No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 711: Gifts from the Ladies [4nd update on 4k, please give me a monthly ticket at the beginning of the month! ]

When we returned to Huaiye Lane, the moon had already set and the sky was about to brighten.

After saying goodbye to the yawning Ali, Ouyang Rong went straight back to Yinbingzhai.

I didn’t go to chat with my aunt immediately.

If they met, he would definitely be scolded by her.

Although Ouyang Rong had the physique of a Qigong practitioner, he stayed up all night, ran around outside, and had an irregular schedule, which was unreasonable. It would be embarrassing for him to run into his aunt, who was a healthy and early riser, early in the morning.

After returning to Yinbingzhai, Ouyang Rong pondered for a moment, went to the table, wrote a letter, signed his name, stamped it with a private seal, put it in an envelope, and dripped wax on it.

This letter was sent to the central army camp on the southwest front and handed into the hands of Mr. Qin.

There was something I said just now in the early hours of the morning that was right.

The fact that Wei Anhui left early before the celebration and the thin-faced man went to Hukou County did make him feel a little uneasy.

Ouyang Rong is not a lazy man.

He wants to do something.

"Tanlang."

A weak voice came from the inner room.

Ouyang Rong put away the envelope, looked up, and saw a young girl in a pink and white dress standing in front of the door, rubbing her eyes and looking at him.

It’s Ye Weilai.

I don’t know when I woke up.

When Ouyang Rong just came back, he saw her sleeping on the bed with her clothes on, even without taking off her embroidered shoes. She must have been waiting for him by the bed until she fell asleep.

Ouyang Rong did not blame her for "why I informed her that she would be back late tonight" but she still stayed up all night waiting for someone.

He walked away without saying a word.

"Are you hungry, Tan Lang? I'll bring you some breakfast. You can take a rest first and then take a nap. If Madam Zhen asks, I'll say that you got up early to study and didn't eat breakfast in the living room... Sleep until noon, and I'll call you."

Ouyang Rong came to Ye Weilai, picked her up by the waist, put one hand around her waist and the other around her knees, and strode towards the inner room.

"ah……"

The girl in a pink and white dress with silver hair trailing on the ground cried out subconsciously.

Ouyang Rong reached out and found that her legs were bare. The pink and white long skirt was actually a thin nightgown, which was worn outside as sleeping clothes, so of course she should wear it as comfortable as possible.

On his way to the bed, he fumbled for a while, shook his head, withdrew his palm which still had some warmth left, and tapped her forehead lightly.

"what."

Ye Weilai, swaying in her lover's arms, subconsciously covered her smooth forehead.

"Remember to wear it next time. The little girl is getting wilder and wilder."

Ye Weilai muttered: "It's because the weather is hot."

Ouyang Rong curled his lips: "Then why are you still wearing socks?"

Ye Weilai stopped talking. After a while, she came to the bedside. When Ouyang Rong put her down, he whispered:

"Coming back so late, I thought Tan Lang would come back drunk."

"Drunk?"

Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment, then said with some amusement:

"So you don't wear it?"

Ye Weilai avoided his sight with her emerald eyes and bit her lips with her pearly teeth: "Wear it..."

"Socks count, too." Ouyang Rong shook his head helplessly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a soup bowl next to the bed, which seemed to be used to sober up.

He only took off his coat, leaned back on the bed, put his arms around Ye Weilai's slender body, closed his eyes and said:
"Okay, no eating, sleep, you should catch up on your sleep too."

Ye Weilai responded with the corner of her mouth, lying on her side in Ouyang Rong's arms, half of her face pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

After a long while, Ouyang Rong, who was resting with his eyes closed, could feel her feet moving around, sometimes hitting his thighs, and sometimes lifting her ankles wrapped in stockings.

You don't need to open your eyes to know that she is daydreaming.

What the junior sister said before leaving was right, a woman's heart is as deep as the sea. The same is true for this little girl. If not the bottom of the sea, then it's as deep as a blue lake. I wonder what she is thinking.

However, Ouyang Rong's sleep quality is very good. In the past, even if the upstairs was under renovation, he could still fall asleep in three seconds.

Just about to fall asleep.

"Tanlang..."

She called out weakly.

"Well, what?" Ouyang Rong suddenly woke up.

"Are you asleep? Then go to sleep, I won't make any noise."

Ouyang Rong:......

He opened his eyes, and lying on his back, he raised his legs to press down her swaying little feet, and said seriously:
"Okay, tell me now."

Ye Weilai lowered her head and asked, "Tell me, what patterns and colors does the embroiderer like?"

Ouyang Rong was puzzled: "Why are you asking this? What are you going to give me?"

Ye Weilai muttered:
"It's my aunt's birthday. You're bringing her home, so I have to prepare some gifts. Actually, I'm already quite familiar with her, but after all, it's a happy day for marriage, so I can't just thank Miss Xie and the eldest lady for the gifts. I have to prepare some small gifts as well..."

