Chapter 337 It’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe
Xie Lingjiang found that the elder brother's demeanor was calm and his tone of voice was determined.
She took off her sword and crossed her knees, took out a cup of herbal tea from the brocade box on the seat next to her, and handed it to Ouyang Rong.
"Senior brother, have a drink to relieve your hangover."
"I'm not really drunk."
Ouyang Rong laughed, but facing the beauty in red dress who was sitting upright with a serious and inviolable face, he still took the teacup honestly and took a few sips.
Xie Lingjiang took a moon-white orchid-scented handkerchief from his red sleeves, and carefully wiped Ouyang Rong's wine-red cheeks with careful attention:
"Very scary."
"The acupuncture points are sealed, and the blood and alcohol are just rising..."
Ouyang Rong explained casually, then paused and squinted his eyes to understand:
"But this feeling of being drunk is really wonderful. I rarely drank too much before. It turns out that when I'm drunk, I feel more bold in my actions and words.
"No wonder businessmen and businessmen like to drink and talk, and they also drink in the wedding night..."
"You talk drunk again." Xie Lingjiang gently knocked on the elder brother's forehead and spat: "The more you talk, the more unseemly you become."
"Originally, wine makes people brave. If you don't believe me, just wait and see."
In the carriage, Ouyang Rong quickly turned over, sat side by side with Xie Lingjiang, and replied very "strongly",
He raised his head and fell on the seat. He first picked up the moonlight sword that was in front of her knees.
Drunk and lying on the beauty's knees,
Ouyang Rong crossed his arms and held the sword, and rested the back of his head on the beauty's round and tight legs.
"It's not serious."
Xie Lingjiang panicked slightly and reached out to grab the sword.
Ouyang Rong waited for the rabbit, grabbed a catkin, covered it with his big hand, and pressed it on his wine-red stubble face.
I don’t know if I’m really drunk or fake. I stare at the beautiful woman and say with a smile:
"There are three hundred kinds of tea in the world, but none of them are as good as Huan Huan for the best hangover cure."
Xie Lingjiang's face turned red and her cheeks were dizzy. She lowered her head and met the drunken eyes of her lover who was lying on his knees below.
"I...I think you are drunk and stupid, senior fellow idiot."
She tilted her head to avoid Ouyang Rong's hot and bold eyes, and spat.
Ouyang Rong raised his hand, brushed her hair around her ears, and pinched the cute little ear beads that were as round as water drops.
Xie Ling Jiang shyly grabbed his big hand and snorted. She lowered her head and gently stroked the lines on Ouyang Rong's palms with her thumbs, staring at him as if studying.
Ouyang Rong wanted to speak.
Xie Lingjiang changed the topic in a hurry:
"By the way, senior brother, let's talk about today's dinner and why Li Zhengyan can't hold it in anymore."
"Of course you are trying to test me, senior brother."
"What about senior brother?"
"Anyway, I'm drunk, so I can't say too much nonsense."
As in previous banquets, Ouyang Rong laughed and talked about the drunken talk at tonight's banquet.
Xie Lingjiang looked thoughtful:
"That's why Senior Brother is so sure that the purpose of their trip is not simple, it is not simply to work together."
Ouyang Rong sighed:
"The spirit of this group of people is obviously different. They are obviously frustrated and demoted, but there is no trace of frustration or indignation at all. As long as they have a bit of resentment and melancholy during the banquets these days, I will not be so vigilant.
"On the day I arrived in Jiangzhou, I was late for so long and waited patiently. In addition, all the events in these days can be explained by more than just seeing each other. It seems that I must be very useful to them now.
"I deliberately ignored it for many days, but Li Gong mentioned it again today. It's not that I can't help it..."
He turned around and said:
"Wanwan, there is no such thing as a small one when it comes to Prince Xunyang's Mansion. The hints in the previous letters sent by the teacher and Lord Shen seem to be correct. I really need to receive them properly and be careful."
Xie Lingjiang frowned slightly and asked worriedly: "What on earth is going on? Is it because it is not conducive to Senior Brother that you are beating around the bush? Are you trying to overshadow Senior Brother and crowd out Senior Brother?"
Ouyang Rong immediately said:
"It would be fine if they were just distracting the guest and usurping the host. Just be afraid, they have some other ideas, and these ideas are probably inconsistent with the current line of the Xunyang Palace. Otherwise, there is nothing that cannot be said clearly.
"They must treat me as an outsider. Maybe they think I will get in the way."
He laughed to himself.
Xie Lingjiang clenched Ouyang Rong's hand with a distressed expression:
"Without Senior Brother's strategic plan, grasping the emperor's heart, and leading Uncle Li and others to seize the opportunity, how would there be the Xunyang Prince's Palace that has risen now, with a hidden power that is not inferior to that of the Sexiang Palace, attracting scholars from all over the world.
"So what if Li Zhengyan, Wei Shaoqi and the others are Guan Long Yingcai? Why don't you just lick your face and come to visit the palace?"
