Chapter 428 A Sixth-Rank Sage and... a Lustful Demon
"Didn't Tanlang go to help the weak? Why is he bringing so many leaves back?"
Li Dalang asked curiously.
Qin Ying, who was standing nearby, suddenly asked, "What did Young Master Ouyang say just now? How could it be so fast?"
Ouyang Rong returned carrying a basket of red leaves, casually handed it to his junior sister, and replied:
“I told them that my young lady liked these sycamore leaves and was in a good mood, so I bought them all. I also mentioned my young lady’s family name.”
Xie Lingjiang tilted her head: "Young Miss?"
Ouyang Rong blinked:
"I'm not entirely wrong. Junior Sister is indeed the young lady. Today has been a hard day for this old servant, accompanying Miss Xie shopping and carrying her things. Here, take all the leaves and flip through them slowly. Don't blame your senior brother for not teaching you poetry. Miss Xie, the great book reader."
Xie Lingjiang rolled her eyes cutely, shoved the bamboo basket full of red leaves back into his arms, and turned to leave.
"Little Rongzi, keep it safe. Let's go back to the manor."
Li Dalang scratched his head, while Qin Ying seemed lost in thought, and couldn't help but glance a few more times at the back of the young man in the felt hat in front of them:
"Why doesn't Young Master Ouyang just reveal his identity? Those people are obviously no good. Why not teach them a lesson and get justice for that little girl in the red coat?"
She pressed him for an answer with a serious expression.
Ouyang Rong smiled but remained silent.
Xie Lingjiang turned her head and glanced at the Qin family's younger sister, who was bursting with a sense of justice, and felt that she was very familiar with her.
If it were a year ago, she would have been struggling with this issue along with Qin's younger sister, and perhaps even more puzzled than her.
However, he later met someone.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Xie Lingjiang took her senior brother's hand and answered for him:
I think there are two reasons.
"First of all, the senior brother's identity is sensitive, and his intervention to help her may not be a good thing."
"Besides, everyone has their own destiny. Although that little girl in the red coat seems self-reliant and hardworking, it's hard to figure out why she was being harassed. Many things in this world are not just black and white."
"Simply helping the weak when you see injustice is enough, just like what the senior brother just did. As for what happens next, that's up to the little girl's own fate."
She paused, and seeing that her senior brother showed no objection but instead smiled, she felt subtly encouraged and continued with a gentle smile:
"Secondly, there are ways to help others. A small favor is appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment. I experienced this when I was in Longcheng, and my senior brother would never do that."
"All we need to do is buy all the red leaves. If it weren't for the fear that those troublemakers would be too stupid to understand, my senior brother wouldn't even have mentioned the Xie family's name."
"But it doesn't matter. It's fine if that little girl in the red coat finds out. She seems intelligent and should know that she is a benefactor of the Prince's Mansion and the Xie family. She can't repay them in any way. My senior brother never intended for her to repay his kindness by announcing his name."
At this point, she took the folding fan from Ouyang Rong's hand and opened it with a "snap".
Using a fan inscribed with "Zhou Bang Xian Xi, Rong You Liang Han" (meaning "The Zhou state rejoices, the Rong have excellent calligraphers"), the noble lady Xie gently fanned herself against her bulging, proud chest, and said with a smile:
"The most important thing is that my senior brother only helped me buy red leaves. Who said he was helping her? There's no evidence. Well, there's no need to be presumptuous or make a big fuss about repaying him. She doesn't need to feel indebted. It's just a normal transaction, a coincidence."
Li Fusu and Qin Ying exchanged a glance, their mouths filled with mixed feelings.
Qin Ying looked at Ouyang Rong with complete admiration and a tone of deep emotion:
"In such a short time, Young Master Ouyang came up with a roundabout way to help people, and even took into account their feelings... Grandpa was right, Young Master Ouyang is indeed very talented. He is a chef who can cater to all kinds of tastes, and he is a rare find."
Xie Lingjiang was a little annoyed when she heard this: "Don't praise him anymore, he might get cocky again."
Ouyang Rong had no choice but to suppress her senior brother, who was definitely her junior sister.
A short while later, the group found a modestly luxurious carriage parked at the agreed location, with a banner bearing the character "谢" (thank you).
After waiting for a while, a young woman with plum blossom makeup appeared in the night, returning with several maids and attendants.
Li Guo'er gracefully boarded the carriage, her face veiled in a snow-white gauze. Beneath the gauze, her oval face retained the aloof and polite demeanor she had displayed at the poetry gathering when she was highly sought after by talented scholars.
After taking her seat, she exchanged a few pleasantries with her brother and Lady Qin. Upon learning that the two of them had gone hunting in the autumn forest, she lowered her eyelashes.
"What did Sister Xie and Young Master Ouyang do this afternoon after we left?"
Xie Lingjiang kept her eyes straight ahead: "After queuing for a while, we rode horses to the outskirts of the city to admire the autumn leaves."
Ouyang Rong nodded seriously: "I gave my junior sister some pointers, and she benefited a lot this afternoon. She's so grateful she wants to repay me with her body."
