Despite the grandeur of the Duke Residence, it was mainly due to Zhou Gu’s fathers and uncles who died young in battles, leaving the residence quite underpopulated. Establishing a household with military achievements requires a cost in blood. Zhou Gu’s grandfather retired from the battlefield due to serious injuries, and his father and uncles were not so lucky, but fortunately, they had children before they died in battle, making the third generation appear more populous. Now they lived in times of peace, and didn’t need to wage wars. His three brothers were in the military, but they were all fine. Among his parents’ children, he has one legitimate elder brother, the current heir to the Duke Residence, Zhou Wei, and one legitimate sister. The rest are cousins left behind by his uncles, and there aren’t many of them either. Including him, there are only nine offspring in the Duke Residence.
This Governor’s Residence of Jiangning, smaller in size about ten percent of the Duke Residence, accommodates a household about similar in size to the Duke Residence.
In the Duke Residence, except for the holidays when men and women have their meals separately, the Governor’s Residence in Jiangning, it seems, doesn’t stick to this rule.
After the ceremony, Zhou Gu took a seat next to Governor Su, with Su Rong sitting beside him.
The six madams and six young ladies were all quite surprised, apparently they hadn’t expected the young master from the Duke Residence to be this handsome. But they all were quite disciplined, without the cutthroat intensity found in other households. Owing to the First Wife’s fair and just management, they quickly regained their composure after their initial surprise upon seeing Zhou Gu, allowing him to feel at ease.
Governor Su asked Zhou Gu, "Nephew, how much can you drink?"
"Quite a bit," He replied.
"How much is ’quite a bit’?"
Zhou Gu wanted to say "I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk," but felt it was too frivolous, so he only said, "A pot of wine wouldn’t be an issue."
Governor Su laughed heartily, "So you can drink at least a jar of wine."
Zhou Gu: "..."
Governor Su ordered, "Bring....."
"Father, we agreed, we’re going out to play this afternoon." Su Rong hastily interjected Su’s orders; how could she allow Zhou Gu to drink too much? She hadn’t gone out to play for over half a month, and she wouldn’t let today’s plans fall through.
"Eh..." Governor Su paused, looking at them, "You two agreed to go out to play this afternoon?"
Zhou Gu remained silent.
Su Rong nodded, "Yes, since he came to Jiangning, he hasn’t gone out of the city to play. I plan to take him to Phoenix Mountain."
"Hiking? But that mountain is steep." Governor Su was worried that Su Rong’s lie would be exposed.
The First wife coughed, knowing that Su Rong was adamant, if not agreed, she might sneak out herself. She suggested, "Why not go boating."
"That’s also an option. Either way, we are going to go out and play. Father, you shouldn’t drink too much today because, otherwise, won’t you drink until you drop tonight?" Su Rong tactfully suggested.
The madams and young ladies all turned to her. If this were ordinary times, she would’ve plainly said "No" without any emotion, and put an end to the matter no matter who it was - Governor Su, the First Wife, or any of them, except for Su Xingze, who was an exception.
"Cough cough, all right! Bring two pots of wine, I will have one with the nephew to toast." Governor Su compromised.
Su Rong smiled gently, "Thank you, Father."
Governor Su felt touched. As the wine was served, he told Zhou Gu, "This is the finest wine brewed from jasmine flowers of Jiangning, my favorite. Nephew, you must try this drink."
Zhou Gu nodded, "Thank you, Uncle."
Two pots of wine were merely a drink for a good drinker and wouldn’t form anything substantial, thus, the meal went peacefully.
After the meal, Su Rong was impatient to go out to play, but still asked Zhou Gu with patience, "Do you want to take a nap?"
Zhou Gu shook his head, "I don’t have the habit of taking a nap."
’Perfect, nor do I.’ Su Rong was delighted, ’Shall we go?’
Zhou Gu hesitated before nodding his head.
After giving a brief notice to Governor Su and the Lady, Su Rong took Zhou Gu with her and left.
Once they’d left, the Lady expressed some concern, ’That girl, I’m not sure if she can keep up her act until Xiaoqi’s hairpin ceremony. I hope she won’t reveal the truth so soon.’
