Chapter 571 Lord Ouyang is very busy during the Lantern Festival [Seeking monthly votes!]
"Madam Pei, please don't go back yet. Come with me to Huaiye Lane."
“Young master, you can just call me Fu Fu, or Thirteen Sister. That’s how we address each other in the clan based on our birth order.”
"Fu...Fu?"
"That is my childhood nickname, a single character called Fu. Usually, when I'm out, few outsiders call me that..."
After Ouyang Rong walked out of the quiet courtyard, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he turned around and found Pei Shisan Niang, who was waiting quietly to the side and had not yet left, and gave her an instruction.
"If you don't call her enough, what am I supposed to call her? Let's just keep calling her Madam Pei."
Ouyang Rong interrupted expressionlessly, waving his hand.
Pei Shisan Niang glanced cautiously at the handsome young man in front of her, whose tone was somewhat stiff, and nodded hastily:
"As long as you're happy, young master. By the way, did you send me to Huaiye Lane as a reward for a meal? May I go back and change into some proper clothes...?"
"No need, it doesn't matter what you wear, just wear this... I'm not asking you to sit at the table, wait outside until my aunt and I finish our meal... Madam Pei, get in the carriage, follow me."
Ouyang Rong spoke succinctly, then left Pei Shisan Niang's luxurious carriage with his hands behind his back.
Pei Shisan Niang looked curious.
Looking back at the quiet courtyard not far away, she could vaguely see a slender figure groping for the doorknob, seemingly looking in the direction the young master had left.
...
When Ouyang Rong brought Yan Liulang back to the mansion in Huaiye Lane, the entrance was already covered with red lanterns.
Outside, on the street, the neighbors' children were setting off fireworks and things that looked like Kongming lanterns.
"Master is back!"
A maid named "Xiao Fang" ran to the main hall and called out.
Zhen Shuyuan, dressed in a festive crimson dress and draped in a hazy light black shawl, came up to greet us with Ye Weilai, Banxi, and a group of other female relatives and maids who were also dressed in new clothes.
"Why is Tanlang so late today? Wasn't it a holiday? Could he have been busy again? Surely becoming a scholar and governor doesn't mean he doesn't get holidays anymore. This court is too stingy..."
Ouyang Rong covered his mouth and coughed, calming down the muttering, beautiful woman in a silk dress. Yan Liulang, who was standing nearby, gave him a friendly assist, and they finally managed to get away with it.
After all, you can't exactly say that you went out to try and catch the moon, but ended up picking up your former child bride, can you?
Before going to dinner, Ouyang Rong returned to the Yinbingzhai study.
Place the zither-shaped Mo family sword case on the top shelf of the bookcase.
Little Mo, who had almost fallen asleep, suddenly shook off her drowsiness and jumped out of the wardrobe. She grabbed the hem of Ouyang Rongru's shirt, climbed up, and crawled into his sleeve. Then, swaying with the wide sleeve, she poked her little head out and tilted it, saying:
"Finally back from your mischief, Xiao Rongzi, let's go!"
She was dressed neatly tonight, in a Confucian robe and a female crown.
Ouyang Rong sternly pressed her head back down: "Call the goose by its name, not me."
"They're all the same!" Miaosi insisted with a small, determined face.
“Then go find the geese in Jingyiting,” he said.
Miao Si looked doubtful and muttered to herself:
"They say a prime minister's belly can hold a boat, Ouyang Rong, you're now at least a scholar of the Imperial Academy, known as the little prime minister of the Great Zhou. If you continue to be so petty and stingy, how will you be able to serve as prime minister in the future..."
The young woman in Confucian robes suddenly stopped speaking, her nose feeling cold.
She narrowed her eyes, staring at the fine ink stick stuck on the tip of her nose, and swallowed hard.
Ouyang Rong, holding the Hanlei inkstone he had just taken out, nodded and asked:
"What did you say, Your Highness?"
“Let me say…that Prime Minister Ouyang is auspicious, hehe.”
Ouyang Rong laughed and let go. Miao Si pulled out the inkstone, hugged it, and started munching on it, shaking her head and swaying her body.
