The prince consort knew what Qingping was thinking, if he were honest, he too had had the same thought upon seeing Su Rong, but he had dared not to delve any deeper into it.
Everyone knew that Princess Zhenmin had been married off to Dawei, and as soon as she had arrived in Dawei, she died amidst the fight for the throne in Dawei.
Where could she have gotten a child from?
But Su Rong did look a lot like her.
Seeing Qingping’s emotions fluctuate greatly, he tightened his grip on her hand, "She just looks similar, that’s all. There are many people in the world who look alike, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
"But as you’ve said, Xie Yuan has always stayed in Jiangning County." Qingping had an almost uncontrollable urge to rush to Su Rong, study her face again, and then ask her if she was related to Zhenmin.
"Don’t get too anxious yet, this matter is very strange, we can’t come to a conclusion just because they look alike." The prince consort said, "Why don’t we send someone to investigate?"
Qingping slowly calmed down and reminisced, "I remember very clearly, the year when Zhenmin returned from Nanchu, agreeing to marry into Dawei, I paid her a visit. She tried to reassure me that she was well and not to worry about her, but I could see it in her eyes, she was sad though she was laughing. I told her that she didn’t need to pretend to be happy, but she insisted that she was truly happy to protect the people of Daliang even at the cost of her own happiness. I couldn’t help but cry while hugging her, she comforted me, saying that if I truly loved you, I should hold on tight and not let go, unlike her. She had no choice but to abandon her own love. But I still had the power to choose for myself, and it was okay to be selfish, because after all, you only live once."
Qingping pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears, "She urged me to be selfish, but she herself was completely selfless. After our great wedding, you often gave me the cold shoulder, and we often argued. I sometimes regretted and wondered what would it have been if I had been the one who was married into Dawei ..."
The prince consort immediately spoke up, "Dawei wanted to provoke a war, to cause a rift between Daliang and Nanchu, so they asked specifically for Princess Zhenmin."
"Exactly, they had selected her by name. The hatred of Dawei for her unifying the crown prince of Nanchu to stand against Dawei. That’s why Dawei wouldn’t spare her."
Qingping murmured, "She really didn’t have a choice, she used the crown prince of Nanchu to protect Daliang. She gave up Xie Yuan, Dawei then wanted her for marriage, making her give up the crown prince of Nanchu."
She thought she had moved past it, but even after many years, bringing it up again still hurt. "We grew up together, and out of all my sisters, only Zhenmin never minded my tantrums."
The prince consort held Qingping in his arms, gently stroking her back, "It’s all in the past, don’t think about it, I’ll send someone to investigate."
Qingping nodded in agreement.
Su Rong found out from nurse Zhao that she bore a resemblance to her mother. Since she was in the capital, she didn’t bother hiding and wasn’t planning to deny anything either, especially considering that she was targeted by several groups of Nanchu’s assassins during her journey, she figured that it wouldn’t be possible to hide her identity for long.
Thus, after arriving in the capital, whether at her brief stay in the Eastern Palace, or at the Princess Residence, she deliberately didn’t hide anything. If someone wanted to investigate, then so be it!
Her stay at the Princess Residence hadn’t involved much interaction with the princess or prince consort, and as she hadn’t detected any abnormal behavior from either of them, she felt quite secure.
At the same time, Duanhua was discussing Zhou Gu with Su Rong in the Cangjiao Pavilion, while the princess and the prince consort were discussing her resemblance to Princess Zhenmin.
Duanhua frowned, "Zhou Gu should’ve already known you’re staying with us, right? Why hasn’t he come to see you?"
Su Rong looked at her, "Perhaps he’s afraid of you?"
Duanhua grumbled, "What’s he afraid of me for? He’s not afraid of me!"
Su Rong deliberately teased her, "Maybe he’s afraid of seeing you."
Duanhua choked up in surprise.
Su Rong found it amusing to see her get tongue-tied, and consoled her, "Think about Zhou Gu’s personality, he’s only afraid of few things. The fact that he’s afraid of you means that you must be pretty formidable."
Duanhua retorted, "I don’t want this kind of strength."
Su Rong pointed out the fact, "There’s no other way around it, you just happen to be that formidable, enough to scare him."
Duanhua was speechless.
She glared at Su Rong, "You don’t want to eat hibiscus cake anymore, do you?"
Su Rong immediately shut her mouth.
Seeing her behave, Duanhua grumbled, "Your older brother came to pick you up as soon as he left the examination site, but Zhou Gu, who is your betrothed, is nowhere to be found. This shows how little he cares about you."
Su Rong thought that it made sense, "Yes, he’s never really cared about me."
Duanhua questioned, "Is that your reason for wanting to break off the engagement?"
Su Rong shook her head, "Not exactly."
"Then what is it?"
Su Rong thought for a moment and said, "The prestige of the Duke Residence is too high. I believe that our upbringing, character, way of thinking, and how we deal with matters are vastly different. In other words, we are incompatible. I am afraid that if we force this arranged marriage, we might end up as a bitter couple."
