Chapter 209: Two hundred and sixteen, Lianghan should return!

Two hundred and sixteen, Lianghan should return!

No way, the gentleman also guards against craftsman's work. Two hundred and sixteen, Lianghan should return! The sound of horse hooves rang out on Luming Street.

The carriage carrying the Wang Lixian family slowly returned to the Su Fu.

When passing by a deserted small courtyard next to the Su Fu, the curtain on the right was lifted slightly, and Princess Li Guoer's gaze swept over the unlocked Meilu Garden.

On the street in front of the courtyard gate, a spiritual young girl with a tattoo on her forehead held a broom in both hands, lowering her head to sweep the dust in front of the door, stopping from time to time to wipe her sweat, and turning her head to look in the direction of the pier.

Her pupils were a bit unfocused, as if she were looking out at a distant green mountain that she could never reach.

The spiritual big eyes lost some of their usual luster and gained a few points of sorrow.

Princess Li Guoer knew this girl with the word "Yue" tattooed on her forehead.

It seemed her name was Aqing, the younger sister of the follower named "Ashan" beside Ouyang Lianghan, and the family also lived in Meilu Garden.

It seems she is staying behind now, guarding the courtyard.

Aqing didn't care about the carriage passing by. Her little hand silently took out a blue paper-folded butterfly flower from her bosom, lowering her head and staring at it, muttering something in her mouth.

The carriage hurried past, and Princess Li Guoer didn't care about the girl and the blue butterfly origami flower, withdrew her gaze, and put down the curtain.

Not long after, before jumping off the carriage, Princess Li Guoer curled her lips, suddenly tilted her head and bent down, quickly picking up a key among the pile of paper on the ground and throwing it into her sleeve.

"Not to be repeated."

Amidst the curious gazes of Wang Lixian and Wei Mei, the little girl with plum blossom makeup jumped off the carriage lightly, tightened her little face, and left proudly...

Luming Street was not lively on weekdays; it was where wealthy families lived, with deep courtyards.

Especially during the afternoon when most families were taking a nap.

On the southeast side of the street, a relatively low high wall suddenly had a piece of blue tile fall, with a "pop" sound, shattering into pieces.

It was a pity that it didn't attract any attention.

As for the gray figure that secretly slipped into the wall, no one knew.

"Sneaking into your own house like a thief, you really have it, kid... But my wall-climbing technique should still be okay. I haven't practiced it for a long time. Back when I was staying at school, climbing walls in three steps was a basic operation. It's rusty..."

"Hmm, other people's eighteen-year-old three-step layup, my eighteen-year-old three-step wall-climbing out of school... all focused on being young and promising."

In a quiet inner wall of Meilu Garden, Ouyang Rong patted his clothes, clapped his hands, muttered self-deprecatingly, and walked towards the plum forest courtyard without looking back.

On the way, he lightened his steps from time to time, looking left and right at the deserted mansion.

"Other maids have all left with Weilai. Now only Aqing's family and a few old gatekeepers are left. They shouldn't be able to discover anything."

Ouyang Rong nodded lightly and went to the plum forest courtyard with ease.

His attire today was different from the past. He was wearing gray soap clothes, commoner attire, which didn't look conspicuous on the street, except that his heroic face was too obstructive, so he had to put on a felt hat and walk with his head down to cover it.

After all, many people still recognized his face.

Besides that, Ouyang Rong also carried a quite large bundle on his back. Hmm, so it was a bit strenuous when climbing the wall just now.

With his mind aimlessly finding excuses and letting his imagination run wild, Ouyang Rong walked all the way without incident and came to the plum forest courtyard again.

Having bid farewell to everyone today, Ouyang Rong felt much more relaxed, and his mind no longer had the pressure of being a county magistrate in front of others and being cautious behind others.

He recovered a bit of the look of the old fun-loving person who was preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam.

It was just that Ouyang Rong complained and had fun all the way, but for some reason, there wasn't much smile on his face.

When approaching the plum forest courtyard, he restrained his emotions even more, lightened his hands and feet, and became silent.

The plum forest courtyard was silent, and a pot of cymbidium swayed in the wind on the windowsill of the main room.

Ouyang Rong lowered his hat brim, looked back at the road he came from, and silently took out the key to open the tightly closed main room door.

The creaking sound of the door frame echoed slowly in the room.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but it echoed several times and still had lingering sounds.

Making the familiar main room appear a bit empty.

It was indeed empty. Not only Ouyang Rong and Ye Weilai's bedding and clothes, but even the ink treasures on the desk and the books on the bookshelf had all been moved away.

By now, they should be on a ship somewhere in the distance, swaying and drifting towards the hometown of Nanlong with the waves of the river. Originally, these books were prepared to be left for Su Dalang, but now it seemed there was no need. People weren't competing in the imperial examination; they were competing for the Dragon Throne, so there was no need to disturb them.

