Chapter 322 Helping the Lord Out of Trouble
Slipping into the boudoir, Ouyang Rong turned around and looked at Li Guo'er, whose tone of voice was a little strange, with a puzzled expression.
He couldn't help but look around the building.
The first floor is a small flower room where people can rest and drink tea. There is a stove burning charcoal, which is very warm.
A faint crackling sound occasionally emanated from the furnace.
This made the room seem even quieter.
Ouyang Rong tentatively asked, "Are there any outsiders in this building?"
Li Guo'er remained silent, her cold gaze fixed on him, as if to say...
Aren't you one?
Ouyang Rong looked embarrassed: "I'm sorry, tonight's situation was expedient, it was not intentional to break in at night and tarnish Her Highness's reputation."
Li Guo'er sneered: "Truly worthy of being a renowned gentleman, you only start making amends now that you've barged in."
She seemed a little sullen and didn't close the door.
He stood at the doorway, facing inwards, without entering the house, his eyes fixed warily on Ouyang Rong.
Like a cat with its fur standing on end when it encounters danger.
Ouyang Rong frowned, turning to look worriedly at the open doorway. "Your Highness, can't we come in and talk behind closed doors?"
Li Guo'er remained motionless.
She held onto the doorframe with one hand and put the other behind her back, asking in return, "Do you think I'm a three-year-old girl?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head:
"It is true that His Highness is very vigilant, as women are secluded and men and women are strictly separated."
"But Your Highness, could you please use your brain for a moment? Wanwan is right next door. What bad things could I possibly do? If Your Highness were to shout, she would hear me."
"I also came here at great risk. I'm not that stupid to come here specifically to do lewd things."
"Heh, Wanwan? That's quite an affectionate way of addressing her." Li Guo'er chuckled softly and nodded.
"Oh, so when you came to my place the last few times, you must have been doing clever things and good deeds, right?"
"..."
"And who knows if you have any other tricks up your sleeve?" Li Guo'er pursed her lips, adding as if to herself:
"Call me Sister Xie? You're shameless enough, but I, the princess, am not as shameless as you."
Ouyang Rong's worries:
"Your Highness, you can leave the door open if you wish, or stand guard at the door if you don't trust me. Let's keep our voices down. Um, I came here to ask where those things by the door went. Did Your Highness take them?"
Li Guo'er interrupted with a cold laugh: "Ha, you still have the nerve to mention those things?"
Ouyang Rong was taken aback, and cautiously glanced at her face, his old face turning quite red: "Your Highness opened it and read it?"
She lowered her eyes and did not answer, her tone somewhat resentful: "You are simply an eyesore for this princess."
Ouyang Rong scratched his head: "Your Highness has indeed made a fool of yourself. Um, to prevent further embarrassment... could Your Highness please return it to me?"
Li Guo'er stared at him: "Ouyang Lianghan, so you're afraid after all? Feeling guilty? I thought you were fearless before."
Ouyang Rong smiled wryly and nodded in acknowledgment:
"To be honest, I do feel guilty. It's true that I'm thick-skinned, and it doesn't matter if Your Highness laughs at me, but if... if Wanwan finds out, I will truly have no face to see her."
Looking at his sincere and honest words, Li Guo'er nodded slightly, as if to herself: "Oh, so Sister Xie is so important to you."
Ouyang Rong was speechless.
I didn't know what to say for a moment.
Li Guo'er remained silent, simply watching him.
The two locked eyes, and silence fell over the room.
Ouyang Rong wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the little princess in the plum blossom makeup was looking at him with a hint of sorrow.
It was as if he owed her something.
"Your Highness, um..."
Seeing that Li Guo'er was hesitant to move and kept calling him by his real name in a mocking tone, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but urge him cautiously:
"Could you please return my belongings first? I don't know how to explain this to Your Highness. My situation is extremely urgent right now, and I don't have time for idle chatter."
Li Guo'er took a deep breath: "Ouyang Lianghan, do you know you regret it now?"
Ouyang Rong sighed:
"I regret it somewhat. This matter was done on a whim, and I was careless. I have troubled Your Highness these past few days, and I hope Your Highness will forgive me."
