Chapter 169: One hundred seventy-six, Miss, you have changed

One hundred seventy-six, Miss, you have changed

"Miss, what is wrong with you? Why is your complexion so strange? Did the cold air enter your body because you were barefoot?"

On the third floor of Meiying Studio, in a messy and chaotic study, the bun-faced little maid says worriedly.

"I, I am fine..." Su Su Guoer's voice comes.

Sister Caishou cannot help but take two more looks at her Miss, who is standing silently beside the overturned wastepaper basket.

Everything was fine at the beginning of the day, but suddenly this afternoon, she doesn't know what strange passive trigger was activated, and Miss suddenly became different from usual.

Her Miss's change makes her feel somewhat strange, yet familiar.

That's right.

It is strange yet familiar.

Strange, compared to her usual indifference and tranquility.

And familiar...

Is the way Miss ran downstairs barefoot regardless of everything and stepped on the rainwater in the courtyard, a bit like a dream back to childhood.

The silhouette of the belly-black little loli who once liked to fly around and, like a naughty boy, loved to uncover tiles and climb walls and roofs, seems to have returned again.

Although it might just be a flash in the pan.

However, Sister Caishou always feels that the Miss who began to gradually become quiet, indifferent, gentle, and observant of etiquette after growing up still hides a naughty, lively, and romantic young girl silhouette in her heart.

It just doesn't show often.

From movement to stillness.

It's just that she doesn't know why, today something seems to have been let out of a cage.

Sister Caishou cannot help but look at the mulberry paper that is deforming the fabric in front of her Miss's soft chest at this moment.

It is covered with someone's handwriting.

Uh, it seems to have been caused by this rhapsody given by Young Master Magistrate Ouyang...

"Sister Caishou, you, you go out first." Su Su Guoer suddenly says.

She takes a silent step forward, her skirt hem blocking the overturned wastepaper basket and the bamboo slip wrapped in red paper among the paper scraps.

Sister Caishou's attention is diverted, and she says in a daze: "Okay."

"Wait."

"What is it, Miss? Is something uncomfortable?"

"Nothing is uncomfortable, I just suddenly discovered a very important matter. You don't need to worry about it, just do your own thing. Also..."

Su Su Guoer pauses, her cheeks slightly red, and she looks away, saying:

"Also, you are not allowed to tell anyone about today's events, not even the Master and the Mistress. Do you understand?"

"Oh." Sister Caishou lowers her head, her embroidered shoes' toes tiptoeing to do a drilling motion, "This servant understands."

"Alright, you go down first, and also instruct the other maids in the courtyard not to be loose-lipped."

"Yes."

Watching Sister Caishou's silhouette disappear at the doorway, and the door being closed by her from the outside, Su Su Guoer stands by the wastepaper basket without moving. Waiting until she hears the sound of footsteps going down the stairs and walking far away, she moves like a rabbit, runs barefoot to the door, and locks it from the inside.

Immediately, she walks quickly to the overturned wastepaper basket.

Su Su Guoer's silhouette pauses, her shadow swaying.

As if hesitating for a moment.

She pinches the paper and lifts the skirt hem on both sides, squatting down somewhat regardless of her image.

The bare-footed young lady in a peach-colored ru skirt hugs her knees with both hands and buries her face, revealing a pair of slender eyes slightly squinted, staring at the bamboo slip wrapped in red paper on the ground.

The bamboo slip lies quietly among the paper scraps, as if honestly waiting for someone to pick it up.

Her hands hugging her knees clench into fists slightly.

"Is it a coincidence or..."

The murmuring voice hesitates to speak.

Su Su Guoer's eyes reveal some complex colors.

There is suspicion, there is also shame and annoyance, and there is more.

Before this, she had never thought about things in this regard.

She had also not cared at all about this marriage fortune slip obtained by accident.

However, Su Su Guoer had just experienced a matter of a prophecy coming true, and was in a state of... sudden astonishment after searching a thousand times, only to find him in the dim light, with a wonderful experience of being vaguely wrapped by fate.

There was also a kind of... wonderful feeling that all things in the world seem to possess some kind of destined trajectory, just depending on whether one can peek through a few strands of heavenly secrets.

Under the influence of the aftermath of this special event, her thoughts subconsciously turned toward a certain type of fatalism.

She was extra sensitive to the clues happening around her.

And so, at this moment, Su Su Guoer faced this marriage fortune slip again.

