Chapter 329 The Beauty, in a fit of anger, snatches the lamp away
Ouyang Rong's minor cold became the top priority for both the Huaiye Lane residence and the Xunyang Prince's Mansion these past two days.
The Prince of Xunyang's residence sent imperial physicians and precious medicinal herbs one after another.
There was also some hot ginger soup, which I don't know if it was Princess Wei Mei or the little princess who made it.
Of course, ostensibly, they were all sent under the pretext of Xunyang King Li Xian's considerate assistance to his subordinates in building the Buddha.
Ouyang Rong thought it was a minor illness.
But as soon as he returned to the mansion, Zhen Shuyuan, Ye Weilai, and other female relatives surrounded him, showing concern and taking good care of him.
The entire family, nearly a hundred people, revolved around him.
Even a sneeze from the wrong person could startle a maidservant into trembling anxiety.
Even more ladies in elegant dresses would come up to him, tirelessly reminding him, "My dear, it's time to take your medicine," which gave Ouyang Rong a headache.
Even after returning to the courtyard of Yinbingzhai at night, he did not rest.
Zhen Shuyuan, who rarely disturbed Ouyang Rong's private space, frequently came to the courtyard under the cover of night to bring him warm clothes and blankets, and looked around to check on his living conditions in the inner room.
The women in his family were so on edge and cautious, which made him feel somewhat helpless.
“My love, I went to the temple today to offer incense and pray for your well-being.”
Zhen Shuyuan entered the room carrying a bowl of medicinal soup, talking as she walked, followed by Ye Weilai and Banxi.
At his desk, Ouyang Rong put down his pen, closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, then opened them and glanced around.
The white-haired girl behind them struggled to carry a basin of hot water, while the Silla maid followed, carrying a clump of brown-leaved plants.
Ouyang Rong sat sideways, letting Ye Weilai and Banxi take off his boots.
Wash your feet with hot water infused with mugwort.
Zhen Shuyuan placed a bowl of dark, steaming medicinal soup on the table and said gently:
"My love, it's time to take your medicine."
Ouyang Rong immediately became wary: "What is this? Could it be soaked in talisman water or incense ash?"
"It was medicine that Wanwan personally prepared. She said it was a secret remedy for dispelling cold from the Xie family. My lord, you tasted it."
“I won’t try it.” Ouyang Rong shook his head firmly: “I was fine before, but you guys have misled me and I might actually get sick.”
Zhen Shuyuan looked troubled: "Wanwan took time out of her busy schedule to deliver the medicine. Won't we be letting her down?"
Ouyang Rong offered a suggestion: "Just don't tell her."
"Senior Brother, why didn't you tell me?"
Just then, the sound of the courtyard gate opening came from outside, followed by Xie Lingjiang Wanru's clear and melodious voice, her tone curious.
"Wanwan is here?"
Zhen Shuyuan turned around in surprise, and Ouyang Rong's expression changed slightly.
Zhen Shuyuan stepped forward to greet Xie Lingjiang and led her into the house.
"It's nothing serious. The bowl of medicine you brought... Tanlang said..."
Zhen Shuyuan turned her head as if to speak, but suddenly her words caught in her throat.
The medicine bowl in front of his beloved nephew Ouyang Rong was now empty, even cleaner than someone's face.
Ye Weilai and Banxi Zheng stared blankly at Ouyang Rong with surprised expressions.
"Forehead……"
Xie Lingjiang asked curiously, "Aunt Zhen, what did Tanlang say?"
Zhen Shuyuan: "Speak..."
Ouyang Rong wiped his mouth and nodded seriously: "It tastes good."
Xie Lingjiang smiled, her pretty face showing a hint of embarrassment:
"As long as it's not too bitter, it's fine. It's the first time I've made it, so it might not look very good. But I added two pieces of maltose. When I was little, I was afraid of the bitterness of this medicine, so my father would give me a piece of maltose to suck on..."
Zhen Shuyuan and the other women noticed that Tanlang had become unusually obedient.
