A pile of sesame cakes wrapped in oil paper in my arms,

The skin on the chest was reddened through the fabric.

Ouyang Rong completely sobered up.

He left the sesame cake stall and handed a bunch of sesame cakes he had bought on impulse into the hands of passers-by.

In the end, only three cakes were left,

Put two into my arms,

Ouyang Rong tore open the oil paper, lowered his head and took a big bite.

With his mouth full of cakes, he suddenly grinned, a little sadly.

Because I 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 had an impulse in his heart and wanted to meet Ah 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 understood why I was packing my bags and looking at the sword with the light on my face.

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 so hot that it made his heart feel hot. Ouyang Rong's footsteps were getting faster and faster. As he walked through a busy street, he saw several people walking in front of 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 deftly, or is she resting, doing origami in a daze, studying the iris folding I taught her?

Law……

"Where's Aunt Liu? The doctor said she's awake or comatose and 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 out the door and window, mumbling about when Ah Shan will be?

return……"

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 with a scarf tied 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.

There was smoke rising from the courtyard 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 never met the wrong person."

Ouyang Rong was both happy and sad 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 gathering wind and hiding Qi not far away. She stood under the tree and looked at an official road outside the village with slightly worried eyes, as if she was waiting for something.

Ouyang Rong frowned slightly. Has Ah Qing gone out? Where has he 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 walking towards and joins 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 the underskirt on A Qing's body getting bigger and bigger... and haggard and 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 the acupuncture points and did not call out his name.

He saw the young woman and Ah Qing turning around and walking back to the yard.

The young woman asked, "Didn't my sister-in-law see him?"

"I see." The slender girl shook her head, her eyes slightly blank:

"But there are a lot of people, many people are seeing off the master, A Qing didn't squeeze in..."

The young woman thought for a moment and asked, "Did he see you?"

"I don't seem to have seen it... but I seem 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, looking at the floral cloth bag that he carried in his arms and came back:

"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 frustrated little head:

"My sister-in-law, I think 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 he had been drinking the farewell wine of his father and fellow villagers at that time. 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 in a regretful tone:

"My sister-in-law has been knitting for so long, I wish I had sent it to you as soon as possible."

"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."

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 Confucian 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 stunned:

"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 opened his spiritual eyes wide and 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:

"It's been a hard day 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 room, 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 her big and 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 Tanlang."

"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.

"Ah Shan is my paoze? His mother and sister are my Ouyang Lianghan's mother and sister. I am here to support you with my filial piety!"

Ouyang Rong took a deep breath and said uncontrollably:

“I don’t really 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 the Xunyang City that I am about to go to now, the situation is not much better than that of Dragon City. 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 'ignoring' and silent support approach 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."
To be continued...