’If the truth uncovers, so be it!’ The governor had a different opinion, ’Although Zhou Gu is a good man and the Duke Residence is prestigious, we can’t trick him into marriage, let alone deceive him for a lifetime.’
The Lady gave her husband a glance, ’You have a pretty relaxed outlook on this.’
’I think Zhou Gu is a good kid, with a proper upbringing from the Duke Residence, better than ours. Despite being forced to stay at the Governor’s Residence, he didn’t lose his composure, which proves his good upbringing. At his age, I lacked such restraint. Of course, I was lucky to have not come across nasty elders like us.’ The governor thought.
As the Lady thought of how audacious they were to bully a young man, she laughed, ’We should hope this incident does not become public knowledge. Zhou Gu probably won’t spread the news, will he?’
’Even if he does, we have the Duke’s letter to shield us. There’s nothing to fear.’ reminded the thick-skinned governor.
The Lady agreed. The old Duke’s letter went so far as to say to treat Zhou Gu like family and let the two of them interact more. He was even expecting good news and anxiously waiting to have tea with his future granddaughter-in-law. How could they spend more time with Zhou Gu if he doesn’t live with them?
If only she could count on Su Rong to behave, the Lady wished that their conversations in the past few days would take effect.
Speaking to the remaining aunts and daughters present, she said, ’Zhou Gu will be living with us until Xiaoqi’s hairpin ceremony. I hope none of you cause any trouble during this time. Don’t you forget that if Xiaoqi can marry high, it would be beneficial for all of you. Should Xiaoqi’s marriage fail and upset the Duke Residence, we all lose.’
Everyone nodded in unison.
Fearing that someone might make a mistake, she reiterated sternly, ’Regardless of how or why Xiaoqi had the chance to marry Zhou Gu, it’s important that the old Duke takes it seriously, which means there’s more to it. Zhou Gu is a good catch, isn’t he? Nobody better steal him, or else you’ll pay the consequences, I won’t have to spell it out for you. After all, you’re all educated women, you’ve read the books in our home, you’ve been taught by a teacher. Even the illiterates who joined us have learned to read and write, understand integrity and decency, and the principles of what to do and what not to do. Serving our home should not have been in vain.’
After her speech, she proceeded to praise them, ’You handled everything well today. Continue treating him as your brother-in-law, and don’t deviate.’
The aunts pledged their support, ’Rest assured, my lady. We dare not. After all, we’re all waiting to catch a ride on Xiaoqi’s coattails.’
The daughters expressed their sincerity, ’Mother, we understand. Under your teachings, we’ve learned to stick together.’
’That’s right, Mom, we wouldn’t dare steal Xiaoqi’s man.’ Su Li, just two months older than Su Rong, spoke honestly, ’Xiaoqi is too fierce, I plan to avoid her for the rest of my life.’
The room filled with laughter after her comment.
Another aunt chimed in, ’Who would dare mess with Xiaoqi? Even when we were kids, no one dared to take her things. Let alone a living person now.’
Upon hearing this, the Lady also laughed, ’You’re right, I should have faith in you. But Zhou Gu, he’s too good to be true. I just worry some of you might be too enticed.’
’Even if we find him attractive, Xiaoqi must find him even more so. Seeing how hard she tries to impress him, she probably has a crush on him.’ One of the daughters tried to assuage the Lady’s worry, ’I certainly can’t compare to Xiaoqi’s ability to size up people. Just give me an ordinary husband. If my husband looks like the young master Zhou, he’s bound to be a ladies man. Apart from fighting over him with others, there may also be many women in Capital City vying for his attention. It’s truly unnerving.’
The Lady, ’....’
Speechless, she retorted, ’Aren’t you ambitious?! Having a handsome husband could be a delightful sight, helping with your meals and making you willing to serve him. Isn’t there a quite a lot of distasteful, ugly men? Either way, it’s stressful. Might as well enjoy the stress.’
The daughter let that sink in, feeling embarrassed, ’You’re right, mother. I stand corrected. You can choose for me.’
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