Chapter 371 A Young Girl's Competitive Spirit
The night was cool and still.
Yinbingzhai.
At a small desk, Ouyang Rong calmly bent down and picked up Ye Weilai, whose silver hair was like a waterfall and whose head was tilted in sleep, in a princess carry.
Carry back to the bed in the inner room.
Tired from returning home late at night, Ouyang Rong turned his head and glanced at the small desk that had been newly moved into the outer room. The desk was piled with documents, official papers, abacuses and other items.
In the past two days, after Wang Lengran compromised, he returned to the main hall of Jiangzhou and immediately began to busy himself with the defense of Xunyang City, inspecting various places and returning home late every day.
In the past two days, the situation on the front lines has become increasingly dangerous, and Ouyang Rong is on high alert, neglecting the situation at Yinbingzhai.
When I returned home tonight, I saw Ye Weilai studying late into the night, her figure dozing off at the table.
The small desk in the outer room was also moved into the bedroom.
In the past, if Ouyang Rong had sent Ye Weilai to study, it would have been like sending her to prison.
The little white-haired girl would find ways to slack off, and after completing her assigned study tasks, she would never turn a single extra page of the book.
But ever since that morning, when Ouyang Rong went to the west gate to bring Zhen Shuyuan and Ye Weilai back,
The little girl seemed like a completely different person. For several days in a row, Ouyang Rong would see her dozing off at the table every time he returned home late at night.
He carried her to the bed, covered Ye Weilai with a blanket, and glanced at her deep, peaceful sleeping face.
On the desk, the lamp flame flickered, making the two overlapping figures beside the bed sway dazzlingly.
Ouyang Rong tucked the blanket around the sleeping Ye Weilai and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, a small hand tightly gripped Ouyang Rong's arm that was supporting him on the bed.
He turned his head and saw that Ye Weilai had opened her eyes at some point. He didn't know if she was still half asleep, but her small face was eerily calm. Only her blue eyes were staring at him slightly, but her pupils were somewhat unfocused.
Ouyang Rong looked down and glanced at the girl's right hand, which was tightly gripping his arm; her knuckles were clenched so tightly they had turned bloodless.
Her small frame was taut.
He turned his gaze again, and Ye Weilai's left hand emerged from under the covers, grabbing something under the pillow as if in response. The object, with a corner showing, was a bronze-colored sword hilt.
Ouyang Rong caught a glimpse of it.
"Tan... Tan Lang." Ye Weilai's blue eyes regained some focus, and she murmured in her sleep.
She glanced at the familiar bedside table, let out a long breath, put the short sword back in its place, quickly released her grip on Ouyang Rong's arm, and lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed.
"My love is back... Just now... Did I doze off again?" The girl's voice was soft and sweet, as if she were half-asleep.
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "It's okay, just sleep if you're tired, you can study during the day... Did you have a nightmare just now?"
Ye Weilai nodded, then shook her head.
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, then said:
"My aunt later said that you were very brave that day, and you were the first to stand in front of her. You were even more capable than she thought, which surprised her."
"However, Rong Zhen is, after all, a legitimate Qi cultivator from the palace, and his rank may be even higher than that of Junior Sister. It's normal that you can't beat him. It's not that you're useless. There's no need to feel ashamed. Don't feel guilty."
"Oh." Ye Weilai lowered her head and buried her face.
Seeing this, Ouyang Rong closed his mouth, which was about to speak, and looked gently at the little white head peeking out from under the covers. He rubbed it and said nothing more.
Ye Weilai waited for a while, but he didn't speak. She couldn't help but look up and meet his calm, still gaze.
"Doesn't my lord have any questions for me?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head.
Ye Weilai's still sleepy face looked a little dazed.
He added:
"If you have anything to say, I'm willing to listen. You can say it anytime."
Ye Weilai was moved.
After a pause, the girl blushed and turned her blue eyes away, avoiding the young man's gaze, as he looked away from her.
The atmosphere around the bed was quiet for a while.
