Chapter 356

85. The Young Girl's Competitive Spirit

The night was as cool as water.

Yinbing Studio.

Before a small desk, Ouyang Rong calmly bent down and scooped up Ye Weilai, whose silver hair cascaded like a waterfall and who was nodding off in her sleep, in a bridal carry.

Carrying her back to the bed in the inner room,

Ouyang Rong, having returned late and weary, turned his head to glance at the small desk newly moved into the outer room; the surface was piled high with documents, official papers, an abacus, and other items.

Over the past two days, due to Wang Lengran's compromise, he had returned to the Jiangzhou government office and immediately busied himself with the defense of Xunyang City, inspecting everywhere and returning late each day.

These past two days, the war situation on the front lines had become increasingly dangerous, and Ouyang Rong's nerves had been stretched to the limit, causing him to neglect Yinbing Studio.

Returning late tonight, he had once again seen the figure of Ye Weilai burning the midnight oil, slumped over the desk in sleep.

And this small desk in the outer room, too—she had taken the initiative to move it into the bedroom.

If it were before, Ouyang Rong asking Ye Weilai to read and study would have been like asking her to sit in prison.

The white-haired girl would think of ways to slack off, and after completing her assigned study tasks, she would absolutely not flip another page of a book.

But ever since that morning when Ouyang Rong went to the West City Gate to bring Zhen Shuyuan and Ye Weilai back,

The little girl seemed like a different person; for several consecutive days, when Ouyang Rong returned late, he had seen her slumped over the desk in sleep.

After placing her on the bed, Ouyang Rong tucked the quilt around Ye Weilai and glanced at her deep, quiet sleeping face.

On the desk, the flame of the lamp flickered, casting the two overlapping figures by the bedside into a dazzling dance.

Ouyang Rong tucked the corner of the quilt for the sleeping Ye Weilai and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, a small hand tightly gripped the single arm Ouyang Rong was using to support himself on the bed.

He turned his head to look; Ye Weilai had opened her eyes at some point, and whether she was still dazed from sleep or not, her small face was eerily calm, with only a pair of blue eyes staring slightly at him, though her pupils were somewhat unfocused.

Ouyang Rong lowered his head and glanced at the girl's right hand, which was tightly gripping his arm; her knuckles were squeezed until they lost their color.

Her small frame was tense.

He shifted his gaze again; Ye Weilai's left hand inside the quilt also reached out, as if reacting to a stimulus, and grabbed an object under the pillow. A corner of this object was exposed—it was a bronze-colored sword hilt.

Ouyang Rong caught a glimpse of it.

"Tan... Tanlang." Ye Weilai's blue eyes regained some focus, and she murmured in her sleep.

She looked left and right at the familiar bed, let out a long breath, tucked the short sword back, quickly released her grip on Ouyang Rong's arm, lowered her head, and felt somewhat embarrassed:

"Tanlang is back... Just now... did I slack off and fall asleep again?" The girl's voice was soft and sweet, still half-asleep.

Ouyang Rong shook his head: "It's fine, sleep if you're tired, study during the day... Did you have a nightmare just now?"

Ye Weilai nodded, then shook her head.

Ouyang Rong was quiet for a moment, then said:

"Auntie said later that you were very brave that day, blocking the way at the first moment, even more impressive than she thought, exceeding her expectations.

"But that Rong Zhen is, after all, an orthodox palace cultivator, and her rank might be even higher than Xiao Shimei's, so it's normal not to be able to beat her. It doesn't mean you're useless, there's no need to feel ashamed, you don't need to feel guilty."

"Oh." Ye Weilai lowered her head and buried her face.

Seeing this, Ouyang Rong closed his mouth, looked gently at the white-haired little head peeking out from the quilt, ruffled it, and said no more.

Ye Weilai waited for a while, but seeing he didn't speak, she couldn't help but look up and meet his calm, lake-like gaze.

"Does Tanlang have no questions for Nu'er?"

Ouyang Rong shook his head.

Ye Weilai's still-sleepy cheeks looked somewhat dazed.

