No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 773 Breaking the Delusion
"Xiu Niang, where have you been? We have been looking for you for a long time, and the lady is so worried."

As soon as Zhao Qingxiu returned to her residence in Huaiye Lane, Ye Weilai came up to her, grabbed her hand tightly, and her eyes were a little red.

The silver-haired girl looked over Zhao Qingxiu's shoulder at Wang Caozhi who had come back with Zhao Qingxiu.

Her eyebrows raised and her eyes became fierce, as if she was asking for an explanation.

Wang Caozhi avoided his gaze, pretending to know nothing, walked aside, called the servants, and went to pack the luggage.

The trick of calling your brother-in-law "sister" doesn't work for all women around him. Wang Cao knows this very well.

This trick worked best on Ms. Rong Zhen, but it wouldn't work on Miss Ye, who was so delicate and thoughtful.

Zhao Qingxiu gently pulled Zhao Qingxiu's sleeves:

[I ran away on my own. He was sent by Tan Lang to take me home. He has nothing to do with this matter.]

Only then did Ye Weilai look away and grabbed Zhao Qingxiu's two small hands, her face showing an expression of wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Zhao Qingxiu wrote softly:

[I went to see Tan Lang and resolved a matter. I am fine now. Don’t worry, Wei Lai.]

Ye Weilai sighed.

In fact, she also guessed what the embroiderer was going to do.

Sister Xiu Niang is usually very quiet. Who else in the world could make her risk her life for him except Tan Lang?

"The Madam was really worried about you, so she went out to look for Madam Pei. Madam Pei has a lot of people there, and they are familiar with Xunyang City... They haven't come back yet, and they should still be in the city anxiously looking for you."

There was a hint of guilt on Zhao Qingxiu's face.

Ye Weilai shook her head:
"It's okay, as long as you're back, I'll go and notify the maid to call the mistress and Madam Pei back."

Zhao Qingxiu nodded and prepared to write down the "evacuation" instructions left by Tan Lang, but when he raised his hand, his fingertips touched a small sword at Ye Weilai's waist and he paused.

Ye Weilai also noticed this and said comfortingly:
"It's okay, just in case. Army Officer Yan came just now and said that there was a change in Xunyang Ferry and Xiushuifang might be in danger. He asked us to take this opportunity to pack up and evacuate. We should follow Tan Lang's previous backup plan, go find Madam Pei, and leave the city as planned.

"General Yan left some men to protect the house, and then left in a hurry, saying that it was his duty to mobilize the remaining manpower in the government office to try to maintain order in the city. I heard that Xunyang Ferry was occupied by a group of pirates of unknown origin, and the water repair shop was on fire. Now the people in the city are in a panic, so when the lady knew you ran away without permission just now, she was extremely worried."

Zhao Qingxiu wrote in apology:

[I'm sorry, I caused the trouble]

Ye Weilai immediately shook her head:
"Don't say sorry, it's good that you're back. Let's go pack our luggage and go to Yinbingzhai first."

Zhao Qingxiu nodded heavily.

The two girls went to Yinbingzhai together. When they got close, Zhao Qingxiu suddenly stopped.

"What happened to the embroiderer?"

Ye Weilai asked curiously.

He looked back at the blind-mute girl standing still.

The girl tilted her head slightly, and her eyes covered with a ribbon seemed to be looking towards a certain wall of Yinbingzhai.

"Long Ling——"

At noon, the wind blew the ice-white jade hairpin on her motionless head, making a crisp sound.

"jingle……"

At the same time, not knowing if it was an illusion, Ye Weilai vaguely heard a faint bell sound, coming from somewhere.

Ye Weilai turned her head with some doubt and looked in the direction Zhao Qingxiu was facing:
"What is the embroiderer thinking about..."

Before she could finish, Zhao Qingxiu grabbed her hand and wrote on it:
[I'm a little hungry. Can Wei Lai go make some food? I'll go in and clean up.]

"That's fine, go and rest, I'll come find you later."

Ye Weilai nodded, sent Zhao Qingxiu to the door, and turned and left.

Zhao Qingxiu stood outside the courtyard gate without moving, waiting for Ye Weilai to walk away and no other maids to pass by. Then she faced the courtyard gate, straightened her clothes, and pushed the door open.

In the yard, everything was as before.

Only at the swing, there was an extra dress in white.

The woman in white was sitting barefoot on the swing. The small bell tied with a red rope on her ankle was sometimes silent and sometimes jingled.

Zhao Qingxiu walked to the swing.

Yu Nianyuan touched the ground with his toes and stopped instantly.

The white clothes change from stillness to movement.

Zhao Qingxiu tilted her head, as if frowning, and faced the study.

"Don't worry, it's just me."

Yu Nianyuan was somewhat helpless:
"I just got here, and you haven't given me an answer yet. I'm a little worried about you. Don't think too much. I didn't go into the house. I'm a germaphobe. I have no interest in entering your love nest with Tong Fu."

