Chapter 897 Where is the Embroidery Sister?
The late-ripening peach of Qingyan is quite unique.
Ouyang Rong discovered this long ago, as evidenced by the fact that the peach flesh could remain intact for many days after being cut open.
Two days ago, he gave half of the peaches to Miaosi and sealed the rest away. Now, when he took them out, they still smelled of peaches and made his mouth water.
Aqing held the peaches in both hands and stared at him blankly for a while.
Ouyang Rong walked to the door, checked carefully, and confirmed that no one was there.
He turned around, removed the bronze mask from his face, revealing his true form, and spoke softly:
"Do you remember the first level, Peach Valley? It was given to me by a monkey king there. I heard Ah Shan mention it before. You love peaches."
Upon hearing this, Aqing quieted down.
She glanced at the bronze mask in Ouyang Rong's hand, then her gaze lingered on his face for a moment.
"Brother, you have a good memory."
After speaking softly, Aqing lowered her eyes and took a small bite of the peach.
Just then, with a "thud," something slipped from Ouyang Rong's sleeve and fell onto the newly made bed.
Aqing looked closely and realized it resembled an inkstone.
The atmosphere inside the room was slightly awkward. The inkstone moved forward slightly, and then, under the girl's gaze, it seemed unable to resist, sprouting a pair of short legs and leaping to Aqing's side. In the blink of an eye, the inkstone transformed into a tiny figure.
Aqing looked at her curiously and saw that she was a young female Taoist priest in Confucian robes.
Like exquisite puppets, they are incredibly lifelike and expressive.
"Brother, what is this...?"
Aqing looked up and saw Ouyang Rong's helpless expression, as if she vaguely understood something.
There was no surprise on her face.
She was not surprised at all by anything that happened to Ouyang Rong, no matter how bizarre or outlandish.
"Ignore her, pretend she doesn't exist."
Ouyang Rong sighed and waved his hand dismissively.
"oh oh."
Miao Si looked up at the girl who was very close to Xiao Rongzi, then turned around and looked at Ouyang Rong.
Ouyang Rong said expressionlessly, "Aqing is my sworn sister. My junior sister knows her. We often saw her in Longcheng."
Miao Si, who was taking over the role of Xiao Rongzi's military supervisor in place of Xie Yatou, nodded and turned around to find A Qing looking down at her with a smile.
Miao Si glanced at the half peach, and the next moment, she revealed an innocent and adorable expression, jumped onto A Qing, and snuggled into her arms.
Aqing smiled sweetly and started playing with Miaosi:
"Ouch, it itches..."
Ouyang Rong walked over and subconsciously asked:
"Aren't you afraid, Ah Qing?"
Aqing held a peach in one hand and used the other to support Miaosi.
"I'm not afraid."
She shook her head at Ouyang Rong, her tone smiling but surprisingly firm:
"Anything is possible with my brother, because he is a born miracle worker, and it is normal for anything miraculous to happen."
“Ah Qing is not afraid, because her brother would never hurt her, and whenever there is danger, her brother always stands at the forefront.”
Ouyang Rong remained silent, unsure how to respond.
Just then, Aqing, who was playfully fighting with Xiaomojing, suddenly withdrew her hand from the peach and hid it behind her back.
It turned out that Miao Si had suddenly reached out to grab the half peach, but A Qing nimbly dodged it without turning her head, and Miao Si missed.
"No, that won't work."
Aqing turned around and shook her head at the little ink spirit who was giving her a cute look:
“This was left to me by my elder brother. I can’t give it to you. If you want to eat something, I’ll go find it. But this peach is not an option.”
Ingenious idea: ...
She immediately stopped acting cute and coquettish, crossed her arms over her chest, tilted her head back, and her little braids almost sticking up to the sky:
"Hmm, I ate half of it, and it wasn't that delicious. You can eat it, I didn't really want to eat that much."
She muttered to herself, "How can she be as stingy as Xiao Rongzi?"
Seemingly finding her amusing, Aqing smiled, put down the little ink spirit, and ate the peach flesh in small bites.
He glanced at Miao Si out of the corner of his eye, and his expression changed slightly.
However, I held back and closed my eyes, trying to avoid seeing it and getting annoyed.
Little Ink Spirit had a resolute expression, as if he would not accept charity.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and glanced at the night outside.
Seeing that Aqing had no intention of leaving, he went to get an old piece of clothing, folded it into a pillow, and placed it at the foot of the bed, preparing to sleep separately from Aqing.
Aqing acted as if she hadn't seen anything and continued to tease Miaosi.
She reached into her bosom and pulled out a handkerchief containing some snacks.
Aqing picked out a candied fruit and handed it to Miaosi with a slight smile.
