The pile of sesame cakes wrapped in oil paper in his arms burned the skin of his chest red through the clothing. Ouyang Rong completely sobered up.
He left the sesame cake stall and handed out a bunch of sesame cakes he bought on impulse to passers-by.
In the end, only three cakes were left and two were stuffed into my arms.
Ouyang Rong tore open the oil paper, lowered his head and took a big bite.
With his mouth full of cake, he suddenly grinned, a little sadly. Because he remembered Ah Shan buying sesame cakes for him for breakfast, and remembering that every time Ah Shan passed by Penglangdu, he would silently buy two sesame cakes and take them home to his mother and sister.
Under the slightly strange looks of passers-by on the street, Ouyang Rong quickened his pace and left, striding towards the outside of Penglangdu, turning his back to the pier where ships and junior sisters were waiting.
Ouyang Rong felt an impulse in his heart and wanted to see A Qing and Aunt Liu.
Only then did he suddenly understand why he was not very happy these days even though he was promoted to fifth rank.
I understand why my eyebrows are so difficult to understand when I pack my bags and read the sword by the light.
I also understand why I relaxed my restraint today and allowed myself to get drunk with the wine of the villagers.
Ouyang Rong took a deep breath. The three pieces of sesame oil cakes on his chest were very hot, making his heart very hot. Ouyang Rong's footsteps were getting faster and faster. As he walked through a busy street, he saw several people walking towards him. A city official immediately turned around and walked into the alley.
After a while, a cold-eyed female worker with a thin tongue walked out of the alley and merged into the crowd, silently passing by the searching city officials.
After leaving Tanlangdu, Ouyang Rong took off his bronze mask, stuffed it into his sleeve, stopped a carriage, and rushed to Ashan's house on the outskirts of the city.
Looking at the familiar house in front of him, Ouyang Rong's footsteps became slower and slower, and finally stopped ten feet outside the courtyard wall.
He touched the warm sesame cake on his chest and wandered around in front of the yard.
Ouyang Rong looked back from time to time to take a look at the rammed earth courtyard wall that was so low that he could easily climb over it.
"Why is there no sound in the room? What are Ah Qing and Aunt Liu doing... Is Ah Qing sitting quietly on the small bench, knitting clothes skillfully, or is she resting, doing origami in a daze, studying what I taught her? The fleur-de-lis fold method...
"Where's Aunt Liu? The doctor said she's awake or comatose. She's in good health, but she can't be stimulated and can't tell her about Ah Shan... Is Aunt Liu still lying on the hospital bed, looking at the door and window, thinking about it? When will Ashan come back..."
Ouyang Rong's footsteps seemed to be filled with lead liquid. It was difficult to take a step and he did not dare to climb over the low earth wall in front of him.
Suddenly, he saw the courtyard door in front of him opened from the inside, and someone walked out. It was not Ah Qing, but a young woman.
The woman was very familiar, wearing a white dress and a scarf around her waist. She walked to a jujube tree outside the courtyard with a basin of muddy water containing floating vegetable leaves, poured it out, supported her waist with one hand, wiped her sweat, and took a breather to rest.
Smoke curled up from the yard behind her.
Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment, and then realized that this young woman should be Ah Shan's unmarried daughter-in-law. Liu Lang and the others had mentioned her before.
"Remember, it seems that Ah Shan and her were just engaged... She is still staying at Ah Shan's house, taking good care of her parents-in-law and sister-in-law... She is a kind and peaceful woman, as honest as Ah Shan. Ah Shan has not met Wrong person.”
Ouyang Rong felt happy and sad at the same time, because he remembered that a certain dull man had boldly and sincerely invited the master to attend the wedding.
The young woman did not notice the existence of a certain figure not far away that gathered wind and stored energy. She stood under the tree and looked at an official road outside the village with slightly worried eyes, as if waiting for something.
Ouyang Rong frowned slightly, has A Qing gone out? Where have you gone?
At this moment, Ouyang Rong saw the young woman's eyes light up, breathed a sigh of relief, and stepped forward to greet her.
Ouyang Rong followed the young woman's gaze.
The last ray of sunset has set, and night is slowly falling. On the dim official road in the distance, a slender and petite figure is coming to join the young woman.
It was Ah Qing. With her familiar little figure and the familiar bow tied at the waist of her underskirt, Ouyang Rong recognized her at a glance. He had taught her to tie it in the first place.
