Zhou Gu galloped back to the Duke Residence, a stagnant mood lodged in his heart which just refused to disperse.
He went straight to find the old Duke.
The old Duke was leisurely moving the scrolls from his study out into the sunny weather to air them. It was late autumn and nearing midday, the sun was still quite robust. The wind was not strong, and the weather was not too cold. He had a few military books that he did not allow anyone else to touch, so he spread them out himself underneath the window to sun them and kept watch.
Upon seeing Zhou Gu storm in with a gloomy expression, the old Duke lifted his eyes and saw his distraught face.
The old Duke felt a headache coming. He was thinking Zhou Gu had gone to the Duke Cheng Residence to join in the fun, but he had returned so quickly, and in this state, something must have happened.
This grandson of his, who had a habit of avoiding him when there was no trouble, was now making himself so accessible that the old Duke felt like hiding and no longer wanted to see him.
"Grandfather," Zhou Gu stood in front of the old Duke, casting a shadow over him.
The old Duke sighed inwardly, "Brat, you’re blocking the sunlight."
Zhou Gu remained standing, "I have something to discuss with you."
The old Duke wanted to say, "Wait until I finish airing the books." But seeing Zhou Gu standing like a tree stump, he could no longer air his books anyway. He didn’t trust anyone else, so he pulled the books together and carried them back into his study.
Closing the study door, the old duke put the books away, turned around, and looked at Zhou Gu before sitting down, "Speak."
Zhou Gu looked at him, "If Su Rong has an engagement with Ye Guixue, what should I do?"
The old Duke was taken aback.
Zhou Gu wondered if he had heard clearly and repeated, "Grandfather, if they have an engagement, what should I do?"
The old Duke opened his mouth to say it couldn’t be, but then thought, why couldn’t it be? Su Rong is the Nanchu Princess, and Ye Guixue is the second Young Master of the Ye Xiang Residence. If Su Rong were to seize power in Nanchu, the Ye Family could not be bypassed. Even though the power of the Ye Family in Nanchu does not equal the foundations of the two Queens from the Nangong Family, it should not be underestimated. If Su Rong were to marry Ye Guixue, or rather, if Ye Guixue were to become the Lord, it’s not impossible.
On the contrary, this would secure the support from the Ye Family for Su Rong, making her path to power much smoother.
Therefore, he fell silent. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Zhou Gu stared at the old Duke, "Today, the moment I stepped into the reception room of the Duke Cheng Residence, I heard Ye Guixue tell Yan Li and Yan Lin that his father had written him a letter. He has settled his marriage arrangement. After his return to Nanchu, the Nanchu King will grant the marriage."
He sneered, "It’s just today. Do you think, Grandfather, it’s true or not? I’m afraid he and Su Rong have reached some kind of agreement, using the marriage contract as a transaction."
The old Duke finally spoke, "Did he really say that?"
"Hmm."
The old Duke was silent for a while, "If he said so, it must be true. It may not be a private agreement nor a trading of marriage contracts. He probably came with the order of the Nanchu King and the consent of Ye Xiang. The Nanchu King intends to welcome back the princess, and the Ye Xiang Residence remains loyal to the Nanchu King. However, they need a strong binding commitment. After all, seizing power is risky, and the Ye Xiang Residence does not want to gamble everything. Given the high risks, they must ensure high returns also. Therefore, Ye Guixue becoming the Lord is the agreement reached between the Nanchu King and Ye Xiang. He is set to be the future King’s consort."
Zhou Gu’s face turned all the more grim, his eyes darkened, and the aura of gloom around him seemed at the verge of eruption. He asked the old Duke again, his voice almost breaking, "So, it’s not my misperception, is it? Then, Grandfather, what should I do?"
The old Duke looked at Zhou Gu, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
Zhou Gu stared at him intently, "Should I just let go, let go of Su Rong, accept the cancellation of the engagement involuntarily, and now even my heart, should it completely die and be taken back?"
After all, given his upbringing, he couldn’t stoop to desiring someone else’s fiancée, to have sleepless nights, tossing and turning.
The old Duke sighed deeply and said helplessly, "Take it back."
"If one could control their heart, wouldn’t there be far fewer situations of heart involuntarily out of control and uncontrollably falling in love?" Zhou Gu asked, "Grandfather, do you think I can do it?"
"Whether you can or not, you have to," the old Duke emphasised, "Zhou Gu, are you planning to go to Nanchu to become a King’s consort? Even if you do, compared to Ye Guixue, compared to the Ye Xiang Residence in Nanchu, what could you bring to help Su Rong? Don’t tell me you have the support of the Duke Residence. In Nanchu’s territory, Daliang is thousands of miles away, and our Duke Residence can’t reach there, can’t intervene. And Su Rong, she might not even want you to do anything for her, otherwise she wouldn’t have cancelled the engagement with you so abruptly and decisively without discussion."
Zhou Gu’s body went rigid, and his face showed a trace of despair and helplessness.
Naturally, the old Duke felt for his grandson. He advised, "Don’t do anything you’ll regret, and don’t act impulsively. I regret agreeing to your engagement with Su Rong back then instead of Zhou Che. But, if I had known earlier that the Nanchu Queen had sent assassins to Jiangning County to kill the young girl years ago, I would not have kept my promise to Zhenmin and cancelled the engagement proactively. I should not have sent you personally to Jiangning County to develop feelings with Su Rong. It’s the old saying one mistake leads to another, which led you into this predicament."
The old Duke was full of regret, but it was too late now, and he earnestly said, "Zhou Gu, can’t you learn from the young lady Su Rong? You’re a man, are you not even matching up to a young girl? If she can be so decisive, then so can you."
Zhou Gu wanted to say "I can’t." If I could, I could have done so on the day Su Rong cancelled the engagement. I wouldn’t have been so flustered upon hearing just a sentence from Ye Guixue today. That moment, he nearly hated himself for being too smart. He couldn’t stand it for a moment and couldn’t pretend to be indifferent, go in there and greet Ye Guixue cordially. He couldn’t do it. He was afraid that he would unsheathe his sword, because he knew that he had no standing to.
He fell silent, his vitality seemed to have drained out all of a sudden, leaving him utterly desolate and wilted.
The old Duke couldn’t bear to look at him. At this point, what use was there in saying anything more? Because Zhou Gu already knew and understood everything that he had taught and needed to say since childhood. He clearly knew the path he had to take better than anyone else.
But understanding was one thing. In the past, he would have had no difficulty executing these principles. Now, the only mistake was Su Rong.
Therefore, the old Duke regretted it, but there was nothing he could do to change the situation now. He could only hope that Zhou Gu could understand and let go. But seeing him like this, he didn’t hold much hope.
The study fell eerily silent. The grandfather and grandson pair sat quietly, one in silence and the other utterly depleted, like death itself.
After a long while, Zhou Gu spoke in a hoarse voice, "I’ll try."
He would attempt to be like Su Rong. If she could be so decisive, why couldn’t he?
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