Chapter 560 A white jade hairpin adorns the groom, the old lady advises the new [Bonus chapter 4/5, please vote!]
Ouyang Rong didn't have much of an impression of his deceased mother.
As for certain feelings, yes, but not many.
However, just by looking at Zhen Shuyuan's doting and affection for him, one can roughly understand the image of this birth mother, which is even more so.
The original owner of this body used to be a sickly person who was bedridden for many years. After he was able to get out of bed, he only focused on reading and did not have much memory of the things that happened in the countryside of Nanlong.
Inside the dining hall, at the dining table, not only Ouyang Rong stopped eating and listening,
Ye Weilai, Banxi, and the maids who were serving or passing by also quietly stopped and pricked up their ears.
"The Zhao family of Nanlong claims to outsiders that their ancestors were once a noble family during the pre-Qin period, hundreds of years ago, and that their ancestors fled here..."
"They have always considered themselves to be the legitimate descendants of the nobles and officials of the pre-Qin period, and the family genealogy in the ancestral hall is also a long string, tracing back to some famous figures of the pre-Qin period..."
"Regardless of whether it's true or not, the etiquette of the Zhao family in Nanlong is known for its strictness in the local area, especially towards women. They emphasize the three obediences and four virtues and require women to uphold virtues and precepts... This has led to quite a few extreme incidents."
"However, the Zhao family is proud of this, and they reject the open-mindedness of women that has come from the northern capital... In terms of the number of chastity arches, the Zhao family of Nanlong has the most."
Zhen Shuyuan shook her head and continued:
"When a daughter of the Zhao family gets married, she will only marry a scholar, never a farmer's son, nor a merchant's son, and certainly not a soldier's son."
"There are many stubborn old men in the Zhao family who are very nosy and value family traditions and etiquette, or rather, the family's reputation."
Zhen Shuyuan, whose father and brothers were both in the military and who came from a military family, pursed her lips, but since it was her family that respected and loved her older sister, she didn't say it too directly.
After thinking for a moment, she nodded again:
"This also made the Zhao family's daughter very famous in Nanlong. Although she was far less famous than the five famous women of the Great Zhou Dynasty, every family wanted to marry her. Not only in Luling, but also in the neighboring states, people often came to propose marriage."
"Because almost every daughter of the Zhao family is a virtuous wife and loving mother, and even their hands can only be touched by their husbands for their entire lives. I heard that if a man other than a family member touches them before they get married, they will be chopped off..."
"Anyway, she was the kind of person who remained faithful to her husband until death, and she stayed widowed for life. There were never any scandalous rumors about her."
"Tanlang, your mother is an even more exemplary figure. Everyone in the surrounding villages praises her for raising you... You are truly lucky to have such a mother."
Zhen Shuyuan spoke with a sorrowful tone, touching the icy white jade hairpin that Ouyang Rong had taken out, and sighed:
"If you didn't already have Wanwan, your aunt would have contacted the Zhao family of Nanlong to ask if they had any eligible women to marry. That would have saved you a lot of trouble, wouldn't it?"
"But for now, let's forget about it. Besides, what happened when you were a child has strained the relationship between our family and the Zhao family of Nanlong..."
Ouyang Rong asked calmly, "What is it? Is it... the embroiderer?"
Zhen Shuyuan did not answer, but said, "Why is my lord so patient today, listening to me say so much?"
Ouyang Rong clenched his fist, covered his mouth, and coughed.
"It's probably because seeing these things reminds me of her. By the way, what illness did Mother die from?"
Zhen Shuyuan was silent for a moment, then sighed:
"She was already frail and sickly, and taking care of you all those years didn't help her recover. All the Zhao family girls are thin and slender. Well, in your scholarly terms, they are charming and graceful... Only you scholars like this kind of thing."
"But it's not all good for women. Sister Zhao's health isn't as good as mine. After all, I come from a military family, and my father and brothers are all tall and strong. I also learned some family-inherited spear techniques when I was young, as you should know, my love."
