No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 574 Ouyang Rong: What is time management? Speed ​​pass is popular now [asking for monthly ticket]

The Lantern Festival is also known as the Shangyuan Festival.

The 15th day of the first lunar month, the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and the 15th day of the tenth lunar month are the first full moon nights of spring, summer, and winter respectively.
Therefore, it is also called the "Three Yuans", namely the Shangyuan, Zhongyuan and Xiayuan.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival, when people light lanterns and make decorations, so it is also called the "Lantern Festival."

The Daqian and Dazhou dynasties stipulated that the Lantern Festival should be celebrated for three days with the whole country celebrating.

This is an extremely rare opportunity for the people of Da Zhou, who are subject to a curfew system all year round.

On the evening of the Lantern Festival, banquets and entertainments are even more prosperous and extravagant, with singing and dancing in the lively theaters.

Tonight, Chang'an and Luoyang are of course the most prosperous places, but Xunyang City far in the south of the Yangtze River is not much behind, second only to Yangzhou, Jinling, Qiantang and other places.

It can be regarded as one of the most prosperous places in Jiangnan.

Xunyang City, on the main street of Xingzifang.

A grand-scale sightseeing event is being held, and the colorful lantern festival has attracted audiences from all over the world to come and watch.

From the nobles and relatives, princes and sons of the royal family to the craftsmen and merchants, all came here for a night stroll.

Among them, there are many beautiful women who originally lived in seclusion, but now go out in groups to enjoy the scenery.

As the saying goes, beauties come out in droves, and their brocade curtains are like clouds. Young men ride horses, and their carved saddles are like the moon.

So, of course, there are romantic dates between men and women. Many young men and beautiful women go in pairs to admire the lights and stroll in the streets at night.

Ouyang Rong followed Rong Zhen with a hesitant look on his face and walked into the street.

He stopped at a roadside stall at the corner of the street and bought a large folding fan, which he used to fan himself to slightly cover his face.

However, the combination of the two still attracted a lot of attention on the street.

The main blame is Zhen Rong.

These people who don't know the reason, because they don't have a filter for the lady of the Supervisory Council,
So they were all attracted by the beauty of this girl in palace dress. Well, at most they felt that this stunning young lady was a little cold.

Of course, Ouyang Rong, who was accompanying Rong Zhen, did not hold them back. The only shortcoming was the huge difference in their heights, but... height difference can be frustrating sometimes, okay?
Although Ouyang Rong covered his face with a folding fan, he seemed a little bit mysterious.

But he is tall and weak, a typical template of a handsome gentleman.

In the eyes of other beautiful girls on the street, although they couldn't see his appearance clearly, he was definitely a handsome man.

Of course, it’s another matter in the eyes of other men on the street.

No, buddy, you've already finished pretending!
However, even though he had many flaws, the other male animals had to admit that he was right.

Because the cold young lady beside Ouyang Rong was indeed extremely beautiful, with bright eyes, white teeth, and flowing palace skirt, just like Chang'e in the moon.

A woman is always a man's best luxury.

Even though this man was wearing beggar's clothes and was sloppy and unkempt, no one dared to underestimate him.

Eyes of envy, jealousy or curiosity were cast upon him.

Ouyang Rong fanned himself faster, covering his face.

Rong Zhen said nothing along the way, just looked up and silently gazed at the dazzling layers of lanterns on the street.

Ouyang Rong had no choice but to accompany him.

However, the two people who came to maintain public order and prevent traitors were walking leisurely like this. In the eyes of outsiders, they were definitely a couple. You could tell from the different looks of the passers-by around them.

Rong Zhen didn't seem to care at all.

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but look at her.

This lady historian did change into a new palace dress tonight, which was dazzling and eye-catching.

This palace skirt is mainly made of soft and delicate silk, and it is different from the plain white of the past to a noble dark purple.

The palace skirts were embroidered with intricate and delicate patterns, with auspicious totems such as peonies, phoenixes, and cranes coming to life, and gold and silver threads running through them, shimmering...