Ouyang Rong threw the bundle and felt hat onto the eight-immortal table covered with dust-proof cloth.

He turned to scoop up a ladle of water, walked to the window of the inner room, and watered the cymbidium given by Xie Lingjiang.

"Come, let's have a drink. Brother Lan, drink more. The one who will water you next time is probably the Xiao Shimei who rushed over with the key."

"In the letter she sent from Jiangzhou a few days ago, she said she had already seen her father, but she still had to go to Long Hushan again. I don't know what she's doing. Is she busy with the antidote? Or is she doing something for her mentor? However, she said in her letter that she probably won't be back until after the 15th of this month."

In the empty room, the man stood in front of the orchid, holding a water ladle, lowering his head and muttering:

"What, you say you can wait for her to come back to water you? That's not certain. If she's not in the mood to water you by then, you'd better drink more now. Don't be picky. It's already good enough that your little brother has the heart to remember you and come over to water you and chat..."

Someone had a very thick skin, and his tone was quite proud. He paused, looked thoughtful, nodded, and said:

"But it's hard to say. If you can exert more charm by then, after she finishes reading the letter on the table, and you tease her into a better mood, maybe she'll be happy and water you? As long as it's not tears, so, I'll leave it to Brother Lan to comfort my Xiao Shimei for me then."

"What? You say she doesn't care at all, just pretend it was bitten by a dog... That's fine. It's quite good if Xiao Shimei can think that way. I was being sentimental, but to be honest, the way I, the Senior Brother, acted was indeed quite dog-like."

"What? You ask what if I reach the Pure Land Underground Palace and find I can't come back? Wouldn't that be awkward? You're still 'happy' here?"

"Hehe, fine, then you wait here. How about I, this clown brother, come back and continue to water and fertilize you? Morning and evening, once each. Guess why I don't water at noon? Heh, burn you to death."

Ouyang Rong glared at the orchid in the pot:

"Cough, you kid is specifically telling me depressing things, right? You don't even look at Master Zhong Ma, that is, the grand-uncle of Master Venerable Shan Dao. Didn't this expert ascend to heaven in broad daylight in the underground palace? And he even became a Buddha in the flesh. This at least proves that the Pure Land Underground Palace wasn't named wrong. The chance is not small."

He nodded, analyzed it in a logical way, glanced at the cymbidium that was listening silently, relaxed his shoulders slightly, squinted at the scenery outside the window, and said softly:

"There are only a few days left until the 15th of this month... So brother, I'm in a hurry to leave because I've already delayed for many days. Before, when Xiao Shimei went to Gezaoshan to seek the elixir, I should have started to resign, but I was a bit reluctant and hesitant."

"But after the incident with Dalang's family next door, I suddenly figured out some principles and became more determined. And it just so happened, like my wooden head, the Zhe Yi Channel was also opened two days ago."

"The promises I made when I took office, disaster relief, water control, justice, brother, I can be considered to have fulfilled them all. Some were even exceeded. No regrets... What, you ask me about justice?"

Ouyang Rong's face stiffened, and he said seriously:

"Asking what you already know, right? The Liu family is ruined, aren't the people of Longcheng living quite well now?"

"Look at Ashan's family; isn't that a portrayal of most commoner families in Longcheng? I also taught the fellow villagers hand-in-hand how to fight and how to govern bullies. Isn't that justice?"

"And, from the time I met Ashan's family to the end of having dinner and saying goodbye to Ashan's family last night, seeing that their lives are indeed getting better and better, I am also quite gratified. It can be considered a beginning and an end. The atmosphere is already here. If I don't leave now, when will I? Stay for dinner?"

"No, why do you have so many questions? What? You say Longcheng has justice, ask me about the justice outside Longcheng? Ask me how to get rid of the biggest bully in the world, Luojing?"

The water flow from the wooden ladle in Ouyang Rong's hand stopped.

He suddenly smiled brilliantly, his tone jumping and saying:

"Hey, don't be silly, Brother Lan. That's enough. Merit is enough, hurry up and retreat. Quit while you're ahead. Can you manage those thousands of Longcheng counties outside? And what do you want so much merit for? Be careful of overeating, like watering too much, Brother Lan, you'll be waterlogged to death."

The young man in casual clothes laughed and said in a tone that didn't seem to care, his logic very self-consistent.

The orchid in the pot didn't move, only drops of crystal clear water condensed on the leaves, reflecting the gradually stiffening smiling face of a certain old fun-loving person.

This cymbidium seemed to have water-drop-shaped eyes, staring at the young man.

As if it didn't think it was funny at all.

