Chapter 197: 204. Su Guoer

204. Su Guoer's Ambition

Yilan Pavilion, inside the west wing study where Ouyang Rong had just departed. Before a tea table.

It was currently crowded with people.

Yet no one spoke to break the silence.

Wang Lixian stood where he was, lost and dejected, his palms pressed against the tea table. The tea set on the tabletop emitted intermittent "clucking" sounds, trembling incessantly.

Wei Mei stood beside her husband, supporting his arm. Her expression was somewhat melancholy, as if she too had been stirred by memories of the past.

Behind them, Su Dalang remained silent and reticent.

Xie Lingjiang stood quietly with her hands tucked into her sleeves, equally mute.

Su Guoer walked silently to the door, her fair hands gripping the fabric of her sleeves tightly. She lifted her chin slightly, gazing toward the courtyard gate in the direction Ouyang Rong had left.

Su Guoer could quite understand her father's mood.

Back then, when her father had just ascended the throne, he honored his grandmother, the Wei clan matriarch, as Empress Dowager. However, her father's foundation was weak, and he was effectively sidelined; all major court affairs were decided by his formidable mother.

Thus, her father had no choice but to heavily employ the Wei clan's in-laws, attempting to build his own court power. Regarding this, his grandmother, the Wei matriarch, let it be, just like Duke Zhuang of Zheng in the past—intentionally indulging and baiting him, which eventually led to the eruption of conflict.

At that time, her father carried out a series of personnel appointments, promoting his father-in-law of the Wei clan at lightning speed, and finally wanted to elevate him to the position of Shizhong—one of the chancellors in the Secretariat—but was opposed by the ministers in the court.

Her father, being the Son of Heaven, found his decrees obstructed and was naturally furious. In a moment of impulse, he blurted out that even if he gave the world to his father-in-law, it would be fine; could he really be stingy about a single Shizhong position?

Such impulsive words spoken in anger naturally caused an uproar throughout the court and the public, becoming a fuse. His grandmother, the Wei matriarch, seized the opportunity to conspire with various parties, deposing her father as the Prince of Xunyang and installing his fourth son, Li Lun, as the new emperor.

After that, all court power fell into the hands of his grandmother, the Wei matriarch. Later on, she ascended the throne as Empress, changing the dynasty name to...

·

Although this turmoil that changed her family's fate had passed for over a decade, it had left a profound psychological shadow on her father.

Su Guoer had once heard her mother mention that her father would often wake up in the middle of the night, terrified and talking in his sleep, throwing himself into her mother's arms and weeping bitterly.

Su Guoer did not feel her father was particularly cowardly or laughable.

He might not have been a qualified emperor back then, but he was absolutely a qualified husband and a qualified father.

And that grandmother of hers, whom she had never met, was the exact opposite.

Su Guoer turned her body slightly, glancing at the slip of paper Wang Lixian was clutching in his palm.

She stepped forward, and taking advantage of the moment when Wei Mei and Su Dalang were huddled together comforting Wang Lixian, she took the slip of paper from the latter's hand.

Xie Lingjiang cast a sidelong glance at the unconventional Su Guoer.

Su Guoer lowered her eyes quietly, her gaze lingering for a short while on the line of handwriting belonging to Ouyang Rong. "'Then they were mother and son as before'... Is it 'Duke Zhuang of Zheng defeats Duan at Yan'... Does this world really have people who can foresee things like a god?"

The young girl, with a bright red plum blossom makeup mark on the center of her forehead, whispered softly in her heart:

"Ouyang Lianghan... He is indeed worthy of being the noble person in that prophecy. Is he now... also a noble person for my family..."

Unlike her father Wang Lixian's focus, Su Guoer, like Ouyang Rong, also felt that the phrase "then they were mother and son as before" was the most exquisite and vivid.

Right, and there was also "Duke Zhuang of Zheng defeats Duan at Yan," that exquisite and peerless allusion.

If the subsequent development of the situation was truly as Ouyang Lianghan had just said, exactly the same as what they had overheard, the Wei Empress would reconcile with her son, re-employ their family, return to Luoyang, divide the Pro-Li faction, and ease the conflict between the Li and Wei clans...

