After Ye Guixue left, the Imperial Study Room became quiet.
The Emperor gestured for Su Rong to sit, then personally pushed the cakes on the table in front of her. "I heard you like Dim Sum?"
Su Rong nodded, thanking his Majesty, and picked up a pastry to eat in acknowledgment of the Emperor’s kindness.
Looking at her, the Emperor asked, "Did you call off your engagement to Zhou Gu because the Nanchu King chose Ye Guixue for you? Is the Ye Family siding with the Nanchu King? Supporting you as the successor to the Nanchu throne?"
Su Rong paused for a moment, and then shook her head calmly. "No, I called off my engagement to Zhou Gu first, and only found out later that Guixue was sent by the Nanchu King to fetch me from Daliang."
"Why did you call off your engagement to Zhou Gu?" The Emperor asked.
Naturally, Su Rong did not speak the truth. After swallowing a piece of cake, she clapped her hands together and said, "We were incompatible. Zhou Gu wasn’t right for me."
The Emperor thought for a while. In terms of character, appearance, or family background, nobody could be more suitable than Zhou Gu. He nodded, "Ye Guixue, on the other hand, suits you very well."
Su Rong nodded slightly in agreement.
The Emperor sighed lightly, "I saw you yesterday and realized that your mother and Xie Yuan raised you very well. You are a bright and clever girl with a clear mind, transparent heart, and you’re gifted. This is excellent. Otherwise, in a brutal place like Nanchu, even with the support of the Nanchu King and the Ye Family, you would not be able to stand on your own."
Su Rong understood very well and nodded slightly, correcting him, "Uncle Xie, my father, mother, and elder brother always brought me up. My mother passed away when I was seven, and I don’t have many memories of her left. So, to be precise, she only gave birth to me and did not raise me. When I was a child, she basically let me run wild."
Perhaps her mother knew that she wouldn’t live long, so she spent most of her time quietly watching Su Rong. As a child, Su Rong was naturally restless and loved to play. She didn’t like to be restrained, so her mother didn’t restrain her either. She only kept her by her side for half a day, teaching her manners and painting. Once half a day had passed, Su Rong would run off and vanish, and her mother never blamed her for it.
The Emperor paused for a long time before saying, "Tell me about your mother. Whatever you can remember, tell me. When I was young, she was my elder sister and grew up with me and Qingping. I... I owe her."
In her heart, Su Rong thought it was good to feel guilt. It was better than benefiting from something and then forgetting about it without any gratitude.
She picked through her memories and recounted a few incidents, as well as what her mother was like in her childhood memory. Naturally, in these stories, she couldn’t avoid mentioning her father, the lady of the house, her elder brother, and the aunts and sisters in the house.
This was intentional on her part. After all, if she left Daliang, the Su Family couldn’t follow her. Her father, the lady of the house, her elder brother, and her aunts and sisters would still need to live well on the lands of Daliang.
Although the Crown Prince would take care of them, the Emperor was the one sitting on the throne after all. Making him aware that the Su family had always been good to her, wouldn’t he also show some care out of brotherly love for her mother?
The Emperor listened quietly throughout. As an Emperor, the life of the ordinary people seemed distant and unfamiliar to him. By the time Su Rong finished talking, nearly half an hour had passed. He nodded and said, "It seems that when your cousin left Dawei and returned to Daliang, settling in Jiangning County, she spent those years in peace and calm."
"Yes." Su Rong nodded, "The place where my mother lived was the best in the residence. My father did not treat her poorly in the least. The lady of the house is also a good person who not only didn’t cause trouble for my mother but also hired the best doctor for her, even though she didn’t know my mother’s identity at the time."
The Emperor nodded, "Before your mother died, she arranged for you to marry into the Duke Residence. Naturally, she hoped you would marry into the Duke family. They are a military family with not too many rules, despite their wealth and power. They have a strong and honest family tradition. The old Duke and your aunt raised the family well, refusing to act unjustly. Your mother must have gone through a lot of hardship to choose the Duke Residence for you."
"Hmm." Su Rong didn’t expect that in the Emperor’s mind, the Duke Residence was highly valued, which was contrary to his constant precautions and suppression of the Duke Residence.
The Emperor continued, "Ye Guixue is indeed good, but Zhou Gu may also not be incapable of becoming your king consort."
Su Rong was taken aback.