Suddenly a strong wind blew, the orchid swayed violently, and water droplets splashed everywhere.

After a while, Ouyang Rong wiped the water stains on his face and slowly restrained his smile.

He stared at the orchid, as if focusing on persuading this proud cymbidium, or as if talking to himself:

"I know, I know, stop nagging, of course I know."

"Isn't it just that the whole land is full of blood, nothing more than a thought to save the common people... Isn't it just the golden monkey rising up with a ten-thousand-jin rod, clearing the universe for ten thousand miles..."

"But any person with a conscience left, seeing that tragic scene of the flood drowning the city, would feel pity. Having such thoughts, I'm just a bit more easily hot-blooded, it's very normal. I'm also a young man, right? And I'm not like you, heartless like grass and wood."

"And what era is it, still going to be a traditional savior?"

"A friend once advised me not to be a savior, not to have any savior complex. Whether it's picking up girls or doing things, honestly take the postgraduate exam and be a wage slave with more salary. Saving everything will only harm you."

"I think it makes sense, so I honestly went to take the postgraduate exam."

"And most importantly, I'm not the 'gentleman' who wrote those two lines of poetry. I'm just a postgraduate exam obsessive, aiming at color pictures in the postgraduate exam group every day. Can you expect me to have much promise? Right?"

"Saving one Longcheng is already so difficult. I haven't thought about looking up and looking out, but what did I see?"

"The whole world is just a bigger Longcheng, feudal autocratic imperial power, the Empress who treats family affairs as state affairs, mythical powers of unknown origin, Qi practitioners who use martial arts to disrupt the ban, and common people wailing like mayflies under the prosperous age."

"The more I contact and integrate into this world, the colder and more real the touch is. Brother Lan doesn't understand. You are carefree, staying in a pot every day waiting for people to serve you, pointing out the country."

"Honestly, I don't regret coming to Longcheng, but I'm not proud at all to be such a short-lived savior."

Ouyang Rong's expression returned to calm, he lowered his head and continued to water carefully, saying faintly:

"Brother Lan, do you know when I was happiest these days?"

"The happiest and most joyful time for me was hearing the sound of iron shovels hitting stones and heavy hammers hitting wooden piles, and when the fellow villagers of Longcheng worked together to dig the new channel and the Di Gong Gate rose from nothing! These sounds in my ears are really... I can listen from morning to night and not get tired!"

He suddenly raised his head, stared at the orchid, grinned wide, revealing three white teeth, his smile brilliant, just like the sunlight outside, but the words he said were cold:

"Then do you know what I was most painful about? It was that they were still working hard to create with their own hands the second before, and the next second they turned around and knelt down to me, respectfully calling me Master, Old Master, and being grateful to me!"

Ouyang Rong maintained his smile, trying hard to open his eyes, which had gradually turned red, his head held high, his chest heaving violently like an old bellows:

"I eat the official salary squeezed from the people's fat and cream, earn massive merit from them, and let them help me build water conservancy projects. Turning around, I can go to the court to claim credit and ask for rewards, and by the way, I can become famous all over the world, letting the scholars and people of the world all praise me, Ouyang Lianghan, for doing a good job, doing it beautifully, being a gentleman, being a clean official of the current era! And even, damn it, I can leave my name in history and be admired by future generations!"

"And them?" He lifted his chin and signaled outside the window: "They only need me to let them eat their fill and live a good life, that's all. But for such a simple condition, looking through history, how many people have done it? What kind of damn world is this!"

"And the wolves in the court, the Empress Wei, all turned around and praised me for doing a good job, for being a good pillar of the country! For being a good dog that herds sheep for the Son of Heaven!"

The more he spoke, the more his face flushed, as if he had been greatly insulted, out of extreme anger. The watering young man rarely looked ferocious, pointing his finger at the ground, roaring hoarsely:

"Isn't this the Avici Hell that 'Master Bu Zhi' talked about? Isn't it Avici Hell?! Compared to this, that world is truly a Pure Land of Lotus!"

Ouyang Rong's right hand violently tore open his collar, gasping for breath:

"Xiao Shimei said she also wants to be a shepherd dog like me, but this kind of shepherd dog, I don't want to be for even a second!"

"I won't take this bird's anger! Leaving, no Pure Land, then return to the Pure Land!"

The water ladle fell with a clatter, water splashed all over the ground, the red-eyed young man turned around abruptly, went to the eight-immortal table, and opened a bundle.

On the windowsill, only a cymbidium stood quietly and lonely, the water droplets hanging on the leaves seeming to gently watch that person's back.

Not feeling the clamor.

A bit of filler, apologies, but if I don't write these, some brothers will question the protagonist's logical motivations again... Very well, Xiao Rong has successfully filled another chapter!