Chapter 823 A Small Reunion
It was nearly noon.
Inside the main tent, everyone gathered together, and the atmosphere was joyful.
Ouyang Rong withdrew his gaze from Ye Weilai and Caishou.
The Li couple, along with Li Dalang, were exchanging pleasantries with Zhen Shuyuan.
Ouyang Rong didn't participate, but his aunt was holding his sleeve and he couldn't leave, so he asked Li Xian to take back the luminous pearl, held it in his hand, and looked down at it.
Miaozhen's words from that morning echoed in my ears once again.
He looked thoughtful.
Upon closer reflection, the scene of the luminous pearl flying out of his bosom and rising slowly last night was somewhat similar to his usual sword-making techniques.
It's just that the sword has been replaced with a cauldron.
But they are all the starting moves of the "Humble Scholar's" supernatural power of returning home.
Knowing he didn't have a sword, Ouyang Rong subconsciously overlooked this detail.
In retrospect, it was outsiders like Miaozhen who saw things clearly, as did Rongzhen, who tacitly accepted that he was setting up his sword.
However, only Ouyang Rong himself knew that apart from exchanging a blessing in advance, he had not exerted any influence on the luminous pearl.
Moreover, the [Humble Scholar] supernatural power has been used by only Ouyang Rong so far, making it almost exclusively his domain.
Except for Tao Yuanming, who was sent by a spirit.
The sword technique of "Returning Home" was only mastered by Ouyang Rong and was not leaked... Wait, that's not true. A copy was given as a birthday gift to Li Guo'er, and only Li Dalang and Li Guo'er have seen it.
However, both siblings kept it a secret from him...
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes in deep thought, his brows furrowing for a moment.
Zhen Shuyuan and Li Xian noticed that he was distracted, but no one said anything to disturb him.
The two groups continued their familiar chat, and Zhen Shuyuan said wistfully:
"After we parted ways in Longcheng, I became increasingly worried, so I told Wang Caozhi and Madam Pei to stop the boat and turn back, but..."
Zhen Shuyuan looked at Ouyang Rong and found that her beloved nephew had come to his senses and was looking at her. She spoke first:
"But don't worry, my lord, I won't be a burden. Before I came back, I sent that boy Wang Caozhi to Longcheng to find out about Xunyang City. I only returned after confirming that the danger in Xunyang had passed. In particular, I learned from Magistrate Diao that my lord was safe and sound and had come south to chase after the prince. That's why I turned around and came here."
Ouyang Rong returned the luminous pearl to Li Xian's hand, temporarily concealing his doubts.
He caught a glimpse of two familiar figures at the door and turned to look.
It was Wang Caozhi and Pei Shisan Niang.
The two men, like Lu Ya and Zhang Shixiu, stood guard outside the door.
The short young man was chatting with his acquaintance Lu Ya with a smile. When he saw Ouyang Rong looking over, he winked and made faces, showing no respect for his elders.
Pei Shisan Niang looked at him with concern, and after meeting his gaze, she seemed to have found her pillar of support and breathed a sigh of relief.
The beautiful woman, draped in a shawl, smiled and curtsied gracefully.
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly, gesturing to his two right-hand men across the distance, then looked away and replied aloud:
"It was my fault for being late for the appointment. Aunt, you and the Prince waited for two days in Longcheng, which almost ruined things. It was my fault."
Zhen Shuyuan shook her head vigorously, her face full of heartache, and gently wiped the wound on his shoulder with a handkerchief.
“What do you mean by ‘passing’ or ‘not passing’? You are our backbone, we rely on you completely. Although it warms our hearts, our beloved always loves to take risks, leaving the danger to himself and the safety to us. I am often uneasy, and I have had nightmares about you all this way. I am like a frightened bird…”
Li Xian also felt ashamed: "Thank you for your hard work, my love."
Ouyang Rong glanced at Zhen Shuyuan's dark circles under her eyes, which even her makeup couldn't hide, and the bloodshot streaks on the whites of her eyes. He pursed his lips.
Zhen Shuyuan choked up for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's okay, let's not talk about it. As long as you're safe, that's all that matters."
Wei Mei squeezed her hand, and Li Xian said with a joyful expression:
"People say there are four great joys in life, but in my opinion, even amidst the chaos of war, if friends and family are safe and sound, and even if we are not separated, we can still reunite, that is also a great joy! Let's drink a big toast."