Ye Weilai suddenly spoke:
"She seems to be younger than Sister Xie, but the same age as Nu'er."
"ah."
Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment, and immediately glanced at the silver-haired girl's small chest as she held the quilt.
This is even a comparison?
"Um."
The gentleman who had initially appeared unmoved in the carriage nodded subconsciously.
Then, noticing Ye Weilai's wrinkled nose, he immediately realized she was referring to age. Without batting an eye, he looked away and shook his head, explaining:
"They just look the same size. My junior sister told me that Yin Yang practitioners can preserve their youth to a certain extent once they reach a certain level."
Ye Weilai couldn't help but say, "Even if she's older than me, it means that when she was the same age as Nu'er, her spiritual cultivation was already very high."
"Well, I guess so. But she's a palace maid, not an ordinary one. She was carefully selected and trained by the Empress and the Imperial Observatory. The resources she receives are no less than those for my junior sister. Don't judge her by ordinary standards."
"But she was also a servant."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Yes, I am a servant, the servant of the ruler of the world."
Ye Weilai raised her voice a little: "Nu'er is also Tanlang's. Tanlang is no worse than anyone else."
Ouyang Rong gave her a chestnut and nodded expressionlessly.
"Okay, thank you. But if word gets out that you said that, your husband won't have enough heads to chop off."
"That's how it is," Ye Weilai argued softly.
The person who deserved to be beheaded fell silent, raising his hand to quietly rub the little white-haired head.
"Is Tanlang asleep?" she asked, biting her lip.
"I still have official business to finish. You should go to sleep first. I'm going to take a shower."
"I'll fetch you some water."
"No need, I can do it myself. You can rest."
Ye Weilai nodded obediently.
"Oh, okay."
She suddenly propped herself up, flicked her fingers to loosen the ribbon around her waist, and slowly slipped off her thin ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), tilting her head to the side:
"It's uncomfortable to sleep in clothes. Tanlang only knows how to cover himself with a blanket. Hmm, remember to help me take them off next time."
Ouyang Rong sighed helplessly, "You've become a little tyrant."
"Has Tanlang ever seen such a little darling before...?"
Ye Weilai spoke softly, her slender fingers moving nimbly up the back of her neck, untying the knots of her light green mandarin duck bodice, removing it piece by piece, and handing it to Ouyang Rong. Her skin was as delicate as milk, dazzlingly white, and the girl suddenly smiled.
"It's all because of me, but that cold-faced old woman Rongzhen is not as happy as me. She has a lover who dotes on her, while she can only serve a capricious old woman all day long. No wonder she has a stern face and is cold. Staying in the deep palace, she has no one close to her. She knows her own joys and sorrows. Hmph, in this respect, I win."
Ouyang Rong slightly opened his eyes, speechless.
You think you can win with that?
But what they said does make some sense. No wonder Rong Zhen has such a reserved and uninteresting demeanor.
Ye Weilai lazily stuffed the dress and undergarments into Ouyang Rong's hands. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, snuggled happily into the warm blankets, her blue eyes slightly narrowed, and let out a soft, comfortable moan.
Ouyang Rongcai was not swayed by the little girl's attempts to entice him into bed.
A short while later, after coaxing Ye Weilai to sleep, Ouyang Rong stood up. Before leaving, he bent down to pick up the short sword beside her pillow, weighed it in his hand, and then put it back.
He turned and left the inner room, tossing his crumpled ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), bodice, and underpants into his clothes basket. As he passed a small desk, he rubbed his face.
"Is this girl really that competitive..."
Back in the study.
A dark room with only one lamp.
Ouyang Rong sat alone, without taking a bath.
The night outside the window was fading.
He enjoys the feeling of being alone in silence.
A moment later, Ouyang Rong stood up, went to the hidden compartment, and retrieved some items:
A sword case disguised as a zither case, a bronze mask, and a pill box.
There was also a token engraved with the character "Wei," and a luminous pearl that hadn't been taken out for a long time...