"If what they did in this trip is really about extermination and exclusion, and they want to overturn and deny Senior Brother, then they are unjust. Not to mention being late and pretending to be drunk, Senior Brother will treat them reasonably no matter what."
Ouyang Rong was silent for a while, seemingly in a daze.
He changed into a relatively comfortable position and lay lazily on the beauty's lap.
The carriage was driving at the moment, the body was bumping and shaking, and Ouyang Rong's head was bumping and shaking along with the scenery somewhere above. At first, he didn't think much about it, and stared blankly, thinking about Li Zhengyan.
Until his vision went dark, and upon closer inspection, it turned out that a beautiful woman's bare hands were covering his eyes.
Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. Instead of looking at the shy girl, he turned his head silently and looked out the window at the dim night, which had the smallest bumps compared to the former.
"Of course Huanyang thinks so. Being close to me is just a private matter. Perhaps in the eyes of Li Gong and Mr. Wei, the Prince of Xunyang, as the direct descendant of Taizong, needs "the world is for the common good", so maybe I am hindering the "great righteousness"
He who does it.”
Xie Lingjiang shook his head: "Elder brother is belittling himself again. They are the white-eyed wolves who use their 'righteousness' to force others."
Ouyang Rong did not answer, but nodded slightly:
"Well, it seems that even if I have the master's tacit support for me, there are still some people among the civil servants of the Liberation faction in the court who have objections to the route taken by the Xunyang Palace, or have other ideas."
Xie Lingjiang lowered his head slightly, his red lips were only a finger's width away from Ouyang Rong's ears.
Exhale like a blue:
"Senior Brother, please don't talk drunkenly anymore. At least Uncle Li and Dalang Li rejected the posts sent by Li Zhengyan and the others immediately. Later, they also informed Senior Brother that based on your opinion,
"They are also on the side of senior brother. They also feel that the identities of Li Zhengyan and others are difficult and will affect the palace's finally stable situation."
"I'm not worried about being deprived of my so-called top adviser position.
"But I feel that the problem of the difficulty of unifying the various internal voices exists not only in the Wei family, but also in the Master and others.
"During the dispute over the construction of Tianshu and the Buddha statue, the extremists like Li Gong and Mr. Wei were demoted from the capital. This is a manifestation of this kind of disagreement and contradiction. The Wei family easily defeated them one by one..."
After speaking calmly, Ouyang Rong sighed and murmured:
"Besides, nothing remains the same, and I'm not necessarily right, because once the situation changes, it will be different."
Xie Lingjiang's eyes felt a little distressed when he saw his elder brother frowning slightly while he was deep in thought.
But he didn't want to disturb his thoughts.
Xie Lingjiang turned his head, glanced at the paper manuscript on the seat opposite him from the corner of his eye, picked it up and took a look.
I found out that it was a piece of news reported by Yanliulang a few days ago. The manuscript recorded that on the day Li Zhengyan and his party arrived in Xunyang City, before Ouyang Rong arrived "late", Li Zhengyan chatted with several sweat towel workers at the dock.
Big topic content.
Yan Liulang inquired about everything in detail and handed it over to Ouyang Rong.
"This is..." she murmured curiously.
Ouyang Rong did not turn his head, his eyes were fixed on the ceiling of the carriage, and he said casually:
"That day, Mr. Li asked the dock workers some trivial questions about their family background. In addition, they also asked about the price of goods in Xunyang and the day's wages for ferry porters.
"In particular, I also asked about the details of the recruitment of workers at the wharf for construction projects such as Shuangfengjian Canal and Xunyang Grottoes."
Ouyang Rong seemed to have read the manuscript of this report many times and knew it by heart.
Xie Lingjiang frowned suspiciously: "The more I hear it, the more something is wrong. It's all right. What are Li Zhengyan and the others asking about the livelihood of these people in Xunyang City?"
"yes."
Ouyang Rong nodded softly: "It's interesting to find out what Xunyang people's livelihood is like..."
Xie Lingjiang pondered: "Could it be Li Zhengyan's unique style? When he goes to a place, he inspects the people's livelihood, customs, and the performance of the officials."
Ouyang Rong looked thoughtful, closed his eyes and suddenly said:
"However, he seems to have asked a lot about Jiangzhou Hall's role in building the Donglin Giant Buddha."
"Is this so?"
Xie Lingjiang said to himself, at this moment, a pair of clear hands were gently pressing the eyebrows of Ouyang Rong, who had his eyes closed, trying to smooth out his gathered eyebrows.
Thinking of something, she raised her delicate chin and said in a proud and admiring tone:
"No matter what, senior brother has a clear conscience, is not panicked about this, and is not afraid of others investigating."
Ouyang Rong laughed.
After praising his senior brother, Xie Lingjiang paused slightly, lowered his head gently, and his eyes were full of him.
She bit her lip, slowly touched this familiar and warm face, and whispered:
"But Senior Brother, you should also be careful. Depending on his behavior, he is not an ordinary person."