"Now you call him 'Your Highness' so smoothly, so respectfully and politely." Li Guo'er's tone was slightly strange, as if she was deliberately provoking someone:
"Why didn't you treat this princess like this before? Where did your arrogance and bravado go? Oh, so you chickened out because Sister Xie is back."
Knowing that she was bringing up old stories of their past conflicts, Ouyang Rong felt a headache coming on.
"Your Highness is too kind. How could I dare to be arrogant? There may have been some misunderstanding a few days ago..."
Li Guo'er praised, "What a misunderstanding!"
Hearing her retort, Ouyang Rong tried not to mention it again, glancing at Li Guo'er's flushed face, and said seriously:
"Understood. Well then, Your Highness, please stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what you want. I will do my best to provide what I can within the bounds of principle, as long as Your Highness returns those things that were just at the door."
Li Guo'er flicked her sleeve at him:
"For the sake of Sister Xie, I can return those shameless things to you."
"But I have everything, and I don't care about your things at all. You don't need to give them to me, but you must promise me one thing."
Ouyang Rong breathed a sigh of relief; he was glad the return was agreed upon. He eagerly awaited the question:
"What is it, Your Highness? Please speak."
Li Guo'er didn't look at him, turning her head away, her beautiful eyes fixed on the lights shining in the neighboring courtyard, and warned in a low voice:
"From now on, when you deliver things, you're not allowed to do it so openly, leaving them so blatantly at the door. You... you need to be more discreet and discreet."
Why are you even meddling in this?
Ouyang Rong was taken aback and couldn't help but glance a few more times at Li Guo'er, who was known for being a busybody.
He frowned, thought for a moment, and nodded in assurance:
"Rest assured, I guarantee that this kind of thing will never happen again, and I will never bother Your Highness again."
Will we never bother you again?
Li Guo'er quickly turned around, her eyes widening slightly as she stared at Ouyang Rong, whose face was serious.
"you……"
Her wide eyes quickly lowered, and she flicked her sleeve as if she didn't care, "Fine, fine, fine."
Li Guo'er nodded in praise of the "proud and arrogant" Ouyang Lianghan: "If you are really this sensible and understanding, this princess will be very satisfied, extremely satisfied."
Ouyang Rong felt that her tone of voice was strange.
Why do you like being so sarcastic...? He pursed his lips, nodded again, and continued:
"As for what happened before, let's consider it a truce, shall we?"
The little girl suddenly raised her head.
She looked at him with a complicated and indescribable expression: "You want me to forget everything and pretend nothing happened?"
Ouyang Rong nodded calmly: "That's right, me too. Let's let bygones be bygones and start over."
Li Guo'er watched him leave so gracefully, remained silent for a moment, then spoke with absolute certainty:
"There's no need to go through all this trouble. Actually, I should have known when you gave that white fox fur shawl to Sister Xie."
Ouyang Rong was taken aback: "Know what?"
"I know you're a hypocrite."
Ouyang Rong asked earnestly, "Where have I been a hypocrite?"
The little princess with plum blossom makeup at the door trembled her delicate nostrils and cleared her throat a little too loudly.
"You're clearly entangled with Sister Xie, yet you secretly write those love poems to me. Thinking about it now, it's disgusting and nauseating. Today you even gave me some light, revealing clothes. In your eyes, am I as frivolous and cheap as a courtesan in a teahouse?"
Ouyang Rong immediately looked puzzled: "What do you mean, secretly writing love poems?"
She glared at him coldly: "Dare you say that the poems on the three umbrellas you gave me weren't written by your own hand?"
"The poem on the umbrella?" Ouyang Rong realized instantly and blurted out, "The umbrella and the bundle are for Wanwan."
Li Guo'er was taken aback for a moment, then her expression changed.
Ouyang Rong looked at her incredulously: "Your Highness doesn't think I'm giving this to you, does he? How could that be..."
Li Guo'er's pretty face turned bright red, unable to hide her mortified embarrassment. She quickly glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes and scolded, "Nonsense! This princess didn't, didn't! What nonsense are you spouting!"
