After closing the door, Xie Lin stared, wide-eyed at Zhou Gu; he was utterly shocked.
Divorce?
With who? Zhou Gu and Su Rong are divorcing?
Zhou Gu divided twelve jars of wine, pushing six to Xie Lin and keeping six for himself, "Drink. We’re not leaving until all of this is gone."
Xie Lin: "..."
Even if he drank himself to death, he wouldn’t be able to finish all this wine! Six jars are six liters, how much can he drink? Is this an ocean?
He twitched a smile and said to Zhou Gu, "You think too highly of me."
"I do think pretty highly of you, since when did your mouth become a wishing well?" Zhou Gu directly opened the seal, "Remember what you said to me back in Jiangning County? You haven’t forgotten, have you?"
"What did I say?" Xie Lin was anxious. He said so much and couldn’t guarantee he hadn’t forgotten anything.
Zhou Gu reminded him, "You once said if I didn’t find you a woman better than Qin Luan, you’d curse me to never marry Su Rong."
Xie Lin let out a gasp, he was just about to calm his nerves with a sip of tea, only to splutter it all over the floor at Zhou Gu’s words. His face turned ghostly white as he looked at Zhou Gu in horror.
He remembered now, he had said that. After he said it, Zhou Gu was angry and took him to the Green Building.
He looked at Zhou Gu, unable to utter a word for a long time, almost dropping the teacup from his hand, "That, no, no... I was just speaking idly."
Zhou Gu was expressionless, "You may have been speaking idly, but the fiction has come true now." He isn’t afraid to be the first one to inform Xie Lin, anyway, everyone will know about his divorce from Su Rong by tomorrow. "Su Rong came to end our engagement today. The marriage contract has been destroyed. We’re no longer bound to each other. I have no fiancé now. You can’t marry Qin Luan, and I can’t marry Su Rong. Are you satisfied?"
Xie Lin: "..."
He, he dares not be satisfied!
He looked at Zhou Gu, his face turning purple due to holding his breath, finally managed to stammer out, "Why? Weren’t you and she getting along well?"
Back in Jiangning County, he saw how well they treated each other. Su Rong gave him so many expensive clothes and fabrics, he almost envied Zhou Gu to death and was jealous of his flaunting. He cursed Zhou Gu out of spite. If curses could come true, he would have cursed everyone he doesn’t like to death and wouldn’t have to just roll his eyes when meeting annoying people on the street.
Seeing Zhou Gu silent, Xie Lin was very puzzled, asking, "Is it because of Duanhua? Or the princess residence?"
"She says it’s unrelated to the princess’s residence." Zhou Gu scoffed, "She says we’re not suited. She set her sights on another. "
Xie Lin was shocked, What’s this about setting her sights on someone else?
His eyes widened, nearly popping out of his sockets, "Who could she possibly be attracted to? There’s no one at the princess’s residence for her to be attracted to! The prince has aged significantly, he was handsome during his youth, sure, but not now. Who else could it be? Who could compare to you, Zhou Gu in looks, habit and status? If she couldn’t even fall for you, who could she possibly fall for? Who could possibly be better than you?"
Zhou Gu signaled at him to drink, "I appreciate your high regards for me."
"I’m stating the truth!" Though Xie Lin loved to drink, looking at all the wines lined up here made him dizzy. Still, he bravely filled a glass from a jar and took a sip. He reluctantly admitted that he did not want to be blamed for the curse he made in jest.’
Zhou Gu did not comment.
All his life, he’d held himself in high regard. He had all the qualities of a high-born lord, his bones brimming with arrogance. Since childhood, he never accepted reprimands, often frustrating others with his stubbornness. Although he was still immature, not yet an adult, under his self-proclaimed maturity, he believed he was capable of starting a family.
After all, there were plenty of fifteen or sixteen-year-olds settled down in the Capital City.
But Su Rong told him today that she had thought of ending their engagement since the day he left Jiangning County, considering them ill-suited. During this period, she had taken a liking to someone, whose looks and temperament appealed to her, and she admitted to being somewhat attracted to him. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
Attracted?
Wasn’t she attracted to him?
He nearly drew his sword at that moment but managed to restrain himself. His mind was noisy, barely comprehending her rushing words. Saying they were not of the same path, claiming they were opposites. That their engagement was a misstep by the elders, easy to correct. That the dissolution of the engagement would free them both. That the gifts of congratulation were settled.
He knew the pain of a knife to the heart, but this was the first time that words inflicted such agony.
He gulped down a mouthful of wine and smirked, "What’s the use of you telling the truth? I found out for the first time today that her tender hands, so delicate and fragile, could tear up a marriage contract in a flash, reducing it to mere scraps. Can you do that?"
