Chapter 128 Passionate but annoyed by ruthlessness
"Do you remember your name?"
"Weila, my name is Weila."
"No, it's Ye Weila. Remember your name in the Zhou Dynasty. Your name is Ye Weila."
This was what Ouyang Rong said after he suddenly turned around and asked Ye Weilai, who had silver hair reaching her waist, before entering the bed in Meilin Xiaoyuan last night.
In the early morning, the cold wind blowing on the street at the entrance of Meiluyuan made Ye Weilai couldn't help but fold her arms.
She understood what her master meant.
After returning to Nanlong to worship her ancestors and burn paper, she was no longer a slave.
But she didn't understand what the master meant.
Why should I emphasize this suddenly?
After Ouyang Rong said these words to her last night, he lay down to sleep, and there was silence all night.
Sometimes there are very few words spoken before separation.
The commotion outside Meilu Garden in the morning attracted many neighbors from Luming Street.
Ouyang Rong stood inside the door, folding his sleeves and watching silently for a long time.
For Ye Weilai, who looked back at him from time to time outside the door, he just smiled at her without saying anything.
The eight carriages driven by Liu Ashan and others were loaded one after another, and Mrs. Zhen took Ye Weilai and others to get on the carriage.
Ouyang Rong took a step forward and boarded the carriage of the first car.
Along the way, the young magistrate closed his eyes and meditated, responding to Mrs. Zhen's chats from time to time, and turning a deaf ear to the little girl next to him who frequently looked at him.
Ouyang Rong's reaction today was a bit particularly cold.
When Mrs. Zhen saw this, she turned around and took Ye Weilai's little hand. With a rare gentleness, she comforted Tan Lang.
Ouyang Rong took half a day off today and sent Zhen and others to Penglangdu to board the ship.
Nanlong is in the south of Longcheng County. To return to Nanlong, you need to take Jiangzhou City to transfer.
Longcheng has developed water transportation and is right next to the broad Yangtze River. Naturally, it is most convenient to take a boat to leave Longcheng County.
In the morning, the sun rises.
At the corner of Penglangdu Pier, a temporarily chartered boat was moored.
The boatmen and sailors helped the servants from Meiluyuan unload the salutes from the carriage and carry them onto the ship.
This method of hiring an entire boat and not stopping to pick up other passengers along the way is also called buying a boat. It is considered a way for wealthy people to travel on the Yangtze River.
Ouyang Rong stood on the shore with his sleeves in his sleeves, his robe rustling in the wind.
He silently watched as Zhen, Ye Weilai, Banxi and other familiar figures boarded the boat.
Accompanied by the sound of retracting the ladder, the entire huge passenger ship gradually moved, as if it had heard some kind of instructions, and slowly left the docked dock at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Ouyang Rong, who had always been calm, finally smiled.
He waved to the Zhen family's daughters who were gathering at the stern of the boat, reluctant to leave.
At this moment, Ouyang Rong stood on the shore and saw a blue-eyed girl with silver hair blown by the river wind on the high stern of the boat. She suddenly threw away her companion's arms and rushed towards him regardless of her own safety.
The next second, he jumped out of the boat as if he was about to throw himself into the woods, and crossed the river five meters away to land.
Ouyang Rong trembled and subconsciously stretched out his hand to catch it, but immediately, his hand stopped in the air and he silently retracted it.
Ye Weilai was pulled by several daughters of the Zhen family behind her.
Seeing this, Ouyang Rong did not stay any longer and watched the boat go away.
Silently, he turned around, took Liu Ashan and other entourage with him, and left Penglangdu without saying a word.
The ship was leaving behind him.
Ye Weilai, who was held down by the girls, burst into tears. What flowed out of her gray-blue eyes turned out to be clear and transparent tears.
Big drops of water flowed down like hot water drops on a lotus leaf. She covered her mouth with her small hands and stared blankly at the slender back of the owner on the shore in the distance as she left.
At a certain moment, the ribbon tying the hair was broken free and flew away, drifting in the wind towards Penglangdu, where people leave every day.
The strong wind blew the girl's waist-length silver hair flying all over the sky.