Zhen Shuyuan said with a smile:
"Just before we arrived, Cao Zhi also said we wanted to celebrate. Knowing that it was inconvenient for Your Highness to appear in public, it was best to keep a low profile. So Cao Zhi and Shisan Niang went to Hanyang County to quietly purchase wine and dishes. We would like to invite Your Highness to dine at the lunch later. This is just a small token of my appreciation."
"Very well, it's settled then. When the time comes, I and Mei Niang will toast Lady Zhen."
Li Xian stroked his beard and laughed heartily, then waved his hand and took charge.
However, the bruises and swelling on his face from the fall by the river were a bit out of character and slightly affected his demeanor as the head of the household, causing Ouyang Rong, Zhen Shuyuan, and the maid Banxi to glance at him sideways.
After making a bold promise, Li Xian seemed to remember something, pulled Wei Mei aside, and asked her something in a low voice, but no one could hear what she said.
Ouyang Rong vaguely heard some of Wei Mei's reply.
"The imperial physician said...you have weak blood and qi...drink less to nourish your body...only two cups."
At some point, Zhen Shuyuan's gaze began to fall on Xie Lingjiang and Rong Zhen.
The two women called Ye Weilai away and whispered instructions to each other.
However, Zhen Shuyuan's gaze fell on the snow-white-clad girl among them.
Behind her, a slender hand was holding a lacquer box, which looked somewhat familiar to Ouyang Rong.
At this moment, Zhen Shuyuan reached out and handed over the lacquer box with half a thin hand.
Zhen Shuyuan touched it; the lacquer box was warm, as if there was hot food inside.
She opened the lacquer box.
Ouyang Rong, Li Xian, and the others nearby immediately smelled a fishy aroma.
Zhen Shuyuan glanced inside, then looked away, muttering to herself:
"My lord, why is Lady Rongzhen making soup? She's being so polite..."
As soon as she arrived at the door and got out of the car, everyone rushed forward to greet her.
Surrounded by people, Zhen Shuyuan didn't think much of it and instinctively accepted all the water pouches and hot towels offered to her, including this lacquer box.
Zhen Shuyuan vaguely remembered that it was given to her by this aloof and noble lady. After handing it to her, the lady slowly backed away.
Like everyone else around them, they didn't steal the spotlight, leaving the welcoming seats to the Li Xian couple.
Ouyang Rong said in a low voice, "It must be a small token of her appreciation. Zhen Niang, please accept it."
Zhen Shuyuan noticed that Li Xian and his wife had both turned their heads away, as if they hadn't heard or joined the conversation.
A woman's keen intuition made her take another look at her nephew.
"Alright, as long as Tanlang understands."
Ouyang Rong felt that his aunt's last look was somewhat meaningful.
A short while later, after the communication was completed, Li Guo'er, Xie Lingjiang, and Rong Zhen returned one after another, accompanied by the white-haired girl and the round-faced maid.
Li Guo'er whispered:
“I’m fine with the colorful ribbon; I’m willing to learn.”
Xie Lingjiang and Rong Zhen nodded almost simultaneously.
“Wei Lai is fine too. She said that as long as you, Senior Brother, nod, it’s fine.”
"I can teach her Qi cultivation on the way."
Rong Zhen then pointed to the chubby-faced maid and said to Ouyang Rong:
"Let your junior sister teach you this. Whoever is faster gets to try the sword first."
The atmosphere quieted down for a moment.
Xie Lingjiang said to Ouyang Rong indifferently:
"Let Wei Lai choose for herself; no one else needs to make the decision. Senior Brother, please also tell Lady Historian not to worry about it."
With the two women so close together, how could Ouyang Rong possibly deliver a message?
He felt the atmosphere around him growing increasingly tense.
Ye Weilai couldn't help but glance at Miss Xie and Lady Rongzhen, who were unusually enthusiastic towards her today.
The white-haired girl suddenly asked, breaking the silence as if offering a helping hand:
"My love, such a divine object, why shouldn't you be the one to hold it?"
Ouyang Rong patted her small shoulder, his voice gentle:
“I already have one. Things will turn into their opposites when they reach their extreme. It’s not appropriate to take another sword. It has been with me for so long and has not recognized me as its master, which already says a lot. Besides, I no longer meet the conditions. It’s the same for you to take it.”
Cai Shou asked curiously, "Why must it be a woman?"
Ouyang Rong was speechless.
Everyone looked over, waiting for his answer.
