Chapter 198 Governing a large country is like managing a small bed (Happy Children's Day)
Ouyang Rong's unexpected words left Xie Lingjiang speechless for a moment.
I felt a sweet warmth in my heart.
Xie Lingjiang actually didn't mind the people from the Su family next door interacting with her senior brother.
They even tacitly approved of it.
Otherwise, why would she have intentionally or unintentionally brought Ouyang Rong to the Su residence so often?
However, the moment Xie Lingjiang heard her senior brother casually call out Su Guo'er's name, a certain girlish emotion suddenly became hard to suppress.
"It turns out they weren't as generous as I thought."
Xie Lingjiang murmured to herself.
That's how people are sometimes. Before something happens to them, they have one thought, but after it happens, they have a completely different thought.
But now we've discovered...
"Is she just subtly discussing politics with the eldest brother? The Su family's younger sister is quick to act and has a clear purpose. I guess only the eldest brother is a little confused about her purpose."
"So... the two of them really only had a gentlemanly friendship, as light as water."
"That's... that's normal. Senior Brother is like a bright pearl. He might not have been obvious when he first came to Longcheng County, but now that he has brought such great changes to Longcheng in just a few months, who would dare to underestimate him?"
"It is clearly a waste of my talents for my senior brother to be a seventh-rank county magistrate. In the eyes of some people, he is naturally brilliant and talented."
"Didn't the Su family's sister's attitude towards him also change from disdain to attention, from pride to respect? But I didn't expect that during the days I was away, the Su family's sister would take the initiative to befriend the senior brother."
"It seems that this young lady from the Su family is not just a stubborn and arrogant person. She can also assess the situation and seek out talented people day and night. For this, she can even put aside some of her proud lady's pride. Although the other party is the senior brother, it is still surprising that this young lady from the Su family..."
"It's like I've gotten to know her all over again. Father was right. When judging a person, you have to not only examine their words but also observe their actions."
Looking at the man in front of her, who spoke eloquently and showed obvious favoritism towards those she knew and those she didn't.
Xie Lingjiang lowered her eyes and bit her lip, feeling a little embarrassed about her recent wild thoughts.
Savoring the sweet aftertaste of Tieguanyin tea, a faint dimple appeared on her cheek.
"What is Junior Sister laughing at?" Ouyang Rong asked curiously.
"fine."
Xie Lingjiang shook her head, glanced at him again, and said softly:
"I just have to say, Senior Brother is far too steady and calm. He's so tight-lipped and so clear about the distinction between inside and outside. When I think about how Sister Su always gets humiliated and makes a fool of herself in front of Senior Brother, I feel a little... a little..."
"Some what?"
Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but chuckle, but remained silent.
"Wait, Senior Brother."
Xie Lingjiang suddenly stood up, glanced at the petite figure still folding blankets and making the bed in the inner room, then resumed her elegant and refined demeanor, and politely said:
"Miss Wei Lai, the tea is getting a little cold."
"My lord, Miss Xie, I'll go brew a pot of fresh tea. You two can chat for a while."
Ye Weilai wasn't stupid. She immediately put down the servant she was carrying, stepped out of the room, and closed the door with a creak as she left.
This pot of tea will probably take quite a while to boil.
Only the two senior and junior disciples remained in the room.
The two exchanged a glance.
The atmosphere quieted down slightly.
Just as Ouyang Rong was about to speak, Xie Lingjiang suddenly turned around and went to the bedside in the inner room.
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but ask:
"Junior sister, what are you doing? Sleeping...sleeping?"
Inside the inner room, Xie Lingjiang looked left and right, seemingly quite curious about her senior brother's private residence. Her expression showed great interest, and she casually remarked:
"I accidentally sent your sweet little maid away, which delayed the cleaning of your senior brother's room. Since we have nothing else to do, why don't you try to help your senior brother tidy up?"
She bent down, tidied the bed, and continued what Ye Weilai hadn't finished. With her back to Ouyang Rong and without raising her head, she said:
"Senior brother, you're talking to me. Go on, I can hear you."
