Chapter 501: 373. Xiuniang

373. Xiuniang's Habit and Reward

"Strange, why are we drinking duck stewed with bamboo shoots every day?"

Fang Shengnan was curious.

Fang Juxiu, sitting opposite the table, glared at her, and Fang Shengnan lowered her head, muttering in her mouth:

"It's really tiring to drink. Isn't this thing for nourishing blood and kidneys? I'm not weak; drinking too much makes it easy to get irritable..."

"It's good enough that there's something to drink; why so much talk?"

Fang Juxiu scolded.

Ouyang Rong, who was sitting side-by-side with Zhao Qingxiu, paused in his movements.

He glanced at the duck stewed with bamboo shoots.

He looked at Xiuniang, who was holding the bowl with both hands and drinking soup in small sips beside him.

At dusk, the sunset fell on Xiuniang's snow-white side face, and the little face covered with a ribbon was somewhat delicate and lovely.

The last batch of fresh bamboo shoots was divided into three portions by Ouyang Rong, and the last portion was brought to the quiet little courtyard.

Actually, Ouyang Rong was also a bit irritable from drinking it.

Because of Did Rong Zhen's request, he had been dealing with soup these days.

Whether it was the soup stewed by Princess Wei Mei or the soup he asked Ye Weilai to stew, he had tasted them.

But none were as potent as the duck and bamboo shoot soup stewed by Xiuniang.

After drinking half a bowl, his body became warm.

Ouyang Rong stirred the soup bowl with a porcelain spoon and discovered the oddity.

Inside were medicinal dregs such as wolfberry.

Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows.

So it wasn't ordinary duck and bamboo shoot soup; Xiuniang had added more ingredients to it. This should belong to the category of medicinal diet, right?

Strange, adding this stuff, who was it to nourish?

Thinking of something, he stopped speaking.

Actually, the first time he heard that this bamboo shoot soup nourished blood, the first person Ouyang Rong thought of was Xiuniang, wanting to get some back to nourish Xiuniang, who was thin and looked anemic.

But Xiuniang's thoughts seemed different from his.

"Why has Ouyang Young Master come less frequently recently? Has the official business at Xingzi Ward ended?"

Fang Juxiu asked suddenly.

Ouyang Rong withdrew his attention and answered casually:

"Almost. I've been busy with other things recently."

"Are you not with that Xiao Niangzi Pei?"

"What do you mean?"

Ouyang Rong didn't react for a moment?

"Nothing."

Fang Juxiu shook her head lightly.

Ouyang Rong thought for a while and said earnestly:

"As for the remaining matters regarding the renovation of old houses in Xingzi Ward, I have handed them over to Xiao Niangzi Pei to handle. She has experience, so I don't need to keep an eye on it."

"Hmm."

Fang Juxiu nodded, then shook her head.

She was somewhat noncommittal.

"Uh, what does Fang Eldest Xiao Niangzi want to say?"

Ouyang Rong asked curiously.

Fang Juxiu didn't lift her eyelids, eating quietly, and after a while, bit her chopsticks and said softly:

"Actually, it's better to have less contact."

"What do you mean?"

"Little girl heard that merchants are all profit-seeking, somewhat cunning and treacherous. Ouyang Brother is young and is already a state official with a bright future. You need to be careful in the future..."

Ouyang Rong laughed:

"Many thanks for the reminder, Fang Eldest Xiao Niangzi."

Seeing him agree in one breath, Fang Juxiu didn't say anything more and shook her head imperceptibly.

After a while, she went to look at the expression of that little master beside her.

She found Zhao Qingxiu's little face calm, shoveling rice into her mouth in small bites, as if she hadn't paid attention to those words.

Fang Juxiu sighed lightly.

Fang Shengnan didn't know the subtext at the dinner table. Taking advantage of Ouyang Rong and Fang Juxiu chatting, she showed off most of the dishes, accidentally let out a

Ouyang Rong and Fang Juxiu were stunned for a moment, then both could not help but laugh.

As dinner neared its end, Zhao Qingxiu suddenly stood up, groped her way forward with both hands, and picked up the soup bowls the Fang sisters had finished.

