Chapter 402: 158. Crying Also Counts as Time

158. Crying Also Counts as Time

(Happy Little New Year) (Happy Little New Year)

"Why are you crying?"

"Wuwuwu Li Xianzi... I am so stupid... wuwuwu, I am the stupidest, none other."

The little female Daoist in a Confucian robe cried and choked.

At this moment, it was midnight, and the cold, palace-dressed girl who arrived on time in the inner treasury looked expressionless at the pitch-black night sky outside the door.

"Distance of three days, there is still half a stick of incense." She turned her head and said lightly: "Crying? Crying also counts as time."

Miaosi let out a "wuwawa" sound, crying even more fiercely, snot and tears flowing together:

"Wuwuwu Li Xianzi, it is my uselessness, I am the stupidest, I searched for three full days and didn't find that Butterfly Loves Flowers owner, wuwuwu... sorry Li Xianzi... wuwuwu... I am useless, a piece of trash..."

The little female Daoist the size of a palm sat on the ground, snot and tears flowing, crawled forward a few steps, grabbed the skirt of Rong Zhen's plain white palace dress, and raised a little face full of tears:

"Wuwuwu Li Xianzi, can you give me one more chance, let me search again, I don't want to die... I am still small, there are still many delicious inks I haven't eaten, I don't want to die... wuwuwu Li Xianzi, I beg you, can you give me one more chance, try again, wuwuwu..."

Rong Zhen looked expressionless at the pitiful little ink spirit for a while.

She suddenly said: "Time is up."

Miaosi trembled all over, her crying stopped, and she widened her tearful eyes.

Rong Zhen ignored her and took out a golden mask from her sleeve.

Miaosi was so scared that she retreated two steps, her little face pale, kneeling on the ground and sobbing and begging.

But Rong Zhen's movements didn't stop at all, not looking at the little female Daoist throughout, lowered her head and put the golden mask on her calm little face.

Seeing this, Miaosi showed a look of despair, her whole body lying limp on the ground.

Rong Zhen, wearing the Fangxiang fierce mask, stared straight with four deep, dark eyes at this little ink spirit the size of a palm, who was greedy for life and afraid of death, on the ground.

The air was silent.

She seemed to be asking... whether she had found the person or not. If not, wait to be hit by the true name.

Miaosi opened her mouth, but had nothing to say, shaking her head hard, her haggard little face full of sorrow.

Rong Zhen waited for a while, saw this, and nodded, as if she had already gotten the answer. She slowly opened her mouth to speak.

The true name of the ink spirit Miaosi was the pronunciation of an obscure ancient language.

"Miao..."

Just hearing the first word, Miaosi trembled with cold all over. I don't know if one word already had an effect, or if it was just a physiological reaction to being scared. Her little body tightened like a spear stuck in place.

There was still no clue about the literary Qi of the Butterfly Loves Flowers owner that could be provided.

Looking at the little female Daoist in a Confucian robe who was curled up and closing her eyes to accept death, the mouth of the palace-dressed girl wearing the Fangxiang fierce mask suddenly stopped.

Miaosi curled up with her head buried, closed her eyes and waited for a long time,

but she waited for a long time without the last word falling to pass judgment.

She couldn't help but open a slit in her eyes, quietly observing the scene in front of her.

She was stunned immediately.

She saw Rong Zhen, for some reason, took off the golden mask, stuffed it into her sleeve, didn't even look at her, and had already turned and walked away.

Even Miaosi, who had some expectations and guesses in her heart before, couldn't help but be dazed for a while when seeing Rong Zhen's clean and neat departing back.

Inside the inner treasury, the air was quiet, leaving only the little female Daoist in a Confucian robe sitting limp on the spot, snot and tears still hanging, but the palace-dressed girl figure who had had extreme oppression not long ago had already disappeared.

It was just as if nothing had happened.

This was... really letting her muddle through?

Fooling around and finishing?

Miaosi muttered in her heart. She admitted that she had a component of gambling, but she gambled correctly.