…
"Master, why don't you stand a little longer?"
Liu Ashan's voice came from behind him, and Ouyang Rong said without turning his head:
"We have to separate even if we stand for a while. It's just an increase in the reluctance to leave. It's normal for a little girl to be sentimental. In the future, you'll get used to it if we're apart more often."
Liu Ashan thought for a while and nodded: "That's right. Anyway, Mrs. Zhen and the others will only be away for two months and will be back before the end of the year."
Ouyang Rong remained silent.
A long time passed.
Walking in front, he suddenly turned back and said:
"Ah Shan, everyone needs to be separated and look forward."
The tall, thin and dull man was stunned for a moment. Looking at the free and easy smile of the young man in front of him under the sun, he nodded in confusion.
The leave he requested in the morning was still there, but Ouyang Rong took Liu Ashan directly back to the county government office.
After bidding farewell to "relatives" such as Zhen and Ye Weila, Ouyang Rong was half alone and could finally focus all his energy on business.
In fact, this time he found an excuse to send Mrs. Zhen and Ye Weilai back to their hometown to worship their ancestors, except that he was actually a little worried that Mrs. Liu would jump over the wall after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
There is also the selfish desire to resolve this entanglement.
The disaster relief has been completed. After he successfully controlled the flood and survived the rainy season in the south of the Yangtze River, he would confiscate the Liu family's home or put them in a cage.
Then you can arrange your posthumous affairs, find a reason to resign and go into seclusion, and go to the Pure Land Palace with ease to try to return and reap the blessings.
Instead of hastily cutting and separating at that time, it is better to gradually decouple now and prepare in advance.
Sending Zhen, Ye Weila and others back to their hometown to worship their ancestors is the first step, and it is also the most difficult step for Ouyang Rong to let go of. After all, they are "relatives" who live together day and night.
But...it seems to have been successful.
Ouyang Rong turned his back to Peng Langdu and strode away, facing the Duke Di gate where the ribbon-cutting ceremony was about to take place.
He didn't look back.
…
The sunset sets in the west.
Yin and Yang are divided into darkness.
Meilu Garden, which used to be lively at this time when the male owner was on duty, seemed a little empty and lonely for a while.
Ouyang Rong walked through the quiet corridor, opened the door of the Plum Grove courtyard under the setting sun, and entered the house alone.
A quick glance out of the corner of my eye.
He was stunned for a moment, then walked to the bed where there was only one set of bedding and pillows left, and reached out to pick up a neatly folded brand new blue Confucian shirt.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head.
Twist the fabric with your fingertips.
This stitch is a bit green and clumsy.
He pinched it lightly with two fingers and squinted his eyes to pull out a slender silver hair from his new clothes.
Watching the silver threads swaying slightly in the air.
Ouyang Rong's mind suddenly flashed through several scenes of a white-haired maid knitting clothes under a sewing lamp with her head hanging down and dozing off.
He silently put down his new clothes, walked to the table, put his silver hair between his fingers into a book, and stuffed the book into the bookshelf.
Ouyang Rong turned around.
The shadows of the setting sun are long, and I look quietly at the empty room.
He suddenly realized that time passed so quickly and it had been so long since he came to this world.
"Come back... Wealth and honor are not what I wish for. The Imperial Land... I can't expect it..."
The young magistrate whispered.
…
night.
On the river.
The moon is bright and the clouds are hidden, and the wind and waves are high.
On the dark river water, there is a lone sail swaying, sailing towards the bright moon.
The chartered boat had been sailing on the river for two days.
At this moment, the ship was empty from bow to stern. The snoring of some boatmen could be heard from time to time in the cabin, and occasionally a few figures of night-watch servants walked on the corridor.
Thanks to the severe crackdowns on water thieves by various state capitals in Jiangnan Province in recent years, navigation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is quite safe.
What's more, as far as the boatmen and sailors know, the lady who is chartering the boat has a good background and belongs to an official family. The lady's young nephew serves as the magistrate of a large county under the jurisdiction of Jiangzhou.
