Chapter 959 You said she was a virgin?
Ouyang Rong's voice echoed in the inner room, where the curtains had been lowered.
“Miss Fang, please convey these words to His Highness. He will understand. If he doesn’t understand… the Princess will enlighten him. There are some things that the Princess is actually aware of and can think of, but she is not convinced enough. She also wants to hear my opinion and exchange views.”
He added another sentence.
His tone was firm.
Fang Juxiu frowned, listened attentively, and looked thoughtful.
This time, the Fang sisters were sent back with a message, following the old rule: no paper letters, just verbal communication, in case of any unforeseen circumstances on the way.
This wasn't out of fear of putting Ouyang Rong, who was "unrestrained in his words and actions," but rather out of fear of harming the Fang sisters who were delivering the message.
The inner room was quiet for a while.
Ouyang Rong sat upright on the couch where Xiu Fa slept.
Fang Juxiu stood in front of Ouyang Rong, his eyes shifting to the side, his lips slightly parted, as if he was trying hard to memorize what Ouyang Rong had said.
Huang Xuan, slender as a thin sword, stood by the curtain, with Little Ink Spirit perched on her shoulder, silently watching over her.
She listened to her brother Tanlang's words most of the time, replied little, and never interrupted.
Just like when I was cultivating Taoism and studying in the mountains, I was quiet and gentle.
After a moment of silence, Ouyang Rong spoke again:
"Oh, right, there's one last thing you can take with you. Just say... doesn't the young master often think about Princess An Hui from the Liang Prince's Mansion? The one you met in Xunyang City."
"Although Princess Anhui was Lin Cheng's fiancée with whom he had a private engagement, it was not her own choice. It was forced upon her by the Prince of Liang and the Prince of Wei. Moreover, I later learned some things from Lady Rongzhen. I had also met some people before. This Princess Anhui is kind and kind, and like Lady Rongzhen, she is somewhat special, which is very rare in the Wei family..."
"Your Highness and Princess Consort could set aside some of their prejudices and relax their control over Dalang a little. They don't need to be too strict. If fate allows, going with the flow might not be a bad way out."
He paused, then emphasized again:
“The Liang Prince’s Mansion and the Wei Prince’s Mansion are somewhat different. The biggest beneficiary of the Wei family’s struggle for the throne is the Wei Prince, who is the elder brother. This is called eating meat, while the Liang Prince only drinks soup. The former is at the forefront with no way out, so the Wei Prince’s Mansion has always been the most ruthless and also the one that attracts the most enemies.”
"But the Liang Prince's Mansion is slightly different. The Liang Prince can't become the heir to the throne and isn't the biggest beneficiary, so the Liang Prince's Mansion is destined to have a way out and is prone to developing disloyalty. When the Wei family really collapses, they will be the first to flee, and they will be more flexible... But it's too early to talk about this now. Let's take it one step at a time."
"But remember one thing: no matter how much the Wei family is hated by everyone, it is still the blood relatives of the current emperor. As long as the legal system of this Holy Zhou Dynasty still exists, as long as the emperor is still alive, no matter what the outcome of the struggle for the imperial succession is, the Wei family cannot completely collapse and not a single member can survive. That is impossible. After all, they are the emperor's maternal relatives..."
"Throughout history, has there ever been an emperor who, by indulging in unchecked power, brought about the downfall of his own clan and royal family? Wouldn't that create chaos? No matter how grave the mistake, there must always be a few heirs left. Unless, of course, the legitimacy of the Holy Zhou Dynasty..."
He gradually stopped speaking and fell silent.
Huang Xuan and Fang Juxiu saw that the young man sitting on the couch had a knowing smile on his face.
"That's all for now. Please take this back with you, Miss Fang. Tell Liu Lang to write a reply to Luoyang on my behalf."
Fang raised his sleeve and nodded slightly, his gaze towards the composed and mature young man before him somewhat complicated:
"Yes, Young Master Ouyang."
At this moment, Ouyang Rong stood up, his eyes lowered and his eyelids drooping, as if he was still thinking about something.
He paced back and forth in front of the bed, circling several times, and after a while, he began to mutter to himself:
"The grand ceremony at Mingtang invites all the clans of the Li and Wei families. It's an interesting move by a sage... However, no matter how she wants to act out this drama, the prince will just accompany her. It's about maternal love and filial piety, and goodwill between the two clans. What's so difficult about that? As for acting skills, the prince has already honed them from Longcheng to Xunyang and then to Luoyang. He won't be bad. Besides, there's the little princess, who is the best actress, assisting him... Hmm, the eldest son's acting skills are still a bit lacking."
