Chapter 974 Unexpected Turn of Events on a Rainy Night
At the entrance of a pavilion in Qingliang Valley.
A genuine expression softened the young woman's otherwise cold and stern face, adding a touch of humanity.
As Ouyang Rong was sizing her up, Chen Jiaxin said impatiently:
"Don't ask any questions, just do as I say. I think I've already given you very detailed instructions."
Ouyang Rong nodded.
Chen Jiaxin waited for a while, and seeing that he had nothing more to say, she left with her sword.
He turned his head and left without looking back, saying:
"Go ahead, do as I say, and wait patiently."
Ouyang Rong watched Chen Jiaxin's figure disappear into the distance, then returned to the pavilion, cleaned up the mess inside, and leisurely left with the food box...
After leaving Qingliang Valley, Ouyang Rong and Chen Shisan Niang parted ways not far from the dining hall. He went directly to the dining hall to take his usual night shift.
With an hour and a half to go before midnight, Ouyang Rong had finished preparing the vegetarian supper for the night and filled several food boxes with it.
However, this time, Senior Sister Li and her group, who came to pick up their food boxes as usual, were late.
Ouyang Rong, who was taking off his apron to rest, exchanged a glance with Wu Cui, who was reading by the light of the lamp by the door.
There were some minor surprises.
Yu Tang is very particular about rules. These Yue women from Yu Tang have always been punctual or early without fail, and have never been late.
And there was no thunder or rain today.
Instead, the moon was full and round, hanging high in the sky.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the moonlit night outside the door and vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
However, unlike Wu Cui, who was out of touch with the news, he knew some "secrets" from Chen Jiaxin.
About half an hour later, just as Ouyang Rong and the others were hesitating whether to reheat the vegetarian meal, footsteps came from outside the door.
A group of familiar Yue maidens appeared at the entrance.
Their steps were somewhat hurried.
Ouyang Rong glanced around and didn't see Senior Sister Li, who usually led the team. This time, all the people who came were silver-ranked Yue women from Yutang.
Wu Cui and the other women, young and old, handed over the many food boxes they had prepared in advance.
The latter, having received their food boxes, were about to leave when one of the silver-medal Yue women suddenly asked:
"Who are Liu Aliang, Wu Cui, and Gao Shi?"
She gave out three names in a row.
Besides Ouyang Rong and Wu Cui, there was also a resident handyman. Led by Ouyang Rong, both women stepped forward and answered:
"Reporting to the fairy, it is..."
The silver-medal Yue woman sized them up and gave them a word of advice:
"No leave is allowed tomorrow night. Prepare the vegetarian meal an hour in advance, as we may arrive early."
Wu Cui and the others looked at Ouyang Rong.
The latter immediately nodded: "Okay, take care, fairy."
The woman with the silver medal didn't say anything more. She led her sisters away in a hurry and disappeared into the night.
Wu Cui and another elderly woman who was called out looked puzzled, wondering what had happened and why this arrangement had been made.
Only Ouyang Rong remained expressionless and taciturn, turning back to the stove to continue his own work.
It seems that Chen Jiaxin's prediction was correct.
Tonight is the sixteenth, which is the second full moon night after the fifteenth.
The five women still haven't left the water prison.
...
Bathed in the setting sun, Ouyang Rong walked out of the courtyard gate, locked the door, and placed the key under a brick in front of the gate.
This is an old habit; it was originally to make it easier for Aqing to open the door when she came back.
Now, there's another group of people using it.
That was Li Wan and her son next door.
Ouyang Rong glanced calmly at the quiet courtyard next door. This morning, when he returned from his night shift, he found that the key had been moved again.
It's definitely not Aqing.
Ouyang Rong now leaves home around dusk every day, and doesn't come back at night when he's on night shift.
Li Wan and her son knew his daily routine well; they must have taken the key again last night and "borrowed" the kitchen.
Ouyang Rong didn't ask any further questions.
However, during his inspection, he discovered that Madam Li and Young Master Lu had finally become a bit smarter and were indeed "borrowing" his kitchen to cook. They were putting on a show and not leaving any obvious traces of cooking or lighting a fire.
Ouyang Rong put away the key, turned around and left, heading to the dining hall.
He knew perfectly well that Li Wan and her son had come to his kitchen repeatedly not because they suspected him, but because the kitchen was closest to the red leaf forest behind it, where "strange treasures and spirits" were said to roam, and that window was a perfect spot to observe the red leaf forest.
Lu Jinghong first discovered the "strange treasure spirit" at that very spot, and now, wanting to continue monitoring the movements within the Red Leaf Forest, he naturally needed to find excuses to frequently visit his kitchen.