Ouyang Rong remained silent.
"Junior Sister, did you make the bed?"
"Not yet, but if we do have them, I've seen the maids have already prepared them."
Ouyang Rong pouted, stepped forward, and snatched the task from the hands of the junior sister who wanted to try everything and had an unexpectedly cute personality.
"Move aside, I'll do it."
"What are you doing, senior brother? Aren't you also a maid who tidies things up? Don't look down on me..." Xie Lingjiang suddenly stopped speaking.
Too lazy to explain, Ouyang Rong quickly and skillfully folded the bedding.
I'm an old-fashioned person, don't ask, just know that I'm a graduate school applicant with the soul of a graduate school applicant.
Then, Ouyang Rong began to tidy the bed sheets, acting with the same efficiency and decisiveness as when handling official business.
Xie Lingjiang stood by the bed, staring blankly at her senior brother's skillful actions, and couldn't help but say:
"With Senior Brother being so powerful, why does he need maids and servants to tidy up? They're so slow."
Ouyang Rong continued moving, thought for a moment, then turned his head and said seriously:
"You have to find something for that little girl to do, otherwise she'll just be sitting around eating and no one will feel comfortable doing that, and she'll easily gain weight."
"..." Xie Lingjiang.
Are you doing charity here?
It seemed she had been mentally processing her senior brother's tactic for quite a while; she tilted her head slightly and sighed:
"So, the senior brother sent his junior sister to investigate unsolved cases to keep her occupied. Actually, the senior brother could solve them faster, but the junior sister is just sitting around doing nothing anyway?"
Ouyang Rong's lips twitched slightly.
"Public matters and private matters are different. Junior sister is not an idle person, so don't overthink it."
After saying that, he lowered his head and straightened the crumpled corner of the bed.
Just as Xie Lingjiang, who was watching from behind for a while, was eager to try and step forward, Ouyang Rong suddenly said:
"The current situation in the Great Zhou is like this bed sheet. It may seem messy, but if you hold onto the four corners and pull it back, it will become neat and clean in an instant."
Xie Lingjiang was taken aback, then frowned and stared at Ouyang Rong's back as he buried himself in tidying up the private couch.
The man's cold voice came:
"You ask me what I think of the current standoff between the Wei family and the pro-Li faction in the imperial court of Luoyang? Who has a better chance of winning?"
"Actually, if my junior sister could find the trick to easily tidy up the bed, she wouldn't ask this question, or at least she wouldn't ask it this way, because this is not a simple matter of the east wind prevailing over the west wind."
Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but ask, "Has the senior brother been found yet? What's the meaning of this question?"
Ouyang Rong ignored him and calmly said:
"Whether I find it or not is not important; what is important is that His Majesty will definitely, must, and eventually find it."
"This is not a question of whether the Wei family or the conservatives win."
"This is the question of how His Majesty will win."
"A big win, a medium win, or a small win?"
Xie Lingjiang was listening attentively when her senior brother suddenly changed the subject and chuckled at her, as if it was something she couldn't understand.
"How did Empress Wei win?"
Xie Lingjiang frowned. Unlike Ouyang Rong, an official of the Great Zhou Dynasty, who addressed her as "Your Majesty," she always addressed the Empress of the Wei Clan directly. She wondered if she had learned it from her father, Xie Xun.
However, this also reflects the spirit of the five clans, including the Xie family of Chenjun.
Dynasties come and go, but powerful families remain.
Since she doesn't choose to serve in the court or pursue power, addressing her as Empress Wei is already quite a show of respect. Otherwise, calling her by her given name, Wei Zhao, wouldn't be entirely unacceptable...
Ouyang Rong did not correct his junior sister's form of address, and pointed to the bed sheet beneath him, saying:
"In His Majesty's eyes, the political situation is like this bed sheet. It seems chaotic at the moment, but it is getting worse and worse, and it is all tangled up and hard to untangle."
