Su Rong knew that she had pushed too far, but if she didn’t, Zhou Gu wouldn’t agree to the dissolution of their engagement.
Indeed, as soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Gu was instantly furious, "Su Rong!"
Today, he had called her by her full name at least a couple of times.
Su Rong looked at him, utterly calm, her words clear and reasonable, "I hope there isn’t any entanglement between us in the future, so that neither of us experiences misunderstandings when you remarry or I remarry. It’s better to settle everything today."
After Zhou Gu finished roaring, he glared at her, silent for a long while, still unable to utter a word.
"If you’ve any objection, feel free to voice it so we can resolve it all today." Su Rong’s tone was soft and balanced, yet her words were piercingly harsh. "That being said, even if I don’t like you, I’ve enjoyed our time together in Jiangning County. I’ve always considered you as my brother. Even if we can’t be husband and wife, we needn’t become mortal enemies. But if you truly think I’m shameless, then it’s fine for us to become strangers in the future."
"Get out!" Zhou Gu finally broke his silence, his voice cold and heavy, "Get out!"
Su Rong nodded. She felt that she had said enough, and any further would risk Zhou Gu drawing his sword against her. Truthfully, she didn’t want to resort to violence within the Duke Residence. After all, if he were to draw his sword, she would certainly block it with hers.
Thus, she immediately left the study room of the old Duke.
Outside the study room, there was no one to be seen. The old Duke had seemingly sent everyone away and was himself sitting in a pavilion in the distance.
Upon seeing this, Su Rong headed straight for the pavilion. Upon arrival, she called out, "Grandfather Zhou."
The old Duke smiled and asked: "How did the discussion go?"
Su Rong blinked lightly, "I left the marriage proposal and betrothal token in your study room. I also said a few things. Zhou Gu should have understood. He won’t leave the Duke Residence just because we separate. He will continue to be your descendant."
The old Duke raised an eyebrow, "You are truly seeking to cancel the marriage? What’s the reason?"
There was no one else in the pavilion, and the two were out of earshot of the study room.
Su Rong sat down, "Grandfather Zhou, you haven’t told Zhou Gu about my real background, have you? I know you have your considerations, so I have my reasons too. I feel the marriage arranged by my mother doesn’t suit us. She was desperate as she knew she wouldn’t live long. I believe if she were alive today, she would also support the annulment."
The old Duke seemed to understand, "When did you learn about your true background? In her letter, your mother said she would keep it a secret from you."
"After my coming of age ceremony," Su Rong didn’t try to hide it, "My mother said she would keep it a secret, so my father and Uncle Xie complied, effectively keeping it from me until I came of age."
"So, you’re cancelling the marriage because of your true background?" The old Duke looked at her, "Child, are you worried about the current situation of the Duke Residence? If that is the case, you don’t have to worry at all. The Emperor doesn’t dare to touch the Duke Residence. Although the Residence isn’t in its prime, it won’t collapse that easily. If you’re worried about your status bringing trouble to the Duke Residence, it’s not necessary. I, as an old soldier, can handle it. Since I promised to marry you off, I never thought about backing down after your mother was gone. You are my granddaughter-in-law, and the Duke Residence will surely protect you."
Su Rong shook her head, "Though there’s truth in what you’re suggesting, it’s just one of the reasons. Regardless of whether it’s for the Duke Residence, Zhou Gu himself, or my future, disengagement is inevitable in my opinion."
She said earnestly: "Grandfather Zhou, I’m serious. I’ve carefully considered this. My adoptive parents approve, and Uncle Xie Yuan also supports me."
On hearing this, the old Duke was at a loss for words, "So, you are truly determined to go through with this?"
"Yes." Su Rong nodded sincerely, "I also hope that you could take out the marriage contract and destroy it along with mine. Please return the betrothal token my mother gave to you."
The old Duke sighed, "You should know, that brat Zhou Gu does like you."
Su Rong was silent for a moment, "We haven’t known each other for long. His likeness of me is slight. After all the harsh words that I’ve said today, he probably won’t like me anymore. Grandfather Zhou, as the saying goes, ’nip it in the bud’. It’s better to endure a small pain now than to suffer a greater one later. You understand this better than I do."
After she finished, she added, "The arranged marriage suits neither me nor him."
The old Duke sighed deeply again, "If it were the Duke Residence of the past, it would not have been inappropriate, but now, even I cannot refute Su Rong. I am silent for a moment, helplessly nodded, "Admittedly, your mother and I have a formal marriage agreement, it wouldn’t be right to break it, but seeing how resolute you are, I should not insist on it. After all, it is your life."