It might be a racial talent that all women in the world have, and the little girl is no exception. She would mutter about something, even if it was something that most men thought was trivial and had nothing to do with their experience.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the dazzling light outside and felt that he could not sleep any more. He turned around and asked directly:
"Okay, what do you want to give?"

Ye Weilai shrank back, and only uttered two words: "Keep it a secret."

Ouyang Rong suppressed his expression:
"Since you're asking about patterns and colors, then it could be clothing, fans, or jewelry... it doesn't fall outside this range."

He said directly: "Don't send the last two. Thirteenth Lady and I send them often. The embroiderer has no shortage of them. As for the first one, the embroiderer is very good at sewing, so she doesn't need it either."

Ye Weilai nodded and said shyly, "Okay, Tan Lang, don't ask. These are some private things of girls, don't ask."

"Okay, just don't be too outrageous."

Ouyang Rong sighed, didn't ask any further questions, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

In fact, I really want to complain that women are so troublesome, but on second thought, for women, being accepted into the family in public is a big deal in itself.

The embroiderer also seemed to be preparing seriously.

To use the fashionable term in the previous life...this is called a sense of ritual.

Women are really the same in every era.

……

"Your Highness, may I ask what this is..."

"This is called mung bean soup. It was named by Governor Ouyang. But it is chilled. I have never tasted it. Last time, a doctor told me to eat less cold food. This mung bean soup looks quite cold. But summer is coming soon. Soldiers on guard duty can drink some to cool down. Take it and distribute it to everyone..."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The sun is shining brightly and the heat is getting hotter.

In the outer residence of Prince Xunyang's Palace, Li Congshan, as usual, wore a white robe and white armor, leading a group of subordinates to patrol the palace and check the sentries.

Wei Mei came with a group of maids. Except for Wei Mei, each maid was holding a food box in her hand, and at this moment she was taking out a bowl of soup mixed with icy white mist from it.

After asking a few questions out of curiosity, Li Congshan couldn't help but look serious and clasped his fists towards Wei Mei to express his gratitude.

He knew about this thing called mung bean, which seemed to have come from the Western Regions. However, it was used for medicinal and edible purposes in the past, but it was only used to make rice porridge as an addition. The principle was the same as adding bean sprouts to various stir-fried dishes.

The taste is the same with or without it, but when added, it seems to make the dish more substantial and filling.

Hmm, another useless but interesting piece of knowledge.

Li Congshan had previously thought that this thing called mung bean was similar to bean sprouts, but he did not expect that it could be made into mung bean soup.

Wouldn't that be even more redundant? What's the point of that?

And it’s served chilled.

How could anyone afford ice cubes? They used them to store the soup. What a genius combination.

Besides, if you chill something that is already tasteless, won’t it taste better?

Li Congshan shook his head, thinking it was too extravagant and wasteful.

Princess Wei Mei said that the mung bean soup seemed to be taught to them by Governor Ouyang, who said it was the way of eating in his hometown and could cool people down and relieve summer heat... Oh, how could it not be cooling if ice was added?

Li Congshan was somewhat uninterested, but after all, it was a gift from the princess, so it would be wrong to just throw it away.

He had to take the lead, so, according to convention, Li Congshan took the first sip after simply testing the poison with a silver needle.

Li Congshan just stood there.

The soldiers around who had taken off their masks and were preparing to taste the food suddenly noticed that their general's eyes widened a little, and he quickly took a bite. Then, he simply dropped the spoon, picked up the bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.

When the soldiers saw this, they knew the reason and immediately gathered around to eat. The soldiers who were originally hesitant and cautious also joined in. After tasting the food, their eyes lit up.

Li Congshan licked his lips and looked at the empty bowl of mung bean soup with some surprise and joy.

It’s sugar, it’s added with sugar!

In the Zhou Dynasty, sugar was very expensive. It was a luxury to put it into soup. It was estimated that only families like the Xunyang Palace could be so generous.

“Iced green bean soup…”

Li Congshan muttered something, glanced at the soldiers who were scrambling to drink, and then looked at the figure of Princess Wei Mei in front of the mansion gate not far away.

She and her maids were supervising some freight carts entering the inner house.

Just now, after Wei Mei brought these iced mung bean soups to reward the White Tiger Guards, she casually mentioned that some ice cubes would be sent to the ice cellar in the mansion for storage.

Li Congshan glanced at it but didn't try to stop him. He turned around and got another bowl of iced mung bean soup...

In the next few days, horse-drawn carriages carrying ice entered the inner house every day to unload goods.

Li Congshan and other soldiers gradually got used to it. At first, they would do random checks. But later, they found that if the goods were opened, the ice would be exposed and would melt easily. The sun was very strong outside, and ice was ridiculously expensive. No one could afford to pay for it. The most important thing was that the prince and princess were nearby and would easily show their displeasure. So everyone turned a blind eye and just checked the coachman as a routine matter before letting the carriage into the inner house.

