Chapter 938 The Distance Between Siblings [Requesting Monthly Tickets!]
After eating and drinking to our hearts' content and cleaning up, it was nearly midnight.
The lights in the courtyard next door, where Li Wan and her son lived, were all turned off.
Time to sleep.
Ouyang Rong and A Qing stopped whispering and got up to rest.
There is only one main house in this courtyard; the rest are storage rooms. The main house only has one bed where you can sleep.
The conditions were harsh, so we had no choice but to adapt.
Xiao Mo is clever and small, so she can sneak into the closet and take a nap, but A Qing can't.
Ouyang Rong didn't want to share a bed, so he picked up a blanket and a pillow, intending to set up a wooden stool bed next to the table to sleep on.
Ah Qing strongly stopped him.
Aqing took the blanket and pillow back from his hands, then took another blanket and pillow from the wardrobe, laid them out in bed for each person, and gestured to him.
Ouyang Rong said helplessly:
"Aqing, take a rest first. I still have some work to do."
Aqing shook her head: "I'll wait for my brother."
He turned and glanced at the pretty girl playing with Miaosi, and said:
"No need, I'm getting late. You need to get up early tomorrow to return to the Queen's Palace."
Aqing glanced at him and nodded slightly:
"Brother, get some rest. I might need to get up in the middle of the night..."
"Uh-huh."
Finally, after a cup of tea, only one lamp remained in the room, placed on the table in the outer room.
Ouyang Rong sat alone at the table, on which sat a painting of Peach Blossom Spring.
Miaosi sat on his shoulders, swinging her short legs as she ate pastries.
The inner room was pitch black, but one could vaguely see the slender silhouette of the girl lying on the bed.
Aqing's hair was a little loose, and she seemed to be facing him directly.
She must have fallen asleep with her eyes closed.
Ouyang Rong glanced in her direction.
I waited silently for a moment until I heard even breathing before I breathed a sigh of relief.
Outside, in the deep, dark night, a light rain suddenly began to fall, pattering and pattering against the dry dust on the wooden window.
The sound of rain was blocked outside the door.
The old doors and windows swayed slightly in the cold night rain and wind, making intermittent creaking sounds, which made the room seem even warmer and the bed quieter.
Miao Si eats, and likes to smack her lips, saying indistinctly:
"Little Rongzi, what are you looking at? Are you going to do something naughty?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head:
You can't expect ivory to come out of a dog's mouth.
Her cheeks puffed out, and she tilted her chin up:
"Then try throwing up."
Ouyang Rong remained silent, too lazy to engage in verbal sparring.
Miao Si glanced at the brother and sister, and gradually slowed down her eating.
"Little Rongzi."
She tugged at Ouyang Rong's ear, which was very close to hers, and said in a serious tone:
“You two are siblings, even if you’re acquaintances, but Ah Qing trusts you so much, you can’t… or at least shouldn’t.”
"?"
Ouyang Rong's face hardened; immune to her little tricks of rambling and empty promises, he turned and glared at her.
"Can you please stop eating? You eat all the time, how can you not get fat?"
"Hmph, this is what Xiao Qingzi brought me, so I'll eat it. Unlike some people who are stingy, it's so hard to get them a decent meal."
She spoke with a wistful expression, but didn't forget to keep popping pastries into her mouth and smacking her lips loudly near his ear.
Just before Ouyang Rong was about to make a move, Miao Si, quick as a flash, grabbed the remaining pastries and slipped back into the wardrobe.
With a click, the wardrobe door slammed shut, refusing visitors.
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, then walked to the wardrobe and knocked on the tightly closed door:
"Don't play dead yet, I have a question for you."
"Stop farting, fart!"
Protected by the cabinet, the fairy's voice remained unruly.
Ouyang Rong suppressed his twitching eyelids and asked with a serious expression:
"Theoretically, if you could get your hands on the writings of Lady Zhi Shuang or Lady Er Nu Jun, wouldn't you be able to locate them based on their writing style?"
A clever idea can pop up at any time:
"Isn't Lady Zhi Shuang illiterate? How can you find her literary talent?"
Ouyang Rong frowned:
"What about the second lady? Just tell me if it's okay or not."
"Well, theoretically it's possible, but in principle it's not..."
Ouyang Rong's face hardened: "You still have principles?"
Miao Si shook her head and said:
"Nonsense, this would consume a lot of my spiritual energy, requiring a lot of replenishment. Besides, it can only find the general direction; it can't pinpoint the exact location. When I led Xie to your love nest with Xiu Niang, I admit there was an element of luck involved. But mainly, Xie's intuition as a woman was too accurate, and combined with my spiritual energy tracking, it worked together perfectly, making it easy to catch her every time..."
