Chapter 521 Door God
The night was dark and the wind was high.
Shuangfengjian is a new ferry crossing located below the South Peak.
A passenger ship is docked.
The passenger ship only stopped for half an hour, dropped off one or two strange passengers, and then set off again towards Xunyang City, where thousands of lights were lit up not far away.
The berthing time is far less than the half-hour stay at Xunyang Ferry.
This new ferry crossing at Shuangfengjian is not far from the ancient Xunyang ferry crossing with its huge passenger flow. It was originally just a temporary ferry crossing used to transport supplies from the city and assist in the construction of the Xunyang Grottoes.
Therefore, most travelers who come here ignore this cargo ferry and simply disembark at Xunyang Ferry, where they can directly experience the vibrant nightlife along the Xunyang River, with Xunyang as the main attraction.
Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang, who led Dongmei off the boat, were considered strange guests by the boatman and other passengers.
Even though we were so close to Xunyang Ferry, we disembarked at a ferry crossing in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night.
Even a seasoned boatman couldn't help but grumble a bit, advising the handsome young man and beautiful woman, who seemed to be a couple, to be careful walking at night and to avoid some shabby inns in the remote suburbs.
The handsome man and beautiful woman exchanged a glance and both burst into laughter.
However, he still sincerely thanked the old boatman before leading his horse away.
The old boatman glanced at the expensive Ferghana horse the man was leading, and watched with a hint of worry as the two figures in white scholar's robes and red skirts disappeared into the distance.
However, upon realizing that this place was near Xunyang City, the old boatman breathed a slight sigh of relief, muttered a few words, and turned to continue sailing.
"Senior Brother, that old boatman just praised you."
"Next time I'll wear a hat."
Leaving the ferry, on the dark road at night, Xie Lingjiang rode on her crimson horse while Ouyang Rong led the horse on foot. Xie Lingjiang smiled and looked down, while Ouyang Rong answered somewhat absentmindedly.
"Not this one." She gave him a reproachful look, her tone narcissistic.
"Oh, what's that?"
"He said that Xunyang City is safe. Didn't you hear what the old boatman just said? He said it's because the prefect of this prefecture is capable. He's a chief clerk named Ouyang something, and I heard he's a well-known upright gentleman in Jiangnan who governs effectively."
Xie Lingjiang smiled sweetly, remembering clearly how she reached out and pinched the ear of her senior brother, who was lost in thought, leaning closer and breathing softly:
"The old boatman also boasted that among all the poor and remote counties he had traveled through, Jiangzhou was the safest place, ranking among the best in the entire Jiangnan region, so everyone could come here with peace of mind... Senior Brother, aren't you happy to be praised?"
"happy."
Ouyang Rong looked up, smiled, and gave a brief response.
"I think the eldest brother didn't listen at all."
Xie Lingjiang's cheeks puffed out slightly, her eyes filled with suspicion.
Ouyang Rong smiled but remained silent.
He led his horse forward, turning his head to glance at a pitch-black camp on the opposite bank of the ferry. From this vantage point, only a few scattered lights could be seen on the camp.
"Come on, senior brother, let's go take a look. Your neck is almost bent over."
Xie Lingjiang showed a disgusted face and said:
"Don't pretend or say one thing and mean another. Senior Brother is getting off the ship here because he wants to see more of the Xunyang Grottoes... It's not like I disagree. I accompanied you back from the front lines without saying a word, and I didn't try to persuade you much about declining the position of Chief of the Central Army Camp. Why would I not support you in whatever you do?"
She bit her lip lightly, looked at the profile of the stubborn man before her, and continued:
"I'm just afraid that if you politely decline and then return to Jiangzhou to be a leisurely Sima, you'll suffer mistreatment again."
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong showed an embarrassed expression:
"I'm mainly worried that you'll find it troublesome to go there in the middle of the night."
Xie Lingjiang pouted and said:
"Even if it's troublesome, is it more troublesome than going to the front line with you?"
"Although Uncle Li and Aunt Wei's intention was to prevent Qin Jingzhen from stealing your love and not letting you return, that's why they instructed me to come along to prevent their beloved from being taken away..."
"However, deep down I think that it wouldn't be bad for my eldest brother to serve as the chief clerk of the central army camp. He could also use his skills to his advantage, and he might even have a better future than the chief clerk of Jiangzhou. It's just a pity..."
Xie Lingjiang looked regretful, looked down at him, and asked:
"Did Senior Brother choose to stay in Xunyang City simply because he was worried about the Prince's Mansion, or is it...?"
Ouyang Rong suddenly looked up and added:
"Actually, the reason for disembarking here is also to visit Brother Huang in the suburbs. There's something I'd like to ask him."
"What did you say?"
Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but glance at him again.
Ouyang Rong murmured, "These are my true feelings."
Seeing this, Xie Lingjiang knew it was inappropriate to ask further questions, so she changed the subject:
"We've been out of the city for a few days, things should be fine at the Prince's residence, right?"
