Chapter 972 The Secret of the Full Moon
Chen Jiaxin gripped the sword in her hand behind her back and stepped into the pavilion.
Passing by Ouyang Rong, who was setting the table with his eyes down.
A Qi cultivator's physique is naturally different from that of an ordinary person. Chen Jiaxin showed no signs of panting or fatigue. Instead, her face was serene, with only her cheeks flushed and beads of sweat trickling down her neck, glistening as they slid across her collarbone and finally "plop" into her clothes... This gave a slight indication of her level of exertion.
I don't know how the Yue women practiced swordsmanship, but it must have been quite intense, or perhaps Chen Jiaxin practiced very hard.
What are you looking at?
Ouyang Rong took out a handkerchief from the food box and handed it over.
Chen Jiaxin frowned, did not answer, and looked at him with a somewhat indifferent gaze.
Ouyang Rong calmly said, "The handkerchief was prepared by Madam Chen; it's clean."
"You told her?"
“Every time I meet Miss at this time, she looks like she’s diligently cultivating. I just mentioned it to her casually.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiaxin first sat down, then took the clean white handkerchief, wiped her neck, and casually said:
"I heard from Chen that you came back early when you were in town. Why didn't you spend more time with your family?"
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, then replied woodenly:
"That's how it is with family and home. You miss them when they're not around, but when they are, you want to go out."
Chen Jiaxin raised an eyebrow, glanced at him again, and asked:
"Is this your sister? You've mentioned her before."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "It's my sister, she's already gone back."
What do you want?
"A letter from home arrived; it's been a long time since we last met."
"Do they know what you're doing here? Do they know about Jianze?"
“They didn’t mention it. I mentioned Miss Mouth’s family, saying they were a good employer. They told me to do my job well.”
"Um."
Chen Jiaxin wasn't one to offer comfort; after a few simple words of concern for her subordinates, she said calmly:
"If she comes again next time, we can have the Chen family arrange accommodation for her. In town, as long as it doesn't involve Jianze, everything will be easy to handle."
Ouyang Rong finally took out some rice from the food box, handed it over, and said:
"Miss Xie, not for now."
Chen Jiaxin glanced at the dull face of the young cook in front of her, said nothing, picked up her rice, and began to eat.
She ate in small bites.
Just then, Yu Guang suddenly noticed that Ouyang Rong took out a second bowl of hot rice from the food box.
Chen Jiaxin frowned, somewhat displeased:
"I can't eat this much..."
But before they could finish speaking, Ouyang Rong had already picked up the bowl of rice and started eating it by himself, enjoying it immensely.
This made her worries unnecessary.
It wasn't originally intended for her.
But the words had already been spoken. Chen Jiaxin, who had shut up, and Ouyang Rong, who had turned his head, looked at each other, and the atmosphere became slightly awkward.
As we all know, if you embarrass your boss at work, they will make things difficult for you.
Especially petty female leaders.
Chen Jiaxin asked coldly, "What are you doing?"
Although she didn't say some harsh words aloud, her eyes conveyed the message: Who let you sit at the table to eat? I haven't even eaten yet.
Ouyang Rong stood by the table, not eating, but muttering as he buried his head in his rice:
"I didn't eat anything when I got up this afternoon. I have to go to the canteen for the night shift later, so we'll have to eat together."
Well-reasoned and supported by evidence.
Chen Jiaxin immediately retorted with a harsh remark:
"Are we that familiar?"
To everyone's surprise, Ouyang Rong showed no sign of being hurt in terms of pride, and instead nodded calmly.
"I am Miss's person, one of our own."
As he spoke, he had already finished most of a bowl of rice, occasionally reaching out to quickly pick up a bite of the dishes on the table to eat with his rice.
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiaxin looked at the self-righteous and taciturn young man and didn't know what to do for a moment, or rather, whether to be angry or laugh.
However, after noticing how quickly he was picking up food, she immediately picked up her bowl, her tone somewhat displeased:
"Slow down, I haven't even touched my chopsticks yet. Do you know that if this were in the Chen family mansion, my grandfather would slap you for doing this?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head and said in a muffled voice, "I am only under Miss's jurisdiction, not under any old man's."
Chen Jiaxin said irritably:
"Aren't you afraid I'll slap you?"
Ouyang Rong stopped eating and drinking, slowly raised his head, and looked at Chen Jiaxin.
His eyes were both honest and simple, making him look somewhat innocent.
Seeing this, Chen Jiaxin choked, swallowing back all the words she was about to say, and waved her hand:
"Stop looking, let's eat. We can chat while we eat. You should go back to the dining hall early later; these two nights are very important."
