Chapter 771 Embroiderer, Giving Your Senior Sisters Two Choices
The inner courtyard, amidst ruins.
After Master Yuan finished speaking, Lu Ya lowered his head and remained silent.
Everyone turned to look at Lu Ya.
They suddenly understood why Lu Ya insisted on going to find Li Dalang. Even if he didn't find him, he returned to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion immediately and stayed there instead of going into Mount Lu with Xie Lingjiang to lure the pursuers.
Lu Ya's idea was probably to stay by Li Dalang's side and wait for a moment of crisis so that if Li Dalang, who had swallowed the talisman water, could use a spirit summoning technique, he could see his master. But Li Dalang was not there; he had gone to Xunyang Ferry to adventure. Lu Ya was somewhat insistent on going to find him, also because he was worried that if Li Dalang encountered danger and used a spirit summoning Master Yuan, he wouldn't have time to see him.
Wei Mei remained displeased and gave a cold snort. Li Guo'er's eyes held a somewhat enigmatic expression.
Li Xian remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly. Looking at Lu Ya, whose face was flushed like a child's, his initial dissatisfaction eased slightly. Li Xian felt that this young Taoist priest was not as mature as he seemed, just like his own eldest son, merely a slightly older child. He also felt reluctant to part with his deceased master.
Everyone has selfish desires. How much more so the affection for one's child.
What happened today was indeed not intentional.
Of course, this was all predicated on Master Yuan arriving in time to clean up the mess. Only then would everyone have time to understand that their dissatisfaction and blame in the ice cellar were the consequences of Lu Ya's own actions, and he should rightfully bear the responsibility alone.
Lu Ya looked at his master, his face expressionless, and remained silent. The old Taoist turned his head and said to Li Xian:
"Your Highness, please rest assured, Tanlang, whom you are worried about, is mostly fine. He is very resilient. However, it was thanks to him today that you were all protected. My presence here is merely icing on the cake, a way to make up for my foolish disciple's mistake. I hope you will not hold a grudge."
Li Xian, Li Guo'er, and Wei Mei breathed a sigh of relief.
They all shook their heads at what he said next.
Wei Mei spoke first: "How could that be? The Heavenly Master saved Da Lang and our lives. The Prince's Mansion will remember the kindness of the Three Pure Ones."
The old Taoist priest smiled.
At this moment, the old Taoist priest raised his hand and made a mental calculation, then suddenly spoke:
"However, judging from this divination, he did have a near-death experience over there today, and encountered some dangers. Fortunately, he has overcome them and is not seriously injured. He may even have turned misfortune into good fortune and gained a great deal of luck."
"What do you mean? The Great Fortune?"
Everyone asked curiously, but the old Taoist priest just shook his head:
"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed; speaking them out will only have negative consequences. Besides, this old Taoist's cultivation is shallow; I only glimpsed a little. As long as you know that you are blessed with good fortune, that's enough..."
He said no more, and stopped calculating with his fingers, letting out a soft sigh:
"Your Highness, Your Highness, and Your Highness the Little Princess, even if this old Taoist priest tries his best to prolong the time, there is not much time left to stay. Forcing you to stay will only damage the foundation of the young prince. Fortunately, the young prince is full of energy, and this old Taoist priest has some rare items to delay the damage, but we cannot waste any more time."
"Before I leave, the old Taoist priest will give me three instructions, but we'll talk about them later."
"Right now, I'll help you with one more thing. As for the rest of the business, I'll leave it to that young man. Hahaha, I'm basically going to be a hands-off manager. But after taking a look at the arrangements today, I can see that the young man's setup is truly reassuring. He's no wonder he's the little princess's benefactor."
The old Taoist paused here, not looking at the sharp-eyed Li Guo'er, he smiled and glanced towards Mount Lu, then generously extended his hand to Lu Ya, Li Guo'er and the others:
"Silly disciple, why are you still clutching the prepared purple pills tightly in your bosom? Are you reluctant to give them to your master?"
“Your Highness, please return the Thunder Talisman to this old Taoist priest as well. This talisman was given to me by the Celestial Master's Mansion of Longhu Mountain before my death. It is indeed a precious talisman, but the Celestial Master's Mansion is sometimes too stingy. What's wrong with giving one more Thunder Talisman? After all, they have already given us all the Transcendent Golden Pills. What's a little bit more? They are so stingy with such trivial matters. They are not generous and open-minded enough. They really don't know how to do favors.”
When Li Xian and the others saw this, the old Taoist shook his head with a sigh, then suddenly laughed heartily: "Leave those petty thieves who chased the Xie family's daughter to me. The Yellow Springs are desolate; I'll take them down with me."
Everyone was stunned.
...
The carriage is approaching Xunyang City.
Ouyang Rong has remained silent ever since Zhao Qingxiu wrote that sentence.
Perhaps sensing Ouyang Rong's emotions, Zhao Qingxiu did not urge him and waited for him quietly.
