Chapter 141

One Hundred Forty-Eight: Not allowed to cry

Inside the bumpy carriage, Ouyang Rong's skirt-knife was placed horizontally on his knees.

A look of concentration, listening intently, appeared on his face.

Inside the carriage, besides the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground outside and the shouts of the carriage knights.

Only Xie Lingjiang's clear, pleasant voice remained as she poured out her heart in detail.

Xie Lingjiang did not hide anything from Ouyang Rong.

Except for the matter of her sudden confession and revealing her true intentions in the main hall of Donglin Temple in the morning, which scared someone away, both of them tacitly did not ask or mention it, as if it had never happened.

Other things.

The two gradually returned to the tone and atmosphere of their normal interaction as senior brother and junior sister before.

It seemed that the side face of the man, who was incredibly focused and attentive, which was familiar to her, seemed to be an encouragement to her.

Xie Lingjiang continued to narrate and review today's events in the tone of a junior sister.

Even the mysteries of the skirt-knife were revealed, without burying them in her heart.

As Ouyang Rong listened, his somewhat rough palms couldn't help but quietly move down from the smooth, white jade knife handle, and his hands were retracted.

Regarding this, the Xie family noblewoman, whose vermilion lips were slightly parted as she was speaking, looked straight ahead, as if she hadn't seen it.

And I don't know how long it had been.

Inside the carriage, the woman's clear voice slowly subsided.

Only the silence of the two looking at each other remained, under the illumination of a few scattered lights that occasionally slipped in from outside the carriage window, along with their respective faces that were flickering in the light and shadow.

"Looking at it this way, Xiao Shimei was wronged today."

A look of guilt appeared on Ouyang Rong's face: "If I hadn't left at that time, there wouldn't have been the things that followed..."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly shook her head and interrupted:

"It was Ru Shixiong who was wronged, I... I'm sorry, Ru Shixiong."

"Why is that? Besides, if you hadn't made a move at the last moment this afternoon to stop that imposter, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Ouyang Rong shook his head with a serious expression, then turned to a bitter smile: "Xiao Shimei's performance this afternoon... I don't have time to praise you enough, how can there be any talk of being sorry."

Xie Lingjiang bit her lower lip, her eyes silently watching the man in front of her who was safe and sound and comforting her.

After hearing Ru Shixiong's laughter, she slowly shook her head, and after a long time, she spoke with trembling lips.

It's just a pity that the light was dim, someone didn't have spiritual energy cultivation, couldn't see clearly at night, and couldn't see the rich expressions and true feelings that appeared on her face in this instant:

"Xiao Shimei is still stupid. I was only suspicious before. It wasn't until I was at the Peng Lang Ferry wharf, watching the imposter's boat leave, that I sensed the movement of your skirt-knife over there, and only then did I suddenly wake up. Only then did I know that the person on the boat wasn't you. The moment I was completely sure, my whole person was... was..."

The girl in the carriage opened her mouth, then closed it tightly, her lips a bit pale.

At that moment, after suddenly waking up, in an instant, that feeling of breath being choked, as if being strangled by someone, unable to breathe, clearly standing in the bright sunshine of the day but only feeling darkness before her eyes, the feeling of the whole world collapsing...

Combined with the emotions of disbelief, regret, and even fear surging into her head... even though she later confirmed that Ru Shixiong was fine and still alive, and the skirt-knife still had feedback, her heart still felt as if it were being cut by a dull knife.

Xie Lingjiang never wanted to have this experience a second time in her life.

Even though more than half a day had passed, until this moment, the lingering fear still remained on her face.

"What happened to your whole person?"

Seeing Xiao Shimei suddenly silent, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but ask, then shook his head:

"This can't be blamed on Xiao Shimei either. No one would have thought that the Liu family would play such an off-the-board trick. Who gave them the guts?"

He knit his brows, his eyes fixed on the skirt-knife on his knees.

"Nothing." Xie Lingjiang tried her best to endure, not going into detail about the collapse of her mind at that time, and squeezed out some smiles on her face toward Ouyang Rong, who was lost in thought. Her lips continued to whisper:

"I was just a bit worried about Ru Shixiong... However, I sensed Ru Shixiong using the skirt-knife to kill, at least two people died under the skirt-knife.

"Immediately after, I sensed Ru Shixiong running with the skirt-knife, running toward the Peng Lang Ferry where I was at the time, the distance getting closer and closer, footsteps hurried...

"The hand Ru Shixiong was gripping the knife handle with had great strength, and seemed very hurried... It's just that the orientation changed later, and it seemed to have gone to the Di Gong Sluice upstream.

"I then guessed... and even became somewhat sure, that Ru Shixiong must have already seen through the conspiracy, but was too far behind to catch up with us, so he had to go directly to the Di Gong Sluice to stop the imposter."

Speaking of this, Xie Lingjiang took a deep breath. The night wind from the open carriage window entered her throat, feeling a bit icy, making her feel as if she were drinking ice in the summer at this moment.

