Chapter 436 Old Shoulders, Slippery Junior Sister (Thanks to Honey Princess for the Alliance Leader reward)
Ouyang Rong walked out of the palace, boarded the carriage, and casually said:
"Leave the city and head to Twin Peaks."
The attendant driving the carriage immediately set off.
The carriage slowly started moving from the back gate of the Prince's Mansion.
He entered the carriage, sat quietly with his sleeves tucked in, and lowered his eyes, seemingly still pondering the matter of the red and black talisman materials.
The carriage headed towards the West Gate, passing through the bustling Xingzifang area.
Ouyang Rong lifted the carriage curtain, quietly observed the bustling scene for a while, and then suddenly spoke.
"Wait, let's not go to Twin Peaks yet, let's stop here for a bit."
The carriage stopped in a side alley, and Ouyang Rong immediately got out.
The streets I just passed were filled with chrysanthemums, in all colors except golden yellow.
Recently, Xunyang City has transformed into a city of chrysanthemums, signifying the deepening of autumn and a rich autumnal atmosphere.
People in Jiangnan love chrysanthemums, and people in Xunyang, Jiangzhou love them even more.
Thanks to Tao Yuanming, a famous scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty who was obsessed with chrysanthemums, his line "Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, I leisurely gaze at the Southern Mountains" has brought a chrysanthemum-loving atmosphere to Lushan for hundreds of years.
The Four Gentlemen: plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.
Chrysanthemums, with their solitary elegance and resilience against frost, are known as "reclusive gentlemen," perfectly embodying the cultural atmosphere of Xunyang City, a popular place for exiled officials, and a place steeped in a long-standing tradition of seclusion and quiet contemplation...
High-end restaurants decorate their facades with a chrysanthemum-adorned archway; flower markets are filled with potted chrysanthemums transported from all over the country; chrysanthemum appreciation banquets are held one after another in Xunyang's upper class; and even ordinary people in Xingzifang place one or two chrysanthemums in their homes to mark the occasion.
Chrysanthemums are everywhere in the city, some special varieties with a strong fragrance.
Ouyang Rong had already caught a whiff of it while in the carriage before he decided to get off.
He lowered the brim of his felt hat, walked to a tavern on the street, took out his wallet, and called to the shopkeeper with a smile, ordering two jugs of chrysanthemum wine.
"Alright, sir, can you handle the spiciness? Would you like some dogwood sprinkled on top?"
"I'll take one pot, and I won't take the other."
"Alright, thank you for your patronage, twenty coins..."
The shopkeeper, quick and efficient, soon prepared two jugs of wine, expertly plucked chrysanthemum petals, and sprinkled them on the surface of the wine.
The wine, mixed with chrysanthemum petals, made Ouyang Rong's mouth water, so he refrained from drinking it.
The shopkeeper first filled a pot with chrysanthemum wine, and then, as instructed by the customer, added a handful of dogwood to the other pot and sprinkled it on the surface of the wine.
After autumn arrives, festivals such as the Double Ninth Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival follow one after another, and drinking chrysanthemum wine becomes very popular.
Chrysanthemum is also known as the Longevity Guest, and dogwood is also known as the Evil-Repelling Elder.
Perhaps believing that the combination of prolonging life and warding off evil could eliminate the misfortune brought by the traditionally unlucky day of "Double Ninth Festival," adding some dogwood to chrysanthemum wine became a popular way to drink it for a time.
However, Ouyang Rong wasn't interested in anything about prolonging life or warding off evil; he was simply a glutton, after all, he was known as "Ouyang Lianghan, who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk."
He hooked the red rope hanging from the wine jug with his long, slender fingers, carried the two jugs of wine, returned to the carriage, and, after settling in, said softly:
"Go to Jingyiting."
"yes."
The carriage turned around and quickly returned to Xiushuifang in the wealthy district. It turned onto a clean street with few pedestrians during the day and slowly stopped in front of a mansion with abundant vegetation, including vines that had climbed over the walls.
This private residence does not bear the surname of its owner; there is only a simple plaque that reads "Jingyiting".
