Chapter 396 A Qing's Day
After some discussion...
Li Dalang left.
As for the carriage, Xie Lingjiang rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the distant riverbank where the vibrant red maple forest and the brilliant sunset complemented each other.
"Is an eighth-rank swordsman really that powerful?"
"I need to reach the sixth rank quickly, then I can kick each of my senior brothers one by one..."
Mei Yumu smiled slightly, and she muttered to herself:
"But judging from what my senior brother said before he left, it seems that with good craftsmanship, it can break through the protective true qi of a sixth-grade cultivator... An eighth-grade cultivator is at risk from harming a sixth-grade cultivator... Is this what a swordsman is like...?"
Xie Lingjiang sighed, a hint of resentment creeping into her eyes. Then, the high ponytail of the woman dressed as a man inside the carriage bounced, and she shook her head, her pretty face brightening again.
"No matter what, we can't be taken down in one sword strike. That would be too embarrassing."
Having quietly uttered her harsh words, the noblewoman Xie gazed at Jiang Feng in the afterglow of the setting sun, lost in thought for a long time, before suddenly muttering to herself:
"By the way, has she reached the sixth rank yet? After she went back with those senior sisters..."
...
Aqing wiped his sweat and glanced at the distant sunset as it sank into the river.
She continued washing the monk's robes.
The Beitian Aid Home, next to a well in the backyard.
A pretty young girl with the character "越" tattooed on her forehead struggled to lift a bucket of well water and add it to the pool.
She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender, white arms, and squatted by the well, hugging her knees. First, she washed her hands, and then she diligently began to wash the outer garments of the monks and patients in the courtyard.
After washing the silk, Aqing went to get a few clotheslines.
The newly washed clothes were neatly hung out to dry.
The quick-witted girl called over the six monks chanting sutras in the side hall of the courtyard, and she led them to the dining hall to fetch some dinner food.
They were distributed one by one to the elderly, weak, sick and disabled people at the Beitian Nursing Home.
Everyone either lined up or sat and waited, and when they received their evening meal, most of them were all smiles.
After all, who doesn't like rice? Especially in the Great Zhou Dynasty, where commoners could only eat two meals a day at most.
However, there are also patients who are picky eaters and difficult to please, or whose families have fallen on hard times, or who take advantage of their age.
Aqing, who was just helping out with odd jobs, wasn't annoyed. She would proactively ask and carefully write down the dietary restrictions, making sure she didn't forget. The next day, if she remembered, she would immediately go to the kitchen of the vegetarian restaurant and talk to the cook, who also had a rather bad temper...
Aqing, who is naturally introverted, shy, and somewhat socially anxious, mustered up the courage to do this kind of communication and conflict-resolving work, which was indeed quite difficult.
However, when faced with the quiet inquiry from a pretty young girl with a soft, gentle voice, even the most fiery and difficult person would have to lower their voice by a beat, humming a few times to soften their tone.
Many trivial grievances and conflicts were resolved through her quick and efficient communication, which emphasized speed.
Aqing has been working at the Beitian Nursing Home for a month now.
From an outsider's perspective, she has a strong ability to adapt.
However, according to Aqing's own experience, who would shyly lower her head if stared at by an outsider for three seconds,
The secret is simply "diligence".
Diligence can make up for lack of talent.
Besides, most people aren't clumsy.
Ah Qing didn't quite understand all these complicated reasons, but she remembered a sentence from a certain "new elder brother".
Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival; arrogance is.
Aqing often pondered this. She didn't know what arrogance was, but she thought that being more diligent wasn't arrogance.
After acknowledging that admirable "new elder brother," Aqing's life underwent many changes.
But some things haven't changed.
The resident monks at the Beitian Nursing Home, as well as the patients there, all had a good impression of the new girl.
Some monks who only chanted scriptures day after day became more diligent in their chanting and striking of the wooden fish. It wasn't about what they were chanting, but mainly because, in front of the pretty young girls who frequently passed by their door, any man, even a monk, would feel a sense of urgency to avoid giving the girls the impression of being lazy...