Xiao Mo Jing sighed, reminiscing about the tumultuous past for a while. Then, glancing at Ouyang Rong's increasingly unfriendly expression, she immediately stopped, blinked, and said:
"If you need my help this time, it's not impossible. Hmm, you... you should prepare some incredibly nourishing food, preferably the finest... Hey, hey, where are you going? I haven't finished speaking yet! Aren't you going to listen before you leave? You little brat, come back here..."
Ouyang Rong ignored her next words and turned to leave.
I don't really want to deal with this little ink spirit who's asking for an exorbitant price.
We have to accept his offer of food and drink his rice; it's not an option.
He returned to the table and touched the bronze axle of the Peach Blossom Spring painting.
Miao Si is right. Lady Zhi Shuang seems a bit dim-witted, so it's unlikely she'll be able to get her writing materials. But this method is very suitable for the Second Lady.
If Ouyang Rong could obtain Yu Nianyuan's calligraphy, he could use his ingenuity to pinpoint the approximate location of the Second Lady, Yu Nianyuan.
On nights like tonight, when she and Lady Zhi Shuang mysteriously disappear, Ouyang Rong could track them down and investigate the possible hiding place of the embroiderer, even if it's just a general location. But if he could pinpoint the island, it would be a major breakthrough compared to the current slow progress.
Ouyang Rong nodded slowly, finding it feasible.
He glanced silently at the dark bed in the middle of the room.
Actually, he didn't need to ask Aqing to do this; he could have asked Li Shu for help.
However... taking the calligraphy of the two ladies is not a big deal, but it's not a small matter either, and it's also a sensitive issue.
He was merely a cook in the imperial kitchen, and by all accounts, he should have been illiterate. It was quite strange that he would go to Li Shutao to retrieve a piece of calligraphy personally written by the Second Lady of the clan.
The excuse that they admired the two goddesses too much is rather far-fetched.
Furthermore, as the second-in-command of the Queen's Palace and the person in charge of the Orchid Hall, Yu Nianyuan is, in a sense, the strategist of Lady Zhi Shuang. She might be very wary of such a "trivial matter" and might suspect him. If she were to talk to him face to face, there would be a lot of trouble.
After a moment of contemplation and weighing the pros and cons, Ouyang Rong decided that for safety's sake, it would be better to entrust this matter to Aqing.
Li Shu, that girl, is so loud and unreliable. Although she's "loyal," she doesn't know what she'll do, and she might just betray her excellent "fair-weather friend"...
Ouyang Rong sighed softly and temporarily withdrew his gaze.
He held the bronze scroll in his hand, closed his eyes, and entered the Pagoda of Merit.
Entering a pure white space, I easily found myself in front of the little wooden fish.
[Merit: 2101]
In just a few days, prices rose slightly again.
Ouyang Rong stroked his chin.
If it weren't for the double blessing last time, which cost him 1,500 merits, he would now have enough merits to use a divine decree once.
After a moment's hesitation, Ouyang Rong left the Pagoda of Merit.
From the Peach Blossom Spring painting, they took out paper, pen, and a tube of pre-stored spiritual ink.
Having recently experienced Chen Jiaxin's situation, I learned about the situation with Lady Zhishuang tonight.
There's always a feeling that a storm is brewing.
There will likely be a lot to come.
If Ouyang Rong could indeed use the Little Ink Spirit and the literary energy to track down the location of the two women, Yu Nianyuan, and thus find out where the embroiderer was hiding, he would need to act immediately.
Therefore, some contingency plans need to be put on the agenda and cannot be delayed any longer.
He stood up and first put some lamp oil on the only lamp on the table.
Then arrange the paper and pens.
He already has the red and black talismans needed for the divine invocation, so he doesn't need any new ones for the time being.
Tonight, he will not be drawing red and black runes, but another type of rune he has recently learned.
Ouyang Rong solemnly took out the Mo family sword box and placed it on the table.
After thinking for a moment, he took out half of Cui Hao's letter that he had found in Lu Changgeng's grave a few days ago.
On this silk scroll, which had been torn in half, the Kui Xing talisman was prominently displayed.
It was Cui Hao's own handwriting, drawn with a red ink pen, and even after many years, there are still traces of dark red.
Even though he had already memorized the method of drawing this talisman, Ouyang Rong still carefully studied the newly acquired manuscript by Cui Hao.
A moment later, by the orange glow of the candlelight, he sat down at the table and began to draw new talismans.
This time, unlike before, Ouyang Rong used inexhaustible spiritual ink.
It is one of the best materials for Confucian and Taoist practitioners to use their respective arts.
The talisman paper used was also of high quality; it was a page from the original book of the elusive Taoist text "Zhen Gao," which recorded the profound Taoist arts of the Shangqing school.