Why is this underskirt on Ah Qing's body getting bigger and bigger... and looking a bit thinner... Ouyang Rong's nose was slightly sour, and he opened his mouth to the air in front of him, but it seemed as if someone had sealed his acupuncture points. , without calling out his name.
He saw the young woman turning around and walking back to the yard with Ah Qing. The young woman asked, "Didn't my sister-in-law see him?"
"I saw it." The slender girl shook her head, her eyes slightly blank: "But there were many people, many people were seeing off the master, and A Qing didn't squeeze in...
The young woman thought for a while, "Did he see you?" "
"I didn't seem to see it... but I seemed to have seen it. The master drank a lot of wine and there was a lot of noise next to him. I shouted a few times and he seemed to look over. I don't know if he saw it or not. I, I don't know."
Ah Qing lowered his head blankly and looked at the floral cloth bag that he carried and came back in his arms:
"Maybe the master doesn't want to see me either. It will make me sad." The young woman raised her hand and touched the girl's depressed head:
"My sister-in-law, on the bright side, maybe he just forgot and didn't see you today. It's not that he doesn't want to see you."
"oh."
Ouyang Rong was slightly stunned. Ah Qing also went to see him off? But at that time, he had been drinking the farewell wine of his fellow villagers, and he was a little drunk, and his reaction was slow, so he did not see her.
The young woman took the floral cloth bag from Ah Qing's hand, opened it, took out a clean and neat Confucian shirt, touched the meticulous needlework, and said with regret:
"My sister-in-law has been knitting for so long, I wish I could have sent it earlier."
"No...it's okay."
Ah Qing tried his best to force out a smile and held the sleeves of his brother and sister-in-law to comfort him: "Look back, I'll go find Brother Yan and ask him to help send it over. It's the same thing."
Ouyang Rong couldn't bear it anymore. "Who said the same thing?"
He left the shadow, stepped forward quickly, came to A Qing and the young woman, and took the scholar's shirt directly.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head and unfolded his Confucian shirt, shook it, tried it on next to his body, and said seriously to the two girls who looked astonished:
"I have to come over and try it on. If the size is too small or too big, I have to ask you to help me change it."
"Old...master."
Ah Qing's eyes widened and he looked at the young man with a bright smile in front of him, feeling both surprised and panicked:
"You, didn't you leave by boat?
Ouyang Rong raised his hand, paused for a moment, then continued to stretch forward and rubbed Ah Qing's head:
"Silly girl."
He turned his head and smiled apologetically at the surprised young woman: "Thank you for your hard work these days."
The young woman shook her head vigorously.
It was already dark outside, so the three of them entered the courtyard without standing much longer. Ouyang Rong asked: "Where is Aunt Liu?"
The young woman pointed to a quiet west wing, put her finger to her mouth, and made a hissing signal.
Ouyang Rong nodded silently.
The young woman wiped her hands on her apron and went to the kitchen with a happy face to prepare meals for the distinguished guests.
Ah Qing blushed with excitement and seemed to have a lot to say.
She led Ouyang Rong to a main room where the dining table was placed, and asked him to sit down. The girl, with bright eyes, trotted over to pour tea.
"No, don't bother."
Ouyang Rong reached out to stop Ah Qing and pulled her to sit down together. "I came here because I actually have something to say to you."
Ah Qing looked at him curiously and whispered: "Master, you tell me."
Ouyang Rong corrected him seriously: "Remember, from now on, don't call me master."
Ah Qing's body was slightly stiff, but Ouyang Rong's next words made her stunned: "Call me Brother, or Tan Lang."
"ah..
Ouyang Rong stretched out his hand to hold her thin shoulders:
“From now on, I won’t call you Ah Qing anymore, I’ll call you Amei.
"Ashan is my paoze? His mother and sister are my Ouyang Lianghan's mother and sister. I will serve you with my filial piety!"
Ouyang Rong took a deep breath and said uncontrollably:
“I don’t like to say disgusting words, I always feel that actions are more powerful than words, just like Ah Shan.
"So I have never come to see you before. I just let Rokuro and the others come to greet you and take care of you from a distance. Apart from being a little embarrassed to meet you, I just wanted to do it silently. In fact, I have already treated you as mother and sister.
"However, I also feel a little guilty, because having a son and brother like me is not necessarily a good thing for you mother and daughter.