In addition, as the night seemed to be cool, she wore a half-sleeved jacket. The light gauze was like smoke, gently swaying in the wind, adding a sense of elegance and mystery.

She also had her hair in a popular high bun, with exquisite gold hairpins in her hair, and a delicate flower ornament in the shape of a crescent moon on her forehead, which added a touch of femininity. On both sides of her temples hung small hairpins that swayed gently with her steps, making pleasant sounds.

The facial makeup is equally exquisite, applying the popular peach blossom makeup, with thin eyebrows like ink, deep eye makeup, red lips, and a light powder on the cheeks, making the skin appear as white as cream and the face as rosy as peach blossoms.

She has both the gracefulness of a woman and the dignity of an official.

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but take a few more glances.

"I asked you to keep an eye on the rebels and search for clues, but why are you staring at me?"

Rong Zhen, who had been looking towards the street, suddenly spoke.

She turned her head, squinted at Ouyang Rong, and said in a stiff voice:
"Not at all gentlemanly."

Ouyang Rong frowned:

"Why can they see it but I can't, and I still care about you."

She looked away, but asked:
"What do you care about me? My appearance? Ouyang Lianghan, how can you be like those boring men? I hate their shifty looks the most. They are annoying."

"That's obviously an admiring look. Wait, no, what I want to say is, how can Ms. Rong catch the rebels when she's dressed like this and makes clanking sounds when she walks?"

Rong Zhen:......

The cold palace girl, who was dressed up tonight, didn't want to pay any attention to him at all. She just felt that he was more annoying than those men and was not as good as them. She walked forward quickly.

But as if she was worried about something, the lady walked and stopped, stopping at places where people gathered. Every time she waited for Ouyang Rong to catch up, she turned around and walked to the next place.

Without stopping all the way.

After a while, Ouyang Rong caught up with him again at the entrance of a theater, panting and speaking with relief:
"It turns out that Ms. Rong is really patrolling the streets."

Rong Zhen was immediately furious and said to him:
"if not?"

"I thought Ms. Rong was trying to digest her food. Besides, she was deliberately delaying my return to be angry with Junior Sister."

Rong Zhen stopped and looked back, staring at Ouyang Rong's sincere expression for a while, then lowered his eyes and said:
"It's ridiculous. I have nothing to do, why would I bet with her?"

She kept walking.

After a while, he said softly without turning his head:

"If you are really in a hurry, go back. I won't make things difficult for you."

As she spoke, the girl in palace dress lowered her head slightly and walked forward for a while, only to find that someone behind her had not fallen behind and was still following her.

Didn’t leave.

Rong Zhen raised his eyelids, took a deep breath, and looked back, just in time to see Ouyang Rong looking up at the sky.

The corners of her lips that had been raised turned downwards immediately, and she said in a dry tone:

"You've been looking at the sky. You must be looking at the time. Why don't you leave if you're in such a hurry?"

Ouyang Rong shook his head, put away his fan, and followed with his sleeves rolled up. He asked curiously:
"It's okay, just walk a little further, the way back to the palace is in this direction."

"Oh, so it's on the way. Lord Ouyang really planned the route long ago. It seems that I am being too sentimental."

Ouyang Rong ignored her and glanced at her purple palace skirt again, then suddenly asked:

"Ms. Rong's family background should be very prominent, and..."

He squinted slightly.

"Ms. Rong was concerned about Princess Anhui before. Did they know each other in Luoyang before? They were acquaintances, so they were in the same circle, right or not?"

Rong Zhen fell silent, walked forward for a while, and then spoke softly:
"That home...is long gone. I entered the palace when I was seven years old. In my heart, the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Observatory are my home."

Ouyang Rong was slightly startled: "Sorry, I mentioned your sad story."

"What's the use of apologizing? I've already mentioned it."

Rong Zhen urged impatiently:
"Get out of here." Ouyang Rong didn't leave.

At this time, the two happened to pass by a lakeside promenade that was hung with lanterns and had a lot of people queuing up.

Ouyang Rong didn't know what he saw, and suddenly called Rong Zhen:

"Wait, come here."

"What are you doing?"

Rong Zhen frowned, but still followed reluctantly.

