Chapter 739: Rong Zhen’s gift, Qing Xiu’s embrace [Please vote for me at the beginning of the month!]
A motorcade escorted by the female officials of the Supervisory Yuan and the Jiangzhou policemen was passing through the west gate of Xunyang City, heading along the official road towards the peak of Shuangfeng.
Along the way, you can see a lot of carriages rushing towards the peaks of the two peaks.
Ouyang Rong frowned slightly and was opening a corner of the curtain, looking outside.
At this time, his nose smelled the aroma of oil. He looked away from the window and immediately saw the female historian sitting opposite, who was sitting seriously. She was taking out a ball of oil-seed cakes wrapped in oil paper from her purple silk sleeve. There were two cakes.
, but it was wrapped in a piece of oil paper.
I saw her tearing off the oil paper, opening her mouth slightly, and taking a bite of the oily round cake with the white teeth under her red lips. Even though she bit lightly, the sound was unavoidable.
Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment.
Rong Zhen turned a deaf ear, lowered his head, and ate the cake in small bites.
After a while, she swallowed a mouthful with her Adam's apple bulging slightly, and asked coldly:
"There is an extra piece. I can't eat it. Have you had breakfast?"
Perhaps Ouyang Rong's eyes were too straight and he was stunned. The girl in palace clothes turned her head slightly and curled her lips:
"I heard your stomach growling, and I saw that you ran to the palace early in the morning without even changing into your formal clothes... But you have to wait for me to finish eating, but I am a bit slow to eat.
"It's useless for you to look at it. I only eat at this speed. I have developed the habit of being in the palace for so many years and eat carefully..."
Before Rong Zhen finished speaking, he discovered that the extra piece of cake in the oil paper in his hand had disappeared.
When she looked up, Ouyang Rong reached out and grabbed it. He didn't mind the oil stains and didn't need to wait for her to wrap it in oil paper after eating.
"you……"
Rong Zhen stared at him with a pair of almond eyes.
The oil and sesame cake was really hot. Ouyang Rong switched his left and right hands to squeeze it. He didn't care about the murderous look in the female historian's eyes. He took a big bite and ate it with relish.
Ouyang Rong's cheeks puffed up and he said vaguely:
"Well... I'm really hungry... Many... many thanks to Rong Nu Shi."
He swallowed a mouthful of meat and said with a smile:
"It's okay, I'm a vulgar person, and my food is not that refined...
"I guess this cake was bought from the breakfast shop we often eat at in front of the Supervisory Yuan. Rong Nu Shi really loves to patronize his business."
Rong Zhen frowned and looked at him for a while, then admonished:
"Can you stop eating so vulgarly? Although you were born in a poor family in Luling, you are now a bachelor of Xiuwenguan and the governor of a state. What if you go to Beijing in the future and you eat like this at His Majesty's banquet?"
Ouyang Rong shrugged, took a bite of the cake, and said in a calm tone:
"That's not the case. I know where you sit at the table and what you eat. However, you should eat sesame cakes bought from street stalls in big mouthfuls. Rong Nushi's way of eating is a bit strange.
"But thinking about it, Rong Nu Shi should have a good upbringing. She was born in a rich or noble family. Not only did she have habits developed in the palace, but she also had an upbringing that was influenced by her childhood. It can be seen at a glance that she is different from ordinary people.
My little girl is different."
Rong Zhen didn't answer the topic, looked at him for a while, and continued to eat the cake with his head down.
Ouyang Rong solved the sesame cake by dividing it by two and three times, clapped his hands and said:
"Speaking of it, Rong Nu Shi seems to like to return to Beijing after talking with me, but it's still early. We won't go back as soon as we say we will.
"In the capital of the gods, at the feet of the emperor, official positions are like carrots and pits. Even if you are lucky enough to squeeze in, like a bachelor of Xiuwenguan, you are just a Qingshui yamen, the salary is not high, and the prices in the capital are difficult to afford. Living in the capital is difficult to afford.
Not easy.
"Rong Nushi is a female official and can still live in the palace. I am a small civil servant, so I can't live in the palace."
Ouyang Rong said what he said casually as a joke, but Rong Zhen seemed to think about it seriously and said:
"No matter what, you will have to return to Beijing. With this merit alone, His Majesty will certainly not treat you badly. What if he gives you a house and a marriage by the way, and..."
"And what?"