Li Guo'er gave a soft "Oh," and then said, "You haven't offered yourself to me yet?"
A sharp pain shot through his lower back, but Ouyang Rong remained unfazed and changed the subject: "Where is Master Lu?"
"I don't know," Li Guo'er shook her head.
"Let's wait a little longer. If they don't come back, we'll leave first. Anyway, Fellow Daoist Lu knows the way back to the Prince's Mansion." Xie Lingjiang shook her head.
During a casual conversation, Ouyang Rong suddenly asked:
"Junior Sister, Scholar, Gentleman, Book Turner... these are the ninth, eighth, and seventh ranks of scholars, respectively. So what is the name of the next sixth rank?"
Xie Lingjiang narrowed her eyes and softly uttered, "My sage."
Ouyang Rong raised an eyebrow: "What kind of virtue?"
Xie Lingjiang smiled but remained silent.
Still preoccupied with something, Li Dalang asked curiously, "What about the person who tore up the book? Which lineage did they belong to? Did they have a lower rank?"
Ouyang Rong was about to speak when Xie Lingjiang grumbled, "Yes, a lecherous devil."
"There really is such a lineage? The name sounds like that of a womanizer, not a respectable person."
Li Dalang scratched his head, half-believing and half-doubting, his expression one of astonishment as he digested the information.
Li Guo'er nodded in affirmation: "Brother's feeling is right, he is indeed not a decent person."
“…” Ouyang Rong.
Speechless, he sighed and rubbed his forehead.
One dares to fabricate, the other dares to believe.
Ignoring the smug, smiling look in his junior sister's eyes, Ouyang Rong straightened his face and sat up straight.
He beckoned and lifted the carriage curtain, glancing at the myriad lights outside the window.
...
The setting sun casts its last rays on ordinary streets and alleys.
A little girl in a red coat covered her palms and walked towards a cluster of old houses.
As one of the two oldest neighborhoods in Xunyang City, Xingzifang is different from the other Xunyangfang, which is frequently renovated. Many buildings in Xingzifang are old and dilapidated, similar to the urban villages in the old city of Ouyang Rong's previous life. Despite its excellent location, it has been neglected for many years and is a mixed bag of people.
In particular, the houses and courtyards in the neighborhood are crowded and old. Because they are close to Xunyang Ferry and the West Gate, there are many people who make a living there, so there are a lot of residents. It has become a place for many migrants to settle down in Xunyang.
Huang Xuan had lived in this old town for a long time and knew the way like the back of her hand; she could find her way with her eyes closed.
At this moment, she was walking home, the wound on her hand that had been scraped raw was now wrapped with herbs and tied with a handkerchief.
This is a method she figured out when she was bullied and injured by wild children when she was a child. Chewing this common roadside herb and mixing the herb ball with saliva can stop the bleeding.
The only downside is that it's very bitter.
However, after getting used to it, she discovered that there was a slight aftertaste of sweetness in the bitterness...
Smacking her lips, trying to savor that last bit of sweetness, Huang Xuan covered her hands and turned at an intersection. Suddenly, she looked back and saw the figure of the strange man still following her. Her eyes became wary.
This was a passerby she encountered on her way back from the west gate. She thought it was on the way, but after turning a few corners, he was still following her not far behind.
What a coincidence!
Huang Xuan turned her head back, her expression becoming calm, as if she didn't care. She then turned a corner and circled the nearby streets a few times.
As she passed a busy intersection, she suddenly sped up, moving like a rabbit, and plunged headlong into the bustling crowd on the street...
After an unknown amount of time, the little girl in the red coat reappeared at the entrance of an alley about three hundred meters from the bustling fork in the road.
She glanced back.
The figure of the strange bad guy who had been closely following her had disappeared. Huang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, secretly touched a hard object about the length of a baby's forearm in her sleeve, put it away again, turned around, and continued walking towards her home.
However, just to be on the safe side, she circled around the neighborhood a few more times, relying on her familiarity with the surrounding residents, before finally letting her guard down completely.
Soon, Huang Xuan arrived at a dilapidated alley filled with all kinds of garbage and foul-smelling water. At the left end of the alley ahead, a small courtyard with a wooden door came into view.
She wiped the grime from her tired, dark face and smiled slightly.
This is home.
Strictly speaking, it was actually the home of several families.
Because other families were also crammed into this small courtyard, she and her father were just one of them, living in one of the rooms, which was a converted woodshed and a bedroom, for a discount of half a string of cash.
On weekdays, the several households share the yard and kitchen, and they get along quite well.
Benefiting from the labor force attracted by Xunyang Ferry, the largest ferry crossing in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Xingzifang, located near the ferry crossing, has a large and diverse migrant population.
The landlords in the neighborhood have all become shrewd, each a master of space utilization, finding ways to rent out coffin-shaped rooms so they don't have to worry about finding tenants.
However, a while ago, there were rumors circulating in the neighborhood that a wealthy merchant group wanted to rent out the old houses in Xingzifang and renovate them for rent, but then the rumors gradually faded away.
