Chapter 337 Difficult to Distinguish Between Enemy and Friend
Xie Lingjiang noticed that her senior brother was calm and spoke with certainty.
She removed her sword and placed it across her knees, then took out a cup of cool tea from a brocade box on the seat next to her and handed it to Ouyang Rong.
"Senior Brother, have some to sober up."
"I'm not really drunk."
Ouyang Rong chuckled, but faced with the beautiful woman in red, who sat upright with a dignified and unapproachable expression, he obediently took the teacup and took two sips.
Xie Lingjiang took a pale white, orchid-scented handkerchief from her red sleeve and carefully wiped Ouyang Rong's flushed cheeks with unwavering attention.
"It's kind of scary."
"The acupoints are sealed, causing blood and alcohol to rise..."
Ouyang Rong offered a casual explanation, then paused, squinting as he pondered the meaning:
"But this hazy, drunken feeling is really wonderful. I rarely drank too much before, but I didn't know that being drunk was like this. I feel like I'm acting and speaking more boldly."
"No wonder scholars and merchants from all walks of life enjoy banquets to discuss business, and even drink nuptial wine on their wedding night..."
"You're talking nonsense again." Xie Lingjiang gently tapped her senior brother's forehead and scolded him, "You're getting more and more indecent."
"That's true. Alcohol emboldens people. You'll see if you don't believe me."
Inside the carriage, Ouyang Rong quickly turned over and sat down next to Xie Lingjiang, replying with considerable "assertiveness."
He leaned back in his seat and first picked up the moonlight longsword that had been in her way, which had been sitting in front of her lap.
Drunk and reclining on a beauty's lap,
Ouyang Rong crossed his arms over his sword, resting the back of his head on the beauty's round, taut legs pressed together.
"It's not proper."
Xie Lingjiang panicked slightly and reached out to snatch the sword.
Ouyang Rong waited patiently, then grabbed a delicate hand, covered it with his large hand, and placed it on his wine-red stubble-covered face.
Whether truly drunk or feigning intoxication, gazing at the beautiful woman, I smiled and recited a line:
"Of the three hundred kinds of tea in the world, none can compare to Wanwan's tea for sobering up."
Xie Lingjiang blushed and looked down, only to bump into the blinking, drunken eyes of her lover lying on his knees below.
"I...I think you're drunk and stupid, senior brother, you big idiot."
She turned her head away, avoiding Ouyang Rong's bold and burning gaze, and spat out a small remark.
Ouyang Rong raised his hand, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and then gently pinched her cute, round, teardrop-shaped earlobe.
Xie Lingjiang grabbed his large hand in a hurry, snorted, and lowered her head, gently stroking the lines on Ouyang Rong's palm with her thumbs, staring at it as if she were studying it.
Ouyang Rong was about to speak.
Xie Lingjiang, slightly flustered, changed the subject:
"By the way, Senior Brother, tell us about tonight's banquet. Why couldn't Li Zhengyan hold it in anymore?"
"Naturally, it's a sign that the true intentions have been revealed, a test of my abilities, senior brother."
"And what about my senior brother?"
"Anyway, I'm drunk, so it's not too much for me to talk nonsense."
As with the previous banquets, Ouyang Rong chuckled and recounted his drunken ramblings from tonight's feast.
Xie Lingjiang's expression was thoughtful:
"Therefore, the senior brother is so certain that their purpose in coming here is not simple; it is not merely to curry favor with them."
Ouyang Rong sighed:
“Their spirits were clearly different. Despite being demoted and disappointed, they showed no sign of frustration or indignation. If they had shown even a hint of resentment or melancholy at the banquets these past few days, I wouldn’t have been so wary.”
"And on the day I arrived in Jiangzhou, I was so late, yet they waited patiently. Add to that everything that's happened these past few days, and it can't be explained by just liking each other. It seems I'm definitely very useful to them right now."
"I deliberately ignored it for many days, but today Lord Li brought it up again. What else could it be but that he couldn't hold it in any longer..."
He turned around and gave a word of advice:
“Wanwan, there’s no such thing as a trivial matter when it comes to the Xunyang Prince’s Mansion. The hints in the letters that my teacher and Lord Shen sent earlier seem to be correct. I do need to handle things properly and be careful.”
Xie Lingjiang frowned slightly, looking worried, and asked, "What exactly is it? Is it something that's not good for Senior Brother, so you're beating around the bush? Are you trying to steal the spotlight and ostracize Senior Brother?"
Ouyang Rong immediately said:
"If it were merely a case of the guest usurping the host's position, that would be fine. The real concern is that they might have other ideas, which are likely inconsistent with the current course of the Xunyang Prince's Mansion. Otherwise, what is there that they can't say openly?"
"They must be treating me like an outsider, probably thinking I'll get in their way."
He gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Xie Lingjiang held Ouyang Rong's hand tightly with a pained expression:
"Without the strategic brilliance of my senior brother, who grasped the emperor's heart and led Uncle Li and the others to seize the opportunity, how could the Xunyang Prince's Mansion be now restored, its influence not much less than that of the Xiang Prince's Mansion, attracting scholars from all over the world?"