Rong Zhen looked aside and said:
"And with me here, at least in front of His Majesty, I can give you a few words, not to say that you will rise to the top, but it should be yours, it must be yours, no one can take away your credit, no one can suppress you
.”
Her tone was affirmative.
No matter what, whether it's as a friend or some kind of relationship, when I hear these words, I feel a little warm in my heart, and so does Ouyang Rong.
He was quiet for a moment and clasped his fists a little harder:
"Thank you Rong Nu Shi for your support, but...if it's unnecessary, it's better not to do this. Just do whatever you want. It's not nice to say it. If we do this, what do we have to do with those people who use the back door to squeeze out other people's deserved places?
the difference."
Rong Zhen asked in a crisp voice:
"But what if there is no one on top and others squeeze you out? If you don't fight, you will become a stepping stone for others, just like Lin Cheng did back then."
Ouyang Rong was speechless, as if he didn't want to mention this topic again.
Rong Zhen stared at his gentle smiling face and said bluntly:
"Ouyang Lianghan, I have told you many times that you are different from them. You are a good person, a capable minister, and a good official who benefits the country and the people. You are a blessing to the Zhou Dynasty and the people of Jiangnan.
, but it should not be limited to Jiangnan. The world is very big, and the Zhou Dynasty is also very big, and your talents are needed.
"I used to look down on the matter of using good words in front of saints, but since it exists, it can't be eliminated. So instead of giving it to those incest relatives, the dandy trash of the wealthy family, why not give it to you, the capable one?
Live there."
Ouyang Rong asked softly: "Rong Nu Shi is a little extreme."
Rong Zhen had a straight face, lowered his head, swallowed the last bite of cake, and asked:
"I would like to ask you, if you have the opportunity, would you like to return to Beijing and go to the real big stage in the capital of the gods?"
Ouyang Rong was helpless: "Why did the female historian suddenly mention this?"
Rong Zhen's eyes did not move, and he did not change the subject. He looked at him for a while and continued to ask:
"Ouyang Lianghan, has Prince Xunyang's palace already made a promise to you, so you are considered someone above and you don't like this palace?"
Ouyang Rong looked a little confused:
"By the way, let's eat the fish and eat the cake. Can we not talk so nakedly?"
Rong Zhen categorically said:
"No, if we don't talk like this, you always like to pretend to be confused."
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Ouyang Rong suddenly smile.
"why are you laughing?"
Ouyang pointed at her lips, and the fingers subconsciously placed beside Rong Zhen's lips:
"Rong Nushi has a little habit. I don't know if Rong Nushi knows it."
"What……"
Rong Zhen paused in his words, silently loosened his thumb-sucking lips, retracted his wet index finger, and reached into his sleeve to take a handkerchief to wipe it with.
She had just finished eating sesame pancakes, and she habitually put her oily index finger into her lips. This was a habit she had developed when she was a child when she drank soup.
Rong Zhen snorted coldly: "What are you looking at? I am frugal."
Ouyang Rong nodded and raised his hand as if to suck his thumb.
Rong Zhen turned his head instantly and glared at him.
Ouyang Rong then stopped, stopped joking, and said seriously:
"Rong Nushi said that I like to pretend to be confused, but I feel that Rong Nushi is the one who loves to pretend to be confused."
Rong Zhen's handsome brows furrowed: "Why am I pretending to be confused?"
Ouyang Rong opened the curtain and looked outside, as if to see where the carriage had arrived, but saw that it had not yet reached the destination of the Twin Peaks.
He retracted his eyes and spoke in a calm tone, but he went straight to the topic:
"Okay, I'll be more naked now.
"Rong Nushi has been hiding the matter of the defense of Xunyang Grottoes.
"Although the Donglin Buddha was built by me and the Jiangzhou government, Rong Nu Shi has been avoiding me regarding the Buddha head shipped by Si Tianjian and other uses of the Buddha after it was completed.
"If it's once or twice, that's fine. But today, the Buddha has been completed for a long time, and we are still in a situation where the enemy is the enemy. I have to come to the grotto to help protect it, and I don't want to let you know. It's too unreasonable."
He added:
"You can't hide the Great Buddha from others. It's a very simple truth. If the Great Buddha is really just a simple Buddha statue, why would those people in Yunmeng Jianze and Tiannan Jianghu stop it?"
