Chapter 329

Fifty-eight, The Ice-Drinking Studio Does Not Keep Idlers

Ouyang Rong stood on the embankment, watching the large ship carrying the private envoy of the Son of Heaven depart.

"'I hope that next time I return, the Xunyang Prince and the Senior Secretary will still be waiting for me in Xunyang City'... what does it mean."

He muttered in his mouth, repeating the words Hu the envoy had repeated before, chewing on them:

"Could it be that this Envoy Hu is worried that next time he returns and passes through Xunyang, we won't be in Xunyang? Where else could we go? What is he worried about..."

"Could it be that there is some danger coming, giving us a warning in advance, wanting us to behave ourselves?

"Or is there something that needs to wait for him to return before a decision can be made?"

Ouyang Rong's expression was thoughtful as he turned around. Before leaving the pier, he suddenly remembered the fire clouds of last night.

He turned his head to look at the cloudless clear sky.

"'Morning clouds don't go out, evening clouds travel a thousand miles.' Today is indeed a good day for traveling. Seeing the small and knowing the big, this Envoy Hu knows how to pick a day."

Ouyang Rong nodded.

The ship's sails left Xunyang Ferry against the morning wind.

On the sailing ship, a bearded eunuch envoy standing at the stern moved his gaze away from the ancient ferry pier that was gradually shrinking behind him.

He took out the gift saber he had just received and took a look at the frost-cold reflecting slotted blade under the sun; it was a standard military saber.

The purple-black wooden handle faintly had the smell of tung oil.

The original owner must have been a person who loved sabers, often applying oil for maintenance, and the handle was handled meticulously.

Hu nodded, put away the saber, turned, and left the deck.

Only receiving one gift saber didn't count as breaking the rules.

He tucked the saber into his waist, supported it, turned his head, and asked the few accompanying palace servants behind him who were observing the saber sideways:

"Where is that female official?"

The palace servants all shook their heads, not knowing.

Hu's expression remained unchanged, as if it were not unexpected at all. He turned and walked into the cabin, came to a largest cabin door, and raised his hand to knock twice.

Inside the door, no familiar cold voice responded.

Hu stood in front of the door, waiting for a while.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, as if a large stone he had been carrying all the way had finally fallen.

Hu turned his head and glanced at the direction of Xunyang Ferry behind him.

He couldn't help but frown.

A moment later, the bearded eunuch's figure left this empty room.

"Senior Secretary, your family's female relative is waiting for you at the back door."

Ouyang Rong returned to the Jiangzhou main hall after sending Hu onto the ship in the morning and continued to work. He had only sat down for a while when Chen the Commandant walked in and reported in a low voice.

Ouyang Rong signed the documents on his desk,

stood up, and before walking out the door, he picked up a small stack of official documents from the piled-up cases, rolled them up, and tucked them into his sleeve.

Back door of the Jiangzhou main hall.

A carriage from the Huaiye Lane residence was waiting quietly.

Ouyang Rong nimbly climbed into the carriage.

"Tanlang."

"Hmm."

Inside the carriage sat Ye Weilai.

She was wearing a moving pink striped Confucian skirt, and her silver-white hair reaching her waist was tied into a double-bun similar to twin tails, adding a touch of agility.

Ouyang Rong saw a fruit basket beside her, as if she had just gone to the West Market to buy flowers and fruits.

Ye Weilai carefully supported Ouyang Rong as he bent over to get into the carriage. Noticing his gaze, she immediately replied:

"Tanlang, Zhenguang Street has azaleas today."

Ouyang Rong nodded nonchalantly and instructed the coachman outside: "Go to Yunshui Pavilion."

The carriage started slowly.

Ouyang Rong looked at Ye Weilai's exquisite dress and smooth hair and asked: "Did Aunt add them for you?"

Ye Weilai's white-haired little head shook: "It was Xie Jie."

"Wanwan? She still has time to buy clothes."

