Chapter 978 Separated by a Door
Ouyang Rong truthfully conveyed the words of the Fifth Lady Yun Xiangyi.
However, he added a little of his own touch to the last point.
Yun Xiangyi did not specify who should come, but only said to send a servant.
I feel a little bad for Wu Cui, but he has important things to do, so he can only ask her to suffer for now.
In addition, Ouyang Rong was certain that Li Ruotong would not seek confirmation afterward.
Even if Yun Xiangyi stood in front of her later, Li Ruotong wouldn't ask her anything.
In just a few encounters, Ouyang Rong had already figured out this woman.
The reason is simple: Li Ruotong is good at weighing the pros and cons, and she had already arranged for Ouyang Rong to deliver the vegetarian meal.
Since she couldn't immediately go to the water dungeon to verify with the Fifth Lady, she had to make arrangements for the time being.
However, if the orders she issued were to be brought up again later, even a lowly "Liu Aliang" would be in trouble, and she would also be held accountable, at least for "negligence."
Of course, the most important thing is that it's just a small matter who goes down to deliver the vegetarian meal. It doesn't matter which servant goes down to deliver it; there won't be any major problems.
This isn't exactly a desirable opportunity. The water prison is dangerous, and although you can see the Five Goddesses every day, it's a thankless task.
Of course, this is only from the perspective of Yu Tang Yue Nu. From the perspective of ordinary servants at the bottom, getting in touch with the Five Goddesses might be an opportunity, because even if the Five Goddesses let a little bit of it slip through their fingers, it would be enough for an ordinary servant to eat his fill. It is a "great opportunity". For example, what Wu Cui encountered before is a good example.
However, Li Ruotong, who was a Yue maiden with a gold-plated jade pendant, did not care about this, or rather, she did not need to care about this.
Even if you servants have your share of petty jealousies and rivalries, so what if you're competing for this opportunity? Since you're a smart person and have seized this opportunity, then it's yours. Opportunities are for the brave, and you're bold enough to even get a taste of this; that takes skill.
Therefore, both logically and emotionally, Li Ruotong had no motivation to verify or investigate the matter thoroughly afterward, and there was no need for her to create such trouble for herself or make herself uncomfortable.
Ouyang Rong had a clear understanding of Li Ruotong's personality and knew exactly what was going on, which is why he was so bold as to slightly modify the Five Goddesses' decree.
Under normal circumstances, people will always choose the path with the least resistance and the least trouble.
Moreover, through his observations over the past few days, he discovered that within the Jade Hall in Qingliang Valley, which is dedicated to cultivating a pure and desireless mind, there are also some factional struggles.
For example, there are the newcomers from the nine surnames represented by Chen Jiaxin, as well as veteran senior sisters like Li Ruotong.
Where there are factional struggles, there will be personal weighing of pros and cons.
He knows this very well; from the officialdom of Jiangzhou to the imperial court in Luoyang, isn't it all the same?
In places where factional struggles exist, one must strive to "avoid making mistakes" and avoid causing trouble.
This way, the opponent won't find a pretext to attack.
Of course, Ouyang Rong felt that there was another important point.
Perhaps it was a little thought hidden deep in Li Ruotong's heart.
From the moment he started working the night shift in the dining hall, Li Ruotong knew that he was someone arranged by her junior colleague, Chen Jiaxin.
He is Chen Jiaxin's person.
That makes things easier. If Liu Aliang really gets into trouble later, Chen Jiaxin won't be able to escape either. If she's implicated, it will definitely be much more serious than her "oversight," so she won't lose out no matter what.
However, Ouyang Rong believes there is one more crucial point.
The thing that Li Ruotong and the other Yue women of Yutang cared about most had already been confirmed in advance.
That is to say, the five women are indeed safe and sound down there.
It's impossible that Yu Tang would simply send Ouyang Rong and other servants to divide the matter, and Li Ruotong wouldn't just believe Ouyang Rong's side of the story. Yu Tang must have confirmed it through some channels beforehand.
It is unknown whether it was through secret methods within the Ancestral Hall of the Queen's Palace or through some special communication channel.
It might be a special token, like the jade pendant from the academy, capable of ensuring the wearer's safety from afar.
Otherwise, if the five goddesses go down and disappear without a trace, and do not come back up for a long time, and there is no way to confirm their safety, even if it is only a gap of one or two days, that would be a matter of utmost importance.
So now, those who have entered the water dungeon to test and confirm are not the servants, nor are they Li Ruotong and the other Yue women from the Jade Hall. Instead, it is the entire First Lady, Second Lady, and Fifth Lady who have all come out.
It can only be said that the Queen's Palace was certain that the Fifth Queen was in good condition and had not triggered a high-level warning, which is why they did not come to interfere with the water prison matter. At the same time, they reported this situation to Yutang.
