Chapter 643 The Composed and Unperturbed Lady Rong [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]
"It was a gift from Princess An Hui."
Halfway there, seemingly noticing a scrutinizing gaze from behind, Rong Zhen suddenly spoke without turning around.
"What?"
Ouyang Rong asked curiously, his gaze shifting from Rong Zhen's light purple palace dress. He had only noticed that Rong Zhen was dressed differently today when he was halfway there.
Rong Zhen continued speaking without pausing, her back still straight, her hands clasped and her steps graceful.
“I said I didn’t want it, but the princess insisted on trying it on this morning and gave it to me as a gift… I didn’t have time to change when I came over… Don’t say anything, I know it looks strange, I don’t need your kind reminder, and it’s not for you to see…”
"Forehead."
Ouyang Rong realized that they were referring to the new palace dress, and shook his head, saying:
"No, actually I wanted to say this is quite pretty, it looks like a violet..."
Ahead, Rong Zhen, who had been slightly lowering her head upon hearing the praise, suddenly heard a question from behind:
"Who is Violet? Which young lady do you know?"
Ouyang Rong realized that violets didn't seem to exist in this era, and explained:
"A pale purple flower, which is called by different names in my hometown."
"oh."
Rong Zhen responded with a faint sound.
The atmosphere between the two gradually fell silent.
Quietly walked forward for a while.
"Don't overthink it, it's just a coincidence..."
"Ms. Rong and..."
The two people walking one in front of the other spoke almost in unison.
Their words collided.
"Please speak first, Lady Rong," Ouyang Rong said politely.
"Nothing much. Go ahead and speak." Rong Zhen waved his hand impatiently, "Don't dawdle."
"Um."
Ouyang Rong said calmly:
"The relationship between Lady Rong and Princess Anhui is getting better and better."
Rong Zhen pursed her lips, and after a while, explained:
“Princess Anhui is His Majesty’s grandniece. She stayed in Jiangzhou to worship Buddha for His Majesty and his family. His Majesty issued an imperial edict ordering us to take care of her. I have to go there every three days to visit her.”
"I see."
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly.
Silence fell between the two of them once again.
We walked for a while.
“Ouyang Lianghan”.
"Um?"
Rong Zhen called out, adding an extra sentence:
“Princess Anhui is a very kind person. She is a well-known kind-hearted princess in Luojing, unlike most of the Wei family members in your impression.”
Ouyang Rong glanced at her retreating figure, his smile remaining composed:
"Oh, why are you telling me this, Your Excellency?"
Rongzhen turned around and glanced at him sideways:
"Kindness is not a reason to be bullied. You must keep a close eye on the Prince of Xunyang and don't go looking for her anymore. It's not appropriate, especially since Vice Supervisor Song still regards Princess Anhui as his beloved disciple's fiancée and treats her like a goddaughter."
"The Prince of Xunyang's harassment of Lin Cheng during his mourning period is very distasteful. Vice Supervisor Song doesn't have Princess Anhui's good temper."
Ouyang Rong was somewhat speechless:
"The young master hasn't returned yet, why is Lady Rong telling me this?"
Rongzhen pouted: "Aren't we going back to the city in the next couple of days?"
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, then asked in return, "How come Lady Rong's information network is even more advanced than mine?"
Rongzhen withdrew her gaze and looked straight ahead.
“In the past, I would have turned a blind eye, but now is a critical moment. We must work together to build the Buddha statue and resist the rebels from the Jianghu in the south. We cannot allow any irreconcilable conflicts to arise within Xunyang City. We must prioritize the overall situation.”
Ouyang Rong shook his head:
“There is another way. Why doesn’t Lady Rong persuade Princess Anhui to leave Xunyang City and return to the capital first? She can worship Buddha at any time. The situation in Xunyang City is becoming increasingly tense. It would be better for the princess to avoid it.”