The accompanying people couldn't help but bring many capable attendants with them. The lady surnamed Zhen, who spent quite a lot of money, also had a fierce temper. These days, the boatmen have learned this lesson, and naturally they respect and fear her.
At this moment, inside the cabin.
In a cabin next to the noble lady named Zhen, it was pitch dark.
Some moonlight leaked in through the gap of the closed small window on the right side, illuminating a dim bed in the upper left corner of the cabin.
The quilt on the bed was tightly covered, and there was a bulging bulge in the middle.
It seemed like someone had his head buried in bed and fell into a deep sleep.
A few strands of silver hair were exposed from the edge of the quilt. As the ship's hull swayed, the silver hair swayed and slid down the edge of the bed, almost touching the floor under the low bed.
The little owner of this quilt did not sleep on the pillow, but curled up in the quilt, hugging the pillow tightly with both hands, as if he was hugging something he never wanted to let go.
Her big eyes were closed tightly, and her eyes seemed to be moving, she must have fallen into some kind of dream.
The white-haired girl frowned from time to time, loosening and tightening. At a certain moment, the moonlight outside the window dimmed, and the hull of the boat suddenly shook, as if it had encountered a big storm.
At the same time, someone whispered in the bed:
"Master, don't...don't sell your slave...don't!"
The white-haired girl opened her eyes suddenly, and the quilt fell to the ground, revealing her messy silver hair. The girl held the pillow and fell back with a frightened face, turning her head and looking around in fear.
After my eyes got used to the darkness, I could clearly see the reality of where I was.
Only then did her frightened expression subside a little, and her little face looked at the moonlight leaking through the gap left by the window in a daze.
"It turned out to be a dream..."
Ye Weilai just dreamed that she was back in the small iron cage at Jinxiaokou Mahang and was forcibly taken away from Ouyang Rong.
The small iron cage was carried into the cargo hold of the ship and swayed along the river with the ship to be sold to a distant and unfamiliar place.
This was her childhood experience, and it was also a nightmare that often came back late at night after leaving her master these past few days.
Ye Weilai put her hand into her arms, and the red embroidered bag containing two copper plates was still hanging on her chest. She felt the hard touch of the copper plates in her palms. Her expression softened a little, but the low bed under her hips swayed rhythmically with the river water, and Ye Weilai's eyes
There is still lingering fear in my heart.
The moment I just woke up.
The dark cabin, the shaky accommodation, the emptiness where she was curled up alone... For a moment, she felt like she was back in the small cage where she drifted with the tide as a child.
This fear is engraved in my bones.
Even after being brought back to Meiluyuan by her master, Ye Weilai rarely had such dreams.
However, forgetting does not mean that you have overcome it.
Ye Weilai's eyes adapted to the darkness. She leaned forward and opened the small window, sat on the low bed in the cabin, and looked up at the bright moon on the river.
Ye Weila's milky white face was clear and bright under the moonlight, and with her silky silver hair, she looked somewhat holy.
However, her gray-blue eyes and little face were still blank,
In the past few days, I left Longcheng and wandered on the river, saying goodbye to my master for the first time.
Ye Weilai began to gradually realize something.
Under the moon, the girl curled up her pillow and whispered softly:
"Cage...cage...it turns out you were always there."
Why did it seem like he was no longer there before?
The girl who was led out of the cage by Ouyang Rong murmured to herself:
"If he wasn't here...the outside world wouldn't be any different from a cage."
The cabin continues to rock, the windows continue to open, and the bright moon continues to hang high.
In the depths of Ye Weila's gray-blue eyes looking at the moon, the confusion gradually dissipated, and a certain clarity returned.
Her eyes slowly became firmer.
It seems that a decision has been made.
…
early morning.
The sky is clearing.
The wind howled on the river, blowing the sails all the time.
Mrs. Zhen got up early, wearing a green skirt and a white shirt, and walked to the bow of the boat.
Under the sun, she stretched her neck slightly and looked curiously at the fishing nets of the boatmen next to her.
After a while, Zhen turned her head and glanced in the direction of Jiangzhou.
