Chapter 188: 195. Xiao Shimei Visits, The Dispute Between Li and Wei

195. Xiao Shimei Visits, The Dispute Between Li and Wei

In the afternoon, the Plum Forest courtyard was quiet.

The snow-white orchid on the windowsill also stopped swaying as the midday wind ceased.

Ye Weilai loved being held in Ouyang Rong's arms like a treasure after finishing her busy work, her body pressed tightly against his, her messy silver-haired little head resting on the crook of his arm.

Ouyang Rong's slightly snoring breathing blew on her red ears and neck, a bit itchy, and a bit comfortable... Everything around her was his unique scent.

Whenever this happened, Ye Weilai would quietly soften her breathing, afraid of disturbing him, but she couldn't help but hug his waist, looking up with her eyes, carefully watching his slightly tired sleeping face.

She was a light sleeper and woke up after resting for a while. Ouyang Rong had the habit of taking a nap, and now that things were done, it was just right to rest.

He had just recovered from his illness, why was she tossing him around again... Ye Weilai suddenly felt self-reproach in her heart, secretly annoyed for a while.

But she just couldn't help it at the time.

For some reason, Ouyang Rong always gave Ye Weilai a sense of detachment, a sense of indifference toward everyone around him, including her.

Clearly, Tanlang was very respectful and polite to everyone around him, including the lowly servants, and was not cold or mean. But he just gave people a sense of alienation and indifference.

It was as if there were layers of curtains between them; he stood independent of this world, standing on a very high cloud watching everyone. You could easily look him in the eye, but you could never get close.

This feeling was very strange, as if he didn't belong to the same world.

Perhaps it was because Tanlang was a righteous gentleman, restraining himself and following the rites, acting with caution when alone... Ye Weilai pondered for a long time and could only explain it this way.

However, this kind of righteous gentleman might be like a spring breeze to the people of Longcheng, the county officials, and the servants of the Plum Deer Garden, making them admire him.

But for those who wanted to get close to him, it was very annoying and frustrating.

Ye Weilai didn't know if Xie Xiaoniangzi felt this way, but at least she felt so.

So on some occasions, when she found that Tanlang was more of a righteous gentleman and more distant and alienated, Ye Weilai wanted to uncover this veil of a righteous gentleman, stick to him, and be passionately close.

This was also the reason why Ye Weilai couldn't help but clumsily "seduce" Tanlang not long ago.

Otherwise, where would a young girl at the age of capping have any shy desires? What truly made her emotionally moved was her beloved's happiness and satisfaction, and his closeness and love for her; she would be willing to do anything for that.

There are three thousand kinds of medicine in the world, but only this one is the most aphrodisiac.

Although this was the case, Ye Weilai felt a little guilty when she recalled it now.

Because after it was over not long ago, Tanlang's facial reaction seemed a bit reluctant.

Ye Weilai, whose cheeks were burning, squinted slightly and looked over, confusedly discovering that Tanlang seemed to have a look of shame on his face, sighing repeatedly.

Tanlang was still considerate and caring toward her, carefully coaxing her to sleep, but he seemed to be blaming himself, and he kept muttering things like "righteous qi leaking from the side" and "another demerit recorded" in his mouth.

Ye Weilai didn't quite understand and could only interpret it as Tanlang strictly demanding himself by the standards of a righteous gentleman, unwilling to break the precepts.

On the bed, looking at the man in front of her, the white-haired girl's eyes couldn't help but become more admiring and worshipful.

Ouyang Rong didn't know Ye Weilai's strange thoughts. When he opened his eyes, a cool breeze happened to blow into the room from outside the window.

"Not asleep?"

Ouyang Rong yawned and asked Ye Weilai, who was hiding her head in the quilt.

The latter shook her head, then nodded, her gray-blue eyes, which were peeking out of the quilt, blinking as they looked at the lazy-looking Ouyang Rong.

"Want to sleep a bit more?"

Ouyang Rong laughed, put on his robe, got out of bed, turned around, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Ye Weilai.

The young girl also got up from the quilt, grabbed a pale pink inner garment, and put it on silently. Under Ouyang Rong's gaze, she blushed and pulled the two open lapels together, tied the belt, and covered her chest.

"Not thirsty."

Ye Weilai said in a low voice, but the next second, she found Ouyang Rong staring at her lips, handing her the tea without speaking. Some tastes lingered on her taste buds again, as if recalling something. Ye Weilai lowered her head, took the teacup, and looked up.

She drank it all, but didn't swallow it immediately, instead keeping a mouthful of tea in her mouth, covering her mouth with her little hand, making some gurgling sounds, her earlobes turning even redder.

As if afraid that the white-haired maid would be shy, Ouyang Rong coughed lightly, looked away, and only occasionally raised his hand to support her fair chin, his thumb gently wiping the red and swollen corners of her lips.

Ye Weilai covered her mouth and lowered her head to ask: "Why is Tanlang so good to Nu'er?" "Am I good to you?"