Rong Zhen shook her head and explained:
"According to Princess Anhui, it was the will of the Prince of Liang in the capital. It's not just about worshipping Buddha, but also about the requirement that the Wei family daughters must remain chaste and faithful. Although the two are only engaged and have not yet been married, Princess Anhui and Lin Cheng have already exchanged their birth dates and times, so she is considered his fiancée."
"Now that my fiancé has passed away, and he sacrificed himself for the court and His Majesty, he died a heroic death. As a woman of the Wei family, I should not retreat, but stay at the front line in Xunyang to mourn and observe my chastity."
"Not to mention the mourning attire of a true husband or relative, such as the most severe mourning attire, the most severe mourning attire, or the most severe mourning attire, but the minor mourning attire is still necessary. It's also convenient to have her cousin Wei Shaoxuan mourn attire as well. All the civil and military officials of the court are watching. Princess An Hui represents the Liang Prince's Mansion and the Wei family's reputation."
"Therefore, you may return to the capital after this period of mourning ends and seek a suitable marriage partner."
The five different grades of mourning garments—Zhan Cui, Qi Cui, Da Gong, Xiao Gong, and Si Ma—represent the closeness of the relationship between the mourner and the deceased, also known as the "Five Mourning Grades."
The mourning period is three years for the first mourning period, one year for the second, nine months for the third, five months for the fourth, and three months for the fourth.
King Liang, Wei Sixing, ordered Princess Anhui to give Lin Cheng and Wei Shaoxuan a minor ritual, which meant waiting for five months.
Ouyang Rong nodded:
"The Wei family knows how to spend a fortune to acquire valuable assets. Once this gets out, the value of the Wei family's daughters will definitely increase even more."
Rong Zhen sneered:
"What, you're interested too? How about I help you find a match and marry a woman from the Wei family?"
Ouyang Rong said helplessly, "I am not well-liked by the two princes of the Wei family, so I am not fortunate enough to have that favor."
“You’re quite self-aware.” Rong Zhen nodded, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head slightly, as if he had remembered something. “But that’s not necessarily true, after all, he doesn’t have the surname Li.”
Ouyang Rong teased, "That's great. We should ask for one. How about Princess Anhui? You said she's kind and can take care of Brother Lin. I'm willing to wait."
"You're dreaming. You're getting more and more glib."
Rong Zhen chuckled, but it was a forced smile.
At this moment, the two, who were joking around, arrived at the Supervisory Office in Xunyangfang.
As soon as he entered, Ouyang Rong saw a group of palace officials hurriedly taking their leave; they must have been the envoys from Luoyang who had delivered the imperial edict.
Upon entering the main hall, Rong Zhen indeed retrieved an imperial edict and handed it to Ouyang Rong:
See for yourself.
When Ouyang Rong opened it, he found a bunch of convoluted and pretentious words on it, but it was actually just about a few simple personnel appointments.
The personnel in Jiangzhou remained unchanged, but after discussions among the ministers of the Luoyang State Affairs Hall, His Majesty granted permission to transfer two battalions each from the White Tiger Guard and the Black Tortoise Guard, totaling four thousand elite soldiers, to the southwestern front to assist the Jiangzhou Supervisory Council and the central army camp at the front.
Ouyang Rong read the latest imperial edict without showing any emotion.
It wasn't handed back immediately.
His gaze fell on the names of the leading generals of the White Tiger Guard and the Black Tortoise Guard. There was no "Guard" in their names, but there was a familiar character: "Wei".
Of course, this does not rule out the possibility that there are people planted by the Wei family in the Fourth Battalion.
But at least some of our own people were among them...
"How is Ouyang Lianghan?"
Rongzhen asked:
"The suggestion of drawing elite soldiers from the Xuanwu Guard and the Baihu Guard is tailored to the local conditions. These two guards are very adept at dealing with Qi cultivators, and each has its own special methods to target this group of rebels from the Jianghu in the south. There are also many powerful Qi cultivators among the two guards, and I know them well..."
