Su Rong followed Zhou Gu to the bow of the boat.
She rolled up her sleeves, picked up the idle bamboo poles on the boat, and set up three of them. The crossbar was in front, the fish basket behind. She sprinkled some fish food and then many fishes swarmed in from all directions. When she saw the timing was right, she turned in the water vigorously, and immediately several big fish swam into the net. Next, she picked up another bamboo pole, swiftly thrust it into the water several times. Except for the tiny fish she let go, all the bigger ones got skewered on the bamboo stick one after another.
In such a short time, she not only netted five or six big fish but also skewered five or six big fish onto the bamboo pole.
Zhou Gu widened his eyes in shock, looking dumbfounded at Su Rong’s smooth operation, and didn’t say anything for a long time.
Su Rong silently pulled up the net, dumped the fish from the net into the wooden barrel, then silently slipped off the fish skewered on the bamboo pole one by one, and put them in the barrel. Then she silently looked at Zhou Gu.
Zhou Gu pointed at her, "You, you, you..."
He stuttered for a while but couldn’t come up with a word, he was simply too astonished.
Su Rong sighed, "If I were making a living by fishing, I guess all the fishers would be out of business. Is that what you were going to say?"
What Zhou Gu wanted to say was "Who would say that? I mean, you’re just a girl, delicate and weak, where on earth do you get such great power?". But he didn’t. At this moment, he finally understood the saying "don’t judge a book by its cover". His first impression of Su Rong was that she was too fragile to stand up in the wind, but now, he felt his perception has been entirely overturned.
She was not weak at all, it was his vision that was problematic, and he had prejudgments.
He pinched his chin, thankfully his chin was firmly grew on his face and didn’t fall off. He adjusted from his shocked and dumbfounded posture, and nodded at her with complicated emotions, "Yes, therefore, you mustn’t easily take over this kind of work from others in the future."
With her way of fishing, wouldn’t all the fish in the river be scared to death?
Su Rong saw he wasn’t scared off, she thought this future husband was bearable, her lips curved into a smile and she nodded, "Sure."
She felt happy in her heart and sweetly said to him, "Let’s go back and arrange for the kitchen to cook a feast of fresh fish tonight. Freshly caught fish is sure to be the most delicious."
Zhou Gu had enough of the scenery in Maple Leaf River, he nodded in agreement, "Let’s go!"
So on the carriage back to the city, they had a barrel of fish tied behind the carriage. Occasionally Zhou Gu would look back at it with complicated feelings.
When they returned to the residence, it was still early. It was just the time for the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Su Rong ordered to the housekeeper, "Uncle Li, please have someone send this barrel of fish to the kitchen. We’re having a full fish feast tonight."
Uncle Li was startled, "Seventh Miss, did you... buy these fishes?"
Su Rong paused, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Zhou Gu had regained his composure. She lied to his face without breaking a sweat, "Hm, bought."
Uncle Li breathed a sigh of relief and had someone take the fish away. He then asked Zhou Gu tentatively, "Young Master, would you like the old servant to take you to your courtyard where you can rest?"
"Alright, thank you Uncle Li." Zhou Gu nodded, not resisting anymore.
So, Uncle Li enthusiastically took Zhou Gu away.
Su Rong walked back to her own yard with Yuewan.
Yuewan said quietly, "Miss, it’s done, you’re exposed, get ready for the mistress to scold you."
"Faking marriage is unethical." Su Rong said seriously, "We are a proper family, how can we do such a thing, right?"
Yuewan: "..."
You are clearly incapable of pretending even for a day, yet you insist on talking about what’s proper or improper. If you are considered proper, then there are no improper people in this world.
Su Rong looked at her, "Don’t forget, you contributed to this ordeal as well. You were in a daze and dragged me into this mess, remember?"
Yuewan forced a smile, displayed her understanding manner and said: "Miss, it’s all the fault of that boatman, it’s nothing to do with you. You’re right, faking a marriage is wrong. How could Lord Father and the Mistress deceive people by hiding your true personality for the sake of marrying you off? You should sternly scold them later and bring them back to the right path. We are a proper family."
Su Rong was satisfied, "Hm, that’s it." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
So, the master and the maid went back to their yard without any burden, they hastily bathed, washing off the fishy smell.
Just after Su Rong finished her bath, the mistress barged in, questioning her angrily, "Were you catching fish again?"
"No!"
"You answered so quickly, you must have been catching fish." The mistress raised her voice, calling her by her full name, "Su Rong, you actually took Young Master Zhou to catch fish? Can you live up to the good image I’ve painstakingly created for you?"
The mistress didn’t give Su Rong a chance to argue, she just scolded her, "Couldn’t you just hold back for a few more days? It hasn’t even been one day and you have already exposed yourself. Which man likes a wild girl? What a waste of your pretty face! If they decide not to marry you, I’ll just marry you off to an old fisherman, and let you catch fish every day."
Su Rong: "..."
She touched her nose, "Mother, I am not to be blamed for this."
"How are you not to blame? Explain to me." The mistress was furious.
Su Rong calmly explained what had happened. How the boatman chatted with Zhou Gu revealing her fishing skills, then Zhou Gu became curious and insisted that she had to catch fish. It was under sheer helplessness that she had to do it.
The mistress then remembered that even if the gossips in the mansion were sealed off, they couldn’t erase the traces Su had left in various places outside the Jiangning Residence over the years. She pointed her finger at Su Rong, too angry to find words.
"Mother, Zhou Gu did not mention breaking off the marriage." Su Rong was afraid that the mistress might be fraught with anxiety, "Well, he even praised me for being exceptional."
The mistress was so angry that her chest hurt, "Exceptional, is that a good word? You are a Miss of the governor’s residence, who knows how to fish. If this gets out, people would laugh to death."
Su Rong immediately reminded her, "Mother, it’s a concubine-born daughter of the governor’s residence."
The mistress was angry, "So what if you’re a concubine’s daughter? Aren’t you still a Miss?"
Su Rong thought she was right and shut her mouth.
The mistress clutched her chest, "Maybe he didn’t immediately break off the marriage because he has decent upbringing. He might already be considering it in his heart."
Thinking of Zhou Gu’s dumbfounded and shocked expression, Su Rong was unsure, she sighed, "Mother, it’s always wrong to deceive. Also, regarding marriage, it can’t be forced. Let’s just go with the flow, alright?"
Seeing the mistress’s face turning pale, she stepped forward to massage her chest, "Besides, even if I pretended for a few more days, it wouldn’t help me. I would eventually expose myself."
The mistress was disappointed, "That’s okay too. He may still not mind your real personality if he has already fallen for you by that time."
"That won’t work. Would he not feel deceived at that time? What if he gets angry out of embarrassment? How will we handle it?" Su Rong shook her head, "He doesn’t seem to have a good temper."
The mistress glanced at her, "I think his temper is quite good. Didn’t he get upset when we insisted he stay in our residence?"
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