He said again:

"If you have something you want to say, I can listen; you can say it anytime."

Ye Weilai was moved.

After a pause, the girl's face turned red and hot under the young man's gentle gaze, and she averted her blue eyes, dodging his look.

The atmosphere before the bed was quiet for a while.

Ye Weilai suddenly spoke:

"She seems younger than Sister Xie, the same age as Nu'er."

"Ah."

Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment, and his first instinct was to glance at the silver-haired girl's small chest as she hugged the quilt.

She wants to compare this too?

"Hmm."

A certain upright gentleman who had once behaved with eyes straight ahead in a carriage nodded subconsciously.

Then, seeing Ye Weilai's wrinkled little nose, he immediately realized she was talking about age, shifted his gaze away nonchalantly, and shook his head to explain:

"It just looks like she's the same age. I heard from Xiao Shimei that Yin-Yang School cultivators, upon reaching a certain realm, can maintain their youthful appearance to a certain extent."

Ye Weilai couldn't help but say: "Even if she's older than me, that just means her spiritual energy cultivation was already very high when she was the same age as Nu'er."

"This, I suppose so, but she is a colorful-robed palace attendant, not an ordinary palace maid; she was carefully selected and trained by the Empress and the Astrological Bureau, so the resources she received are no worse than Xiao Shimei's. Don't judge by ordinary standards."

"But she is also a servant."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "Hmm, a servant, the servant of the ruler of all under heaven."

Ye Weilai's voice grew louder: "Nu'er is too, I am Tanlang's, and Tanlang is no worse than anyone else."

Ouyang Rong flicked her forehead and nodded expressionlessly:

"Fine, thank you. But if these words of yours were to spread, your Tanlang's hundred heads wouldn't be enough to behead."

"It's true anyway." Ye Weilai whispered in defense.

The person who deserved to be beheaded said no more, raised his hand, and silently ruffled her white-haired little head.

"Is Tanlang sleeping?" she asked, biting her lip.

"There is still official business to handle. You sleep first, I'm going to take a bath."

"Nu'er will fetch water for you."

"No need, I'll do it myself, you rest."

Ye Weilai nodded obediently.

"Oh, okay."

She suddenly propped up her upper body, pinched the ribbon at her slender waist, slowly removed her light blouse, and tilted her head:

"It's uncomfortable to sleep in clothes, Tanlang only knows how to pull up the quilt, hmm, remember to help Nu'er take them off next time."

Ouyang Rong was helpless: "You've really become a little ancestor."

"Has Tanlang seen such a little ancestor before..."

Ye Weilai whispered, her slender fingers moving non-stop, sliding to the back of her neck to untie the green mandarin duck bodice, removing them one by one and handing them to Ouyang Rong. Her skin was as delicate as milk, blindingly white, and the girl suddenly smiled:

"It's all Nu'er, but that cold-faced woman Rong Zhen is not as happy as Nu'er, being able to have Tanlang's love. She can only serve a fickle old woman all day long, no wonder she pulls a long face, cold and icy, staying in the deep palace without anyone close to her, she knows her own warmth and cold, humph humph, on this point, Nu'er wins."

Ouyang Rong opened his eyes slightly, speechless.

You can win on this too, huh?

But what she said seemed to make some sense; that Rong Zhen, no wonder she had that "strangers keep away," taciturn, and boring appearance.

Ye Weilai lazily stuffed her skirt and undergarments to Ouyang Rong, rubbed her sleepy eyes, happily shrank into the warm quilt, narrowed her blue eyes, and let out a comfortable, sweet moan.

Ouyang Rong wouldn't fall for the little girl's quilt temptation.

A while later, after coaxing Ye Weilai to sleep, Ouyang Rong stood up. Before leaving, he bent down to pick up the short sword by her pillow, weighed it, and put it back.

He turned and left the inner room, threw the crumpled skirt, bodice, and underpants into the laundry basket, and when passing by a certain small desk, rubbed his face:

"Is her competitive spirit really this strong, this girl..."

Returning to the study.

A lonely lamp in a dark room.

Ouyang Rong sat alone, not going to take a bath.