She looked closely and found that the waterside promenade was hung with lanterns, each of which had a riddle posted on it. At the entrance of the promenade, there was a chubby grandfather and grandson, setting up a stall with a wooden sign in front of them.

The content on the wooden sign roughly said:
Three taels of silver are required to pass through the riddle corridor. Those who guess ten riddles in the corridor can take away a family heirloom mandarin duck jade hairpin and receive three taels of silver for the ticket. There is only one hairpin, and it is only given to the destined person with wisdom.

On the counter in front of the chubby old man, there was a mandarin duck jade hairpin for display to everyone.

A chubby-faced little boy who looked like his grandson was collecting money at the entrance of the corridor. Every time he collected three taels of silver, he would hand out a wooden pass and let one person in at a time. Those with more than one person had to queue up.

Ouyang Rong turned his head and took a look. The jade hairpin was lying on the red cloth, and there were several lanterns hung above the head. The light shone on the jade, making it dazzling and beautiful... This boss knows light shows.

Especially the chubby old man, with a happy expression of reminiscing on his face, stroking his beard and repeatedly telling everyone that this was the thing that his parents met by chance in the past, it was a marriage destined by heaven, the red string of the matchmaker, blah blah.

Ouyang Rong found this kind of essay very boring, but it didn't matter if he borrowed it.

"What are you going to do?" Rong Zhen was puzzled.

"You've always wanted to exchange this hairpin of mine, right? Come, I'll give you one, and you don't have to exchange it with your mother's relics..."

He patted his chest and coughed, "But I don't have any money. Do you have any money?"

Rong Zhen frowned and took out three taels.

Ouyang Rong took it and went to line up.

There were quite a few people queuing up in front. A young man at the front was looking around slowly in the corridor, frowning and thinking, but he couldn't guess the riddle.

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but urge:

"Hey, hurry up, brother."

The female relatives he brought with him, as well as a group of beautiful ladies, were watching below, and the young man's face suddenly turned red.

The riddles here were the most difficult on the street, and they were well-known. In addition, the boy below was a little more handsome than him, so the young man said angrily, "Why are you rushing me? How about you do it?"

"I'll do it if I want." Ouyang Rong stepped forward without saying a word.

"Hey, let's just forget it..." Rong Zhen frowned slightly. She couldn't understand any of these riddles. Judging from the performance of the young masters, they didn't seem to be simple. The most important thing was that Ouyang Rong was too focused and it would be difficult to end it... With everyone watching the show and the young masters blushing, Ouyang Rong walked up to the corridor and glanced at the riddles on the lanterns.

【Candied Coptis chinensis? 】

"share weal and woe."

[Outside the garden, I can hear the sound of monkeys crying, and under the star-moon bridge, I can hear the sound of flute? ]

“The Lantern Festival.”

[It has a white and fat body, often hides in the mud, has honeycombs all over its body, and can be eaten raw or cooked. ]

“Lotus root.”

Ouyang Rong spoke very quickly, one after another. These riddles would have been child's play in his previous life, at the level of brain twists.

He started speed running without even thinking about it.

After half a cup of tea.

Many women and onlookers outside the corridor opened their mouths and looked sideways. Seeing the fat old man's changed expression, Ouyang Rong walked down the corridor, bent down to pry open the stunned child's hands, easily took back the three taels of silver, and picked up the eye-catching mandarin duck jade hairpin on the table, patted his butt and left.

On the street, Ouyang Rong waved the precious hairpin in his hand and handed it to Rong Zhen: "Here."

Rong Zhen raised her head, opened her little mouth slightly, stared at his confident face for a while, then stretched out both hands and silently took the jade hairpin.

She slowly lowered her head and said softly, "Thank you. Then... I'll owe you another meal."

Ouyang Rong's smile disappeared.

But before he could refuse, Rong Zhen had already turned around and walked away, his footsteps seemed light, and he waved at him:
"You can go back now. I can see that you are absent-minded. There is no need to apologize or make up for it, but I am in a good mood tonight."