As for the poor patients, they were touched by the simple and honest temperament of the pretty girl with the character "Yue" tattooed on her forehead. Only those who had experienced the same hardships and low points in life knew what the patients truly needed.
Because I've been caught in the rain myself, I always want to hold an umbrella for others.
There's always a sense of warmth in it.
After the food was distributed, Aqing took an extra portion and went to the backyard to a well surrounded by a stone fence.
There is no water in the well.
There is a monk and an underground palace.
Four newly added Jataka tales murals adorn the four sides of the underground palace.
On the north wall is the inscription "Moonlight King's Head".
The disheveled young monk, who had been sitting facing north, stood up, clasped his hands together, looked up at the well opening, and smiled as he recited:
"Amitabha Buddha, female benefactor, please come down quickly. The Avici Hell is up there. Don't suffer in vain..."
Aqing kept moving, placing the food on a tray, and using a modified wheel, she lowered the tray with a rope, causing the old bell she had specially tied to the tray to swing.
Ding-a-ling~
The crisp sound of bells echoed throughout the underground palace, mingling with the aroma of food, lingering and reverberating.
Xiuzhen's expression changed slightly. She immediately stopped ferrying people and rushed forward to grab a bowl of rice.
They didn't care whether the food was naturally grown in the Pure Land or transformed food from the evil spirits of the Avici Hell.
Trust your gut's judgment.
Aqing chuckled and turned to leave the well.
She tidied herself up and left the Beitian foster home.
I encountered beautiful hair halfway there.
The two were quite familiar with each other, mainly because of Ouyang Rong.
Xiufa brought some sumptuous dinner and asked Aqing to take it back to Sanhui Courtyard for Liu's mother, who was recuperating.
Ah Qing declined repeatedly, but under the insistence of the bald-headed novice monk, she had no choice but to accept it.
She carried the food box in both hands and silently walked back to Sanhui Courtyard.
Originally, Aqing, Liu's mother, and sister-in-law Yunniang lived in their home on the outskirts of Longcheng. After the Kuangfu Army attacked last time, they took refuge from the war.
Upon returning, at the strong suggestion of Magistrate Diao and Master Shandao, and after much hesitation, the family moved to Donglin Temple on Dagu Mountain, settling in the Sanhui Courtyard where Ouyang Rong had once recuperated.
It's safer in the temple, and it's also more convenient for Liu's mother to recuperate.
Meanwhile, Aqing also found a new job at the Beitian Nursing Home. The Beitian Nursing Home was jointly run by the county government and Donglin Temple, so it could provide some support...
Before the last rays of the setting sun faded, Aqing walked back to the familiar courtyard, quickened her pace, and pushed open the door. But she couldn't see her sister-in-law Yunniang. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure in the room where her mother was recuperating, holding a bowl and feeding her medicine.
"Have you finished brewing the medicine? Sister-in-law, rest first, I'll feed you." Aqing said helplessly as she walked into the main hall, put down the food box, turned and went into the sickbed in the side room. The next moment, her little face froze: "Brother... Brother!"
A-Qing exclaimed in surprise when she saw a tall, slender figure visiting the old woman in front of the bed inside the room.
"Shhh."
Ouyang Rong handed the medicine bowl back to Yunniang, smiled and turned his head, put his index finger to his lips, gestured to the sleeping Liu's mother, and winked at Aqing.
Aqing blushed immediately and became somewhat flustered.
Her face quickly composed itself, and her voice became so soft that only her lips moved:
"Brother, have you eaten?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head.
Aqing quickly took out the food box, slowing down her movements so as not to wake Liu's mother.
However, what the little girl didn't know was that someone's gesture of "shh" wasn't just directed at her.
Ouyang Rong kept his index finger raised to his lips, turned his head, and glanced at the quiet night view of Longcheng outside the window.
...
Unlike the family reunion on Dagushan Mountain.
In Longcheng County, the bustling streets, which had been lively all day, were gradually closing up shop as vendors went their separate ways.
Following the trail of Li Li and the others reported by Yan Liulang, Ouyang Rong, who had quietly returned, was unaware that a young woman in palace attire had also quietly arrived.
Rongzhen walked silently on the streets of Longcheng County.
We've returned to Penglangdu.