Zhao Qingxiu turned around, and Yu Nianyuan reached out his hand tacitly, spread out his palm, and gave it to her to write.

[Where are the Fang sisters?]

Yu Nianyuan said calmly:

"No, I asked them to do something at Xingzifang."

She sighed again and said:
"Let's talk about business, don't mention these things."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Qingxiu on the other side also nodded in approval and wrote:

[Yes, let’s talk business]

Yu Nianyuan frowned slightly and couldn't help but take a closer look at the little face of the seventh junior sister in front of him.

Not sure if it was an illusion, but the Second Lady of Yunmeng vaguely discovered that her Seventh Junior Sister's demeanor and words seemed a little different when she came back to meet her this time.

I don’t know how to describe it.

It seems like he is quite calm and doesn't avoid it at all.

Yu Nianyuan didn't think much and asked directly:

"Xiao Qi, I asked you to ask Ouyang Lianghan and tell him the truth. Did you tell him the truth? You are not hiding anything..."

Zhao Qingxiu suddenly lowered her head to write, interrupting Yu Nianyuan's words.

Yu Nianyuan felt strange and looked down at his palm.

The words written on her palm made her eyelids twitch again and again, even though she was usually calm:
[Yes, I have brought it. Tan Lang also asked me to pass on a message to you senior sisters, asking you to choose one as well.]

"..."

……

"Father, mother, sister, Taoist Lu, why are you here? Where is this? Um, why are you looking at me?"

Li Dalang opened his eyes, touched his body, and found that he was sitting on the stone pier intact, except that his chin was a little sore, as if someone had plucked out a few hairs.

He saw ruins all around him. The familiar yet unfamiliar inner house had now turned into scorched earth.

Li Dalang looked surprised, but what surprised him even more was the staring looks from the people around him.

Suddenly I felt a lot of pressure.

"Master Lu, why are you crying?"

After Li Dalang looked around, he found something unusual and asked with some guilt.

Usually, this young Taoist priest with expressionless face was always "cold-faced and emotionless", and it was unprecedented that he could cry.

Lu Ya said nothing, his eyes looking lost.

Li Dalang lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly asked quietly:

"Did the old Taoist priest just pass away? Father and mother, what is the situation now?"

Everyone was silent, as if they were still immersed in a certain atmosphere.

Xie Lingjiang spoke first:
"After you used the magic of summoning the old celestial master, you lost consciousness? According to what Senior Brother said, you should be able to wake up and even take back control of your body."

Li Dalang scratched his head and recalled:

"At the beginning, it was a little... At that time, I was hiding under my skirt and was caught by Wei's assassins. I recited the incantation and felt that a familiar yet unfamiliar old man appeared beside me. He seemed to tell me not to follow him too awake, and that I'd better get some sleep to reduce losses. My head was heavy, and I agreed in a daze, and then I fell asleep. I also had a very long dream, which was not very real, and I forgot it after waking up..."

Wei Mei immediately caught the key words: "Under the skirt? Wei's assassins?"

"Yeah, that was a close call."

Li Dalang nodded subconsciously, then his face changed and he turned and ran away.

Because the fierce woman in front of him had picked up a wooden stick and was hitting someone with a dark face.

"Rebellious son, come here!"

Wei Mei, who had been most worried about her son before, now turned into a ruthless killer and chased Li Dalang and beat him with each blow, but the latter did not dare to fight back at all.

Li Xian also had a gloomy face, his hands were trembling, and he was very angry. If Wei Mei had not taken action first, he would have kicked him.

Everyone watched this scene in silence.

Xie Lingjiang hesitated to speak. He didn't want to persuade them to reconcile, but wanted to remind Aunt Wei not to keep pretending to fight, but to hit Uncle Li a few times harder to let him vent his anger. Otherwise, he would not be able to bear it anymore and would come back, which would delay them for a while.

When the words came to his lips, Xie Lingjiang suddenly turned around and said with some surprise:

"Big Brother!"

Ouyang Rong's figure appeared among the ruins.

He was dressed in a blue shirt, holding a musical instrument case, his face was calm, and he was unharmed.

Everyone immediately looked over and went to greet him.

Wei Mei and Li Dalang also stopped immediately and hurried to greet Ouyang Rong.

Everyone put down what they were doing and focused all their attention on the young man in scholarly robes.

Xie Lingjiang took the sword case from Ouyang Rong's arms tacitly, looked him up and down at his frail body, and asked in a trembling voice:

"Is Senior Brother alright? That piano music that just made people visible..."

Ouyang Rong waved his hand and didn't speak immediately.

He glanced at Li Dalang, then looked at the ruins around him and the bodies on the ground. After exchanging a glance with Li Guoer, he asked directly:
"You guys should tell me what happened when I was away."

Li Xian, Wei Mei and others immediately briefly recounted what happened after Ouyang Rong left, including the accident that Lu Ya insisted on staying and the rescue by Master Yuan.

Li Dalang also told every detail of what happened at Xunyang Ferry.

No one dares to hide anything.

Ouyang Rong listened silently and did not speak immediately.