It may also be related to the fact that there are too many landlords in Xingzifang, and the houses are densely packed and messy, making it difficult to negotiate and argue. In the end, it seems that nothing came of it.
"Father!"
As Huang Xuan approached the courtyard, she spotted a familiar, burly man peering out from the entrance and immediately called out.
"Xiaoxuan... what happened to your hand?"
The bearded man, who had just returned home from work at Shuangfengjian, had barely managed a smile when his expression changed to one of wariness as he asked the question.
Before Huang Xuan could speak, the man suddenly turned to look behind her.
Huang Xuan turned around quickly, and was suddenly startled... How come that person followed us again?
She involuntarily took two steps back.
"Who is this person..." The burly man with a thick beard looked him over suspiciously.
In the dark alley ahead, a Taoist priest with a sword slowly emerged. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were fixed on the little girl in the red coat behind the bearded man.
It was Lu Ya, the "Walking Down the Mountain" of the Shangqing Sect, who had disappeared for an afternoon.
There was complete silence in front of the courtyard gate.
The bearded man turned to look at his timid daughter, his gaze then falling on her hands bandaging the herbs. Suddenly, his hair stood on end, and he roared in fury, his face contorted like a lion's mane.
"You scoundrel, you even bully little kids! Have you no shame? You beast!"
Lu Ya was looking around at the dilapidated alleyways and courtyards when he heard this. He frowned and looked at the bearded man who was rolling up his sleeves and stepping forward, explaining in a serious tone:
"I am not a bad person. I just happened to meet your daughter on the street and felt that we had a connection. I meant no harm... It's not convenient to talk outside. May I come in and have a chat with you, and listen to what I have to say..."
"Speak your mother's words! Take this punch!"
Without saying a word, the burly man with the thick beard charged forward.
Lu Ya's expression changed slightly, and he took a step back...
"Father, don't go..."
Huang Xuan was worried when she failed to catch the bearded man. She was concerned that her father would suffer a loss, but then she saw the strange Taoist priest with a sword being chased by her father, who was pulling on his robe, without uttering a single word... She was speechless.
Seeing the figure of the sword-wielding Taoist priest fleeing in panic at the alley entrance, with even his hair-binding Taoist hat scattered on the ground, Huang Xuan ran forward with her short legs and quickly grabbed the burly man with a thick beard who was still angry and wanted to chase after the fleeing bandit.
"Don't chase after Father... Actually, he didn't hurt Xiaoxuan." She said weakly.
The bearded man spat, his eyes wide with anger, and still not satisfied, kicked the Taoist hat off the ground. He turned around, his dirty hand pressing down on his daughter's head with his relatively clean sleeve, and breathlessly admonished her:
“From now on, when you encounter these Taoist priests, just pull out the rusty dagger tied to your feet for self-defense. Based on my experience, Confucian scholars are poor, pedantic, and bald monks are bullies who bully the weak and fear the strong, while Taoist priests are pretentious and affected. The latter two are all bark and no bite, so don’t spoil them! The fiercer you are, the more afraid they will be of you, especially when I’m not around.”
The man was long-winded and a bit nagging, but Huang Xuan noticed a hint of guilt and fear in his eyes.
She nodded blankly, "Okay."
After the two finished talking, they walked back to the courtyard. At that moment, the landlord, Chen, arrived and appeared at the door.
The bearded man and Huang Xuan's expressions changed.
They're chasing the rent again?
The burly man with a thick beard who had been so domineering not long ago suddenly looked worried and didn't know what to do with his hands.
Huang Xuan, who was standing to the side, seemed to remember something, and her eyes visibly became flustered.
Unexpectedly, when Landlord Chen entered, he greeted everyone with a kind and friendly expression.
"Oh, Brother Huang is back! Huang girl is here too? Haha, I hope I didn't disturb you. Sorry, I was just passing by. It's so dry out of the air, and my lips get sore easily. I just happened to have some fresh fruits and vegetables, so I'll give them to you. I hope you'll accept them."
The Huang family father and daughter were stunned. They saw Chen, the landlord who always had a deadpan expression as if he owed them eight hundred taels of silver, enter the courtyard carrying a basket of fruits. He placed the basket on the stone table with a familiar smile, his hands rubbing together like flies.
Before the Huang father and daughter could speak, a woman's charming voice came from the doorway again:
"Good evening, gentlemen. I am truly sorry to disturb your esteemed residence so late..."
The Huang father and daughter turned their heads and saw a carriage parked outside the courtyard gate. A noblewoman with a trailing purple and gold shawl was slowly walking out of the carriage.
The noblewoman glanced around at the shabby courtyard gate, stopped at the threshold, and gracefully bowed to the Huang family father and daughter.
“My surname is Pei, I am from Yangzhou, and I am the thirteenth child in my family. You two can call me Thirteenth Sister directly… Greetings.”
Pei Shisan Niang smiled, her eyes glancing casually at the bearded man before landing on the little girl in the red coat hiding behind him.
(End of this chapter)
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