Ouyang Rong vaguely understood something, and no longer stood on ceremony, he continued to pick up food.
Seemingly influenced by Ouyang Rong's hearty eating, Chen Jiaxin's appetite improved significantly during the meal. She no longer ate in small, ladylike bites as before, and her movements became more relaxed and casual.
Halfway through dinner, with her stomach mostly full, Chen Jiaxin put down her chopsticks and said calmly:
"Do you know that you came back just in time? If you had come a few days later, you would have missed it. I didn't expect the opportunity to come so soon."
Ouyang Rong's question:
"Miss, are you referring to missing something? What opportunity?"
Chen Jiaxin narrowed her eyes slightly, not answering, but instead asking:
Do you know what day of the month it is today?
"sixteen."
Chen Jiaxin slowly read aloud:
"Yesterday was the 15th, today is the 16th. After tonight, the two days with the fullest moon this month will be over."
Ouyang Rong thought for a moment and nodded in agreement:
"Hmm, that seems to be the case. Miss, is this related to the so-called opportunity?"
Chen Jiaxin turned around, glanced in a certain direction within the Qingliang Valley outside the pavilion, and whispered:
"Yes, if your master does not appear to dine today, then it will be your chance to enter the water prison."
Ouyang Rong immediately held his breath and focused his mind.
He asked calmly:
"What do you mean by this, Miss? Is there any special custom or tradition associated with these past two days?"
Chen Jiaxin's face rarely showed a serious expression, and she nodded slightly:
"Of course there is. Oh, I forgot to tell you. There is a rule in Yutang, which was established by our master. No Yutang Yue woman is allowed to enter the water dungeon without permission. Those who violate this rule will be whipped if they are lightly punished, and expelled from Yutang if they are serious offenders."
"So in the past, either Master would come out of the water dungeon and appear in the library to eat with us, or my senior sister and I would deliver the vegetarian meals to a fixed location outside the water dungeon so that Master could enjoy them."
Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows slightly and nodded, saying, "I see. However, I did hear Miss mention it once before. She said that you were not allowed to enter the water dungeon. I didn't expect that the other fairies were also not allowed to enter."
"Nonsense, how could it be targeted at only me? Would that mean Master dislikes me? In your eyes, am I so annoying that I'm treated differently?"
It's hard to say.
Ouyang Rong muttered the same words he had used to describe Miao Si yesterday, but on the surface, he remained expressionless and honest, shaking his head.
"No, I just felt that the water prison was dirty, and perhaps the Five Goddesses' skirts weren't covered in mud like the young lady's."
Chen Jiaxin immediately said, "The water prison is not what you think... You'll know when you go in."
After saying that, she shook her head seriously and continued:
"Speaking of which... those were just ordinary rules set by Master on a daily basis. In addition to these, there is a special rule in the water prison: on the fifteenth of every month, the night of the full moon, Master does not eat. Or rather, she prepares some dry food two days in advance. In any case, on the night of the full moon, she will stay in the water prison and not come out. This is the case every month without fail... at least since I became a disciple and entered the Jade Hall, I have never seen an exception."
"However, the duration of this monthly 'lockdown' varies. It can be as short as one night on the 15th, or two nights on the 15th and 16th. As for longer ones... according to my senior sisters, the longest time Master entered the water prison for seclusion was from the night of the 15th of that month, when he did not leave the water prison for seven consecutive days and seven nights..."
"However, such delays are rare now. In most cases, Master is only locked up for one or two nights a month, and he will be released at the latest after the sixteenth. If he is not released by then, it is considered a delay and a special case."
“The moon is fullest on the 16th of the lunar month, so these two nights are indeed the two nights with the fullest moon each month.” Ouyang Rong asked curiously, “However, is there any special significance to these full moon nights? Has something happened in the water dungeon?”
"I don't know." Chen Jiaxin shook her head and said seriously, "But judging from how seriously Master prepares for this every month, it must be something very important that even Master has to take seriously."
Ouyang Rong remembered something and asked:
"What about the vegetarian meals? Were the Five Goddesses and the people in the water prison always hungry while they were imprisoned?"
"With Master's cultivation level, fasting today shouldn't be a problem. As for the people in the water prison, we don't need to worry about their lives. However, on the 15th and 16th of each month, my senior sisters and I will still deliver vegetarian meals to the outside of the water prison as usual. Whether Master can eat them is another matter."
"Understood."
