"Miss, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so strange? Is the cold air from your bare feet getting into your body?"
On the third floor of Meiyingzhai, in a messy study room, the little maid with a bun face said worriedly.
"I, I'm fine..." Su Guo'er's voice came.
Cai Shou couldn't help but take a second look at the young lady standing silently beside the fallen wastebasket.
Today was fine at first, but in the afternoon something strange happened, and the lady suddenly became different from usual.
The changes in her young lady made her feel a little strange yet familiar at the same time.
That's right.
It's strange yet familiar.
Strangeness is compared to the usual indifference and tranquility.
And familiar...
It was the young lady who desperately ran downstairs barefoot and stepped on the rainwater in the courtyard. It was a bit like dreaming back to her childhood.
The dark little lolita who loved to fly around and fall in love with the roof tiles like a naughty boy, and climb walls and roofs, seems to be back again.
Although it may only be a flash in the pan.
However, Cai Shou always felt that the young lady who had gradually become quiet, indifferent, polite and polite as she grew up still had a naughty and lively figure of a romantic girl hidden in her heart.
It just doesn't show up very often.
From movement to stillness.
But for some reason, something seemed to be let out of the cage today.
Cai Shou couldn't help but look at the piece of mulberry paper that was deforming the fabric in front of the young lady's soft breasts.
It's covered in someone's handwriting.
It seems that it was caused by this poem sent by Mr. Ouyang...
"Cai Shou, you, you go out first." Su Guo'er suddenly said.
She silently took a step forward, her skirt blocking the paper basket lying on the ground next to her and the bamboo sticks wrapped in red paper among the scraps of paper.
Cai Shou's attention was diverted and she said blankly: "Okay."
"etc."
"What's wrong, miss? What's wrong?"
"I'm not uncomfortable, I just suddenly discovered something very important. You don't need to worry about it, just do your thing well. Besides..."
Su Guo'er paused, her cheeks turned slightly red, and she turned her gaze away and said:
"In addition, you are not allowed to tell anyone what happened today, not even the master and his wife. Do you understand?"
"Oh." Cai Shou lowered her head and raised the toes of her embroidered shoes to drill into the ground, "I understand."
"Okay, you go down first, and also tell the other maids in the yard not to talk nonsense."
"yes."
Watching Cai Shou's back disappearing from the door, and the door being closed from the outside, Su Bao'er stood motionless by the wastebasket. When she heard the sound of people going downstairs walking away, she moved like a rabbit and came to the door barefoot. , lock the door from the inside.
He quickly walked to the fallen wastebasket.
Su Guo'er's figure paused and her shadow shook.
He seemed to hesitate.
She twisted the paper and held up the skirts on both sides, and squatted down without caring about her appearance.
The barefoot girl in a peach red skirt hugged her knees and buried her face in her hands, revealing a pair of slender eyes, staring at the bamboo sticks wrapped in red paper on the ground.
The bamboo stick lay quietly among the scraps of paper, as if waiting for someone to pick it up.
The hands holding her knees clenched slightly.
"Is it a coincidence or..."
The murmur started to speak but stopped.
There was some complicated color in Su Guo'er's eyes.
There is doubt, there is shame, and there are other things.
She had never thought about this before.
He didn't care at all about this unexpected marriage lottery.
However, Su Guo'er had just experienced something that had become a motto, and she was in a state of... Thousands of times later, when she suddenly looked back at the man's sudden astonishment in the dim light, there was a faint and wonderful experience of being wrapped up in fate.
There is another way... Everything in the world seems to have a certain destiny-like trajectory. It just depends on whether you can get a glimpse of the mysterious feeling.
Under the influence of the aftermath of this special incident, my thoughts unconsciously turned towards a certain kind of fatalism.
They are extremely sensitive to the clues happening around them.
So now, Su Guoer faced this marriage lottery again.
Even if one's reason is extremely distrustful, one's heart will inevitably have the embarrassing thought of "Is there destiny somewhere in the world?"
