Yuewan thought she had found a companion who shared her views.

She complained exaggeratedly, "The young lady always does this to herself. Such a nice face, and she loves to wreck it. It’s bad enough that she doesn’t dress up properly every day, but now she can’t even stay dressed when others painstakingly do it for her."

Zhou Gu nodded seriously, "Indeed, it’s not quite right."

Yuewan sighed, "It’s really a waste."

Again, Zhou Gu nodded.

Yuewan went outside to the well to fetch water and carried it into the house. She left it on the shelf and told Su Rong in an annoyed tone, "Wash up!"

Su Rong promptly washed her face meticulously again. After she was done, she felt much refreshed, "Comfortable."

Yuewan rolled her eyes, handed her a towel to wipe her face and commented, "You’re too plain now, leaving only a ten out of ten for beauty."

Su Rong, while wiping her face paused, incredulous, "Ten out of ten?"

"Yep, you could have been a twelve out of ten," Yuewan said, keeping a straight face.

Su Rong laughed, "Thank you for giving me such a high score."

"It’s just as it is," Yuewan muttered. She had seen her mistress’s face from childhood to adulthood, yet she never got tired of it.

"Alright, I don’t have any guests to meet now, so I’ll do whatever makes me comfortable." Su Rong patted Yuewan’s face, "Go play outside!"

Yuewan really wanted to go out and play. She hesitated as she looked outside and asked in a low voice, "But Young Master Zhou is here. Don’t I need to stay in the yard to serve?"

"No need," Su Rong waved her hand, "I’ll take care of him."

Yuewan nodded and happily ran out.

Seeing Su Rong changed into simpler clothes and washed her face, Zhou Gu’s eyes flashed. Thinking about Yuewan’s comment, indeed she had her ten out of ten beauty intact.

He poured Su Rong a cup of tea, "To moisten your throat."

As Su Rong picked up the tea and held it in her hands, she looked at Zhou Gu and noticed that he looked unusually handsome today. She said with a playful smile, "Zhou Gu, you look really handsome today."

Zhou Gu, "..."

His ears turning a bit red, Zhou Gu tried to sound casual and raised an eyebrow, "I’m always like this."

Su Rong shook her head, "It’s different, your clothes today make you look even more handsome."

Zhou Gu realized, she was complimenting his clothes. The flush fading from his ears, he nodded calmly, "The clothes are indeed nice."

After having tea for a while, no one came to call for Zhou Gu. So Su Rong asked, "It seems my father won’t call you for a while. Are you hungry? Should I have some dim sum brought over?"

Zhou Gu shook his head, "I’m not hungry. Don’t bother."

"I’m not hungry either," Su Rong answered. She then asked, "Would you like me to find a book for you?"

Zhou Gu nodded, "That would be nice."

Su Rong stood up and walked towards her little bookroom, "Do you want to read a serious book or a not-so-serious one?"

Zhou Gu: "..."

"What’s serious and what’s not?" Do books also have seriousness?

Su Rong explained to him, "Poems, historical records, ancient philosophical texts, local chronicles, etc. are referred to as serious books. All other miscellaneous books, novels, memoirs, illustrated books, etc., according to my mother, are not-so-serious books."

Zhou Gu didn’t want to read serious books since he had already read quite a lot of them. However, the not-so-serious books mentioned by Lady Su only included memoirs and the like, none of which he had read. His bookroom was under strict surveillance by his grandfather, who forbade the kind of books that would distract him.

So, he stood up along with Su Rong, "I can accompany you to select a book."

Su Rong hesitated as she paused.

Zhou Gu looked at her, "What’s wrong? Where are you getting the books from? Can’t I go there?"

Su Rong thought about the things hidden in her bookroom that weren’t supposed to be seen by others, such as swords, her own developed hidden weapons, erotic pictures, books banned by the Imperial Court. But she had them all hidden in secret compartments. Zhou Gu was a good person. Without her permission, he wouldn’t browse around.

So, she shook her head, "Nothing, I was just thinking about how messy my bookroom is."

"You’ve already taken me to the third floor." Zhou Gu reminded her.

Su Rong nodded, "Right, let’s go!"

So Su Rong took Zhou Gu, passed through the corridor, and reached her little bookroom.

The bookroom was locked. Su Rong took out her key, unlocked the room, and pushed the door open. She walked in with a natural look on her face. Zhou Gu followed her inside. He saw paper scraps and melon seed shells scattered on the floor, brushes, ink, calligraphy and partly-opened illustrated books scattered on the desk...

The most eye-catching thing was a huge pile of books on the table. They looked as if they had never been opened.

Zhou Gu thought to himself, this bookroom really is quite messy. Ahua’s dog house was cleaner than this. He pointed to the pile of books, so asked Su Rong, "What are these books? Why are they piled up here?"

"These are newly released illustrated books from the past two months. I haven’t had time to read them yet." Su Rong nonchalantly pointed at the books arranged on the bookshelf, "Take whatever you want to read!"

Zhou Gu didn’t pick immediately, "So many illustrated books, you love them?"

"I’m alright, I read them to pass the time during my leisure. Yuewan loves them the most, she’s completely obsessed." Su Rong bent down, picked out four or five illustrated books, holding them in her hand, "I’m going to read these. Do you want to read these illustrated books too?"

While Su Rong was selecting, Zhou Gu already saw the names on the cover of each illustrated book. He politely shook his head, "I don’t want to read these."

The sisters at his home would also occasionally buy a few illustrated books to read. However, they would read them surreptitiously. Su Rong, in contrast, bought them boldly and piled them up in her own bookroom. There was almost no one like her.

He walked to the bookshelf and saw that half of the ten rows of bookshelves were filled with illustrated books and other miscellaneous books. He was speechless for a while, then picked out a travel book, "I’ll read this."

Su Rong leaned over to see, nodded, "Okay."

The two of them, each with a book in hand, left the little bookroom.

Back in the main hall, they each read while drinking tea.

After a while, Zhou Gu noticed a strange phenomenon. Su Rong was flipping the pages incredibly fast. With each turn of the page, she took no time before turning to the next. He wondered if she was really reading — it simply seemed like she was flipping through the book.

He watched her for a while, noticing that she had already flipped through more than half of the illustrated book in no time at all. Soon, she’d finish it. Unable to resist asking, he said, "What’s the story in your book?"

Without lifting her head, Su Rong replied, "Oh, it’s about a down-on-his-luck Young Master, who was saved by a female knight-errant. The knight asked the Young Master to marry her, but the Young Master flatly refused. As a result, the knight tied up the Young Master and forced him to marry her. After getting married, the Young Master showed no interest in the knight. Later, the knight, disappointed and dispirited, let him go. After returning home, however, the Young Master began to miss the knight and realized that he had unknowingly developed feelings for the her. So, the Young Master went back to find the knight, hoping to win her back. But by that time, the knight had already found a new love. That man, was actually the second person the knight had saved after the Young Master left, and they already had a child."

Zhou Gu: "..."

What a messed up story.