She walked toward the kitchen, and before long, she returned to the table with two bowls freshly filled with duck and bamboo shoot soup.

【There's a little left in the pot, just enough for two bowls. Xiuniang, Nanniang, you two drink it.】

Fang Juxiu and Fang Shengnan were already full, but Zhao Qingxiu rarely made requests, and after all, this was soup personally served by Xiao Niangzi Yue Chuzi herself.

The two sisters had no choice but to continue drinking.

Ouyang Rong breathed a sigh of relief; it was a good thing Xiuniang wasn't feeding him.

After dinner.

Zhao Qingxiu took on the chore of washing the dishes alone, as usual.

Ouyang Rong subconsciously wanted to follow her.

Bang!

With a soft sound, the kitchen door was already closed.

Ouyang Rong's expression was slightly awkward.

In the courtyard behind him, Fang Shengnan, who was practicing her sword dance, cast a strange look his way, but when Ouyang Rong turned his head to walk over, she quickly composed herself and continued, though her posture was a bit more chaotic than before.

Ouyang Rong ignored her and walked over to open the instrument case he had brought with him.

"Is this the zither Brother Ouyang always carries?"

Fang Shengnan, halfway through her sword dance, leaned her head over, curiously examining the case Ouyang Rong was opening.

"Pretty much, it belongs to Brother Huaimin."

"Oh?"

Ouyang Rong tested the zither's tone.

He was going to see that senior expert tomorrow, and Ouyang Rong couldn't really bring the 【Craftsman】 along, so before coming to the quiet courtyard, he had stopped by to borrow a good zither from Yuan Huaimin.

Fang Shengnan listened curiously for a while, then yawned, feeling bored, though her body felt a bit of the post-meal heat.

She pulled her sister up, intending to go out for a walk.

Fang Juxiu shook her head:

"I'm tired, I'd better go back to the room to rest. Shengnan, if you want to play, go ahead yourself."

"Oh, then I'll go too."

Fang Shengnan nodded and followed closely behind, still muttering to herself:

"I feel sleepy too, strange, I never used to get sleepy after eating, could it be that thing that caused it..."

The Fang sisters stood up and returned to the west wing room.

At first, in the brightly lit west wing room, the voices of the two women could still be heard faintly.

After a short while, the voices vanished, and the sound of a certain heroic swordswoman snoring away could be heard.

Ouyang Rong didn't pay much attention to this; he was still practicing his music seriously in the courtyard, tuning the strings.

A quarter of an hour later, the sunset on the distant horizon faded away.

Night descended upon the earth.

Ouyang Rong came back to his senses; the courtyard was silent, and seeing that it was getting late, he stood up to pack his zither case, intending to leave.

"Ah... ah..."

A sound suddenly came from behind, drawing Ouyang Rong's attention.

He turned his head to look.

At the doorway of the main wing room, a slender and graceful silhouette appeared.

It was Xiuniang; he didn't know when she had finished the dishes and returned to the room.

At this moment, she was standing in the doorway holding a stack of clean Confucian robes in both hands, her small, blindfolded face "looking" in his direction.

He didn't know how long she had been standing there silently waiting for him.

Ouyang Rong apologized:

"Sorry, I was too absorbed just now. Well, it's getting late, and I have things to do tomorrow, so you should get some rest, Xiuniang..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Qingxiu had already walked up and stuffed a set of clean clothes into his arms.

"What is this for..."

"Ah ah."

Zhao Qingxiu pointed to the sweat on his neck, then pointed toward the bathroom.

Ouyang Rong asked in surprise: "You want me to take a bath before I go?"

"Mm."

Zhao Qingxiu bowed her head slightly and responded.

She suddenly turned and walked toward the kitchen, seemingly to fetch hot water.

Seeing the rising steam from the stove and Xiuniang's groping, busy, and endearing silhouette.

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, put down the zither case, held the clean Confucian robes, and walked to the bathroom...

Two incense sticks later.

In the mist-filled bathroom.

Ouyang Rong lay back in the wooden tub.

A hot towel covered his face.

Some medicinal herbs floated on the hot water in the tub.

