Chapter 292: Twenty-one, Humiliation?

Twenty-one, Humiliation?

After Wang Lengran's words fell, he turned to look at Ouyang Rong and smiled.

Seeing his gentle demeanor, plus this old and young, the two Jiangzhou officials sitting close together,

everyone subconsciously thought their relationship was harmonious, and this was a joke of deep friendship.

After all, the nobles and scholars attending the banquet tonight came from all over the Jiang Nan Circuit and were all outsiders.

Only the famous scholars at the same table, such as Master Master Si Hui, who were locals, vaguely sensed that the atmosphere between this pair of Jiangzhou main and deputy officials was strange, but they were still the minority on the field.

At this moment, in the lobby, the gazes of most guests fell on the plain-clothed young man wearing a fox-white fur shawl, with curious and probing looks in their eyes.

Curious about what kind of gift this gentleman, who is famous all over the world, would give?

In the back row of the lobby, Yan Liulang, who was originally bragging about Mingfu with Li Heng, felt a thud in his heart, frowned tightly, and looked at Wang Lengran, who was smiling like an old fox.

This person is so annoying. A compliment put Mingfu so high, and everything was said by him, leaving no room for Mingfu to turn around and explain.

May I ask, if Mingfu's gift is as expensive and extravagant as those young talents who open their screens like peacocks, wouldn't it be contrary to the identity of a gentleman?

I guarantee that everyone on the field will mutter in their hearts, how can an honest official with clean hands have such family wealth?

Then, after the banquet ends tonight, any kind of rumors and gossip can be spread.

Truly hiding a dagger behind a smile, with such a vicious heart.

Yan Liulang felt anxious in his heart.

He suddenly recalled that Eldest Young Master Li had mentioned casually while eating during the day that his younger sister, Little Miss Li, had already sent a heavy gift to the Magistrate via her personal maid for backup, and the Magistrate had accepted it.

"Oh? There's such a thing?"

The noble lady with dangling hairpins, sitting upright at the head table, spoke up. She examined Ouyang Rong, her expression full of interest:

"Young Master Ouyang also sent a gift? Why is Young Master Ouyang being so polite? The fact that you senior brothers from the academy could come to the banquet is already enough to make Seventeen very happy; there's no need for such formalities."

Xie Xuee shook her head politely:

"If my brother knew, he would surely lecture me again for being impolite."

She turned her head to look at Xie Lingjiang, whose pretty face wore an unnatural expression, her tone carrying a hint of reproach:

"Seventeen is really something. Didn't I tell you to notify your teachers and fellow students not to bring gifts before the birthday banquet? Could it be you forgot to inform Young Master Ouyang?"

Ouyang Rong took a deep look at Wang Lengran, then shifted his gaze away, speaking earnestly to Xie Xuee and the guests:

"My Xie Xiao Niangzi, please do not blame my junior sister. It was I who insisted on sending it. It is my junior sister's birthday; as her senior brother, how could I possibly come empty-handed?"

Xie Xuee raised her eyebrows slightly. Ouyang Rong shook his head gently and continued:

"However, my pockets are shallow, and my humble gift is not as valuable or extravagant as those of the other young masters here. It is better not to make a fool of myself and disturb everyone's meal."

"No, no, no, Magistrate Ouyang is being too modest."

Wang Lengran waved his hand, his smile sincere:

"Even if the gift is humble, what does it matter? A small gift carries deep meaning. It's not as if it's some shameful gift. Why doesn't Magistrate Ouyang bring it out and let everyone see? Look, everyone is quite curious about Magistrate Ouyang's way of gift-giving."

He stood up, looked around the room, his tone filled with emotion:

"They say a gift reflects a person's character. Magistrate Ouyang works in the Jiangzhou government office in an orderly and diligent manner, which I and all my colleagues have seen and deeply admire. Surely, the gift will certainly not be bad. Who knows, after today, it might even become a beautiful story."

Ouyang Rong looked at the old fox Wang Lengran, then at the plate of braised crucian carp in front of him, and shook his head.

It was as if he were muttering with emotion: Isn't it just picking a piece of food from in front of you? Is it necessary to lose your old face and pursue it so relentlessly?

Seeing the young man in the white fur coat ignore the bait and maintain a calm, indifferent attitude, Wang Lengran's brilliant smile stiffened slightly. Several friends and subordinates with deep ties to him saw this and immediately began to chime in:

"Magistrate Ouyang, don't be shy. We are all our own people; we all want to see it."

