Chapter 419: 182. I Really Am Not a Scumbag

182. I Really Am Not a Scumbag

"Everything is fine, fine, fine, yes, yes, yes. Isn't this a tough nut to crack?"

Ouyang Rong asked seriously.

Yan Liulang and Li Dalang, who were drinking tea, exchanged glances. Yan Liulang lowered his head and continued drinking tea honestly, while Li Dalang replied sincerely:

"Then Tanlang, you speak, we are listening."

"But even if I say it, you won't believe it."

"It's not that we don't believe Tanlang, it's that we don't believe there is any woman who can't eat Tanlang's face. Anyway, if they see you, they will definitely have a good impression. Every time we come to drink tea, which time do the tea ceremony technicians not compete to choose you?"

Ouyang Rong, who was angry and dissatisfied a second ago, suddenly stopped his movements, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face:

"That's true. It's not their fault. I am indeed quite handsome, capable of both literature and martial arts, very handsome in appearance, plus this upright spirit, warding off all evil, and a high-spirited appearance. It's really not their fault..."

"..." Li Dalang and Yan Liulang.

Yan Liulang couldn't help but put down his teacup and said:

"If the Magistrate wants to be praised next time, just say it directly. Don't be an outsider; we will cooperate honestly. No need to go around in circles."

"That's right, that's right." Li Dalang nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

Ouyang Rong clenched his fist to cover his mouth and coughed:

"Anyway, don't chew the roots of this baseless matter. I don't care; I am open and aboveboard. But if Xie Xiao Niangzi Historiographer Rong hears it... I won't go to plead for you to redeem your sins."

"Don't worry, Magistrate. No one dares to say it in front of Xie Xiao Niangzi Historiographer Rong Zhen. It's not like an old birthday star drinking arsenic; they don't want to die."

"Besides, this gossip is mostly for fun. It's passed around privately in the Jiangzhou Government Office, and not many people really believe it. After all, that is a colorful-robed palace lady who will return to the Luoyang Palace in the future to serve by His Majesty's side.

"However, everyone can see that Xie Xiao Niangzi Historiographer Rong Zhen and the Magistrate have a good relationship now. Presumably, a certain Inspector will be restless these days."

Yan Liulang comforted Ouyang Rong.

Ouyang Rong sighed: "As long as you understand."

Then he changed the subject and asked Li Dalang:

"Just now, helping you shake off Qin Xiaoniang, was it too obvious? If Qin Xiaoniang noticed, she definitely wouldn't be happy.

"It's just that she didn't realize it this time, but if it happens many times, she's not stupid, so she will naturally know your intentions. By then... Dalang, you'd better prepare how to explain it to your uncle and aunt. This can't go on; there must be an explanation."

Li Dalang lowered his head to drink tea. Hearing his friend's advice, he stared at the water surface swaying with his palm in the cup for a while, and slowly shook his head and said:

"I know."

"As long as you know. I believe Dalang can handle this matter properly, but if there is anything you need to discuss, don't hold it in. You can say it. Aren't friends just for carrying pots? Right, Liulang?

"Eh, usually everyone eats and drinks yours, and you treat everyone. I feel embarrassed. If you encounter anything, we will advise you. Dalang, no need to be polite..."

Ouyang Rong said heroically and righteously to Li Dalang, and at the same time, his palm patted Yan Liulang, who was stiff, on the shoulder.

"Tanlang, I mean, she knows."

Ouyang Rong's words stopped, and he frowned at him:

"She knows? Knows you are finding an excuse to run away? How do you know? Did she tell you?"

Li Dalang pursed his lips:

"Because we are the same kind of people, neither of us wants to marry into the family. Naturally, in a sense, we have a tacit understanding, and even tacit approval."

"What do you mean?"

Li Dalang looked at his puzzled friend and sighed lightly:

"I am also not the type she likes. She should know my father and mother's intention of marriage, and also know the deliberate matchmaking of my sister and Miss Xie, but she doesn't seem to be very active.

"I think, maybe General Qin gave her some instructions, so she stayed in Xunyang City, and endured the patience to contact me, or...

"There is some other interesting thing that made her stay, and contacting and understanding me is just incidental, or it is just responding to the instructions of the elders at home."

Ouyang Rong's teacup had long been put down. He supported his knees with both hands, straightened his waist, and his upper body leaned forward slightly. His expression was serious as he listened. After listening to Li Dalang's words, he frowned;

"Did Qin Xiaoniang tell you this?"

"No, but we have been in contact for a long time. For some things, is there any need to say them?"

"Uh, so mysterious? Can you still communicate spiritually?" Ouyang Rong expressed respect.

"Can't say spiritual communication, but... Tanlang, although I don't know as much as you, you should have less experience than me in marriage and blind dates." Li Dalang's expression was incomparably serious.

"That's true, I don't need to marry into the family." Ouyang Rong admitted with a smile.

Li Dalang's mouth twitched slightly.

Yan Liulang interrupted and asked: "Are there other people or things she is interested in in Xunyang City? Who or what is this Qin Xiaoniang interested in?"

Ouyang Rong also nodded curiously: "Right, what is she interested in?"