When Rong Zhen heard his questioning tone, he immediately became angry. He subconsciously raised his chest under the palace clothes and asked in reply:
"Ouyang Lianghan, don't you know why I have kept this secret from you until now? "The matter of the Donglin Giant Buddha is related to the Songde Center of the Great Zhou Dynasty in Luoyang. It is Si Tianjian's top secret at the moment. Not to mention local officials like you, even the Dukes Gonggun of the Luoyang Center know it.
There are only a handful of them, and they must be favored by His Majesty's Holy Letter... Anyone who leaks secrets without going through confidential investigation and reporting will be held accountable by the King of Wei and the Chief Commander."
Rong Zhen became more and more angry as he spoke, squinting at him:
"Ouyang Lianghan, haven't I fought for you? How dare you blame me for keeping it secret?"
After Ouyang Rong heard this, he thought about the incident with Xiu Niang and felt that he was in the wrong. However, since it was a negotiation, he could not show his cowardice. He still understood this, so he said calmly:
"Oh, that was before. Now the situation is critical and things have changed.
"Since Rong Nu Shi has asked me to come over to make suggestions and assist the Buddha, I must make it clear. At least let me know the current strength of our enemy and ourselves."
After a pause, Ouyang Rong asked with a solemn and upright tone:
"For example, to deal with the owner of Dielianhua and people like Xuezhongzhu, are there corresponding methods?"
After Ouyang Rong finished speaking, the carriage was silent for a while, leaving only the bumping and rolling sound of the wheels.
Rong Zhen became quieter, slowly tilted his head, and stared at Ouyang Rong for a while. The latter did not even blink under her gaze.
After a while, as if he had figured something out, Rong Zhen reluctantly nodded:
"That's okay. I have given you a guarantee on this matter. You can talk about it today."
When Ouyang Rong heard this, for some reason, he felt a little guilty in his heart.
But then I thought about it, this time he was an ally, not the owner of Dielianhua, so what else should I feel guilty about... Well, it must have been too much cheating, and there were sequelae.
Ouyang Rong's face with thick eyebrows and big eyes showed an expression of listening attentively:
"You tell me."
Rong Zhen shook his head and said:
"But this place is not suitable for confidential discussions. We will go to the main grotto on the north bank later. I will take you to visit the Giant Buddha and talk while you look at it."
Ouyang Rong frowned and asked, "I'm familiar with the Giant Buddha. Is there any need to visit it?"
She suddenly asked: "What about the golden Buddha head? Are you familiar with it?"
Ouyang Rong paused before speaking.
Rong Zhen lowered his eyes and said:
"The Buddha body you built is just a shell. The real mystery inside the Donglin Buddha is all in the Buddha's head, but the Buddha body cannot be left without it. The more majestic and majestic the better, it will last longer, because it is necessary to collect incense from Buddhist believers.
Qi, and it also involves the exquisiteness of Feng Shui formation..."
Hearing the word "set up formation", Ouyang Rong didn't look surprised and asked directly:
"So, the Donglin Buddha is actually a large formation? The Buddha's head is the core?"
Rong Zhen nodded, then shook his head
Although he just said that he would introduce it during the visit, he did not refuse Ouyang Rong's curious questions.
"Yes or no, to be precise, it is part of a top-secret formation. This top-secret formation covers a wide range, far beyond your imagination. The saint values its role precisely, so he attaches great importance to it and vigorously promotes it.
The construction of Tianshu and the Sifang Buddha statues... Anyway, you will know it later when you go to see it. It can’t be explained here."
After the two had a brief question and answer.
The carriage arrived at the peak of the Twin Peaks and stopped on the official road outside.
In the carriage, Ouyang Rong calmed down his thoughtful expression and got out of the carriage with Rong Zhen.
On the official road, many carriages were parked, and many people were waiting outside. They were all soldiers and civilians who were originally preparing to participate in the celebration ceremony. However, at this moment, Shuangfeng Peak seemed to have received the latest order and did not let them in.
, but temporarily blocked it out.
When the female officers and soldiers guarding the entrance saw Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen's carriage arriving, they immediately pushed aside the crowd and went forward to greet them.
One of the leading young men in white armor cupped his fists and asked Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen:
"Ms. Female Historian, Mr. Governor, Commander Yi would like to ask you two. In the current situation, the water thieves will come at any time. Should the originally planned celebration ceremony be held as usual? Should the invited spectators be sent back first?
