvertently "left behind" her undergarment.
Lin'an Temple, main gate.
In the damp, cobblestone alley, a huge carriage pulled by four tall horses was parked quietly.
Inside the carriage, there was a floral carpet, scented silk quilts, and a fireplace for heating.
A noblewoman with a hairpin sat gracefully inside, gently rubbing her brow with her fingers, and waiting with her eyes closed.
"Madam, Miss is back!"
Wanqing was the first to run out of the temple gate and come to the carriage to announce the good news.
Xie Xue'e breathed a sigh of relief, opened her eyes, and immediately saw a young woman in a long dress, without makeup, gracefully board the carriage.
The blush on her face hadn't faded, and her rosy lips held a slight smile. She seemed lost in thought, and after getting into the carriage and sitting down, she forgot to greet her aunt.
"Seventeenth Sister still knows to come back?" Xie Xue'e's tone was tinged with sorrow.
"Huh?" Xie Lingjiang came back to her senses, looking dazed. "Oh, Auntie, thank you for waiting so long."
Seeing her niece's silly expression, Xie Xue'e's blood pressure suddenly started to spike.
Her gaze involuntarily fell on the familiar white fox fur shawl draped over Xie Lingjiang's shoulder, and her expression changed slightly.
"What did Seventeen Sister and he do at the temple?"
Xie Lingjiang immediately replied, "I'll have a bowl of longevity noodles to eat."
Xie Xue'e asked suspiciously, "Just the noodles?"
"Otherwise what?"
"You didn't do anything else?"
"Oh right, there is one."
Xie Xue'e immediately asked, "What is it!"
“A rat that was craving oil popped out of the kitchen. Before I changed into my monk’s robes, my senior brother kindly helped me catch it.”
"Seventeenth Sister is afraid of mice?"
Xie Lingjiang thought for a moment, "I'm a little scared tonight."
"Then what?"
"Then……"
Inside the carriage, Xie Lingjiang leaned forward, pinched a small pair of iron tongs, carefully poked at the embers in the stove, and then smiled sweetly:
"Then, seeing its silly, greedy look, I suddenly wasn't afraid anymore, and even thought...it was cute."
"..." Xie Xue'e.
You'd better say it's a mouse.
...
At the entrance of Lin'an Temple.
A luxurious carriage slowly drove away.
The monks respectfully watched the two noble ladies of the Xie family leave before returning inside the gate.
About fifteen minutes later, a tall, slender figure walked out of the temple gate, waved goodbye to the monks who were seeing him off, and left the alley.
Ouyang Rong had only taken a few steps when a familiar snorting sound suddenly came from behind him.
"Dongmei?" He turned around curiously.
Immediately, Yan Liulang, dressed in a straw raincoat and bamboo hat, led a chestnut horse out of the alley.
"Your Excellency, you've finally come out! I've been waiting for you for quite a while."
Ouyang Rong looked them up and down: "What are you doing here, Sixth Brother?"
"We're just waiting for you, Your Excellency."
Yan Liulang sighed:
"I was just about to leave so as not to disturb Mr. Ming and Miss Xie's time together, but then it suddenly started raining heavily. I remembered that one umbrella might not be enough for you, so I went back to get some rain gear for you..."
Ouyang Rong nodded.
Yan Liulang, ever the talkative one, recounted what happened at the banquet at Xunyang Tower after he and Xie Lingjiang left hand in hand.
Ouyang Rong listened silently, nodded, and patted Yan Liulang on the shoulder:
"Thank you for your hard work, Liu Lang. Let's go."
"Alright." Yan Liulang's eyes were filled with curiosity: "Eh, what is that in your arms, Your Excellency?"
He glanced at Ouyang Rong's somewhat bulging chest and collar, as if some clothing or fabric had been stuffed inside.
Ouyang Rong, now dressed in his dry-cleaned regular clothes, said in a serious tone:
“It’s a monk’s robe, one that he wore. It’s quite a keepsake, take it back with you.”