Ouyang Rong waved his hand casually:
"There's no need to worry too much about that. From my observations these past few days, Wei Shaoqi's trip to Jiangzhou wasn't entirely for the sake of the Prince's Mansion. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let bygones be bygones when his eldest son accidentally bumped into Princess Wei."
Ouyang Rong shook his head.
"It is clear that Wei Shaoqi is very restrained in dealing with the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, which is very unlike his personality. In addition, Wang Lengran had been hiding for a long time before Wei Shaoqi and Lin Cheng came. It is conceivable that someone was suppressing them."
"It seems that the Wei family is not as unified as we thought. Hey, there are still some smart people among them."
Xie Lingjiang listened attentively and breathed a slight sigh of relief; her senior brother's judgment was always accurate.
"That's true. But just in case... well, there's still Dalang, he drank Master Yuan's talisman water..."
He remained silent for a while.
Xie Lingjiang blinked, as if remembering something, and said:
"Senior Brother, why did Uncle Qin keep praising your good looks when we parted?"
How could Ouyang Rong say that, including this time when they parted, the old man had already repeated it three times.
"It was just a joke from a senior." He said seriously.
Xie Lingjiang tilted her head and glanced sideways:
"Do you think it's possible that Uncle Qin kept Miss Qin in Xunyang City not to get close to Eldest Brother, but for someone else..."
“Absolutely not,” he said immediately.
Xie Lingjiang seemed not to hear, "Actually, Senior Brother, I think Miss Qin is a pretty good person, and I'm quite familiar with her..."
"Cough, hold on tight."
Ouyang Rong suddenly mounted his horse, grabbed the reins with one hand and put his arm around Xie Lingjiang's waist with the other, and galloped impatiently toward the Xunyang Grottoes in the distance.
He stopped the latter from speaking.
Because of the relocation of the Donglin Buddha, the focus of Jiangzhou Hall is now on Xingzifang. The investment in Xunyang Grottoes has been diverted by Wang Lengran and Lin Cheng, leaving only a few scattered positions for grotto maintenance. The entire construction of Xunyang Grottoes has been temporarily suspended.
Without wages, the laborers who had been working at the grottoes naturally scattered and returned to Xunyangdu to find new jobs.
However, Ouyang Rong heard from Yan Liulang that Lin Cheng, Wang Lengran, and others, together with Pei Shisan Niang and other merchants from the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, had already cooperated to recruit new laborers in advance at Xunyang Ferry in preparation for the commencement of construction on the Xingzifang Buddha soon.
Many of the laborers who originally worked at the Xunyang Grottoes were absorbed by the other side.
Ouyang Rong neither confirmed nor denied this.
Upon arriving at the Xunyang Grottoes campsite, the autumn wind was bleak, and the area appeared deserted.
Only a few bonfires, spaced far apart, sat one or two night watchmen, some dozing off, others standing up and watching them warily.
Ouyang Rong silently dismounted, chatted for a few words with the yamen runner who looked at him with awe, and then went for a stroll. Halfway there, he suddenly saw the familiar figure of a bearded man.
"Brother Huang?"
There, at the foot of the cliffside Buddha statue, which was not yet fully formed, Huang Feihong was squatting on the ground without any regard for his image, holding a pot of yellow wine in his hand, chatting idly with an old yamen runner, while exchanging wine with him.
In the dead of night, Huang Feihong, his face flushed from drinking, groggily turned around and looked at Ouyang Rong, who had suddenly appeared. He rubbed his eyes and said somewhat drunkenly:
"Young Master Ouyang?"
Ouyang Rong walked over, took the wine pot, glanced at the empty pot, and frowned:
"Why are you still here? It's the middle of the night."
He glanced at the old, drunken constable beside him, who quickly and respectfully stood up and waved his hand vigorously, saying:
“Ouyang Chang…Sima, Brother Huang brought his own wine. It wasn’t that I tempted him. Drinking is not allowed in the construction camp. It’s a rule you set long ago, and I’ve kept it in mind…”
"However, Brother Huang said he's leaving in the next day or two and wanted to see the Buddha statue that we brothers have been building together for the last time. Seeing that the Buddha statue here is no longer under construction, I couldn't resist having a drink... I hope Commander Ouyang won't mind..."
Ouyang Rong remained silent.
After a long while, the firelight shone on his gaunt face, and Ouyang Rong gently shook his head:
"Yes, it's not your fault. Some things are my fault."
"Young Master!"
"grown ups!"
Huang Feihong and the old yamen runner spoke almost in unison, their faces turning red.
Ouyang Rong patted them on the shoulder. This time, he didn't confiscate the drinks, but simply went over and helped Huang Feihong up.
"Let's go back and have a drink. I have something to tell you."
A short while later, Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang left Xunyang Grottoes with Huang Feihong.
The three returned to Huang Feihong's home in the suburbs.