Ouyang Rong swallowed the four words "lazier than me."

"Hmm,"

Ye Weilai's little face looked quite happy:

"Xie Jie said that Nu'er learns quickly and saves her time, so she was in a good mood and took Nu'er out to shop and dress up."

Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows.

Since a few days ago, he no longer let Ye Weilai stay in the Ice-Drinking Studio to slack off every day.

He began to take time to consciously teach her some useful things.

When he was in Longcheng before, Ouyang Rong had actually taught her to recognize and write characters hand-in-hand. Ye Weilai was naturally intelligent and learned very quickly.

She had also read quite a few books on his bookshelf and could recite them backwards.

At the moment, Ouyang Rong entrusted Xie Lingjiang to teach her advanced Confucian knowledge after literacy.

But it was not focused on letting Ye Weilai write any poetry, but to make her understand articles and allusions in the future.

Regarding these requirements, the little Xiao Shimei looked at him with a slightly strange expression at the time.

Ouyang Rong joked and explained, the Ice-Drinking Studio does not keep idlers.

In the slightly bumpy carriage, Ye Weilai paused and said again:

"Originally Xie Jie also wanted to come over, but then she received news about Li the little lady's side, so she went over, saying she wanted to supervise Li the little lady on Tanlang's behalf, to prevent her from acting recklessly and disrupting Tanlang and the Prince's residence's arrangements."

"What news from the Princess's side?"

"I heard, it seems like the Chrysanthemum Poetry Society recently recruited a few young talents, and inside there seems to be someone named Wang Junzhi, who was recommended to Li the little lady by that annoying Yue Ziang."

Ouyang Rong's mouth twitched.

Ye Weilai had always had "eyes full of the master." As long as Ouyang Rong was by her side, the white-haired little girl's eyes almost never left his face, staring at him with clear blue eyes from every angle.

At this moment, noticing the subtle change in Ouyang Rong's mouth, she asked in a low voice:

"Tanlang knows this person?"

Ouyang Rong nodded: "I know him. Actually, it's not a big deal. This Princess actually handles things quite appropriately..."

He paused, as if remembering the thoughtful relief from last time, and pursed his lips:

"But it's still thoughtful of Wanwan, she has a heart."

"Yes, Xie Jie she..."

Ye Weilai still wanted to say something about a certain "senior wife," but saw Ouyang Rong suddenly look at her with a serious expression and say:

"You learned the Four Books and Five Classics very quickly. Wanwan has a reward, so I can't fall behind. Guess what gift I brought you?"

Ye Weilai's eyes shone, and she couldn't help but straighten her back, saying softly: "Anything Tanlang sends, I like."

Ouyang Rong nodded with satisfaction upon seeing this.

He didn't hesitate, immediately took out a roll of cumbersome official documents, and stuffed them into Ye Weilai's small chest:

"The girl who learns quickly has blessings. Take it, this is today's homework. Go back and study it well, and familiarize yourself with the judgment and signing of official documents.

"Since you have finished recognizing and practicing characters, now start learning how to organize wording and write concise written language.

"It is also about being cautious, meticulous, and weighing every word. Compared to the poetry and songs that cultivate sentiment and show off talent, this kind of imperial court official document is a good sample for learning to write articles and speak."

Ye Weilai: "..."

Before she could be dejected and her little face could turn from sunny to cloudy.

Ouyang Rong smiled, and suddenly flipped his hand, producing a snow-white gardenia flower from nowhere.

Where the root was broken, there was moist dew, as if it had just been picked.

Ouyang Rong twisted the flower with two fingers and gently inserted it into the right side of Ye Weilai's double-bun.

Ye Weilai's little face was pleasantly surprised, she tilted her head and raised her hand, carefully touching the flower.

Her little nose sniffed, smelling the gardenia fragrance filling the carriage.

Ouyang Rong leaned back, distanced himself, and carefully looked at the flower-wearing girl, his expression quite satisfied.