"I didn't underestimate him. Otherwise, if we had just met that day, I wouldn't have acted drunkenly and pretended to be confused."
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and sighed:
"Have you not seen that Wei Shaoqi, Du Shuqing, Wang Junzhi and others who also look up to him are vaguely led by this person?
"He who can impress heroes must be handsome."
Ouyang Rong suddenly felt his ears itching. It was Xie Lingjiang who leaned into his ear and breathed:
"That's senior brother."
He closed his eyes indifferently and pointed at himself with his thumb:
"Me? Of course I am a real hero, I can't run away."
Xie Ling Jiang Ren smiled and said softly: "Oh, how shameless."
Ouyang Rong opened his eyes and asked her in confusion:
"Otherwise, why can't you pass the beauty test?"
In the carriage, a beauty suddenly buried her breasts in shame, revealing a section of her neck as white as fine porcelain...
The next few days.
Ouyang Rong still responded to Li Zhengyan's invitation and attended literati banquets.
Never refuse, and gladly accept an appointment.
Every night, he was helped home drunk.
Early the next morning, he was full of energy and energetic and ran to Jiangzhou Hall to supervise the process of digging the double peaks, or to the Xunyang Palace to report on the progress of the construction of the Buddha statue.
I don’t know how I managed to avoid having a headache and being tired the next day despite being hungover one day.
Well, maybe this is what he meant by "a thousand cups will never be poured out".
That's quite appropriate.
It seems that Li Zhengyan and others have indeed misunderstood people.
As for every banquet, Li Zhengyan and others made overt or covert probing questions, but they were all fooled by Ouyang Rong's drunken drinking.
Later, Li Zhengyan and others stopped asking questions.
However, the former governor of Meizhou and the grandson of the founder of the country did not change much in his attitude towards Ouyang Rong.
The cordial calls of "Liang Han" are still heard.
Ouyang Rong looked calm and composed.
"Mingfu."
On this day, Yan Liulang walked into the main hall of the office and handed a note to Ouyang Rong who had his head buried in the papers.
He took it with his free hand and glanced at it.
It is the general trajectory of Li Zhengyan and his party's activities in Xunyang City in the past two days, and the record is quite detailed.
Ouyang Rong read it carefully and found that there was no clue yet. After reading it, he burned it and said thank you for your hard work. Yan Liulang stepped back and went to inquire again.
This is considered a recent routine report.
Ouyang Rong always kept track of the movements of Li Zhengyan and others during the day.
As for whether Yan Liulang and others who went to inquire would be discovered by them, Ouyang Rong was not worried at all.
Li Zhengyan and others are already relegated and awaiting punishment. It is normal for them to be monitored by various pairs of eyes in the local area. What is there to say?
As the governor of Jiangxi Province, Ouyang Rong has this right under his nose. This is called supervision.
Do business during the day.
As for the evening, at the cultural banquet where light and shadow alternated, in front of Li Zhengyan, Wei Shaoqi and others, there was the image of a confused little brother who was greedy for food and drink.
That's another story.
So and so.
As the days went by, Ouyang Rong gradually felt that the focus of Li Zhengyan's group's energy shifted from him to the socializing of celebrities in Xunyang City through the movements of people during the day and the frequency of attending banquets at night.
For example, Wang Junzhi and Du Shuqing among this group of people.
Take the opportunity to make friends with celebrities in Xunyang.
They were relegated to Jiangzhou, and this time they came to take office.
In a few days, Li Zhengyan and Wei Shaoqi will definitely leave and take up their respective posts, but Wang and Du will stay here permanently.
Especially Wang Junzhi.
As the newly appointed Dr. Jiangzhou, he is the chief executive in charge of the state's education. He will often stay in Xunyang City and have more dealings with his immediate boss, Ouyang Rong.
As for Du Shuqing, he was the Prime Minister of Longcheng County, which was the original position of the Prime Minister of Diao County.
Before that, Wang Junzhi was the chief secretary of Chang'an, and Du Shuqing was the chief official of the government. They were both considered officials in the capital. They were young talents in the Baoli faction.
One can imagine how harsh the relegation was this time.
There is simply one heaven and one earth.
But Ouyang Rong did not see the two people following Li Zhengyan showing much frustration at the banquet.
Could it be that they are all possessed by Yuan Huaimin, and each one has achieved "great enlightenment" and is ready to show off?
Ouyang Rong thought it was unlikely.
Then there must be a belief or prospect to support it.
He cast his gaze forward at the bold back of Li Zhengyan, who was the center of attention and dominated the atmosphere of the banquet, and nodded slightly.
And these are very likely to involve the Xunyang Palace.
It is also related to Li Zhengyan’s roundabout way of getting in touch with King Xunyang.
Thinking of this, Ouyang Rong became calmer and calmer.
Stay calm and wait.
A friend recommended a daily romance novel of the era, "Rebirth Begins with Proposal to the Most Beautiful Educated Youth"