"Moreover, there are a full four thousand men, and we specially transferred more. Even if Marshal Qin needs them, we can send one battalion to the southwest front to provide support. The remaining three battalions are more than enough to defend Xunyang City."
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly. Previously, the main camp at the front line only had one Xuanwu Battalion in black armor. This kind of organized military force targeting Qi cultivators had already crushed the heroes and warriors of Hong and Jiang prefectures.
“Alright.” He said calmly, “Besides, now that the decree has been issued, and Lady Rong is asking for my suggestions, of course I will comply.”
“If you have any objections, I can join you in submitting a petition to request it again,” Rong Zhen said softly, her eyes lowered.
Ouyang Rong shook his head and said, "Then it's probably too late. Let's leave it at that. I've taken a look and it seems alright. The most important thing is whether it meets Lady Rong's wishes. This reinforcement was also Lady Rong's suggestion."
“Yes, you can.” She slightly raised her chin.
"We have enough men to stabilize the situation in Xunyang. These rebels from the Jianghu in the south who dare to come will be made to never return. Ha, they've gotten used to being arrogant and domineering in the south, have they forgotten the power of the imperial court? The center of our dynasty is in the north, in Guanzhong, but that doesn't mean the south is a lawless land."
A short while later, Rongzhen had other matters to attend to, so Ouyang Rong took his leave.
Last time, Ouyang Rong reminded Rong Zhen that there was something fishy about these bronze Yunmeng tokens. I wonder if this lady of the house listened to her advice.
In any case, Ouyang Rong later saw that, as usual, Lady Rong ordered the female officials of the Censorate to conduct a strict search for the Yunmeng Token, and not allow any scholar or commoner in Xunyang City to keep it privately.
In addition, Lady Rong seems to be busy lately transferring the rebel prisoners from the old state prison in Xunyangfang to the new state prison near Shuangfengjian on the outskirts of the city.
Old Yang also went along.
Judging from the current situation, the Shuangfengjian Xunyang Grottoes area is being heavily guarded. In recent days, they have already asked the Jiangzhou government to help issue official documents:
The people of Xunyang are prohibited from going to the vicinity of Shuangfengjian. Unauthorized persons are not allowed to approach without an official order. Those who accidentally enter will be detained. In addition, the docking of foreign ships at Shuangfengjian Wharf has been suspended.
In this way, the Xunyang Grottoes area is essentially partially closed off.
Ouyang Rong hesitated for a while about whether to emphasize the Yunmeng Token again, but seeing how methodically she was proceeding, he decided against it, thinking that saying it again would be deliberate.
On the way back after leaving the Control Yuan.
Inside the carriage, he lowered his eyes slightly.
Among the generals transferred this time from the Xuanwu and Baihu Guards were members of the Wei family, who were relatives of Princess Wei Mei.
Many members of the Wei family of Jingzhao entered officialdom or joined the army, and some even held key positions in the imperial court.
This was also something Ouyang Rong valued; it was something he had planned in advance before he and the Xunyang Prince's Mansion decided to petition for help.
The two had discussed the matter in secret with Xie Xun, Shen Xisheng, Prince Xiang, and others in Luoyang, and also informed the Wei family of Jingzhao through a letter from Princess Wei Mei.
Ultimately, the pro-establishment faction in Luoyang jointly secured this appointment.
Although the edict stated that the arrangements were discussed at a meeting of the Council of State, in reality, the candidates had already been privately discussed and decided upon beforehand, and it was merely a formality.
Therefore, Ouyang Rong was not surprised to see the personnel arrangements in the imperial edict, but it was quite interesting that Rong Zhen asked him another question.
The requests from Prince Li Xian of Xunyang, Governor Ouyang Lianghan of Jiangzhou, as well as the requests from Lady Rongzhen and Deputy Supervisor Song... all had the right to make personnel recommendations. This was a compromise that everyone could accept.
There are many twists and turns involved.
For example, members of the Wei family certainly cannot come back to hold key positions. The Xunyang Prince's Mansion and Ouyang Rong would definitely not agree to this. However, Her Majesty the Empress and the Council of State Affairs will certainly have to respect their opinions for the time being, since the Buddha statue is about to be unveiled.
