Su Rong shook her head, "He didn’t say much. He just asked me if I was eager to get married. I said that I wasn’t in a hurry, then he said he understood and left."
Seeing her simplistic response and her emotionless, pale face, Zhou Gu sighed. The simpler the response, the more it usually revealed.
He sighed, "Actually, I didn’t fully agree with your mother’s decision when she agreed to your marriage with the Duke Residence. The Duke Residence is indeed prestigious, and they could protect you should something happen. Yet, because of its high-profile status, it also attracts attention, preventing you from leading an ordinary, peaceful life. Your mother said, however, that it’s impossible for your true identity to remain a secret forever, and the Duke Residence is the only place she trusts to safeguard you. Now, although the Duke Residence is still highly regarded by the Emperor, the Emperor has grown suspicious of them. Your mother didn’t expect that the Emperor would become so power-hungry and paranoid in his old age. The Duke Residence may no longer be a good choice."
Su Rong remained silent as she thought more about Zhou Gu rather than the Duke Residence. Although the Emperor was power-hungry and suspicious, as long as the Duke Residence stayed low-key, the Emperor wouldn’t seize the chance to eradicate them.
Xie Yuan continued, "The current Emperor doesn’t share the same affection towards Princess Zhenmin as his predecessors. Not to mention your true identity and your royal bloodline. Zhou Gu is good, but if you marry him and your identity is revealed, we won’t know what may happen. Thus, I believe that you’re still young enough that you don’t need to get married soon. Once your identity is widely known, it wouldn’t implicate or burden yourself or others more than necessary, leaving you room for maneuver."
Su Rong nodded, "You’re right."
Although her thoughts diverged slightly, the result was mutual. Su Rong thought about not getting the Duke Residence involved as she didn’t want to damage its reputation. It’s tough for a protector to maintain a high-profile status.
Seeing Su Rong’s agreement with his thoughts, Xie Yuan was slightly relieved. He switched topics, asking her with curiosity, "How did you know that the Nanchu Queen wanted to kill you?"
Even though he had looked into Zhao, the wet nurse who served Empress Dowager and returned to Jiangning to retire after the death of the Empress Dowager, Zhao had never met Su Rong or had any connections with people from the Nanchu Royal Palace before Su Xingze found her.
Su Rong didn’t hide anything and briefly told him about how she had saved the Crown Prince’s life.
Xie Yuan picked up the dagger on the table after understanding the situation and asked Su Rong, "Is this it?"
"Yes." Su Rong replied. She had initially hidden the dagger well, but after being attacked today, the dagger had played a vital role. Now that she had changed clothes, it wasn’t strange that she couldn’t hide the dagger.
Xie Yuan lit the candles and made out the word "Echo" engraved on the dagger under the light. Echo was the nickname of the Crown Prince. He said, "In terms of blood relations, the Crown Prince is your cousin."
He put the dagger down, "When your mother faked her death to escape from Dawei, your identity should never have been revealed. You could only be the daughter of the Governor of Jiangning. However, your mother’s survival was somehow leaked, which the Nanchu Queen learned about. She sent assassins to kill you while keeping it a secret from the Nanchu King. For years, I have been thinking that your true identity can’t be hidden forever. You can’t lead a peaceful life as your mother hoped."
Su Rong frowned, "Who knew about my mother’s survival back then? The Nanchu Queen knew, but the Nanchu King didn’t? Did the Nanchu Queen care more about my mother’s death in Dawei than the Nanchu King? Didn’t the Nanchu King investigate at all?"
"In the beginning, your mother’s bodyguards ran things while your father and I helped from the inside. We were careful not to leave any traces. If it weren’t for your mother’s letter to the previous Emperor, even he and the former Queen wouldn’t know that your mother was alive. Later, when your mother felt that she was running out of time, she sent another letter to the former Duke. If the news had been leaked, it must have been from the previous Imperial couple or the former Duke. Most likely, it was the palace that leaked the news. Because even when your mother was alive, someone came to Jiangning County to kill both her and you. That’s why your mother, realizing that her time was limited and that your identity couldn’t remain hidden forever, decided to arrange your marriage to the Duke Residence."
Su Rong nodded.
"Although Princess Zhenmin mentioned in the letter to the former Emperor and Queen that they should not look for her, they did send people to track her down after dealing with Dawei. When Princess Zhenmin realized this, she sent someone to tell them that she was doing well and told them not to worry about her. However, due to this, the news was leaked and the Nanchu Queen found out that Princess Zhenmin was not dead. She searched hard and eventually found her way to Jiangning County." Xie Yuan speculated, "And then, probably because of me, I wasn’t at ease leaving you and Princess Zhenmin alone in Jiangning County. I aided Old Su in managing the county and we transformed it. The Nanchu Queen followed the clues and found her way to the Governor’s Residence. It probably implicated both Princess Zhenmin and you."
"We can’t blame you for that. If there’s anyone to blame, it has to be me. I couldn’t bear to see beggars freezing to death by the roadside when I was young." Su Rong interrupted. "Wasn’t it because of something I said when I was a kid that you decided to implement the plan for the reform of Jiangning county?"
Speaking of this, Xie Yuan broke into a smile, "Yeah, originally I just wanted to lead a carefree life as a guest in the Governor’s Residence. But a little girl came up to me and told me that she saw beggars freezing to death by the roadside whenever she went out, and she never wanted to see that anymore. She asked me if I could come up with a solution. I felt I was wasting my knowledge by simply idling my days away. You, a child, were way better than me. Later, your mother also persuaded me and said not to worry. As long as we managed Jiangning County with strong measures, any situation could be overcome. She could hide forever, but you couldn’t."
"Who could have imagined that people from the Nanchu Queen’s residence would come all the way from Nanchu." Su Rong didn’t really care, "Maybe I should thank her one day. Without her relentless attempts at assassinating me, I wouldn’t have the measures to fend off such attempts today."
From a young age, Su Rong knew that only by mastering martial arts could she protect herself. Thus, she was unafraid of any brawl.
Xie Yuan agreed, chuckling, "That’s a valid perspective."
His smile quickly faded, "Previously, the Nanchu Queen was hesitant when sending people to kill you. Not many people were sent, only one or two or perhaps three to five at a time. Perhaps she was afraid that a large operation would alert the Nanchu King to your existence. However, judging from this time, she dared to send so many people to kill you even in broad daylight. Has the Nanchu King already learned of your existence? Or has she lost her patience? Either way, it doesn’t bode well. We have to think of ways to respond."
Su Rong nodded, "After failing to assassinate me today, they will definitely try again and next time, they will send even more and stronger forces."
Xie Yuan thought for a while, looked at the dagger on the table and said to Su Rong, "Agree to the Crown Prince."
Su Rong was bewildered, "Agree to what with the Crown Prince?"
"Collaborate with the Crown Prince."
Su Rong looked at him, not quite understanding, "The Crown Prince said he could send people to protect me, but collaborate? How could I help the Crown Prince?"
"You’re the daughter of the Nanchu King, that’s an unchangeable fact." Xie Yuan looked at her, "The Crown Prince is renowned for his righteousness, and you saved his life. If he wants to protect you, you might as well accept his offer. As for your identity, although it is a problem now, it might be beneficial for him one day. After all, the Nanchu King only has one daughter and no other heirs."
Something stirred in Su Rong’s heart, "Do you want me to fight for the throne in Nanchu?"
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