After the meal, Governor Su and the Lady didn’t leave immediately. Governor Su still had his heart set on the "Map of Mount Wu", hoping to persuade Su Rong again; while the Lady still had something to say to Su Rong.
"Did Zhou Gu mention when he will set off?" The Lady asked Su Rong.
"In the next two days, I suppose!" Su Rong replied.
The Lady had thought Zhou Gu could stay longer; she was startled that Zhou Gu was leaving immediately after Su Rong’s coming-of-age ceremony. Recall the words of the other ladies today, she tentatively asked, "I’ve noticed that you two seem to get along quite well. Are you satisfied with this arranged marriage?"
Though she knew that if Su Rong wasn’t satisfied with Zhou Gu, given Su Rong’s character, she wouldn’t have the patience to spend her time leisurely with him; but the Lady still wanted some confirmation.
"Yes." Su Rong nodded.
That gave the Lady a sense of joy, "What about Zhou Gu? Did he express his sentiment? Have you asked him?"
"No, I haven’t asked." Su Rong shook her head.
On one side, Governor Su said, "Oh, my dear, you are overthinking it. What could Zhou Gu be thinking? If he didn’t like Xiaoseven, he wouldn’t care for her, let alone give her a hairpin today."
On such a significant day, what does offering a hairpin represent? Even though Zhou Gu is young, he certainly wouldn’t be unaware of the meaning.
The Lady nodded in agreement, "True, I’m aware Zhou Gu treats Xiaoseven well. However, for a critical matter like this, I think we’d better have clear communication to avoid any misunderstanding."
Governor Su agreed, "Perhaps we should ask Zhou Gu?"
Su Rong shook her head, "There’s no need to ask him. We’ll see what the Duke Residence says when he returns to the capital. Anyway, my older brother will also be going to the capital and will meet the people from the Duke Residence."
"That makes sense." The Lady nodded, "So, as Xie Lin just arrived in Jiangning, will he also return with Zhou Gu?"
This was something Su Rong didn’t know. She shook her head.
The Lady said, "Xie Lin seems to be quite a decent young man, too bad his status is too high to be a match for any of the girls in our residence. If not for that, it’d be great if he could marry one of your sisters."
Su Rong also thought Xie Lin was decent enough—at least his character is not bad.
With a face full of regret, the Lady said, "I truly wish that all your sisters can marry well, but we shouldn’t aspire to marry into families we can’t reach. As long as the family is a notch above ours, that’s satisfactory. Aiming too high will do no good even if, by some chance, we can get there. His Highness Xie Lin is of far too high a status, luckily, none of your sisters has ever set their eyes on him, even though he stayed at our residence. This made me feel very pleased."
After all, every daughter of the Su Family, even though they are all illegitimate daughters, she had made up her mind to have them all marry as legitimate wives, not concubines.
Su Rong smiled, "You’ve taught us well, mother."
If anyone in the residence wished for the girls to marry well, it was the Lady. Her sisters were all worried that Su Rong’s fighting would ruin their family fortune, along with their dowries. They didn’t have high expectations for their future husbands. In other words, as long as they could marry someone decent and keep their dowries, they would be content.
It wasn’t their fault for having such low expectations, but because Su Rong’s constant fighting and subsequent medical expenses had made them apprehensive. Only the Lady insisted on finding good husbands and in-law families for each of them.
Sensing Su Rong’s genuine praise, the Lady straightened her back, her face beaming with pride, "Certainly."
Governor Su chuckled, "My dear, don’t set your sights too high. A grown-up girl should be married off promptly lest it becomes a grudge for the family. They just need to marry into a decent family."
After all, his daughters weren’t all made of gold like Su Rong. Having one Zhou Gu was fortunate, to expect six more like him? That’s a wild dream.
"Of course, I’m aware of that. We just need Xiaoseven’s marriage to be confirmed and Xingze to do well in his examination. Then, with our daughters, we will have many suitors to choose from. That won’t be hard." The Lady seemed confident, she stood up, "Let’s go. Let’s Xiaoseven get some sleep early."
Governor Su didn’t want to leave. He turned to Su Rong, "About the ’Map of Mount Wu’..."
Su Rong was utterly cold-hearted, "I’m not giving it to you."
Governor Su: "..."
He stared at Su Rong for a while, seeing her unmoved, he could only hold back his breath and cursed ’unfilial’ once again, before he aggrievedly left with the Madame.
The two of them left the room, and as they walked away, he could still be heard complaining, "Oh dear, the ungrateful little girl, I dote on her so much."
The Madame scoffed at him, "Serves you right, were you hoping to have your fun with it then sell it for some extra cash to bring more women into the residence?"
Governor Su was instantly silenced.
Su Rong found it amusing, she extinguished the lamp and returned to her chamber.
The next morning, wet nurse Zhao arrived at the residence promptly on time.