Yes, it's "again".
She had been in the county for a day, disembarking at Penglangdu in the morning and taking a long walk around this small county town in southern China.
Now we've come full circle and are back to where we started.
But along the way, he became increasingly silent.
From Penglangdu, to the west bank of Guyuejianpu, to Digongzha, and finally to Tanlangdu, which I visited somewhat out of curiosity about Zheyiqu.
We conducted a site visit.
She fell silent.
Having spent a long time in the Luoyang court and the Empress's palace, Rongzhen had come to realize that behind every grand and righteous principle in the world, there was always someone's selfishness and desires at play.
Just like those officials who presented memorials to Her Majesty the Empress with upright faces, each one pleading for the people, each one an incorruptible minister, but which one of them didn't harbor unspeakable selfish motives?
I've seen plenty of Rongzhen.
Therefore, when she followed the Empress's orders to copy Ouyang Lianghan's memorial, she only felt that this person was not only hypocritical, but also very verbose.
He rattled off a bunch of clauses and rules, calling them "my humble constructions."
But behind your suggestions and advice on water management in Jiangnan, is there really no selfish desire to protect the interests of the Jiangnan gentry and wealthy families behind you?
It's just standard procedure.
As a vast national regime, the Great Zhou Dynasty had officials who came from all over the country and rose to power through the imperial examinations, military achievements, or inherited family privileges. They all represented the interests of the local gentry and powerful families behind them to some extent.
How many truly honest and humble families are there? Even if there are, they are quickly bought off and won over by the gentry and powerful after they come ashore, and begin to become their representatives in the court.
Being able to see these things is a basic skill for a lady-in-waiting serving the Empress; the more you see, the more you understand.
Therefore, after Rongzhen arrived in Xunyang City, whether it was the suspected capture of Ouyang Lianghan in the carriage at the West Gate to transfer the female relatives to escape, or his disregard for her orders and beheading of Zhu Lingxu at the West Gate, in Rongzhen's eyes, Ouyang Lianghan was harboring a naked selfishness.
Behind the facade of a virtuous and upright person may lie a heartless and greedy face.
Whose interests do you, this renowned gentleman, represent?
Besides the immediately visible Xunyang Prince's Mansion, what else is there?
Are they the Xie family of Chenjun? Powerful local gentry from Longcheng in Jiangzhou and Nanlong in Luling? Or wealthy merchants from Jiangnan Circuit?
Since everyone is in it for the sake of profit.
It would be better to be as openly evil as the Wei family, who aimed for absolute power, to steal the position of the Li royal family, and to become the largest landowner in the land.
It's better than this group of hypocritical civil officials who are all talk and no action but have their own interests at heart.
So far, the only person Rongzhen truly respects and admires is that teacher who has been sitting and calculating accounts day after day for over a decade.
Therefore, during their brief encounter in Xunyang City, the more serious Ouyang Lianghan acted, the more she wanted to expose him.
Therefore, Rongzhen arrived in Longcheng with a skeptical mind.
Preparing to investigate some things:
Back then, Ouyang Lianghan publicly beheaded Zhu Lingxu at the West Gate.
The day before, another person closely associated with Zhu Lingxu, Zhao Rushi, was publicly beheaded by an unknown villain in the marketplace of Longcheng County.
Rongzhen vaguely sensed a connection between them.
She disembarked today intending to conduct interviews and investigations, but she never expected that she would lose track of time while wandering around.
The reason is simple.
This county town was not the ignorant, backward, and impoverished place she had imagined.
Very different.
It has a completely new look.
Even the "qi" has changed quite a bit.
That's right, even county towns have "qi". In the eyes of the Yin-Yang School's qi-observation masters, everything has "qi", and a county town is no exception.
Like a unified dynasty, is it decaying and entering its twilight years, or is it vibrant like the sun at 9:30 in the morning, or is it in its prime, full of blazing heat...
These can be roughly "seen".
It's hard to describe the feeling that Longcheng County gave Rongzhen.
If I had to describe it, I'd compare the county town to a person.
It was influenced by three unique and wise teachers, and was deeply affected by them... It was infected by three different "temperaments" from these three county magistrates, all of which were mixed together and became a natural whole.