"So what if Li Zhengyan and Wei Shaoqi are outstanding talents from Guanzhong? They still shamelessly come to visit the Prince's Mansion."
"If their purpose in this trip is truly to steal and exclude others, and to overthrow and deny the senior brother, then they are unjust. No matter how the senior brother treats them, it is justifiable, let alone being late or pretending to be drunk."
Ouyang Rong remained silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought.
He shifted to a more comfortable position and lazily lay on the beauty's lap.
The carriage was currently moving, its body bumping and shaking, and Ouyang Rong's head was also bobbing and shaking with the scenery above. At first, he didn't think much of it, staring blankly, his mind preoccupied with Li Zhengyan's matter.
Until everything went black, upon closer inspection, he realized that it was a beautiful woman's delicate hand that had covered his eyes.
Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. Instead of looking at the shy girl, he silently turned his head and looked out the window at the fading night scene, which was the least turbulent compared to the former.
"Of course Wanwan thinks that way. She is close to me because of her personal feelings. Perhaps in the eyes of Lord Li and Mr. Wei, the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, as the direct descendant of Emperor Taizong, should 'serve the public good,' and I may be the one who is acting against the 'greater good.'"
Xie Lingjiang shook her head: "Senior Brother is belittling himself again. They are the ingrates, using 'righteousness' to coerce people."
Ouyang Rong did not answer, but nodded slightly:
"Hmm, it seems that even though the Master tacitly supports me, there are still some civil officials in the court who are loyal to the regime but have different opinions or ideas about the path taken by the Prince of Xunyang's mansion."
Xie Lingjiang lowered her head slightly, her red lips only a finger's width away from Ouyang Rong's ear.
Breath as fragrant as orchids:
"Senior Brother, you mustn't spout nonsense anymore. At least regarding the invitations from Li Zhengyan and his group, Uncle Li and Li Dalang rejected them immediately. They even informed you, Senior Brother, that your opinion should be taken into consideration."
"They also sided with the eldest brother, feeling that Li Zhengyan and the others' identities were troublesome and would jeopardize the hard-won stability of the Prince's Mansion."
"I am not worried about losing my so-called position as the chief strategist of the prince's residence."
"Instead, I felt that the problem of the difficulty in unifying the various voices within the organization was not unique to the Wei family; it also existed for the Master and his group."
"In this dispute over the construction of the Heavenly Pivot and the Buddha statues, the extremists like Lord Li and Mr. Wei were banished from the capital. This reflects the nature of these disagreements and contradictions, which were easily defeated one by one by the Wei family..."
After calmly recounting this, Ouyang Rong sighed softly and murmured:
"Furthermore, nothing is ever static, and I may not be right either, because once the situation changes, things will be different from what they were before."
Seeing her senior brother deep in thought, his brows furrowed slightly, Xie Lingjiang felt a pang of heartache in her eyes.
But she couldn't bear to disturb his thoughts.
Xie Lingjiang turned her head, glanced at the manuscript on the opposite seat out of the corner of her eye, and casually picked it up to take a look.
It turned out to be a message reported by Yan Liulang a few days ago. The manuscript recorded the general content of Li Zhengyan's conversation with several dockworkers before Ouyang Rong arrived in Xunyang City on the day Li Zhengyan and his party arrived.
Yan Liulang inquired about every detail and handed the information over to Ouyang Rong.
“This is…” she muttered curiously.
Ouyang Rong didn't turn his head, his eyes fixed on the ceiling of the carriage, and casually said:
"That day, Li Gong asked the dockworkers about trivial family matters, as well as the prices in Xunyang and the wages for a day's work at the ferry."
"In particular, I also inquired about the details of the construction projects underway, such as the Shuangfengjian Canal and the Xunyang Grottoes, and the recruitment of workers at the docks."
Ouyang Rong seemed to have read this report draft many times, and could even recite some parts of it by heart.
Xie Lingjiang frowned with suspicion: "The more I listen, the more something seems wrong. Why are Li Zhengyan and the others asking about the lives of ordinary people in Xunyang City?"
"yes."
Ouyang Rong nodded softly: "Inquiring about the livelihood of the people of Xunyang... that's interesting."
Xie Lingjiang pondered, "Could this be Li Zhengyan's unique style? When he goes to a place, he investigates the local customs and the performance of the local officials."
Ouyang Rong looked thoughtful, then closed his eyes and suddenly said:
"However, he seemed to ask quite a few questions about Jiangzhou Datang's role in overseeing the construction of the Donglin Buddha."
Is that so?
Xie Lingjiang murmured to herself. At this moment, a pair of slender, delicate hands were gently massaging Ouyang Rong's brow, who had his eyes closed, trying to smooth out his furrowed brows.
As if remembering something, she raised her delicate chin and said with a hint of pride and admiration:
"In any case, Senior Brother has a clear conscience and is not worried about this, nor is he afraid of others investigating."
Ouyang Rong chuckled.
After praising his senior brother, Xie Lingjiang paused slightly, gently lowered his head, and looked at him with eyes full of affection.