Li Dalang interjected, "Speaking of which, a man would also be fine, why not let Liulang give it a try?"
Ouyang Rong coughed.
Then I remembered that golden blessing dish containing peach-colored threads.
He couldn't very well say that he deduced it from good fortune, subtly implying that the cauldron and sword were related to a woman, could he?
Ouyang Rong, with a serious expression, addressed the crowd:
"It's best to use women as much as possible. This cauldron sword should be suitable for women; it wouldn't be a good match for men. Besides, the sages nowadays like to give important positions to women. Cai Shou, you and Wei Lai are the right age, and you're currently cultivating Qi, so you have a bright future."
That makes sense.
Everyone nodded like chicks pecking at rice.
The current political correctness in the Great Zhou Dynasty is that women are superior to men.
The reigning empress also heavily relied on female officials.
It's a very simple principle. If women are inferior to men, then why is Wei Zhao the Empress of all time, commanding all the men in the court?
Ouyang Rong sighed, "Putting aside everything else, this saint was truly the first person of her time when it came to women's liberation. It would have been even better if she had fewer male lovers at her advanced age."
"Your Highness, Young Master Ouyang."
Qin Ying's voice came from outside.
The people in the main tent turned to look, and Qin Ying and Qin Yanqing appeared at the doorway.
Behind them, outside the main tent, stood a middle-aged female official at a distance.
It is Miaozhen.
Ouyang Rong went forward first: "What is it?"
Qin Ying smiled:
"It's getting late, so we'll head out first. After we send Lady Miaozhen and the White Tiger Guards back to Xunyang City, Yanqing and I will return to the central army camp to report. Grandfather is waiting for us to come back. If anything happens later, you and the Prince can send a message to Grandfather, or if you have anything to say now, you can write a letter and we'll take it back with us."
Ouyang Rong and Li Xian exchanged a glance.
Qin Ying saw the young man in the scholar's robe turn his head calmly and say in a gentle tone:
"Alright, no need for a letter. Please thank your grandfather on behalf of the Prince and myself. You can pass on a message: just like Duke Hu, General Qin and Duke Hu's mansion will always be the guardian deities of the people of Great Zhou. No matter whose family celebrates the New Year, they will put up posters, and the Prince's mansion will too."
Upon hearing this, Qin Yanqing glanced at Ouyang Rong and Li Xian a few more times.
When the kind gaze of the Prince of Xunyang fell upon him, Qin Yanqing lowered his head again, refusing to look at anything improper.
Li Guo'er's eyes flickered as she looked at Ouyang Lianghan, her clear gaze lingering on the face of this scholar-official who had so effortlessly and perfectly explained everything.
Some things cannot be conveyed through letters.
It's not just because of the reserved nature of scholars.
Qin Ying murmured it over and over again, as if she had memorized it.
Compared to the taciturn Qin Yanqing, she was very outgoing, waving her small hand and saying:
"No problem, Young Master Ouyang, rest assured. Before New Year's Eve this year, no matter where you are, I will send you and the Prince a stack of door gods and couplets. They are all hand-painted by my grandfather. He doesn't paint many each year, but I will be responsible for laying out the paper, ink, and inkstone so that I can easily carry them."
She smiled and said to Ouyang Rong and the others in the main tent:
"Last time, when Grandpa learned that you had pasted the door god couplets he gave you on your house in Huaiye Lane, he was very proud of himself for a long time. He bragged to me that even Ouyang Lianghan, the recognized scholar of literature and a gentleman of the Confucian school in Luoyang, had his rough old man's calligraphy pasted on his door. It is indeed hard to find such a piece outside. Hehehe, Grandpa is sometimes like an old child."
Ouyang Rong smiled and said, "Heh, alright. I'll see you off."
"Um!"
Qin Yanqing was about to politely refuse when he glanced at Qin Ying, who had readily agreed and was beaming with joy. He then stopped talking, remained silent, and followed his cousin.
Ouyang Rong went out to see someone off.
Logically, Rongzhen should also go, to give instructions to her colleague Miaozhen.
However, Ouyang Rong looked around and did not find the Lady Historian following him.
Looking back, Rongzhen was still in the main tent, sitting with her aunt and Weilai.
But just before he left, he clearly remembered that Rongzhen got up and followed him... but then she went back halfway through the walk?
After an incense stick has burned.
