Chapter 425 The Swallows That Once graced the halls of the Wang and Xie families
"Did you eat sesame seed pancakes for breakfast?"
In the quiet carriage, a soft, sweet female voice that made the man's legs go weak rang out.
How did you know?
“Full pie flavor.”
"Hmm, that makes sense. Junior Sister must have eaten pickled radish this morning."
"No!" she immediately retorted, "I ate several candies on an empty stomach beforehand so that I wouldn't taste the pickled radish. I ate them yesterday, and they've been sitting overnight."
Having managed to bluff his way out of the conversation, Ouyang Rong blinked:
"So, Junior Sister anticipated this all along, and that's why she prepared this specially? Then why did Junior Sister bring so many people? Hmm, did she not expect them to be going the same way when she left home? No wonder, I thought Junior Sister did it on purpose this morning, but now it seems she deliberately ate candy to wait for me..."
"Nonsense, I didn't wait for you." Xie Lingjiang quickly denied, "I... I didn't prepare anything in advance, I just wanted to eat candy, Senior Brother, don't be so conceited."
Ouyang Rong looked down at her, her eyes darting away like a deer's.
He smiled, then suddenly said:
"Actually, when it bit me yesterday, it didn't taste like anything else. Junior sister, there's no need to be so worried."
Xie Lingjiang bit her lip, and after a while, she said in a slightly mournful voice, "You didn't even ask what flavor of candy it was."
"No matter what flavor it is, it's not as sweet as you."
She looked away, feeling a sweet warmth in her heart, and said, "You're just trying to flatter me... um."
The noblewoman Xie's mouth was gagged again, and she glared slightly...
"etc."
She suddenly leaned back to break free, wiping the long, silvery thread that still connected the two of them with the back of her hand.
"What's wrong?" Ouyang Rong asked curiously, catching his breath.
Xie Lingjiang's lips seemed swollen and red. She bent down to pick up the white fox fur shawl at her feet, then tilted her head back, her delicate body nestled in his arms. Her arched eyebrows and her exquisite little nose touched Ouyang Rong's nose.
Nose to nose, she wrapped the fox fur shawl around the back of Ouyang Rong's head, and finally wrapped the snow-white shawl around the back of her own head, tying it in a cross knot.
So the two embraced, their heads "buried" in the snow-white fox fur, merging together once more.
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but smile.
Why is my junior sister acting like a child...?
"No, no laughing!" she snapped at him.
As if noticing the twitch at the corner of Ouyang Rong's mouth, the words she uttered while busy became somewhat incoherent.
Ouyang Rong smiled silently.
"Hmm..."
Xie Lingjiang suddenly felt that the crimson rouge she had applied to her lips today had been wasted.
"Ouch, why is it biting again? Junior sister, are you a tiger?"
A moment later, Ouyang Rong's helpless voice rang out from inside the carriage, along with a few gasps of surprise.
"I suddenly hate you." She pulled away, slightly panting, and nestled against his chest, Xie Lingjiang whimpered twice, "Is that not okay? Hmm?"
"Ahem, fine, whatever makes you happy."
She poked his nose and lips with a scallion-like finger, squinted, and said, "Let's see if his mouth is dry and his tongue is parched."
Ouyang Rong looked at the two little tiger teeth peeking out from under his junior sister's rosy lips, and thought to himself that women really do have sharp teeth. He blinked:
"I dare not, it begs for mercy, heroine."
"Glib-tongued".
"You noticed all of this; you're quite observant."
"Say it again?"
Xie Lingjiang tugged at the fox fur shawl wrapped around the back of his head, like a fine hook pulling back a fish.
Ouyang Rong quickly leaned back, barely dodging the two smug little tiger teeth.
After a while of playful fighting, Ouyang Rong finally managed to subdue his junior sister again. After a series of sweet words in her ear, she finally became a little more obedient and nestled obediently in his arms. However, he drew circles on her chest with a slender finger.