Ouyang Rong used to only use it when drawing red and black talismans, so each one he used was one less he had left.
Tonight, he used all the most precious spiritual ink and the best talisman paper he had on hand, and in large quantities...
On the table inside the room, the oil lamp flickered on and off.
The lamp oil was added several times during this period.
Before drawing the talisman, Ouyang Rong placed the stack of withered yellow talisman papers he had selected on the desk for easy access.
As time went by, the stack of withered yellow talisman paper gradually thinned, and in its place, brand new Kui Xing talismans were born.
As dawn approached, Ouyang Rong put down his wolf-hair brush, let out a long breath, and leaned back in his chair.
Eleven top-grade Kui Xing talismans, once drawn, were quietly placed in front of him.
But that's not enough.
He turned to look at the remaining stack of talismans and weighed them in his hand.
After a busy night, there were still thirty-eight blank talisman sheets left.
This time, Ouyang Rong prepared a total of forty-nine talisman papers and three tubes of spirit ink.
These three tubes of spirit ink were painstakingly and reluctantly "squeezed out" by Miao Si during the days he was away from Xunyang, under Ouyang Rong's coercion and enticement. They represent his current entire stock.
He was going to draw a total of forty-nine Kui Xing talismans to construct the simple Peach Blossom Spring Sword Formation...
He only had one red and black talisman left.
Previously, Ouyang Rong had given Li Dalang and Yan Liulang each a card to swallow.
The current stockpile is enough; I don't need to use too many for now, since the three thousand merit points required for each use are hard to come by. ...Since leaving Longcheng County and Xunyang City, the rate at which merit points increase has been far slower than the rate at which red and black talismans are produced.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the eleven top-grade Kui Xing talismans lying in front of him, carefully folded them, and put them away.
He stuffed them, along with the remaining spirit ink and thirty-eight blank talismans, into the Peach Blossom Spring painting.
Using the Kui Xing Talisman, construct a simple Peach Blossom Sword Formation.
This workload cannot be completed in one night.
Take your time.
After Aqing leaves, we'll have more time in the next few nights.
As for why he was in such a hurry, starting to make Kui Xing talismans tonight before Ah Qing even left...
Ouyang Rong, who had put the bronze mask back on, looked blankly at the bed in the dark inner room.
Tonight, taking advantage of this matter, I stayed up all night without going to lie down and sleep in the same bed with anyone...
Seeing that the things on the table were almost tidied up, it was already dawn outside.
The darkest dawn has passed, and the light of day is about to break.
Having not slept all night, Ouyang Rong reached out and gently stroked the remaining Mo family sword box on the table.
He closed his eyes and stroked the box, as if silently sensing something.
After a short while, he murmured to himself:
"I know you're feeling restless, it'll be soon, I'll let you out... Since we can't cross that line, let's go around it for now..."
...
In the early morning, the sun gradually rises.
The bluestone slabs were covered with water stains, and the flowers and plants were covered with raindrops caught last night.
The whole yard was wet.
Aqing, who had gotten up early, had her long, flowing hair casually tied into a ponytail and draped over her left shoulder. She was squatting by the well, washing clothes.
Her clothes were washed last night because she was going to wear them the next day. They would dry overnight in the hot summer. Originally, she was only washing clothes for Ouyang Rong.
However, it drizzled outside last night, and the snow-white Wu skirt that was hanging outside got wet, and when I squeezed it, a string of water droplets fell off.
So she simply washed it again.
When we return to the Queen's Palace, I'll have to continue wearing Ouyang Rong's men's robe.
Having spent so much time with Aqing, Ouyang Rong could tell that Aqing was very hygienic, washing her clothes and bed frequently, which made him more diligent as well.
Right now, Ouyang Rong carried the hot porridge he had just cooked out of the kitchen and went to the stone table in the courtyard, where he set out the bowls and chopsticks.
Aqing, who was doing laundry, suddenly asked:
"Brother, didn't you sleep last night?"
Ouyang Rong replied with a smile:
"Couldn't it be that she just woke up, or just got out of bed?"
Aqing stopped talking.
After a moment, she whispered:
"Why are you staying up late again? I know you've been sleeping. When I woke up this morning, your blanket hadn't been moved, and I couldn't reach you at night. What are you busy with, brother? Is it that important?"
Ouyang Rong pretended not to hear and continued drinking his porridge.
Only after the girl behind him got up to hang up the clothes did he greet her with a smile:
"Aqing, stop sunbathing and come have some porridge, it'll get cold soon."
"I'll finish hanging up the clothes first."
Aqing's tone suggested she was somewhat unhappy.
...
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(P.S.: Requesting monthly votes at the beginning of the month!)
(End of this chapter)
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