"When your father passed away, the family suddenly lost its pillar and collapsed. We relied on the help of the clan. At that time, I hadn't come to help yet. You were still an infant. Sister Zhao supported the whole family by herself. She did all the hard and tiring work, such as carrying water, by herself. Later, she contracted an illness..."
"Later, he was plagued by these diseases and died young. Actually, to put it bluntly, it might be better to be tormented by illness than to suffer from it... well."
When Zhen Shuyuan started talking about the past, she would go on and on, but Ouyang Rong never got tired of it.
"Speaking of which, Sister Zhao has always felt guilty. You were frail and sickly when you were young, and she always felt that it was because of her that you were born that way. However, Tanlang really does take after your mother. He was handsome from a young age and was popular with young ladies. When you were little, all the aunts and uncles in the clan loved to hold you..."
As she spoke, Zhen Shuyuan took the icy white jade hairpin from Ouyang Rong's hand, stood up, and gently brushed away Ye Weilai, who was tying Ouyang Rong's hair before he went out to perform his duties.
The beautiful woman in the silk skirt walked behind Ouyang Rong and carefully inserted the icy white jade hairpin into his hair.
Zhen Shuyuan looked down.
Before him, in the bronze mirror, stood a tall, slender young man with a face like jade, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, dressed in a crown and hairpins.
"What a fine gentleman, unparalleled in the world..."
The beautiful woman in a silk dress, with a mole at the corner of her mouth, placed her hands on Ouyang Rong's shoulders, bent down, rested her chin on his shoulder, gazed at the bronze mirror for a while, her face filled with longing, and murmured to herself:
"He looks just like her. Tanlang is a man with a woman's appearance. He is handsome like his mother and also gentle. But he is better now. You can wear this white jade hairpin."
"Anyway, this hairpin is not gender-specific."
"Besides, it belongs to a Zhao family woman, so it's not convenient to give it away to someone else. Your family's heirloom jade bracelet is still being kept by your aunt. It's meant to be given to your wife later. As for this hairpin, forget about it. You can keep it."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but offer some nagging advice. That's how elders are; they're always willing to talk to a child for a while. Ouyang Rong was already used to it and didn't urge her.
"good."
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly, and after a moment, his voice unconsciously softened:
“Auntie, you must take care of your health. Mother has passed away, and we can’t be without you now.”
“Okay.” Zhen Shuyuan nodded, then smiled and covered her mouth with her handkerchief: “Auntie still needs to take care of Tanlang’s child, so Tanlang needs to hurry.”
Ouyang Rong coughed, rubbed his feet with oil, and, using the excuse of being on duty, quickly went out.
After a cup of tea, the carriage heading towards the main hall of Jiangzhou passed through the bustling city.
Inside the carriage, Ouyang Rong closed his eyes to rest, raised his hand to stroke the ice-white jade hairpin, and murmured something.
The next instant, a resounding bell rang in my ears.
Immediately, everything fell silent, and even the noise of the bustling city outside seemed to vanish without a trace.
"You're quite something. Five thousand it is. It doesn't necessarily mean peach blossoms. Last time with Lady Rong, nothing happened. Since it involves women, could it involve your aunt? We have to be careful..."
He nodded and sighed.
There are only 1,500 merits left, and even the landlord's family has no surplus grain.
At this moment.
"Longling—"
As he nodded, the pendant on his head clinked together, making a soft, pleasant sound.
Ouyang Rong was slightly taken aback...
Before long, they arrived at the Jiangzhou lobby. As soon as they entered the lobby, they bumped into Rongzhen, who had been waiting for them.
The lady of the house asked abruptly:
"Are you familiar with the Prince of Xunyang? He's the Prince of Xunyang."
Without thinking, Ouyang Rong replied, "Not familiar with it."
“Even if you’re not familiar with him, you should still keep an eye on him. Why does he keep going to Princess Anhui’s place? They were holding Wei Shaoqi’s funeral there before, and the princess was grieving. What is he doing here?”