Ouyang Rong chuckled, feeling like he was turning into a koala.
Xie Lingjiang's slender waist, which had been being caressed, suddenly straightened up. She tilted her delicate face upwards, raised her hand, and used her fingertips to stroke Ouyang Rong's lip, which had been bitten and blistered the day before, asking softly:
Does it hurt?
Ouyang Rong shook his head, thought for a moment, and then deliberately played the victim to add, "It's just hard to explain. When I got home last night, my aunt and Wei Lai asked me about it."
She tilted her head and chuckled, "So what do you say?"
I said I felt hot and bothered.
"Hmph, big liar..."
"Where did I lie? I just got aroused by you."
"You always talk shamelessly. What kind of skill is it to take advantage of me? Humph."
"My junior sister has taken advantage of me quite a bit, hasn't she?"
"You're not allowed to be cheeky!"
While trying to suppress his laughter, Ouyang Rong had his nose pinched for a while by the glaring young woman, and his voice became muffled and angry, as if he had her completely under her control.
However, he also has a countermeasure, which he has developed in the last two days.
A moment later, a pair of large hands became restless again, going upstream and dutifully inspecting the children's canteen, which was full of delicious food.
Xie Lingjiang immediately quieted down, buried her face in his chest, and remained motionless, with only occasional soft moans escaping her lips.
Her serious yet shy and clumsy appearance, like a pushover, made Ouyang Rong want to hug her tighter.
I took a deep breath.
When feelings run deep, they naturally intensify; when emotions run strong, how can one bear to part?
Lately, when he gets close to her, he can't seem to control himself.
Intimate relationships are progressing rapidly.
From holding hands and running in the pouring rain after the initial birthday banquet
They embraced each other warmly at the entrance of the temple, their hearts linked together.
And now, it's clumsy and bites.
They do it regardless of the occasion.
Ouyang Rong finally climbed to the highest peak he had ever seen in his life.
I plucked two flowers from the high mountain.
Xie Lingjiang's face, buried against Ouyang Rong's chest, seemed lost in thought.
Especially after being discovered by a newly developed scenic spot where one can climb to a viewpoint overlooking all the mountains.
She couldn't help but hug his back tightly, her face flushed as she rested her head on his shoulder, remaining silent.
The eldest brother is getting worse and worse, always pushing his luck and taking a step further.
Yet, she precisely grasps the right measure, so that she doesn't come across as annoying.
The approach of proceeding step by step, making steady progress each day, is hard to resist.
It's just a mystery why men are so obsessed with that place.
Shouldn't this be something that toddlers and children like?
Or perhaps it was something special about her that made him so infatuated with her.
The noblewoman Xie blushed and dared not meet his gaze.
Deep in her heart, she felt both shy and anxious, yet sweet, and couldn't muster any resistance; instead, she had a strange feeling.
On the carriages that were lined up like turtles crawling, Ouyang Rong suddenly pulled his hand away from the soft embrace of the beautiful women.
"Let's go! We can't wait any longer."
He picked up the fox fur shawl and carefully draped it over Xie Lingjiang's shoulders. A moment later, he turned and dismounted.
Xie Lingjiang's face was flushed, and her hazy, dreamy eyes looked at his decisively departing figure with some surprise.
Ouyang Rong stuck his head out of the carriage curtain and gave a few instructions to the Xie family steward, who then went to fetch Dongmei.
Ouyang Rong dismounted, mounted Dongmei, refused the other horses, and reached into the carriage to invite his junior sister, who was hurriedly adjusting her clothes with her head down:
"Get down."
Xie Lingjiang was shy, but Ouyang Rong didn't give her time to react. He went straight into the carriage, picked her up by the waist, and carried her out of the carriage, placing her on Dongmei's horse in front of everyone.
Under the wide-eyed gaze of his junior sister, he chuckled softly, rode his horse alone, and took her out of the city.