"At least you still have a conscience. You remembered to bring me some good food after your debauchery. Tonight is the Lantern Festival. If you don't bring any good food, I'll be writing it down in my little notebook. Ouyang Rong, aren't you scared of losing face in front of your future followers?"
Miao Si smugly said:
"This is what you call 'the one who does it, the one who watches'! Mmm, delicious... Is this Hanlei Ink Studio's special Lantern Festival offering... No wonder their ink sells so well..."
Ouyang Rong ignored her, put her on the desk, changed his clothes, and went out again.
I'm not taking the [Craftsmanship] out tonight, mainly because I'm afraid the embroiderer will see it. It's too dangerous to leave it in the carriage where the two of them might ride together.
If the embroiderer accidentally opened the zither case, Ouyang Rong really wouldn't know how to explain it.
We can't just turn around and search her sword-wrapping bag, then turn the tables and blame each other, can we?
She probably doesn't know yet that Ye Weilai has already revealed her identity to him.
This time, the embroiderer took the initiative to suggest not staying at the Huaiye Lane residence, which Ouyang Rong was happy to see.
However, in the afternoon, every time he mentioned his aunt at home, the embroiderer seemed to have a slightly frightened expression...
In conclusion, the current condition of the elderly patients at the Donglin Temple Compassionate Nursing Home is quite good.
The fact that the embroiderer did not refuse his enthusiastic invitation today, which means that she was not planning to leave anytime soon.
As for the reason, need I say more?
Under the advice of the corrupt official Ouyang Lianghan, the "loyal strategist of the female official," there are now wanted posters for Yunmeng Yue Nu everywhere.
The embroiderer has managed to hide in Chengtian Temple until now without being discovered, and continuing to stay near Chengtian Temple is the safest option at present.
The most dangerous place is the safest place.
Moreover, looking back now, there was another reason why the embroiderer would stay by Xingzi Lake.
The "craftsmanship" that Ouyang Rong submerged in Xingzi Lake.
After retrieving the embroiderer, Ouyang Rong carefully reviewed the events of the morning when the carriage was searched, and belatedly realized it was a false alarm.
Judging from this, the embroiderer must have something on her that can detect the aura of "craftsmanship," or it could be a secret technique passed down through generations of Yunmeng Sword Swamp.
When he was unconscious on Dagushan Mountain, the Yue women of Yunmeng were wandering around Donglin Temple, and they were probably attracted by the craftsmanship in the same way.
No wonder the eldest daughter of Yunmeng, Xue Zhongzhu, and her ilk are always haunting her.
[Craftsmanship] Once it leaves the sealed Mo family sword box, it will be detected by them.
Ouyang Rong looked thoughtful as he changed his clothes.
"Longling—"
Ouyang Rong didn't change the icy white jade hairpin in his hair.
The embroiderer seemed to really like that voice.
He raised his hand and touched the icy white jade hairpin on his headdress, gazing at the fireworks in the sky outside the window, and murmured softly:
"Thank goodness for this, now I see. It wasn't a waste of five thousand... to satisfy you..."
"What should we feed them?"
One of the little ink sprites on the desk twitched its ears, suddenly noticing something, and muttered:
"Ouyang Rong, are you keeping other women on the side?"
Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged as he calmly said:
"Hmm, I've raised another obedient little ink spirit. I won't name it 'Instant Death,' I'll name it 'Eternal Life.' When I take it over, could you please move aside?"
Miao Si crossed her arms and hummed:
"You dare? Humph, the first thing you do when you get back is change your clothes. I don't even need to smell them to know that they smell like another woman. Otherwise, why would you change them so often? I've never seen you so clean before. You went out last night in a brand new outfit, and you came back in a brand new outfit. And you're still changing now."
“There’s definitely something fishy going on. If you dare bring Bie Mojing back, I’ll tell Xie Yaya on you, and we’ll definitely catch them red-handed.”
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong glanced at the scholar's robe that Pei Shisan Niang had changed out of, which indeed smelled of the fragrance from her carriage, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"You understand me that well?"