The Emperor looked at her, "Your mother made many painstaking arrangements for you before her death. It was her only wish. Why not follow it? You and Zhou Gu may have differing temperaments, but that can be smoothed out. As for Zhou Gu’s character and appearance, he is on a par with Ye Guixue. The only difference is that he is a descendant of the Duke Residence of Daliang, which does not have an advantage for Nanchu. However, the matter of family background has its advantages and disadvantages. Ye Guixue is from the Ye Family, who support the Nanchu King, and him becoming the king consort indeed complements you. But remember that it’s not good for the imperial relatives to have too much power; it’s a double-edged sword. Just like the Nangong Family in Nanchu and the Imperial Court, if it’s Zhou Gu, the disadvantages are obvious. His family background can’t help you much, but equally, if you ever sit on Nanchu’s throne one day, you won’t be greatly restrained by him."
Su Rong didn’t expect the Emperor to say so much to her. She couldn’t help but speculate why the Emperor wanted to talk to her like this. She looked at the Emperor, "What does uncle mean?"
The Emperor sighed, "I heard that when you were in Jiangning County, you got along very well with Zhou Gu. After Zhou Gu returned to the capital, he showed no unwillingness at all. The reason why Duanhua cried and complained about him in front of me was also because of you. I think, the differences in character are just your excuses. If your refusal of his marriage back then was due to other insurmountable difficulties, then there’s no need to make yourself suffer. At that time, I didn’t know about your background. Now that I do, I naturally stand by your side. I couldn’t do anything at that time and I let your mother down. Now that it’s your turn, I don’t want you to follow her footsteps. If it wasn’t for Dawei’s invasion, she and Xie Yuan were truly in love..."
Su Rong cut him off suddenly, "Uncle, you have mentioned a few times that you let my mother down. Why is that? Didn’t my mother willingly do it for the welfare of Daliang?"
The Emperor paused, his face changing as if he was reminiscing something. He shook his head and then nodded, "Yes and no."
He did not explain further.
Su Rong understood that the Emperor wouldn’t speak of such issues that were hard to admit and rarely known to others. There was no need to force him to admit it from his mouth, especially since her mother had passed away and things had changed since then.
She was silent for a while before she earnestly said to the Emperor, "Uncle, there’s one more thing that you probably don’t know. My mother later fell in love with the Nanchu King, my biological father. Otherwise, Uncle Xie could have been united with her in matrimony even with me in between. It was because my mother started loving someone else that she later refused him."
The Emperor was clearly taken aback by this.
Su Rong smiled, "So, what you know about Zhou Gu and me getting along very well in Jiangning County is just a rumor. At that time he was the young master of the Duke Residence while I was just a minor common girl from the Governor’s Residence in Jiangning, so even if I wasn’t satisfied with him, I wouldn’t dare to make a fuss about it. After finding out about my background, didn’t I come to the capital and cancel our engagement without a word?"
"At that time, my mother thought she could hide my background for a lifetime, so she arranged for Zhou Gu to be engaged to me. My mother hadn’t even seen Zhou Gu, so she didn’t know whether he was suitable or not, she just thought he was."
She looked at the Emperor and concluded, "So, there’s no other reason for me breaking off the engagement with Zhou Gu; I just felt it wasn’t right."
Her eyes glazed over with arrogance, "I am the Nanchu Princess. My king consort should be a man who can match me in every aspect. Uncle, you are wrong, most of the kings fear the power of the imperial relatives, but I don’t. As long as the Ye Family doesn’t become traitors and covet my throne, I would be willing to share the welfare of Nanchu with the Ye Family."
After she finished, she added, "Only when Nanchu prospers can it help Daliang in resisting Dawei, right? Uncle, you don’t need to worry about Nanchu not being on Daliang’s side. Whether it is the Nanchu King or me, due to my mother, we are incompatible with Dawei, so we will naturally be on the side of Daliang."
Some emotion flickered in the Emperor’s eyes, but then it subsided. After listening to Su Rong’s words, he was silent for a moment before slowly nodding, "If you say so, I will respect your wishes."
He also smiled, "You are indeed Auntie’s daughter, with your own opinions. That comforts me."
He waved his hand, "We have talked for so long, I’m afraid the Second Young Master Ye might be anxious. It’s not good to let him wait too long, let’s leave it at that for today! Keep the token safe, and proceed with your investigation with the Rui’an King. I trust you, just like I trusted your mother."
Su Rong stood up, "Thank you for your trust, uncle. I will take my leave now."
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