However, Li Ruotong, Chen Jiaxin, and the other Yue maidens of the Jade Hall were unaware of why the Five Heroines had not yet left the dungeon, yet were also prevented from entering it at will by a prohibition...
Ouyang Rong was quick-witted and organized. On his way down the stairs, he went through all the information in his mind again and nodded slightly.
The overall picture should be fairly accurate.
Now, on his second trip to the water prison, Ouyang Rong was quite familiar with the route.
He has a good sense of direction, and this time he walked briskly without the help of a tinderbox. The main problem was that he had to carry the food box in both hands, so he could only feel his way down the stairs in the dark.
A moment later, they arrived at the gray wooden gate. Ouyang Rong did not stop, but gently nudged the gate open with his shoulder.
Behind the door, an elegant figure with double-ringed high buns leaning to the left sat at the table in the center of the room.
She looked down at the book, her back to the door.
Ouyang Rong tiptoed forward, wiped the water droplets off the two food boxes with his sleeve, and then gently placed them on the floor beside the table.
Above the table, the vegetarian meal that Ouyang Rong had helped set out when he first came in seemed untouched.
However, Ouyang Rong noticed with his sharp eyes that the level of the porridge in the bowl seemed to have dropped a little.
Perhaps she took a sip when he wasn't around.
She still has some humanity; she's not a completely detached goddess.
Ouyang Rong glanced sideways at the beautiful woman in white sitting at the table.
She sat cross-legged, turning the pages of the book by the light of the oil lamp, without looking at him.
While putting the food away, Ouyang Rong glanced quickly at the words on the pages of the book she was reading.
It was the same Goguryeo script I'd seen before.
If nothing unexpected happens, the entire book will be in this style of writing, rather than just one page being an exception.
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyelids, stepped back to the door, and without lingering, turned and left the water prison, returning to the top the same way he came.
Not long after, Ouyang Rong returned to the water prison for the third time and brought back the last two food boxes.
Ouyang Rong entered again and placed two large food boxes on the floor beside the table.
Four large food boxes are neatly arranged for people to take.
Ouyang Rong glanced at Yun Xiangyi's sitting figure, then looked at the gray wooden door leading inside opposite.
The four large food boxes contained a total of eight vegetarian meals. Yun Xiangyi certainly didn't keep the extra food for himself, nor did he save it for later. In any case, he would be delivering vegetarian meals every day from now on.
Then there's only one possibility: they were sent deep into the water dungeon and fed to about eight prisoners inside.
Old Master Sun is among them, and Xiu Niang may also be confined inside. Even if she isn't, Old Master Sun must know something. He is a peerless divine physician, and with Xiu Niang seriously injured and unconscious, the Queen's Palace would definitely ask him for help.
Ouyang Rong suppressed his curiosity for the time being, stepped back to the door, turned around without hesitation, and prepared to leave, ending his first meal delivery task of the day.
"Wait."
Yun Xiangyi suddenly spoke.
At the doorway, Ouyang Rong stopped abruptly, turned around, and looked puzzled.
Yun Xiangyi raised her head, looking ahead, as if recalling something:
"you……"
Ouyang Rong immediately clasped his hands in greeting and introduced himself again: "Five Goddesses, my name is Liu Aliang, the cook of the kitchen."
"Okay, sure."
The woman in white lowered her head again, turning the page of her book. A somewhat ethereal voice drifted over, as if from the clouds:
"Liu Aliang, go upstairs and fetch a bucket of clean water, bring it here before you leave."
Upon hearing this request, Ouyang Rong looked somewhat surprised and misunderstood, saying:
"The fairies above have brought water pouches; I'll go tell Fairy Li right away..."
"No."
She gently shook her head, offering no explanation:
"No need to drink, plain water is fine. The water bucket is by the front door."
Ouyang Rong immediately turned his head to look, and saw that there was indeed an ordinary wooden barrel on the ground in the lower right corner of the tightly closed wooden door opposite, which was not very conspicuous.
Suppressing his curiosity, Ouyang Rong glanced at her retreating figure and clasped his hands in a deep fist salute:
"yes."
He stepped forward, bypassed the table and the lady, and arrived at the wooden gate.
So close.
The thin, unremarkable gray wooden door leading into the water dungeon gave Ouyang Rong a profound sense of silence. There was no sound or breath emanating from within, perhaps due to the unique nature of this water dungeon…
Through the wooden gate in front of him, only a little air leaked out from the cracks, carrying a dark and damp smell... Ouyang Rong didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he vaguely smelled a hint of rust.
It smells like blood.
I don't know if it was blood.
Is someone injured and bleeding inside the door? Who could it be?
