Ouyang Rong stood on the embankment and watched the big ship carrying the emperor's personal envoy leave.
"I hope King Xunyang and Master Changshi are still waiting for the Zajia family in Xunyang City next time I come back...what do you mean?"
He muttered and repeated it over and over again, chewing on the words Khufu had repeated before:
"Is this Ambassador Hu worried that the next time he comes back and passes by Xunyang, where else can we go if we are not in Xunyang? What is he worried about...
“Could it be that some danger is coming to our door, giving us advance warning and asking us to stay calm?
"Or is there something that needs to be decided until he comes back?"
Ouyang Rong turned around with a thoughtful expression on his face. Before leaving the dock, he suddenly remembered the burning cloud last night.
He turned around and looked at the cloudless sky.
"If you don't go out in the morning, the sunset will travel thousands of miles. Today is indeed a good day to travel. You can only know the smallest things. This envoy from Hu Zhong knows how to choose the day."
Ouyang Rong nodded.
…
The sail sails against the morning wind as it leaves Xunyang Ferry,
On the moving ship, a bearded eunuch stood at the stern, looking away from the shrinking ancient ferry behind.
He took out the waist knife he had just received as a gift and looked at the frost-reflective slotted blade under the sun. It was a standard military knife.
The purple-black wooden handle has a faint smell of tung oil.
The original owner must have been a lover of knives. He would regularly apply and maintain the knife, and the handles of the knives would be treated with meticulous care.
Khufu nodded, put away his sword, turned and left the deck.
Accepting only a waist knife as a gift does not break the rules.
He put the saber on his waist, held it, turned around, and asked the palace attendants behind him who were looking at the saber sideways:
"Where is the female historian?"
The palace people all shook their heads in confusion.
Khufu's expression remained unchanged, as if he was not surprised. He turned around and walked into the cabin. When he came to the largest cabin, he raised his hand and knocked on the door twice.
There was no answer from a familiar cold voice inside the door.
Khufu stood in front of the door and waited for a while.
He breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had been holding a big stone on his back and finally dropped it.
Khufu turned his head and looked behind him in the direction of Xunyang Ferry.
He couldn't help but frown.
After a while, the figure of the bearded eunuch left the empty room.
…
"Lord Changshi, your female family members are waiting for you at the back door."
After Ouyang Rong sent Khufu off to the ship in the morning, he rushed back to the Jiangzhou lobby and continued working. Not long after he sat down, Chen Canjun walked in and reported in a low voice.
Ouyang Rong signed the document in hand and took it into custody.
He stood up and walked out of the door. He picked up a small stack of official documents from the piled papers, rolled them up, and stuffed them into his sleeves.
The back door of Jiangzhou lobby.
A carriage from the Huaiye Lane mansion was waiting quietly.
Ouyang Rong quickly got into the car.
"Tan Lang."
"Um."
In the carriage, Ye Weila was sitting.
Wearing a charming pink striped chest-length Confucian skirt, her waist-length silver-white hair was tied into double sideburns that resembled twin ponytails, adding a touch of beauty and agility.
Ouyang Rong saw that she was carrying a fruit basket in her hand, as if she had just gone to the Western Market to buy flowers and fruits.
Ye Weilai carefully helped Ouyang Rong, who was bending down to get into the car, and noticed his gaze and immediately replied:
"Tanlang, Zhenguang Street is full of azaleas today."
Ouyang Rong nodded calmly and told the driver outside: "Go to Yunshui Pavilion."
The carriage started slowly.
Ouyang Rong looked at Ye Weila's exquisite dress and smooth hair, and asked, "Auntie gave it to you?"
Ye Weilai's little white-haired head shook her head: "It's Sister Xie."
"Wanwan? She still has time to buy clothes."
Ouyang Rong swallowed the words "lazier than me".
"Um,"
Ye Weilai looked a little happy:
"Sister Xie said that slave learns quickly and saves her time. If she is in a good mood, she will take slave to go shopping and dress up."
Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows.
Starting a few days ago, he no longer lets Ye Weilai stay in Yinbingzhai fishing every day.
Start taking the time to consciously teach her some useful things.
When she was in Longcheng before, Ouyang Rong had actually taught her how to read and write step by step. Ye Weilai was naturally smart and learned quickly.
She also read a lot of the books on his bookshelf and even memorized them by heart.
At present, Ouyang Rong asked Xie Lingjiang to teach her advanced Confucian knowledge after literacy such as the Four Books and Five Classics.
But the emphasis was not on asking Ye Weilai to compose poems or songs, but on the purpose of letting her understand the allusions in the article in the future.
Regarding these requests, the junior sister at that time looked at him with a slightly strange look,
Ouyang Rong explained jokingly, "Drinking Bingzhai does not feed idle people."
In the slightly bumpy carriage, Ye Weilai paused and said:
"Sister Xie was originally going to come over, but then she received the news about Miss Li, so she came over, saying that she wanted to supervise Miss Li for Tan Lang to prevent her from messing up and disrupting the arrangements of Tan Lang and the palace. .”
