Ouyang Rong somewhat understood why Li Xian had been so ready to make a move recently, and even the vassal king was almost careless in communicating with him.
The next morning, at the gate of Prince Xunyang's Mansion, Ouyang Rong, wearing a straight crimson official uniform, watched another group of foreign envoys leave.
After the Yuanzheng period and at the end of the new year, what was sent to the Prince of Xunyang's Mansion were not only rewards from the empress of the Luoyang court, but also gifts from the nobles of Guanlong, Qiwang of the Five Surnames, Jiangnan Xungui and other nobles from heaven and earth.
There's so much to see, and they can always find a suitable reason to give a gift.
Ouyang Rong opened his eyes a little bit.
Well, this is the normal social behavior of a prince of Zhou Dynasty.
It is rare and rare that no one cares about Dragon City when it was belittled before.
Anyone who encounters such a strong contrast can't help but feel high-spirited, and some thoughts of holding on after being full will arise.
Fortunately, Ouyang Rong was there and drew a red line for Li Xian in time.
Apart from this matter, overall, Ouyang Rong felt that Li Xian and his son were good, at least listen to the advice.
After finishing the supervision and inspection at Xunyang Prince's Mansion in the morning, he returned to the Jiangzhou lobby in the afternoon. Ouyang Rong walked into the main hall with a normal expression.
As expected, Yuan Huaimin was not in the lobby, and he didn't know where he was hanging out.
Ouyang Rong didn't pay attention. There happened to be no one in the main hall. After he sat down, he took out a blank memorial.
"This matter...it's better to report it and go through the procedures."
Ouyang Rong thought for a moment and buried himself in writing.
After a while, a memorial was written and lay quietly on the table.
He put down the brush, glanced over it, and nodded slightly.
The content of the memorial is very simple.
On January 17, the second year of Tianyou's reign, King Lixian of Xunyang took the initiative to hand over a letter from Zhu Lingxu, the governor of Hongzhou, to the governor of Jiangzhou, who was responsible for supervision, with a respectful attitude, etc., etc.
In fact, Ouyang Rong has written many similar supervisory report memorials before.
It's a routine report.
Officials including Wang Lengran also wrote such memorials privately.
For example, it is possible to record what guests King Xunyang Lixian met on a certain day in a certain year, at whose house he attended a banquet, what he said when he was drunk at the banquet, etc., and so on.
It’s not even just about recording King Xunyang.
In Xunyang City of Jiangzhou, there were also some supervisory censors or people from the Luoyang Palace who would silently record some of the actions of Ouyang Rong, Wang Lengran and other Jiangzhou chief and lieutenants.
Even the smallest thing can be reported.
Anyway, Ouyang Rong knew without guessing that Wang Lengran must have made many small reports about him.
Laughing to death.
Who doesn’t? He writes too.
Ouyang Rong smiled sheepishly.
It's just a routine report that wastes energy. He usually writes a few letters "praising" Wang Lengran at the end of the month and turns it in.
Today is the exception.
Ouyang Rong read the memorial again, polished it with his pen, and then attached the letter from Zhu Lingxu.
The memorial is completed.
Ouyang Rong stood up, picked up the memorial, and delivered it in person to an old censor stationed in Jiangzhou at the Jiangnan Road branch of the Censorship Office.
Such memorials will be sent to Luoyang quickly.
After simply completing this procedure, Ouyang Rong continued busy with his official duties.
In the following days, Ouyang Rong paid special attention to the supervisory censor and the news in Luoyang.
Everything was calm.
According to the procedure, his memorial should be delivered to Fengge as scheduled.
Under the chief of Feng Pavilion, there are several people from Zhongshushe, and below them are those from Shizhong.
A memorial will be reported layer by layer along this line.
If the chapter memorial involves smaller powers and the problem is minor, Fengge can solve it by itself. If it is serious, it will be submitted to the imperial court.
If there is still no response, it is most likely that it has stopped at a certain level.
It's normal. Thousands of local officials from all over the world submit the seals and folds to Feng Pavilion every day like snowflakes flying, and only a few of them can attract attention.
Ouyang Rong nodded lightly and quickly forgot about it.
…
In the west of Xunyang City, on a riverside street in Xingzifang, is the second floor of a restaurant listed as "Yunshui Pavilion".
Sitting on the window seat, Ouyang Rong took a mouthful of food and squinted at the Xingzifang busy street outside. He turned his head from time to time and glanced at the stairs leading to the third floor.
On the table in front of him, in addition to Ouyang Rong's pair of bowls and chopsticks, there were two extra pairs of bowls and chopsticks.
At this moment, there was no one in front of these two sets of bowls and chopsticks.
It was noon, and Ouyang Rong was picking up vegetables leisurely, not in a hurry, as if he was waiting for something.
After a while, two men's figures appeared at the front of the stairs. They went down to the second floor, walked quickly towards Ouyang Rong, and sat down at the table.
"call……"
Ouyang Rong heard the two guys in front of him, Li Fusu and Yan Liulang, take a long breath, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
Li Fusu and Yan Liulang, who came down from the third floor, looked at each other silently and looked away calmly.