Yan Liulang laughed and said, "So that's how it is. I thought it was some kind of love token from Miss Xie to you, sir."
Ouyang Rong's eyelids twitched, he turned his back, and led his horse away.
"What are you thinking? Go back now."
His tone sounded slightly guilty.
...
After the birthday banquet, Ouyang Rong did not see his junior sister for three consecutive days.
It seems her aunt is going to spend the New Year's Day in Jiangzhou, and some other relatives from the Xie family of Chenjun are also arriving one after another.
The junior sister couldn't spare the time to come to Huaiye Lane right away.
Ouyang Rong understood and didn't hold much grudge.
To become a lasting couple, you need to learn to delay gratification.
Her aunt seemed to be keeping a close eye on her, spending all her daytime time with her junior sister and not giving him much of a chance to take advantage of her.
It subtly implies the need to be wary of fire, theft, and dishonest individuals.
Ouyang Rong remained silent.
It's just that life without my junior sister is indeed a bit lonely.
When he was focused on his career, Ouyang Rong didn't realize that he had nothing to do during the New Year's holiday.
Having set another precedent and experienced the "rotten smell" of love, he suddenly became somewhat addicted.
Especially his robust physique in his twenties, it was like a furnace, impossible to extinguish even with ice water.
This caused Ouyang Rong to look up at the three-character plaque of "Yinbingzhai" every morning when he got up and went out.
I am somewhat moved by the foresight of the original owner of this study, my mentor Xie Xun, in gifting him this house.
There's definitely a fire burning inside me.
LOL, even drinking ice water can't extinguish this flame of righteous indignation.
Ouyang Rong rubbed his face.
Recently, as he tossed and turned at night, he gradually came to understand the good intentions behind his junior sister leaving behind those two light, narrow, and soft blue and pink fabrics.
This is called expressing feelings through objects.
However, this means it seems we'll need to dry them every day.
Fortunately, he had the well-behaved and sensible Ye Weilai in his house who could help him...
But after figuring this out, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He should have given his junior sister some gifts too.
This pain of unrequited love must be unbearable for my junior sister too...
Regardless, after confessing my feelings to my junior sister, all the wild and unrestrained thoughts I had these past few days were left behind in the old year, along with the dazzling fireworks that exploded in the sky on New Year's Eve.
The next morning, after getting up and opening the window, he suddenly saw that the outside world was covered in silver and white.
It's snow.
In the southern part of Jiangzhou, the first heavy snow of this winter has finally fallen.
With the New Year approaching, Ouyang Rong became a little busier.
The eve of the Lunar New Year is now called "Sui Chu" in this era.
After the New Year's Eve, the next day, New Year's Day, officially begins.
In Xunyang City, families gather for meals and drink Sichuan pepper wine, which not only dispels cold and dampness but also adds to the festive atmosphere.
At the same time, every household must replace their old peach wood charms with new ones to "ward off evil spirits" and welcome the new year.
The Huaiye Lane residence was no exception. On the day of the New Year, Ouyang Rong, dressed in new clothes, drank pepper wine with Zhen Shuyuan, Ye Weilai, Banxi and other female relatives.
This was a very spicy and pungent cloudy liquor with a faint bitter aftertaste. Ouyang Rong managed to take a few sips, but Ye Weilai surprisingly liked it and drank a little too much. Her little face was flushed from the alcohol, like two small apples. The white-haired girl nestled in his arms, letting out cute hiccups and calling out, "My love, my love..."
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but chuckle.
As the male head of the household, he led the women outside the door, with their backs to the heavy snow falling on the street, and pasted a new peach wood charm on both sides of the main gate.
This can be considered Ouyang Rong's first New Year with a festive atmosphere in this world.
The only pity is that the junior sister was not there.
Yeah, I'll try to spend the New Year in Beijing next year.
The first "flag" of the year has been erected.
Ouyang Rong smiled, turned to look at the vast expanse of snow behind him, and suddenly felt a sense of peace.