Among these, a particularly striking new "style" stands out...
Rongzhen wandered through the streets and alleys, and even quietly read some county records, learning quite a bit.
If I'm not mistaken, these three county magistrates were:
Tao Yuanming, a famous scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, lived four hundred years ago.
Although he only served as a county magistrate for eighty-one days, he left behind two released sika deer and the drunken figure of "picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence," which are still talked about by later generations.
Many streets, place names, and local specialties in this county are derived from his stories with sika deer and chrysanthemum wine.
This is to imbue the text with literary flair.
It has cultivated a secluded and open-minded atmosphere in its scenic spots.
A mountain is not famous for its height, but for the immortals who dwell there; water is not sacred for its depth, but for the dragons that inhabit it.
The same applies to counties.
Another one is Di Fuzi, who was demoted from the high position of prime minister ten years ago and started afresh here.
Without complaint or resentment,
Hard work builds a strong nation.
Poor mountains and bad waters? A struggle between heaven and earth?
It is also a source of endless joy.
Disaster relief and flood control; adjudicating cases and repairing sluice gates.
They outwitted the barbarian invaders and eradicated their licentious worship.
The Master's indomitable spirit taught the local people that even the most unruly people in impoverished and harsh environments can overcome adversity.
When a virtuous person loses his position, he bows and scrapes before a petty person.
When times are unfavorable, one should simply accept poverty and remain content with one's lot.
If your heart is honest, you will surely be able to hold your head high and gloat.
This is called imbuing something with character and spirit.
Then, the last one was... the "hypocrite" Ouyang Lianghan, whom she originally looked down upon.
The construction of the Zheyi Canal to control floods, the defeat of the most powerful and tyrannical local tyrants, the dismantling of the once-dominant Guyue Sword Shop... and so on.
He rode alone to take up his post in Longcheng, possessing nothing but an official document.
His choice was not to collude with the gentry and powerful families, but to stand firmly against the powerful landlords and magnates of the county.
A scholar fights a bully.
Inviting someone to a feast, beheading them, or taking them in as dogs?
Then distribute the grain, check the accounts, hold a public trial, and confiscate the property!
all in all.
Fairness, and struggle.
This man prominently displayed the words "justice" in the main hall of Longcheng and personally taught the people how to fight.
This gives the county an aura of a vested interest group that wants to overthrow all those who prey on the people.
Finally, it releases a kind of thriving vitality.
In Rongzhen's eyes, the Zheyi Canal not only connected a stagnant pool of water in terms of terrain and layout, but also a stagnant pool of numbness in the hearts of the people of Longcheng.
This is called imbuing something with spirit and energy.
Refined manners, integrity, and spirit.
Three county magistrates, three legacy.
The influence of this leader's temperament on governance and pioneering is not unfounded.
Just like Emperor Taizong, whose spirit soared to the heavens and was invincible, his civil and military achievements gave the Great Qian Dynasty and even the Great Zhou Dynasty a powerful momentum of territorial expansion and abundant martial virtue.
This is the change that the founding leader brought to a new dynasty and its people.
In the words of a geomancer, this is called a dragon among men.
They seemed to belong to a different era, possessing a brand-new personality and temperament that drew the attention of those from the old era, who couldn't help but follow them, and thus everyone became people of the new era.
The latest changes in Longcheng County all seem to point to the hypocrites that the cold, aloof young woman previously perceived as virtuous and righteous.
The facts before her now tell her... it seems, perhaps, that there's some misunderstanding?
The palace-dressed girl, who had been "wasting time" wandering around all day, quieted down, walked back to Penglangdu, and looked down at the golden river water lapping against the ancient bricks on the bank.
Perhaps... less selfishness?
She whispered:
"How can a person be completely without selfishness? It's just a matter of having more or less."
At this moment, a female official rushed over.
Rongzhen snapped out of her daze and turned her head:
"What's wrong?"
"Found... something."
"What is that?"
"Your Excellency will know once you take a look."
Rongzhen glanced at the female official's serious expression and nodded.
They followed them to a restaurant on a busy street where the crime had occurred...
(End of this chapter)
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