Fang Juxiu couldn't quite understand some of the fragmented words, but looking at the handsome young man's pacing back and forth, she vaguely felt... that she had returned to the day of the great battle at Xunyang Grottoes.
He strolled leisurely along, taking the two sisters with him from the deserted Xingzi Lake courtyard, all the way to the small pavilion of Fang Family Manor, and then to the Buddha statue in Xunyang Main Grotto... swift and decisive, leaving no stone unturned.
Fang Juxiu felt she would never forget what happened that day.
Those scenes were so shocking, they completely overturned her understanding of the world. Later, Fang Juxiu often recalled them, and every time she thought of them late at night, she would toss and turn, unable to sleep...
This feeling is something that people who haven't experienced it firsthand will never understand.
Fang Juxiu stared blankly at Ouyang Rong's back, waiting for his next instruction, when he suddenly felt a gaze from the side.
She turned her head and saw that the aloof fairy by the curtain was feeding the little ink spirit dessert, seemingly having already looked away.
Fang Juxiu realized that it was the fairy maiden watching her just now.
She couldn't help but take a closer look at Huang Xuan, but the latter didn't look at her again, and they didn't make eye contact.
Ouyang Rong slowly stopped by the bedside, his expression returning to normal. Hearing the voice, he inquired about Fang Juxiu's whereabouts:
"That's all for me, Miss Fang. Is there anything else?"
Fang raised his sleeves and pondered for a moment before asking:
"Young Master Ouyang, I've been wandering around this town these past few days, and my intuition tells me that something's off about the atmosphere, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Young Master Ouyang, may I ask if there are many Yue women lurking in this town?"
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Yes. Your intuition was right."
Fang Juxiu asked, "I wonder how Young Master Ouyang is doing now? Has he entered the Sword Swamp? Has he found any trace of the young master?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Xuan also looked over.
Clearly, Miaosi is very tight-lipped. Although they have a good relationship, she didn't reveal much in her whispers last night when they slept together.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, remained silent for a moment, and then said succinctly:
"This town is the closest market town at the foot of the mountain to Jianze. I am currently in it and can go down the mountain once a month. As for finding someone... I have a feeling that I am very close to finding Xiu Niang."
Fang Juxiu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
Ouyang Rong suddenly asked her:
"What, are you thinking about that Yunmeng Token? Do you want to enter Jianze and become a reclusive Yue maiden?"
Fang Juxiu remained silent for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on his lips:
"To say I had no thoughts at all would be a lie. After all, it's been a long-held wish, something I've cherished since childhood. However, since the Xunyang Buddha incident, Shengnan and I have come to a clearer understanding..."
Her words drew the attention of Ouyang Rong and Huang Xuan. The quiet woman rubbed her wrist, tilted her head, and stared blankly ahead, saying:
“Even someone like you, my lady, is not free in the Sword Swamp, let alone me and Shengnan. If we really went in, we would be powerless to control our own destiny... The Yunmeng Sword Swamp is not as good as we thought. Those who go in are all unfortunate young women. To be honest, Shengnan and I were not prepared to dedicate our lives to the Yuanjun. We only admired the elegance and strength of the Yue women before, without seeing the price we would pay.”
Fang shook his head, then looked intently at Ouyang Rong and said:
"Moreover, what the First and Second Queens did in Xunyang City, including what happened to the young lady, is something that Shengnan and I do not approve of at all. Moreover, the court and Jianze are currently at loggerheads. Perhaps it's because we've grown up, but we are increasingly homesick and cherish our families more..."
"The so-called martial arts world, the so-called glory and freedom, are just like that. Peace and safety are the most important things. It is necessary to go out and travel more, but you also need a home and be able to go back often. Shengnan and I have thought it through and agreed that we will just live like this from now on. As for wanting to do something big, we will follow you, young master, with my father. That would be fine too."
After listening, Ouyang Rong fell silent and took a deep breath:
"What have I done to deserve this..."
Fang Juxiu suddenly raised his hand and surprisingly changed his form of address: "No, Ouyang Lianghan, you deserve it. You are virtuous and capable. You are different. You are different from us. You can do it, including this time when you came to see the young master..."
She paused, first observing the expression on Ouyang Rong's face, then calmly began to analyze the situation:
“Young Master Ouyang, I think you did the right thing this time. Simply fighting and killing won’t solve the problem of the young mistress. Although Young Master Ouyang is very powerful, the Lady’s Palace is not a good person either. After all, it is a thousand-year-old hidden sect, and the young mistress is the future Yuanjun. We cannot let her go easily. As long as she is not convinced by you or does not agree to this relationship, no matter how powerful you are, they have a hundred ways to not cooperate. After all, if they can’t beat you, they can always run away with the young mistress. Yunmeng Marsh is so big, there are too many places to hide people.”