Then, the ups and downs of their family's encounters were indeed very fitting for "Duke Zhuang of Zheng defeats Duan at Yan."

Because the Wei Empress, like Duke Zhuang of Zheng who dominated the Spring and Autumn period, was impeccable in terms of imperial power tactics. But in terms of family and kinship, she was despised by historians and later generations.

Even if the two of them, with their illustrious achievements, tried to exaggerate and spread how their younger brother Shu Duan or son Wang Lixian were pushing for more, arrogant, savage, and unlike a ruler.

No matter how they pretended to be innocent, pretending to be forced to take action.

Neither of them could explain why, as an elder brother or as a mother, they did not discipline and stop them in time. If they were taught but did not change, then taking action would naturally be correct.

But to execute without teaching—their intentions were clear to see.

In the final analysis, both of them regarded their brother and son as enemies and opponents from the bottom of their hearts, without the slightest regard for brotherly love or mother-son affection.

The other party's actions, which angered both heaven and men, were exactly what Duke Zhuang and the Wei Empress desired—to catch them, they must first let them go, so they could openly eliminate their opponents.

Brother not like a brother, brother not like a brother, mother not like a mother, son not like a son.

Nothing more than this.

And the word "as before" in the final phrase "then they were mother and son as before" was even more exquisite. Historical records state that when Lady Jiang gave birth to Duke Zhuang, she was frightened.

Because Duke Zhuang was born feet-first, a typical difficult birth, so Lady Jiang named Duke Zhuang "Wusheng," which means born upside down. It is conceivable that she hated Duke Zhuang from the moment he was born.

And Duke Zhuang had suffered cold looks since childhood; the mother-son relationship was naturally mutually detestable. This is where the word "as before" becomes thought-provoking.

As for why Duke Zhuang had to go through the trouble of meeting his mother at the Yellow Springs, showing a reconciliation of the conflict, and then turning around to be "mother and son as before."

For such a monarch, behind it was nothing more than being driven by the words "fame and profit."

Perhaps it was out of consideration for his posthumous reputation for filial piety, or perhaps it was based on the interests of the time; after all, royal marriages between countries were common during the Spring and Autumn period, and Lady Jiang naturally had her own maiden family...

But just like now, Su Guoer had overheard Ouyang Lianghan's assertion that that grandmother was very likely to send someone to pick up their family and return to Luoyang to inherit the imperial succession.

It was merely for her own power and interests.

How similar the Wei Empress was to Duke Zhuang of Zheng a thousand years ago.

Su Guoer twisted and pinched the creases on the slip of paper repeatedly, remaining silent.

Her father had said not long ago that his grandmother had hated him since he was a child and loved Princess Changle and Prince Li Lun because the physiognomist had said that her father looked like Emperor Taizong, and her grandmother's feelings for Taizong must have been very complex...

Regardless, for her father, who valued emotions, she didn't know, but for her grandmother, if it served her interests, after many years of estrangement, staging a public performance of "then they were mother and son as before" would not be surprising at all.

Su Guoer took a deep breath, her heart constantly speculating on the thoughts of that grandmother she had never met.

After all, the future fate of their family depended entirely on this grandmother's intentions.

And Ouyang Lianghan's words just now had reignited the passion in her heart, which had been somewhat dead.

In front of the door, the young girl with plum blossom makeup, who had been evaluated by Wang Lixian as looking like the Empress, suddenly felt a surge of curiosity: What does it taste like for a woman to hold power? It could make that grandmother hold on to it tightly even when her hair was gray, obsessed and infatuated.

Is it that all the men in the world kowtow when they meet me, or that all the Qi cultivators in the world lower their heads when they see me?

Su Guoer turned her head to look outside the door, her pair of slender, autumn-water-like eyes gazing north toward Luoyang, which was also the direction of Meilu Garden.