"Couldn't it be to comfort the princess on behalf of Brother Wei? Of course, I'm not familiar with him, just guessing. No, Lady Rong, why are you concerned with this? Are you perhaps very familiar with Princess Anhui?"
Ouyang Rong asked calmly:
"So, this time Princess An Hui was disgusted and complained to you?"
Rongzhen didn't answer, too lazy to reply, and waved her hand, then changed the subject to business.
Ouyang Rong raised an eyebrow. Rong Zhen usually didn't mention his relationship with the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, as if deliberately avoiding it. Rong Zhen had no connection with the Xunyang Prince's family and always avoided the conflict between Li Wei and the Wei.
The two chatted for a while about the Xunyang Grottoes and learned that Ouyang Rong had made all the preparations for the convoy transporting the Buddha head at the West Gate, and was just waiting for Granny Song to agree to dismantle Lin Cheng's mourning hall.
Rongzhen nodded, took her leave, and departed.
But before leaving, she glanced at the icy white jade hairpin in Ouyang Rong's hair and calmly asked:
"Which young lady gave it to you this time?"
"Ahem, my mother's belongings."
"It looks good and sounds good too."
Rongzhen stood still, looking at his hairpin as he spoke.
Ouyang Rong smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment."
Rong Zhen remained motionless, staring at the icy white jade hairpin for a while. Ouyang Rong maintained his smile, and after a while, accompanied by a tinkling sound, tilted his head and asked, "Um, does Lady Rong have anything else to do? Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Rongzhen turned around instantly and strode out the door.
Ouyang Rong: ...
With a stern face and sleeves tucked in, Rong Zhen left the Jiangzhou main hall and arrived at the Xingzi Lake construction site.
She entered a dimly lit funeral hall with only a single lamp.
Inside the mourning hall, there was a memorial tablet for Lin Cheng, and an old woman with disdainful eyes was offering incense.
Rongzhen stepped forward, took three incense sticks and lit them. She stood side by side with the old woman who had a calm and expressionless expression, and while she was inserting incense, she spoke softly.
He first explained Ouyang Lianghan's arrangements, then suggested that they set off today to escort the Buddha head to the Xunyang Grottoes... He kept referring to Ouyang Lianghan.
Granny Song listened silently, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
As Rongzhen turned around, the elderly female historian suddenly said:
"The first time I met Lin Lang was when he went to the capital to take the imperial examination. It was raining at the time, and his group of candidates were going to the palace examination. His Majesty asked us to pick them up and bring them into the palace together... I was a lady-in-waiting at the time, and many people in the palace were afraid of me, as were my subordinates, but... he wasn't afraid. He came over and held an umbrella for me..."
The old woman with the white eyes remained calm as she continued to ramble on.
Rongzhen, who had stopped at the door, listened and asked:
"Then what?"
"And then... there was no then. Oh, there was a then. His child came to the capital... Many unfaithful men are scholars, but it could only be him... There are some things that I don't want you younger generations to go through again."
Granny Song turned to look at the memorial tablet and said softly, "Take it down. You've already been very kind of you to tolerate my dawdling for so long..."
She suddenly said, "That sachet on your waist is quite pretty."
Rong Zhen paused slightly.
Granny Song turned around, rolled her eyes at her, and said:
"I'm not teaching you how to do it, but since your master, the Grand Master of Fate, is not here, I'm speaking on her behalf to prevent you from getting too involved. But don't worry, I won't gossip about your affairs..."
Rong Zhen suddenly lifted her foot and continued forward, interrupting her coldly:
"If you like it, I'll give you one for the Cold Clothes Festival later."
Granny Song paused, watching the cold, palace-dressed girl's back turn as she walked away, and sighed.
She walked to the altar, picked up a solitary lamp, turned and left, leaving only a soliloquy echoing in the empty mourning hall:
"He's even more stubborn than I am."
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(End of this chapter)
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