"What's the news from Her Majesty the Princess?"
"I heard that the Ju Poetry Club has recently recruited several young talents, and there seems to be one named Wang Junzhi among them, who was introduced to Miss Li by that annoying Yue Zi'ang."
Ouyang Rong's mouth twitched.
Ye Weilai has always been "the master with all her eyes". As long as Ouyang Rong is around, the white-haired little girl's eyes will hardly leave his face, and her clear blue eyes will look at him from all angles.
At this moment, noticing the subtle changes in the corners of Ouyang Rong's mouth, she asked in a low voice:
"Tan Lang knows this person?"
Ouyang Rong nodded: "We know each other, but it's not really a big deal. This princess actually does things in a very measured way..."
After a pause, as if remembering his thoughtful rescue last time, he pursed his lips:
"But Wanwan is still thoughtful and thoughtful."
"Yes, thank you sister..."
Ye Weila was about to talk more about a certain "big lady", but she saw Ouyang Rong suddenly said to her with a serious expression:
"You learned the Four Books and Five Classics very quickly. Wanwan gave you a reward, so I can't be left behind. Guess what gift I brought you?"
Ye Weilai's eyes were shining and she couldn't help but straighten her waist and said Nunuo: "I like everything Tan Lang gave me."
When Ouyang Rong saw this, he nodded with relief.
He was not hesitant in his hand, and immediately took out a complicated official document and stuffed it into Ye Weilai's small chest without ceremony:
"Blessed are girls who learn quickly. Take it, this is today's homework. Take it back and look at it carefully. You will be familiar with the signing and signing of government documents.
“Now that you have learned and practiced calligraphy, you can now start to learn how to organize your words and write concise written language.
"They are also careful and meticulous, and they carefully choose their words and sentences. Compared with poems and songs that cultivate sentiments and show off talents, this kind of official documents from the imperial court are a good example for learning to write articles and speak."
Ye Weilai: "..."
Before she could feel downcast, her face turned cloudy.
Ouyang Rong smiled and suddenly turned his hands, and a snow-white gardenia appeared out of nowhere.
There is moisture and dew at the broken root system of the flower, so it should have just been picked.
Ouyang Rong twisted the flower with two fingers and gently inserted it into Ye Weilai's right temple hair.
Ye Weilai looked surprised, tilted her head and raised her hand, touching the flower carefully.
The little nose twitched, sniffing the fragrance of gardenia that filled the carriage.
Ouyang Rong leaned back, looked at the girl wearing the flower carefully from a distance, and looked quite satisfied.
The newly picked flowers are delicate and beautiful, but the little girl’s oval face is more delicate than the flowers.
Ye Weilai, who had always disliked the childish games of her peers, now had expressions of surprise and happiness on her face.
It's just that the tenderness of my sweetheart comes too suddenly. One second he was "assigning homework", and the next second he is sending flowers.
She couldn't help but stutter a little when speaking:
"How... why did you suddenly send me flowers to my slave, Tan Lang?"
He said calmly: "There is a gardenia tree in the lobby that is in bloom. I pass by it often and I think the color is very similar to your hair. I think it should match well."
"It turns out that Tan Lang also misses Nuer..."
Ye Weilai's heart felt as if she had stolen candy, and her sweet blue eyes narrowed into crescent moons like a greedy cat.
"Hmm." Ouyang Rong smiled.
Most women like surprises and a sense of ceremony, and the little girl is certainly no exception.
Therefore, occasionally on boring days, I pick a random flower on the roadside and take it home, giving it as a genuine gift.
Even giving them carefully prepared expensive gifts on their birthdays was even more romantic and joyful than they had expected.
A certain scumbag understands this very well.
"Don't move around. It looks good on you now."
Ouyang Rong grabbed Ye Weilai's little hand to stop him.
"Oh." Ye Weilai nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, and withdrew his hand. At this moment, he looked down upon his sweetheart and obeyed her words.
She looked down at the pile of obscure and old-fashioned official documents in her arms, bit her pink lips, and whispered:
"Slave, go back and study."
Ouyang Rong said casually: "There are two tax accounts in it. Use the arithmetic I taught you recently to do the calculations and tell me the answer when the time comes."
"Okay." She agreed obediently.
Ouyang Rong suddenly asked: "Are you curious why I asked you to learn this?"
Ye Weilai immediately shook her head, but under his fixed gaze, she nodded honestly.
Ouyang Rong first looked at the scenery of Xunyang River outside the window, then turned around, pointed at the document and said:
"Weila, most of the truly smart people and top-notch intelligence in the world are gathered in this seemingly pedantic and inefficient court system.
“These official documents are all written by these smart people who love to pretend to be confused.
“Even the unknown female official holding a glass of tea in front of His Majesty in the palace may be a woman prime minister with excellent articles and no shame.
"I hope that your intelligence should not be focused on becoming a talented woman with poetry and singing, or a house-fighter to win favors from a beautiful wife, but should be compared with these people, do you understand?"
The slim white-haired girl who had been born was startled.
after awhile.