The night outside the window was fading.

He liked this feeling of quiet solitude.

A while later, Ouyang Rong stood up, went to a hidden compartment, and retrieved some items:

A sword case disguised as a zither box, a bronze mask, an elixir box,

And a token engraved with the character "Wei," and a night-luminescent pearl that hadn't been taken out for a long time...

Ouyang Rong placed these on the table, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and entered the Merit Tower.

Inside the Merit Tower, Ouyang Rong's gaze swept over the gold-green characters above the small wooden fish.

Merit: 1,352

Ouyang Rong nodded slightly and glanced at the Fortune Bell.

It was almost certain now that the blood-colored fortune worth 7,000 merit points had helped him avoid the Golden Blade Scheme that night.

In fact, that night, after learning that the begonia flowers were still placed on the wall of Qin Heng's house, Ouyang Rong had vaguely reacted, and then remembered Hu Fu's two consecutive warnings.

Telling him and the Prince of Xunyang not to leave the city.

Looking at it now, Hu Fu must have known that the guards inside Xunyang City were strict, with no fewer than one colorful-robed palace attendant supervising openly and secretly, and also knew the Emperor's general personality and general attitude toward the Prince of Xunyang, which is why he warned them to stay safely in Xunyang City and not go out.

It's just that Hu Fu, because of Cai Qin's army, was too passive, returned in a hurry, and didn't have time to say more to Ouyang Rong before going back to report for duty.

"Saving the Prince of Xunyang's residence increased some merit, and recently taking in people fleeing from the southwest, they are also quite grateful to me, that's another sum of merit, 1,400 now, let's save up more."

Ouyang Rong shook his head again:

"Blood-colored fortune really does foretell danger; in the future, exchange it whenever possible, don't be stingy."

He summarized and checked for omissions.

Hua Xuanji, his palm touched the sword case on the table.

"Currently still at Grade 9, the bottleneck has been slow to break through, and I can't find an opportunity for an advancement ceremony... For this Grade 9 Sword-Wielder to kill a Grade 6 existence is too difficult, the conditions are harsh; that time with Qiu Shenji, we almost died together.

"Calling the little girl competitive, Ouyang Lianghan, actually you are the same. If when meeting Rong Zhen in the carriage, I could have been Grade 8

, plus carrying the sword case, this hurried encounter wouldn't have been so passive.

"A Grade 8 Sword-Wielder, without relying on purple mist or elixirs, if the sword formation succeeds, can threaten the life of a Grade 6 cultivator, can break her true qi defense. Heh, wait a little longer... Grade 8... by then, let's see what she's still arrogant about, and if she dares to pull a long face."

Ouyang Rong muttered, becoming cautious in times of peace.

Moreover, Xunyang City is not safe right now; although he is responsible for the specific defense,

Only Ouyang Rong knows how great the pressure is.

If by any chance Xunyang City is breached, I can't just sit and wait for death. If I have cultivation, I can escort Auntie and Weilai to run away...

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.

The next day.

Ouyang Rong went to Xunyang Ferry early in the morning.

Xunyang Ferry was very lively right now; to the southwest, there was an endless stream of officials fleeing north.

From Guizhou to Jiangzhou, many officials along the way either surrendered, were killed, or fled north.

More than half were the third type, and among these fleeing officials, many were temporarily resting in Xunyang City.

This also provided the Jiangzhou government office with a steady stream of specific news from the southwest.

The situation was not optimistic; Ouyang Rong began to lead teams to strictly inspect the ferry and city gates, with the whole city on alert, especially strangers like merchants and monks from other places; this type of person had high mobility and might be rebel spies.

The task of re-defending the city fell to Ouyang Rong, while Wang Lengran turned to organize the establishment of the rebel vanguard.

Busy all morning, at noon, Ouyang Rong, according to plan, invited Captain Chen to go to Yunshui Pavilion for tea.

Captain Chen repeatedly reiterated that it was only because of circumstances that he had kept a slight distance before.

But Ouyang Rong didn't care about this, but rather about the duty on the city wall that night.