Suppressing the joy in her heart, the little female Daoist who had had a peak performance tonight quickly climbed up from the ground, raised her sleeve and wiped her red little face that was covered in snot and tears. After wiping it clean, she shouted toward the direction where Rong Zhen left outside the door:

"Thank you, Li Xianzi, for sparing my life. Li Xianzi's great kindness will never be forgotten. I will definitely try my best to continue searching for you, report to you regularly, and notify you at the first time if there is a clue... Li Xianzi, you, you walk well... Wish you eat and drink well, wish you never have a stomachache, wish you have a noble son early..."

Her tone was grateful, echoing in the treasury, and I don't know if Rong Zhen, who left without a word, heard it.

It is estimated that she didn't, otherwise the last two sentences would be enough to make her turn back and slap this silly little monster to death.

Miaosi stayed on the spot and waited for a long time, and after confirming that the person was really gone, she curled her lips slightly and muttered:

"Also, this fairy is so cute, who can bear to hurt me by saying my true name, hehe, the smartest, none other."

After being complacent for a while, the little female Daoist who had had a peak performance tonight and owed a certain young Long-term Official a small gold mine looked left and right, and looking at the rows of ink sticks on the shelves around, she swallowed her saliva quietly.

After solving Rong Zhen's crisis, the rate of saliva secretion in her mouth increased significantly, and she was as greedy as ever.

Miaosi, who was determined to be the number one dog-legged person for the Li Xianzi in the future, nodded seriously.

"Hmm, the Li Xianzi is so kind-hearted, this fairy must help the Li Xianzi find that bad guy, but..."

She turned her head and looked at the quiet night sky outside the open door. It was already approaching dawn, and she touched her bulging little belly:

"But before that, advance a little bit of reward in advance. It's not too much, right? After all, you have to be full before working, right?

"Hmm, how does that ancient saying go.

"Since things have come to this, let's eat first."

Not long after dawn, in a backyard by the back door of the Jiangzhou Main Hall, the morning sunlight fell between the bare tree branches.

"This is..."

Looking at the things brought by the Xiao Shimei, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and ask:

"Why did Xiao Shimei bring these?"

"Ru Shixiong, look."

Xie Lingjiang first handed the three oil-paper umbrellas to Ouyang Rong.

Ouyang Rong looked at her curiously, turned and pulled out an oil-paper umbrella, and tried to open it.

After seeing the umbrella surface clearly, he was stunned for a moment, and immediately his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately went to open the other two oil-paper umbrellas.

It was the same.

"What about the poems on it?"

Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his head and asked with some urgency.

"Don't know."

Xie Lingjiang shook her head, looking at the three oil-paper umbrellas Ouyang Rong opened with complex eyes.

The ink characters on them had disappeared.

And the umbrella surface was incomparably clean, just as if no words had ever been written on it.

If it weren't for the fact that Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang clearly remembered the characteristics of these three oil-paper umbrellas and confirmed that they were the original ones without a doubt, they would really suspect that they had been swapped.

"When did Xiao Shimei discover it? Where were they at that time?"

"On the desk in my boudoir in the Prince's Mansion, also in the original place where they were placed.

"Returning this morning, I was going to tidy them into the cabinet, but discovered something was wrong, the three umbrellas all became like this... Ru Shixiong, what's wrong with you?"

Xie Lingjiang looked at Ouyang Rong's solemn expression and asked with concern.

Ouyang Rong wanted to speak but stopped, lowered his head and looked at the clean umbrella surface without ink marks again.

He suddenly remembered something.

Rong Zhen had been holding the Butterfly Loves Flowers poems and those paper scraps with his ink marks, looking for his and the craftsmanship's traces.

And didn't these three oil-paper umbrellas he gave to the Xiao Shimei have ink marks? Or were they love poems and love words he wrote himself.

It could be said that it was the same type of literary Qi as Butterfly Loves Flowers.

Right now, besides Rong Zhen, who else would try every possible way to find his literary Qi... Could it be that the abnormality of these three umbrellas was done by Rong Zhen?

Ouyang Rong was suddenly startled.