"Tanlang, Guo'er, what are you two talking about here?"
Just then, Xie Lingjiang's confused voice came from outside the courtyard gate.
She was very fast; the moment her voice came in, her graceful figure appeared in the courtyard, staring intently at Ouyang Rong and Li Guo'er inside the gate.
Both of them were startled.
They exchanged a hasty glance.
Ouyang Rong reacted immediately and went out to greet her: "Wanwan, what brings you here?"
"I had just finished bathing and was about to look for Tanlang, but when I passed by the door I heard a noise, so I went in to take a look and found that Tanlang was indeed here."
Xie Lingjiang explained, her eyes filled with doubt as she looked at Ouyang Rong:
"Didn't Tanlang go to find Dalang? Why is he in Guo'er's room?"
Ouyang Rong's heart skipped a beat, and he stammered, "Big Brother, Big Brother..."
Xie Lingjiang turned her head and asked in a different voice, "Guo'er, why is your face so red? Did Tanlang do something to upset you?"
Caught off guard, Ouyang Rong quickly turned around and said, "Your Highness, I just..."
Li Guo'er suddenly replied, "He did do something stupid just now, thank you, Sister Xie."
Oh no, they're trying to turn the tables on him and file a complaint against him.
Ouyang Rong inwardly cursed, quickly turning around and, as if racing against time, confessed, "Wanwan, it's actually related to that little surprise..."
Xie Lingjiang frowned and gently scolded, "Tanlang, don't interrupt Sister Guo'er. Let her speak first."
She pouted slightly, her eyes fixed on Li Guo'er, who was smiling lightly across the room.
Li Guo'er didn't look at Ouyang Rong, turned around and went into the house: "Sister Xie, please wait a moment, I will explain things to you properly."
Ouyang Rong choked on his words, holding his breath and concentrating.
A moment later, Li Guo'er walked out of the house, took out a bundle and three new umbrellas, and handed them to Xie Lingjiang:
"Sister Xie, take this. It's a little surprise from Young Master Ouyang."
Xie Lingjiang looked at her with suspicion: "How did you end up with my sister?"
“Young Master Ouyang is really foolish to leave these things at the entrance of your courtyard. There are people coming and going on this road. What if some ignorant maid or servant takes them? I saw them and temporarily took them for safekeeping, intending to return them to you when you return.”
Xie Lingjiang asked in surprise, "Is that so?"
She couldn't help but turn to look at Ouyang Rong: "Is that so, my love?"
"Ah." Ouyang Rong swallowed hard. "Yes, that's right."
Li Guo'er didn't look at him, but smiled faintly at Xie Lingjiang:
"Sister Xie has no idea how funny it was when Young Master Ouyang rushed over in a panic, his face flushed as he asked questions."
"Is that so?" Xie Lingjiang took the three new umbrellas and the small bundle, and glanced a few more times at the little girl with plum blossom makeup and her flushed cheeks.
Li Guo'er lightly patted her cheek, her tone seemingly unpredictable:
“That silly girl Cai Shou stuffed so much charcoal into the stove in the room, it’s too smoky. The night breeze on the veranda is much more comfortable.”
Xie Lingjiang nodded slightly: "My love, why didn't you mention this to me?"
Ouyang Rong coughed, covering his mouth: "I only realized the surprise was gone when I came back with you, so I was a bit flustered."
Li Guo'er sighed, "Sister Xie, Young Master Ouyang's treatment of you is truly ingenious."
"No way, you're so stupid." Xie Lingjiang glared at Ouyang Rong: "Why did you put it at the gate? Climb over the wall and put it in the yard, then no one will take it."
She pouted and said, "You're so clever and bold when we meet, but why are you so polite and gentlemanly when I'm not around?"
Li Guo'er withdrew her gaze from the familiar white fox fur shawl on Xie Lingjiang's slender shoulders and continued:
"At least his intentions were good. He even came over tonight specifically to wait for Sister Xie to come back."
"Hmph, there's really nothing I can do with him." Xie Lingjiang smiled.
When the two women sparred, Ouyang Rong could only smile wryly; he dared not interrupt.
