No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 149 Don't cry

In the bumpy carriage, Ouyang Rong's skirt knife was placed horizontally on his knees.

There was an attentive look on his face.

In the carriage, except for the sound of horseshoes hitting the ground outside and the sounds of the riders driving.

Only Xie Lingjiang's clear and melodious voice was left.

Xie Lingjiang did not hide anything from Ouyang Rong.

Except for her sudden confession in the main hall of Donglin Temple in the morning, and the fact that she scared someone away, the two of them tacitly did not ask or mention it, pretending that it never happened.

other things.

The two of them gradually returned to the tone and atmosphere they used to get along with as normal brothers and sisters.

It seemed that someone showed her familiar side face of a man who listened carefully and focused, and seemed to encourage her.

Xie Lingjiang continued to narrate today's events in the tone of a younger junior sister.

Even the mystery of the skirt knife was revealed, and he didn't bury it in his heart.

As Ouyang Rong listened, he couldn't help but quietly put down a pair of somewhat rough palms from the original round white jade handle, and retracted them.

Regarding this, the noble daughter of the Xie family who was speaking with her red lips lightly opened her eyes, as if she didn't see it.

I don't know how long it took.

In the carriage, the woman's clear voice slowly died down.

There were only a few dim lights that occasionally slipped in from the car window, and the two looked at each other in silence, with their respective faces flickering.

"In this way, I have wronged my junior sister today."

Ouyang Rong had a look of guilt on his face: "If I hadn't left then, nothing would happen..."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly shook his head and interrupted:

"Brother was wronged, I... I'm sorry, brother."

"Why is that? Besides, if you hadn't made a last-minute move this afternoon to stop that counterfeit, the consequences would have been disastrous."

Ouyang Rong shook his head with a serious face, and turned to a wry smile: "Junior Sister's performance this afternoon... I didn't even have time to praise you, so I'm sorry."

Xie Lingjiang bit her lower lip, silently watching the man in front of her who was safe and comforting her.

After hearing the brother's laughter, she shook her head slowly, and after a long time, she trembled her lips and made a sound.

It's a pity that the light is dim, and someone has no aura, can't see clearly at night, and can't see the rich expressions and true feelings on her face:

"Junior Sister is still stupid. I just suspected it before. It wasn't until I saw that fake boat go away at Penglangdu Wharf, and then realized the movement of the skirt knife on your side, and then I realized that the person on the boat was not You, at the moment of complete determination, the whole person... all..."

The girl in the car opened her mouth and closed it tightly again, her lips were a little pale.

After suddenly awakening, in an instant, the breath was suffocated, as if being choked by someone's neck, and it was hard to breathe. Standing in the bright sunlight of the day, I only felt that there was darkness in front of my eyes, and the whole world collapsed. .

Coupled with disbelief, remorse, and even fear, etc. emotions rushed to her forehead... Even if it was later determined that the elder brother was fine and still alive, and there was feedback from the skirt knife, her heart still seemed to be cut by a blunt knife.

Xie Lingjiang never wanted to have this experience again in his life.

Even though most of the day had passed, until now, there was still a deep look of fear on her face.

"What happened to the whole person?"

Seeing that the little junior sister was suddenly silent, Ouyang Rong couldn't help asking, shaking his head:
"You can't blame my junior sister. No one would have imagined that the Liu family would play this kind of trick outside the box. Who gave them the courage."

He frowned, his eyes fixed on the skirt knife on his knee.

"It's nothing." Xie Lingjiang tried his best to hold back, and didn't go into detail about the collapsed mind at that time. She smiled at Ouyang Rong who was looking pensive, and continued to murmur softly between her lips:
"I'm just a little worried about senior brother... However, I felt that senior brother used the skirt knife to kill people, and at least two people died under the skirt knife.

"Soon, I sensed that the senior brother was running with a skirt knife, running towards Peng Langdu where I was at that time, the distance was getting closer and closer, and the footsteps were hurried...

"Senior Brother's hand on the handle of the saber was very strong, and it seemed to be in a hurry...but then the direction changed again, and it seemed to be heading towards the upstream Digong Gate.

"I then guessed... and even had some certainty. The senior brother should have seen through the conspiracy, but he was too far behind to catch up with us, so he had to go directly to the Digong gate to stop the counterfeit."

Speaking of this, Xie Lingjiang took a deep breath, the night wind that slipped in from the open car window entered her throat, and it was a little bit cold in her throat, making her feel like drinking ice in summer.