"Magistrate Ouyang is being a bit of a killjoy. Very well, Magistrate Wang and everyone else, don't make things difficult. Perhaps Magistrate Ouyang's gift is indeed inconvenient..."

Ouyang Rong turned a deaf ear, unaffected by the provocation.

The other guests in the hall gradually sensed that something was off. They watched the show with their hands in their sleeves, and some even joined in the heckling.

At the head table, the eldest son of the Zhu family from the Hongzhou Jiangzhou Cishi's house, and that direct descendant of the Langya Wang clan named Wang Hengzhi, shifted their gazes away from the noble daughter of the Xie family. The two of them examined Ouyang Rong with interest.

That young son of the Li clan prince, named Li Yi, was about seventeen or eighteen years old. His face was youthful, yet he wore a high cap. He looked straight ahead, not giving Ouyang Rong or Wang Lengran a proper glance, his attention entirely on Xie Lingjiang.

Li Yi raised his wine cup and signaled to Xie Lingjiang. His posture was proper and respectful, his tone intimate:

"Seventeen, don't pay attention to those vulgar people. It's been three years since we parted in Jin Ling; let's have a drink."

Xie Lingjiang, who was frowning and paying attention to something elsewhere, said without turning her head:

"How many times have I told you, don't call me Seventeen. Li Yi, it's been a long time; how have you become so disrespectful?"

Wang Hengzhi turned his head and interjected:

"That's right, Sister Wanwan. You haven't been in Jin Ling all these years, so you don't know, but this brat Li Yi is getting more and more arrogant, now even trying to be on equal footing with you, Sister Wanwan."

Li Yi's face flushed red: "Monkey Wang, you..."

Xie Lingjiang turned her head, straightened her face at Wang Hengzhi, and said: "What Sister Wanwan? Don't call me that randomly. Call me what you called me before."

Li Yi gloated.

Wang Hengzhi chuckled: "Alright, Xie Gu."

Li Yi hid admiration in the depths of his eyes and said cautiously:

"Xie Gu, my father recently purchased a hunting ground not far from Xunyang City. In a few days, just like when we were children, how about you take us to hunt deer and chase rabbits?"

Xie Lingjiang did not answer.

Li Yi and Wang Hengzhi, who were whispering and discussing, turned their heads to look and discovered that Xie Lingjiang was slightly glancing to the side, intently focused on the movements and sounds in the hall, forgetting to speak.

Li Yi and Wang Hengzhi followed Xie Lingjiang's gaze and frowned as they looked at a certain young man in a white fur coat.

Is Xie Gu very close to him in private?

Before they could hesitate or ask more, they heard the host of the event, Xie Xuee, stand up and speak publicly:

"Young Master Ouyang, my brother has given instructions that if you fellow students from the academy send expensive gifts, neither I nor Seventeen can accept them, so..."

She turned her head and said decisively: "Someone, go and bring the gift Young Master Ouyang sent."

Ouyang Rong, who had been looking down and ignoring Wang Lengran and the crowd of hecklers, slowly turned his head and stared at the noble lady with dangling hairpins at the head table who had stabbed him in the back.

Xie Xuee smiled and met Ouyang Rong's gaze.

She glanced nonchalantly at the familiar skirt-knife at his waist.

Wang Lengran looked at Xie Xuee with some surprise, then stroked his beard and smiled.

In the back row, Yan Liulang suddenly clenched his fists, his face flushing red as he felt injustice for the Magistrate.

As the host of the evening banquet, this aunt of Miss Xie not only failed to settle the matter but was so rude as to dismantle a gift in public without the Magistrate's consent?

"No."

Just as everyone was curiously watching the show, a somewhat panicked female voice suddenly rang out in the hall.

Following the sound, Xie Lingjiang stood up.

Everyone was slightly stunned.

Xie Lingjiang bit her lip and apologized in the direction of Ouyang Rong: "I didn't mean to do that with the backup gift."

Everyone was confused.

Knowing that his junior sister was speaking to him, Ouyang Rong did not answer; he also lowered his eyes and did not look at her.

Xie Xuee frowned, then relaxed, turned her head, and said: "Seventeen, sit down."

"No." Xie Lingjiang shook her head, her tone stubborn: "How can there be any reason to dismantle a guest's gift in public?"

