Chapter 473

Two hundred and ninety-five: About the beginning of the scandal between the young prefect and the princess.

"According to the maid Xiao Fang, Mr. Tan only returned after the fifth watch... Why is he up so early? Isn't there still one more day of holiday today?"

In the morning, while Ouyang Rong was rubbing his eyes and drinking porridge, Zhen Shuyuan asked curiously.

The beautiful woman in the silk skirt didn't ask where Ouyang Rong had gone last night.

"Er, I have to see my mentor off later, and after that, I have to go to the Censorate. The Lantern Festival..."

Ouyang Rong covered his mouth and yawned.

Zhen Shuyuan looked sideways and asked: "Is this hairpin that Weilai is wearing a gift from Mr. Tan?"

"Yes."

After a pause, Ouyang Rong raised his eyelids: "Does Auntie like it too?"

"It is quite beautiful, but it's for young people to wear. What would I wear..."

Zhen Shuyuan nodded, but before she could finish speaking, she discovered a pair of mandarin duck jade hairpins in front of her.

As Ouyang Rong skillfully displayed them, Zhen Shuyuan was stunned and reached out to take them and examine them.

"It's a gift for Auntie. No need to wait for your nephew to come back for lunch."

Ouyang Rong, biting into a piece of flatbread, went out with his hands behind his back.

However, when he reached the door, he, who was wearing an ice-white jade hairpin, suddenly stopped and asked:

"By the way, Auntie, you seem to have said that this hairpin was from my mother's family and was given when she got married... Is it true that every daughter of the Southern Long Zhao clan who marries out has a similar one?"

"Why is Mr. Tan interested in this?"

Zhen Shuyuan's expression was strange, and she shook her head to answer:

"Not all of them. Only the Zhao daughters who are born of the main wife receive a hairpin from the Southern Long Zhao clan when they marry. They are the minority, such as Sister Zhao. Most daughters of concubines cannot obtain this treatment."

Ouyang Rong pressed:

"When the child bride my mother chose for me was brought to our house, did the Southern Long Zhao clan send this hairpin?"

"Are you joking? How could she possibly have one? She was originally a mute girl from a concubine's line who was not well-regarded. If it weren't for Sister Zhao's kindness, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to come to our house to enjoy blessings."

"However, Sister Zhao seemed to have said that she would give this hairpin to her later, but there was no opportunity later. Also, because of that incident, it was even more impossible for the Southern Long Zhao clan to give her a replacement hairpin..."

"Sigh, that's all old history. Why is Mr. Tan digging it up today?"

"Curiosity." He lowered his eyes: "I want to hear more about my mother."

Zhen Shuyuan's eyes turned sour. Before she could feel melancholy, Ouyang Rong had already strode out the door, his expression unclear.

"Understood, thank you, Auntie. Looking at it this way, this relic of my mother is indeed precious..."

Xunyang Ferry Pier.

The sunlight at the beginning of the Si hour in the morning dyed the river water hitting the embankment orange-yellow.

Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang stood side by side in the crowd by the river, seeing Xie Xun and Xie Xuee off onto the boat.

This was something they had agreed upon before they parted ways last night.

Xie Xuee directed the servants to move the luggage, while Xie Xun was saying goodbye to several literary friends from Jiangzhou.

Xie Lingjiang turned her head to look at Ouyang Rong's complexion.

"Did the Eldest Ru Shixiong not sleep well last night?"

"I ate too much; I'm a bit full."

"Lianghan."

At this moment, Xie Xun said goodbye to his other old friends and walked up. He was holding a memorial in his hand, his face full of emotion:

"'The east wind blows open a thousand trees of flowers, and blows down stars like rain...' Was this 'Gu Qingyu An · Meilu Yuan Xi' composed by Lianghan? I didn't expect that I left the Lantern Festival banquet early last night and missed it in vain."

The literary scholars and poets who were seeing them off all cast admiring glances at Ouyang Rong, who was yawning.