Ouyang Rong looked at her with shining eyes, and couldn't help praising after hearing the words:
"Junior sister is smart, um, you still trust me, big brother...so at the pier, you asked Liu Lang to bring someone back to Dagu Mountain to find me, and you decisively turned your head to chase the boat. You just kept your plan by the side of the counterfeit, and wanted to see the backside. You, what kind of conspiracy did you set up at the ribbon-cutting ceremony with all this effort, and then destroy it in one fell swoop, right?"

Facing the senior brother's questioning, Xie Lingjiang didn't nod or shake her head, she stared at the face of the man in front of her and asked:
"Brother, don't you blame my sister? Obviously you may be in danger, and you may be hunted down later, but I didn't go to you immediately, and I was absent by your side..."

She paused for a moment, then looked down at the skirt knife silently, and added a sentence in her heart:
"This... feeling of not being valued by the other party, isn't senior brother feeling a little bit uncomfortable?"

Ouyang Rong no longer held the jade handle, but put both hands on the white sandalwood scabbard.

He was sitting upright, his eyes were as bright as stars, looking at her.

These days, Xie Lingjiang, who often sits on the roof to watch the night until dawn, feels that the bright eyes in front of him are more like the morning star on the Qingdai sky before dawn.

Ouyang Rong said softly to Xie Lingjiang:

"Junior Sister, it is false to say that there is no trace of loss in my heart, but I am more understanding and happy, which is also true.

"I understand the decision my sister made at the time. I am very happy that you were not overwhelmed by emotion and turned around to find me to no avail. Instead, you knew how to calmly think about the situation, chose to catch up with the ship, watched over the counterfeit, and protected Mr. Shen and the others. .

"If you choose the former, I will feel uncomfortable and angry...

"So now, I'm really happy, Junior Sister, you've really grown up."

Ouyang Rong sighed, with a smile on his face.

Xie Lingjiang stared at the senior brother's somewhat relieved expression in a daze, and suddenly asked:

"Then what if, what if you run into danger again on the road, what if it's because I didn't turn around to find you immediately and stay by your side, so you were killed by the gangster...

"I made that so-called rational choice, is senior also happy, and hopes that I will choose this way?"

Ouyang Rong was taken aback for a moment, lowered his head and grasped the scabbard, tightened it, and pursed his lips.

He lowered his eyes and said seriously: "Junior Sister knows the answer."

Yes, Xie Lingjiang knew the answer, but she still asked.

Sometimes, meaningless nonsense doesn't make the world stupider, it just makes it more complicated.

During Xie Lingjiang's silence, Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his head, with a bright smile on his face, and said to her:

"In case I die, you have to chase the boat without looking back, and you are not allowed to cry. It was like this yesterday, this is like today, and it will be like this tomorrow, understand?"

Xie Lingjiang saw that the man in front of him was pointing in the direction of Zheyi Qu and Digong gate outside the car window, and he said seriously:
"You have to take good care of our unfinished business, this is not only my senior brother's unfinished business, but also your unfinished business, it is also the unfinished business of Liu Lang, Ah Shan, and all those who are committed to water control in Longcheng.

"It should be, and should be, more important than me.

"Even if I'm dead, gone, and no longer in this world, as long as the disaster relief camp is still there, the Digong Gate is still there, and the Zheyi Canal is still there, the people of Longcheng will still rely on them to have enough food and clothing, labor to create, and live endlessly.

"Then your elder brother, I will still be here, and I will always be here, not just a brushstroke or a few drops of ink that I took casually in the tome of the county annals in the yamen."

Xie Lingjiang, who was still dressed in red in the dark car, opened his mouth, staring blankly at the senior brother who was smiling brightly in front of him.

She was silent for a long time.

He suddenly turned his head and glanced at the night sky above his head outside the carriage.

Tonight, the moon is light and the stars are hidden, and the sky is dark.

It is conceivable that even if she went to the roof to watch the night in the early morning tomorrow, she might not see the morning star.

However, Xie Lingjiang felt otherwise.

It is right in front of you.

Soon.

"Sister?"

After the carriage stopped with a "dang clang", the inertia conveyed to the people on the carriage leaning forward, as well as the call of the senior brother, awakened Xie Lingjiang who was in a trance for the second half of the journey.

"Ah." She suddenly came back to her senses, and said in response.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the little junior sister who was pretty dazed, and couldn't help laughing:
"Here we are, what are you walking on, get out of the car, go back and have a rest first."

On Luming Street, the carriage driven by Liu Ashan stopped in front of the low-key gate of the Su Mansion without stone lions.

"Oh."

Xie Lingjiang glanced outside, did not move, turned around and asked:

"What about you, brother? Are you still busy at night? I won't leave. I will accompany you. I can't be negligent anymore. I have to protect my brother's safety outside."