Ouyang Rong's eyes narrowed, but he couldn't linger in front of the door for long. After picking up the empty wooden bucket, he stood there for a while, pretending to inspect it, and then calmly turned around and left the house.
After leaving the house and closing the door, Ouyang Rong frowned slightly, couldn't help but look back at the quiet wooden gate, and then looked down at the old, empty wooden bucket in his hand.
Bring me a bucket of clean water.
If it's not for drinking, what's it for? Is it for bathing in this filthy, dark water dungeon? Besides, this bucket of water probably isn't enough.
Ouyang Rong felt that Yun Xiangyi's purpose was not so simple, but he couldn't ask her any more questions.
However, being assigned to work by her was a good thing, a very good sign, making it easier for him to find an opportunity to sneak into the water dungeon to gather information later.
With no more questions or doubts, Ouyang Rong walked straight up the dark staircase without looking back and returned to the top.
At the cave entrance in front of the waterfall, Li Ruotong and the other Yue maidens from the Jade Hall finally welcomed Ouyang Rong back.
However, they were all taken aback when they saw him bring back a wooden bucket.
Ouyang Rong repeated Yun Xiangyi's instructions verbatim.
Li Ruotong showed no surprise whatsoever and immediately said:
"What are you waiting for? Go fetch some water."
Having said that, as if annoyed that he was too slow, she stepped in front of Ouyang Rong, took the wooden bucket, turned around and went to the waterfall, filled a large bucket with water, and handed it to Ouyang Rong with a cold face.
At the same time, I added a note:
"Send it down. From now on, just obey any orders from the Fifth Lady. Don't ask any questions. You're just a cook who delivers food. Knowing too much won't do you any good. The reason I chose you is because you're honest, quiet, hardworking, and capable."
Ouyang Rong knew perfectly well that Li Ruotong was using this opportunity to give him a warning.
He suppressed a smirk and nodded woodenly.
"Yes, fairy, I understand."
Li Ruotong raised her chin:
"Send it down."
"yes."
Ouyang Rong carried the bucket back to the water prison. Along the way, he deliberately staggered and spilled some water, slowing down his pace.
When he pushed open the wooden door again, he found that the situation inside the house had changed.
The four large food boxes that Ouyang Rong had placed on the floor next to the table had disappeared and were nowhere to be found in the room.
Yun Xiangyi had already closed the Goguryeo book. Instead of reading, she sat upright at the table, holding a bowl of porridge.
Ouyang Rong subtly withdrew his gaze, picked up the wooden bucket, and uttered a dull murmur:
"Goddess, the water has been brought, but some spilled on the way."
She simply said:
"Place it by the door."
Ouyang Rong glanced at Yun Xiangyi's back and noticed that her nodding gestures, which accompanied her speech, seemed to be indicating the tightly closed wooden gate in front of her, rather than the wooden gate he had entered through.
Ouyang Rong obediently walked over and put the bucket of water down by the door.
After doing all this, Ouyang Rong waited for a while, but Yun Xiangyi gave him no other instructions.
The room fell silent.
The taciturn young man waited by the door, while at the table in the center of the room, the woman in white ate her vegetarian meal in small bites. Her manners while eating were dignified and elegant, like a beautiful work of art.
This part looks a bit like Rongzhen.
Ouyang Rong seemed to have thought of something, so he lowered his eyes and stopped staring in that direction to avoid arousing suspicion.
Yun Xiangyi's voice broke the silence.
"Wait for me a moment."
Her tone was somewhat gentle, lacking the arrogance of Li Ruotong's earlier statement.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head: "Yes."
Yun Xiangyi seemed to speed up, and soon she put down the empty bowl, stood up, and made way for her.
"Once you're done packing, you can go back."
"Yes, Goddess."
Ouyang Rong immediately stepped forward, went to the table, and quickly began clearing away the bowls and chopsticks.
Yun Xiangyi, holding the book, left the table and seemed to walk towards the wooden gate ahead.
When Ouyang Rong finished packing and was about to take his leave, he found that the Fifth Lady was already standing by the door, holding the bucket.
Sensing her gaze, Ouyang Rong didn't delay any longer and clasped his hands in greeting:
"Goddess, I will come again tomorrow night."
The woman by the door responded softly:
"Um."
Ouyang Rong carried the empty food box and strode away. Before leaving, he caught a glimpse of Yun Xiangyi opening the inner wooden door, carrying a bucket of water, and walking in alone.
Ouyang Rong twitched his nose slightly, and the smell became even stronger.
He wasn't mistaken when he got close; there was indeed a bloody smell coming from inside!
Leaving the house, Ouyang Rong lowered his head, did not linger, and quickly walked towards the stairwell.
Just then, the bamboo tube at his waist made a strange noise...
(End of this chapter)
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