Even if her reason was a thousand times unwilling to believe it, her heart could not help but give birth to a trace of "could it be that there is a heavenly fate in the dark" shame and annoyance.

In fact, this cannot blame Su Su Guoer for letting her imagination run wild; even if it were anyone else in this situation, it would be difficult to be completely indifferent and rational.

Not to mention, the person facing this marriage fortune slip was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl who was quite deep in the city and quite suspicious, which was already a sensitive and melancholic age.

In front of the wastepaper basket, Su Su Guoer did not reach out for a long time.

The squatting, slender silhouette was quiet.

She actually didn't believe in fate very much before.

But ever since she learned what kind of blood flowed in her own body, born in the mortal world, learned how ups and downs her father and mother had experienced, and learned what her grandmother, whom she had never met, had done.

It was impossible for her not to believe it completely.

In addition, there was also that old physiognomist who had once told Su Su Guoer's fortune and uttered a prophecy.

Not long ago, Su Su Guoer had just received news that this old physiognomist surnamed Yuan, who had a very high seniority in the Maoshan Maoshan Shangqing Sect, had already ascended to immortality, which is to say, he had died.

She also vaguely heard that the old physiognomist might have suffered a loss of lifespan because he leaked too many heavenly secrets, and even a hard fate could hardly resist...

Perhaps this is also the reason why the Taoists of the Maoshan Shangqing Sect are mostly single-line transmissions, and it is difficult for them to live long and die of old age.

Situated between entering the world and leaving the world, swaying between the red dust and the hidden world.

And all day long, either performing rituals to invite gods, or subduing demons and eliminating monsters... mainly focusing on being nosy.

Even though most of the disciples they accepted were those with very hard fates, they also didn't live long.

Being of the same Three Mountains Blood-Dropping generation, look at the Taoist peers of the Longhu Mountain Taiqing Sect and the Gezao Mountain Jiang Yuqing Sect.

The former, the gates are tightly closed, the Yellow-Purple Celestial Masters rarely come out of the mountains, and they cherish their feathers very much.

The latter, the temple gates are wide open, saving lives, healing the wounded, refining pills, and performing rituals, mingling with princes, nobles, and common people, full of human fireworks.

Upon receiving this news, Su Su Guoer, while feeling desolate, was also somewhat silent.

At this moment, the study was quiet for a long time.

Above the overturned wastepaper basket, a fair hand suddenly reached out.

The palm paused in the air.

And then retracted.

"The prophecy is the prophecy, but it didn't mention this red slip, what am I blindly thinking about..."

Su Su Guoer shook her head slightly, lowering her eyes and whispering:

"Share wealth and share adversity... that is to say, becoming people in the same camp, there can be many reasonable ways to get along, or like Brother, or like Sister Chenjun Xie, anyway, it is definitely not like the lovesick Sister Caishou."

As if muttering to guide herself, during the whisper, Su Su Guoer stood up, shook her hand, and walked away.

Walking toward the desk.

Halfway there.

Su Su Guoer paused, instantly turned back to the wastepaper basket, squatted down, and picked up the bamboo slip wrapped in red paper.

She walked straight to the bookshelf, stood on tiptoe, and picked a thick, large book from the top layer of the bookshelf.

Su Su Guoer casually stuffed the brand-new marriage fortune slip into the book, then stood on tiptoe again, and returned the thick book to its place.

Her eyelids drooped, and she turned and left.

The marriage fortune slip was not thrown away.

But, it was not opened either.

At the right time, dusk fell, and the last trace of sunset glow behind the distant mountains outside the window shrank behind the pitch-black outline of the mountains.

There were no lights in the study. Su Su Guoer carefully put away the mulberry paper, waited quietly in the room for a while, and before long, she walked out of the study, came to the courtyard, and found Sister Caishou, who was preparing dinner with the maids.

Su Su Guoer dismissed the other maids and called Sister Caishou to her side.

"Miss, your complexion is much better now." "I said I was fine, what are you blindly guessing for? Why are your eyes so fond of looking around?"

"Uh, alright... Miss, this servant will go tidy up the study for you."

"Wait."

"What are Miss's instructions?"

"You... where is your umbrella?"

"Umbrella? What umbrella? Is Miss going out? It's not raining right now."

"I am talking about... that red umbrella, you, the one you held at noon."

Su Su Guoer silently looked away, her eyes looking at the puddle on the ground to the side, the puddle reflecting the puzzled and dazed expression of the bun-faced little maid beside her.