Ouyang Rong stretched and, as he crossed the pier to the large island where the Qingliang Valley Dining Hall was located, the golden sunset shone on him, giving him a warm and cozy feeling.
This is the most therapeutic time of day for him when he's tired.
Because of the night shift, I sleep indoors in complete darkness during the day, so the chance to bask in the sun is extremely rare. In the morning, after staying up all night, I find the morning light annoying and want to escape it.
To be honest, Ouyang Rong didn't really like this feeling of having his days and nights reversed.
If it weren't for the water dungeon plan he conspired with Chen Jiaxin, he would definitely have a healthier lifestyle.
However, Ouyang Rong had a good rest today. He went straight to bed as soon as he got back in the morning because something important awaited him that night—an opportunity he had been waiting for for a long time…
When he arrived at the dining hall, Zhu and the other head cooks were still there, and they teased him a few times as usual.
Ouyang Rong remained calm and composed, replying to a few words as if nothing had happened.
However, he glanced somewhat unexpectedly at the window not far away.
Wu Cui's figure appeared there.
Ouyang Rong was somewhat surprised that Wu Cui had arrived earlier than usual today.
He's usually the first one to arrive.
Moreover, Ouyang Rong observed further and discovered another difference.
This time, Wu Cui sat by the window, not flipping through her ever-present sword manual. Instead, she rested her chin on her hands, staring blankly ahead. Occasionally, she would turn her head slightly, frowning, to glance at the setting sun outside the window… as if she were anxiously waiting for something.
Ouyang Rong calmly withdrew his gaze.
Before long, everyone in the dining hall dispersed, finishing their shifts and going home.
Only Ouyang Rong, Wu Cui, and other menial workers remained on night shift.
Ouyang Rong started a fire in advance to slowly cook the vegetarian porridge, and also prepared some pickled radishes.
When no one else was paying attention, Wu Cui walked over and handed him a handkerchief.
Ouyang Rong took the towel, stepped back a few paces, moving away from the stove where the porridge was being cooked, and tilted his head to wipe his sweat.
Wu Cui suddenly spoke:
"Liu Aliang".
Ouyang Rong waited a while, but she didn't speak again. He then spoke through his nose:
"Um?"
“You said…” Wu Cui paused to gather her thoughts, then asked, “Last night, why did the Jade Hall Fairy who was fetching food call out our names?”
Ouyang Rong immediately shook his head, feigning ignorance: "How would I know?"
Wu Cui scrutinized his face, as if observing whether he was lying: "You really didn't hear any rumors over there?"
Ouyang Rong asked with a puzzled expression, "What rumors are you talking about?"
Wu Cui shook her head: "No, it's nothing."
Ouyang Rong seemed to realize something, turned his head to look at the freckled girl beside him who was testing him, and suddenly asked:
"Wu Cui, what's the meaning of your expression? You've seemed distracted ever since you arrived today. Do you know something? What was the fairy's arrangement last night?"
After a moment's hesitation, Wu Cui couldn't help but say:
“I was also a little confused last night, but the more I thought about it after I got back, the more familiar it seemed.”
Ouyang Rong asked calmly:
"What's familiar? Where does it feel familiar?"
"At this time, and with this arrangement by the fairy... it seems like it happened once before."
Wu Cui hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
Ouyang Rong nodded, as if encouraging her to continue.
However, Wu Cui had already closed her mouth again and shook her head:
"It's just a guess. Let's wait for the fairies to arrive and see. My guess might not be right either, so I'll leave it at that for now."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wu Cui quickly slipped away.
Ouyang Rong glanced sideways, calmly watching the freckled girl's hurried, slightly excited figure disappear into the distance.
After a flurry of activity, the vegetarian meal was prepared an hour and a half before midnight, which was the time agreed upon the night before. After being cooked, it was packed into individual food boxes.
Ouyang Rong, who had taken off his cooking apron, silently watched as Wu Cui and the others stuffed bowls of vegetarian rice and plates of pickled radishes into the food box.
His gaze fell on the food boxes on the table.
In fact, based on the number of these vegetarian food boxes each day, Ouyang Rong had already roughly calculated the number of Yue women in the Jade Hall of Qingliang Valley.
Apart from the four large food boxes that can hold two servings of vegetarian food, the other regular food boxes contain a normal serving of vegetarian food for one person.
The Yue women from Yutang who didn't return to retrieve their food boxes, led by Senior Sister Li, numbered about seventeen or eighteen, with slight fluctuations in numbers, but the total was roughly the same.
Each Yue woman in the Jade Hall carried two food boxes.
If we calculate it this way, the total number of Yue women in the Jade Hall is around forty.