The newly picked flower was beautiful, but the little girl's egg-shaped face was more beautiful than the flower.

Ye Weilai, who had always disliked the childish games of her peers, now had a face full of surprise and happiness.

It was just that the tenderness of her sweetheart came too suddenly. One second he was "assigning homework," and the next second he was sending flowers,

making her speech even a little stuttering:

"Why... why did you suddenly send Nu'er flowers, Tanlang."

He said naturally: "There is a gardenia tree in the main hall that just happened to bloom. I pass by it often and felt the color was very similar to your hair, so I felt it should match very well."

"So Tanlang also thinks of Nu'er often..."

Ye Weilai's heart was like eating candy, so sweet that her pair of clear blue eyes narrowed into crescent moons like a greedy cat.

"Hmm-hmm." Ouyang Rong smiled.

Most women like surprises and a sense of ritual, hmm, the little girl must be no exception.

Therefore, picking a flower by the roadside on a boring and dull day and sending it out with great fanfare,

is even more romantic and joyful than the expensive gifts carefully prepared for birthdays that they might have expected early on.

A certain scumbag is well-versed in this.

"Don't move around, it looks good wearing it like this now."

Ouyang Rong grabbed Ye Weilai's small hand to stop her.

"Oh." Ye Weilai nodded like a chicken pecking at rice and retracted her hand. At this moment, she was completely submissive and obedient to her sweetheart.

She looked down at the obscure and old-fashioned official documents in her arms, bit her pink lips, and said in a low voice:

"Nu'er will learn when she goes back."

Ouyang Rong said casually: "There are also two tax accounts inside. Use the arithmetic I taught you recently to calculate them and tell me the answer when the time comes."

"Good." She promised obediently.

Ouyang Rong suddenly asked: "Are you curious why I let you learn these?"

Ye Weilai immediately shook her head, but under his fixed gaze, she nodded honestly.

Ouyang Rong first looked at the Xunyang River scenery outside the window, turned his head back, and pointed to the documents:

"Weilai, the truly smart people and top-tier intelligence in this world are mostly gathered in this seemingly pedantic and inefficient imperial court system.

"These official documents are all written by these smart people who love to pretend to be confused.

"Even an unknown female official serving tea in front of the Empress in the palace might be a female Prime Minister with unparalleled articles who is not inferior to men.

"I hope that your brilliance should not be placed on becoming some talented woman of poetry or a beautiful concubine who fights for favor in the boudoir, but should be compared with these people, understand?"

The white-haired girl who had grown up to be graceful and elegant had a stunned little face.

After a while.

She nodded vigorously: "As long as I can help Tanlang in the future, Nu'er will study hard."

Ouyang Rong knocked on Ye Weilai's smooth little forehead:

"It's not just helping me. If you learn these, it will be your own skill. Just in case, even if you walk out alone in the future, the road will be vast, and all parties will value you."

He paused and smiled: "At that time, you can buy whatever skirt you want."

This carriage belonged to the Xunyang Prince's residence, and the little Xiao Shimei often sat in it, so over time, it was brought back to the Huaiye Lane residence.

The carriage was covered with a soft Persian carpet.

Ye Weilai suddenly stood up, bent her legs, and knelt beside Ouyang Rong's feet, hugging his knees covered by his Confucian robe with her arms.

She tilted her head and pressed her cheek against his thigh in front of his knees, as if talking to herself:

"I can learn, but I'm not leaving. Even if you drive me away, I'm not leaving. Anyway, I'm relying on you from now on."

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but reach out and touch the white-haired little head on his knees. She closed her eyes and rubbed against his warm palm.

Ouyang Rong's fingers scratched in her exquisite, flushed ear canal, causing the little girl to bury her head and mutter:

"Itchy..."

Ouyang Rong wanted to withdraw his hand, but was grabbed by her, signaling him to continue rubbing her little ears, as if she liked this kind of caress.