He said sternly:
"It seems we really can't keep you... You have a woman's fragrance, but you're a businesswoman, so let's keep things strictly business."
Miao Si sighed: "You and that debt-ridden fairy named Rong something are just colleagues who do business together."
Ouyang Rong: ...?
The two, one big and one small, bickered for a while before heading out together to the dining hall.
Judging from Ouyang Rong's expression, he clearly didn't want to bring this boisterous and sharp-tongued little ink spirit along. However, Miao Si said that she had already made an appointment with her junior sister to go to the festival to see the lanterns tonight, and he had to deliver it to her.
Ouyang Rong thought to himself that it would be nice to have Little Ink Spirit accompany his junior sister, so he quickly changed his expression, discussed it for a while, and then smiled and made a pinky promise with Little Ink Spirit.
"I hope all those inksticks weren't wasted," he sighed.
"Tsk, what a face." Miao Si said with a look of disgust.
"After this is done, I'll give you a poem for the Lantern Festival." Ouyang Rong held up one finger.
"Hehe, deal." She immediately hugged the finger.
“True colors.” Ouyang Rong nodded.
Miao Si tilted her head: "But let me make this clear beforehand, I can't guarantee that I can hold Xie girl back. If she doesn't buy your excuse and insists on asking you to accompany her to admire the lanterns and solve riddles, you'll have to deal with that yourself."
After a pause, the young woman in Confucian robes gave him her usual suspicious look:
"By the way, after you finished dinner, were you really going to work overtime at the government office? Or were you going to do something else?"
Ouyang Rong covered his mouth, turned his head away, and coughed: "That's about right, you wouldn't understand even if I told you..."
"It's alright. Before I came back, I sent someone to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion to explain the situation to my junior sister. Also, the Xunyang Prince's Mansion is holding a Lantern Festival banquet tonight, which will be attended by many noble families and officials. They're quite busy there."
“Junior Sister needs to look after that area and protect the safety of the Prince’s Mansion. We are all doing our own jobs. Junior Sister is well-educated and reasonable, so she will definitely understand. Unlike you, who has no respect for elders.”
"Aren't you going to the Prince's residence?"
"Yes, I've already spoken to the Prince. I'm very busy lately with the Buddha statue. I need to communicate with the Censorate and may also need to visit the Xunyang Grottoes. Although it's the Lantern Festival, we can't relax our efforts with the Censorate and the Xunyang Grottoes. I have to share the burden for Lady Historian."
"Then what about this fairy maiden?"
"After we finish eating, I'll go over there first, take you there, and then I'll leave."
"You've arranged everything very well."
A clever idea hummed.
Ouyang Rong coughed and remained silent.
...
Tonight, dinner in Huaiye Lane will be glutinous rice balls.
However, that's not what they call them at this time.
Yan Liulang also came to dine. His family was not in Xunyang City. Also present were Chen You and his wife, the latter of whom lived in Xunyang City.
After the meal, Zhen Shuyuan kept chatting with Ouyang Rong.
Fortunately, Pei Shisan Niang came to visit, having something to discuss with Ouyang Rong.
Under Zhen Shuyuan's furrowed brows, Ouyang Rong slipped away and went out to run errands.
Ouyang Rong first went to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, found his junior sister, and prepared to hand over the troublesome little ink spirit to her.
Hmm, why does this give off a vibe of an old married couple taking turns taking care of the kids and being hands-off parents?
He arrived at the Xunyang Prince's Mansion with ease, and to be on the safe side, he also brought along Pei Shisan Niang, who was "looking for him to do something".
The Xunyang Prince's Mansion was very lively tonight, but Ouyang Rong didn't go to join in. He still owed Xiu Niang a late-night snack.
He summoned a familiar steward and, without disturbing the Prince of Xunyang and his eldest son, asked him to fetch his junior sister.