"But she, being adept at scheming, would find a clever way, like tidying up a small couch, by gently pulling on the four corners, and there would be a clean and tidy sheet again, allowing him to continue sleeping soundly."
Xie Lingjiang looked at the gradually tidying bed sheets, a thoughtful look in her eyes:
"Does Senior Brother mean that in Empress Wei's mind, whether the position of heir apparent is given to Prince Xiang or to one of Wei's two nephews, it must ultimately be in her best interest before it can be approved?"
She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then her pretty face hardened:
"Senior Brother, isn't that obvious? Both factions are vying for the Empress Wei's trust and trying to please her, all in order to gain her favor in the struggle for the imperial heir."
"Even if both sides knew that Empress Wei was using this to balance the two factions and the court, that it was a royal strategy, a political balancing act, to make everyone in the court follow her lead, there was nothing they could do."
It seems that Xie Lingjiang, who rarely discusses politics, has a mature understanding of the political situation, perhaps even surpassing that of many mid- to low-level officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty, thanks to the influence and family education she received from childhood.
Her beautiful eyebrows were slightly furrowed:
"The problem now is, isn't this Empress Wei afraid that she's playing the game of imperial power right now, sitting on the sidelines and watching the two sides fight, only to see the faction of the Wei clan fight each other more and more fiercely, accumulating grudges and becoming irreconcilable enemies? In the end, after she passes away, whichever side comes to power will exterminate the other side."
"Or is it that Empress Wei doesn't care, whether they are her own flesh and blood or her maternal relatives, if they are slaughtered, so be it, and she doesn't care about the deluge after she dies?"
Ouyang Rong said calmly without turning his head:
"Who said it's nonsense? I'm asking these questions so you can think about them carefully. If you were Empress Wei, what would you do? Some things are just common sense. You can't understand them without putting yourself in her shoes."
Xie Lingjiang frowned and shook her head. "If it were me, I certainly wouldn't do what she's doing now. Escalating factional strife is definitely not a good thing for the country."
Ouyang Rong held the four corners of the bed sheet, straightened it, stepped off the bed, and turned to walk towards the desk, calmly saying:
"That's why I said that my junior sister didn't find the trick to easily straighten the sheets."
"But Senior Brother, even Master Di might not be able to fathom Empress Wei's thoughts; the Empress's mind is unfathomable." Xie Lingjiang pondered for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out.
"Um, Senior Brother, could you please stop using metaphors? Why don't you just say it directly: which side do you think is more likely to win, the Preservation Faction or the Wei Clan? Junior Sister, could you also share your guess and we could exchange opinions?"
"If this is the only issue, is there any need to exchange views?"
Ouyang Rong chuckled and shook his head.
Xie Lingjiang said half-jokingly, "Let's exchange views and see if we're from the same school and think alike. If not, and our opinions differ, please don't arrest me, Senior Brother."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Just don't step on my shoes then."
"..." Xie Lingjiang.
"No more joking around." She shook her head, her expression turning serious, and looked earnestly into Ouyang Rong's eyes.
"Senior Brother, the Wei family can't win. Those two princes will never be able to compete for the throne again!"
"Why?" Ouyang Rong asked.
"Because of... the rebellion in Yingzhou."
Ouyang Rong, sitting at his desk, raised an eyebrow, reached into the books and pulled out a copy of the imperial gazette that he had read several times, then casually tossed it onto the table.
"this?"
The young lady surnamed Xie, who had been receiving frequent letters from her father recently, initially wanted to remain enigmatic, but was taken aback by what she found.
She looked down at the imperial gazette on the table. It was a newspaper-like document sent from the central government of the Great Zhou Dynasty to the local areas, recording battle reports, auspicious omens, and the achievements of Empress Wei.
The current imperial gazette records a major rebellion that occurred in the north over the past two years, also known as the "Yingzhou Rebellion".
