Su Rong successfully left the Eastern Palace and climbed over the city wall. As she landed, she was about to step away when she suddenly felt something amiss. Glancing towards the shadowy corner of the wall, she found someone standing, a man she knew all too well.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
Zhou Gu was standing in the shadowy corner of the wall. He had purposefully come to wait outside the Eastern Palace wall that night. Upon spotting a familiar figure stealthily slipping into the palace in a nocturnal robe, he didn’t startle her but waited here. After an hour, she came out just as stealthily.
He confirmed that Su Rong had arrived in the city much earlier. Before she encountered Duanhua, her traces were being erased by the Crown Prince himself.
And she had long been in contact with the Crown Prince.
The realization further cemented his suspicion that the Crown Prince already knew of Su Rong’s identity.
Zhou Gu looked at Su Rong and remained silent. He was hidden in the shadow of the night, merely watching her, going in and out of the Eastern Palace freely. Unlike back in Jiangning County, when she used a grappling hook to infiltrate her own house, she used no climbing equipment here. During her time in Jiangning County, she had deliberately used the grappling hook; she didn’t need it with her ability.
In other words, she was deliberately concealing her martial arts skills, hesitating to unveil her abilities, or perhaps, she had considered breaking off the marriage back then.
It was beyond Su Rong’s expectation to encounter Zhou Gu here, especially since he had recognized her. It was impossible for her to walk away as if they were strangers. Moreover, the aura around him in the shadow was ominously dark. She couldn’t see his expression, but she could sense his mood was not good.
This poor mood might be related to her.
She flexed her fingers, wanting to say something, but was at a loss for words in the moment. Calling out "Brother Zhou" didn’t seem appropriate, so after standing for a moment, she resolutely turned to leave.
Zhou Gu, almost instantly as she stepped away, reached forward to grip her wrist and stare at her intently.
Unable to make her escape, Su Rong had no choice but to halt and look back at him.
As Zhou Gu stepped out from the shadows, he still carried a gloominess in his attire and expression, different from the stern anger when they ended their engagement, and unlike the somber him under the tree in the Rui’an King’s Mansion. The aura of melancholy around him was so dense, it threatened to engulf everyone near.
Despite the shock inside, Su Rong didn’t show it on the surface, responding with a shallow smile, "So, it’s Brother Zhou."
"Don’t call me that." Zhou Gu’s voice was hoarse.
Going with the flow, Su Rong said, "Alright, Lord Thursday."
Zhou Gu tightened his grip on her hand, "Neither should you call me that."
Feeling helpless, Su Rong called him by his name, "Zhou Gu."
That name still sounded familiar to Zhou Gu. Despite his dark eyes filled with gloom, he restrained himself. Knowing that this place was not suited for conversation, he asked her, "Is the ’Guest Welcoming Pavilion’ your place?"
Su Rong nodded.
"Let’s go, we’ll talk at the ’Guest Welcoming Pavilion’." Zhou Gu said, dragging her along.
Feeling a headache coming on, Su Rong said, "Let me go first, I promise not to run."
Zhou Gu released her hand.
The two, one in front of the other, ducking patrols under the cover of night, went to the ’Guest Welcoming Pavilion’.
It was now past the curfew, and the ’Guest Welcoming Pavilion’ would naturally be closed, but that was Su Rong’s place, entering was like returning to her own home. She brought Zhou Gu over the wall, arriving in the backyard, she knocked on the window of a door three times.
From inside, a puzzled voice rose, before realizing something, instantly struck a light and opened the window, "Who is it?"
"It’s me." Su Rong flashed a token.
"So it’s the master." The person inside was not Nanny Lan but the innkeeper, who hastily put on his coat, opened the door, caught sight of Su Rong in her nocturnal robe and a man who seemed to be Young Master Zhou from the Duke’s Residence, and was momentarily taken aback, "Why, why have the two of you come?"
Su Rong replied, "We need a room to talk."
The innkeeper hurriedly said, "The room next door has been prepared for you and has been kept free. We always wondered when you would come. Now that you’re here, do you want to go and talk in the room next door?"
Su Rong nodded.
So, the innkeeper went back into his room, fetched a key, unlocked the room next door and said, "I’ll go boil some water for you. Both of you, please go in."
Su Rong nodded, stepping inside the room first, followed by Zhou Gu.
The room was clean and the drawing room was spacious. The inner chamber was in the east, and further east was a sanctuary, which effectively separated the rooms on either side. If they were speaking inside the inner chamber, the conversations couldn’t be heard from either side.