Duanhua was convinced, "Actually, you’re right, you guys do have very different statuses, there is a big gap."
After saying this, she realized that she might have belittled Su Rong, and quickly added: "You’re a good person, I heard that because your mother did a favor for the Duke Residence, they planned this marriage. You are not marrying above yourself, paying back the favor is what you are supposed to do. Isn’t there a saying, ’A favor as tiny as a drop of water should be reciprocated like a gushing spring’?"
Su Rong chuckled, looking at Duanhua with amusement, "Is that you implying you don’t want me to call off the wedding?"
"I didn’t say that," Duanhua immediately rebutted.
Su Rong nodded, "Alright, you didn’t say it. But once I call off the wedding, he won’t be my fiancé anymore. Both of us are unmarried, you can keep trying."
Duanhua got tense, "If you don’t want him, why would I try harder?"
Su Rong widened her eyes, "What? You don’t want to marry him anymore?"
Duanhua fiddled with her handkerchief, "I still want to marry him, but he doesn’t like me. His gaze when he looks at me, it’s so icy cold..."
Su Rong propped up her chin, engaging her in a heart-to-heart, "Why do you like him then?"
"Because he’s handsome," Duanhua answered.
"Just because he’s handsome?" Su Rong asked.
"Mm-hm," Duanhua nodded, "Otherwise, who can stand his bad temper? If he wasn’t handsome, why would I want to marry him?"
Su Rong finally understood. Like mother, like daughter. It was said that Princess Qingping had married only because her husband was handsome. Now, Duanhua was following her mother’s footsteps. That made perfect sense.
After a moment of consideration, she asked, "If there was a man in this world that was more handsome than Zhou Gu, would you still want to marry him?"
"Who could possibly be more handsome than Zhou Gu?" There was no one in Duanhua’s mind more handsome than Zhou Gu.
"Are you sure there’s no one in the capital?" Su Rong asked.
Duanhua thought for a while then said, "The Crown Prince’s cousin is also quite handsome, but I’m a bit afraid of him. Xie Lin is also pretty good looking, but I don’t like his personality. After taking a good look at your eldest brother, Su Xingze, I do find him handsome, but I still prefer Zhou Gu’s face."
Su Rong sighed, "Ah, Zhou Gu’s face is indeed handsome. I do like it a lot."
"Then why call off the wedding?" Duanhua glared at her.
Su Rong blinked, "Why are you glaring at me? Aren’t you happy that I’m calling it off?"
Duanhua was speechless. After a moment, she whispered somewhat coyly, "If you don’t want to call off the wedding, then it’s fine. If worse comes to worst, I’ll get over him."
Su Rong was shocked, "Ah? Do you mean to say that you could actually stop liking Zhou Gu for my sake?"
Duanhua retorted, "Who said it was for you?"
"Then why?"
"What I mean is... if you really don’t want to call off the wedding, then I can, um, reluctantly stop liking him. Why are you pestering me about it?" Duanhua was a bit annoyed, "You’ve eaten so many of my Hibiscus Cakes. If you don’t break off the engagement, you’ll have to compensate me in the future with someone as handsome as Zhou Gu."
Upon hearing this, Su Rong flatly refused, "No way, I simply can’t afford it. You’d better go on liking Zhou Gu. I am definitely calling off the engagement. You don’t have to stop liking him."
Duanhua: "..."
Duanhua had wrestled with herself for several days before disclosing this to Su Rong, and yet Su Rong appeared indifferent.
Duanhua glared at her, irritated, "You have no idea of the treasure you’re giving up. Once you annul your marriage with Zhou Gu, you’ll never find anyone else as good-looking as he is, do you understand?"
"Perhaps!" Su Rong conceded.
Duanhua continued to glare at her, "Without Zhou Gu, you’ll have to settle for someone less attractive. How will you spend the rest of your life?"
"An exceptionally handsome man is a rare commodity. An average-looking one will do just fine. Getting both an extremely handsome and appropriate suitor is a stretch. Do I look like someone who has done enough good deeds in ten lives to deserve that kind of luck? I’ll be satisfied with someone who is easy on the eyes," Su Rong tilted her head.
Duanhua found her reasoning sound, "Do I look like I have done enough good deeds in ten lives, too? So, was I also daydreaming?"
Su Rong laughed, "Not necessarily. You, as a princess, are highly respected and precious. Your status matches his as well. You only need to work on your temper? Maybe there’s a chance?"
Duanhua wasn’t too sure about her own self, "I had a good temper at first. But Zhou Gu kept avoiding me, and I gradually lost my patience. That’s why my temper worsened."
Su Rong commented, "Ah, Zhou Gu really can’t appreciate beauty nor understand the subtlety of love perfectly. With his status, he could have been open to more relationships. He’s really..."
Duanhua was speechless, "What are you talking about?"
If Zhou Gu was that kind of person, he would not have been Zhou Gu anymore. She would have stopped liking him a long time ago, alright?
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