"Is Miss talking about Young Master Magistrate Ouyang's red umbrella?" She asked directly.

Su Su Guoer gave a nasal "um" sound.

"Miss, don't rush, this servant will send it back tomorrow. This servant will go to thank him, without mentioning Miss, and I guarantee I won't let Young Master Magistrate Ouyang and others misunderstand." Sister Caishou patted her small chest and guaranteed.

"No... no need, I thought about it, it's better if I go return it myself, to be a bit more polite. It's not very appropriate for a maid like you to go over. If I go, it will be a bit more solemn."

Su Su Guoer straightened her face and said to Sister Caishou with a straight face, sighing slightly:

"No matter what, we are neighbors, aren't we?"

"..." Sister Caishou.

The little girl lowered her head and looked at her Miss's palm, which was unceremoniously extended toward her to ask for it.

"Miss... you didn't say that at noon."

Su Su Guoer frowned slightly, as if somewhat unhappy:

"What did I say or not say? Didn't I teach you that a drop of water in need should be repaid with a spring? Have you forgotten? You naughty girl, go get the umbrella quickly."

She paused, as if thinking for a moment, raised her head slightly to look at the night sky where the stars were emerging, and muttered to herself in a low voice:

"It should be beautiful and sunny these two days, just right for bathing and incense. Speaking of which, what clothes are appropriate to wear? I have no experience in that kind of occasion. If Sister Chenjun Xie were here, it would be great, I could go ask her..."

"...???" Sister Caishou.

Why do these lines sound so familiar?

Sister Caishou straightened her small face:

"Miss, you have changed! Beautiful and sunny, bathing and incense, dignified and elegant... Miss, is this returning an umbrella or going on a blind date?"

Ignoring the sour protest of the little girl, Su Su Guoer muttered to herself with lowered eyes, turned and returned to the room, her hands behind her back, waving her hand to instruct:

"Send the umbrella to the study later."

"..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong has been very busy during the day recently.

The kind where his feet don't touch the ground.

These two days, he finally sent away Shen Shen Xisheng and Wang Wang Lengran, and he turned to devote himself to the final flood control preparations in the upper reaches of Butterfly Creek.

In fact, he also didn't know why these two superior officials had been dragging their feet and lingering in Longcheng all these days.

Except for Wang Wang Lengran's very obvious protective attitude toward the half-dead Liu family, Magistrate Ouyang Rong really couldn't think of any other reason for them to drag it out until recently to leave, long after the ribbon-cutting ceremony had ended.

It's easy to invite gods but hard to send them away, right?

Or are they on an official business trip?

But this Longcheng County, besides having handsome men, has no beautiful scenery to see; it was almost all washed away by the last flood, and many famous historical sites were not prioritized for repair, and are now full of weeds.

So, speaking of which, do you two officials have no official business to handle in Jiangzhou City?

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was puzzled, and in the end, could only think with a thick skin that perhaps it was the orderly and well-fed Longcheng style under his governance that made the two superiors linger and forget to return.

However, Magistrate Ouyang Rong also didn't see any signs of these two Jiangzhou superiors running to the third floor of Yunshui Pavilion... but he did see the subtly discordant atmosphere between the two superiors.

Of course, having experienced the grain rationing order and the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and having that layer of relationship with his mentor Chenjun Xie Xun, Magistrate Ouyang Rong naturally leaned toward Shen Shen Xisheng.

But leaning is leaning; completely taking sides in public and tearing his face with Wang Wang Lengran was not necessary.

Officialdom still emphasizes a sense of decency.

Moreover, regardless of stance, whether clear or turbid, one must hold up the banner of serving the imperial court and the people in everything one does; the harmony on the surface still needs to be maintained.

This is the game rule, which Magistrate Ouyang Rong is currently unable to change.

And Magistrate Ouyang Rong also has self-knowledge; he is just a seventh-grade magistrate who has just entered officialdom. In the situation where his ties with Shen Shen Xisheng's faction are not yet very tight, forcibly taking sides and sticking his head out would easily make him a cannon fodder pawn.

It is easy to wallow in the mire.

But it is difficult to choose sides.

It is even harder to stay out of it.

And if one wants to throw oneself into it and do some practical things in a down-to-earth manner, that is even harder.

When Magistrate Ouyang Rong was studying in his previous life, he didn't have a deep feeling about this. It was only after he woke up in the Luodong and put on this official uniform, throwing himself into this officialdom and working hard, that he gradually understood this truth.