She bit her lip, slowly touched that familiar, warm face, and whispered a reminder:
"However, Senior Brother should also be careful. Judging from his style of doing things, he is no ordinary person."
"I didn't underestimate him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have so readily pretended to be drunk and confused when we had just met that day."
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and sighed:
"Didn't you see that Wei Shaoqi, Du Shuqing, and Wang Junzhi, who also look quite impressive, all seem to be subtly referring to this person as their leader?"
"One who can subdue heroes must be a leader."
Ouyang Rong suddenly felt an itch in his ear; Xie Lingjiang had leaned in close and breathed into his ear.
"And what about the eldest brother?"
He closed his eyes indifferently, pointing his thumb at himself:
"Me? Of course, I'm a true hero, there's no escaping it."
Xie Lingjiang suppressed a laugh and spat lightly, "Ugh, so shameless."
Ouyang Rong opened his eyes and asked her, puzzled:
"Otherwise, why can't I ever win over a beautiful woman?"
Inside the carriage, a beautiful woman shyly buried her face in her chest, revealing a section of her neck, white as fine porcelain...
The next few days.
As usual, Ouyang Rong accepted Li Zhengyan's invitations and attended a series of literary banquets.
I never refuse; I always gladly accept invitations.
Every night, he would get completely drunk and be helped home.
The next morning, however, he was full of energy and went to the main hall of Jiangzhou to supervise the progress of the excavation of Shuangfengjian, or to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion to report on the progress of the construction of the Buddha statue.
I don't know how he manages to avoid headaches and fatigue the next day after being hungover every day.
Well, that's probably what he meant by "able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk".
That's quite fitting.
It seems that Li Zhengyan and the others have indeed misunderstood people.
As for the probing questions Li Zhengyan and others asked during each banquet, Ouyang Rong, unable to hold his liquor, always managed to evade them with toasts and drinks.
Eventually, Li Zhengyan and the others stopped asking questions.
However, the attitude of this former governor of Meizhou and grandson of the founding duke towards Ouyang Rong did not change much.
The familiar, affectionate call of "Lianghan" still lingers.
Ouyang Rong remained calm and composed.
"Your Excellency."
On this day, Yan Liulang walked into the main hall of the government office and handed a note to Ouyang Rong, who was buried in his documents.
He freed his hand to take it and glanced at it.
It is a fairly detailed record of the approximate movements of Li Zhengyan and his group in Xunyang City over the past two days.
Ouyang Rong read it carefully and found no clues. He burned it after reading it, said "Thank you for your hard work," and Yan Liulang withdrew to investigate further.
This is a recent routine report.
Ouyang Rong kept track of Li Zhengyan and his group's movements during the day.
As for whether Yan Liulang and the others who went to investigate would be discovered by them, Ouyang Rong was not worried at all.
Li Zhengyan and others were already exiled and awaiting punishment, so it was normal for them to be monitored by various eyes in the local area. What's there to say?
As the Prefect of Jiangzhou, Ouyang Rong was in charge of supervising this area, which was right under his nose.
During the day, business is conducted strictly according to the rules.
As for the evening, at the literary gathering and banquet amidst the interplay of light and shadow, he presented himself to Li Zhengyan, Wei Shaoqi, and others as a clueless young man who was both mediocre and fond of drinking.
That's a different matter altogether.
And so it is.
As the days went by, Ouyang Rong gradually sensed, through observing the movements of the people during the day and the frequency of their evening banquets, that Li Zhengyan and his group were shifting their focus from him to socializing with the famous figures in Xunyang City.
For example, Wang Junzhi and Du Shuqing in this group.
Take this opportunity to make friends with many prominent figures in Xunyang.
They were demoted to Jiangzhou, and this visit can be considered their acceptance of their new post.
In a few days, Li Zhengyan and Wei Shaoqi will definitely leave to take up their respective posts, while Wang and Du will stay and remain permanently.
Especially Wang Junzhi.
As the newly appointed Jiangzhou Doctor, and the head of the state academy, he will often stay in Xunyang City, where he will have more dealings with his superior, Ouyang Rong.
As for Du Shuqing, he was the Assistant Magistrate of Longcheng County, which was the same position that Assistant Magistrate Diao held back then.
Prior to this, Wang Junzhi was the registrar of Chang'an, and Du Shuqing was a censor; both were considered officials in the capital and were once promising young talents among the pro-establishment faction.
It's easy to imagine how severe this demotion was.
They're worlds apart, like heaven and earth.
However, Ouyang Rong did not notice how much dejection and disappointment the two people following behind Li Zhengyan showed at the banquet.
Are they all possessed by Yuan Huaimin, each one "enlightened" and ready to make a move?
Ouyang Rong thought it was unlikely.
There must be some belief or prospect supporting it.
He glanced at the back of Li Zhengyan, who was the center of attention and the one who was dominating the atmosphere of the banquet, and nodded slightly.
These things are very likely related to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion.
This is also related to Li Zhengyan's previous roundabout attempts to connect with the Prince of Xunyang.
With this thought in mind, Ouyang Rong became even calmer.
Wait calmly.
(End of this chapter)
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