This is the third day since we boarded the ship, and we have already left the boundaries of Jiangzhou.
I don’t know how Tanlang is doing now.
At this moment, Mrs. Zhen heard the familiar footsteps behind her and said with a smile without looking back:
"You girl, didn't I tell you to sleep more? You got up so early...didn't you sleep well last night?"
After saying the last sentence, Mrs. Zhen turned around and took a look at the little face of the white-haired girl who came to the bow of the boat.
I saw that my eyes were indeed a little red.
Mrs. Zhen understood in her heart and sighed, "Still reluctant to let go?"
Ye Weilai gently brushed her silver hair that had been blown away by the wind by her ears. Without saying a word, she walked forward meekly, squatted down and stretched out her hands to carefully adjust the corners of Zhen's clothes and skirts.
The beautiful woman in the skirt smiled slightly, and after thinking for a while, she reached out her hand and gently touched the girl's silver-haired head.
She remembered that Tanlang liked to be touched like this, but she had never tried it before.
Ye Weilai, who lowered his head, suddenly said:
"Madam, how long is it until the next ferry terminal?" She kept adjusting her skirt with her hands.
"We've arrived at the border of Hongzhou. We should be able to reach the ferry in Hongzhou City at noon today. What's wrong? Why do you ask?"
Ye Weilai was silent for a moment, adjusting the skirt of the woman in front of her. She did not stand up, but raised her little face, mustering up the courage to stare at Mrs. Zhen's lowered eyes and said:
"Madam, slave... slave can't stand it anymore. He wants to go back to find Tan Lang immediately. He doesn't want to stop for a moment. Madam, can... can you help slave?"
Zhen's face showed some surprise, but she was not surprised by Ye Weilai's thoughts.
She was just a little surprised by this girl's choice.
After being quiet for a while, the woman in the skirt said in a half-serious and half-joking tone:
"This opportunity to go back to worship your ancestors and burn paper as Tanlang's family member is quite rare. It is the best opportunity Tanlang has given you. It is a rare opportunity.
"I've given you a chance. If you don't take advantage of it, are you sure you want to give up?
"Oh, aren't you afraid that Tanlang will meet a new concubine and change his mind and not give you a title? Although Tanlang is kind-hearted, he is still a man after all..."
Zhen smiled and looked at Ye Weilai's expression.
The latter lowered her head, moved her lips slightly, stood up suddenly, stared into Zhen's eyes, nodded vigorously and said:
"I just want to be with Tan Lang, and I don't force anything else. I haven't seen Tan Lang for a moment, and my heart is trembling and panicking. I just ask the lady to help me and let me go back."
Mrs. Zhen was silent for a while, turned her head and looked in the direction of Jiangzhou behind her, and she pondered:
"It's not impossible. I've already seen that you've been acting strangely these past few days. After all, I can't force myself.
"But now that you've made up your mind, as long as you can bear the consequences, you'll be fine. If you go back to Tanlang, you have to be mentally prepared to make him unhappy."
After a pause, Zhen curled her lips, poked Ye Weilae with her index finger, and said with a sharp knife:
"Stubborn girl, think about how to explain to him when you get back... When we arrive at Hongzhou City at noon, I will find a boat for you."
"Thank you madam!"
Ye Weilai beamed with joy and hugged Zhen's arm. The latter sighed and shook his head.
Immediately, the silver-haired girl who made the bold decision seemed like she couldn't wait any longer.
Walking and wandering from the bow to the stern of the ship, she folded her two small hands in front of her belly to hold the hem of her skirt blown by the wind, and walked lightly, looking back in the direction of Longcheng County, Jiangzhou from time to time.
What is the master doing at the moment... Yesterday, on the 15th, he seems to have been busy preparing for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the water gate... Also, how should I explain to the master after he returns, will he punish...
Ye Weilai had some uncontrollable expectations in her heart.
Like the rising sun on the river.
Ahem, Junzi finally made a best-seller recommendation... I recommend the last book that I worked hard on, "I Have a Sword Fairy Wife", delicate emotional lines, multiple heroines, slow daily life, non-upgraded novels, good brothers who are not interested