It was almost dawn, not far from daybreak.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, Huang Feihong invited Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang to sit down.
"Young master, is Miss Xie hungry? There are still some noodles in the kitchen."
"Then you won't be polite."
Huang Feihong immediately turned around and went to the kitchen to cook noodles for the guests.
After Huang Xuan left, he learned to cook for himself. He was a person with a rough but meticulous personality, and he was also diligent.
Ouyang Rong stood up and walked towards the kitchen, seemingly to help.
Xie Lingjiang was about to follow when a large hand pressed her back onto the stone bench in the courtyard.
She glanced at the steady hand on her shoulder, then at her senior brother's calm expression, before taking off her sword, placing it across her lap, and waiting silently in the courtyard.
A short while later, in the kitchen.
While helping wash the vegetables, Ouyang Rong asked, looking down:
"Brother Huang said he's leaving in the next two days. Where is he going?"
"Xiao Xuan's senior brother, Yuan Yazi, wrote to me the day before yesterday, saying that he wanted me to go to Gezao Mountain to accompany Xiao Xuan. I can stay in a house in the Shangqing Sect at the foot of the mountain."
“I was thinking that since the Xunyang Grottoes project has been suspended, I heard that you, young master, have also been valued by Marshal Qin at the front line and have been invited over. He said that you are to be appointed as a promising new official. I don’t have anything to do in Xunyang City, so I might as well go to Gezao Mountain to find some work again. I can also be closer to Xiaoxuan and stay by her side.”
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded:
"Brother Huang, please be careful."
He turned around, preparing to go outside to fetch water from the well.
Huang Feihong called out to them curiously:
"Didn't you say you had something to do, young master?"
"It's gone."
"Wait a minute," Huang Feihong suddenly said, "Young Master, why have you returned from the front lines? Weren't you supposed to be a high-ranking official?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head without saying a word and prepared to go out to fetch water.
Huang Feihong ran over, blocked the doorway, looked him straight in the eye, and asked in a low voice:
"Young Master...aren't you going to the front lines?"
Ouyang Rong remained silent.
Huang Feihong took a deep breath and pressed, "Please don't hide it from me, young master, what brings you back?"
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes for a long time, his expression ambiguous:
"Do what needs to be done."
Huang Feihong said decisively, "I'm going too."
"No. I don't need you."
"What brings you here tonight, young master?"
Ouyang Rong remained silent.
Huang Feihong suddenly spoke:
"I don't really want to leave."
Ouyang Rong turned his head and stared at the man's resolute, pursed-lipped, bearded face.
I don't know how much time passed.
"Xiaoxuan must agree."
The bearded man grinned.
...
The night was quiet.
Xie Lingjiang, who was waiting with his sword across his body in the courtyard, would occasionally turn around to glance at the tightly closed wooden door of the kitchen.
A portrait of a door god can be faintly seen on the wooden door.
As the sky began to lighten with the first rays of dawn, the darkness was pierced by the first rays of daylight, and the whole world became a little brighter. The old portrait of a certain Duke of Hu, surnamed Qin, on the wooden door also became clearer...
Early in the morning.
Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang entered Xunyang City through the west gate.
Ouyang Rong looked up at the red bricks of the ancient city gate, his expression somewhat lost in thought.
Half a year ago, he beheaded Zhu Lingxu here and successfully completed the eighth-rank ceremony. However, due to the lack of a sword manual, he was stuck at the threshold of advancing from the eighth rank to the seventh rank, and his cultivation level has not progressed for a long time.
Upon returning to Xunyang, Xie Lingjiang went back to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion first.
Ouyang Rong did not return to his residence in Huaiye Lane, but went directly to the main hall of Jiangzhou to report for duty as usual.
Within a single day, news that Ouyang Lianghan, whom Marshal Qin highly valued, had returned from the front lines in Hongzhou and would continue to serve as the Sima of Jiangzhou spread rapidly throughout the Jiangzhou officialdom, sparking much speculation.
The news naturally reached the residence of a certain prefect, and a prefect surnamed Wang hurriedly summoned people to discuss it...
While many people in Xunyang City were surprised and discussing the matter, no one knew that Huang Feihong, who was originally preparing to pack his things and travel far away, appeared at the Xunyang ferry in the afternoon.
Instead of embarking on a long journey, he formed a long queue.
The long lines of laborers signing up to participate in the Xingzifang statue making.
The line was extremely long, and the burly man with the thick beard was not particularly noticeable among them.
He pressed down the felt hat that Young Master Ouyang had left behind at dawn, and waited quietly with great patience.
However, because he had been carrying goods at Xunyang Ferry for many years and was known for his loyalty, some people in the chaotic group gradually recognized him, greeted him warmly, and joked and teased him:
"Old Huang, I've figured it out. Wherever you go, things go bad. Now you're ruining this place again. Go away, don't leave your buddy with nowhere to make money."
Huang Feihong grinned.
"Yes."
(End of this chapter)
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