Ouyang Rong had no choice but to think about it. He glanced at Xie Lingjiang who had matured a lot, and said truthfully:

"I'm going to settle down for Mr. Shen and Mr. Wang later, and then go to the county government to finish some things left over from today.

"By the way, there is also the matter over the Dagu Mountain, we have to send someone there...

"In addition, there will be a county-wide public trial tomorrow, so we have to strike while the iron is hot and nail the coffin to the Liu family."

"Then senior brother is going to be busy again tonight, is he going to make a bed in the county government hall again?" Xie Lingjiang couldn't hide the distressed look in his eyes.

Without even thinking about it, she said, "Then let's go together. It's just right. I'll go to the prison to guard that alchemist. It's not safe enough to seal the aura."

Ouyang Rong thought for a while, nodded and said:

"That's fine, but now go back and tidy up, have a meal and rest for a while, let's gather in half an hour and go there together."

"it is good."

Xie Lingjiang nodded vigorously.

Meilu Garden is adjacent to Su Mansion, and the two got out of the carriage together.

In front of the Su residence, Xie Lingjiang didn't move immediately.

Two big red lanterns hanging in front of the door cast the halo of red candles on the young county magistrate who was a little tired and standing still not far away.

Xie Lingjiang turned his head, his eyes looked up and down carefully at the elder brother who was watching her through the door.

The latter seemed to understand her eyes.

He shrugged helplessly, rolled up his sleeves, and turned around in a circle under the keen eyes of his little junior sister:
"I'm really fine. There is no serious injury on my body. I didn't want to find a reason to send you away, and then silently huddled in the corner alone, licking the wound like a cat or a dog."

Xie Lingjiang looked at the wry smile on his tired face, nodded slightly, turned around and was about to enter the door.

"Wait, Junior Sister." Ouyang Rong seemed to recall something and shouted. He lowered his head and silently untied something from his waist, holding it in his hands and preparing to hand it over, "You forgot your skirt knife..."

"Eldest brother." Xie Lingjiang suddenly interrupted Ouyang Rong's words.

The latter looked up, "What's wrong?"

Under the red lantern, a girl dressed in men's clothing in red said without looking back:

"Just now you taught my senior sister what you said on the road, saying that our unfinished business is more important, and sometimes even better than... one person's life, junior sister thinks what senior brother said is right, but...

"Maybe it's because I'm still stupid. The item 'don't cry' is barely okay, but the item 'don't look back' is actually quite difficult to do."

She paused, sniffed, curled her lips, pretending not to care and said:

"Elder brother, don't think too much. It's not that there are so many special people. It's just that I am already sentimental. If something happens to a close friend from the same school, and life and death are uncertain, I will always be impulsive and worried."

Ouyang Rong frowned slightly: "Little sister, in fact, we..."

Xie Lingjiang tilted his head slightly from the back, and interrupted: "But."

"But what?" Ouyang Rong asked blankly.

"But it's not impossible to solve, just like today, you carry my skirt knife on your body, I can vaguely sense your presence, so I can relax a little bit, and chase the boat without looking back...

"Whether it's life or death, junior sister, I can at least confirm it. It's better than being lured by some illusory hopes, getting confused, and ruining senior brother's major affairs... Senior brother, what do you think?"

Ouyang Rong opened his eyes, but he didn't really understand the logic of the junior sister, but it didn't prevent him from responding, and felt that what the junior sister said was not a big problem:
"That's...not bad."

Xie Lingjiang nodded straightly: "Let's leave the skirt knife in your place, and use it as...an insurance, and you are not allowed to let it leave your body in the future."

Ouyang Rong thought for a while, but reluctantly tied the skirt knife back to his waist: "All right."

It's just that what he didn't see was that the corner of the mouth of a young junior sister with her back in front was slightly bent.

After putting on the knife, Ouyang Rong raised his head and called Xie Lingjiang: "Wait, there is one more thing, the red rope that Master Shandao gave this morning..."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly asked: "Red string? What red string?"

Before Ouyang Rong could speak again, she raised her hand without looking back, shook off her wide red sleeves, exposed a lotus arm, and raised her pure white wrist as a signal.

Xie Lingjiang was still holding a marriage bamboo stick in his hand.

Her curious tone came:

"Didn't we just ask for a lottery for Su Xiaomei in the morning? What is the brother talking nonsense?"

"..."

"gone."

The girl in red waved her hand and entered the door gracefully.

Ouyang Rong watched him off with a dazed expression.

After a while, he rubbed his face, turned and left, leaving behind a murmur:
"Junior Sister has really grown up... In other words, is this a feeling of admiration and dependence, or...really in love."

(End of this chapter)