At this time, Xie Lingjiang whispered:

"Ru Shixiong, also this... these red leaves are also a bit abnormal. They were discovered on the same desk together with these three oil-paper umbrellas."

"What abnormality?" Ouyang Rong came back to his senses.

Xie Lingjiang handed a basket of red leaves to him and frowned:

"I flipped through them. These poetic red leaves give a feeling of being brand new as before. When I read them, the feeling of spiritual Qi fluency that you told me about became more intense. It's a bit strange, just like... just like..."

"Like what?"

"Literary Qi." Xie Lingjiang nodded seriously: "The literary Qi on the red leaves is much richer."

Ouyang Rong's brows furrowed, he reached out and flipped through the red leaves in the basket, his thoughts turning rapidly.

These red leaves were bought from the red-jacketed little girl at the beginning... Wait, red-jacketed little girl, could it be related to her side.

Ouyang Rong suddenly thought of a possibility.

He looked around left and right.

If it were the oil-paper umbrella matter, it was done by Rong Zhen, then now, the Si Tian Jian female officials should have come to the door aggressively.

However, there was none. The Xiao Shimei had left the Prince's Mansion boudoir for several days, and it was still calm.

Therefore, the person who did this was not Rong Zhen or people on her side.

Ouyang Rong's expression was thoughtful.

Connecting with the rich literary Qi that suddenly increased on these poetic red leaves...

So, could this person be related to that red-jacketed little girl?

This move might not have malicious intent, on the contrary, it might be helping him clean up his tracks?

Then there was only one question left: how did the person who cleared the ink sentence literary Qi on the oil-paper umbrella know that the hidden him was being searched, and how did they know that the previous oil-paper umbrellas would be unfavorable to him?

Ouyang Rong's brows gathered again, deep in thought and hard to solve. Just at this moment, he suddenly remembered something, muttering:

"Could it be a blessing..."

"What blessing?" Xie Lingjiang asked curiously.

Ouyang Rong didn't answer, his eyes suddenly realized, feeling more and more possible.

Previously, the new blessing exchanged for three thousand merits had no movement. Could it be that it was fulfilled here?

Not only were there that batch of Yang merchants like Pei Shiniang in Xunyang Tower that day, but the Huang family father and daughter were also on the scene.

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but recall that day in Xunyang Tower.

When the new blessing was triggered, he had just finished "arguing with the scholars" and was preparing to leave the restaurant.

At that time, he subconsciously thought it was related to Yang merchants like Pei Shiniang, and for a while, he ignored the Huang family father and daughter.

So, the new blessing was reflected on these three oil-paper umbrellas? Helped him block the disaster of identity leakage?

After pondering for a long time.

Ouyang Rong suddenly put down the oil-paper umbrella and the red leaf basket, and turned to walk out of the courtyard gate.

"Where is Ru Shixiong going?"

"Go to Starry Workshop... verify one thing, I will go and come back, Xiao Shimei don't follow, you go back to protect the Prince's Mansion."

Xie Lingjiang hesitated, bit her lip and nodded: "Okay."

"Ru Shixiong." She said again.

"Hmm?"

"Remember to bring the sword."

"Good."

"Father, bring another cake, it's easy to be hungry when working during the day."

"Hehe, Little Xuan is still good. Little Xuan doesn't need to go to lunch, the grotto camp distributes it, two dishes and one soup, no silver needed, rice is enough. The Long-term Official has been there for these few days, eating and living with us."

"Good, Father, pay attention to safety."

"Little Xuan too."

Huang Xuan stood at the courtyard gate, silently watching Huang Feihong's energetic back go far away.

Just past dawn, the crowded poor housing area in Starry Workshop was exceptionally lively. Many people got up before dawn and went out to work early.

Huang Xuan turned her head back. In the courtyard where she lived, the other three households also went out to work early like Father. They passed by her with the first ray of morning sun.

Huang Xuan seemed to have a good relationship, and these neighbors who went out greeted her one after another.