A moment later, Ouyang Rong seemed to come to his senses, and put the luminous pearl and the red lotus sword seal into the Mo family sword box, and put the sword box back in place.
The image of that petite figure in palace attire, whom he had pushed aside, seemed to flash before his eyes again, but he lowered his head and said:
"Embroiderer, I don't care about Yunmeng Jianze and your senior sisters' grudges with the Great Buddha and the Imperial Observatory. Who wins and who loses... it's all up to their abilities."
"But for Xunyang Grottoes, the most important thing is not the Donglin Buddha. Perhaps in the eyes of many people, including the imperial court, Xunyang Grottoes and Donglin Buddha are the same, but in my eyes, it is not so."
“In ancient times there were people who bought the box and returned the pearl. Now I, Ouyang Lianghan, am doing the same thing. It’s laughable, but I just feel that as long as the Xunyang Grottoes are still there, there is enough space and time to wait for thousands of Buddha statues to be installed. So what if one Donglin Buddha falls down?”
“The Xunyang Grottoes were never something that could be completed by one person or family or even in one day. Let’s give it some time. It needs time anyway… Well, this is just my opinion. It may sound like I’m condoning or trying to make up for lost time, but that’s not the case at all.”
"However, no matter how your senior sisters deal with the Buddha today, there is one thing that is my bottom line: the people of Xunyang and the Xunyang Prince's Mansion must not be harmed. This is the final red line. Otherwise, I can break with Rongzhen and the others, and I can also turn against your senior sisters. I am easy to talk to, but I am also difficult to talk to."
Zhao Qingxiu was somewhat moved and nodded vigorously:
It's not just me, it's us. My beloved, include me too. I think the same way you do.
She paused, then switched to her other hand and wrote with practiced ease:
[However, Second Senior Sister said before that she wouldn't harm the Xunyang Prince's Mansion today, so Tanlang, don't worry.]
"Um."
Ouyang Rong responded and suddenly pulled her into his arms. Zhao Qingxiu was stunned for a moment, then her hands, which didn't know where to go, gradually moved up and hugged him back.
As the two embraced, the carriage was entering the underpass of the west city gate.
On the city wall, Chen You, a military advisor, led the officers and soldiers who had held their ground in patrolling and guarding the city.
However, the commotion in the city today and some unpleasant news caused some panic within the group. It was only thanks to Ouyang Rong's strict discipline that they didn't scatter like birds and beasts.
"My lord!" Chen You was the first to run down the city wall to personally greet Ouyang Rong's carriage, as if he had seen a savior.
Ouyang Rong lifted the carriage curtain and spoke a few words calmly, first offering encouragement and then instructing them to continue guarding the city gate.
However, Ouyang Rong also learned from Chen You about the water bandits and the fire at the Prince's mansion, but he didn't seem surprised at all.
"Let's go, let's continue into the city." Ouyang Rong instructed Ali to continue the journey by carriage towards Xunyangfang.
After lowering the carriage curtain, Ouyang Rong glanced at Zhao Qingxiu and Wang Caozhi inside the carriage, and then stopped being silent and hesitant.
He began to calmly give his instructions:
"Embroiderer, you and Cao Zhi go back to the mansion in Huaiye Lane. If nothing unexpected happens, Liu Lang should have already arrived on time and is helping his aunt and the others pack their things. This is the instruction I left behind."
"After you go back, you can stay with your aunt and the others. Once everything is settled, take them to Pei Shisan Niang's house immediately, and we'll meet there."
"I had previously asked Pei Shisan Niang to arrange a backup plan so that we could leave the city quietly. She has been in charge of this matter."
"Once I find the King of Xunyang, I will go there too. After we meet, we will leave together and not linger in Xunyang. While the two groups are fighting over Shuangfengjian, it would be safest for us to leave first."
Zhao Qingxiu tilted her head:
【My love, where are we going?】
Ouyang Rong said calmly, "Return to the capital, before the Wei family can react."
Zhao Qingxiu looked hesitant, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and said softly, "Let's go together. You'll come with me."
Zhao Qingxiu gripped his sleeve, somewhat dazed.
Ouyang Rong took her small hand in his own and said earnestly:
"Actually, I don't really want you to go see your second senior sister alone. It would be best to cut off all contact. Although I know they won't hurt you, I just don't want to, because there's always a slight risk."
"But I also know that I can't stop you. It's your duty. It involves the sect. You have your choices. Even if you say you want to help Jianze and do some things to deal with Dafo, that's also you fulfilling your duty. I'm an outsider, so I can't criticize you."
"But I'm still worried about you going... How about this, after you go back to Huaiye Lane, don't go to Xingzi Lake Courtyard to find your second senior sister, unless she comes on her own. In that case, there's nothing you can do but face it. But if she doesn't come, just wait for me. We'll meet at Thirteen Sister's place, and I'll go to Xingzi Lake Courtyard with you to face it together."
"If you met her beforehand, that's fine... but remember what I'm about to say."
