"The cleaning women arranged by Prince Xunyang's Mansion come to clean every half a month. They are responsible for not only maintaining the inner residence of the Su Mansion, but also the Meilu Garden.

"However, the Meilin Courtyard in Meilu Garden where you stayed in the Ming Dynasty is under the personal responsibility of Miss A Qing. She does not let the cleaning woman touch it. She comes here every three days and the official gave her a key.

, so you don’t have to go to the Dragon City lobby every time to get the key.

"Hey, why did the grape trellis in this garden fall down? No one took care of it all winter. When the wind and snow blow, it looks like this and blocks the path. Those cleaning women are really...

"Mingfu, let's go this way. Don't go down this path yet. Wait for them to clean it. If we want to go to Meilin Courtyard, we can go this way..."

In Meilu Garden, there is a corridor that has accumulated a little dust and fallen leaves.

Magistrate Diao got stuck mid-sentence. Ouyang Rong, who was following behind and dressed in Confucian uniforms, had already passed him.

Ouyang Rong quietly put his hands behind his back and walked straight in a certain direction. He was familiar with the road.

"Yes, after all, I have lived in Mingfu for so long, so I must be more familiar with Xiaguan, haha..."

Magistrate Diao scratched his pointed head with some white hair under his official hat, and said with a smile, he still smelled of alcohol.

Ouyang Rong smiled slightly.

It was afternoon, and the sunlight filtered through the gaps between the wooden vines on the corridor and fell fragmentarily on the feet of the two of them.

The wind at noon rustled the leaves.

Being slightly tipsy, I also woke up a lot.

Ouyang Rong and Magistrate Diao had just returned from Yuanming Restaurant in the busy city.

Yesterday, Li Dalang, in his capacity as Jiangzhou Biejia, initiated inspections of several counties to appease the officials and the people.

After Ouyang Rong went to the Xunyang Grottoes to explain Rong Zhen and Wang Cao, he followed them out of the city in a low-key manner.

He promised Rong Nvshi that he would return to Xunyang City within three days. After all, he still had the post of governor and had important things to do. Everyone looked at the dignity of King Xunyang and escorted the crown prince for a short trip, which was almost enough.

The Crown Prince of Xunyang left Fusu in Jiangzhou and arrived at Penglangdu, Longcheng County in the morning.

Magistrate Diao led a group of officials from the Longcheng government to the dock to receive him. Then, under the warm welcome of the virtuous village elders, he went to Yuanming Restaurant to wash away the dust.

Ouyang Rong was relatively low-key. He didn't even wear official uniforms. He didn't have a few drinks, so he left Li Dalang behind on the grounds that he was too drunk, leaving him to deal with the enthusiastic officials and people alone.

Ouyang Rongze returned to Meiluyuan in the enthusiastic company of Magistrate Diao.

On the corridor, Magistrate Diao, who was following behind, looked back.

The long follower named Ali next to the Ming Mansion was holding a long piano case in his arms, carrying a cloth bag and a pastry box, and silently followed them not far behind.

Magistrate Diao blinked his eyes, stepped forward, approached Ouyang Rong, and apologized in a low voice:

"Ming Mansion, these days are really busy. The state government and the Supervisor Yuan's Lady Historian have frequently issued orders to arrest rebels. I haven't had time to celebrate your promotion to the Bachelor of Xiuwen Academy and to the governor of Jiangzhou. I should have taken the time to go to Xun.

Yangcheng is looking for you to report on my work...congratulations to Mingfu, congratulations to Mingfu."

Ouyang Rong glanced at the happy faces of Magistrate Diao and Yourong Yan.

"I'm just acting as the governor. My duty is still Jiangzhou Sima. As for the bachelor of Xiuwen Hall, I haven't been there yet. Who knows what the situation is there."

"Mingfu is humble!"

Magistrate Diao wanted to say more, but the two of them had already reached the Meilin courtyard.

Ouyang Rong quickly stepped forward, took out the key, and opened the courtyard door.

The golden sunlight in the afternoon falls on the bluestone slabs of the yard.

A swing swayed in the wind.

It's been a long time since I've been here, and the Meilin Courtyard seems to have stayed the same, except that it smells a little stale.

It's early spring, and the green patches emerging from the mud adorn the yard.

In addition, behind the small courtyard, the plum grove that connects the back house of the Su Mansion next door to the Guoer Boudoir is in full bloom in January and February.

There are sparse shadows on the qiong branches, the mossy branches are decorated with jade, and there are small green birds, sleeping together on the branches.

An exhilarating atmosphere of early spring rushes towards my face.

When Ouyang Rong walked into the hospital, his eyes were immediately caught by a plate of budding orchids on the study window sill.

He stepped forward.

