Chapter 14: 14. Xie Family Girl Comes of Age

14. Xie Family Girl Comes of Age

"Thin but big" truly exists in reality.

This wasn't Ouyang Rong's imagination. It was proven by Xiao Shimei.

Whether the top-tier powerful clan of the Chen Jun Xie family in Jiangyou all had descendants like orchids and were romantic throughout the Southern Dynasties, Ouyang Rong wasn't sure. The only thing he could be sure of was that the food in the Xie family of Wu Yi Lane was exceptionally good.

If you said commoners couldn't produce noble sons, Ouyang Rong might still smile and debate the theory of bloodline origin. But if you said commoners couldn't produce a young lady like Xiao Shimei, then he would agree one hundred percent, without any doubt.

Because how could the nutrition of a commoner's family keep up with Xiao Shimei's growth rate?

Ouyang Rong admitted that just now, when Xie Lingjiang suddenly turned around to welcome the teacher and the others, he was dazzled.

Banxi, who had been close to him the day before, couldn't compare to this at all. This was a high-end game that had truly reached intensity... And if he remembered correctly, Xiao Shimei was only sixteen or seventeen years old.

"Why is Tanlang so slow? Did you keep Xiao Shimei waiting for a long time?"

The Zhen family smiled. She scolded Ouyang Rong as soon as she entered the door, but the latter knew that his aunt's eyes must have been secretly glancing at the Xie family young lady. Needless to say, she must have been extremely satisfied in her heart.

Xie Xun said to Ouyang Rong: "The boat arrived at Peng Lang Ferry this morning. Your aunt picked us up on the mountain. We had to pay homage to Buddha as soon as we entered the temple. Originally, we were going to wait for you, Lianghan, but your aunt said there was no need, and it was indeed inconvenient to delay further. So I let Wanwan stay behind to wait for you, and went to the Sutra Chanting Hall to burn nine sticks of incense. You should know each other, right?"

"Know each other" was an understatement; they were almost about to "fight" into one piece. Someone whose waist still hurt thought to himself.

Xie Lingjiang seemed to want to apologize: "Father, daughter just now mistakenly..."

Ouyang Rong answered preemptively: "We know each other. Just now I saw Xiao Shimei Lingjiang... I was quite surprised. These two years, I often saw the teacher mention her in letters. Seeing her today, it is indeed true. Xiao Shimei is indeed a talented woman like willow catkins, and she is also eager to learn. Just now, she even came to discuss Buddhist scriptures with the student."

Xie Lingjiang glanced at this "Ru Shixiong," who was answering her father's questions without blinking.

"That's good. When Wanwan was studying at Bai Bai Lu Dong, you had just set off for Luoxia to take the exams. Later, you became a Metropolitan Graduate, then had the mourning period for your mother, then took up your post... It's been a long time. Wanwan heard quite a few deeds about you, Ru Shixiong, at the academy. Later, one day, she even told me that before the age of twenty, she had three wishes: first, to read all the books in the family collection; second, to see the true Lianghan."

"I don't deserve it." Ouyang Rong smiled. Empty fame seemed to still be a little useful. What use? To fool young, literary little girls.

"Father..." Xie Lingjiang called out with her head lowered, seemingly a bit thin-skinned.

Ouyang Rong actually wanted to hear the third wish of the "fierce" Xiao Shimei, but Xie Xun smiled and stroked his beard, no longer speaking.

"So there is such a beautiful story. Is the young lady admiring Ru Shixiong's deeds?" The Zhen family, who was listening on the side, had her eyes brighten. She immediately went over to hold Xie Lingjiang's hand for a warm greeting, not forgetting to turn back to complain about someone on behalf of others: "Sigh, Tanlang, you say you, you don't know how to write more letters to Xiao Shimei on weekdays, writing to those unimportant people every day. You've neglected your own people."

"..." Ouyang Rong.

He was now very afraid that his aunt would let something slip and say those words like "our own people" and "our own daughter-in-law" that were in her heart...