“Tell your second senior sister that since the Ding Sword is in my hands, I am the master of the Butterfly Love Flower. We should not choose any of the choices she gave us before. Instead, we should give her two choices as well.”
"Just say that there are some things that I... well, we can talk to Jianze and meet with your senior sister to talk. Otherwise, we will take the Dingjian and leave. They will never see this Dingjian again. They couldn't catch me before, and they won't be able to stop us from leaving. They might even have their swords taken away, like the Great Queen."
"Well, at worst, we can just wander the world together. Your second senior sister's so-called blackmail about career advancement is useless against me."
"In addition to that, you can add one more condition. Tell them that if they choose the former and are willing to have a proper talk, then I can offer some more sincerity. Well, just like your second senior sister, this is my personal effort to win them some sincerity."
Zhao Qingxiu listened in stunned silence, and couldn't help but write:
[My love, what sincerity do you have?]
Ouyang Rong narrowed his eyes slightly: "Go and tell your second senior sisters that if the Xunyang Prince's Mansion can return to the capital smoothly and gain some influence... Although the Xunyang Prince's Mansion did need its contribution to the Donglin Buddha matter before, it is no longer needed now. The Xunyang Prince's Mansion will have a new way to return to the capital smoothly and rival or even surpass the Xiang Prince's Mansion and the Wei Prince's Mansion."
Ouyang Rong paused, gently patting the closed sword case, giving Zhao Qingxiu time to process what he had just heard.
He continued after a short while:
"So the sincerity is this: once the Xunyang Prince's Mansion has the opportunity to step into the limelight, the grudges between the Tiannan Jianghu and the imperial court can be easily resolved. The things that the previous Yuanjun could discuss with Emperor Taizong in the palace can also be discussed with the Xunyang Prince, who is the legitimate heir of Emperor Taizong. What's wrong with handing over the Tiannan Jianghu to Jianze? As long as it doesn't hinder officials from managing the waters and governing in Jiangnan, Emperor Taizong's descendants will follow the laws of their ancestors."
"As for the conflicts they had with the Great Zhou Dynasty before, these are not problems. There are solutions... Even now, although the Prince's Mansion has not yet taken power, the two sides can cooperate on the matters of the Great Buddha and the Heavenly Pivot. This is because it is the Wei family's conspiracy and interests, not the Xunyang Prince's Mansion's. It has nothing to do with the Xunyang Prince's Mansion. On the contrary, we can help them in the court."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and it's always better to have one more friend than one more enemy. That's our sincerity. Embroiderer, go back to Huaiye Lane first. If you see your second senior sister beforehand, tell her this to keep her calm."
Zhao Qingxiu listened carefully, her emotions fluctuating, and nodded vigorously: "Mmm!"
Ouyang Rong gripped her thin, small hand tightly; it was burning hot and red.
Fearing she might forget, Zhao Qingxiu asked a few more questions in detail. Ouyang Rong patiently and gently explained everything, even taking out paper and pen to help her memorize...
A short while later, the carriage arrived at a crossroads. The first road was Xunyangfang, and the right turn led to Xiushuifang. Xunyangfang was further away than Xiushuifang.
"Stop the car and let me down."
Ouyang Rong stood up, carrying the sword box, and prepared to get off the carriage.
Before getting off the bus, he instructed Wang Caozhi and Ali:
"Take the embroiderer to Huaiye Lane properly, and then take your aunt and the others to meet up with Pei Shisan Niang."
"Yes, brother-in-law."
"Yes, young master."
Ouyang Rong got out of the car with a leisurely air, only to find that the hem of his clothes had been tugged. He turned around and saw that Zhao Qingxiu's small hand was holding the hem of his clothes, looking somewhat reluctant to let go.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, turned around, sat back down next to Zhao Qingxiu, and removed the crooked sky-blue ribbon that she was wearing behind her eyes.
He took out a clean and tidy blindfold ribbon, which he always kept in his sleeve.
When Ouyang Rong changed seats, Wang Caozhi had already left the carriage and gone outside, leaving the space to his brother-in-law.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was somewhat quiet.
Zhao Qingxiu felt her husband's focused and earnest actions behind her, and shyly lowered her head.
In the dimly lit carriage, the pretty young woman arched her slender neck, her cheeks flushed, as the man tied her hair with a ribbon.
Ouyang Rong carefully changed Zhao Qingxiu's ribbon, and finally tied a bow behind her little head.
Zhao Qingxiu tilted her head and touched the cute bow on the back of her head in surprise. Then her slender body trembled slightly as she felt a pair of large hands wrap around her sensitive waist. It was Tanlang hugging her from behind.
He whispered in her ear:
"Embroiderer, wait for me, let's go to Luoyang together."
"Um!"
The two lingered for a few moments before finally embracing each other.
Ouyang Rong straightened his clothes, carried the sword case, resolutely got off the carriage, and headed towards the Prince's Mansion.
Zhao Qingxiu remained in the car, which, under the protection of Wang Caozhi and Ali, drove towards the residence in Huaiye Lane.
(End of this chapter)
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