"Because I still wear many masks and identities, and I need to shoulder a lot of responsibilities. What I want to do will offend many people, and where I want to go, there will be many dangers. They may be even more vicious than the Liu family. The situation is even more severe than that of Dragon City.
"Just like Xunyang City, which I am about to go to now, the situation is not much better than Longcheng. It will probably be arranged into a larger iron cage to trap me and Li Mansion.
"So I don't dare to get too close to you, too often, and I don't even dare to take you to Meiluyuan to live there and enjoy the great wealth. I'm afraid of being targeted by someone who wants to find my weakness."
Ouyang Rong took out the oil paper bag in his arms, lowered his head and slowly peeled it open, and said softly:
"This approach of 'ignoring' and silently supporting someone is indeed calm and rational, but the reason why people are human is that there is always a moment of willfulness that abandons reason.
"Aqing, no, Amei, if I don't say these words face to face, I will be depressed in my heart and think about them all day long. It will be difficult to feel free."
Ah Qing looked at him blankly. Ouyang Rong held out a piece of golden sesame cake with both hands, and his smile was particularly bright:
"So I came here to say, Amei, can you wait for me?
"When I break through this last dangerous shackle, and the sea and sky are brighter, I will come to pick you up, leave Jiangnan, and go to see the prosperous Luoyang together!"
Ah Qing's little face turned red and her pink lips twisted: "Old...Brother, okay! My mother and I are waiting for you." She was a little excited.
Ouyang Rong smiled.
Ah Qing suddenly asked nonsense: "So, she is a foster sister, not a biological sister?"
Ouyang Rong was stunned, "Of course, there is no blood relationship the day after tomorrow, but don't worry, this adopted sister is no different from my biological sister."
Ah Qing hesitated to speak, but Ouyang Rong suddenly took out a sword box and handed it over:
"By the way, I almost forgot to mention, it's here." "It?"
Ouyang Rong nodded: "That old man wanted to give you something." Ah Qing tilted his head, seeming to understand: "It's called... Craftsmanship?"
Ouyang Rong nodded lightly and opened the sword box, "Actually, you are its powerful person. The old man was planning to send you and it to Yunmeng Jianze." "Yunmeng Jianze?"
"It's a very powerful place. It might even be suitable for you, A-mei." A-Qing asked, "Brother, will you go?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head: "How could I go there? Besides, there are all female cultivators there." The girl with the word "Yue" embroidered on her forehead shook her head: "Then Ah Qing won't go either."
Ouyang Rong had no choice but to point to the "glazed iris petals" in the sword box:
"A-mei doesn't want it at all?"
Ah Qing didn't even look at it. He closed the sword box with his dexterous little hands and handed it back: "Brother, come and protect us."
Ouyang Rong frowned and wanted to speak. Ah Qing lowered his head and looked at the New Confucian shirt. He seemed to be more interested in the New Confucian shirt. He stood up and handed it to him:
"Brother, try it on and see if it fits." Ouyang Rong nodded and put on new clothes.
Ah Qing pointed at his waist and frowned slightly: "The size seems a bit wider."
"It's okay. A larger size is better than a smaller one. You can wear it for more time."
Ouyang Rong spoke casually, stood up, took off his clothes, and turned to look at the night outside the house.
Ah Qing suddenly asked: "Miss Xie, are you still waiting for me at the dock?" "Yes."
"Brother, please leave quickly," the smart girl said with concern, helping him fold his clothes and stuff them into a floral cloth bag.
Ouyang Rong took the floral cloth bag and stood up hesitantly.
Ah Qing suddenly opened his thin arms and whispered, "Can you give me a hug?" Ouyang Rong was slightly stunned.
Ah Qing raised his eyes and looked at him: "I just want to measure my waist, so I can make you a fitted autumn coat next time."
"oh oh."
Ouyang Rong and Ah Qing stopped hugging each other. After they separated, Ouyang Rong carried the sword box again, and Ah Qing lowered his head and saw him out of the main room.
Hearing the footsteps, the young woman walked out of the kitchen and asked regretfully: "Master, won't you stay for dinner?"
Ouyang Rong glanced at the sky and hesitated slightly: "You can eat some.
At this moment, an old woman's voice came from the west wing that had been silent for a long time:
"Who's in the yard?"
Ouyang Rong, Ah Qing and the young woman immediately fell silent. Mother Liu woke up.