Ouyang Rong looked at her with bright eyes, and after hearing this, couldn't help but praise:

"Xiao Shimei is intelligent, hmm, and still trusts Ru Shixiong me quite a bit... So at the wharf, you let Liulang take people back to Mount Dagu to find me, and you decisively turned around to chase the boat, playing along to guard beside the imposter, wanting to see the person behind the scenes, spending so much effort, what kind of conspiracy was set up at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then wipe them out in one fell swoop, is that it?"

Facing Ru Shixiong's questioning, Xie Lingjiang did not nod, nor did she shake her head. She stared at the man's face in front of her and asked:

"Ru Shixiong doesn't blame Xiao Shimei? Clearly, you could still be in danger, and maybe you would be hunted down later, but I didn't go to find you the first time, and was absent from your side..."

She paused, then silently lowered her eyes to look at the skirt-knife, and added with a flash of inspiration:

"This kind of... feeling of not being valued by the other party, Ru Shixiong, don't you feel a bit uncomfortable in your heart?"

Ouyang Rong no longer held the jade knife handle, but placed both hands on the white sandalwood knife sheath.

He sat upright, his eyes as bright as stars, looking at her.

Xie Lingjiang, who often sat on the roof guarding until dawn these days, felt that the bright eyes of the man in front of her were more like the morning star in the cyan sky before dawn.

Ouyang Rong said softly to Xie Lingjiang:

"Xiao Shimei, saying that there is no sense of loss in my heart is a lie, but it is also true that I have more understanding and happiness.

"I understand the choice Xiao Shimei made at that time, and I am very happy that you didn't let your sensibility get the better of your head, turning around to find me in vain, but knew how to calmly think about the situation, choosing to chase the boat, monitor beside the imposter, and protect Lord Shen and the others.

"If you had chosen the former, I would have been uncomfortable and angry instead...

"So now, I am really happy, Xiao Shimei, you have really grown up."

Ouyang Rong sighed, a smile appearing on his face.

Xie Lingjiang stared at Ru Shixiong's somewhat gratified expression, and she suddenly asked:

"Then what if, what if you encountered danger on the road again, what if it was precisely because I didn't turn around to find you the first time, guarding by your side, that led to Ru Shixiong you still being killed by villains...

"Does Ru Shixiong also feel happy about the so-called rational choice I made, and hope that I would choose this way?"

Ouyang Rong was stunned, lowered his head to hold the knife sheath, tightened it, and his lips also pursed tightly.

He lowered his eyes and said seriously: "Xiao Shimei knows what the answer is."

Yes, Xie Lingjiang knew the answer, but she still asked it.

Sometimes, meaningless nonsense did not make the world more stupid, but more complicated.

In the gap of silence, Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his head, with a brilliant smile on his face, and said to her:

"If I die, you must turn around and chase the boat without looking back, and you are not allowed to cry. It was like this yesterday, it is like this today, and it will be like this tomorrow, understand?"

Xie Lingjiang saw the man in front of her pointing at the direction of the Zhe Yiqu and Di Gong Sluice outside the carriage window, and he said seriously:

"You must protect our unfinished business well. This is not only the unfinished cause of Ru Shixiong me, but also your unfinished business, as well as the unfinished business of Liulang, Ashan, and even everyone dedicated to the water control of Longcheng.

"It should be, and it is inherently more important than me. Even if I die, leave, and am no longer in this world, as long as the disaster relief camp is still there, the Di Gong Sluice is still there, the Zhe Yiqu is still there, and the people of Longcheng are still relying on them to have enough food and clothing, work and create, and live and multiply.

"Then your Ru Shixiong I am still here, always here, and not just a stroke of ink casually mentioned in that big county chronicle in the government office."

Xie Lingjiang, who was still like fire in her red dress in the dark carriage, opened her mouth, looking blankly at the Ru Shixiong with a brilliant, sunny smile in front of her.

She was speechless for a long time.

She suddenly turned her head and glanced at the night sky above the carriage.

The moon was faint and the stars were hidden tonight, and the sky was pitch black.

It was conceivable that even if she climbed onto the roof to guard tonight until tomorrow morning, she might not be able to see the morning star.

However, Xie Lingjiang felt that it was not like this.

It was right in front of her eyes.

Not long after.

"Xiao Shimei?"

The carriage stopped with a "clatter," conveying the inertia of leaning forward to the people in the carriage, along with Ru Shixiong's call, waking up Xie Lingjiang, who had been lost in thought for the second half of the journey.

"Ah." She came back to her senses, and responded with a sound in her mouth.

Ouyang Rong looked at the Xiao Shimei whose pretty face was slightly dazed, and couldn't help but laugh:

"We've arrived. What are you lost in thought about? Get out of the carriage quickly, and go back to rest for a while."

On Deer Call Street, the carriage driven by Liu Ashan stopped in front of the low-key main gate of the Su Fu, which had no stone lions.

"Oh."

Xie Lingjiang looked outside, did not move, turned her head and asked:

"Then what about Ru Shixiong? Are you going to be busy at night? I'm not leaving, I'll accompany you. I can't be negligent anymore. I have to protect Ru Shixiong's safety when outside."