"Did the Eldest Ru Shixiong go to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion to compose a Lantern Festival poem after we parted last night?"

Xie Lingjiang asked with a curious expression while taking the memorial from her father's hand.

Ouyang Rong said to Xie Lingjiang calmly:

"I didn't go to the Prince's Mansion; I entrusted it to Dalang and the Princess to take back... Since the Prince held a Lantern Festival banquet, it would be a bit inappropriate if I didn't express something."

He explained vaguely.

However, Xie Lingjiang had no time to ask more. Her originally puzzled gaze had already been attracted by the "Gu Qingyu An · Meilu Yuan Xi" on the memorial, and she could no longer move it away.

"Lianghan, I was originally worried about what gift to send to the Master and Brother Shen when I return to Luoyang."

In front of the prominent figures who were seeing them off, Xie Xun was radiant, pointed to the memorial, and laughed:

"Isn't this a coincidence? Then I will use Lianghan's gift to replace my own. Haha, I'm sure they will definitely like it."

His expression was very satisfied.

It was true; at Xie Xun's stage, most of his personal achievements and glory could already be seen.

At this time, only the talent of his own student could be used to tease and show off to his friends in the surrounding circle, which could be considered one of the few interesting things in his bland life that could make him laugh heartily.

Commonly known as "showing off one's student."

"Lianghan's name as a scholar of the Pavilion of Cultivated Literature is indeed well-deserved."

Xie Xuee finished directing the servants to move the luggage onto the boat and walked off the boat again gracefully, covering her mouth and smiling:

"I will also take it back for Lingjiang's uncle to see, so he doesn't spend his days in the study composing poems that moan without illness, admiring himself. Let him see Lianghan's talented and absolute poem..."

Ouyang Rong waved his hand modestly.

After a series of high praises, Xie Xun and Xie Xuee boarded the boat and left.

Ouyang Rong lowered his hand that was waving goodbye and turned his head to look at the Xiao Shimei who had been quiet since just now.

She was still holding the memorial with the copy of "Gu Qingyu An · Meilu Yuan Xi."

Ouyang Rong had seen this memorial, which was uniformly copied and distributed by the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, in many people's hands this morning. The guests who left the Xunyang Prince's Lantern Festival banquet last night should have each had a copy when they left.

Ouyang Rong shared honor and disgrace with the Xunyang Prince's Mansion; Li Lixian and the others were naturally very enthusiastic and proactive in helping him build his reputation. Moreover, with the widespread repercussions of this "Gu Qingyu An · Meilu Yuan Xi," many people took the initiative to ask for a copy to take away as a souvenir.

"'Searching for him a thousand times in the crowd, suddenly looking back, that person is there, in the dim light...' This line from the Eldest Ru Shixiong is not simple; it is truly profound and contains true feelings."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly raised her head and said.

"What do you mean?"

Ouyang Rong asked calmly, looking at the Xiao Shimei's serious and focused little face at this moment.

Xie Lingjiang's eyes narrowed:

"In the first half, the Eldest Ru Shixiong vividly describes the grand occasion of the Lantern Festival with dazzling lanterns and music filling the ears. In the second half, you intentionally write about the protagonist searching among the crowd of beautiful women for a noble and lonely woman standing in the dim light, whom he cannot find..."

"On the surface, it is like this, but in fact, it is subtle and tactful. The true core of this poem is not some low-level pattern of love, but the Eldest Ru Shixiong comparing yourself to a fragrant herb and a beautiful woman, describing your noble character of not wanting to be in the same boat as the secular world when you are frustrated in your official career..."

"Eldest Ru Shixiong, I guess this Lantern Festival poem should have been conceived when you were squeezed out by Lin Cheng and Wang Lengran and demoted to Jiangzhou Sima, right?"

"Er... No, this was actually in my dream..."

"Fine, it was in the Eldest Ru Shixiong's dream."