He couldn't help but glance at Li Guo'er, who had suddenly spoken up for him.
Li Guo'er then turned her head to meet his gaze, tilting her head curiously as she asked, "By the way, what did Young Master Ouyang send as a gift?"
Xie Lingjiang raised an eyebrow: "Why don't you open it and take a look, little sister? Why be so formal?"
Li Guo'er shook her head: "That won't do. Young Master Ouyang's gift. How can I open it without my sister's permission?"
Xie Lingjiang glanced at her sincere expression, nodded gently, lowered her eyes, opened the bundle, and looked at it curiously. Then her face turned red, and she couldn't help but glare at the embarrassed Ouyang Rong.
"What is it?" Li Guo'er asked with pure curiosity.
"It's nothing." Xie Lingjiang quickly closed the bundle.
However, when she saw that Ouyang Rong had given her this very familiar set of close-fitting blue and pink clothes, she no longer had much doubt about this explanation.
"Little sister Guo'er, go inside and rest early. Your brother and I won't disturb you any longer, we'll take our leave now."
Li Guo'er lowered her eyes and said, "Okay, thank you for your time, Sister Xie."
Xie Lingjiang, carrying her umbrella and bundle, didn't leave first. In front of Li Guo'er, she glanced sideways at Ouyang Rong and lightly nudged his waist with her elbow.
What are you standing there for?
Ouyang Rong understood immediately, reached out, and obediently took the bundle and umbrella.
Xie Lingjiang stood beside Li Guo'er, lowered her eyes and adjusted her white fox fur shawl and open collar for a while before walking over and taking Ouyang Rong's right arm in a generous manner.
The noblewoman Xie, with her virtuous and gentle appearance, accompanied him. Li Guo'er watched silently from the sidelines.
As the two reached the courtyard gate, Xie Lingjiang suddenly stopped, turned around, and smiled.
"By the way, Sister Guo'er, please don't misunderstand. The shawl was borrowed from Tanlang after the birthday banquet when it rained. He was worried that I was cold, so he lent it to me. I'll return it to him later. Tanlang didn't take advantage of others, so please don't be upset, Sister Guo'er."
"What are you saying, Sister Xie?" Li Guo'er said with a smile, "How could I not be happy? I'm happy that you like it, Sister Xie."
Xie Lingjiang nodded slightly: "He insisted on putting it on me, there was nothing I could do about it. But, Sister Guo'er really knows how to pick clothes, this shawl is really beautiful, you have good taste."
Having finished her explanation, she gently took Ouyang Rong's arm and strolled away, leaving behind a casual remark:
"Please stay, little sister, don't see me off."
Standing alone at the entrance of the isolated building, watching the two figures disappear from sight, a faint smile remained on her pretty face.
"Alright, Sister Xie, please take care, Young Master Ouyang."
She walked out of Li Guo'er's boudoir.
Ouyang Rong immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing Xie Lingjiang looking over, he asked in a low voice:
"What is Wanwan looking at?"
"Hmph." Xie Lingjiang pouted. "Look at this idiot."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Me too."
Xie Lingjiang pinched his waist, and Ouyang Rong couldn't help but straighten his back and inhale.
After a moment, he turned his head, his expression gradually becoming serious, but he hesitated, afraid of betraying Li Guo'er, so he could only ask:
"Is Wanwan angry?"
"Why are you angry?" Xie Lingjiang shook her head and said softly, "This is a token of your kindness, how could I be angry?"
Ouyang Rong hesitated, then said, "But I..."
“It’s not your fault. You delivered it to the door, but Guo’er took it away unnecessarily. You couldn’t control it, could you?”
Xie Lingjiang is very considerate and understanding.
"Besides, it wasn't because you were careless and delivered it to the wrong address, and there were no unexpected complications. Why should I be angry? Just be more careful next time, Tanlang."
"Definitely, definitely."
Someone couldn't help but secretly wipe a bead of sweat from their brow.
P.S.: Sorry guys, the update is a bit late. Alright, now it's time to move on to the main storyline! (or2)
(End of this chapter)
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