Home."
Rong Zhen turned to look at Ouyang Rong.
The latter pondered for a moment:
"Don't move, put away your fighting, don't scare people, I'll handle it here."
Rong Zhen nodded lightly.
"Yes, Lord Governor."
The young general in white armor clasped his fists and retreated.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and said seriously:
"Rong Nu Shi, we'll go back to the main grotto later. According to what we just discussed, the two most likely attack plans for this group of water thieves are to land at Shuangfengjian Ferry, seize the dock, and control our current situation.
The south bank of the twin peaks where it is located...
"You have to prepare in advance. You should immediately summon a group of soldiers to block the Shuangfengjian ferry and leave people to guard it. If a fleet of water pirates approaches, the ferry will be burned down depending on the situation to prevent them from grabbing the beach on a large scale.
Opportunity to dock.
"As for another attack plan... you can try to block the Shuangfengjian Waterway with iron chains. From now on, no ships are allowed to pass through the Shuangfengjian Waterway...
"If there is no time to arrange it, or we can't find the iron chain, then we will try another way. Please remember that Xuanwu Guard has a batch of small boats. You can ask the people of Xuanwu Guard to fill the boats with fodder and oil barrels, and place them on the Shuangfengjian waterway.
Take the path of fire attack and interference..."
Ouyang Rong ordered with a calm face. Rong Zhen looked at him who was arranging everything in detail, recognized it in his eyes, and nodded lightly.
"Okay, I'll take someone over to take a look first, and you can take care of this first."
"Well, please be safe."
When Rong Zhen heard this, his expression softened a bit, although he still waved his hand impatiently at Ouyang Rong's back.
Halfway through, she stopped, tilted her head and said:
"By the way, do you still remember the gift I gave you before?"
Ouyang Rong, who was about to turn around, paused, thought for a moment, and nodded:
"Remember, I asked you once before on the day the Buddha was built, but to no avail. I thought Rong Nu Shi had forgotten."
"I have not forgotten, I never break my promise."
"What's the meaning?"
"It means that I will give you that gift today. When I come back, I will take you to the main grotto to introduce the defense. Then I will take you to see the gift... With your temperament, you will definitely like it."
Ouyang Rong became more and more curious: "What is it that is so nagging?"
Rong Zhen didn't answer and continued to move forward to send manpower to block the Shuangfengjian Ferry.
Ouyang Rong stayed where he was, watching the girl in palace clothes go away.
After a while, he shook his head, turned around, and began to gather people to evacuate the crowd waiting for the celebration at the door.
Ouyang Rong evacuated some of the observing soldiers and civilians with valid reasons and sent people to take them back to the city and home.
However, because today's celebration ceremony will be held after all, the plan to invite Yuan Huaimin to paint a picture of the government and the people having fun remains as before, so even if he is risking the attack of the water thieves and rebels, Ouyang Rong still stays.
For the convenience of management and confidentiality, some state and county officials were placed at the peak of the twin peaks to serve as spectators and as a backdrop for the celebration ceremony.
While Ouyang Rong was commanding his subordinates to be busy, Chen You, a subordinate who joined the army, suddenly came over. Ouyang Rong thought he was reporting on business, but he didn't expect Chen You to take a step forward with a quiet expression and whisper to him.
Ouyang Rong's expression paused as he wanted to speak. He glanced at him and calmly ordered:
"Chen Canjun, you will take charge of this on behalf of me. I will come back as soon as I go."
"Yes, Mingfu."
Ouyang Rong walked out of the crowd and went to a dense forest nearby. The morning sun shone through the treetops and fell in the forest. The carriage driven by Ali was parked quietly in the forest.
When he came to the carriage, he looked at each other tacitly with Ali, and Ouyang Rong got into the carriage in three steps.
In the carriage, there was a delicate girl, her eyes covered with azure ribbons, holding a long cloth bag in her arms, sitting and waiting with her small face in a daze.
Ouyang Rong sat down in front of her, raised his eyebrows, and couldn't help but ask:
"Xiu Niang... why are you here alone? Where are Wei La and the others..."
Before he finished speaking, Ouyang Rong felt his arms sink, and his eyes were filled with fragrant black hair.
It was Zhao Qingxiu who threw herself into his arms like a swallow in the forest.
It was like going through life and death, holding her very tightly.