They looked at the dishes in front of them, showing a little satisfaction, but they didn't put down their chopsticks, and they didn't know what they were lingering on or reminiscing about...
Ouyang Rong said without raising his head: "Why don't you two eat to fill your stomach?"
Yan Liulang clenched his fist and covered his mouth: "Ahem, I'm a little full."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "It's pretty and delicious, right?"
Li Fusu explained: "No, it's because I've had enough tea."
Yan Liulang chuckled.
Ouyang Rong had a strange expression on his face. He glanced at Li Fusu, who was already being slightly swayed by Liu Lang. He thought about it and said:
"Dalang, please pay attention to your hygiene."
Li Fusu suddenly blushed and hesitated: "Tan Lang misunderstood. I like to drink water when I am nervous. I just drank enough."
"Are you still nervous?" Ouyang Rong couldn't help laughing.
Ouyang Rong took half a day off today, and the three of them had not been together for a long time, so they went out in regular clothes and came to Yunshui Pavilion for dinner.
However, before Ouyang Rong's order was served, the restaurant maid in cool clothes drew the eyes of the two friends away. Liu Lang took Li Dalang and went upstairs to have a health tea ceremony together.
Speaking of which, coming to Yunshui Pavilion for dinner can be regarded as a repertoire between the three of them.
It's a habit I've developed since I met Longcheng.
But at the beginning, Liu Ashan was accompanying him.
Now that there is one person missing, Ouyang Rong and the other three would come here to have a meal sometimes if they miss each other. It is a tacit understanding.
Of course, going upstairs to drink some health tea does not count.
Li Fusu couldn't help but ask: "Won't Tanlang go up and drink the tea?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head and mentioned the serious tea ceremony: "Their tea art is not as good as mine. They are so clumsy that it gives me a headache."
Yan Liulang interrupted: "The Ming Mansion is afraid that Miss Xie will check the post."
Ouyang Rong glared at him, and Li Fusu laughed: "Miss Xie hasn't come back yet, there are still a few days, Tan Lang has nothing to be afraid of."
His eyes were envious, "Besides, Tanlang is not like my family, who can have three wives and four concubines..."
"Not interested in."
Ouyang Rong immediately changed the topic and asked helplessly:
"Da Lang, why don't you ask your uncle to find a marriage for you? Or you can have a room of concubines, so that you don't have to be taken care of by Liu Lang. It doesn't matter if he fools around. If you have enough for one person, the whole family won't be hungry.
"Dalang, you are different. You need to pay attention to your safety. Your identity is too sensitive. It is better not to come to such a place where people are educated and educated."
Yan Liulang raised his hands in protest:
"You can't say that in the Ming Dynasty. What is fooling around? This is adequate relaxation. It's not like going to some black brothel or gold-selling cave. I, Yan Liu, don't gamble or do drugs. I just drink tea.
"Hey, Mingfu, you don't know. Those of us who wield swords and guns are under great pressure on weekdays. We have to enjoy ourselves in time."
"Oh." Ouyang Rong turned around and said, "Is this the reason why you, the boy, are following behind and having sex for nothing?"
Yan Liulang: "..."
Ouyang Rong looked at Li Fusu and continued his previous question. Li Fusu quickly waved his hand:
"My grandma asked me before, but I declined, but... let's talk about it later."
Ouyang Rong glanced at Li Fusu, who was procrastinating, and sighed: "Is it because Mother Weber and your little sister put too much pressure on you? Don't you want to find another ancestor?"
Li Fusu smiled bitterly, it was hard to admit.
But after thinking about it, it seemed that the men in Li Xian's family all inherited the henpecked gene, and Ouyang Rong understood.
Li Fusu looked around at the familiar Yunshui Building, with nostalgia in his eyes:
"Every time I come here, I can't help but think of the time I was in Longcheng last year, when I just met Tanlang and Liulang, and Brother Ah Shan was also there.
"It was the first time we came to a place like this. At that time, everything we saw was really novel, and we were panicked and excited. Even now that I think about it, the health tea there is not as good as here, but it is unforgettable..."
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Okay, okay, you can still express your feelings after drinking it, right?"
Li Fusu blinked.
"Prince?"
At this moment, a young man in a shirt, who had been looking around for a long time in front of a dining table not far away, suddenly stood up and walked over.
He walked to the table and looked at Li Dalang with a surprised look on his face, as if he recognized the heir apparent of Prince Xunyang's palace in ordinary clothes.
"Why did the prince leave the mansion alone? Also, the eldest son just came down from upstairs?"
Ouyang Rong and Yan Liulang frowned and looked, only to see the young man in a shirt with a bewildered look on his face, questioning Li Fusu righteously.
Fortunately, there are few customers on the second floor right now, so it didn't attract too many spectators.
But Li Fusu's face was still red and his expression was very embarrassing.
He seemed to know this young man in a shirt.
Li Fusu waved his hands hurriedly: "Brother Zi'ang, don't blame me, I just went out to have a meal with my friends."
"Your Majesty, don't think that I don't know what the third floor is about. Does the prince know that you come to a place like this? Does the little princess know? Does Teacher Yuan know?"