However, he probably overestimated the number, because these vegetarian meals were certainly not all for the Yue women of the Jade Hall.
The five ladies in the water dungeon also received a share, as the vegetarian meal was originally prepared for them. The other Yue women of the Jade Hall followed the lady's dietary habits.
In addition, Ouyang Rong was not sure whether the prisoners in the ten cells mentioned by Chen Jiaxin needed these vegetarian meals. In principle, they should be prepared, even if it is a prison, there should be some basic human rights laws, right?
Ouyang Rong nodded silently.
Coming to his senses, he noticed that Wu Cui was turning to look at him. The food box was ready, and they were waiting for the Yue women from Yutang to arrive ahead of time. With some free time, Wu Cui seemed to be trying to observe his face, as if trying to find some clues about his micro-expressions.
At that moment, their eyes met in mid-air.
Ouyang Rong silently shifted his gaze to the pitch-black night outside the door.
The moonlight tonight is much dimmer than the previous two nights.
Today is the 17th, and the previous two nights were precisely when the moon was at its fullest and brightest this month.
Wu Cui may have tossed and turned in thought after returning home, realizing that the dates of the two events were close together.
However, without the same treatment as Ouyang Rong, who received secret information from Chen Jiaxin, this freckled girl would never have imagined that this date was related to the night of the full moon.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.
"Boom—!"
Wu Cui was about to speak when she turned her head and was attracted by the commotion at the door.
Sparse raindrops pattered on the stone bricks at the entrance.
A curtain of rain slanted down from the doorway.
A sudden night rain.
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
However, being in Yunmengze, there is no shortage of white fog, the climate is very humid, and the weather is unpredictable, with rain coming and going as it pleases, which is quite normal.
Seeing this, Wu Cui turned and went deep into the dining hall. After a short while, she came out carrying three umbrellas and leaned against the door.
Noticing that Ouyang Rong had turned to look at her, she didn't explain. She stood alone by the door, tilting her head to gaze at the light night rain outside.
Besides Ouyang Rong, the other women doing odd jobs also noticed Wu Cui's unusual behavior tonight.
Normally, during these waiting times, the freckled girl would sit quietly by the window in the corner, intently flipping through the booklet by the light of the lamp.
Wu Cui seemed a little unusual tonight.
Just then, the expressions of the people who were looking at the scene outside the door changed, and they all stood up from their seats.
A group of women with umbrellas strolled in through the rain.
There was still more than an hour until midnight, and these Yue women from the Jade Hall had arrived much earlier than usual.
There were about ten of them, and they stopped at the entrance of the dining hall. The one leading them was Senior Sister Li, who had not been seen yesterday.
She had a stern face, and it was impossible to tell what her specific emotions were, but that was normal, as this Fairy Li always had this "debt-collecting" look on her face whenever she appeared.
This was not surprising, but what caught the attention of everyone in the dining hall was that the other accompanying fairies also had expressionless faces.
Among them, some of the usually smiling and relatively gentle Jade Hall Fairies now had tense faces and looked very businesslike.
Combined with the backdrop of a rainy night outside, the atmosphere became somewhat serious.
Senior Sister Li first glanced at the awkward young man who had stood up to greet her, then spoke:
"What about vegetarian food?"
Wu Cui and the others immediately handed out the food boxes on the table one by one to the Jade Hall Fairies.
After a short while, the food boxes were almost all delivered. There were four large food boxes containing double portions of vegetarian food left. Wu Cui and the others took them out and prepared to hand them to a fairy in the Jade Hall who was empty-handed.
The latter shook his head and did not accept it.
Senior Sister Li suddenly said:
"Did someone already notify you yesterday?"
Ouyang Rong and Wu Cui both looked over, but before they could answer, Senior Sister Li spoke up:
"Liu Aliang, Wu Cui, Gao Shi, take these four food boxes and come with us."
The old woman surnamed Gao, who was doing odd jobs, carried a large food box and looked somewhat bewildered.
Wu Cui, standing to the side, let out a sigh of relief, a slight expression of relief appearing on her face.
She gripped the large food box in her hand and immediately stepped forward to join the ranks of the Jade Hall Fairies.
Ouyang Rong looked puzzled, but he still walked forward with Gao Shi and followed Wu Cui's footsteps.
Ouyang Rong was passing by Senior Sister Li when she suddenly called out to him:
"Wait, take this."
Ouyang Rong looked down and saw that she had handed over the normal-sized food box that she was carrying.
At the same time, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Wu Cui and Gao were carrying one of the four special large food boxes, one in each hand, without him having to help.
"Yes, fairy."
Ouyang Rong calmly accepted the food box in front of him.
(End of this chapter)
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