Li Dalang didn't speak, his eyes looking at a certain friend.

Yan Liulang, who was listening attentively, suddenly looked sideways and also glanced at a certain Magistrate.

"Why look at me?"

Ouyang Rong frowned.

"Wait, I know."

He suddenly said in a trance:

"It's the matter of the Xunyang Grottoes. Their Qin family donated a sum of money for statue building. The Buddha statue their family built is right next to the Donglin Great Buddha. That is a good location, specially given to the Qin family. Qin Xiaoniang has stayed in Xunyang City recently, and every few days she will come to find me, bringing the manager of the Qin family's firm, to inquire about the progress of the Xunyang Grottoes statue building. Hmm, no wonder this Qin Xiaoniang is so concerned..."

Ouyang Rong's words stopped because Yan Liulang and Li Dalang were still looking at him with strange eyes and didn't speak.

"Is there something on my face?" Ouyang Rong touched his face.

"Nothing." Li Dalang waved his hand.

Yan Liulang sighed with emotion: "As expected of the Magistrate."

Li Dalang couldn't help but praise: "Liulang, what you just said was not wrong at all."

"What words?" Ouyang Rong was dissatisfied: "Can you two stop singing a double act? Speak if you have something to say, what riddles are you playing?"

Seeing the two friends drinking tea with melancholy and sadness again, Ouyang Rong had to change the subject to liven up the atmosphere:

"By the way, Liulang, didn't you say that your mother brought your sisters to Xunyang City to see you these two days? Where are they? Have they come? If they have, I will find time to visit."

Hearing the four words "visit," Yan Liulang's expression changed slightly. Under Li Dalang's somewhat gloating eyes, he scratched his head and said with difficulty:

"Magistrate, that... that... my sisters have all married, and the youngest is three years older than me. Magistrate, why don't you forget it, don't go to see them."

Ouyang Rong: "?"

This tea can't be drunk anymore. One by one, they are guarding against him as a scumbag...

Not long after, after drinking tea, the three parted ways.

Another two days passed, and the news from Luoyang was slow to come.

Although according to the travel schedule between the two places, the postponement memorial of Ouyang Rong, Li Xian, Rong Zhen, and others should have just reached Luoyang yesterday, fermentation takes time, and the subsequent waves and reactions also need a few days to bounce back.

Although this is the case, for many people in Xunyang City, they were still restless and their heartstrings were tight.

Ouyang Rong was still calm. His daily work and attendance were as usual. Rong Zhen still often brought official business to find him. The four words "Ouyang Lianghan" were almost called into a tongue twister... The two went to the Xunyang Grottoes every other day to grasp the progress of the statue building.

This afternoon, after Ouyang Rong finished his work and saw nothing to do, he prepared to return to the mansion on Huaiye Lane in advance. However, just after going out, he received news from the Xunyang Prince's Mansion.

"What, Xiao Shimei is in seclusion? Could it be... the second time flipping through the book?"

Ouyang Rong was thoughtful, put away the small note, lifted the carriage curtain and said:

"Go to Jingyi Pavilion."

"Yes."

Soon, Ouyang Rong came to Jingyi Pavilion.

Brought down from the carriage together was a long, piano-shaped wooden box.

Ouyang Rong entered the mansion holding the box and met Qin Xiaoniang, who had been waiting for a long time in the main hall of the main mansion.

"Qin Xiaoniang, how is Wanwan?"

In the main hall, the slightly plump female Daoist in a dark blue Daoist robe stood up. She first looked at Ouyang Rong's concerned expression before speaking:

"In the morning, there was a grand poetry gathering under the waterfall of Mount Kuanglu, hosted by the little Princess. After Xie Jie and I participated, on the carriage back, Xie Jie suddenly... seemed to enter a state of sleepwalking and couldn't be woken up no matter what.

"Then we didn't go to the Prince's Mansion and returned to this Jingyi Pavilion. Xie Jie returned to the courtyard as soon as she came back, locked the door and didn't come out, as if she had gone into seclusion."

Ouyang Rong listened carefully and let out a slight sigh of relief:

"It should be another time flipping through the book. It's fine, Qin Xiaoniang, please rest assured."

"Flipping through the book?" She had a curious expression.

"Hmm, how to put it, it's... it's some kind of cultivation state. Anyway, it's fine. I'll go take a look. Thank you, Qin Xiaoniang."

"It's just a small effort."

After exchanging pleasantries with Qin Xiaoniang for a few sentences, Ouyang Rong held the piano box and immediately went to the elegant boudoir courtyard of Xiao Shimei.

The boudoir courtyard was silent. He raised his hand and pushed open the courtyard door.

"Stop, this road was opened by me, this tree was planted by me. If you want to pass through this road, leave ink money!"

A familiar female voice rang out carelessly.

Ouyang Rong's raised foot paused in mid-air.

The door of the main room was locked tight. In his field of vision, there was no one in the courtyard.

Ouyang Rong lowered his head to look.

Sure enough, under his feet was the figure of a small female Daoist in Confucian robes. The little ink spirit Miaosi, who hadn't been seen for many days, was sitting on the threshold, shaking her legs, and reaching out to make a gesture of asking for money.