After chatting with my junior sister for a while, seeing that it was getting late, my junior sister and aunt left one after the other.
Only Ouyang Rong and Ye Weilai remained in the study.
Ouyang Rong breathed a sigh of relief.
They've finally left.
He took out the official documents and continued to work on the tasks he hadn't finished during the day, telling Ye Weilai to go to sleep first.
Lately, he's been focusing most of his energy on the construction of the Donglin Buddha. His desk is piled high with documents concerning the livelihood of the people of Jiangzhou. Oh, and there's also the prayer for tomorrow's Buddhist ceremony at the state school; he needs to prepare it overnight…
Therefore, Ouyang Rong did not intentionally ignore Yue Zi'ang and other scholars during these days.
Rather, he was genuinely too busy to spare the time to argue with them...
Before he knew it, Ouyang Rong had stayed up until almost dawn, when the sky outside was just beginning to lighten.
During this time, Ye Weilai, who got up at night, tried to persuade him to go to sleep several times, but he brushed her off each time.
Ouyang Rong put down his pen and stretched.
Unbeknownst to him, a beautiful figure in red was slowly approaching the study window with a bowl of dark, steaming medicinal soup in the courtyard. Her pretty face was cold, and her narrowed eyes were fixed on him with a dangerous glint.
immediately……
As the saying goes, "The beauty angrily snatched the lamp and left, asking her lover what time it was!"
After all the commotion, the study door opened wide, and Xie Lingjiang, with a stern face, snatched the lamp from the table and strode out.
Inside the dimly lit room, where the lamp had been extinguished, a little girl with white hair, who had just groggily crawled out of bed wearing only a bright green bib, stood in front of the desk, her head bowed as if she had done something wrong, fidgeting with her fingers.
Ouyang Rong looked a little guilty. He quickly drank the bitter medicine in the bowl, touched Ye Weilai's face, who was blaming herself, and silently chased after her out the door.
I don't know if it was because they were unfamiliar with the layout of the mansion, or for some other reason.
Xie Lingjiang hadn't gone far before someone easily caught up with her.
Ouyang Rong didn't mention what had just happened, and subtly changed the subject:
"Wanwan forgot to add maltose, didn't she? It tastes a bit bitter."
"It's been added..."
Xie Lingjiang immediately frowned and turned around, her expression hesitant. Looking at Ouyang Rong's harmless expression, she suddenly snorted.
I don't want to answer someone who's blatantly lying.
Ouyang Rong blinked, stepped forward, took the beauty's hand, and walked towards the path in front of him, which was bathed in the light of dawn and twilight.
The breeze of early spring morning blows against your face, making you feel refreshed.
Ouyang Rong turned to Xie Lingjiang, who was pouting slightly as if in a huff, and said:
"Once this busy period is over, okay? I promise I won't stay up late anymore."
Xie Lingjiang said expressionlessly, "That's what Senior Brother said last time too."
"Last time is last time, this time is this time, this time it will definitely be like this."
"Hmph." She turned her face away.
The two then walked silently for a while.
Ouyang Rong felt his junior sister tighten her grip on his hand.
Ouyang Rong also pinched her.
Xie Lingjiang suddenly nodded seriously: "They're all talking nonsense."
"Huh? What?"
The abrupt and seemingly unrelated sentence left Ouyang Rong somewhat confused.
Xie Lingjiang turned to look at him:
“Those idle scholars say that you didn’t submit any memorials or petitions to curry favor or offer support because you were afraid of death.”
She gritted her teeth: "They're all talking nonsense, Senior Brother, don't pay them any attention."
Ouyang Rong chuckled: "Why does Junior Sister still care about this?"
"Isn't Senior Brother angry?"
"What's the point of getting angry? Does getting angry mean you won't get anything done?"
Xie Lingjiang pursed her lips into a thin line, feeling the warmth of his hand. After walking for a while, she whispered:
"I haven't asked yet, but what did Senior Brother write in his memorial? Was it the same as I thought?"