Ouyang Rong suddenly asked back.

Ye Weilai nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, her eyes very serious. There is no one like you in the world.

Ouyang Rong smiled and didn't answer. "There are many, many people who want to be good to Tanlang." Ye Weilai blurted out.

Ouyang Rong smiled and didn't answer.

Ye Weilai seemed to have remembered something, her eyes flashed, and she said calmly:

"Then if there is such a woman who is very, very good to Tanlang, better than to herself, not asking for return, not asking for credit or love, and even paying silently, so much so that Tanlang doesn't even know."

Ouyang Rong shook his head, "There is no such stupid person."

Ye Weilai couldn't help but look sideways and ask: "But what if there really is one?"

"If there really is, I will definitely catch her and ask her well why she is so stupid." Ouyang Rong said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Even to the ends of the earth?"

Ye Weilai couldn't help but pursue the question, but before she could finish, a light sound suddenly came from the courtyard outside. Ouyang Rong and Ye Weilai in the room looked over curiously.

"It's nothing, you continue, I'm just passing by, watering the orchids, just pretend I don't exist."

I saw outside the window, a young lady with a very heavy burden on her chest and a spiritual, beautiful face, walking over with a normal expression. Coming to the windowsill, she looked straight ahead and used the water ladle in her hand to water the orchids.

Her expression seemed very focused, not looking at the two people in the room.

Ye Weilai looked around carefully with a guilty conscience, found that her clothes were still neat, and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "Xiao Shimei."

Ouyang Rong, who was sitting by the bed, stood up and said happily.

Xie Lingjiang asked with a sidelong glance, "I shouldn't be disturbing Ru Shixiong, should I?"

"What disturbance? Come in and sit, I woke up at noon and was just about to look for you." Ouyang Rong laughed.

"Oh, is that so."

Watching Ru Shixiong's sincere and enthusiastic demeanor, Xie Lingjiang's expression seemed to soften a little. She set down the water ladle, placed her fair hands behind her waist, and walked into the room.

Inside the room, facing Ouyang Rong who had come up to greet her, Xie Lingjiang looked left and right, wrinkled her nose, and asked with a frown, "What is that smell?"

Ouyang Rong also looked left and right, wanting to ask, but immediately realized something, and immediately restrained his expression and shook his head, pretending not to know. "Tanlang, Nu'er will go serve some tea and snacks for Xie Xiaoniangzi." Ye Weilai suddenly volunteered.

Xie Lingjiang had intended to refuse, but a certain white-haired maidservant didn't wait for her to speak; she darted between the two of them and ran out of the room with burning cheeks.

Ye Weilai's footsteps were a bit messy.

She couldn't tell Xie Xiaoniangzi that this was the smell of Tanlang's righteous qi, right?

"This girl is getting more and more reckless." Ouyang Rong feigned a straight face and criticized.

He calmly observed Xiao Shimei's expression again, and seeing no suspicion on her face, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. "I can't say that either; she has been very attentive in taking care of Ru Shixiong these past few days," Xie Lingjiang said casually. Ouyang Rong invited Xie Lingjiang to sit, and the two sat around the table.

Not having seen each other for several days, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but look up and down at the Xiao Shimei.

He didn't know if it was because she was running around outside, but the Xiao Shimei's skin was a bit darker, but this darkness was only compared to the snow-white skin that was occasionally revealed at her crossed neck, which made it look a bit dark.

Moreover, Ouyang Rong actually felt that being a little tanned was quite good—a healthy wheat color; being too fair was, on the contrary, a bit sickly. Besides that, Xie Lingjiang was still wearing her red male-style robes today, with a small crown on her head, sitting upright before the table. Furthermore, whether it was Ouyang Rong's illusion or not, after not seeing her for several days, he felt that Xiao Shimei's chest had become a bit broader. Wait, did she actually still have room to grow?

Thinking of the Xiao Shimei's young age and huge potential, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but feel a thousand emotions in his heart. "Eldest Ru Shixiong doesn't need to look, Xiao Shimei is fine, this trip went quite smoothly."

How could Xie Lingjiang have guessed that Ru Shixiong's frequent sidelong glances were out of concern for her development? Mistaking it for worry and care, she couldn't help but explain.

"I trust Xiao Shimei's work," Ouyang Rong nodded, poured a cup of tea for Xie Lingjiang, lowered his eyes to take a sip, and said,

Although she had told Ouyang Rong to stop looking, Xie Lingjiang repeatedly set down her teacup to observe Ouyang Rong.

"Xiao Shimei doesn't need to look either, I'm fine, just a mere cold, a small illness." Ouyang Rong blinked and teased.

Xie Lingjiang hesitated to speak, but finally said, "I heard what they said about Ru Shixiong at the Di Gong Zha. Why was Ru Shixiong so foolish?"