After Xie Xun and the others paid homage to Buddha, they were going to visit a Buddhist pagoda in the pagoda forest behind the mountain. The abbot of East Forest Temple personally received and guided them. However, Venerable Shan Dao hadn't come yet, so the group rested for a while at Sanhui Courtyard.

The Zhen family continued to pull Xie Lingjiang aside for small talk, asking about her studies, private matters, whether she had a sweetheart, and so on.

However, this talented Xie family woman from the Wu Yi Lane lineage seemed a bit resistant to being held by the woman and chattered on and on. But she still answered one by one, maintaining politeness and composure, occasionally glancing at her father and Ru Shixiong who were reminiscing at the stone table.

On the other side, Ouyang Rong didn't know what Xie Lingjiang was thinking. He was slightly nervous.

Ouyang Rong was actually a bit afraid of this mentor, and this "fear" was more caused by guilt.

Xie Xun came from the Jin Ling branch of the Chen Jun Xie family. The Chen Jun Xie family was one of the five surnames and seven clans of the Great Zhou, and together with the Langya Wang family, they were called "Wang Xie," a truly powerful clan of the Six Dynasties.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, after the gentry moved south, the predecessors of Wang and Xie governed the world together with the Southern imperial family, holding power over the court and being extremely noble, so much so that even the emperors defaulted to only marrying Wang and Xie women. Later, the Northern Dynasty lineage won, the world was unified, and the Gan Dynasty was established one after another. The North rose and the South fell, and Wang and Xie declined, barely remaining at the end of the five surnames and seven clans. In recent years, it was heard that many of the direct branches of Wang and Xie had successively moved back to Guanzhong, closer to the power center of the empire.

But in the Jiang Nan Circuit, the Chen Jun Xie family was still one of the highest powerful clans of the Jiangzuo gentry that people admired.

The Chen Jun Xie family was a family inclined toward Confucianism and metaphysics. Xie Xun was famous for his Confucian studies and had once served as the Libationer of the Imperial Academy. He was a "great scholar" with a high reputation in the scholarly circles. It was only later that Wei Zhao proclaimed herself Empress, changed Gan to Zhou, and Xie Xun resigned and left, not serving as a Zhou official, and returned to Bai Bai Lu Dong Academy to teach. It was heard that the Wei family descendants had personally visited to confer official positions and make promises, but were all politely declined.

However, Xie Xun didn't hinder his disciples from entering the court as officials. When Ouyang Rong first entered Chang'an, everything went smoothly because he was Xie Xun's disciple. This protective umbrella—Ouyang Rong even suspected that the Empress conferring him an official position also had the intention of "paying a thousand gold to buy a horse's bones."

In addition, Ouyang Rong vaguely knew that this mentor actually hadn't seen through the red dust and returned to seclusion with peace of mind. The plaque in his study was inscribed with the two characters "Drinking Ice," which seemed to show that his blood was still hot and hard to dissipate.

As for which side he stood on in the struggle between the Li family and the Wei family, it was naturally self-evident.

But Ouyang Rong had previously remonstrated to death, which had deeply offended Princess Changle, who belonged to the Li-supporting faction. Later, it seemed it was also his mentor Xie Xun's private favor that entrusted a Luoyang noble to save the life of this "high disciple," only sending him to this Longcheng County, which was plagued by severe floods.

So right now, how could he not be "afraid" of his mentor's accountability?

"Teacher came over, why didn't you write a letter to notify me?"

"Didn't your aunt tell you?"

"No... um, maybe she mentioned it. I was lying in bed recuperating from illness at that time, and my brain was often dizzy, so I misheard."

"Is your injury still a hindrance?"

"It's fine."

"Good."

"Once you're better, go down the mountain immediately to perform your duties. Don't delay."

"Yes."

The master and disciple were silent for a while, but this was also the way they got along in his memory.

Xie Xun belonged to the kind of scholar who was usually quite easy to talk to, but once it involved official business, he seemed like a different person, with a stern and resonant voice. And Ouyang Rong's previous temperament was also sensitive in action and slow in speech.

Even when expressing concern between master and disciple, it was like the one-question-one-answer just now, concise and to the point. If he said it was fine, then it was fine. He wouldn't care how heavy the injury was before; it was already in the past, and he only looked at the present. Unlike the pity of a woman like the Zhen family.