Ouyang Rong didn't know what they were for; Xiuniang had poured them in when she brought the hot water. It looked like some kind of medicinal bath prepared for him.

Recalling that some time ago, because Xiuniang was worried about his health, she had made a pact with him, setting a three-day limit on his indulgence.

Ouyang Rong roughly understood what this was meant to supplement.

"No wonder it gets hotter the longer I soak..."

He took a deep breath.

But when Xiuniang had followed him in to pour the hot water earlier, Ouyang Rong had restrained himself and didn't act up.

Mainly because it was still early, and the Fang sisters were still in the courtyard, not in the middle of the night.

If he forced himself on her, Xiuniang would definitely be unhappy.

Besides, Ouyang Rong couldn't stay out overnight tonight; he had to go back early.

Looking at it this way, the chances of anything happening were slim.

He had originally intended to ask about the reward.

But since Xiuniang didn't mention it, Ouyang Rong thought about it and didn't ask.

Ouyang Rong sighed.

Actually, after drinking that soup earlier, he had felt a bit restless inside; the swordswoman Fang was right, that soup really did make one restless...

Right now, the only person who could make Ouyang Rong this obedient was probably Xiuniang.

He had never denied that he actually felt a sense of guilt toward Xiuniang...

While his mind was wandering.

A faint "creak" sound came from the doorway.

Ouyang Rong first suspected he had misheard.

He waited quietly for a while, and when no further sound came, he continued to cover his face with the towel.

But then, a small "bang" of a door closing was captured by Ouyang Rong's ears.

Someone had entered.

"Who is it?"

Ouyang Rong was curious, then reacted and tentatively asked:

"Xiuniang? Did you forget to take some clothes? You can just leave them outside, I'll... uh, after I finish washing..."

Ouyang Rong's words stopped abruptly.

Because in the hazy mist before him, a graceful silhouette walked out from behind the screen that hid the tub.

But that wasn't the key to Ouyang Rong's stunned state.

The key was that Xiuniang's silhouette seemed to have long, black hair draped over her snow-white shoulders, and she was wearing only... two pieces of intimate clothing, a matching-colored bodice and underpants.

In her hands, she was indeed holding clothes.

Not Ouyang Rong's, but the ones Xiuniang herself had just taken off.

"You..."

Before he could speak, Zhao Qingxiu had already walked over with her head buried, placing the clothes she had taken off into the basket containing his dirty laundry.

Because she was facing away from Ouyang Rong, he could see her snow-white, slender back, tied only with a bowknot; it was even whiter than the hazy mist in the bathroom, and by comparison, it made the surrounding environment look a bit dim.

The mist greedily clung to this smooth, snow-white back, like frost covering a night-shining pearl in winter.

In front of the laundry basket, Zhao Qingxiu, with her back to Ouyang Rong, seemed to remember something; she suddenly lifted her calf, and without looking back, reached behind to pull off the foot sock on her calf, instantly revealing a dainty little foot.

It turned out she wasn't wearing just two pieces of intimate clothing, but four.

Including two pale pink foot socks for binding her feet.

Seeing this, Ouyang Rong smiled dumbly.

He suddenly remembered one of Xiuniang's little hobbies.

She liked to collect foot socks.

Usually, when Pei Pei Shisan Niang accompanied her shopping, Xiuniang was very frugal and didn't like to make others spend money, but Pei Pei Shisan Niang would insist on treating her and take her to large clothing stores. Once inside, Xiuniang would feel embarrassed to leave empty-handed, so she could only buy one or two pairs she liked and felt she could use, preferably cheap ones... so she would symbolically buy two pairs of foot socks and take them home happily.

At first, when Pei Pei Shisan Niang told Ouyang Rong about this, he didn't pay much attention.

Until a few days ago, when Ouyang Rong accidentally saw two full rows of neatly folded, clean foot socks in Xiuniang's wardrobe, colorful and many still brand new.

She couldn't possibly wear them all.

Yet the always-frugal Xiuniang didn't think it was too many and kept adding to them. Every time she bought them back and washed them, she would grope her way to the wardrobe and carefully put them away, a satisfied and joyful look on her blindfolded little face...