What kind of idea are you having?
"Just like when I advised Princess Chang Le in the capital."
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "It won't solve the problem."
"So this time?"
"I calmly discussed the costs with Her Majesty the Empress, roughly calculating the expenses for the construction of the Great Zhou's Ode to Heavenly Pivot and the Four Directions Buddha Statues, as well as the annual tax revenue of the Great Zhou and the four continents involved in the statues. I also gave an example of Jiangzhou's annual finances..."
Xie Lingjiang listened intently.
The sky before dawn resembled a dark, indigo-colored curtain forming a backdrop.
She vaguely saw her senior brother turn his head, his sickly face thin and calm, as if he were recounting something simple and ordinary:
"Compared to resolutely opposing the Heavenly Pivot and the Buddha statues, to completely pandering to the Empress and supporting their construction,
I chose a compromise.
"That memorial suggested extending the deadline for constructing the Great Zhou Eulogy Celestial Pivot and the Four Directions Buddha Statues, giving the various states ample time to raise funds."
"Furthermore, the specifications for both have been relaxed. For example, the Buddha statue doesn't necessarily have to be built standing on flat ground; thirty zhang (approximately 133 meters) would be far too tall..."
For some reason, Xie Lingjiang felt unusually calm and listened silently to the calm statement of the sickly Chief Secretary of Jiangzhou.
"Furthermore, on behalf of the Jiangzhou government, I declined His Majesty's suggestion of giving 20,000 strings of cash for cosmetics to Guizhou, which is relatively the poorest province. It was also a rather sycophantic suggestion that the heads of the four Buddha statues be carved in the likeness of His Majesty."
Xie Lingjiang slightly widened her eyes.
As he spoke, Ouyang Rong himself chuckled, then turned and asked with a smile:
"Does this not quite match the image of me in Wanwan's mind?"
Xie Lingjiang pondered, "No, it's just a bit of a surprise that Senior Brother is so... calm."
"He's a hypocrite."
Ouyang Rong gave a self-deprecating laugh and pointed to the northern horizon:
"Your Majesty is not unaware that building the Songde Tianshu and the Four Directions Buddha statues would waste the nation's resources and face numerous obstacles, but for an emperor, dignity is sometimes more important than right or wrong."
"Given the choice between absolute obedience and staunch opposition, she is more likely to compromise and adopt a voice that is both respectable and pragmatic if it is available. However, it also depends on how skillfully her ministers offer her a way out."
Xie Lingjiang sighed softly, "No wonder Senior Brother settled for second best. This... is actually the right thing to do."
Ouyang Rong took the lamp from Xie Lingjiang's other hand. On the garden path, glistening with the morning dew, his dark eyes reflected a single, unquenchable candle flame:
"But this does not mean that Lord Ji, Governor Li, and Censor Wei are wrong. In a sense, their stubbornness and headstrong actions, which resulted in them being battered and bruised, actually helped me, who was trying to compromise."
"Although now it seems that my memorial was of no use."
Xie Lingjiang waved her sleeve and replied, her tone resolute:
“But Senior Brother is definitely not the cowardly person Yue Ziang and the others described. He shouldn’t be misunderstood like that.”
The young man in the white fox fur coat released the hand that was covered in the beautiful woman's fragrant sweat.
He carried the lantern forward.
"If I were in Longcheng, I would have done the same as Lord Ji and Governor Li."
"Why has Senior Brother changed?"
Ouyang Rong stopped, holding the lamp, and turned around, saying, "Because the Pure Land is fake, this place... is hell. I understand now, and I may never be able to turn it into a Pure Land in my lifetime."
Xie Lingjiang was taken aback. "Then what should we do?"
Ouyang Rong chuckled, his tone relaxed: "What else can we do? We'll just make do. What else can we do but get a divorce?"
Seeing her senior brother suddenly winking and making funny faces at her, Xie Lingjiang, who was deep in thought, couldn't help but chuckle.
"Actually, it's good if things just keep getting better." He said, squinting.