"Hold on tight, don't let go."
The two rode together on one horse, galloping all the way to the place where the maple leaves in the mountains were the most fiery red.
Xie Lingjiang hugged his waist tightly. Beneath her jet-black hair, which was being blown about by the wind, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright as stars.
The autumn air is crisp and clear, the mountains are ablaze with color, and the forests are dyed in vibrant hues.
Ouyang Rong looked around and suddenly felt that the maple forests and red leaves covering the mountains and plains were like blood. He couldn't help but recall his experiences since the awakening of the Pure Land Palace. He couldn't help but let out a long howl in the mountains and forests.
Xie Lingjiang suppressed a laugh and patted him on the back: "Silly boy."
Ouyang Rong continued to laugh, reciting with a smile:
"Man and ape parted ways. Only a few stones were ground, in childhood... Flames churned in the bronze and iron furnace, when will we ever guess? Only a few thousand years of cold and heat... It's rare to find laughter in this world, on the battlefield we drew our bows to each other. Blood flowed all over the countryside."
Upon reaching this point, he suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter growing increasingly uncontrollable. Xie Lingjiang was stunned, only to hear him wipe away tears after laughing, muttering to himself:
"After reading this, my head is covered in snow, but I remember only scattered fragments and a few lines of old traces... The sacred deeds of the Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns have deceived countless travelers... How many romantic figures have there been? Robber Zhi and Zhuang Qiao have left their mark, and King Chen rose up to wield his yellow battle-axe... Before the song is finished, the east turns white."
After speaking, the young man in the white fox fur coat, riding swiftly on horseback, laughed heartily for a long time, finally shouting:
"I want to speak, but I hold back; I want to say, but I hold back; instead, I say, 'How pleasant is the cool autumn day!'"
As if sensing the pleasure of its male and female owners, Dongmei ran off on its feet, trying to prove that it was more than just a good cook.
As expected of the Akhal-Teke horse, it was indeed as swift as a whirlwind, getting faster and faster as it ran.
Thus, in the eyes of pedestrians on the autumn maple-viewing route, a fleeting shadow of a chestnut-red horse, carrying a figure in white robes and a figure in red skirts, flashed past on the official road.
Xie Lingjiang clung tightly to her senior brother's waist. The autumn wind tousled her hair, which fluttered in the breeze. She turned her head in the wind, her clear eyes gazing blankly at her senior brother, who was gleefully "talking nonsense" in the autumn wind.
She liked his occasional unconventional and surprising way of doing things.
I like his unrestrained, bold and unconventional style.
I also love the unfamiliar and amazing fragments of poetry that he occasionally utters.
Although Xie Lingjiang had no idea what her senior brother was frowning and worrying about, or what he was muttering to himself when he was alone.
However, this mysterious, profound, and martyr-like aura captivated Xie Lingjiang, who had always been disciplined and serious about her studies, as if she were drawn into the abyss after gazing into it and then leaping into it.
Today, as they went out of the city to enjoy the autumn scenery, many passersby were admiring the maple forest. Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang deliberately avoided the crowded areas and ran into the deep forest.
Half an hour later, Dongmei arrived at a quiet, deserted valley deep in the maple forest.
Ouyang Rong suddenly dismounted, flipped through his book, leaped up, plucked a fiery red maple leaf from a roadside tree, turned back, his expression focused, and tucked it diagonally into Xie Lingjiang's dark hair.
Adorned with fiery red maple leaves in their hair, this was the popular "Autumn Begins" makeup style among the ladies of the Great Zhou Dynasty as autumn arrived.
Ouyang Rong looked at it carefully and nodded in satisfaction.
The beauty's lips are redder than maple leaves.
The frost-touched leaves are redder than the flowers of February.
Xie Lingjiang tilted her head, stroked the red leaves, lowered her head shyly, and smiled sweetly.