Perhaps even Xiuniang herself hadn't realized she had this habit.

Ouyang Rong's eyes held back a smile.

At this moment, he saw Xiuniang's action of putting down the dirty clothes pause; she turned her head to look toward the west wing room outside, then picked up his dirty clothes again, placing her own clothes underneath to cover them.

Ouyang Rong didn't quite understand this detail.

Zhao Qingxiu had already walked over with lotus steps, picked up the towel on Ouyang Rong's face, and tilted her head to gently wipe him.

The pads of her soft fingers occasionally touched the skin on his neck.

Her fingertips felt like they had an electric current, and Ouyang Rong subconsciously shivered.

It tickled.

Zhao Qingxiu wrote on his chest:

【You... you move aside a bit】

Ouyang Rong immediately and obediently made room.

Zhao Qingxiu used the stool to step into the tub, one step at a time.

She hugged her chest with both hands, first lowering her head to adapt, then began to free a hand to wipe Ouyang Rong's body with the towel.

Zhao Qingxiu buried her little head deep, not daring to look at him.

She raised her hand to wipe him with the towel, but accidentally wiped his face.

"What are you doing?"

Ouyang Rong leaned back, wiped his face, and asked in surprise.

Zhao Qingxiu suddenly stood up, wanting to run away in regret.

Ouyang Rong suddenly hugged the twisting, delicate girl.

"Since you're here, why are you running? Wait, isn't... they are still in the room, they aren't asleep, are they?"

【Th-they are asleep】

"Then what if they wake up?" Ouyang Rong asked in a low voice.

Zhao Qingxiu stammered and didn't answer.

He didn't know if she had heard him or not.

After being hugged, her whole body softened.

Her fingers, attempting to write, also trembled slightly, like willow branches in the wind:

【Let go, Tanlang, I won't wash, I won't wash...】

Although she had prepared for a long time, now that she was face-to-face, stared at by the burning gaze of the sweetheart she could almost imagine, she was so shy she was about to cry.

When Zhao Qingxiu came in, she had already taken off her blindfold ribbon, and she was wearing only two pieces of intimate clothing.

Looking at his little wife's panicked appearance with tears in the corners of her eyes, Ouyang Rong suddenly blinked:

"Is this the reward Xiuniang prepared? Helping me scrub?"

Zhao Qingxiu tried hard to turn her head away.

【Let go, take a proper bath】

"Then don't run."

Zhao Qingxiu's eyes were red, and she pursed her lips tightly without answering.

Ouyang Rong also maintained his hugging posture without moving.

The two seemed to be in a stalemate.

If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move.

Under Ouyang Rong's gaze, after a long while, finally, Zhao Qingxiu nodded imperceptibly, reluctantly agreeing.

Only then did Ouyang Rong carefully loosen his grip.

"Then Xiuniang, you scrub, I won't move."

Zhao Qingxiu was about to lean forward, but her jade leg below seemed to touch something, and she shrank back in fright.

As if she had been pricked by a cactus.

"Slap...!"

She lightly slapped his bare arm and pouted her lips.

Ouyang Rong coughed, obediently turned his back, lay on the edge of the tub, and spread his arms out.

"Is this okay?"

"Mm."

Zhao Qingxiu's voice was as thin as a mosquito's.

Ouyang Rong, however, quietly turned his head, bullying her because she couldn't see.

Only then did he see that the water in the tub was covering their chests.

Everything around them was hazy mist, and now that they were close, he finally saw Zhao Qingxiu's attire clearly.

Today's bodice and underpants were vermilion, embroidered with two mandarin ducks playing and lingering in the water.

After being soaked in water, they clung to her skin, which was as smooth as milk.

They must be new; he had never seen them before. He didn't know if Pei Pei Shisan Niang had advised her to buy them.

No wonder Pei Pei Shisan Niang had been suppressing a smile when he saw her these past two days, and even blinked when they met today...

Just at this moment when the air was heating up.

Ouyang Rong took a moment to look at the blue-gold characters on the small wooden fish inside the Merit Pagoda.

【Merit: 5,820】

He felt that it would be severely reduced again today.

————