Ouyang Rong did not answer, but suddenly looked up and said, "Xiao Shimei, the one who drew her sword on the dam that day wasn't you, was it?" Xie Lingjiang was startled.

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes to look at the long moonlight sword at her waist. If the Xiao Shimei had drawn the sword, there should have been dazzling moonlight, which the Xiao Shimei had demonstrated to him before.

That day he was soaked in the water, confusedly thinking it was the Xiao Shimei, but after waking up just now, he thought about it carefully and excluded this option.

Facing Ouyang Rong's gaze, Xie Lingjiang nodded: "It was an unknown Yue woman."

"Yue woman?" This time it was Ouyang Rong's turn to be stunned.

"Yes, I also heard it from them after I came back. By the way, your maid was also there at the time. According to their description, the starting style and movement of the sword drawing should be a Yue woman from Yunmeng Sword Marsh."

Xie Lingjiang looked at the sky outside the house and sighed:

"Maybe she just happened to pass by Di Gong Sluice, or maybe she was attracted by the movement of the water sluice. After all, it's quite close to Yunmeng Sword Marsh. This Yue woman should have been touched by what you and the others did, Eldest Ru Shixiong, and chose to help, repelling several waves of surges..."

"But I heard that this Yue woman didn't stay on the sluice for long. Later, when the rain stopped, under the eyes of everyone, she rode the waves and left, disappearing into the depths of the water marsh."

"Is that so..." Ouyang Rong was thoughtful.

Just then, Ye Weilai returned with a plate of pastries. Ouyang Rong couldn't help but turn his head to ask a few questions, and the little girl answered carefully.

"Weilai, did you see her face clearly?"

"I was worried about Tanlang at the time, so I didn't see it clearly." "And she didn't leave any name?"

Ye Weilai looked at him and shook her head gently, adding: "Maybe she didn't want to leave her name."

"That's a pity." Ouyang Rong shook his head regretfully: "Otherwise, if there is a chance to meet again in the future, I must thank her well."

Ye Weilai was about to speak but stopped, and finally lowered her head to look at the plate of mung bean cakes in her hand.

The mung bean cakes were made by her, learned from the embroidery lady's craft, because the embroidery lady had indeed left, hearing her say that she was returning to her sect to handle an important matter and could not stay in Longcheng for the time being.

Hua Xuanji, the topic between Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang shifted to the trip to Mount Gezao.

"So, that old senior named Chongxu is quite righteous, kind, and amiable." Ouyang Rong laughed after hearing it.

The corner of Xie Lingjiang's eye couldn't help but twitch.

She naturally didn't tell everything Chongxu said, just picked the normal ones, so Ouyang Rong didn't know the former's old urchin side.

Xie Lingjiang was speechless.

She couldn't tell everything, right? Didn't she want face?

At this moment, seemingly recalling the secret matter revealed by Chong Xuzi, Xie Lingjiang's expression tightened, and she suddenly looked up and said:

"If Eldest Ru Shixiong could practice qi, then the incident at Di Gong Sluice that day wouldn't have happened, and the root of the illness wouldn't have continued."

Ye Weilai, who was tidying up the bed in the inner room, heard this, turned her head to look at the front hall, as if a certain mute girl had expressed a similar meaning to her.

"Why did Xiao Shimei suddenly mention this."

Ouyang Rong was stunned and shook his head.

"Does Ru Shixiong not want to practice Qi?" Xie Lingjiang pressed. Ouyang Rong hesitated for a moment and continued to shake his head:

"I know my own situation, I don't think about it."

He was about to wash his hands of it and leave, why practice qi? But he couldn't say this in front of the enthusiastic Xiao Shimei, so he had to find an excuse and answer as if resigning himself to fate.

But who would have thought that his "salted fish" attitude would make Xie Lingjiang's eyes brighten: "So Ru Shixiong does want to, right? It's just that you have a 'leaky' constitution." Ouyang Rong looked up at her without refuting it.

Xie Lingjiang seemed to be in a good mood; she stood up and paced back and forth in the room a few times, then suddenly turned her head, the topic shifting abruptly:

"Does Eldest Ru Shixiong know what the people of the ten circuits of the world are most concerned about in the imperial court inside and outside the two capitals of Guanzhong?"

Ouyang Rong was surprised, why did the topic change so fast, but he still answered truthfully: "The dispute between Li and Wei."

He shook his head, his expression uninterested:

"His Majesty changed Gan to Zhou. Although the Li royal family of the previous dynasty was slaughtered, several imperial princes who are the flesh and blood of His Majesty are still being raised in the deep palace. Many ministers in the court are attached to Li Gan, but the Wei family of the Empress's maternal family has great ambition. The Li princes and the Wei princes are fighting for the position of imperial heir, and the whole world is paying attention to this matter... Why does Xiao Shimei ask this?"

"Then who does Eldest Ru Shixiong think will win?"

Ouyang Rong paused in his tea-drinking action. ===== CHAPTER 189 =====