For example, there were actually several contingency plans that could be chosen as a second-best option, anticipating the reactions of His Majesty or the two Wei princes, leaving room for them to reject or deny them...
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.
At this moment, Yan Liulang boarded the carriage and whispered:
"My lord, as you have arranged, the outposts over there have been dismantled and all personnel have been withdrawn, leaving only a few to patrol the streets on schedule."
What was the reaction of the Fang sisters?
"The outpost was withdrawn the day before yesterday afternoon. After dinner the day before yesterday, they went out once, but not far. They took a walk by Xingzi Lake and returned to the courtyard in less than an hour. Yesterday was the same. They didn't go out during the day, but after dinner in the evening, they went out for a walk for an hour and returned as usual... It wasn't until this morning that there was any movement. They went to Chengtian Temple early in the morning."
"What was the purpose of going to Chengtian Temple, and who did you meet?" Ouyang Rong asked calmly.
"I didn't find anything strange. It seemed like a normal Buddhist worship ceremony. I met a few resident monks from the temple, but I didn't see them meeting any other visiting pilgrims."
"Is there a list of the Zen masters they met?"
"Yes, I have made a note of it and made some general inquiries. As for more in-depth information, I have already sent people to investigate." Yan Liulang seemed to have been prepared, and took out a stack of white papers from his bosom and handed them over.
Ouyang Rong looked down and examined the result for a moment.
"One-Finger Zen Master... what does this name circled in red mean?"
Ouyang Rong suddenly pointed to a name and asked.
Yan Liulang nodded: "This Zen master is a bit special, so I marked him. Your Excellency may know his disciple."
"who?"
He asked, somewhat curiously.
"It's that chubby little novice monk, whose Dharma name is Juzhi. He used to take care of the embroiderer girl at the Beitian Almshouse."
Ouyang Rong narrowed his eyes slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then asked:
"Have the two Fang sisters finished their Buddhist prayers and left?"
"No, they went back to the courtyard. I haven't seen them come out all morning."
"Alright, Liu Lang, keep an eye on them. As long as they leave that courtyard, even if they go back to the Southern family in the city, follow them."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Yan Liulang clasped his hands in a fist salute and withdrew with a serious expression.
Before long, the carriage arrived at a secluded shady spot near the quiet courtyard.
Ouyang Rong looked down at the list, sat for a while, then put it in his sleeve and closed his eyes to rest.
Just before Yan Liulang left, he reminded her that Xiu Niang and Pei Shisan Niang had gone to the East Market to buy things again this morning and hadn't returned yet.
About half an hour later, Pei Shisan Niang's luxurious carriage appeared at the end of this main road.
The luxurious carriage slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the quiet courtyard. Under the smiling gaze of a beautiful woman wearing a purple and gold shawl, a delicate-looking girl with blindfolds stepped down from the carriage carrying a basket and walked lightly into the courtyard, her steps quick and easy as she leaned on her cane...
Ouyang Rong sat alone in his carriage, quietly waiting under the shade of a tree in the distance.
Pei Shisan Niang's luxurious carriage departed, and Xiu Niang was greeted by the Fang sisters and entered the courtyard, but he remained motionless.
After a while, Pei Shisan Niang quietly returned, seemingly having received the news. She boarded the carriage alone and gracefully bowed.
"Young Master..."
Ouyang Rong opened his eyes, glanced at her, and first asked about the embroiderer's situation. Some things are still best understood by women like Pei Shisan Niang.
"Don't worry, young master. The embroiderer seems to be in a good mood lately. She doesn't seem to have any worries or dissatisfaction on her mind. You can rest assured."
"good."
After burning incense for a while, he watched Pei Shisan Niang leave. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was almost noon.
Ouyang Rong then got out of the car and walked towards the quiet courtyard where smoke was rising from the chimney...
...
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(End of this chapter)
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