Ouyang Rong placed these items on the table, then leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and entered the Pagoda of Merit.
Inside the Pagoda of Merit, Ouyang Rong's gaze swept over the cyan-gold characters above the small wooden fish.
[Merit: 1,352]
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly and glanced at the Blessing Bell.
It is now almost certain that the blood-red blessing of seven thousand merits helped him escape the Golden Knife Plot that night.
In fact, that night, after learning that the crabapple blossoms were still displayed on the wall of Qin Heng's house, Ouyang Rong had a vague realization, and then he remembered Hu Fu's two consecutive pieces of advice.
Tell him and the Prince of Xunyang not to leave the city.
In retrospect, Hu Fu must have known that Xunyang City was heavily guarded, with at least one female official in colorful robes monitoring the city, both overtly and covertly. He also knew the Emperor's general personality and attitude towards the Prince of Xunyang. That's why he advised them to stay safely in Xunyang City and not to go out.
However, Hu Fu was too passive because of Cai Qinjun's matter, so he hurriedly returned and did not have time to talk much with Ouyang Rong before going back to report on his duties.
"Saving the Xunyang Prince's Mansion has increased my merit points. Also, the people I recently took in from the southwest are quite grateful to me, which is another merit point. So, it's 1,400 now. I'll save up some more."
Ouyang Rong shook his head again:
"The blood-red blessing indeed foreshadows danger. I should exchange for it whenever possible in the future and not take it lightly."
He summarized and identified gaps in his knowledge.
Immediately, he touched the sword box on the table with his palm.
"Currently, I am still at the ninth rank, and I have been unable to break through the bottleneck. I cannot find an opportunity for the promotion ceremony... It is too difficult for a ninth-rank swordsman to kill a sixth-rank being. The conditions are too harsh. Qiu Shenji almost perished together with him that time."
"Saying that the little girl is competitive, Ouyang Lianghan, you are just as competitive. If you had been at the eighth rank when the carriage met Rongzhen, and had been carrying a sword box, this hasty encounter would not have been so passive."
“An eighth-rank swordsman, without the aid of purple mist or pills, can successfully set up a sword and threaten the life of a sixth-rank Qi cultivator. He can break through her true Qi defense. Heh, just wait... eighth rank... By then, let's see what she's still so arrogant about, and whether she dares to put on a sour face.”
Ouyang Rong muttered to himself, feeling a sense of urgency and impending danger.
Moreover, Xunyang City is not safe at the moment, even though he is in charge of the specific defenses.
But only Ouyang Rong knew how immense the oppression was.
In the unlikely event that Xunyang City were to fall, we couldn't just sit and wait to die. If we had Qi Refining cultivation, we could escort my aunt and Wei Lai to safety...
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.
The next day.
Ouyang Rong went to Xunyang Ferry early in the morning.
Xunyang Ferry is currently bustling with activity, with a steady stream of officials fleeing north to the southwest.
From Guizhou to Jiangzhou, many local officials along the way either surrendered, were killed, or fled north.
Most of them were third parties, and many of these officials who fled north temporarily stopped in Xunyang City.
This also provided Jiangzhou Hall with a steady stream of specific news from the southwest.
The situation was not optimistic. Ouyang Rong began to lead his team to strictly inspect the ferry crossings and city gates, and the whole city was on high alert, especially unfamiliar figures such as merchants and monks from other places. These people were highly mobile and might be spies of the rebels.
The task of defending the city now falls to Ouyang Rong, while Wang Lengran turns his attention to organizing the establishment of the rebel vanguard.
After a busy morning, around noon, Ouyang Rong, as planned, invited Chen Canjun to have tea at Yunshui Pavilion.
Chen Canjun repeatedly emphasized that he had only slightly increased the distance because he was forced to do so previously.
However, what Ouyang Rong cared about was not that, but the matter of being on duty on the city wall that night.
Ouyang Rong personally poured Chen You a cup of tea. At this moment, Li Fusu walked out from behind the curtain and sat down at the table.