Xie Lingjiang put away the memorial, held it to her chest, showed an understanding smile on her oval face, and nodded:

"I hope you can dream of a new one next time, and the Eldest Ru Shixiong can tell me."

Ouyang Rong coughed and covered his mouth.

"Fine, definitely, definitely."

Watching the boat carrying Xie Xun and Xie Xuee go far away, Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang turned and left the Xunyang Ferry.

"Where is the Eldest Ru Shixiong going?"

"The Censorate."

"And then?"

"Back to... Huaiye Lane."

"Then I'll go with you, just in time to see Aunt Zhen."

"Fine."

Ouyang Rong nodded and glanced at the Xiao Shimei's temples, seeing that she was wearing the mandarin duck jade hairpin today.

The two took a carriage and passed through the busy market. Just halfway through, Xie Lingjiang's wandering gaze was suddenly attracted by something, and she looked fixedly.

A plump woman with a joyful smile was walking out of a jewelry store on the side of the street, and the shop assistant was sending her out politely and respectfully.

Xie Lingjiang's gaze fell on the plump woman's jewelry-adorned temples, and the latter was touching the new hairpin in her hair with a satisfied expression.

"Wait, stop the carriage." She couldn't help but shout.

After the Lantern Festival banquet at the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, the next day, a "Gu Qingyu An · Meilu Yuan Xi" spread wildly among the scholars in Jiangzhou.

The influence of this poem continued to ferment; it had only just begun, and its final influence would certainly be far more than this.

Along with the popularity of "Gu Qingyu An · Meilu Yuan Xi," there was another item: a pair of mandarin duck jade hairpins worn by the little Princess of the Xunyang Prince's Mansion before the end of the Lantern Festival banquet.

According to the little Princess, it was something she won when she visited a certain lantern riddle corridor... I heard from the shopkeeper that there was also a difficult-to-separate love story in it...

The next day, an old jewelry store in the East Market of Xunyang City immediately sold this style of hairpin, exactly the same.

For a time, this pair of mandarin duck jade hairpins of the same style became popular jewelry for the ladies and noblewomen of Jiangzhou, who purchased them one after another.

It became a fashion.

What Ouyang Rong didn't know was that on the evening of the next day, the grandfather and grandson surnamed Sun, who passed by after coming out of the bustling East Market, had stunned expressions and couldn't help but look back repeatedly at a certain jewelry store in the East Market that had hyped the mandarin duck jade hairpins to thirty or forty taels each.

"Grandfather, that young master named Meilu Yuan Huaimin didn't lie to us!"

"Meilu Yuan Huaimin... Wait, I remember now. Is this the current... Jiangzhou Changshi?"

"That's not right. The Jiangzhou Changshi is already thirty or forty years old, but that young master with the folding fan is only how old? He looks like he's just in his early twenties..."

"The age really doesn't match. Wait, early twenties... Could it be him..."

The fat old man Sun Ze suddenly stopped speaking.

"Who is it, Grandfather?"

"Grandson, were there rumors before that this Meilu Yuan Changshi and that acting prefect Ouyang Sima had a very good private friendship, and there were even stories about them not sleeping? That is, the two of them didn't sleep in the middle of the night and went out to mess around."

"It seems there is such a thing. Does Grandfather mean..."

Sun Ze frowned and didn't speak for the time being. With a serious expression, he pulled his grandson Sun Xing and went to the East Market to inquire carefully.

They immediately learned that this hairpin became popular precisely because a certain little Princess personally wore it at the Lantern Festival banquet to build its reputation, and later, these Princesses also published a top-quality Lantern Festival poem called "Gu Qingyu An · Meilu Yuan Xi," signed by Mr. Tan. And this Mr. Tan, as everyone knows, is the current acting prefect Ouyang Lianghan.

Walking out of the gossip teahouse, Sun Ze's eyes were already wide open, and he clapped his hands: "This time it's really eight or nine out of ten."