In fact, this is not to blame for Su Guo'er's random thoughts. Even in this situation, it is difficult for anyone to be completely indifferent and rational.
What's more, the person facing this marriage sign is a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl who is quite sophisticated and suspicious. She is already at a sensitive and worried age.
In front of the wastebasket, Su Guo'er didn't reach out for a long time.
The graceful figure squatting down was quiet.
She didn't really believe in fate before.
But since I learned what kind of blood I shed when I was born in the mortal world, I learned about the ups and downs my parents had experienced, and I also learned about the actions of the "kind" grandmother who had never been masked. .
She couldn't help but not believe it at all.
In addition, there is the old fortune teller who once told Su Guoer's fortune and uttered maxims.
Not long ago, Su Guo'er just received the news that the old prime minister surnamed Yuan, who was very senior in the Qing Dynasty on Maoshan Mountain, had become an immortal, that is, he was dead.
She also vaguely heard that the old fortune teller may have lost his life span because he revealed too many secrets, and it would be difficult to survive even if he were to die...
Perhaps this is the reason why Taoist priests of the Shangqing Sect are mostly from a single lineage, and it is difficult to live long and die in peace.
He is between joining the world and leaving the world, wavering between the mortal world and the hidden world.
He also spends all day holding a ji to pray to gods, or to slay demons... He is mainly a nosy person.
Even if most of the disciples he recruits are those with very tough fates, they will not live long.
They are both descendants of the Three Mountains. Take a look at the Taoist priests from the Taiqing Sect of Longhu Mountain and the Yuqing Sect of Gezao Mountain.
In the former case, the door of the mansion is tightly closed, and Master Huang Zi rarely comes out of the mountain, and he cherishes feathers very much.
The latter, watching the door open, saving lives and healing the wounded and refining elixirs, mingling with princes, nobles, and common people, is full of fireworks in the world.
After hearing this news, Su Guo'er felt sad and a little silent.
At this moment, the study was quiet for a long time.
Above the overturned wastebasket, a bare hand suddenly stretched out.
The palm stopped in the air.
He took it back again.
"Proverbs are proverbs, but they don't mention this red sign. What are you thinking about..."
Su Guo'er shook her head slightly, lowered her eyes and whispered:
"Are we sharing wealth and adversity together... In other words, being in the same camp, there are many reasonable ways to make friends, like Brother A, or Sister Xie, but it's definitely not like the nymphomaniac Cai Shou."
As if talking to himself to enlighten him, Su Guoer stood up, waved his hand and walked away.
Walk towards the desk.
Go halfway.
Su Guo'er stopped, turned back to the wastebasket, squatted down and picked up the bamboo stick wrapped in red paper.
He walked straight to the bookshelf, tiptoed and picked out a large and thick book on the top shelf.
Su Guo'er casually stuffed the brand new marriage sign into the book, then stood on tiptoe to return the thick book to its place.
She lowered her eyelids and turned away.
The marriage sign was not lost.
But, it didn't open either.
It was dusk at the right time, and the last ray of light behind the distant mountains outside the window shrank back behind the dark outline of the mountains.
There was no light in the study, so Su Guoer carefully put away the piece of mulberry paper and stayed quietly in the room for a while. After a while, she walked out of the study and went to the courtyard, where she found Cai Shou leading the maids to prepare dinner.
Su Guo'er pushed aside the other maids and called Cai Shou to him.
"Miss, your face looks much better now."
"I said it's okay. Why are you guessing? Why are your eyes so darting?"
"Okay...Miss, I will clean up the study for you."
"etc."
"What are your orders, Miss?"
"You... where is your umbrella?"
"Umbrella? What kind of umbrella? Miss, are you going out? It's not raining now."
"I'm talking about...that red umbrella, you, the one you held up at noon."
Su Guo'er silently turned her gaze away and looked at the puddles on the ground aside. The puddles reflected the puzzled expression of the little maid with a steamed bun next to her.
"Miss, are you talking about Mr. Ouyang's red umbrella?" she asked directly.
Su Guo'er said "hmm" nasally.