However, in the eyes of those who know their stuff in Xunyang City, this private residence named "Jingyiting" is one of the top three most luxurious and expensive private residences in Xiushuifang, besides the Xunyang Prince's Mansion. In fact, unlike the other private residences that flaunt their wealth in a low-key way, "Jingyiting" has the highest level of elegance and refinement. The nine Jiangnan gardens inside, arranged in a meticulous manner, as well as the landscape layout of strange rocks and winding water, are all the work of famous garden architects in Yangzhou.
One glance reveals the exceptional taste of the private residence's owner, a quality far beyond that of any nouveau riche or wealthy merchant; their status must be undeniably distinguished.
However, the "Jingyi Courtyard" has been vacant for a long time, with the owners appearing and disappearing mysteriously, and no one living there for a long time. As a result, it has been shrouded in mystery in the eyes of the high-ranking officials and nobles in Xiushuifang.
Ouyang Rong had no idea that his junior sister's temporary lodging outside the Prince's mansion was so particular.
His attendant knocked on the door and, as soon as he announced his name, the mysterious gate to the mansion opened immediately. The steward arrived in person, accompanied by a group of maids, and respectfully welcomed the future son-in-law inside.
"Are Seventeenth Sister and Miss Qin both here?"
"Yes, sir, Miss and Miss Qin have not left the house yet today."
"Alright, you can go about your business." Ouyang Rong said with a gentle smile, then paused and asked again, as he did every day, "Wait, hasn't Madam Xie returned yet?"
"No, sir. Madam will inform you as soon as she returns from Yangzhou. Don't worry."
"Alright, fine."
Waving the steward off to his work and politely declining the maid's offer to help carry the things, Ouyang Rong carried the two jars of wine and went to the inner quarters alone.
He was quite familiar with the process.
I've been here twice.
This Jingyi Courtyard is Xie's private property. Last time Xie Xue'e came to Xunyang, she helped Ouyang Rong arrange a meeting with Qin Jingzhen and his granddaughter. After the family banquet, before leaving, she casually handed the key to this house to her junior sister.
The junior sister has a gentle and refined personality, and is calm and focused. She doesn't care much about the Xie family's businesses all over Jiangnan. She is not particular about her travels and is content as long as she has a place to stay. She is very low-key when entering and leaving Jingyi Courtyard.
Later, in order to arrange a marriage between the Xunyang Prince's Mansion and the Qin family, Junior Sister He Liguo'er invited Qin Ying to stay.
The Qin and Xie families were old friends, so Qin Ying accepted the invitation and moved into the private residence. The junior sister would often come over to keep her best friend company.
When Ouyang Rong went to the Prince's Mansion in the morning and learned that his junior sister was not there, he roughly guessed that she had come to stay.
Lu Ya's arrival also helped relieve some of the guarding pressure on his junior sister.
Previously, for the safety of Li Xian's family, she had to stay in the Xunyang Prince's Mansion most of the time. Now that Lu Ya is here, she can occasionally leave the mansion to accompany Qin Xiaoniangzi to stroll around Xunyang and, incidentally, try to match her with Li Dalang.
However, there was another reason why Xie Lingjiang wanted to move out.
The Xunyang Prince's Mansion was, after all, someone else's home, with many people and eyes watching. Yet, the eldest brother would frequently visit her boudoir, sometimes even showing affection in a secluded corner of the corridor... Xie Lingjiang was, after all, a young woman, and her face was thin-skinned. She felt both sweet and annoyed.
It would be better to move out and have your own home with more private space, so she has been shuttling between Jingyiting and Xunyang Prince's Mansion lately, a tacit understanding between her and Ouyang Rong.
A moment later, Ouyang Rong arrived at the door of a secluded boudoir and knocked.
The voice of the personal maid came from inside the door: "Who is it? Is it Miss Qin? I'm sorry, Miss is bathing and applying incense in the backyard and hasn't come out yet..."
"Ahem, it's me. It's alright, you can wait a bit."
As Ouyang Rong's voice rang out, the room suddenly fell silent.
Thus, a silence fell for half a cup of tea, both inside and outside the door.