Xie Xun was silent for a while.

"Your mistress believed in Buddhism before she died. I built a stone-carved Buddhist pagoda for her at East Forest Temple. Every year at this time during the plum rain season, I come over to pay homage for her. This year is no exception, and I brought Wanwan along.

"Originally, I wasn't going to notify you. You just took office in Longcheng, and you must be busy.

"But when changing transport between water and land in Jiangzhou, I met your aunt. We knew each other when they went to the academy to visit you before. She was in a hurry to catch the water route and passed by in a rush, but she informed me of your drowning and injury... So I brought Wanwan today, hoping it didn't delay your official business. However, I'm leaving tomorrow, so it doesn't matter."

Ouyang Rong was silent.

The teacher and student were speechless for a moment, sitting together on the stone bench. Above their heads were light gray clouds, and the bamboo forest behind them was occasionally shaken violently by the mountain wind. For a time, their ears were full of the rustling noise of bamboo leaves, but it couldn't shake away the silence between them.

Until the bamboo forest rested and the dark clouds stopped, Ouyang Rong turned his head: "Teacher, the matter in Luoyang..."

"The abbot should be finished. Let's go. We'll wait for him at the pagoda forest behind the mountain." Xie Xun shook his robe hem, as if he hadn't heard, smiled and stood up to greet Xie Lingjiang and the Zhen family.

Ouyang Rong looked at his teacher's back and swallowed his words.

The group headed to the pagoda forest. On the way, they happened to meet Venerable Shan Dao, who was stopping to interpret dreams for a female pilgrim. After waiting for a moment, the Venerable finished his business and led the group to the stone-carved Buddhist pagoda that Xie Xun had donated and built behind the mountain.

This pagoda was nine stories high, surrounded by green bamboo on all four sides.

During the homage, Xie Xun looked up at the pointed top of the pagoda for a while, and Ouyang Rong accompanied him from behind.

"I always laughed at her for being superstitious. Later I realized that people sometimes really need to build such a 'pagoda.' Anything can be deposited in this pagoda. Even if separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, knowing it's there brings peace of mind."

"Teacher, please accept my condolences."

Coming to the side of this Buddhist pagoda, Xie Xun seemed to have more to say, and Ouyang Rong chose to be a quiet listener.

Smoke curled at the foot of the pagoda.

In the interval of a certain Buddhist ceremony, amidst the curling blue smoke, Xie Xun suddenly turned his head to him and said: "Actually, you did nothing wrong... Lianghan, having a disciple like you, the teacher is very happy."

Ouyang Rong was dumbfounded.

After the ceremony, the group turned and left the stone forest one after another. Xie Xun's party would stay in the temple for one night and leave after breakfast tomorrow.

On the way back, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Zhen family and Xie Xun walked at the very front chatting, leaving Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang behind.

The master and disciple walked side by side, but the distance between their arms was a bit far.

But Ouyang Rong felt it was normal, because he didn't know if Xiao Shimei was shy and had secretly bound her chest too flat, or if her arms were too slender. If they accidentally touched while walking too close, he really didn't know whether he would touch her chest first or her arm...

"Why did Lianghan brother lie just now?"

"Don't be rude, call me Ru Shixiong."

Xie Lingjiang's smoke-like eyebrows slightly knit, looking ahead, "I won't. There isn't much difference in age anyway. Let's discuss the Dao as equals; it's better to call each other 'brother'."

Ouyang Rong discovered that Xiao Shimei had some habitual small pouting. This action, which was a bit cute on a woman, appeared... even cuter because of her serious expression of staring straight ahead.

"Does Lianghan brother think a small lie is of no consequence?"

"I don't know. But Xiao Shimei is always right."

"Is Lianghan brother accommodating me because I'm young?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Because Xiao Shimei is the biggest."

"Doesn't it mean the same thing?"

"It doesn't mean the same thing."

"It means the same thing!"

"Then let it mean the same thing."

"..."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly felt that it wasn't unreasonable for Ru Shixiong to be kicked once. ===== CHAPTER 15 =====