Ouyang Rong stood alone by the official road, watching the two large forces, the Xuanwu Camp and the White Tiger Guard, disappear into the distance, raising clouds of dust.
Qin Ying rode a white horse at the very back of the group, the last to leave, muttering to herself:
"Young Master Ouyang, are you going to Luoyang with the Prince?"
“I grew up in Luoyang, where I made many friends. Some were the sons of noble families from the Northern Government who frequented the southern music halls of Pingkangfang and rode silver saddles and white horses; some were the young men of the Five Mausoleums who drank heavily every night in the waterside pavilions of Yongxingfang and spent money like water; and some older sisters I knew from when I was practicing Taoism at Yuzhen Temple in Zhongnan Mountain…”
"Oh, right, there are also the young ladies from the families of high-ranking officials and nobles living in Jishanfang. However, their little circle loves to hold poetry gatherings in Shanglin Garden. They even use Xue Tao paper for their toilet paper. The threshold for being invited is being able to write in the official script. Anyway, they never invite me. But your name is quite famous there. Ouyang Lianghan, the gentleman of the world, one of the youngest scholars of the Xiuwen Academy... Hehe, if they knew that I was so familiar with you, they would really have to invite me this time."
Ouyang Rong listened quietly, occasionally humming in agreement.
Finally, the entire group set off, and Qin Ying had no choice but to follow. She looked back with reluctance:
"Young Master Ouyang, please go back. There are many things I want to say, but Brother Yanqing is in a hurry. I will explain in a letter another day."
"Take care of yourself."
"Take care, Ouyang Lianghan!"
After seeing Qin Ying off, Ouyang Rong returned.
Alone, I passed by the deserted Left Bank camp.
Looking down, I saw that the short grass along the riverbank, which had previously grown to ankle height, had all disappeared, devoured by the horses of the hundreds of armored soldiers.
Looking around, it was empty.
Ouyang Rong lifted his robes, rowed across the river, passed the turbulent current, and returned to the main tent.
Apart from Pei Shisan Niang waiting at the entrance, no one else was seen inside the tent.
"Young master, please follow me. We will have a meal in the woods."
Pei Shisan Niang bowed and led the way. Ouyang Rong arrived at an open space in the woods, with a babbling brook flowing by. It was easy to cross in half a step. Small tables were set up on both sides of the brook, with seats for the host and guests.
He looked around; everyone was already seated.
"Tanlang, everyone is waiting for you. Come, sit here."
Li Dalang jumped up excitedly and pulled Ouyang Rong to sit down.
As soon as he sat down, Li Xian looked around and saw that everyone was safe and sound. He was as happy as a big kid, and he even danced around with joy.
"Okay, okay, everyone's here, not a single one is missing."
This prince was clearly a man of strong character, and everyone was already familiar with him, so they all laughed.
Li Xian was in high spirits and drank several cups in a row. His face was flushed, and he couldn't help but cover his mouth and cough.
Wei Mei patted him on the back and rolled her eyes at him:
"I told you to drink less, this is the last cup of wine, do you still think you're a young man like Tanlang and Dalang?"
Li Xian chuckled sarcastically.
After Ouyang Rong took his seat, he looked around at the seating arrangement.
The Li family naturally sat in the head seats.
Ouyang Rong was pulled over by Li Dalang and sat between him and Li Guo'er. Li Dalang enthusiastically poured wine for Ouyang Rong and Li Guo'er.
Secondly, there was Zhen Shuyuan's seat, which was close to the main seat.
However, the one closest to the main seat was Rong Zhen. She sat above Zhen Shuyuan, sandwiched between Zhen Shuyuan and the Li Xian couple, after all, the Lady Historian had the identity of a True Immortal Princess.
The upper seat refers to the side with a more prestigious position, usually the left side.
Xie Lingjiang sat to Zhen Shuyuan's right, that is, to her lower left, while Ye Weilai sat to Xie Lingjiang's lower left.
She usually sat close to Zhen Shuyuan, but since Xie Lingjiang was here, she naturally had to move back.
However, Ye Weilai didn't say anything. She took the initiative to set the table for Xie Lingjiang and Zhen Shuyuan, and even got up and went to set the table for Rongzhen.
Looking out from Ouyang Rong's perspective.
To Zhen Shuyuan's left is Rongzhen, and to her right is her junior sister.
It's obvious without even guessing that these seats were arranged by Wang Caozhi.
This kid knows perfectly well who the older sister is on the field.
(End of this chapter)
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