Princess Sheng An and the Duchess arrived quickly. It didn’t take long for the two of them to reach the pavilion.
Su Rong stood up, paying respects to both, "Princess Sheng An, Duchess."
From afar, Princess Sheng An saw Su Rong, who was sitting opposite the Duke in the pavilion. She didn’t seem intimidated by the Duke’s lifelong military aura, didn’t appear submissive. Instead, she exuded a sense of calm and composed demeanor all by herself.
Such slender and gentle maiden, from a distance, she looked extremely beautiful, with an appropriate demeanor for her position.
Princess Sheng An inwardly approved, it appeared that although this young girl was born and raised in Jiangning County, she wasn’t sheltered or naive.
With this thought, she furrowed her brows again. If Su Rong was here to claim the marriage certificate, it seemed likely the marriage would not go through.
The Duchess didn’t expect that Su Rong would really come to cancel the marriage. After Zhou Gu finished his examination, she originally planned to visit the Princess Residence again but was stopped by Princess Sheng An, who said that if it were the case, they should wait for Su Rong to take the initiative.
Today, Su Rong did visit, but she came to claim the marriage certificate.
The Duchess didn’t know what to say.
Princess Sheng An walked forward with a smile, holding Su Rong’s hand and affectionately saying, "Child, there’s no need to be formal." After speaking, she carefully sized up Su Rong, whispering, "You really do resemble your mother."
Su Rong also laughed, "My mother passed away early, many years ago. I was young at the time and I don’t really remember her face. My father and Uncle Xie both say I’m like my mother. Now that you say so too, it seems when I miss her, just looking at myself in a mirror will be enough."
This remark was lighthearted but she didn’t really miss her mother that much, as it had been so long ago.
Princess Sheng An was tickled by her humor and pulled her to sit down. "Over the years, I’ve been looking forward to your coming of age so that the wedding arrangements between our two residences can start. Last month, when brother Gu returned from Jiangning County, he mentioned that you two were getting along very well and we were all very happy."
Su Rong didn’t know how to carry on the conversation, hence she remained silent.
Princess Sheng An looked at her, "Do you want to see the marriage certificate? I brought it here, rest assured, it is personally written by your mother and the Duke."
Su Rong softly said, "Princess, Duchess, I’m sorry, I’m here to cancel the marriage."
Princess Sheng An saw her straightforwardness, leaving no room for negotiation, "Child, why do you want to cancel the marriage? Was the Duke Residence unsatisfactory? Or did Zhou Gu offend you in any way? Just say it, we will improve."
Su Rong shook her head, "It’s not because of the Duke Residence or Zhou Gu, it’s because of me."
She really didn’t want to have a long discussion with Princess Sheng An or to be persuaded by her. She was tired enough for the day. After dealing with Zhou Gu and the old Duke, she had exhausted all her energy. And so, she looked at the old Duke, "Just now I’ve explained my reasons to Grandfather Zhou. The fact that I want to cancel the marriage is real, please forgive me, Princess, and Duchess."
Princess Sheng An glared at the old Duke, "Canceling a marriage is a big deal, how could you make the decision on your own? Have you asked brother Gu?"
The old Duke frowned, "I’m old enough to make decisions. No need to ask him anymore, he has no objections now. If the girl wants to cancel the marriage, then it’s off. Even if the marriage is canceled, she still has a kinship with us. She agreed that in the future, we will still help each other and keep in touch."
This time, Princess Sheng An had nothing more to say, looked at Su Rong, "Ah, you child."
She turned to the Duchess and said helplessly, "Bring out the marriage certificate and the token!"
The Duchess could only nod, retrieving the marriage certificate and token from her sleeve, and placed them on the table.
Su Rong lowered her head in scrutination. The token her mother had left was a jade, but this one was ink jade, while the jade pendant she received from Xie Yuan, on behalf of the Duke Residence, was warm jade. In short, one was suitable for women to wear, the other for men to carry.
It was clear that when both sides settled the marriage initially, they did so with utmost seriousness.
She quietly said, "The marriage certificate and token I brought are left in the study."
The old Duke made a gesture, "Go and call Zhou Gu. Bring the marriage certificate and token to this place."
Princess Sheng An glanced at the old Duke, the two of them had spent a lifetime together and she understood the implication of his words. He wanted to confirm with Zhou Gu one last time whether he intended to cancel the marriage.
The Duchess stood up immediately, "I will go and call him."
She also wanted to take the opportunity to ask her son what was going on. Didn’t he care about and like Su Rong? How come that when Su Rong came to cancel the marriage, he agreed?
Ever since he said, "Go away" to Su Rong, Zhou Gu had remained in the same spot, motionless.
When the Duchess entered, she saw her son standing silently there, as if he would blend with all the furnishings in the study and become an immovable object.
She called out, "Gu!"