"Young Master, this is the Military Advisor Chen I often tell you about. He has always admired you and the Prince and hopes to have an audience with you," Ouyang Rong said with a smile.
Chen You was taken aback.
Li Dalang kept his eyes straight ahead, though nervous, he was mentally analyzing Ouyang Rong's past methods of winning over scholars, and imitated them, greeting them in a relaxed tone:
"Where are you from, Brother Chen?"
“Jiang…a local from Jiangzhou,” Chen Canjun stammered excitedly.
After a brief conversation, he was flattered and gave Ouyang Rong a grateful look.
After the meal, Chen You was seen off.
Li Fusu and Yan Liulang turned their gazes toward them.
Ouyang Rong nodded: "A person who knows how to be grateful can't be too bad, no matter how bad he is. This person is acceptable."
Li and Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, they didn't know how Ouyang Rong judged people; it was a skill in itself. But the two of them trusted Ouyang Rong unconditionally.
In the afternoon, Ouyang Rong had just returned to Xunyang Ferry when he received the news. He went to a certain dock and saw several familiar figures among the crowd of people fleeing north as they disembarked.
"Magistrate Diao? Master Shandao?"
Magistrate Diao looked embarrassed, while Master Shandao and Xiufa beside him both looked dejected.
They brought news.
Longcheng County had also fallen into Cai Qinjun's hands, and in truth, there was little resistance.
Ouyang Rong showed no surprise. He hadn't expected Longcheng County to hold out anyway, since only a small minority were truly loyal to the Great Zhou; most were simply laborers or members of powerful clans.
You say, why work so hard? With a different ruler, you can become an official too. Of course, there are people who work hard, but the Great Zhou has only been established for ten years. It certainly hasn't been as long as Da Gan has been cultivating scholars.
To some extent, the Great Zhou Dynasty was established by the high-pressure military force and iron-fisted rule of the Empress Wei.
That night, Ouyang Rong hosted a banquet for them at his residence in Huaiye Lane.
A group of old friends from Longcheng reunited, their faces filled with emotion.
They had planned a party before, but they never expected it to turn out like this.
Ouyang Rong's expression remained calm:
"Due to recent military preparations in the city, food supplies have been controlled and are in short supply. We only have some simple meals available, so please forgive us."
"It's alright, it's alright."
Magistrate Diao, the eminent monk Shandao who protected the country, and Xiufa, who were already starving, all buried their heads in their food.
During this time, Ouyang Rong inquired about matters concerning Longcheng County.
“Longcheng is close to Yunmengze, which is somewhat off the route from Hongzhou to Xunyang City. If Cai Qin’s army goes to Longcheng, wouldn’t that be a detour?”
"I don't know either. Perhaps it's necessary to control the Zheyi Canal, a key waterway?"
"But we still took a detour; right now, speed is of the essence."
Ouyang Rong frowned slightly, then asked for more details. Magistrate Diao blushed and confessed that the Longcheng County government had not put up much resistance, which could be considered a partial surrender.
Magistrate Diao had expected Chief Clerk Ouyang to reprimand him, but to his surprise, Ouyang's expression remained calm, and he even seemed relieved.
"It's good that there aren't too many casualties. The main battle will be decided on the main battlefield. The real show is in Xunyang City."
Ouyang Rong nodded.
After all, it was a civil war. Compared to foreign wars, civil wars saw more people surrendering and waiting to see what happened, and not many were willing to fight to the death.
Ouyang Rong nodded and said:
"They also need to win over the hearts of the people. The real show is to eliminate the enemy's main force. Slaughtering civilians will only affect their legitimacy. After all, they are raising the banner of restoring Da Gan. In terms of dealing with the people, Da Gan can't be inferior to Da Zhou, can it?"
"But wasn't there a saying before? That our Empress and the two kings of the Wei clan are good at internal wars but bad at external wars?"
Ouyang Rong laughed.
No one dared to respond; they buried their heads in their food, pretending not to have heard...
(End of this chapter)
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