Moreover, sometimes being one grade higher in official rank really can crush people to death.

Especially, the current official is not as good as the current manager.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong is very clear-headed; Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi Wang Wang Lengran is the direct superior of his Longcheng Magistrate.

The Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi's Office is the superior government office of the Longcheng County Office.

Although Shen Shen Xisheng is half a grade higher than Wang Wang Lengran, as an imperial envoy, his duties only include investigating the grain case and patrolling disaster relief and water control.

Moreover, Wang Wang Lengran can secretly wrestle with Shen Shen Xisheng, so he must have his own confidence.

There is obviously a deeper level of political stance behind both sides.

It likely involves the Zhou court officialdom far away in the Divine Capital of Shenjing Luoyang.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong sees the twists and turns behind this clearly.

Just by standing on tiptoe and taking a look, he feels a headache.

He can't possibly wrap a meal of dumplings just for a jar of vinegar, right?

Not to mention, sometimes at the poker table, even if they are opponents or enemies, there will be some exchange of interests, occasionally compromising with each other and swapping chips.

For example, the matter of the lingering Liu family that was dismembered after the public trial.

So, in the situation where the only human witness, the female immortal Lady Yuzhi, is in a coma, and the junior sister has not yet collected key criminal evidence, procedural justice cannot be invoked.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong chooses to temporarily stop the drums and soldiers to exchange for the attitude support of Wang Wang Lengran, who obviously wants to protect the remaining members of the Liu family, for the water control measures in Longcheng County.

One old and one young, two smart people, vaguely reached a tacit understanding.

Of course, Shen Shen Xisheng on the side should also see this clearly, but he didn't say anything, and instead cooperated with Magistrate Ouyang Rong, keeping a distance without forcing him to take sides or making demands.

He doesn't know if it is because of the layer of relationship with mentor Chenjun Xie Xun and the junior sister that he is so tolerant of the younger generation.

It made Magistrate Ouyang Rong feel slightly embarrassed.

But it also made Magistrate Ouyang Rong have more and more good feelings for this Master Shen.

So when seeing him off yesterday, he not only gave this Master Shen several large jars of pickled radishes, but also specially pulled him to toast several more bowls of wine, during which Magistrate Ouyang Rong consumed quite a few doggerels.

This was learned from Magistrate Tian next door who loves wine; last time Magistrate Ouyang Rong was also persuaded by his mouth full of doggerels to return drunk.

It's just that there is one more thing that makes Magistrate Ouyang Rong feel strange, which is the look Master Shen gives him, which often makes people feel a bit strange.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong is slightly confused; could it be that he misunderstood his relationship with the junior sister?

The young magistrate laughs, only thinking it is the senior's bad taste, and doesn't pay much attention to it.

Actually, if you want to say Magistrate Ouyang Rong is arrogant and tough, and forcibly hard-headed against Wang Wang Lengran, that is naturally possible.

Anyway, Magistrate Ouyang Rong is confident that he has no handle on corruption in Wang Wang Lengran's hands; he is clean and honest, and has a good reputation in Longcheng County and surrounding counties, with no handle, so the radish magistrate is not called for nothing.

Moreover, he also has the golden body of a famous upright gentleman in the world.

Finally, there is a certain underground palace blessing, which seems to be able to run away at any time.

Personal defense is maxed out, truly.

After standing up to one's immediate superior, all that was left to do was to slack off without leaving any openings.

But Magistrate Ouyang Rong still wanted to accomplish some real work in Longcheng.

Wang Wang Lengran might not be able to provide him with any help, but this new Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi was certainly capable of tripping him up, preventing him from getting things done in the short term, or making the resistance to his work insurmountable.

This is also the terrible part about many things in this world.

Regardless, the fact that Wang Wang Lengran, Shen Shen Xisheng, and the others had lingered in Longcheng these past few days had indeed distracted Magistrate Ouyang Rong quite a bit; occupying the public hall and engaging in official formalities were truly obstructive.

Now that both "Bodhisattvas" had been sent away, Magistrate Ouyang Rong poured the energy he had freed up into the final stages of flood control.

That evening, taking advantage of a tacit compromise with Jiangzhou Cishi Wang, the Longcheng County Government issued an official document to mobilize flood-prevention ships from Jiangzhou City.

Behind the official desk, the young magistrate patted his sleeves and stood up, rarely managing to leave work right on time to go home for dinner. The recent transcoding is severe, giving us more motivation to update faster. Please move your little hands to exit reading mode. Thank you.