Xie Xuee's tone was flat: "Your father said, do not accept heavy gifts."

"Father didn't say that."

"He didn't tell you, but he told me."

"Aunt, you're lying..."

"Seventeen!"

Xie Xuee suddenly turned her head, her beautiful eyebrows tightly furrowed as she looked at Xie Lingjiang.

The words of the stunning young lady, dressed in her finest for the day, were interrupted as she committed an act of insubordination in public, her pretty face turning bright red.

"My Xie Xiao Niangzi."

At this moment, a clever maid hurried over, walked to Xie Xuee's side, and respectfully handed over a gift box.

Xie Xuee glanced at the long gift box, immediately took it, and opened it directly.

Under the curious gaze of everyone, the noble lady with dangling hairpins pulled a long umbrella from the long gift box.

Xie Xuee opened the oil-paper umbrella; the ribs seemed newly made, and the fan surface featured a newly painted picture of a lady.

She examined it carefully, while also letting everyone in the hall see it clearly.

"An umbrella?"

The guests in the hall looked at each other.

Wang Lengran raised his eyebrows slightly, seemingly a bit surprised, but the smile on his face remained unchanged. He glanced at Ouyang Rong, who was looking down and not speaking, and suddenly spoke up:

"Only sending an oil-paper umbrella, it seems Magistrate Ouyang is truly frugal. However..."

Wang Lengran changed the subject:

"I previously heard people say that Magistrate Ouyang and Miss Xie had a very good bond as fellow students. How is it that when Miss Xie has a birthday, Magistrate Ouyang only sends an umbrella worth a few coins? Hmm, a trinket worth a few copper coins, it certainly lacks the stench of money."

He smiled: "But looking at it this way, the relationship between Magistrate Ouyang and Miss Xie is not as good as imagined."

"Eh, it could also be that Magistrate Ouyang is frugal. But frugality is one thing; to be like this toward someone close to you is a bit too stingy..."

The Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi's words paused at the right moment; he shook his head with a laugh and said nothing more.

"Heh, Magistrate Wang is truly good with words."

Yan Liulang pushed his chair and stood up with a thud, cupping his hands and bowing, his face full of sarcasm:

"Just now, it was you, Magistrate, who said 'a small gift carries deep meaning,' and now it's you who says sending an umbrella is stingy. You've said everything there is to say, Magistrate Wang."

Wang Lengran was indifferent: "An umbrella worth a few coins, what deep meaning can it carry?"

Yan Liulang argued: "This was made by the Magistrate himself, and he spent I don't know how much effort on it. How could you outsiders know how busy the Magistrate's official duties are? He spent all his spare time on it. Isn't this sentiment heavy enough..."

"Alright." Ouyang Rong suddenly spoke, saying calmly to the flushed Yan Liulang:

"Liulang, why say more."

The young man in the white fur coat stood up in public and left his seat.

"Where is Young Master Ouyang going?" Xie Xuee asked, glancing sideways.

He waved his hand and walked calmly toward the gate: "If my Xie Xiao Niangzi does not welcome me, why should I stay here?"

Xie Xuee shook her head: "Where did I not welcome Young Master Ouyang? Just now it was just a small misunderstanding; once clarified, it's fine."

After speaking, she handed her hand to the clever maid and smiled:

"Put it away. It's not a very valuable gift; we, the Xie family of Chen Jun, can accept it."

For some reason, the veteran noble families in the hall who were watching the show saw this and their expressions showed no mockery at all. Instead, they looked at Ouyang Rong, who had been slightly insulted by the Xie family of Chen Jun, with strange eyes, re-evaluating him, and there was a hidden... look of envy.

It was as if they felt that being slightly insulted by the Xie family of Chen Jun was not something to be ashamed of.

Others glanced sideways at the pretty little birthday girl of the night...

Li Yi, Wang Hengzhi, and the eldest son of the Zhu family did not gloat; they became strangely quiet and silently turned their heads to look at the Xie Gu who had specifically invited them. The three of them had complex expressions...

The clever maid put away the oil-paper umbrella and carried it away. Master Si Hui and several other famous scholars at the banquet couldn't help but take a few extra looks.

"Insulting people too much!"

Yan Liulang left his seat in anger and followed Ouyang Rong.

Wang Lengran tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth, shrugged his shoulders, and sat down with an innocent look.