The old Duke felt that even though it was his first meeting with Su Rong, in such short time, he saw clearly her determination, decided matters will never be changed. After all, even Zhou Gu’s harsh words didn’t make her change her mind, and the two of them spent only a cup of tea’s time in the study letting Zhou Gu cease his tantrum. It was evident of her strong determination and the Duke Residence, due to Princess Zhenmin’s preexisting words, has no right to insist. He can’t bear the girl coming to decline her marriage with such determination, and he still clings to the marriage contract without regret.
The old Duke was decisive by nature, he nodded in agreement without any further argument. He only said, "Even if you break off the marriage, by status, your mother should be called Aunt Sheng An. Even though you are reluctant to marry into our family now, you should not sever this relationship in the future."
Su Rong laughed and said, "If Grandfather Zhou does not mind, the Duke Residence and I will help each other out in the future as usual."
The old Duke nodded, "It should indeed be so."
His greatest fear was that Su Rong would not associate with the Duke Residence after breaking off the marriage, and would not allow the Duke Residence to assist her. Seeing her speak this way, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He called out in a deep voice: "Summon somebody!"
A person waiting in the distance immediately walked over, "Yes, Your Grace."
"Go and tell the eldest princess to bring the marriage contract and token here," ordered the old Duke.
The person complied and immediately left.
The old Duke turned to Su Rong and asked, "Has someone from Nanchu come to find you yet?"
Su Rong nodded, "Many people have come to kill me, but don’t worry, I can handle it. I have a secret guard left to me by my mother."
Even the wet nurse Zhao knew about this, and there was nothing she couldn’t tell the old Duke.
The old Duke nodded. Obviously, he knew as well, "As long as you can handle them, that’s good, it appears that your identity has been discovered by the people of Nanchu. The Nanchu King has not had an heir and I have sent people to inquire, he does not enter the Imperial Harem, it has been deserted, resulting in no heir. His love for your mother was true, if he knew about your existence, he certainly would have sent people."
Su Rong nodded.
The old Duke looked at her, "In all these years, I have not sent anyone to meet you at Jiangning County because I knew that Xie Yuan’s and your mother’s secret guards were there, ensuring a level of safety. There will not be any big problems, Jiangning County is very suitable for you to grow up safely. I also worried that because of me and the Duke Residence, Jiangning County would be targeted, information would be leaked out, drawing too much attention, the side of Nanchu certainly could not keep it secret."
Su Rong softly said, "I understand Grandfather Zhou’s painstaking efforts."
The old Duke sighed, "Over the years, I hoped that the Nanchu King would forget your mother, enter the harem, and have an heir. Then, you would not have to get involved in the mud of Nanchu because of your status. Unfortunately, things did not go as hoped, Nanchu King did not enter the harem, you are his only offspring. You have been raised and educated by Xie Yuan, if you have reviewed Nanchu’s history, you should know that the vassal state of Nanchu has a precedent of a woman being king. So, I didn’t know when the people of Nanchu learnt of your existence, but I knew that should be the reason for them wanting to kill you. Your existence is blocking countless people’s path in Nanchu."
Su Rong nodded.
The old Duke continued, "My original plan was that if you do not return to Nanchu to ascend to the throne and do not break off the marriage, you will always be the granddaughter-in-law of Duke Residence, and the House has the right to protect you from Nanchu, even from Dawei, but if you break off the marriage now, the moment you rescind the engagement, Duke Residence has no reason to dispute over you with the Nanchu King. Have you thought this through?"
Su Rong lightly smiled, "Perhaps Grandfather Zhou doesn’t know, after my mother’s death, in Jiangning County, at intervals, assassination attempts were made on me. Over the years, they never stopped. Now that there are multiple attempts on my life, and additional people have come. I’ve thought it through. The throne of Nanchu, I’m not saying it’s definitely mine, but I do intend to go to Nanchu to seek revenge."
The old Duke was shocked, "How could your identity have been known so early on? Who from Nanchu?"
"The Nanchu Queen."
The old Duke nodded, "In that case, I understand why you are determined to break off the marriage."
She has no objection to going to Nanchu as a princess, inheriting the throne, and his carefully groomed grandson must stand on the Daliang Imperial Court, naturally, he cannot go to Nanchu as a king.
If they walk different paths, naturally they cannot be matched.
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