"Miss, please don't rush me. I will send you back tomorrow. I'm here to say thank you. I won't mention Miss. I promise that Master Ouyang and others won't get misunderstood." Cai Shou patted her chest and promised.
"No... no need. After thinking about it, I'd better go and return it. I have to be polite. It's not appropriate for you, a maid, to go there. If I go, I should be more solemn."
Su Guo'er turned her face and said seriously to Cai Shou. She sighed softly:
"After all, we are neighbors, right?"
"..." Cai Shou.
The little girl lowered her head and looked at her young lady's hand, which she extended unceremoniously to her to beg for help.
"Miss...that's not what you said at noon."
Su Guoer frowned slightly, seeming a little unhappy:
"Why do you say so and not like this? Didn't I teach you that a drop of kindness should be repaid by a spring of water? Have you forgotten it? You little girl, go and get an umbrella."
She paused, seemed to think for a moment, raised her head slightly to glance at the starry night sky, and whispered to herself:
"The weather should be nice and sunny these two days. It's a good time to take a bath and have some incense. What kind of clothes should I wear? I don't have any experience in that kind of situation. It would be great if Sister Xie is here. You can go and ask..."
"...???" Cai Shou.
Why does this line sound so familiar?
Cai Shou frowned:
"Miss, you have changed! The wind is sunny, you are bathing in incense, you are dignified and elegant...Miss, is this an umbrella return or a blind date?"
Ignoring the sour protest of the little girl, Su Guo'er lowered her eyes and muttered to herself, turned around and went back to the house. She put her hands behind her back, waved her hands behind her back and commanded:
"The umbrella will be delivered to the study later."
"..."
…
Ouyang Rong has been very busy during the day recently.
The kind that never touches the ground.
After finally seeing off Shen Xisheng and Wang Lengran in the past two days, he turned around and devoted himself to the final flood control preparations in the upper reaches of Butterfly Creek.
In fact, he didn't know why the two Shangguan Lords had been procrastinating in Dragon City these days.
Apart from Wang Lengran's obvious protection of the half-dead Liu family, Ouyang Rong really couldn't think of any other reason for them to delay leaving until recently. It had been a long time since the ribbon-cutting ceremony was over.
It’s easier to ask God than to send Him away, right?
Or are you on a business trip?
However, apart from the beautiful men, there is not much beautiful scenery to see in Longcheng County. They were almost destroyed by the last flood. Many famous and historic sites were not given enough priority and have not been repaired. They are now covered with weeds.
So, don’t you two adults have any official business to handle in Jiangzhou City?
Ouyang Rong was puzzled, and in the end he could only think shamelessly that it might be the orderly and well-fed Dragon City under his governance that attracted the two Shangguan officials.
However, Ouyang Rong didn't see any signs of the two Jiangzhou Shangguan running to the third floor of Yunshui Pavilion... but he could see the vague atmosphere of reluctance between the two Shangguan.
Of course, after experiencing the food restriction order and the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and having the relationship with his mentor Xie Xun, Ouyang Rong was naturally biased towards Shen Xisheng.
But it's not a big deal to go back to the opposite direction, completely stand in line with Wang Lengran in public, and break up with Wang Lengran.
In official circles, dignity is still important.
Moreover, no matter what the position is, whether it is pure or not, everything must be done under the banner of serving the court and the people, and everyone must still have harmony on the surface.
These are the rules of the game, and Ouyang Rong is temporarily unable to change them.
Moreover, Ouyang Rong is also self-aware. He is just a seventh-level county magistrate who has just entered the officialdom. When he is not closely tied to Shen Xisheng's faction, he can easily become a cannon fodder if he forces himself to stand out.
It's easy to be complicit.
But it’s hard to choose sides
It’s even harder to be alone.
And if you want to devote yourself to it and do some practical things down-to-earth, it will be even more difficult.
When Ouyang Rong was studying in his previous life, he didn't have a deep understanding of this. He gradually understood this truth after he woke up from a cave and put on this official uniform and joined the officialdom of this place and worked hard.