Unexpectedly, Xie Lingjiang's fiery red figure appeared and immediately took Ouyang Rong's arm. Without even glancing at Pei Shisan Niang, who was preparing to strike up a conversation or recite some lines, she pulled Ouyang Rong towards the main hall, her face showing some anticipation as she asked:
"Senior Brother, are you really that busy tonight? Can't you stay a little longer? If not, I'll go out with you. Also, there are a lot of people here tonight; Senior Brother should see them..."
Ouyang Rong looked troubled and unleashed his ultimate move:
“But isn’t Junior Sister supposed to be taking care of the Prince’s Mansion? How can she leave? Actually, I’m also reluctant to part with Junior Sister, but we have to…”
"I know the bigger picture is more important. But you don't need me. Sister Guo'er said there are experts in the Prince's mansion tonight, so I can go out without worry."
Xie Lingjiang tilted her head: "Didn't you write that you were busy during the Lantern Festival? She was there at the time and said that I should come and keep you company. If I finish my business early, I might be able to get back before midnight and go out incognito with her and Dalang to enjoy the lanterns in the streets."
Ouyang Rong's eyelids twitched: "Your Highness really knows how to arrange things..."
"What does Senior Brother think?"
"I……"
"By the way, Senior Brother, look who's here." Xie Lingjiang interrupted, smiling and pointing to the long corridor ahead.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and saw three familiar figures walking towards him from the end of the corridor.
"Teacher? Madam Xie? Cao... Cao's brother?"
With Xie Lingjiang smiling and linking arms with him, Ouyang Rong looked surprised.
Xie Xun, dressed in a simple Confucian robe and cap, stood under the eaves, smiling and clapping his hands:
"Lianghan, congratulations on your promotion to Academician of the Xiuwen Academy. I was planning to visit you after the banquet at the Prince's Mansion, but I didn't expect you to come by yourself. It seems that you and Wanwan are inseparable. Although you bicker when you're together, well, I'll ask you to help take care of Wanwan. Don't let Wanwan become a burden on your official duties."
Xie Xue'e stood gracefully beside her brother, her gaze fixed on Ouyang Rong. It was just like a mother-in-law finding her son-in-law more and more pleasing to the eye. She turned her head to Xie Xun, nodded, and smiled, "Brother, I told you there was no need to worry about Lianghan. Why are you still worrying unnecessarily?"
The newly-adult scholar of the Xiuwen Academy, who was also acting governor of a prefecture, was a unique figure in the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty. At the gatherings of gentry in Yangzhou and Jinling, she was almost annoyed by people coming up to her. Well, it was a kind of joyful annoyance.
Wang Caozhi followed behind his uncle Xie Xun and Xie Xue'e, poked his head out, waved to Ouyang Rong, and greeted him.
Then he glanced at the beautiful woman in purple and gold robes who was bowing her head and waiting respectfully not far behind Ouyang Rong. At a moment, out of Xie Lingjiang, Xie Xun and the others' sight, he winked at Ouyang Rong.
His gaze seemed to look up to a towering mountain... My brother-in-law is truly a great man, a kindred spirit!
"..." Ouyang Rong hesitated, glancing at Pei Shisan Niang, signaling her to step forward and help him out. But just as Pei Shisan Niang took a step, Xie Xun's cheerful voice came: "Come, Liang Han, accompany your teacher for a walk. Wanwan, come over too. Haha, I know you're afraid your father will say bad things about you."
Xie Xun patted Ouyang Rong on the shoulder. Xie Xun walked past him with his hands behind his back. Pei Shisan Niang shut her mouth, and Ouyang Rong couldn't help but look up at the sky.
"What are you looking at, Senior Brother?" Xie Lingjiang turned around curiously, her eyes darting around, and said in a low voice, "It's nothing, we'll just chat for a little while, Father won't take up too much of your time. It's been a long time since I've seen you and I've missed you. If you have anything to do, I'll go with you later. Let that merchant woman wait for a bit."
“没……没看什么，今夜无雨，天色甚好……甚好。”欧阳戎摆手，只好硬着头皮跟了上去。
某刻，王府花园内，亦步亦趋跟随老师的他，伸手入袖一把捂住差点笑喷暴露的儒衫小女冠嘴巴。
(本章完)
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