Su Rong cast a glance at Ning Chi and wondered when there was such a close relationship between the Inspector Residence of Jiangzhou and the Marquis Nanping Residence. The Marquis of Nanping’s son was ferryboating with Jiang Yunying. Perhaps the Inspector’s wife planned for her next daughter-in-law to marry the Marquis Nanping’s son? The Inspector of Jiangzhou held real power, and so did Marquis Nanping. If their plan came to fruition, it would be a good marriage.
She sized up Ning Chi closely and found him rather handsome. He was young but wore a sense of maturity, not appearing frivolous at all. The wife of the Inspector seemed to have a good eye for son-in-laws?
She shifted her gaze, reached out her hand, and pressed Zhou Gu’s sword, deliberately pressing it downwards. As the blade pierced Jiang Yunying’s skin and blood began to flow, causing her to scream, only then did Su Rong loosen her grip. She turned to Zhou Gu gently and said, "Brother Zhou, she is ignorant and doesn’t recognize you. That’s why she is talking nonsense. Please spare her this time?"
Zhou Gu’s face turned icy cold, unconcerned by her words, "I don’t make it a habit to spare people easily."
Su Rong soothed him in a soft voice, "How about letting the Inspector himself apologize to you? After all, isn’t it the father’s fault if the child isn’t taught well? Killing her isn’t necessary. She is still a child."
Zhou Gu huffed coldly and finally withdrew his sword. Seeing the blade stained with blood, he took out a handkerchief, wiped it clean, then disgustedly tossed the handkerchief aside before sheathing his sword.
Jiang Yunying, who had narrowly survived, collapsed onto the ground, and Ning Chi immediately reached out to steady her.
Su Rong felt immensely satisfied. The mere utterance of her words had provoked Jiang Yunying into rash speaking. As she had expected, Zhou Gu swiftly put her in her place without Su Rong having to lift a finger. From now on, every time Jiang Yunying thought of this day, she would probably have nightmares. Su Rong wondered whether she would dare to provoke her again.
Furthermore, years ago when the Inspector’s wife reprimanded her mother, she would have to repay those words someday. In due time, she would have to ingratiate herself with Su Rong’s mother.
At this moment, she truly understood the importance of utilizing one’s connections, frequently emphasized by her mother. Her fiancé was indeed a very useful tool.
Su Rong, watching Jiang Yunying being held upright by Ning Chi, laughed softly, "Sister Jiang, you can eat mindlessly, but you cannot speak thoughtlessly. My fiance is the Young Master Zhou Gu of Duke Residence. He is definitely not what you described as..."
She, of course, wouldn’t repeat those two derogatory words. As the bystanders seemed shocked, she sighed, "He came to Jiangning specifically for my Coming-of-age Ceremony, and never expected to be cursed by you so harshly. He has never been cursed like this in his life."
She looked at Jiang Yunying fondly, "You better go back, Sister Jiang! Now that you know his identity, let the Inspector handle this matter!"
Jiang Yunying was sorry-stricken, her heart storming inside.
Three years ago, Su Rong sabotaged her engagement, which led to her mother seeking the Governor’s Wife to settle the matter. The wife had indeed declared that Su Rong could not have enticed her fiancé, as she herself was already engaged to a very promising man. Her mother naturally didn’t believe her. How could Su Rong, a mere daughter of the Governor’s family, be engaged to a successful man? She not only scolded the Governor’s wife but also incited her father to create trouble for Governor Su.
Someone, please, tell her why the modest Su Rong was engaged to the noble Young Master Zhou of the Duke Residence?
Ning Chi and others who came with Jiang Yunying were similarly taken aback.
Ning Chi suddenly realized, "Oh, so it’s Brother Zhou."
The Duke Residence was a first-class duke’s residence, which ranked higher than the Marquis Nanping Residence. Even though he was the heir of the Marquis Nanping, he indeed didn’t need Zhou Gu to pay attention to his status. After all, Zhou Gu was of noble birth and his grandmother was the most favoured consort of the late Emperor. He was the present Emperor’s cousin. He had unrestricted access to the palace since he was young and had the confidence of disregarding people beneath him.
Zhou Gu maintained his steely expression, silent.
"May I know where Brother Zhou is lodging in Jiangning? I will escort Sister Jiang back home first, and then visit you another day," Ning Chi inquired passionately, ignoring his coldness.
Zhou Gu wanted to retort, "Who wants to meet you?" But considering his own identity as the son of Marquis Nanping and not wanting to offend him further, he held back. Although he wasn’t afraid of offending people, if it could be avoided, he would avoid it. He finally spoke, "I’m staying at..."
He paused, glanced at Su Rong, and then said, "The Governor’s Residence."
Ning Chi nodded and turned to Su Rong, "I will definitely pay a visit to Brother Zhou and Governor Su another day."
Zhou Gu nodded nonchalantly.
Ning Chi signaled for help and helped Jiang Yunying onto the carriage. Naturally, they could not continue their boating trip, and everyone left Maple Leaf River.
Watching them leave, Zhou Gu furrowed his brows and turned to Su Rong, "Do you know when the relationship between Marquis Nanping Residence and Jiangzhou Inspector Residence became so close?"
Su Rong replied: "About a year ago, after Jiang Yunying’s second marriage was annulled, she stayed home depressed for about half a year. She probably only started traveling and sightseeing in Jiangning over the last six months."
Zhou Gu grunted in agreement, speculating that perhaps Marquis Nanping Residence was trying to form an alliance with the Crown Prince since they intended to marry their daughter to him. If Inspector Jiangzhou was trying to form an alliance with the Marquis Nanping’s family through marriage, were they also going to sway towards the Crown Prince? If he hadn’t moved to strike Jiang Yunying, Ning Chi might not have identified himself. He must have been secretly assigned to Jiangzhou and had come to Jiangning to have fun.
He turned to Ziye and gave him an order, "Inform the Crown Prince as soon as possible about the possible alliance between Marquis Nanping Residence and Inspector Residence through marriage."
Ziye acknowledged the order.
Zhou Gu didn’t want to waste any more time on these people and turned to Su Rong, "You wanted to go boating, didn’t you? Shall we continue?"
"Yes." Su Rong was in high spirits and looked at him with twinkling eyes, "You were truly amazing, Zhou Gu." She glanced at the sword on his waist, "Your sword is really good, quite flexible."
If he hadn’t drawn his sword today, she wouldn’t have known he carried one with him all the time.
Zhou Gu glanced at her sidelong, "You aren’t any less capable. You made the legitimate daughter of the Inspector lose control and start cursing with just one sentence."
He truly never expected that the soft-spoken and frail little girl could direct her insults so sharply.
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