As if a certain dashing figure who "brushed off his clothes and left after the deed was done" floated up in her heart again, she couldn't help but admire him:

"I don't know how he found such a strange and exquisite allusion. Was it really just flipping through books casually?" "No, it is absolutely impossible for it to be such a coincidence."

"It seems you have seen through everything like a blazing fire, right? You chatted with me earlier, but played dumb."

"It seems that either you didn't treat me as an outsider, or you treated me as a naive girl, not worth consulting with..."

Su Guoer bit her teeth slightly, her eyes looking at a drifting cloud in the sky, slipping away quietly under the dazzling sun above her head. A strange thought suddenly arose in her heart:

"If one day, such an outstanding man could obediently fall under my skirt, being completely submissive and devoted to me, what would that taste like?"

"By the way, how much power would it take to buy him over and subdue him? Would grandmother's be enough..."

Her chest was clearly not tightly bound, but Su Guoer suddenly felt a bit breathless, and her cheeks became unusually hot.

A strange desire to win, once it arose, filled her chest uncontrollably.

For some reason, she suddenly wanted very, very much to prove something to that guy who loved to play dumb and loved to ignore her, wanting to see his stunned, surprised, or submissive look...

For the first time, Su Guoer tasted the flavor of power. Although it was only a distant thought.

Ouyang Rong did not know that just after he left, the young junior sister's study had become so lively, hiding so many people, and even including a peerless young girl with a bosom and ambition bigger than the sky.

As for the latter, if he knew, he would probably just shake his head and smile, saying "that's quite chuunibyou." "Strange, what's going on with these merits?"

Ouyang Rong returned to the Plum Forest Courtyard with a head full of question marks.

He had been confused by the sudden increase in merits while drinking tea in the junior sister's study, which was why he left Yilan Pavilion first and returned home.

Ouyang Rong did not say goodbye to Xie Lingjiang, mainly because he was afraid the junior sister would keep him for tea again, and after some cute coquetry, she would dig out a lot of words from him.

Anyway, in the evening, Ouyang Rong still had to find her to discuss the case, so he left without saying goodbye.

Meilu Garden, study.

After sending away Ye Weilai and the other maids, Ouyang Rong closed the study door tightly, lay on the recliner, and muttered with a frown:

"Could it be that the things I revealed to the junior sister will influence her and the teacher in a good way, which is why I was rewarded with so many merits? That makes sense."

"But these things haven't happened in the short term, so why did I get feedback on a batch of merits so quickly? Could it be that it has already had some influence?"

"But only the junior sister was there at the time. Could it be that my image in her heart has become taller and more mighty, so my merits increased? Junior sister, oh junior sister, why are you like an experience pack?"

Feeling that he had sheared quite a bit of wool from the junior sister, Ouyang Rong smiled embarrassedly and sighed again:

"Regardless, the increase in merits at least proves that the words I shouldn't have said today still had some positive significance, so it wasn't worrying in vain."

Ouyang Rong rubbed his face, his eyes brightening slightly: "Let's go see how many merits are saved." He did it as soon as he thought of it. Ouyang Rong went to lock the door, turned back, closed his eyes, and sank into his heart lake. A moment later, he arrived at the familiar small tower in the clouds and entered the familiar space inside the tower. The bronze ancient bell, the small wooden fish, and the pure white four-sided background were all as before.

Only the line of cyan-gold characters above the small wooden fish had become somewhat different from before—it had surged quite a bit:

【Merits: 20,381】

"Eh, so many? It actually broke through 20,000?" Ouyang Rong lowered his head to calculate:

"Hmm, after redeeming that weird merit last time, there were 11,288 left, but a few days ago, I successfully blocked the rising water of Yunmeng Marsh, and it surged by nearly 8,000 merits at once."

"And then there was the manifestation in front of people and the foreknowledge at the junior sister's place, which surprisingly increased by 600 or 700 merits."

"Plus some other administrative measures to benefit the people in the Longcheng County government these days, it has also increased quite a bit scattered over these days..."

"A total of 20,381, right? Then this wave is absolutely stable. I can set off in these two days. Redeeming the blessings of the Pure Land Underground Palace will be more than enough."