He murmured softly:
"Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, the old year departs, and the spring breeze brings warmth to the New Year's wine."
"In every household, the sun shines brightly, and new peachwood charms replace the old ones."
Under the curious and sparkling gazes of Zhen Shuyuan, Ye Weilai, and Banxi, the young man pasting peach charms turned around with his sleeves tucked in and walked through the gate.
The Great Zhou Dynasty welcomed the new year in an atmosphere of peace and joy.
...
January of the second year of Tianyou.
There will be a four-day holiday after the New Year.
However, Ouyang Rong had already received the notification and returned to the main hall of Jiangzhou, where he became busy again.
However, he was not alone; Wang Lengran, Yuan Huaimin, and others were in the same boat.
Because what everyone was busy with was not official court business, but the emperor's family affairs.
The many gifts bestowed upon Prince Xunyang by Her Majesty the Empress have arrived, along with palace attendants and envoys sent to comfort him.
Some of these were routine rewards, while others were special gifts.
Given His Majesty's ambitious and auspicious nature, he will naturally bestow generous rewards on the most important festival of the year, and there will be many things to do.
The celebrations in Luoyang were even grander, and Xunyang City, a thousand miles away, benefited from it.
In fact, these are all royal customs over the years. However, this year, Xunyang City has an additional Xunyang Prince who has been reinstated under special circumstances, which has given the officials of Jiangzhou a taste of "trouble".
For most local officials, the emperor's family affairs were more important than official duties and people's livelihood.
As the Chief Administrator of Jiangzhou, Ouyang Rong followed Governor Wang Lengran out of the city to welcome the successive waves of envoys from Luoyang who arrived after the New Year.
On the way, Ouyang Rong and Wang Lengran rode at the head of the group.
One was behind the other, and the other was in front of them, without exchanging any words.
Currently, the two have a strained relationship, maintaining only the most basic etiquette of not arguing in front of their colleagues in the Jiangzhou Hall.
They ignored each other, pretending not to see each other.
However, Ouyang Rong noticed that, seemingly due to the aftermath of the birthday banquet of the Xie family of Chenjun, apart from the still carefree and easygoing Yuan Huaimin, many of his colleagues' gazes towards him had subtly changed.
Ouyang Rong even vaguely noticed that they seemed to treat him, the young chief secretary, with even greater respect and restraint than they did Wang Lengran.
Ouyang Rong was helpless. As the most prestigious gentry family in Jiangnan, the Xie family of Chenjun had exerted its influence over the past few centuries, penetrating deep into the very bones of the gentry, commoners, and officials of Jiangnan.
It's quite rare for a son-in-law of the Xie family to marry a woman from one of five different families.
However, Ouyang Rong felt that there were some advantages to welcoming these envoys from Luoyang in the dead of winter, despite the heavy snow.
He was now able to openly enter and leave the Xunyang Prince's Mansion in Xiushuifang.
Instead of sneaking over the wall in the middle of the night, they could visit the Prince of Xunyang, Li Xian, with the envoys to comfort him who was "recovering from a serious illness".
Previously, he had never strolled around this place during the day, and he didn't even know where his junior sister lived in the manor...
These past two days have been filled with comings and goings, and we've gradually become familiar with each other.
That afternoon, another group of imperial envoys arrived with gifts, accompanied by some officials from the Ministry of Rites.
Ouyang Rong rode Dongmei on his horse to the post station outside the city to greet him.
A short while later, he walked at the front, leading the Luoyang entourage to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion.
Halfway through their journey, as they turned a street corner, Ouyang Rong noticed a gaze fixed on him. He turned around abruptly and discovered it was from behind the envoy's procession, belonging to an official with a goatee.
He was about thirty or forty years old, with a square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and wearing a green official robe, so he should be a seventh-rank official.
When Ouyang Rong spotted him on the spot, the official with the goatee remained calm, smiled as a greeting, and casually looked away.
Ouyang Rong memorized the face and then looked away.
A short while later, the group entered the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, whose gates were wide open.