Ouyang Rong thought for a while, grabbed her back collar, and walked into the courtyard without looking sideways.

"Oh, let go of this female immortal, the Daoist robe is about to be torn off by you, you are really rude... Ah, molestation, Ouyang Lianghan, how dare you, and it's outside Xie girl's room. Others are quietly closing the door, you, you are handsome but it's useless, wuwuwu..."

Ouyang Rong placed the struggling little person who refused to yield on the stone table, straightened her sitting posture, pointed his finger at the main room, and asked in a low voice:

"How is the situation inside?"

Miaosi raised her hand to tidy up her messy collar. Under the approach of Ouyang Rong's face, she hugged her chest with both hands, leaned back, looked vigilant, and then turned her back to tidy up the wrinkled lapels, looking just like a delicate young lady who had been molested but failed.

Seeing this, Ouyang Rong's mouth twitched.

At this moment, he accidentally caught a glimpse of a piano table in the corner of the boudoir courtyard, so he immediately walked over holding the piano box.

He put down the long, piano-shaped wooden box, stroked the box with his palm, and sat down upright.

And so, there was one person and one sword, quietly guarding outside the room where Xie Lingjiang was "in seclusion flipping through the book."

A moment later, he cast his gaze toward the Confucian-robed small female Daoist who had finished tidying her lapels and turned around.

"You, what are you looking at?"

"Asking you, how is Xiao Shimei now."

"Who are you? Don't know, don't know at all. Look at this memory of this female immortal, ouch, my head hurts so much, seems to have forgotten everything."

Miaosi tilted her head and said.

Apparently, she was holding a grudge against someone's attitude of leaving her in Xie Lingjiang's place for days and ignoring her.

Ouyang Rong smiled, nodded, said "Alright," and then took a Hanlei ink ingot from his sleeve and placed it on the piano table.

"You, what are you doing? Hmph, don't try to bribe this female immortal!"

Ouyang Rong shook his finger:

"No, no, no, it's not for the female immortal. This was picked up by me in the corner of a cabinet in my own study. It's not mine, and I don't know who dropped it. If the female immortal recognizes it and remembers something, remember to say it. After all, we mainly focus on returning lost property to its owner, must return it to its owner."

Miaosi's expression changed slightly. She turned around in place with her hands behind her back, and then walked over silently. During this time, she looked around. She came to the piano table like a little girl, twisting and turning.

Finally, "whoosh."

The piano table in front of Ouyang Rong was empty.

A certain Confucian-robed small female Daoist held the Hanlei ink ingot and ran away with her short legs:

"Remembered, recognize, very familiar, this female immortal will pass it to her for you, wow."

Unfortunately, the next second, a clear blue arc appeared in front of her.

Blocking the way.

The small body holding the ink bar of equal height stiffened in place, unable to move an inch.

Ouyang Rong walked over leisurely, grabbed her, and placed her and the ink ingot back on the piano table in front of him.

The two, one big and one small, began to stare at each other.

Without waiting for Ouyang Rong to ask again, Miaosi shrank her head, muttered in a low voice, and confessed everything:

"Ouyang Lianghan, Xie girl is fine, just that the opportunity has come, she is flipping through the book in the room. If there are no accidents, this time there is a very high probability of being promoted to a Grade 6 Sage. This Confucian realm is very interesting..."

Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows, wanting to speak.

Just at this moment, the door of the main room was pushed open from the inside.

Ouyang Rong and Miaosi looked up instantly.

Only to see, inside the main room door, a beautiful woman in red, carrying a scroll of books, walked out with her hands behind her back.

Her expression was calm:

"Ru Shixiong."

Ouyang Rong rubbed his eyes and suddenly felt that this red-clad figure was somewhat familiar and... somewhat strange.

Familiar, because clearly, she was no different from when they met the day before yesterday.

Strange, because of those eyes that were like an ancient well without waves, and the smooth and clean skirt hem that the wind couldn't blow up at all.

If one had to describe this feeling of familiarity yet strangeness, it was like when the two first met at Donglin Temple on Mount Dagu.

Moreover, Ouyang Rong discovered that Xiao Shimei was clearly wearing a bright red dress, but she gave off a feeling of calmness, all her aura restrained, as deep as an abyss.

If the Xiao Shimei of the past was like a fiery and enthusiastic red peony, then now she was a quiet and elegant lotus.

Can be viewed from a distance but not played with.

Faintly carrying a noble and holy aura.

"Jun... Xiao Shimei?"

The red-clad woman took a few lotus steps, threw the book in her hand casually. This book was as light as a feather, blown up by a clear wind that rose from the flat ground, and just happened to fly into Ouyang Rong's arms.

Ouyang Rong caught it with quick eyes and fast hands.

There was a wind of flipping books, blowing the yellowed pages of the book with a rustling sound.

At the same time, in the silent courtyard, amidst this sound of flipping books, a faint female voice also rang out:

"Ru Shixiong, no more flipping through books in the future."

"How so?"

"Act first and know later, knowing is difficult and acting is easy."

"Good."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 420 =====