247 Extra A gentle man
During the reign of Emperor Ouyang Hongxian, there were several princes. All in Da Yang knew that the favored sons would receive the name that corresponded to their father’s. Ouyang Yongxian and Ouyang Mingxian were favored by the emperor. Ouyang Wenrou was not one of them.
His name was not the name that reflected the love of his father.
That was what the people thought, but Ouyang Wenrou disagreed… It was not a beloved name, true, but he was not unloved.
Ever since he was young, he resembled his father so much that Ouyang Hongxian could not bear to keep him in the cage of the royal palace. His name was given by Ouyang Hongxian to free him from the fight for the throne. That was what his mother had told him all along, and Ouyang Wenrou believed her.
Though he had to face some disdain and difficulty as a prince born of a lower rank consort, Empress Wei and Ouyang Mingxian treated him well. Even Ouyang Hongxian, who remained indifferent toward him, never made him feel uncared for.
Ouyang Wenrou never asked for closeness with his father. Instead, he chose to train himself to be an important ally to the royal family. And with his outstanding ability, it was not surprising that he received the title of the first prince from Ouyang Hongxian.
That was his answer to his father: that his happiness was derived from supporting his reign, even though the emperor wanted him to find happiness from everything else other than the royal family.
Time passed, and Ouyang Wenrou grew to become stunningly similar to Ouyang Hongxian. Not only did his appearance and manner resemble him, but also his thoughts as well… With one glance at his father’s golden eyes, he instantly knew whom the son of heaven loved the most. Ouyang Wenrou did not hesitate to support Ouyang Mingxian in order to push him to the seat Ouyang Hongxian wished him to be in.
He was willing to remain in Ouyang Mingxian’s shadow as long as it was to assist Ouyang Hongxian’s goal. He was content with his status until he met someone. The woman who saw him as who he was, not the shadow of his brother…Bai Hua.
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She was a clever woman, beautiful and sweet. It was natural for him to fall in love with her and also for his third brother to love her as well.
Ouyang Wenrou was the wretched ninth prince. He might have been given freedom by his father, but he had nothing else to call his own other than his medical skills. Everything in his life was granted through Ouyang Mingxian’s mercy.
When he finally found a person he loved, she was regrettably loved by his brother as well… And she chose Ouyang Mingxian, not him. Ouyang Wenrou had lost before the battle began.
“Benwang never knew that Miss Bai is talented in this area as well,” he said to a woman who was once among the many who loved his brother…Bai Yu.
“I, too, never knew that Wangye has an interest in clothes,” she smilingly replied. If it was before, she would never have shown such amicability with him. However, after she was attacked, their relationship seemed to have improved…Though she had refused a meeting with him once.
“Benwang has a lot of free time, so there are many topics that interest benwang.” Bai Hua had once taught him how to suture, so Ouyang Wenrou continued to learn more about that until he found an interest in the sewing skills of the anonymous master’s shop. Furthermore, how Bai Yu was involved with it made him increase his interest in clothes more and more.
“And I’m one of those topics as well?”
Ouyang Wenrou laughed. His light brown eyes gently gazed back at her. The change in this woman was noticeable. “It’s just that benwang has too much time to spare.”
“Then why don’t Wangye set out on an adventure?” Bai Yu’s suggestion surprised him. His father had said something similar once, and he had chosen to stay here.
“The martial world has something benwang’s interested in?” He had no interest in traveling yet, but Ouyang Wenrou asked. He did not know what made him want to hear her answer.
“Wangye’s heart, of course.”
Her words made him laugh again in the same soft tone. A warm smile still hung on his face while his mind returned to his premature defeat. Even though he had intended to keep those feelings in the deepest depths of his heart, they were already known to her.
Should he ask her then about the method she used to give up on loving his brother? Maybe someday, he would use it to stop loving Bai Hua.
“I have a biaoge.”
“Yue Nan.” The first master of the Yue family who left to train and disappeared for multiple years. It was only some time ago that he appeared next to Ouyang Hongxian.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Bai Yu nodded with a smile. “My biaoge knows many things, and I have asked him one or two things.”
Ouyang Wenrou nodded, paying full attention to what Bai Yu was trying to imply. He, too, wanted to know a way to heal his battered heart.
“Somewhere out there, someone who is truly ours will be waiting.”
His eyes wavered at those words…
Ever since a young age, Ouyang Wenrou had never had anything that was ‘truly his.’ Even the woman he loved was his brother’s, and he would never reach his hand toward them. One part because he loved his brother, and another because he loved her too much to tear her away from the happiness she had.
“Miss Bai truly cares about others,” he spoke with a melancholic smile. He never thought that today would come. The day that this woman pointed out to him the path forward. Their relationship was never more than what a woman who pursued Ouyang Mingxian and Ouyang Mingxian’s younger brother could have.
“Wangye cares about me too.” Her words reminded him of the time when Taizi Fei had secretly attacked her. She refused his help, yet she never forgot what he had done for her. fr eeweb novel
“Saving one life is better than erecting seven temples.” Ouyang Wenrou’s gaze toward her was one full of friendship. “Help someone once, become friends for seven lives.”
Bai Yu smiled before politely bowing her head. “Yu-er does not dare.”
“You’ve changed a lot.” Again, the same thought resurfaced. He could not help but say it aloud.
“I also hope that Wangye will be able to change too.”
He hoped that as well.
————–
Ouyang Wenrou decided to withdraw himself from the fight for the throne at the request of his uncle, Ouyang Feilong, who was neither an ally nor an enemy to him. The situation was unfavorable for Ouyang Mingxian, and Ouyang Wenrou could see that the one to sit on the throne was surely Ouyang Feilong.
He headed to the divine valley, as his uncle had suggested. There, he met the person who had forever left him…Ouyang Hongxian.
The unfortunate ninth prince finally understood why he had to leave Da Yang at such a time. The order did not come from Ouyang Feilong, but from Ouyang Hongxian. His father had always protected him, though he never said it.
“Father, what should I do next?” He asked Ouyang Hongxian after being told the entirety of the plan was laid out. Ouyang Hongxian’s golden eyes gazed at his son, whose appearance and mannerism resembled him to a shocking degree. freeweb novel. com
“Follow your heart.”
This might not be the hundredth time, but it was also not the first time that Ouyang Hongxian had said these same words to him. His father wished for him a life of freedom… The freedom that he himself had never experienced… The freedom that suited a man like him more than anyone… The freedom that had been his from the beginning.
“Then, can I stay with you here?”
“You no longer need my protection, Rou-er.” Ouyang Hongxian lovingly gazed at his son.
“…”
“You have grown enough to protect the one you love.”
“But…”
Father, that person already had her protector.
“Fate shall do its work.” How could Ouyang Hongxian not know what and who had caused the scar in his son’s heart? “Believe in fate, and it shall someday lead you to the person you have been waiting for.”
That day, he said nothing in return, though he did not refuse to believe Ouyang Hongxian. His heavy heart was slowly lightened until it was the day Ouyang Mingxian and Bai Hua were married. His heart was filled with joy. None a space was left for sorrow… She had his third brother to protect her, and he was the most wonderful man.
Ouyang Wenrou chose to join the envoy to exchange cultures in Da Chu. He hoped to build a foundation of status and power for himself so that one day he would be able to support his brother to sit on the throne, as his uncle and father had planned. And when that day came…with the freedom he held in his hand, he would use it in place of everyone who could not afford it. He would go…
Go to find someone he wanted to protect, someone who would be truly his.
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