After seeing wet nurse Zhao, the Madame slapped her forehead, "Nurse, I forgot to mention yesterday about letting Xiaoqi rest for a few days. Has she not been practicing decorum these past two days?"
Wet nurse Zhao was taken aback, "I don’t recall the lady stating that yesterday."
The Madame lamented, "Oh dear, I must have forgotten amid everything else. Zhou Gu will be returning to the capital soon, I thought to give Xiaoqi a few days off to keep him company."
Wet nurse Zhao immediately broke into a smile, "That’s not a problem, I can convey my regards to Miss Seven, chat for a bit, and head back home."
The Madame looked apologetic, "I’m sorry for the unnecessary trouble, it completely slipped my mind."
"It’s no bother." Wet nurse Zhao chuckled, before heading to the eastern courtyard.
Su Rong had woken up early, planning to have her meal before visiting Zhou Gu. However, seeing wet nurse Zhao’s early arrival, she realized there must be something else. After all, she told the nurse yesterday not to come, yet here she was.
Su Rong recalled words she had passed on to wet nurse Zhao a few days back and wondered if there was some news. She invited wet nurse Zhao to take a seat, "Nurse, have you had your breakfast?"
"I have had mine already." Wet nurse Zhao lowered her voice, "Please have your breakfast first, Miss Seven. I am here today to bring a message to you."
Su Rong nodded, and didn’t rush to ask wet nurse Zhao. She continued eating her breakfast.
After finishing her meal and causing Yuewan to clean up, Su Rong signaled for wet nurse Zhao to follow her to the inner chamber.
Once the door was shut, wet nurse Zhao handed Su Rong a letter, "This is a letter from the Crown Prince for you."
Su Rong accepted the letter.
She opened the crown prince Yan Huisheng’s letter to find expressions of gratitude for saving his life. He mentioned that he had been looking for her and said that one answer and a dagger could hardly repay her life-saving grace. If she needed anything, she could ask him for help and he would definitely try his best to assist.
He also wrote in the letter that the person aiming to kill her was the Nanchu Queen. For unknown reasons, she had approached his mother, the Daliang Empress, circuitously and proposed to kill Su Rong in exchange for persuading the Nanchu King to support him as successor. Tempted by the support from Nanchu, his mother had agreed and sent someone to kill Su Rong. However, the person she sent had recognized the dagger she had given him and held back in time. This was how he found out about Su Rong’s identity. He wrote that his mother would not try to kill her again knowing she saved his life. He had sent someone to investigate why the Nanchu Queen wanted to kill her and would also try to pacify the Nanchu Queen for the time being. He mentioned that given the effort made by Nanchu Queen to have her killed, she would likely not give up easily. If Su Rong agreed, he would have Yun An stay by her side to protect her.
Su Rong thought to herself, the rewards for saving someone’s life were really substantial. After receiving the iron-cutting dagger, there were even more benefits to come. She put away the letter and asked wet nurse Zhao, "Yun An must be someone the Crown Prince heavily relies on, correct?"
Wet nurse Zhao had been waiting for her to finish reading the letter and nodded in agreement, "Yes, he is the Crown Prince’s top guard."
Su Rong nodded, "I appreciate the Crown Prince’s willingness to protect me. But, please tell him, it’s not necessary."
After all, she was not a helpless individual.
Wet nurse Zhao still seemed worried, "Miss Seven, you should not hesitate. If you don’t accept Yun An’s protection, why not let the Crown Prince send someone else over? They might not be as skilled as Yun An in martial arts, but the guards from the palace are always top-notch. I suspect that you might indeed be the daughter of Princess Zhenmin and the Nanchu King, otherwise the Nanchu Queen wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to kill you. The Nanchu Queen is a formidable character with a ruthless reputation. With the backing of Nanchu’s most influential family, the Nangong family, she controls half of the Nanchu King’s power. Currently, she isn’t sure why she has to kill you in such a roundabout way. But if she decides to do away with her precautions and has set her mind on killing you, you won’t be able to handle her herself."
Seeing the serious look on Su Rong’s face and her silence, wet nurse Zhao continued "While Nanchu is a small country that hasn’t been offering tributes for many years, it is still under Daliang’s sovereignty. Despite his current challenging situation, the Crown Prince has been well-respected since his childhood and has a solid foundation. Most ministers also uphold the orthodox lineage and support him. The Crown Prince is willing to assist you out of gratitude for saving his life. Why would you refuse that?"
Wet nurse Zhao sighed, "The Duke Residence might be deeply rooted with a reputable status, but before, the Nanchu Queen would undoubtedly show some apprehension towards it. However, at present, with the Emperor favoring centralization of power and where all three offspring of the Duke become adults who could independently handle military affairs, the Duke also sensed the Emperor’s sense of threat and has been keeping a low profile in recent years, which made him restrained. The Nanchu Queen likely understands the internal affairs of the Daliang court, so she probably wouldn’t see the Duke Residence as a threat anymore. But the Crown Prince is different; after all, he is a crown prince beloved by the officials."
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