In addition, looking at the ice-carrying carriages coming and going, the soldiers were more and more impressed by the wealth of the palace, which had so much ice to transport.

But everyone was enjoying the good life. Princess Wei Mei would occasionally send out some iced green bean soup to reward the soldiers, and everyone was happy to see that the palace had more ice...

However, there was one person who objected.

The female historian is Miaozhen.

She directly poured out a bowl of iced mung bean soup and bluntly questioned Li Congshan and others how they could be so lazy and neglect their duties.

They also said that they were there on orders to guard the palace, and it was against the rules to accept delicious food in private.

He also said that he would report the matter to the court.

This made Li Congshan and other soldiers a little embarrassed, but on the second day, Princess Wei Mei sent even more...

That day, it was dusk.

Several horse-drawn carts carrying ice blocks had finished unloading and left the inner house as usual.

Under the eaves of the pavilion, Li Congshan, who was drinking iced mung bean soup again today, quietly watched the carriage leave.

When he passed the place where the carriage wheels had passed, he squatted down, picked up the remaining mud left by the wheels, put it to his nose and sniffed it.

Li Congshan looked towards the Kuanglu Mountain not far away with a thoughtful expression.

But soon, he stood up, clapped his hands, and led the team to the night shift.

……

In Longcheng County, a letter came from Magistrate Diao.

Ouyang Rong received this news when he arrived at Jiangzhou Hall early in the morning.

He took the letter and started reading it, his brows gradually raised.

The letter mentioned two things. First, Master Shandao had again rejected the invitation to the celebration.

He couldn't come on the day of the celebration ceremony. The letter said that he had recently gone out to give alms and was accidentally caught in the rain and caught a disease. He was not feeling well and it was inconvenient for him to go out as he was too old to do so.

In addition, Master Shandao also said that he would come to see the Buddha statue after he recovered from his illness, and let Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen go first to organize the celebration and make His Majesty happy.

Ouyang Rong twitched the corner of his mouth and continued to move his eyes downward.

The second thing is about Ah Qing.

The last time County Magistrate Diao came to Xunyang City for a meeting, before he left, Ouyang Rong specifically instructed County Magistrate Diao to visit Ah Qing's family on his behalf.

The most important thing is to ask Ah Qing privately whether the tall blonde Hu Ji and her people have looked for Ah Qing recently.

After reading the letter, Ouyang Rong relaxed his brows and let out a long breath.

According to Ah Qing, Xue Zhongzhu hadn't looked for her for a long time and might have forgotten her.

In addition to responding to this matter, Ah Qing also sent over something, saying it was a birthday gift for Madam Zhen, and asked him to pass it on on his behalf.

When Ouyang Rong took the floral cloth bundle from the messenger, he weighed it in his palm and didn't know what it was, so he put it away.

Ouyang Rong turned around to deal with official business. He spent the whole morning concentrating on solving all the important matters in a short period of time. He let out a breath, asked someone to call Yan Liulang and others, and explained everything one by one.

Pei Shisan Niang was away. She was running back and forth between Kuanglu Mountain and the newly built Bingjian Company, busy making ice and transporting it to Xunyang Palace.

Although he improved the method of making ice from saltpeter, it still has a drawback, which is that it consumes too much saltpeter and other raw materials. However, manpower and raw materials are not a problem. Great effort can make miracles happen, but Pei Shisan Niang needs to watch from the side and cannot spare any time.

After finishing all the matters, Ouyang Rong picked up Ah Qing's bag, left the main hall, patted his butt and left.

In the main hall, officials such as Yuan Huaimin who were working hard looked at his back with some envy.

Because in the next few days, apart from Yan Liulang's daily report, Ouyang Rong will not have to come to Jiangzhou Hall again. He will take three days off on the grounds of his aunt's birthday. Well, he is the one who approves it.

Yuan Huaimin sighed, his eyes a little sad.

Madam Zhen's birthday gift was so heartless that she didn't send him an invitation, probably because she was afraid that he would continue to get it for free. But Yuan Huaimin would bring a gift. Although he hasn't started preparing it until today, he feels that the thought is the most precious.

In short, since Yuan Huaimin couldn't go to Madam Zhen's birthday party, he had to go to the celebration ceremony and paint in the Xunyang Grottoes before he could have a day off.

In addition, in the past few nights, his cousin Yi Qianqiu often came to nag him, and tonight was no exception. She said that she had an important matter to remind him tonight, which was about the celebration ceremony. She also asked him to come back in the evening and not to go to Xunyang Tower to drink and listen to music.

Yuan Huaimin felt that the important things about the celebration ceremony were nothing more than some flattering details when painting in public, because this painting of the completion of the Buddha and the celebration of officials and civilians would eventually be presented to the saint who was high above, and the scroll would be unfolded in the court for the saint and the civil and military officials to appreciate...

This is not a painting task, but a political task.

Yuan Huaimin's brows were filled with worry when he thought about having to face Yi Qianqiu's fierce face again after finishing his shift today.

……

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(End of this chapter)