From the moment she took out her handkerchief, Xiao Mo Jing kept staring at her. When the candied fruit was handed to her, she quickly hugged it, and like a squirrel, turned her back to the two siblings and began to eat it with relish.
Miao Si, whose speech was unclear, corrected herself:
"Hmm, you're Miss Qing, right? I'll call you Xiao Qing. Xiao Qing, hmm, you're the most loyal, without a doubt. You're much better than one of your sworn brothers. He really should learn from you."
Aqing smiled but didn't reply. After watching the greedy little ink spirit for a while, she turned her head and handed a handkerchief to Ouyang Rong:
"Brother, have a taste. I brought it from the Queen's Palace this afternoon. When Master summoned me, I took some from the fruit plate."
Ouyang Rong's attention was focused on his ear.
Just after handing half a peach to Aqing, a clear wooden fish sound rang out, instantly increasing merit by nearly two hundred.
As for who gave it to him... first, we can rule out Miaosi, the coward who's timid to outsiders but arrogant to his own people.
In addition, before and after dinner tonight, after Ah Qing appeared, he received a considerable amount of merit unexpectedly under various gazes... Tonight was quite fruitful and also an unexpected event.
However, he hasn't had time to go to the Pagoda of Merit to count the increases yet.
Ouyang Rong glanced at A Qing, whose little face was flushed. He couldn't tell if it was from happiness or the effect of the Qingyan Late Peach, as she seemed to really enjoy eating it.
Ouyang Rong wasn't disappointed. He picked up a nut with two fingers and popped it into his mouth.
He chuckled softly:
"Zhi Shuang is quite good to you."
Aqing tilted his head: "Zhishuang? Brother, who is this? Could it be referring to Master? Why is she called that? Is it Master's real name?"
With his other hand, Ouyang Rong ruffled her hair, and with a smile, teased her as she rolled her eyes upwards:
"There are no outsiders, and she keeps calling him 'Master.' Hmm, it seems she really treats Aqing very well."
Aqing glanced at Ouyang Rong and whispered somewhat shyly:
"Master looks fierce, but after getting to know him, he's actually a very nice person. He always thinks of me first. My sixth uncle even joked today that I'm very lucky to have a master who is so protective of his own..."
Ouyang Rong's tone was calm:
“Aqing is obedient and sensible, and highly talented. Who wouldn’t like her? Unless you’re blind, now is now, and the future is the future. You can’t judge a person by a single moment. If she dares to treat you badly in the future, don’t hide it. Tell your brother.”
"Well, you may not know this, but your brother is actually quite experienced in dealing with Lady Zhishuang."
Aqing immediately waved her hands:
"No, no, at least not for now... Brother, please don't be angry. I've been here for so long and I've found that the people here are all very nice. I haven't felt wronged at all, but..."
Ouyang Rong asked, "But what?"
She hesitated for a moment before saying:
"However, I've discovered that Yunmeng Sword Marsh seems to have a poor relationship with the imperial court, even hostile towards it. Brother, may I ask you something? If I understand, I won't ask again."
"you say."
"Brother, you've only come to see that embroiderer girl, right? There shouldn't be anything else."
Ouyang Rong looked into her eyes, speaking in a half-joking tone:
"What else could it be?"
Ah Qing mustered her courage, took a deep breath, and said:
"Brother, aren't you a high-ranking official in a prefecture? For example, did you come here this time to help the court with some matters..."
Ouyang Rong fell silent.
As Aqing showed signs of worry and hesitated to speak, he suddenly ruffled her hair and chuckled as he asked:
"Silly girl, look at all the dynasties, when dealing with rebels, which official took the lead, rushed to the front alone, or even acted alone ahead of time? Are there any court officials that stupid?"
As he spoke, he made a joke:
"Which one of them doesn't assign tasks to servants? They're all just working for the court and the emperor. Why risk your life? Don't you value your life, huh?"
Aqing listened, stunned.
"It seems that's really the case, hmm..."
She raised her hand to touch the cuff of her brother's sleeve as he rubbed his head, her eyes thoughtful as she said:
“If you really want to deal with Jianze, you have plenty of strategies and manpower. There’s no need for you to risk coming here alone.”
Seeing that Aqing seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, Ouyang Rong asked her with a smile:
"What, you've only been here a short time and you've already made this your home? Are you worried that your brother has some ulterior motives, so you just smashed it up?"
Aqing immediately shook her head, her tone resolute:
“I only follow my elder brother. Whatever attitude my elder brother has, I will follow. Whatever my elder brother tells me to do, I will do.”
Ouyang Rong sighed:
"Don't worry, brother won't make things difficult for you."
He had just thought about it carefully and asked himself honestly. He didn't actually intend to destroy Yunmeng Sword Marsh. That might have been the goal of Rong Zhen, Yi Qianqiu, and others, but it wasn't his.