Ouyang Rong nodded with satisfaction.

"By the way, that weird blessing with a peach-red color last time was simply a pit..."

"After redeeming this blessing, I have been pestered by that Su family younger sister for the past few days. I meet her wherever I go. It's really evil."

Ouyang Rong suddenly realized:

"Good fellow, the blessing turned peach-red? Life is full of peach blossoms, right? I might as well call you the peach blossom luck blessing. However, what's the use? It's so chicken-rib-like, and it wasted a lot of merit points. By the way, just attracting the interest of that Su family younger sister actually cost so many merits? How is this calculated, or is it that this woman is not simple?"

Inside the lonely merit tower, Ouyang Rong stood in front of the cyan-gold characters and muttered to himself for a long while.

Not long after, he shook his head, glanced at the blessing bell that remained motionless, turned, and left the merit tower.

Ouyang Rong opened his eyes, returned to reality, got up, left the study, and went to the Longcheng County government office to work.

In the evening, Ouyang Rong returned to Meilu Garden. Just as he wiped his face, he met Su Dalang, who had been waiting for a long time in the courtyard, and invited him to the Su residence for a banquet.

He said that Su Bo had caught a big fish again today, so he specially invited neighbors to eat fish. Ouyang Rong laughed and nodded: "Alright, alright, I know, I know Su Bo caught a big fish. It's not easy..."

In the courtyard, the sky was dark, and Ouyang Rong did not notice the specific expression on Su Dalang's dark face. Ouyang Rong went to the Su residence with ease, but on the way, he learned a very unexpected piece of news. "What? The junior sister left this afternoon? Where did she go? Why didn't she say hello to me when she went out?" Ouyang Rong frowned. He was originally planning to come and find her in the evening, but now the junior sister had suddenly gone out, which caught him off guard.

Su Dalang explained upon hearing this: "Lianghan, Miss Xie said she wanted to go to Jiangzhou City, and then stop by Long Hushan to handle some matters."

"Long Hushan?" Ouyang Rong stopped and asked in confusion: "Why go to Long Hushan for no reason?" "I don't know." Su Dalang shook his head and glanced at Ouyang Rong again.

Ouyang Rong wanted to say something but stopped. However, he immediately thought that the junior sister suddenly going to Jiangzhou City might be to see her teacher Xie Xun. It should be related to the things he talked about in the afternoon. She might have felt that sending a letter was not safe, which was normal.

As for why she went to Long Hushan, Ouyang Rong didn't know. She might be doing something on the way. He shook his head.

"By the way, although Miss Xie left in a hurry, she specially instructed us that there are some things left for you."

"What things?"

"Miss Xie put them all in the study of Yilan Pavilion... Let's go, Lianghan, we'll talk later. Let's take them after dinner. Father and the others are still waiting for us."

Ouyang Rong had no choice but to nod.

A moment later, Ouyang Rong rushed to a spacious hall in the Su residence. Just as he took his seat, he felt that the atmosphere was a bit wrong.

Ouyang Rong looked left and right.

He saw Su Bo was enthusiastic and hospitable, Aunt Wei was gentle and generous, Su Dalang was honest and simple... and the Su younger sister was holding a white cat, lowering her head and staring at her skirt, not knowing what she was daydreaming about.

In the empty hall, except for the fine wine and delicacies and the endless stream of maids, there was only him and the Su family.

Wait, why did the Su younger sister come? With female family members present, was this a private family banquet? But why invite him, an outsider?

Ouyang Rong asked calmly:

"Su Bo, did your residence invite any important guests tonight that need me to accompany them?" He saw the Su master wave his hand:

"No such thing, everyone is here, we can start the banquet."

He happily instructed the maid beside him, turned his face to Ouyang Rong with a kind look:

"I suddenly remembered that my nephew lives alone next door and has just recovered from a serious illness, which is quite lonely, so I invited you to have a meal together. Nephew, don't worry, tonight is just a small gathering of relatives and friends, no outsiders are invited..."

Ouyang Rong's eyelids twitched. Not treating him as an outsider? ===== CHAPTER 198 =====