After passing the patrolling soldiers of Zhechong Prefecture on the street and at the gate, Ouyang Rong led the envoys inside without looking to the side, heading to the main hall to find Li Xian.
He was very familiar with the process.
The officers and soldiers of the Zhechongfu (military command) at the gate of the Prince's mansion were nominally there to protect Prince Xunyang, Li Xian, but they were only under the command of one person.
Wang Lengran.
Even as the chief secretary, Ouyang Rong could not be ordered around.
During the day, when he saw Li Xian and Li Dalang in public, he could only pretend not to know them and conduct himself in an official capacity.
About an hour later, the envoys left, and Ouyang Rong saw them off at the door.
As he passed by a long corridor, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the figure of the official with the goatee from before.
He was seen walking out from the depths of the Li residence, being led towards the back gate by a servant, as if he were about to leave.
Watching the receding figure, Ouyang Rong frowned slightly.
That night, on the appointed day for the meeting in the study, Ouyang Rong arrived at the Xunyang Prince's Mansion dressed lightly.
The junior sister was nowhere to be seen in the study; only a heartfelt letter remained.
As Ouyang Rong opened the letter and glanced at it, he listened to Li Xian and Wei Mei recount their story.
It turns out that after the New Year, the junior sister was temporarily taken back to Wuyi Lane in Jinling by Xie Xue'e to participate in some matters stipulated by the ancestral precepts of the aristocratic families, and she would not be able to return for another half a month.
Ouyang Rong looked eastward towards Jinling, sighed softly, and quickly composed himself.
After a short while, he nodded calmly and inquired about the recent meeting with the envoy.
Li Xian replied honestly, without missing a single detail.
After a short while, finding nothing suspicious, Ouyang Rong turned around and took the initiative to ask about the official with the goatee.
Li Xian was taken aback, and answered truthfully:
"This man is named Guo Yu. He comes from the Prince Xiang's residence and is one of my eighth brother's men. Since my reinstatement, he has come once every ten days to maintain communication."
"We will be notified promptly of any events, big or small, that occur in the capital."
Wei Mei sighed: "We don't have any informants in the palace, and sometimes we are terrified. The intelligence transmitted by the Prince of Xiang's mansion is the most important channel for us to understand the movements in the palace."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Is this person's identity reliable?"
"He is a direct descendant of the Prince Xiang's family and came here with a letter written by his eighth brother."
Ouyang Rong pressed further, "Do you know my relationship with you?"
“We have never revealed Danlang, but…”
"But what?"
"However, Eighth Brother should know a little bit."
Li Xian smiled wryly:
“A few days ago, my eighth brother wrote a letter and suddenly mentioned Tanlang. He said that when Tanlang impeached my younger sister Changle, he was instigated by a villain and said some angry words. He did not mean to offend Yingcai. He hopes that Tanlang will not take offense.”
Ouyang Rong picked up his teacup and took a sip:
"Your Highness, the Prince Xiang, truly thinks highly of me, personally condescending to apologize."
He looked up and smiled, saying, "There should be a talented person in his residence."
Wei Mei asked cautiously, "Is Tanlang angry?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head calmly: "It's just a sigh."
Li Xian chuckled and scratched his head:
"When we were down on our luck in Longcheng, my eighth brother and younger sister always helped me a lot."
“My love, I heard that at the court assembly that day, I was able to return to my post, and they also stepped forward to speak on my behalf.”
He sighed as he looked at Ouyang Rong:
“My eighth brother is pampered and may be arrogant towards outsiders, but he is sincere and concerned for his elder brother. I think he may not be as malicious as Tanlang suspects…”
Ouyang Rong glanced at the brotherly respect and friendship between them, and nodded slightly:
"I hope so. I should always be careful."
"good."
Finally, I made it to the featured section! *cough* I'll shamelessly recommend this excellent Xianxia (fantasy) novel, "I Have a Sword Immortal Wife," to new readers. It's packed with good content (I'm sure of it!), and the link is below~
(End of this chapter)
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