Magistrate Diao didn't notice anything strange, and followed Ouyang Rong into the courtyard, still chattering endlessly, with spittle flying everywhere:

"In the Ming Dynasty, things like houses need to be lived in permanently. No matter how brand-new they are, once no one lives in them, they will easily fall apart and become dilapidated within a few years.

"On the other hand, some poor old houses are often inhabited by people, but they remain new for a long time, but they do not collapse... The older generation is superstitious and say that people maintain the house. The bigger the house, the more it needs human flavor and human breath to support it.

…

"So, Miss Ah Qing took the initiative and came here once every three days to clean and ventilate the room. Occasionally, I saw her taking a nap in the yard...

"Well, what are Mingfu looking at? Miss Ah Qing should be watering this orchid."

In front of the window sill, Ouyang Rong lowered his head and looked at the plate of orchids in bud.

This is also an old friend.

I remember that it was first given to him by Ailan's junior sister. Later, Ouyang Rong was obsessed with going to the Pure Land Palace to redeem the "Return to Come" blessing and left. On that day, he quietly said goodbye to everyone. Before leaving,

Talking to himself in front of this plate of orchids.

What a day last year, in this door, people's faces were "peach blossoms" that reflected the red color.

"This flower is delicate, so watering should be dry but not dry, moist but not wet. It should also be ventilated and exposed to the sun, and the pot should be changed frequently.

"When Junior Sister asked me to raise it, I had a headache. Later when I went to Xunyang City, I forgot to take this flower with me... To be able to take such good care of it and keep it in bud, A Qing is really thoughtful."

Ouyang Rong's expression was filled with emotion.

Magistrate Diao smiled and was about to speak when a shout came from outside the courtyard gate:

"Brother."

Ouyang Rong looked back.

A slim girl was standing at the entrance of the courtyard, with a tall and straight figure, slender like a willow, and a pair of big black eyes that were smart and beautiful.

She seemed to be coming over in a hurry, a few strands of hair on her temples fell in front of her clean forehead, and she was panting slightly.

Facing the eyes of Ouyang Rong, Magistrate Diao, and Ali, the slender girl put her hands on her belly, holding a sewing kit, and lowered her head slightly.

"Aqing, long time no see."

Ouyang Rong smiled like a spring breeze and stepped forward to greet him.

But Ah Qing had already raised his head, jumped down three steps in one step, and ran lightly into the courtyard.

We haven’t seen him for a long time. Ah Qing no longer has the malnourished and thin body of before. His black hair has replaced the yellow hair that once hung down his temples. Although his skin is not white, it is a healthy wheat color.

Girls always mature early, and during adolescence, the body grows rapidly, which really changes every year.

"Brother..."

She was a little happy and excited. When she was about to speak, she paused after shouting out her title. Her dark eyes turned sideways to Magistrate Diao, Ali.

When the latter two saw this, they immediately left the yard as if nothing had happened.

The two people who called each other brother and sister were left behind.

"Brother came suddenly and didn't say anything. I still heard my sister-in-law mention that she happened to be passing by Yuanming Restaurant."

Ah Qing's tone was a little complaining.

Ouyang Rong coughed: "It was also a temporary decision. By the way, what does Ah Qing do?"

He looked at Ah Qing's outfit and the sewing kit in his hand.

Ah Qing smiled generously and said:

"I was at Guyue Sword Shop on the West Bank in the morning. Brother, do you still remember the sword tassel workshop? I taught the new female workers there to weave sword tassels..."

Ouyang Rong listened silently for a while.

After the fall of the Liu family, Guyue Sword Shop returned to the official government of Longcheng, including the Sword Spike Workshop.

But this time, Guyue Sword Shop is no longer the only one on the west bank of Butterfly Creek. It allows other swordsmiths and wealthy merchants to make swords, jointly promoting the prosperity of the sword-making industry in Longcheng County.

As a result, many private sword shops have gradually opened in the West Bank, with different names. These sword shops all need Ah Qing's workshop to produce sword spikes.

Because of her dexterity and the fact that she was the biological sister of Liu Ashan, the martyr of Longcheng flood control, Ah Qing was rehired by the government-run sword workshop and became a highly respected craftswoman, teaching the new female workers how to weave swords.

Sui's craftsmanship.

The salary for this position is generous and the benefits are good. The most important thing is that Ah Qing seems to be very happy doing it.

Ouyang Rong smiled.

"Brother, do you have any plans for the evening? How about we go back to Sanhuiyuan for dinner?"

Ouyang Rong nodded calmly: "Okay, but I have to leave tomorrow."

Ah Qing's face looked slightly disappointed, but he quickly cheered up and walked around Ouyang Rong lively, saying with a happy face:

"Brother's official duties are very important. I heard from Mr. Diao that my brother is now the biggest official in Jiangzhou. The prince will treat him politely when he sees him..."
To be continued...