Ouyang Rong rubbed her ears while saying softly:

"Weilai, actually I have always felt quite indebted to you. I am busy with affairs usually and can't accompany you for too long. When I get home, I either fall asleep or read by candlelight, and sometimes I don't even see anyone in the middle of the night...

"You like the clothing of the Huazhu clan, and I have always just thought about it, wanting to buy you a few pieces, but I don't have time to accompany you shopping, so it has to be Wanwan taking time to do it for me.

"Now I am pressing you every day to learn some complex knowledge that ordinary women in the boudoir wouldn't involve themselves in.

"Speaking of which, what kind of husband would treat his concubine and female relatives like this, just like neglect."

He laughed at himself as he spoke.

The little girl's beautiful little face buried between his knees and legs raised up, looking up at him:

"My Tanlang is a person who wants to do great things,

"Nu'er understands this, Xie Jie understands, and Xie Xiao Niangzi Zhen understands. The female relatives in the Huaiye Lane residence all understand.

"If you really want to talk about it, Xie Jie paid more. As a noble daughter of the five surnames, clearly engaged, but cannot get engaged immediately... Compared to this, what else can Nu'er not pay?"

Ouyang Rong was silent for a while:

"Wait for me.

"Wait for me to take you all away from this Xunyang City together."

Just at this moment, the carriage stopped, and the coachman's voice came from outside.

"We've arrived, let's go, I'll introduce you to someone."

Ouyang Rong stood up and led the curious Ye Weilai off the carriage.

"Senior Secretary Ouyang, please forgive this subordinate for not understanding."

Inside the private room on the third floor of Yunshui Pavilion, after hearing the news from Ouyang Rong's mouth, Qin Heng's cheeks puffed out, his nostrils trembled slightly, and his tone was a bit excited:

"Why doesn't the imperial court thoroughly investigate and severely punish the culprits? Do they intend to let them remain at large? If this continues, how can the garrison soldiers be at ease? Isn't this just adding hidden dangers?"

Qin Heng's reaction was as big as Ouyang Rong had expected.

He lowered his eyes and said:

"This is clearly a compromise plan.

"On the issue of the garrison soldiers, they adopted the opinions of the Master and us.

"On the issue of the main officials like Lan Changhao, they compromised with the Wei clan."

"Does the Senior Secretary not feel angry?"

Ouyang Rong sipped his tea:

"I expected it."

Qin Heng frowned, then suddenly realized:

"No wonder the Senior Secretary said at the time that he didn't care about their official hats, only about whether the garrison soldiers could return safely... The Senior Secretary was already pessimistic."

Ye Weilai, who was pouring tea for the two, said softly:

"Tanlang once said, abandoning expectations and positions, and looking at it truly according to reality, most of the choices in the world that make people indignant are despairingly flawless, and one cannot pick out the slightest flaw that violates the real rules."

Ouyang Rong set down his teacup: "General Qin, this is the terrible thing about everything in the world."

Qin Heng wanted to speak but stopped, and finally remained silent.

The three of them drank tea in silence for a while.

After a while, Qin Heng lowered his head:

"How will it be handled after the soldiers return? Do we still have to deal with the Inspector Wang Lengran? Will we be retaliated against and stripped of our positions, and all dismissed?"

"Just dismissed?" Ouyang Rong shook his head: "General Qin, be prepared."

"What preparation?"

Ouyang Rong set down his teacup: "The safety of the returning garrison soldiers."

Qin Heng was shocked: "Is this the hint from that Luoyang envoy? Or the Empress's order?"

"Neither."

"Then how dare Wang Lengran..."

"Not only dare, but inevitably."

Ouyang Rong narrowed his eyes: "The returning garrison soldiers, laying down their weapons, the day they enter the city, they can be caught in one net by simply pinning a charge of intending to rebel... Handling it like this is truly clean."

Qin Heng was suddenly startled.

(End of chapter)