Chen Jiaxin glanced at Ouyang Rong, who was slowly nodding, and said calmly:
“Yesterday was the fifteenth. The vegetarian meal you made last night was delivered to the water prison by your senior sister, but Master did not come out. Today is the sixteenth, and Master still has not come out of the water prison. The atmosphere is already a bit ominous. This is the deadline. If she does not come out after tonight, we still have to deliver the vegetarian meal, but how to deliver it... we will need to activate the backup plan.”
"A backup plan?"
Ouyang Rong muttered to himself, then looked up and found Chen Jiaxin's clear eyes staring intently at him.
"Yes, Master has ordered that I and all the other senior sisters of Yutang are not allowed to step into the water prison, but we must still send our daily meals in."
“Under normal circumstances, if Master hasn’t come out of prison by the night of the 16th of each month, then on the second night, Senior Sister will go to the dining hall to call people and send ordinary servants from the dining hall to enter the water prison in place of everyone else to personally deliver the vegetarian meal to Master.”
Ouyang Rong felt a surge of emotion, but his expression remained blank, which, in Chen Jiaxin's eyes, made him appear somewhat slow and simple-minded.
Her voice was clear and melodious as she sought his confirmation:
"Did you understand? Now do you understand why I assigned you to work the night shift at the Qingliang Valley dining hall?"
Ouyang Rong was quiet for a moment, then pretended to scratch his head:
"It's a bit convoluted, but I roughly understand. Miss wants me to use this opportunity to deliver food to the water dungeon and, incidentally, find that old Taoist priest in the black crane-feather cloak?"
"That's right."
Chen Jiaxin nodded slightly:
"Judging from the current situation, since he hasn't come out before evening, it's very likely that Master won't come out tonight either. Tonight's vegetarian meal will still be left empty outside the water prison. Tomorrow night, your senior sister should come looking for you, the kitchen servants. That will be the best time for you to enter the water prison."
"This is the perfect opportunity we've been waiting for."
Ouyang Rong looked somewhat enlightened and praised:
"I see, Miss is so clever."
"It has little to do with me, but you're really lucky, kid. You've only been here a month and you've already encountered such a good opportunity. Master hasn't extended his 'confinement' for a long time, but you've stumbled upon it."
Chen Jiaxin sighed softly:
"Liu Aliang, Liu Aliang, I wonder if you are a lucky general."
"You flatter me, Miss."
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and answered, but Wu Cui's face and a certain sentence she had said flashed through his mind.
The booklet that Wu Cui often read and studied was the one that Wu Nujun gave her in the water dungeon.
According to Wu Cui, she was also taken to the water dungeon by Fairy Yutang to deliver vegetarian meals to the Five Goddesses.
However, at the time she was confused and did not know the specific reason why Yu Tang Yue Nu sent her in.
As a result, I wanted to go in again, but I've been waiting in the dining hall ever since.
Ouyang Rong breathed a sigh of relief. Wu Cui's details and the inside story that Chen Jiaxin had told him today all matched up.
Chen Jiaxin suddenly said:
"Liu Aliang, are you a little scared?"
Ouyang Rong looked up at her, but didn't answer, instead showing a puzzled expression.
Chen Jiaxin said quietly:
"Don't you ever think about why Master forbids us, the Yue Nu of the Jade Hall, from setting foot in the water dungeon? Why was the time for confinement extended, and why were you, the kitchen servants, chosen to deliver meals?"
Ouyang Rong pondered for a moment, then took the initiative to ask:
"Does Miss mean that there is danger inside, which is why the Five Goddesses ordered you and Fairy Yutang not to go in?"
Chen Jiaxin remained tight-lipped, only giving one answer:
"That's one possibility. Another possibility is that the water prison is special. If we Yue women with spiritual cultivation go in, we're more likely to get into trouble, while you ordinary servants without spiritual cultivation are safe and sound."
"This speculation is based on the fact that our master has always been kind-hearted. Since she allowed you servants to go in and deliver the vegetarian meals in our place, it is certainly not to directly endanger your lives."
"Of course, this is just my speculation. Who knows what the actual situation is? Master's rules are never explained. In the Jade Hall, whatever Master says is what he says. No one can disobey him."
The young woman's calm eyes swept past the dishes on the table, fixed on Ouyang Rong, and stared at him intently for a moment before speaking:
“I didn’t tell you about the risks before, but now that I have, you know them, Liu Aliang. If you still want to withdraw, you can say so, and I might consider it a little and not force you.”
Ouyang Rong shook his head directly:
No refund.
Chen Jiaxin raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but look at him with a slightly higher opinion.
(End of this chapter)
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