It seemed as if someone whispered an order from inside the secluded boudoir. Suddenly, the boudoir door opened, and a dozen or so personal maids ran out, heads bowed and faces flushed, slipping away from the tall and slender Ouyang Rong.
Aside from glancing at him a few times, no one spoke, and it was unclear what they meant.
After the maids hurriedly left, Ouyang Rong seemed to have forgotten to close the lacquered door to the inner chamber.
Bath fragrance?
His eyes flickered, and he immediately picked up two wine jugs, quietly entered the room, and made sure to close the door behind him.
It was midday, the sun was shining brightly, and it was indeed a perfect day for taking a bath.
Ouyang Rong nodded secretly and tiptoed to the backyard.
What if you accidentally bump into something?
Let's just bump into something.
As Ouyang Rong approached the backyard, he immediately caught a familiar fragrance of orchids, mixed with the pleasant aroma of borneol.
In addition, you can clearly feel the water mist in the air, which is the normal moisture from hot water after a shower.
"Junior Sister?"
Ouyang Rong pretended to have wandered in by mistake, and only after approaching did he tentatively ask in a questioning tone:
"Hey, where's the weirdo? I'm coming in..."
His footsteps had already arrived, giving the beauty in the courtyard no time to react.
The next instant, as he "stumbled into" the backyard, he was met with a clear, bright gaze, a gaze that seemed to be smiling but wasn't.
"What are you looking for, Senior Brother?"
"Um, what's that junior sister doing... arranging flowers? Have you... eaten yet?"
"The sun is shining so brightly, if I don't put some flowers in a vase, what should I do? What do you think I should do?"
She stood in the sunlight, neatly dressed, not at all "revealing," and her gaze swept over the man's face.
"What was Senior Brother expecting just now? Hmm, he seems a little disappointed."
"That's nonsense."
Ouyang Rong frowned and vehemently denied it:
"Junior Sister, why do you keep saying things that your senior brother can't understand? The weather is nice, and I saw some chrysanthemum wine for sale by the roadside, so I came over to have a few drinks with you... By the way, Junior Sister, did you just finish taking a bath?"
"Um."
"That's great, no need to wait anymore. It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. I've arrived at just the right moment."
"Really? It seems like Senior Brother wanted to come earlier."
Do I look like that kind of person?
"uh-huh."
After being questioned by Xie Lingjiang, he finally managed to coax and flatter her to get through it.
Ouyang Rong coughed twice before he had a chance to examine his junior sister's attire and the objects in the courtyard.
She must have just finished bathing and scenting herself, and was facing the sky with a bare face. Her small, oval face was as beautiful as a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any adornment.
Her long, black hair was smooth and flowing, draped casually over her shoulders.
She wore white socks and red rope clogs, and only a bright white, floor-length dress that resembled snow on a mountain peak. Half of her lovely shoulder slipped out from the neck of the dress, revealing her delicate collarbone, which made one want to take a bite... She stood in the bright sunlight, shining brightly, dazzlingly white.
Furthermore, because she hadn't had time to bind her chest, the snow-capped mountain appeared even more majestic.
There was a wooden table in the courtyard with two or three vases on it. She was standing in front of the lacquered wooden table, inserting a borneol chrysanthemum into a vase.
Facing Ouyang Rong's unwavering gaze, Xie Lingjiang turned her dark eyes away, her slender hands instinctively rising to gather her soft, black hair, which had been draped over her shoulders, and tuck it behind her right shoulder.
She crossed her hands, took a red string from the white bowl on her right arm, tied her long hair into a simple ponytail, and placed it on her right shoulder, shyly covering her collarbone and snow-white shoulders.
But these subtle, coy actions only made her seem more charming and adorable to Ouyang Rong.
"What are you standing there for? Come and help!"
Xie Lingjiang suddenly turned her head and glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes wide open.
Ouyang Rong immediately stepped forward, walked to the table, put down the wine pot, and accompanied his junior sister in arranging flowers in a vase...
P.S.: Thank you so much to my son, Honey Princess, for the generous donation! My fatherly love is truly boundless. Also, I recommend my son's book, "Why Talk About Love When You're Raising Cats?" It's a single-female-lead, sweet romance novel. Interested brothers can check it out!
(End of this chapter)
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