He seemed to be thinking about something.

Lu Ya had come back to his senses. Facing Ouyang Rong, he couldn't raise his head and whispered in shame:
"Master Ouyang, I am wrong. From now on, I will never question your strategy..."

Ouyang Rong waved his hand, his expression still calm, and asked some other details... As for Lu Ya's matter, he skipped it as if nothing had happened.

The young man with the expressionless face was somewhat moved and couldn't help but look at Ouyang Rong who was calm.

Li Dalang pointed at the circle of corpses on the ground and said:

"Tan Lang, those Hukou County pirates were all disguised as Wei's assassins. I hid in Anhui's carriage and heard everything. They were instructed by the Wei Palace to use the names of Tiannan Jianghu pirates to try to slaughter us all. It was really despicable."

Ouyang Rong glanced at him and nodded gently: "I see, I'm glad you're okay."

Li Dalang, who had always felt guilty, couldn't help but observe Ouyang Rong's calm face when he heard this.

In fact, it was not only him who noticed it, but other people on the scene also vaguely realized that after returning from Xunyang Grottoes this time, Tan Lang seemed to have changed.

It gives people an indescribable feeling.

It’s like... my heart is as calm as still water.

Li Guoer observed the young man in Confucian robes returning with the sword for a while, and suddenly remembered a sentence often mentioned in Buddhist scriptures:
Break the false appearance.

"Tanlang."

Li Dalang broke the silence and asked involuntarily:

"You don't blame me at all?"

Lu Ya also felt touched and couldn't help but look over.

In full view of the crowd, Ouyang Rong asked back:
"Why blame you?"

Li Dalang replied sadly:

"It's my fault that I couldn't help myself and went to look for her without permission. I put myself in danger and almost ruined everything."

Ouyang Rong shook his head:
"You did a good job. You opened your heart to Wei Anhui and got a satisfactory answer. You also called out the old Taoist priest in the critical moment and solved the problem of the pirates who besieged the palace... Why should I blame you?"

Li Dalang carefully searched for the subtle expression on his friend's face, but found nothing. He became more and more disappointed:

"But I ran away without permission, disobeying your orders. I didn't stay in the ice cellar and drink the ice, which made my parents anxious and worried. Later, I almost lost my life when I was in Xunyang Ferry... It is far better to stay in the ice cellar, which is safer and more secure."

Ouyang Rong reached out and grasped Xie Lingjiang's somewhat cold hand, rubbed it, lowered his head and breathed a sigh of relief, then said calmly:
“Maybe, but after what happened with the embroiderer, I’m no longer qualified to blame you.

"To be honest, if I were you, I would do the same thing, and I wouldn't necessarily do it much better than you.

"Da Lang, you have exceeded the expectations of the prince and princess and I. You are already somewhat different."

Li Dalang was a little stunned, as if he didn't expect Ouyang Rong to be so nonchalant.

But after waiting for a while, I finally heard a "but".

"But next time, you can still improve on this. For example, before you act willfully, go and discuss it with the prince, princess, and the little princess. If you insist on going to see her, that's fine, but it won't be a problem if you tell your family.

"You don't even have the confidence to convince the few people closest to you in the world, let alone go out and accomplish other things. Your family will be even more worried and will think that you are still a child, stubborn and willful.

"Family is not a wall that keeps you at home, but a door that opens wide for you to travel far away."

Li Dalang's face turned red, his emotions were hard to express, and finally he turned into a crying and laughing expression, with his head lowered, wiping his tears with his sleeves.

The atmosphere was somewhat quiet.

Li Xian turned his head, and his originally stern face relaxed a little. The old father's back seemed slightly hunched.

Li Guo'er stood there silently, glancing at Ouyang Rong who was telling the story calmly, her pink lips pursed into a straight line.

Wei Mei looked around at her husband and daughter's expressions, then quietly hid the charcoal stick behind her back.

"Okay! Tan Lang!"

The bearded young man wiped his face, smiled brightly, and nodded heavily.

Ouyang Rong patted him on the shoulder.

Then he turned around and said to Xie Lingjiang:

"No need to look for Xiu Niang. She went to Shuangfeng Peak to look for me. I have brought her back to the city. She went back to Huaiye Lane and packed her luggage with my aunt. She will go to Shisan Niang's house later. We will go there too. After we gather together, we will leave the city together."

Xie Lingjiang breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."

Li Guoer turned around and said a few words to Lu Ya, who then temporarily withdrew with Cai Shou, Shun Bo and the others. The girl with plum blossom makeup turned around and asked directly:

"Leave the city together? Where to? We can't leave without the emperor's order. Why don't we use the bodies of these pirates to incriminate them? This way, even if we leave, we can justify it and say we are avoiding danger."

Ouyang Rong glanced at her and spoke directly:
"Rong Zhen and the others already know that I am the Sword Master and have a mythical Ding Sword."

The air suddenly became quiet.

Ouyang Rong looked around the field and recounted what had happened at the Xunyang Grottoes this morning.

(End of this chapter)