Su Rong chose the inner chamber, lit a lamp and asked Zhou Gu to sit.
Although this wasn’t Su Rong’s boudoir, the room was still meant for her. Zhou Gu felt somewhat uncomfortable, but he suppressed the feeling. After all, his decision to meet with her privately late at night and asking her to come here for a discussion in the same room was already inappropriate.
Now, he couldn’t afford to care about that.
The shopkeeper quickly brought a pot of tea, along with a tray of pastries, placing them on the table. Then he asked Su Rong, "Master, would you like some wine?"
"No, you may go rest," Su Rong waved her hand dismissively, "you don’t need to see us out when we leave either."
The shopkeeper nodded, understanding that the pair came here to have a private conversation. He closed the door politely and returned to rest.
After already having eaten and drunk at the Eastern Palace, Su Rong pushed the pastries towards Zhou Gu, asking, "Want some?"
Zhou Gu hadn’t eaten since noon and hadn’t had dinner either. Although he didn’t feel hungry, he took a pastry when Su Rong offered it to him.
Su Rong sat at the table, watching him eat.
After finishing a pastry, Su Rong handed Zhou Gu a cup of tea. He took another pastry without looking up and ate it silently.
At this point, Su Rong realized that Zhou Gu probably had not had dinner.
When he finished the plate of pastries, Zhou Gu didn’t take any more. He wiped his hands and looked at Su Rong.
Su Rong rubbed her forehead, "Whatever you wish to say, say it now!"
Zhou Gu wanted to ask her many questions initially, but once he sat there, he didn’t want to ask anymore. He feared that she might simply confess everything. And what would he say then? He even lost the qualification to pretend not to know.
He shook his head, "I don’t want to talk anymore."
Su Rong was taken aback.
Zhou Gu put down his napkin and picked up another pastry. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
For a moment, Su Rong didn’t know what to say and asked, "Did you miss dinner? Would you like me to have someone bring you some cooked meals?"
"I also missed lunch," Zhou Gu corrected her, but still shook his head, "No need, I’m good with the pastries."
Su Rong hadn’t expected him to miss lunch as well. She wondered what he had been doing to have missed lunch too. But seeing his present state and knowing it was impossible to ask, their relationship would only become more troubled with more questions.
So she sat quietly, watching him eat one plate of pastries after another. In total, he ate five plates, some of which had four pieces, some six, all slowly eaten one by one until they were all gone.
She asked, "Have you had enough? I can find you some more if you haven’t."
"It’s enough."
Su Rong once again poured him a cup of tea.
Zhou Gu picked up the tea and drank it slowly, his melancholy mood pervaded his entire being, making him exceptionally quiet.
After some thought, Su Rong finally spoke with firm resolve. "Today, I saw Ye from Ye Xiang residence..."
"I don’t want to hear it," Zhou Gu abruptly interrupted her.
Su Rong was stunned.
Zhou Gu lowered his head, looking at the cup of tea in his hand. The amber-colored tea trembled slightly with his trembling fingers, causing ripples in the tea. He was almost unable to hold the delicate tea cup and finally set it down abruptly, spilling some tea and scalding the back of his hand.
A patch on his fair-skinned hand was scalded red.
He quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe it, then hid his hand inside his sleeve.
In that moment, Su Rong turned her face away, looking out the window. This young man was honest, smart, stubborn, and proud, perhaps a little indulgent. From the first time she met him, she never wanted to harm him, she hoped his life would be smooth, free from tribulation and troubles, continuing on the path laid out for him to achieve greatness and leave a mark on history. She never wished anyone, including herself, to harm him.
And yet, now, she had hurt him.
If this was only temporary and a minor setback, it would be okay. But if it was going to last a lifetime, if he could never move past it, what would she use to compensate him?
When she broke off their engagement, she considered the first scenario, but not the latter. She thought that since he also had reservations about her, he would let go fairly easily. But as it is now, it doesn’t seem that way at all.
When Zhou Gu looked up, he saw Su Rong’s turned away profile. Emotions swept over her face fleetingly, leaving him with only a cold mask. His heart sank. For a moment, he wanted to stand up and go, not wanting to see Su Rong’s possible mockery of his pathetic state. But he couldn’t move. He had insisted on sitting here with her today, not knowing when the next opportunity might come if he left now.
Feeling downhearted, he croaked out a single call to her, "Su Rong."
Su Rong turned back and replied, "Hmm?"
Zhou Gu closed his eyes for a moment, then said with difficulty, "I’ll try to let it go. I didn’t intend to bother you today."
Su Rong smiled faintly, "Alright, you’re not bothering me."
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