Ouyang Rong was helpless. After thinking about it, he looked at Xie Lingjiang, who had already matured quite a bit, and said truthfully:

"I'll go settle Lord Shen and Lord Wang and the others first, then go to the county government office to wrap up some things left over from today.

"By the way, there's also the matter of Mount Dagu, I have to send people over...

"In addition, there is tomorrow's county-wide public trial, I have to strike while the iron is hot and nail the coffin lid on the Liu family thoroughly."

"Then won't Ru Shixiong be busy again tonight? Are you going to spread your bed and quilt in the county government office again?" Xie Lingjiang could not hide the heartache and reluctance in her eyes.

She said without thinking: "Then let's go together. It just so happens that I'll go to the prison to guard that alchemist. Sealing spiritual energy cultivation is still not safe enough."

Ouyang Rong thought about it and nodded:

"That's fine, but let's go back and tidy up first, have a meal and rest for a while. We'll gather in half an hour and go together."

"Okay."

Xie Lingjiang nodded vigorously.

Plum Deer Garden and the Su Fu were adjacent, and the two got off the carriage together.

In front of the Su Fu gate, Xie Lingjiang did not move her footsteps the first time.

The two large red lanterns hanging in front of the gate sprinkled the light of the red candles on the young magistrate who was standing quietly and slightly weary not far away.

Xie Lingjiang turned her head, her gaze carefully looking up and down at the Ru Shixiong who was watching her enter the gate.

The latter seemed to understand her gaze.

He shrugged helplessly, lifted his two sleeves, and spun around in place under the sharp gaze of his own junior sister:

"I'm really fine, there are no major injuries on my body. I'm not trying to find an excuse to send you away and then shrink into a corner alone to lick my wounds like a cat or dog."

Xie Lingjiang looked at the bitter smile on his weary face, nodded lightly, turned around, and was about to enter the gate.

"Wait, Xiao Shimei." Ouyang Rong seemed to have remembered something and shouted, lowered his head to silently untie something from his waist, held it with both hands, and prepared to hand it forward, "You forgot your skirt-knife..."

"Ru Shixiong." Xie Lingjiang suddenly interrupted Ouyang Rong's words.

The latter raised his head, "What's wrong?"

Under the red lantern, the girl in men's clothing in a red dress did not look back and said:

"Those words you taught Xiao Shimei on the road just now, saying that our unfinished business is more important, and sometimes even outweighs... one person's life, Xiao Shimei thinks Ru Shixiong is right, but...

"Maybe it's because I'm still very stupid, the 'don't cry' part is barely okay, but the 'don't look back' part is actually quite difficult to achieve."

She paused, sniffed, curled her lips, and pretended not to care:

"Ru Shixiong, don't think too much. It's not that someone is particularly special, but that I have a sentimental nature. When a fellow disciple or close friend has an accident and their life or death is uncertain, I always inevitably act impulsively and worry."

Ouyang Rong frowned slightly: "Xiao Shimei, actually we..."

Xie Lingjiang's back tilted her head slightly and interrupted: "However."

"However what?" Ouyang Rong asked in surprise.

"However, it's not unsolvable. Just like today, you carry my skirt-knife on your body, I can vaguely sense that you are there, so I can also relax my heart a little and chase the boat without looking back...

"Whether you are alive or dead, at least I can confirm it, which is better than being lured by some ethereal hope, losing my footing, and ruining Ru Shixiong's big event... What do you think, Ru Shixiong?"

Ouyang Rong opened his eyes. Actually, he didn't quite understand the logic of his junior sister, but it didn't prevent him from echoing it. He felt that what his junior sister said didn't have too much of a problem:

"This... is also not bad."

Xie Lingjiang nodded directly: "Then keep the skirt-knife with you, just treat it as... an insurance policy. You are not allowed to let it leave your body in the future."

Ouyang Rong thought about it and helplessly tied the skirt-knife back to his waist: "Fine."

It's just that what he didn't see was that the junior sister who was standing with her back to him curled her lips slightly.

After wearing the knife, Ouyang Rong raised his head and called out to Xie Lingjiang: "Wait, there's one more thing, that red rope Grandmaster Shan Dao gave this morning..."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly asked: "Red rope? What red rope?"

Before Ouyang Rong could speak again, she raised her hand without looking back, shook her wide red sleeve, revealed a section of lotus-root-like arm, and raised her clean, empty wrist to indicate.

Xie Lingjiang was still holding a marriage bamboo slip in her hand.

Her curious tone came:

"Didn't we only ask for one slip for Su Xiaomei this morning? What is Ru Shixiong babbling about?"

"..."

"I'm leaving."

The girl in the red dress waved her hand and entered the gate gracefully.

Ouyang Rong looked on in a daze.

After a while, he rubbed his face, turned and left, leaving a mutter in place:

"Xiao Shimei has really grown up... Speaking of which, is this a feeling of admiration and reliance, or... really in love." (End of chapter) The transcoding is serious recently, let us have more motivation, update faster, please move your little hands to exit the reading mode. Thank you.