Su Rong’s wound on her forehead healed just yesterday, thanks to Wang’s mother and the Grand Madam’s concern to keep her from exposing to sunlight. Hence, her skin, paler than most people, was nourished back to an even fairer shade these past half a month indoors. As the Grand Madam described, one looked upon her delicate, supple skin.
"Xiaoqi is here." Upon hearing footsteps, the Grand Madam looked towards the entrance. Seeing Su Rong’s outfit, she was quite pleased and smiled happily.
Zhou Gu also looked up and saw a young girl entering from outside, with peachy cheeks on her porcelain complexion, refined features, slender body and graceful waist. She was wearing a green dress with an overlay of misty green silk embroidered with begonia branches at the cuffs and bottom. She carried her bamboo-beaded hairpin gracefully upon her head, echoing the same delicacy as the butterfly’s fluttering wings, creating an overall image of a woman as picturesque as water and as adaptable as a weeping willow in the wind.
Zhou Gu had seen many beautiful women and prided himself on his immunity towards beauty. But he had to admit, his betrothed caught him off guard. A glance is enough to tell whether a girl is well-cared for at home. His betrothed is nothing like the timid, subservient, and always-careful-to-survive little common girls commonly seen in the Capital City.
In his heart, Zhou Gu thought about the boastful words he had spoken in front of Xie Lin. It appeared that they were indeed true. Even if Xie Lin met her in the future, he wouldn’t feel that his words were an exaggeration and that he had been slapped in the face.
Upon crossing the threshold, Su Rong caught sight of Zhou Gu.
At the age of seven, she learned that she had a betrothed. But over the years, she had never been curious about what her betrothed looked like. Occasionally, news about the young master of the Duke Residence would reach the Capital City, but she would merely listen without any real interest. If it weren’t for the uproar caused by his fight with the young prince of the Rui’an Wang Residence, she wouldn’t have had a clear image of her betrothed. Most of the time, she would even forget about this arranged marriage.
After Li Yan returned from the Capital City and mentioned Zhou Gu, stating that the young master Zhou was extremely handsome and suited Xiaoqi very well, she didn’t think that a noble’s son from a military family could be that handsome.
Now that she saw him in person, he was indeed extremely handsome. Li Yan hadn’t exaggerated at all.
The young man possessed striking and exquisite facial features. His tall, slender body was balanced by wide shoulders and a narrow waist. His blue robes were embroidered with cloud patterns, giving him an aura of sophistication and grace that was calm yet stunning. He emitted a sense of clarity and refinement, akin to the radiance of the moon on a clear, breezy night.
No wonder her parents, clandestinely disguised, observed him discreetly at the Night Market amid a crowd. After one look, they decided that this marriage must proceed without a hitch.
Su Rong paused a moment, genuinely taken aback by the extraordinary charm of her betrothed.
With a mischievous thought, she pondered: with such an appearance, would he even need to fight for a woman? How stunning must the woman he fought for be? Enough to justify a well-known brawl with the young prince of the Rui’an Wang Residence?
"Father, Mother," With her eyes gleaming full of innocence, and following Grand Madam’s instruction, Su Rong bowed and greeted with a soft melodious voice, "Brother Zhou."
Zhou Gu immediately stood up. This was his first time being called "Brother". Having grown up as the youngest among his siblings, and the daughters in their circle of relatives didn’t dare to call him that either. They all addressed him by "Young Master" or "Fourth Young Master". He was honestly taken aback.
Su Rong feigned surprise, and took a step back, looking at Zhou Gu with wonder, "Brother Zhou?"
Zhou Gu stiffened, blood rushing backward, his eyes wide with shock, "Wha-What are you doing calling me that?" Not waiting for Su Rong’s reply, he retorted angrily, "Who-Who gave you the permission to call me that?"
Su Rong was taken aback, "We-We can’t do that?"
"Of course not!"
Su Rong’s eyes shimmered in innocence as she looked at him seriously, "Grandfather Zhou said in his letter that since we have not interacted with each other since we were little, it might seem a bit awkward initially. Considering you are one year older than me and we have yet to have the Great Wedding, he suggested that we behave as siblings for the time being, which may seem more natural."
Her face held an expression of ’this is what your grandfather said.’ "Besides, I am unlike everyone else. There’s no point in addressing you as ’Young Master Zhou’, which might seem overly polite. But calling you by your name is not exactly respectful either. And if I directly address you as my betrothed..."
Her cheeks flush pink, as if painted by the dawn’s blush. In a moment, her face turned coy, "That... is not quite appropriate, right?"
Zhou Gu took a step back. He felt breathless. He took a deep breath and said exasperatedly, "You can call me by my name."
Su Rong blinked. "In that case, you won’t find me ill-mannered or disrespectful?"
Zhou Gu replied stiffly, "No."
Su Rong revealed a radiant smile, nodded, and softly called his name, "Zhou Gu."
The name pronounced through her lips was so soft that it surged up straight to Zhou Gu’s head. He was awe-struck to hear his name pronounced with such intimacy. As he was about to tell her not to call him that, he recalled his previous assurance, and felt awkward to go back on his words. Thus, he held his tongue, his face turning red with the effort.
Governor Su laughed aloud at this point, "It’s good to call each other brother and sister. It might facilitate affection. However, calling by their names is not bad either." He turned to the Grand Madam with a gleeful smile, "Madam, we are old now. Just look at these young ones. Don’t they look well-matched when standing together?"
The Grand Madam nodded in agreement and appreciated Su Rong’s behavior. Su Rong had managed to suppress Zhou Gu right at their first meeting. The Grand Madam looked extremely pleased with Su Rong’s crafty behavior. "Indeed, they do look good together." She instructed Su Rong, "There’s no point in just sitting idly. Xiaoqi, why don’t you give Zhou a tour of our Residence? When he gets tired, let the housekeeper lead him to the front courtyard for resting. From today onwards, Zhou will be staying in our Residence. I’ll let the staff prepare a hearty lunch now. It must be sumptuous."
Su Rong was startled. She didn’t know that Zhou Gu was going to stay in the Residence. "Mother, staying in the Residence?"
"Yes, yes, yes. The Duke insisted that you two cultivate your relationship. It will be a waste of time to start doing so after the Great Wedding. This is an excellent opportunity to begin." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Zhou Gu immediately answered, "Thank you, Uncle and Auntie for your warm hospitality, but it would not be convenient for me to stay in the Residence. I should..."
"Ah, don’t be so modest, Zhou Gu. Make yourself comfortable as if you were in your own home. No need to hold back." Governor Su walked up to Zhou Gu, patted him on the shoulder, and said kindly, "If you don’t stay here, are you suggesting that I should send my daughter to your place every day?"
Zhou Gu shook his head. Of course, that’s not acceptable.
"Then it’s settled." Governor Su made the final decision, "I have some unfinished work. I have to go and finish it so that I can spare some time at noon to have a couple of drinks with you. Xiaoqi, you accompany him."
Without giving Zhou Gu a chance to protest, he promptly left.
"I’ll head to the kitchen too." The Grand Madam also stood up, gave Su Rong a meaningful look, and said, "Xiaoqi, keep him company."
What was implied was, if you dare show your true nature and scare him away, I will make you pay for it.
Su Rong nodded. This betrothed of hers appeared rather decent, and their relationship was officially recognized. She naturally wouldn’t scare him away deliberately.
Thus, Zhou Gu was left behind.
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