As she spoke, the girl in palace dress in the distance took off the golden hairpin on her high hairpin, quietly replaced it with this jade hairpin, and left with her head held high.

Ouyang Rong opened his mouth, rubbed his face, glanced at the night sky, turned around and left quickly...

Outside the lantern riddle corridor, the backs of the two people who looked like a fairy couple disappeared.

The child who had his money returned and lost his ancestral jade hairpin had a chubby face and was very anxious:
"Aunt, what should we do? If it's broken into so quickly, we'll have to close the shop."

"Closing the stall? Why are you closing the stall? We still have it here, with plenty of goods. There's still a lot of room to go tonight. My dear grandson, go and collect the money, hehe."

As he spoke, the chubby old man bent down, picked up a jade hairpin at random from a pile of identical ones in the wooden box next to him, and put it back on the stall, muttering to himself, "Three taels of silver and ten pieces at the East Market Jewelry Shop. It's a bit expensive, but my dear grandson, you must remember that you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child."

He closed his mouth, cleared his throat, and continued to hawk his wares and tell stories in a vivid voice.

The chubby-faced kid couldn't help scratching his head: "Aunt is still smart!"

"Nonsense, I just want to guard against these kinds of masters who occasionally show up."

The chubby old man was very proud of himself.

About an hour later.

Sure enough, no new person passed the level. They were all idiots. The fat old man smiled and said, "Let me tell you, the powerful ones are still a minority. The guy just now is obviously not an ordinary person. There are not many young people who can make me feel shocked. He brought such a beautiful young lady. She must be a talented and knowledgeable person.

"Hey, and that young lady, she must be a cold-faced person with a warm heart. It's hard to get close to this kind of woman, but once you get her, she will definitely be obsessed and loyal, passionate and clingy. Look at how happy she was after that boy gave her the hairpin. Who knows, she might have been coaxed by that boy to have a tryst in the woods by the lake, and she even gave him her bellyband..."

The experienced old man sighed and shook his head: "However, this can still be coaxed. Many men can't even touch the hands of beautiful women. This is why we need to create opportunities for them. In order to coax women, they need to show themselves in various ways. We make money from this. It's a matter of one willing to fight and the other willing to be beaten."

At this moment, the old man's expression froze with emotion, and he turned his head blankly to look at the people in line. His grandson also turned his head curiously.

I saw another pair of beautiful girls coming to line up. There was a familiar figure among them, but the lady in red clothes next to them was unfamiliar. However, she had a dignified face, outstanding demeanor, and was also a beauty. Judging from her clothes, she also had the noble and elegant temperament of a lady from a wealthy family.

The man's voice sounded familiar.

"Junior sister, let's go somewhere else. I'm so full after eating that bowl of dried rice balls you served me. How about we go for a walk by the lake to digest the food..." he suggested sincerely.

The lady in red clothes said crisply, "Let's go this way. We can also take a walk to help digestion. Senior Brother, the lanterns here are really beautiful, and there are many people. Hey, look at that hairpin, it's really pretty."

"Um, are you sure you want to go this way? Dalang and the little princess are still waiting for us at the theater..."

"Yeah, Dalang and the others are not in a hurry. Senior Brother, there are so many people queuing here... Look, the words on this sign, oh, I didn't expect that this hairpin has such a touching love entanglement." Her tone was low and a little sad.

"This... this love story seems a bit much."

"What do you mean? You've seen it too?"

"No...no, I haven't seen it!"

The atmosphere was quiet for a while, and the two stood there without leaving.

"Big Brother, look, this hairpin is so beautiful." She spoke again.

"..."

As Xie Lingjiang stopped and stared with a smile, Ouyang Rong lowered his head, took the three taels of silver she thoughtfully handed over, and walked forward to line up.

But for some reason, he was more low-key this time. He stood behind the team and fanned them silently, not daring to urge the slow-moving people in front.

But at some point, Ouyang Rong, who was keeping his head down in the team, made eye contact with the fat old man who was staring at him.

"Ahem." Ouyang Rong looked away as if nothing had happened and covered his face with a folding fan.

Grandfather and grandson: …? ?

(End of this chapter)