Yue Ziang became more and more excited as he asked, frowning and saying:
"That's fine with the others, but the prince is the great-grandson of Emperor Taizong and has a mission. How can he come here to kill his will? If the prince and the little princess find out, they will be extremely disappointed. The prince, please come back with me!"
With that said, he was about to pull Li Fusu away, but Li Fusu pushed back and said:
"Okay, okay, I know I won't come next time. When I finish this meal, Brother Zi'ang, please lower your voice. My friend is still here."
After saying that, he turned to Ouyang Rong and explained bitterly:
"I'm sorry to offend Tan Lang. Brother Zi'ang is a disciple that Mr. Yuan took in Luoyang in his early years. He just came to Jiangzhou not long ago and he also lives in the palace."
Ouyang Rong nodded.
"What kind of friends? You actually brought the prince here," Yue Ziang looked upright and poked Ouyang Rong and Ouyang Rong with his finger: "Your Majesty, you don't want these kind of cunning friends. Come with me!"
Li Fusu suddenly stared and breathed rapidly.
"Haha, where did the barking dog come from?" Yan Liulang put down his chopsticks, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and said with a sneer:
"Since you are staying in Prince Xunyang's Mansion, don't you just go to beg for food? This is how you talk to your lord on weekdays? It seems that Da Lang is still too polite to you."
"Who do you think you are, how dare a dog bark!"
Yan Liulang directly showed his waist card: "I am a member of the Jiangzhou Judiciary Army. Who are you? Why are you barking?"
He spoke one sentence after another: "I'm here to handle a case. Someone reported that a suspect is being harbored here. I'm conducting a latent investigation, but you kid suddenly jumped out and disturbed official business. Believe it or not, I'll arrest you now and fine you a fine?"
Yue Ziang choked suddenly, his face flushed, and he stammered angrily: "You, you, you..."
Yan Liulang curled his lips, "What are you doing? If you don't get out, you will bear the consequences."
Yue Ziang's eyes widened angrily, as if he thought of something, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Ouyang Rong who had been picking up vegetables:
"He joined the army as a judicial officer, so you are Ouyang Lianghan?"
Ouyang Rong picked up the vegetables without raising his head or speaking.
Yan Liulang stood up suddenly.
"It's a shame...it's a shame that I admired you as a gentleman before, but I thought you were the wrong person!"
The young man in a shirt hurriedly dropped a word, threw up his sleeves angrily and left.
Yan Liulang turned his head and said angrily: "Such a poor person has to be threatened like this. Mingfu and Liulang are too kind-hearted."
"Tan Lang." Li Dalang looked a little embarrassed and explained.
It turns out that Prince Xunyang's Mansion has recently received a lot of defections from its staff, some of whom defected directly, and some who went through channels such as Mr. Yuan and other old Longcheng people.
There was also the Juhua Poetry Society that Li Guoer belonged to, and he got acquainted with the Prince of Xunyang. Li Guoer also used this poetry club to recruit many people who were "depressed and frustrated". After all, there were many demoted officials in Jiangzhou.
At present, there is a vague hope of recovery in the Xunyang Palace, which naturally attracts scholars and officials to seek refuge.
I heard from Dalang that this Yue Ziang was also a member of the Juhua Poetry Club.
During the day, when Ouyang Rong was away, Yue Zi'ang and other literati and staff members often gathered around Li Xian's family, and they seemed to be proficient in everything from poetry and poetry to strategy and decision-making.
It's just that Li Xian and Li Fusu didn't adopt it very much. More of them were just raising scholars.
Especially Li Dalang, a member of the Juhua Poetry Club, he didn't care about.
Ouyang Rong didn't care about this before. Instead, he felt that if there were talents among these people who took refuge, it would be beneficial to everyone. He didn't worry about jeopardizing his status. The capable ones would be the ones to take over.
"After Da Lang goes back, you should take the initiative to explain to your uncle and aunt. Don't be too passive. Just say... I brought you here to eat. I will explain to them later."
"Okay." Li Dalang sighed.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and looked at the direction Yue Ziang was leaving.
He is even more angry than he was before.
…
"Aren't Tanlang still asleep?"
"Go to bed later, I still have something to do, Wei La, you should rest first."
"Why is Tanlang making umbrellas again?"
"Meditate."
Ye Weilai whispered: "Miss Xie, I guess she likes it."
Ouyang Rong smiled.
After a while, Ye Weilai had no choice but to go to the back room to sleep.
At the table, Ouyang Rong glanced at the prepared oil-paper umbrella, which also had some disgusting sentences he had written on it.
Ouyang Rong was going to find an opportunity to give it to his junior sister.
"I should be very happy if I see these when I come back." He murmured.
Suddenly, a blessing bell rang in my ears.
Ouyang Rong was stunned, closed his eyes and sneaked in to take a look. Inside the Merit Tower, the Fortune Bell was continuously pouring out purple mist, with a faint wisp of pink color in it.
Is a thousand merits worth it?
But something doesn’t seem right about this color of blessing?
After Ouyang Rong digested the message, he couldn't help but think.
How was this triggered... Could it be related to the junior sister?