Watching the backs of Ouyang Rong and Yan Liulang leaving the banquet, Xie Xuee frowned and wanted to speak.

"My Xie Xiao Niangzi."

Suddenly someone spoke.

Xie Xuee turned her head to look; it was Wang Caozhi, who had been quietly eating the banquet, standing up.

"Young Master Wang, what is the matter?"

Wang Caozhi scratched his head, his expression somewhat embarrassed: "My Xie Xiao Niangzi, since this umbrella is not valuable, can you gift it to me?"

Xie Xuee was curious: "How can that be?"

Wang Caozhi thought for a moment, his face earnest, and held up one finger: "I can offer one hundred taels of silver."

Xie Xuee was slightly stunned.

Wang Lengran frowned, then relaxed calmly, his tone slightly sarcastic: "Young Master Wang is truly loyal."

But at this moment.

"My Xie Xiao Niangzi, this young woman is willing to offer five hundred taels of silver. How about selling it to me?"

Everyone looked over; it was Miss Qin, who had been playing the pipa, asking timidly. She gave everyone a soft smile: "This slave truly likes this umbrella."

Xie Xuee's expression was puzzled.

Wang Caozhi still held up one finger, opened his mouth to report another price, but the next moment, a silver-bell-like laugh rang out, interrupting his words:

"Xie Gu, it's been a long time since we parted in Yangzhou. I have long admired Xie Gu's style. It's a pity I didn't receive an invitation to your noble banquet, so I was embarrassed to force my way in. I was prepared to wait outside for the banquet to end before approaching, but I was truly in a hurry, so I had to be thick-skinned and come out early."

Pei Pei Shisan Niang walked out from the back kitchen with the proprietor of the Xunyang Tower, her face full of apology.

Xie Xuee examined this unfamiliar woman wearing a purple-gold scarf and asked curiously: "What urgent matter do you have?"

"Xie Gu, this woman also wants this umbrella. I saw it and was delighted."

Pei Pei Shisan Niang stopped, her back to a certain Jiangzhou official, and she gracefully bent her knees and bowed:

"This woman is willing to offer one thousand taels of silver to purchase this umbrella. How about it? Even if you lend it to me for three days, I'll still offer one thousand taels. I'll return it after three days without taking what you love."

The whole hall was silent, and Wang Lengran's old face gradually turned ugly.

Xie Xuee was suspicious: "You..."

"My Xie Xiao Niangzi."

Master Si Hui suddenly stood up. He stared unblinkingly at the lady painting on the umbrella, his expression surprisingly earnest:

"Three thousand taels. My Xie Xiao Niangzi, this poor monk sees that this umbrella has a connection with the Buddha. I am willing to offer three thousand taels to buy this umbrella. How about it?"

Pei Pei Shisan Niang frowned and looked at these annoying famous scholars with dissatisfaction: "Five thousand taels!"

Master Si Hui did not give an inch: "This poor monk will add another five hundred taels."

"I will also add five hundred taels, six thousand taels! I truly like this umbrella, especially that painting... Can you all part with it?"

Several famous Xunyang scholars couldn't help but stand up and argue with Master Si Hui and Pei Pei Shisan Niang.

Instead, Wang Caozhi, who was the first to grab it, was somewhat stunned, as if he hadn't expected his brother-in-law's umbrella to become a hot commodity; he couldn't even get a turn.

The atmosphere at the other dozen tables filled with noble families was somewhat quiet. They all stared blankly at this scene, and some couldn't help but rub their eyes, carefully examining that ordinary handmade oil-paper umbrella.

An umbrella made of bamboo worth a few coins on the street, being fought over to a value of six thousand taels and more?

This price could cover all the expenses of the Xunyang Tower tonight, and even the sum of all the gifts everyone sent.

The umbrella made by this young man in the white fur coat is being snatched up by so many people?

"Master, you all..."

The sudden change made Wang Lengran's face turn the color of a pig's liver. The words just now were like loud slaps, circling back to his face, burning hot.

Xie Xuee's expression was also suspicious.

The clever maid beside her looked left and right, holding the light oil-paper umbrella, her body trembling as if she couldn't hold it steady.

Xie Lingjiang, who had been feeling guilty, stared blankly at this oil-paper umbrella that had become the focus of the whole hall.

She slowly turned her head and looked at the dashing back of her senior brother who had already walked to the door, her small mouth opening blankly.

There were ten thousand words.

(End of chapter)