She nodded vigorously: "As long as I can help Tan Lang in the future, I will study hard."
Ouyang Rong knocked on Ye Weilai's smooth little forehead:
"You're not just helping me, you've learned these things, which are your special skills. Just in case, in the future, even if you go out alone, the road will be bright and the sky will be bright, and all the forces will rare you."
After a pause, he said with a smile: "You can buy whatever skirt you want to buy then."
This carriage belonged to Prince Xunyang's Mansion, and the junior sister often rode in it, so over time she took it back to the Huaiye Lane residence.
The cabin is covered with soft Persian carpets.
Ye Weilai suddenly stood up, knelt down at Ouyang Rong's feet with her legs bent, and held his knees covered by a shirt with open arms.
She tilted her head, put her cheek on the thigh in front of his knee, and seemed to say to herself:
"If you can learn from me, I won't leave. I won't drive you away. Anyway, I'll be relying on you from now on."
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but stretched out his hand and touched the white-haired little head on his knees. She closed her eyes and rubbed his warm palm.
Ouyang Rong's fingers scratched her delicate red ears, causing the little girl to bury her head in silence:
"itch……"
Ouyang Rong wanted to stop, but she caught him and gestured to continue rubbing her little ears, as if he liked this kind of caressing.
Ouyang Rong rubbed his ears and whispered:
"Weila, actually I have always felt that I owe you a lot. I am usually busy with work and cannot stay with you for too long. When I go home, I either fall asleep or stay up late reading, and sometimes I don't even see anyone in the middle of the night...
"You like Chinese clothes, and I've always been thinking about it. I want to buy you some, but I don't have time to go shopping with you, so Wanwan has to find time to do it for you.
"Now I am pressuring you every day to learn some complicated knowledge that ordinary women in the boudoir would not be involved in.
"Speaking of which, which husband would treat his concubines and family members like this? It's like being indifferent."
The more he spoke, the more he smiled bitterly and laughed at himself.
The little girl's pretty little face buried between his knees and legs lifted up and looked up at him:
"My Tanlang is a man who wants to do great things.
"Slave knows this, Sister Xie knows it, Madam Zhen also knows it, and all the women in Huaiye Lane Mansion know it.
"Really speaking, Sister Xie has given more. As a noble girl with the fifth surname, she is clearly in love, but cannot get engaged immediately... In comparison, there is nothing that slave can't give."
Ouyang Rong was silent for a while:
"wait for me.
"Wait until I take you all out of Xunyang City."
At this moment, the carriage stopped, and the driver's voice came from outside.
"We're at the place, let's go, let me introduce you to someone."
Ouyang Rong stood up and led Ye Weilai, who looked curious, out of the carriage.
…
"Ouyang Changshi, I apologize that I will not be able to understand."
In the private room on the third floor of Yunshui Pavilion, after listening to the news from Ouyang Rong, Qin Heng's cheeks puffed up, his nose trembled slightly, and his tone was a little excited:
"Why doesn't the imperial court strictly investigate and punish the culprits, instead of letting them go unpunished? If this continues, how can the garrison soldiers feel at ease? Isn't this just increasing hidden dangers?"
Qin Heng's reaction was as big as Ouyang Rong expected.
He lowered his eyes and said:
“This is clearly a compromise.
"When it comes to the issue of garrison soldiers, we should adopt the opinions of Master and us.
"On the issue of Lan Changhao and other chief officials, he compromised with the Wei family."
"Isn't Ouyang Changshi angry?"
Ouyang Rong took a sip of tea:
"Expected."
Qin Heng frowned and suddenly realized:
"No wonder Ouyang Changshi said at the time that they didn't care about their official titles, they only cared about whether the soldiers could return safely... Wasn't Changshi already pessimistic?"
Ye Weilai, who was pouring tea for the two of them, said softly:
"Tanlang said before that you should abandon your expectations and stances and look at reality in a truly realistic way. Most of the outrageous choices in the world are hopelessly invulnerable and cannot find any faults that violate the real rules."
Ouyang Rong put down his tea cup: "General Qin, this is the worst part of everything in the world."
Qin Heng hesitated to speak, and finally remained silent.
The three of them drank tea in silence for a while.
After a while, Qin Heng lowered his head:
"What will happen to the soldiers when they come back? Will they still have to deal with the governor Wang Lengran? Will they be deprived of their posts in retaliation and all be dismissed?"
"Just to retreat?" Ouyang Rong shook his head: "General Qin, please be ready."
"What preparation?"
Ouyang Rong put down his tea cup: "The safety of the returning garrison soldiers."
Qin Heng was stunned: "Is it a hint from the Luoyang envoy? Or is it an order from His Majesty?"
"neither."
"How dare Wang Lengran..."
"Not only do you dare, you also must do it."
Ouyang Rong narrowed his eyes: "The garrison soldiers from the north should put down their weapons. On the day they enter the city, they can just name them as someone who intends to rebel, and they can be killed in one fell swoop... This kind of treatment is really clean."
Qin Heng was suddenly startled.
(End of chapter)