Ouyang Rong personally poured a cup of tea for Chen You; at this time, Li Fusu walked out from behind the scenes and sat at the table.

"Dalang, this is the Captain Chen I often mentioned to you, who has always admired you and the Prince, hoping to seek an audience." Ouyang Rong smiled and introduced them.

Chen You was stunned.

Li Dalang looked straight ahead, and although nervous, he pondered Ouyang Rong's past posture of winning over scholars, imitated it, and greeted him in a relaxed tone:

"Where is Brother Chen from?"

"Jiang... Jiangzhou local." Captain Chen replied, stuttering with excitement.

After some conversation, he was flattered and cast a grateful look at Ouyang Rong.

After the meal, he sent Chen You away.

Li Fusu and Yan Liulang cast their gazes over.

Ouyang Rong nodded: "People who know how to be grateful won't be too bad; this person can be recruited."

Li and Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, they didn't know how Ouyang Rong judged people; this was a technical job, but the two of them trusted Ouyang Rong unconditionally.

In the afternoon, Ouyang Rong had just returned to Xunyang Ferry when he received news and personally went to a certain pier, where he saw several familiar figures among the fleeing crowd disembarking.

"Magistrate Diao? Master Venerable Shan Dao?"

Magistrate Diao's face was sheepish, and the Master Venerable Shan Dao and Xiufa beside him were all dejected.

They brought news.

Longcheng County had also fallen, falling into the hands of Cai Qin's army; in fact, there was no resistance to speak of.

Ouyang Rong's face showed no surprise; he never counted on Longcheng County being able to hold out. After all, only a small number of people were truly loyal to the Great Zhou, and most were just simple wage earners or members of powerful clans.

You say, why risk your life? Changing a ruler, you can still be an official. Of course, it's not that there are no people willing to risk their lives, but the Great Zhou has only been established for ten years, and the cultivation of scholars is certainly not as long as the Great Gan.

To some extent, the Great Zhou was founded by the high-pressure military force and iron-fisted methods of Empress Wei.

That night, Ouyang Rong held a banquet at the residence in Huaiye Lane to entertain them.

A group of old people from Longcheng gathered again, and they couldn't help but sigh.

They had thought about gathering before, but didn't expect it to be in such an awkward situation.

Ouyang Rong's face was calm:

"Recently, there is war preparation in the city, and food supply is controlled, which is a bit tight, so there is only some coarse tea and light rice, I hope everyone won't mind."

"It's fine, it's fine."

Magistrate Diao, the high monk Venerable Shan Dao, and Xiufa were already starving, and they all buried their heads in eating.

During this time, Ouyang Rong asked about Longcheng County.

"Longcheng is close to Yunmeng Marsh, somewhat deviating from the route from Hongzhou directly to Xunyang City; wouldn't Cai Qin's army going to Longcheng be a bit of a detour?"

"This official doesn't know either. Perhaps, it's because they need to control the water transport hub of Zhe Yiqu?"

"But it's still a detour; right now, speed should be of the essence."

Ouyang Rong frowned slightly, then asked for details. Magistrate Diao blushed and confessed that the Longcheng government office didn't put up much resistance, which could be considered half a surrender.

Magistrate Diao thought Ouyang Changshi would blame him, but didn't expect his face to be calm, even relieved.

"It's good that there weren't many casualties; the main victory or defeat will be decided on the front battlefield, and Xunyang City is the main event."

Ouyang Rong nodded.

After all, it could be considered a civil war; compared to foreign wars, there are many who surrender and wait for the wind, and not many are willing to risk their lives.

Ouyang Rong nodded and said:

"They also need to win people's hearts. The real decisive battle, eliminating the opponent's main force, is the big event. Slaughtering the common people will only affect legitimacy. After all, holding the banner of restoring the Great Gan, in terms of treating the common people, the Great Gan can't be worse than the Great Zhou, right?

"But wasn't there a saying before? That our Empress and the two Princes of the Wei clan are good at civil war but bad at foreign war?"

Ouyang Rong laughed.

Everyone didn't dare to respond, buried their heads in eating, pretending not to hear...