Zhou Gu slowly turned his head to look at the approaching Duchess without saying a word.
Duchess immediately said, "If you disagree with the cancellation of your marriage, you should go out and have a word with her. This may be your last chance."
In understanding her son, she did remarkably well. If he truly did not like Su Rong, he would have insisted on cancelling their marriage long ago. Since his return from Jiangning County, far from speaking of cancelling the marriage, he had been waiting for the examinations to be over so he could accompany her to discuss marriage arrangements in Jiangning County.
Zhou Gu’s voice became coarse, "Have a word about what?"
He scoffed, "Will having a talk help to settle anything?"
He stood up, "She told me she doesn’t like me."
The Duchess disagreed, "If she didn’t like you, why would she send you those expensive cloths for clothes? I actually meant to ask you about it, but it doesn’t seem appropriate now." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Upon mentioning those cloth materials, Zhou Gu remembered the discussion he had with Su Rong and the things she had said to settle everything. He coldly said to the Duchess, "The gifts will be returned. The clothes and fabrics she gave me have offset those I gave to Jiang Sheng as an apology. She even returned the peachwood hairpin I gave her."
The Duchess was horrified, "She settled all the accounts to that extent?"
"She was the one wanting to settle things discreetly. She said she doesn’t want us to have any future mix-ups. In the future, I will marry someone else, and she will marry someone else, there will be no misunderstandings," Zhou Gu said angrily, "Who is willing to misunderstand her?"
The Duchess didn’t expect things to escalate to this point and for a moment couldn’t find words to advise, "Then...your grandfather asked you to bring the marriage contract and token to the pavilion outside. If you don’t, should I?"
"I’ll go." Zhou Gu reached out and grabbed the marriage contract and token on the table. He then stared at the peachwood hairpin, picked it up, and stuffed it into his sleeve.
Zhou Gu exited the study, with a cool gaze and regained his usual expressionless face. He went straight into the pavilion and put the marriage contract and token on the table.
The old Duke and Princess Sheng An both glanced at him, then turned to the Duchess. Duchesses sighed softly without a word.
The old Duke spreaded two marriage contracts and said to Su Rong, "We can tear these contracts up and consider this marriage agreement null from today."
After he finished speaking, he said to Su Rong again, "Remember what you said. From now on, we will still keep our relationship as relatives. Despite the cancellation of this marriage, there is no necessity for us to become enemies. Perhaps, you and Zhou Gu should regard each other as siblings."
Su Rong readily agreed and called out to Zhou Gu, "Brother Zhou."
Zhou Gu grimaced, neither responding nor reciprocating.
Su Rong was aware of her wrongdoings. She had entirely offended him and had acted outrageously. Naturally, she did not expect him to treat her as kindly as before. Determinedly, she picked up the marriage contracts, folded them together, and with both hands, she lightly crumbled the contracts. In just a moment, the two marriage contracts turned into tiny fragments, falling through her fingers. She then opened her hand, only to reveal a pile of red paper scraps on the table.
The old Duke actually laughed, "Not bad, not bad at all, where did you learn such skills?"
Anyone with keen eyes could tell that the skill she demonstrated required internal energy. Was this young girl trying to reassure him that she was capable of protecting herself?
Su Rong softly replied, "An old doctor from the Huichun Hall, who has already passed away, had an extraordinary skill in medicine preparation. I found it fascinating and pleaded with him to teach me, and he eventually caved."
The old Duke stroked his beard and nodded, "The medical skills of the doctor from Huichun Hall were indeed excellent. It truly is not an empty reputation."
Now that the matter was settled, Su Rong did not intend to stay long. She stood up and said, "Grandfather Zhou, Princess, Duchess, now that the matter is settled, I will leave."
The old Duke insisted, "Stay and have lunch in the residence before you go."
Princess Sheng An also tried to hold her back, "Leave later."
Duchess said, "I’ve already ordered the kitchen to prepare. You should at least have lunch."
For Su Rong, she felt she couldn’t have this meal, nor did she have the appetite. She thought that the people in the Duke Residence might not have the appetite either. Therefore, she politely declined, "Another day. My older brother is taking an examination in the Capital City and I hope the Duke Residence will take more care of him. One day, my brother and I will come to visit together."
The implication was that she was mainly here to dissolve the marriage.
The old Duke agreed, "That’s good then, you child." He stood up, "Let me see you out."
Su Rong hastily said, "There’s no need for you to go out of your way, I can leave by myself, there’s no need to trouble you, I know the way."
Even if the Emperor visited, the old Duke might not personally see him off. She couldn’t bear such an honor.
Yet at this moment, Zhou Gu said, "I brought her in, I’ll see her out."
Su Rong fell silent all at once.
The old Duke had no objections, he responded and sat back down in his place, "Alright, you can go and see her off."
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