"Therefore, it's right for you, young master, to infiltrate slowly like this. Only you have such patience and skill, I admire you. Any other man would have been unable to resist long ago. If you knew what I was doing, you would be extremely moved..."
Ouyang Rong remained silent.
Hearing certain words, Huang Xuan glanced at the comforting Fang Juxiu, then at Ouyang Rong.
He didn't speak.
After a short while, Ouyang Rong looked up and said:
"Yes, thanks for reminding me."
He nodded earnestly and said:
“Miss Fang, I will only be down the mountain for three days. I won’t be able to stay with you. I have some personal business to attend to and will be returning to Jianze soon. Time is of the essence… I will be leaving around noon and won’t be able to see you off. You can stay for a few more days before you go.”
"You've had a really tough trip. I'll be troubling you to travel back and forth between the two places from now on."
"It's not hard work." Fang Juxiu shook his head earnestly.
"If we're talking about the most arduous journey, it has to be you, young master, who gave up the high position of governor of a prefecture to come to this desolate place..."
At this point, the serene woman sighed softly, looking at the composed young man before her with a complex expression, and said:
"Sometimes I think about it and I really envy the young master. Apart from the regrets of her childhood, she has nothing to lack. She has a man like you, young master, who is so persistent."
For a moment, Ouyang Rong didn't know how to answer.
Coming to Yunmeng was also a matter of personal choice; I didn't think about it as much as Fang Juxiu had suggested.
Fang raised his sleeves and suddenly smiled, then clasped his hands in a fist and said:
"Alright, I won't bother you any longer, young master. It's almost noon outside. I'll take my leave now."
"Um."
Ouyang Rong nodded silently, watching Fang Ju lift the curtain and leave with a carefree air.
Fang Juxiu did not call Huang Xuan to join her.
The latter, still with Little Ink Spirit, remained in the same spot beside the curtain.
Ouyang Rong slowly withdrew his gaze from the doorway, turned around, and walked back to the bedside, sitting down again.
This time, he didn't sit up straight. He was more casual, with one leg crossed and tucked under his buttocks. He slumped over and tilted his head to look at the lonely little Taoist nun who hadn't left.
"Is there anything else, Xiaoxuan? Now that she's gone, you can talk."
Huang Xuan walked slowly over, paused in front of Ouyang Rong for a moment, and looked at the bed next to him.
Ouyang Rong nodded and patted the empty space next to him;
"Please sit wherever you like."
Huang Xuan pursed her lips and sat down next to Ouyang Rong, placing the peach wood sword horizontally on her knees.
When Ouyang Rong saw the young Taoist nun sit down, her slender waist under her dark blue Taoist robe remained straight, and her posture was impeccable.
He didn't correct him.
That's just how the little girl is. She was like that when we met in Xunyang City two or three years ago—a bit stubborn and inflexible.
This is a good thing for young people, better than the arrogance and dissolute behavior of those who become famous at a young age due to their exceptional talent.
Huang Xuan stared at the curtain in front of her and suddenly spoke.
"Is the person Brother Tanlang is looking for Yue Chuzi of Yunmeng Sword Marsh?"
Ouyang Rong also stared at the curtain and nodded slightly:
"Um."
Huang Xuan turned her head, staring at his profile, and remained silent for a moment.
After a moment, Ouyang Rong raised his hand without turning his head, scratched his nose, and asked with a somewhat helpless tone:
"Junior Sister didn't tell you in the letter? I thought she did."
Huang Xuan shook her head:
"No, Sister Xie just asked me to come find you. She said...she said..."
"What did she say?"
"She said you are looking for a young woman you have wronged, a child bride from your hometown. The situation is very special, and you have no choice but to go. She and Madam Zhen have both agreed to this, but they are a little worried about your safety. They asked me to come and see if there is anything I can do to help."
Ouyang Rong nodded, turned his head, and smiled at her, saying:
"Junior Sister explained it quite clearly. That's how it is. It's pretty simple."
"Simple?"
Huang Xuan's beautiful brows were tightly furrowed:
"Why is Brother Tanlang's childhood sweetheart Yue Chuzi from Yunmeng? She is the most important person in Jianze, without exception. She is the first in line to succeed the future Yuanjun. Even the Grand Queen in charge has to give way to her... The Queen's Palace will not let her go. Throughout history, there has been almost no precedent of Yue Chuzi marrying out of the mountain!"
(End of this chapter)
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