This rebellion originated in the Eastern Yi Protectorate. It was a rebellion launched by foreigners who had once submitted to the Great Zhou Dynasty due to their dissatisfaction with the oppression of local officials. They captured and occupied Yingzhou, and within ten days, their army numbered in the tens of thousands, sweeping across several prefectures and growing increasingly larger.
The situation escalated for two years, and the Great Zhou army's efforts to quell the rebellion were fraught with difficulties, ultimately exposing many problems within the border troops.
It wasn't until recently, just before the Yunmengze flooded, that the last imperial report from Jiangzhou reported that the rebels had been suppressed.
Xie Lingjiang's eyes flashed. "Senior Brother is also concerned about the rebellion in Yingzhou?"
Ouyang Rong nodded and pointed at it, saying:
"I just flipped through it, and it's quite interesting." It also looks familiar.
He didn't say that last sentence. He didn't tell his junior sister that he had seen a similar trajectory when he studied history in his past life...
Xie Lingjiang smiled and softly recited:
"The rebellion in Yingzhou was not serious at first. Empress Wei originally wanted to give the Wei family members a chance to gain prestige and build up their reputation, but it backfired. The Wei family members performed extremely poorly. What should have been a chance to make meritorious contributions dragged on the war. In the end, the rebels themselves fell into internal strife and collapsed, and were finally suppressed by the government troops."
"The Great Zhou, which is full of martial virtue, has lost all face, yet it is still proclaiming a great victory in suppressing the rebellion."
Xie Lingjiang sneered, then her eyes brightened and she said clearly:
"Senior Brother, after this incident, Empress Wei can no longer pass the throne to the Wei family. Otherwise, the people will not be satisfied. However, she is also very old and needs a group of pillars of the state, including Master Di, to handle state affairs. Prince Xiang and his family, who have been living in the deep palace for a long time, are also respectful, filial, and cautious in preventing any potential problems..."
Ouyang Rong nodded and continued:
"So, Junior Sister thinks His Highness Prince Xiang will win?"
Xie Lingjiang nodded:
"That's right. The Wei family has actually lost the struggle for the imperial succession. It's just that the fire was too fierce before, and no one dared to put out the fire for a while. The situation is currently turbulent, but His Highness Prince Xiang has stabilized."
Ouyang Rong didn't answer, but suddenly said, "Didn't you say that only two princes are still alive? Where is the other one?"
Xie Lingjiang glanced at him sideways:
"The other prince is the family of Prince Xunyang. They have been banished from the capital and later demoted to commoners, losing their thrones... This family has been away from the capital for more than ten years. The ministers in the court all support Prince Xiang's family in the palace, and the remaining members of the imperial family scattered throughout the country are also led by Prince Xiang."
She suddenly realized: "Senior Brother means there will be unforeseen circumstances? For example, the Wei family might take a dangerous risk, His Highness the Prince of Xiang might get into trouble, and then..."
Ouyang Rong shook his head and chuckled softly:
"In the struggle for the imperial succession, none of the candidates you mentioned can win," he said leisurely. "The Prince of Wei can't win, and neither can His Highness the Prince of Xiang..."
Just then, a girl's panicked voice suddenly came from outside the door.
"Miss Xie! Where are you? My master and mistress are looking for you. They say they have something urgent to discuss! Please come back quickly!"
At the desk, Xie Lingjiang and Ouyang Rong, one standing and one sitting, turned their heads together.
"Young Master Ouyang...you...you're awake?" Cai Shou exclaimed in surprise, but then turned her face anxiously: "Miss Xie, you should go back and check on him quickly."
Xie Lingjiang glanced at Ouyang Rong, who nodded. She hurriedly said goodbye and left with Caishou.
Inside the room, Ouyang Rong sat silently, his eyes lowered as he read the newspaper.
"I'm leaving soon. Should we tell my junior sister about those similar historical events and help her family...?"
Someone hesitated for a moment.
Happy Children's Day! (or Day 4 of abstaining from pornography)
(End of this chapter)
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