"Ah Shan? Is Ah Shan back? Ah Shan, my son, are you back... Ah Qing, Yun Niang, where are you? Call Ah Shan over quickly..."
In the west wing room, the old woman's excited voice came, and soon there was the sound of getting out of bed and putting on shoes.
The three people in front of the courtyard suddenly became nervous.
Ashan's widow, named Yun Niang, hurried to the west wing to comfort Liu Mu.
Ah Qing gently pushed Ouyang Rong out of the door and lowered his voice:
"Master, please go first, we will just take care of you here."
After saying that, she turned around and ran into the west wing with a worried look on her face, coaxing Liu's mother with her brother and sister-in-law Yun Niang.
Standing at the dimly lit entrance of the courtyard, Ouyang Rong took a few steps forward, suddenly stamped his feet and touched the inside of his sleeves...
In the west wing room, Ah Qing and Yun Niang squatted in front of the couch, holding down Liu Mu's skinny legs that were halfway through wearing shoes.
"Mom heard it wrong, it's not brother, brother... brother hasn't come back yet."
"Really? Then, when did Ah Shan come back?"
Looking at the expectant old woman, Ah Qing felt sad and opened her mouth; "Brother, he...he..."
Mother Liu suddenly interrupted her daughter's words: "Ah Shan? You, you are back!"
Ah Qing and Yun Niang were stunned for a moment, and when they looked back, they were both surprised. "Ah... mother."
A dull man stood at the door, strode to the couch, knelt on one knee, tightly grasped the old woman's cold and wrinkled hands, and whispered: "I'm back."
Liu's mother burst into tears and hugged Liu Ashan: "Ah Shan, Ah Shan, you are finally back! Where have you been these days? They all said you were leaving the hospital. Why didn't you say hello to mother?"
Liu's mother cried, and Liu Ashan buried his head in silence, looking a little dull. After a while, he took out a piece of sesame cake from his arms and handed it to the old woman's hand.
Liu's mother cried with joy, wiped her tears and blamed: "Ah Shan wasted money again..." Her tone could not sound fierce.
Liu Ashan stuffed the cake with expectant eyes and motioned for her to try it. Liu's mother had no choice but to take a bite of the cake and said, "Okay, it's delicious, it's delicious..."
"Come on, come on, go eat quickly and come back quickly. Ah Shan must be hungry."
The old woman who was originally weak and bedridden actually got down to the ground with dexterity and trotted to the kitchen to cook. Her complexion was rosy and she recovered as before.
Liu Ashan nodded slightly towards Ah Qing and Yun Niang. The two girls suddenly understood and calmly walked to the kitchen to help.
A quarter of an hour later.
The main house is brightly lit. It's been a long time since it's been this bright. A square dining table was once again filled.
The whole family gathers together.
During the dinner, Liu's mother happily served Liu Ashan some vegetables.
Under the watchful eyes of the three women around him, the dull man buried his head in cooking and refused to accept any dish.
Ah Qing silently packed a large bowl of rice for his mother, who had been anorexic for a long time. The old woman surprisingly ate it all, but she did not take her eyes off her son who had returned home throughout the meal and frequently brought him food.
About half an hour later, after the meal was finished, Liu Ashan put down his bowls and chopsticks, suddenly knelt down on one knee, grabbed Liu's mother's hand, and said goodbye seriously.
He said that tonight he would go with his master to Xunyang City to take up his post and stay there for a long time.
After a happy night, Mother Liu's face slowly returned to calm. She turned her head to look at the night outside the door. She stared quietly for a while, then nodded in a daze without stopping:
"Good. Safe journey."
The young man wearing a heavy mask quietly breathed a sigh of relief, nodded to Ah Qing and Yun Niang, and strode out of the main room.
As he walked towards the entrance of the courtyard, Mother Liu's calm and hoarse voice suddenly came from the main room behind him:
"My son...is he brave?"
Ouyang Rong suddenly paused, A Qing and Yun Niang trembled, and both lowered their heads.
The atmosphere inside and outside the house was silent for a while.
The young man in front of the door suddenly looked back. He was wearing a bronze animal mask on his head. The animal mask was shaped like a fox head. The corners of his mouth made of bronze were greatly curved, and he had an exaggerated smile, a bright smile, and a happy smile:
"Bravely crowned Dragon City."
Some people died, but not completely...