Moreover, sometimes the senior official level can really crush people to death.
Especially, it is better to be an official than to be in charge.
Ouyang Rong was very clear. Wang Lengran, the governor of Jiangzhou, was his immediate superior as the magistrate of Longcheng County.
Jiangzhou Governor's Office is the superior official office of Longcheng County Government.
Although Shen Xisheng is half a rank higher than Wang Lengran, as an imperial envoy, his responsibilities are only to investigate the rice case and inspect disaster relief and flood control.
Besides, Wang Lengran must have the confidence to secretly compete with Shen Xisheng.
There is obviously a deeper political alignment behind both sides.
There is a high probability that it involves Zhou Ting's officialdom in Luoyang, the divine capital.
Ouyang Rong has a bright eye and a bright heart behind the twists and turns.
He felt a little pain in his forehead just by standing on tiptoe and taking a look.
You can't make another dumpling just for a jar of vinegar, right?
Not to mention, sometimes under the card table, even opponents and enemies will have some exchanges of interests, and occasionally compromise with each other and exchange chips.
For example, the surviving Liu family was dismembered after the public trial.
Therefore, when the only witness, the female fairy Yuxi, was in a coma and the junior sister had not yet collected the key evidence, procedural justice could not be activated.
Ouyang Rong chose to temporarily withdraw his drumming troops in exchange for Wang Lengran's support for Longcheng County's flood control measures, who was obviously determined to protect the rest of the Liu family.
An old man and a young man, two smart people, vaguely reached a tacit understanding.
Of course, Shen Xisheng on the side should also be aware of this, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he cooperated with Ouyang Rong and kept some distance, without any intention of forcibly attracting him or demanding him.
I don’t know if it’s because of the relationship between my mentor Xie Xun and my junior sister that he is so tolerant of the junior.
Ouyang Rong felt a little embarrassed.
But it also made Ouyang Rong become more fond of Master Shen.
So when I said goodbye yesterday, I not only gave Mr. Shen several large jars of pickled radishes, but also asked him to toast him with several more bowls of wine, during which Ouyang Rong consumed a lot of jingles.
I learned this from the wine-loving Magistrate Tian next door. Last time, Ouyang Rong was drunk after being persuaded by his smooth talk.
But there was another thing that made Ouyang Rong feel strange, which was the way Shen Xisheng looked at him, which often made people feel a little weird.
Ouyang Rong was slightly confused. Could it be that he had misunderstood his relationship with his junior sister?
The young magistrate laughed and thought it was the senior's bad taste and didn't pay much attention to it.
In fact, if you want to say that Ouyang Rong is arrogant and tough and can he forcefully beat Wang Lengran, then of course it is possible.
Anyway, Ouyang Rong was confident that there was no corruption in Wang Lengran's hands. He had a good reputation in Longcheng County and several surrounding counties. He had no excuse. He was called Luobo County Magistrate for nothing.
Besides, he also has the golden body that is known throughout the world as an upright gentleman.
Finally, there is a certain underground palace blessing, which seems to be able to escape at any time.
The personal defense area is full, it is true.
After hard-hitting your immediate boss, you'll be done if you don't show any flaws.
But Ouyang Rong also wanted to do something practical in Longcheng.
Wang Lengran may not be able to provide him with much help, but the new governor of Jiangzhou can still make things difficult for him, make it difficult for him to do things in a short period of time, or make it difficult for him to do things.
This is also the bad thing about a lot of things in the world.
In any case, the stay of Wang Lengran, Shen Xisheng and others in Longcheng during these days has indeed distracted Ouyang Rong a lot. They are occupying the court and being polite and respectful in the officialdom, which is really a hindrance.
Now that both Bodhisattvas were sent away, Ouyang Rong devoted all his energy to the final water control.
That evening, taking advantage of a certain king's tacit compromise, the Longcheng County government issued an official document to mobilize flood control ships to Jiangzhou City.
Behind the public case table, a young county magistrate patted his sleeves and stood up. He took a rare step to go home for dinner.