The fat child named Sun Xing pointed his index finger at his chin, and his focus was strangely skewed:

"Wait, Grandfather, could it be that this Princess is also one of the young ladies he took with him? One of those three, hmm, I didn't expect to see so many noble people in one night."

Hearing this, Sun Ze's expression froze... That's right, didn't that noble little Princess say at the Lantern Festival banquet at the Xunyang Prince's Mansion that this pair of mandarin duck jade hairpins was something she won at a certain lantern riddle corridor? The story she told was also something "Young Master Meilu Yuan" asked her for, so it is very likely that she was also present last night.

It was just that what Sun Ze didn't understand was why this "Young Master Meilu Yuan" and the little Princess wanted to help them build the reputation of this hairpin. Could it be that there was really some unspeakable secret between the two of them that needed to be covered up by this?

The grandfather and grandson looked at each other.

But immediately, Sun Ze became as quiet as a cicada.

The fat old man instructed very seriously: "Good grandson, you must not talk about this randomly. We don't know anything, understand?"

"Yes, yes."

"Alright, let's go. While the heat is high and there are no peers selling fakes, let's go to the East Market to set up a stall, hehe. We've made a fortune this time; we've really met a noble person this time..."

Sun Xing said proudly: "Grandfather, I told you, this noble young master just wants to give a home to the poor women of the world."

"Fine, fine, fine. He can give as many homes as he wants; they are all welcome. Let's go set up the stall quickly and find a good spot..."

Ouyang Rong didn't know that he had already been involved in gossip with Li Guoer in the hearts of some people.

Just now, after the Xiao Shimei inquired, she found that the mandarin duck jade hairpin on her head had become a seasonal bestseller, and her expression was very wonderful.

Finally, the noble Xie daughter said helplessly, spitting:

"That lantern riddle stall owner is really a treacherous merchant."

"Xiao Shimei, don't bother with them."

Ouyang Rong was very calm and comforted her.

"Those young ladies are also following the trend... Hmm, the Eldest Ru Shixiong's cultivation of Qi is still better."

"I was just afraid that the Xiao Shimei would be disappointed because the precious hairpin became a common commodity."

"No, at least our hairpin is different; it was won by the Ru Shixiong's talent."

Ouyang Rong nodded vigorously: "It's best if the Xiao Shimei can think this way."

After Xie Lingjiang accompanied Ouyang Rong to the Censorate, she didn't follow him anymore and returned to find Li Guoer. It looked like she was going to ask about last night's events.

However, with the original manuscript of "Gu Qingyu An · Meilu Yuan Xi" to block her mouth, and Li Guoer being a smart person, she probably wouldn't let anything slip. Moreover, since they were acting in public last night, she couldn't tear down her own stage, so she would definitely keep her mouth shut later.

When they were at the Censorate, Xie Lingjiang and Rong Zhen didn't meet. Xie Lingjiang waited at the door, and Rong Zhen didn't go out.

Ouyang Rong breathed a sigh of relief, but even if the two women met, it should be fine.

After all, the hairpin had already been resolved after Li Guoer brought it to the market.

Inside the carriage, Ouyang Rong rubbed his face and went to find Pei Pei Shisan Niang first.

"Young Master, as of now, in half a day, we have sold 112 pieces in the East Market, with a total profit of 3,172 taels... Young Master is truly a genius..."

"Alright, no need to tell me these things... You did a very good job today."

"Thank you for the compliment, Young Master." Pei Pei Shisan Niang's expression was joyful.

Without chatting with her much, Ouyang Rong boarded the carriage and went to Xingzi Lake.

"I slept so late, I don't know if Xiuniang is awake yet, and what she is doing now..."

As he muttered, a series of crisp wooden fish sounds rang in his ears, and he was slightly stunned.

"Is it Gu Qingyu An fermenting, or is someone thanking me..."

Ouyang Rong was curious. A moment later, while still on the road, he closed his eyes and entered the Merit Tower...

(End of chapter)