Ouyang Rong gently stroked her delicate face, then suddenly asked seriously:
"Junior Sister, what do you think is the best way for the person turning the pages to break through the barrier?"
Xie Lingjiang realized what was happening and immediately said, "Of course, it's about reading through ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles."
"What book knowledge does the junior sister lack?"
Xie Lingjiang frowned and pondered:
"I am well-versed in classical studies, but it seems I am lacking in poetry and prose. Senior Brother, you are quick-witted and have a deep poetic talent. Could you teach me some, like that poem you just recited?"
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes: "Junior Sister, did you understand the song 'He Xinlang' just now?"
"I don't understand it all, but it feels particularly heavy. Should I read it again, Senior Brother?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "Poetry is a minor art, I won't teach it. If you want to learn, learn the great art."
"The Great Dao? What does Senior Brother think the Great Dao is?" Her pretty face regained its seriousness, and her tone was hopeful: "Please teach me, Senior Brother."
She held his drooping hand tightly with her five fingers.
Ouyang Rong was silent for a moment, then took the beauty's soft hand in his, gently rubbing his fingertips against the back of her hand. After a moment of quiet, he pressed his cheek against the back of her hand and whispered:
"I'll give you another poem, and while I'm at it, I'll tell you some things that you'll never find in the vast books of sages."
"What is it that cannot be read...?"
Ouyang Rong remained silent, returned to his horse, took out some simple paper and pen from the cloth bag carried on the horse's back, caught a swirling red leaf in the air, placed it on the horse's back, and quickly wrote several lines of ink on the red leaf.
Ouyang Rong held a red leaf between two fingers and handed it to Xie Lingjiang with a smile.
The noblewoman Xie, dressed in autumn makeup adorned with maple leaves, curiously took the leaf, looked at the fresh ink marks on the red leaf, and softly read aloud:
"Wildflowers bloom by the Zhuque Bridge, the setting sun slants over the entrance to Wuyi Lane... The Wang and Xie families of old... The swallows that once graced the halls of the Wang and Xie families now fly into the homes of ordinary people."
Xie Lingjiang's voice gradually paused.
A silence fell between them.
The chestnut horse next to it was engrossed in eating hay, while the autumn wind rustled through the red leaves of the forest.
The only sound in the world was the rustling of red leaves.
Ouyang Rong raised his hand and carefully adjusted the fiery red frosty leaf tucked diagonally into her hair. His expression was calm.
"This is the Great Dao. I think that as the one who turns the pages, Junior Sister, the book you should really turn to is this page. This is also the knowledge that the sages will never tell you in their books."
The smile on the Xie family noblewoman's face froze slightly as she murmured, "The swallows that once graced the halls of the Wang and Xie families... the Wang and Xie families of yesteryear..."
"Junior Sister, do you always think that your family, a prestigious clan spanning nine generations and six hundred years in Jiangzuo, can continue to exist, or that it can remain glorious for a long time? Is it the same for other prestigious families in Guanzhong and the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families? Or do you think that even if the Wang and Xie families are gone, there will always be new aristocratic families to take their place? For example, if I were to rise to a high position, would there be new Jiangnan nobles like the Ouyang family of Nanlong in the future?"
The son-in-law of the Xie family of Chenjun, one of the seven prominent families among the five major clans, asked and answered himself, gently shaking his head:
“Junior Sister, everything that history bestows has already been secretly priced. A certain page of the history book has already clearly stated that these powerful clans that do not even care about the new imperial examination system and arrogantly co-opt commoners and scholars only have the Great Qian and Great Zhou dynasties left. Like the fiery red sunset in late autumn, it is their last brilliant glory.”
"After the feudal lords of the pre-Qin period turned into piles of white bones, this group of aristocratic clans that have risen for nearly a thousand years will also perish."
Xie Lingjiang stared blankly at the man in front of her, whose words were calm yet remarkably firm.
(End of this chapter)
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