"Little Xuan is really good. Huang Dage having such a sensible daughter is truly a blessing cultivated for eight lifetimes."

"More than eight lifetimes, hey, if my stinky boy had half of Little Xuan's sensibility, I don't know what evil I committed in my previous life..."

Some neighbors praised and left while talking.

Huang Xuan lowered her head shyly.

She immediately turned around, her little short legs running back to the house, and tidied up the bowls and chopsticks that Huang Feihong had eaten clean.

The whole courtyard soon became empty. Everyone went out to work, and Huang Xuan also had to leave in a while.

Mainly because the Ink Studio opened quite late in the morning, no need to go too early.

Huang Xuan first went to wash the dirty clothes and sweat towels that Huang Feihong changed yesterday.

She hung up the wet clothes on the drying rope in the courtyard, stood on tiptoe, and hung up the wet clothes.

After finishing these, Huang Xuan rested for a while, first ran to the kitchen, fetched a bowl of thin rice porridge that still had residual warmth, and sprinkled some green onions in it.

She carried it to the door of the room, squatted down, held the warm porridge bowl with two little hands frozen red, lowered her head and sipped a few mouthfuls.

After half a bowl of hot porridge went down, Huang Xuan suddenly turned her head and looked at the cabinet in the house, her eyes a bit strange.

Father and the tenants had all left, why hasn't she come out yet? Can she hold it in the cabinet for so long?

"Miaosi?" Huang Xuan called out crisply.

But there was no response.

Is she asleep, or where did she go?

Before Huang Xuan could get up to check.

"Knock knock."

Two knocking sounds suddenly rang out in the courtyard.

"Who is it?" She asked.

The visitor outside the courtyard gate didn't respond.

"Knock knock."

Two more sounds rang out.

The person knocking seemed to have obsessive-compulsive disorder, knocking very rhythmically, knocking twice each time, and the interval each time was the same.

Huang Xuan put the porridge bowl on the threshold, touched a certain long hard object tied to her right lower leg under the red jacket...

She stepped forward and opened the double-leaf courtyard gate.

After seeing clearly outside the door, her little face was stunned for a moment.

"Excuse me... what is your business?"

Discovering that the sky outside began to brighten, dawn was approaching.

Miaosi then wiped her mouth reluctantly and put the ink stick back.

She touched her bulging belly, let out a long breath, patted her little hands, and left the inner treasury with satisfaction.

Taking advantage of the few people in the morning, the little female Daoist in a Confucian robe returned to the small courtyard in Starry Workshop.

Miaosi felt that things were often not as bad as imagined, just like tonight, actually muddling through in front of the debt-collecting-faced Li Xianzi.

It seems that this debt-collecting-faced Li Xianzi actually just wanted to threaten and bluff her at first, and after discovering that she was indeed useless and had no clues, she let her go like a fart.

But speaking of which, this debt-collecting-faced Li Xianzi is actually not bad. Think about it carefully, she is actually quite good.

Miaosi breathed a big sigh of relief.

In a good mood, she hummed a little tune, carried the bowl filled with ink, and returned to her own small courtyard.

The courtyard was quiet. The little female Daoist the size of a palm drilled through the old courtyard wall with ease.

Only halfway through, she shouted loudly:

"This fairy is back, little Huang Xuan, look at what this fairy brought..."

After she drilled out of the little hole belonging to the mouse, seeing the scene in the courtyard, her little face was stunned in an instant.

Only seeing the quiet courtyard, a cold palace-dressed figure was standing beside the red-jacketed little girl.

Around the two women, there were eight handsome men and beautiful women with vermilion hair and white clothes, standing in positions in the courtyard.

They were like statues, silent. If Miaosi hadn't seen the movement when entering the courtyard, it would be hard to discover.

At this time, after hearing the call of the returning little ink spirit, everyone turned their heads in unison and cast their gazes at her.

"Fai... Li Xianzi." Miaosi's expression was a bit stiff.

Rong Zhen stood with long sleeves, turned her head, and looked at her.

Her eyes were as calm and waveless as an ancient well and green pool.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 403 =====