Sometimes he was annoyed by the Yue women like Yunmeng Jianze, mainly because of the embroiderer, but even during the decisive battle at Xunyang Grottoes, he left some room for maneuver and did not completely kill Zhishuang Xiaoniang, Wei Shaoqi and others.
He observed the struggle between the imperial court and Yunmeng Jianze in the southern region with detached indifference, especially after learning what the Four Great Buddhas that the Sage was building on such a grand scale were all about, and what their underlying motives were...
However, he came here this time with the clear intention of completely resolving the matter of the embroiderer.
Aqing brushed a strand of hair from her chin behind her ear, changed the subject, and tilted her head slightly to ask:
"Brother, how's that matter going? Have you been able to contact her since you came in? Or are you still looking for her?"
Ouyang Rong paused slightly while eating.
Aqing also silently observed his expression.
She put down her food, which she was devouring, and sat down next to Ouyang Rong. She took his arm and asked cautiously:
“Brother, you’ve never mentioned where the embroiderer you’re looking for is in Jianze? Which branch does she belong to? What’s her full name? She should also be a Yue woman, right? Otherwise, why would you be here, brother?”
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong fell silent.
"The Yue women of Jianze are generally classified into peach, sandalwood, silver, gilded, and peace and safety plaques... Which type of Yue woman is this embroiderer who could make my brother risk coming here?"
Aqing continued to ask, and seeing that he remained silent, she said with some concern:
"However, brother, while you're searching for someone, you must be careful, especially around the Queen... As I mentioned before, Jianze seems to have a very hostile attitude towards the court. If they find out your identity..."
“My brother is so famous and holds such a high official position, they must have heard of him. If they find out, it will be troublesome, since this is Jianze’s territory after all.”
"Although my brother is powerful, the queens of the Queen's Palace are all extraordinary and extremely powerful. My brother must be careful."
Ouyang Rong suddenly spoke:
"Ah Qing, how many female rulers are there in the palace at present?"
Aqing thought carefully for a moment, then slowly answered:
"I heard from my master that she has six junior sisters. Including my master, there are a total of seven hidden female rulers this year. When I went to the ancestral hall in the palace to become a disciple, I also saw that seven glass tablets were missing from the wall, which were taken off by the seven female rulers."
“I don’t know why my brother calls Master Zhishuang, but inside the hall, Master’s glass tablet is called Snow Candle, Second Uncle seems to be called Yu Nianyuan… Fifth Uncle is called Yun Xiangyi, Sixth Uncle is called Hua Xiangrong… I heard my senior sister whisper that these two uncles are twin sisters, and they look similar. She told me to carefully distinguish them so that I don’t call them by the wrong name.”
"Clouds yearn for clothes...flowers yearn for beauty..."
Ouyang Rong chewed for a moment. He recognized Xue Zhongzhu and Yu Nianyuan, but he was hearing the titles of Fifth Lady and Sixth Lady for the first time, because the Yue women in Jianze all addressed them with respect.
Ouyang Rong then asked:
"Yes, I'm asking how many female rulers are currently in Jianze. Does Aqing know?"
Aqing lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying:
"Besides Master, I've only met Sixth Uncle, plus Fifth Uncle whom Chen Jiaxin met privately. Oh right, Second Uncle should also be in Jianze. Master mentioned during our conversation that I should go to Second Uncle if I need anything, so there should be at least four female rulers in Jianze... Hmm, why are you asking this, brother?"
Ouyang Rong did not answer, but continued to ask:
"Four? What about the other female rulers?"
Aqing got up, paced back and forth in front of the bed, and recalled:
"Third Martial Aunt went down the mountain a few years ago because the thatched cottage used to be under her management, but now it is in decline due to the lack of a leader... As for Fourth Martial Aunt, I don't know, I've never heard anyone mention her... Oh right, there's also Seventh Martial Aunt. Seventh Martial Aunt's identity is very special. She is the first successor of the Yuanjun, symbolizing the face of Jianze. Her title is Yue Chuzi, which has been passed down in the palace for a thousand years."
"I heard from my senior sisters that Seventh Martial Uncle is the most popular. Master and the other martial uncles are all very close to her. Seventh Martial Uncle used to often plead for Yue Nu when she made mistakes. Within the sect, no one dislikes Seventh Martial Uncle..."
Ouyang Rong's eyes were calm as he saw A Qing shake her head and say:
"However, I haven't seen her either. Like Fourth Uncle, I don't know if she's still in the sect. I haven't heard Master mention her. When I asked Sixth Uncle this afternoon, she seemed a bit evasive... saying that I would see her later and there was no need to visit her yet."
Ouyang Rong nodded:
"You're right, you'll meet Aqing someday, and you two will definitely get along well."
Aqing nodded without thinking much: "Mhm."
She was suddenly taken aback.
(End of this chapter)
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