Xie Lin had seen marriage contracts before, bright red and prominent. He imagined folding the two contracts and tearing them apart. He could do it, surely, and nodded, "I can do that. Isn’t it just tearing up a contract? Just tear it a few more times, and it’ll fall apart."
Zhou Gu scoffed lightly, "Not by tearing with hands, but like this..." He placed his hands together and mimicked crumbling something in his palms, "It only takes a moment, and the contracts turn to scraps."
Xie Lin gaped, "It can be done that way?"
He couldn’t believe his lack of experience. Could that even work?
Zhou Gu suggested he drink, "I saw it with my own eyes."
Xie Lin: "..."
He immediately shouted outside, "Someone, bring me two sheets of Xuan Paper."
There was someone outside on guard. Upon hearing the command, he quickly responded, opened the door, brought two sheets of Xuan Paper in and handed them to Xie Lin.
Xie Lin waved his hand, and the man retreated, closing the door behind him.
Holding the two pieces of paper, he showed them to Zhou Gu and asked, "Like this, right?"
Zhou Gu nodded, "Mmhmm."
Xie Lin tried hard, harder still, to crumble the Xuan Paper. It became a bit soft and wrinkled but it didn’t turn into tiny pieces. He said in astonishment, "Did you maybe see it wrong?"
Zhou Gu stretched out his hand to take the paper. He lightly rubbed it between his fingers and, in less than a moment, the paper turned to dust.
Xie Lin: "..."
He understood. He was being mocked for not practicing martial arts seriously since childhood, for not gaining this ability.
Looking at it, he suddenly felt something was wrong, and quickly asked: "Wait a minute! Su Rong...her type, being so thin and weak, knows martial arts? Has inner strength?"
Zhou Gu retorted, "What do you think?"
Xie Lin was amazed, "I really didn’t expect."
He looked at Zhou Gu with a complicated expression, "Why are you telling me such a secret?"
One must know, at present, many people in Capital City were curious about Su Rong. They were trying to find out about her from all sources. Everyone was guessing what special abilities she had that made her favored by everyone in the Princess Residence. Even his father, the Rui’an King, had investigated her, but he had never heard that she knew martial arts.
Looking at Zhou Gu, he asked again, "You...you didn’t turn love into hatred, did you?"
Zhou Gu looked at the wine in front of him, "Are you going to drink or not?"
"Drink, drink, drink." Xie Lin hurriedly picked up the wine cup, downing it in one swallow. At this moment, he too wanted to drink to calm his shock.
Zhou Gu said nonchalantly, "Even if I told you, would you dare tell anyone else?"
Xie Lin looked at Zhou Gu and saw his face which said "Dare to leak out what I told you today." He fell silent, resignedly closing his mouth. He refilled his cup, "I wouldn’t dare."
"Good that you wouldn’t dare." Zhou Gu began to drink on his own again.
Xie Lin was feeling very complicated. It hadn’t been long since his envy of Zhou Gu’s good fortune in Jiangning County. Who would think that even Zhou Gu would experience the day his marriage was broken off? Life is truly full of changes. He also thought about how Su Rong never returned to the Governor’s Residence after Zhou Gu left Jiangning County and she had sent him off outside the city. It was heard that she had been living in the Xie Residence ever since.
Did something terrible really happen at that time that forced Su Rong to break off the engagement?
Looking at Zhou Gu, he wanted to ask if he knew about this matter. But then he thought, both of them had already broken off their engagements, the marriage contracts were destroyed, it was definitely final. If he brought this up now, wouldn’t it possibly stir up more trouble? Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?
Ah, this is truly tough for him.
Zhou Gu quickly finished a jar of wine. Xie Lin accompanied him, silently finishing a jar as well. Then, upon opening the second jar, Xie Lin asked Zhou Gu, "You said Su Rong has someone else she fancies, who is it?"
"I would also like to know."
"You don’t know? Was she just lying to deceive you?"
Zhou Gu shook his head, "Who knows? What does it matter, anyway? The engagement has been broken, the marriage contract has been destroyed."
Xie Lin had to agree. All he could do was comfort him, "Don’t be sad. Think about yourself as Lord Thursday, beloved by all, flowers bloom in your presence. When we walk on the street, young women and wives will stop to look at you a few more times. I remember once when we were together, both of us riding in carriages, your carriage was showered with many fresh flowers and fruits, while my carriage had nothing."
Zhou Gu also recalled, "So, from that time, I’ve found you quite annoying."
Xie Lin was angry, "From that time, I’ve also found you quite annoying! When it comes to grabbing the spotlight, you’re really unmatched."
In Zhou Gu’s view, there was another way to look at it. He snorted, "Shouldn’t you be grateful you weren’t hit by any fruit? Why do I have to get hit by fruit?"
Xie Lin: "..."
He could think in that way too?!!!
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