"Do you want it to get better and better?" Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but glance at her senior brother again: "I feel that senior brother is becoming more and more like the Master."
How is it similar?
"Hmm, the same calm and composed demeanor, the same... indistinguishable right from wrong."
Ouyang Rong waved his hand: "It's an illusion. I don't know the Master at all, I've never seen him before."
Xie Lingjiang blinked: "But someone's gift has already been delivered to the teacher's study. By the way, who asked Father to send that little trinket over there for him?"
Ouyang Rong's skin is as thick as a shield:
"I heard that he also likes to do accounting. I call this a gentleman's friendship that is as light as water, no, I call it respecting the elderly and caring for the young."
Xie Lingjiang grumbled, "Hmph, old fox, little fox."
Ouyang Rong suddenly pointed to the dawning sky in the east, "Alright, it's getting light, time to go back."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Xie Lingjiang watched the retreating figure of someone carrying the lantern and slipping away, then covered her mouth and called out crisply:
"Wait, don't bother with official documents anymore, go back and rest."
"Rest my ass." Ouyang Rong waved his hand: "There's a Buddhist ceremony at the State Academy this morning, at the Temple of Confucius. We need to get there early."
"Alright, wait for me." Xie Lingjiang caught up: "I'm coming too."
...
Inside the carriage, Ouyang Rong lay on his junior sister's round, taut thighs and dozed off.
We arrived at the Temple of the Sage Confucius, which is on the same street as Yunshui Pavilion.
The Temple of Confucius was newly built two years ago and still looks brand new and impressive.
In early spring, before the start of the new school year, a ceremony is held to worship Confucius, the most revered teacher.
As local officials, Ouyang Rong and Wang Lengran were also in charge of the education at the state school, and they were required to personally lead the young and old in performing rituals and offering sacrifices to sages.
However, Wang Lengran had already "taken sick leave" and couldn't come. When the news spread, the scholars naturally laughed at him in private, but he obviously didn't care.
The morning sun shone on the temple's high-reaching eaves.
Ouyang Rong, accompanied by his junior sister and Yan Liulang, arrived ahead of time and calmly walked into the temple to meet with the official in charge of the state school.
Some scholars coming in and out of the door paused for a moment, turned around, rubbed their eyes, and looked at Ouyang Rong's back in surprise.
It seems no one expected that this low-profile chief secretary, who had always "avoided" such things, would personally come to the scene.
The scholars of the state academy ran around appealing for help.
Soon, news that Ouyang Lianghan, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, had come to the Temple of the Sage Confucius to preside over the sacrificial ceremony spread among the scholars of Jiangzhou.
Public opinion in Xunyang City rose like the sun overhead and quickly gained momentum.
The state schools in each prefecture were the strongholds of scholars, and the debates there were always intense. Yue Zi'ang was a frequent visitor to the Jiangzhou state school, often making bold remarks, and he seemed to have the air of an opinion leader.
Ouyang Rong was unaware that just a few days ago, Yue Zi'ang and other scholars had boasted that he should personally come forward and speak with the scholars of Jiangzhou.
However, Yue Ziang, who made the statement, probably knew that it was somewhat unrealistic.
After all, the Liuzhou tragedy had just occurred, and the local officials of the ten circuits were keeping their distance from the impassioned scholars, while the imperial court was turning a blind eye.
But today, Ouyang Rong actually "responded" and arrived as promised.
The Temple of Confucius was packed with scholars from Jiangzhou, all of whom came to participate in the traditionally tedious ceremony for the start of the school year.
The scholars seemed surprised by their own influence and became very agitated as they rallied around the issue.
The sun gradually rose higher into the sky.
When the sickly young man, wearing a white fox fur shawl, walked onto the high platform in the center of the square where the statue of a sage stood, they began to applaud in a disorderly manner.
Ouyang Rong looked at the crowd below, raised his eyelids slightly, and was slightly surprised.
As usual, he began his memorial speech in a gentle tone.
...
(End of this chapter)
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