The hustle and bustle filled the East Fourth Hutong, while in other major residences, there was a mix of joy and worry.
The Rui’an Queen was extremely pleased, rewarding the whole residence. She didn’t expect her son to bring her such honor by being listed, although not at a high rank, it still brought her immense joy.
Upon inquiring from a servant and learning that Xie Lin had gone to East Fourth Hutong with Su Xingze and others, she prepared a gift and sent it there.
Inside the palace, due to the case of the precious concubine, there was not much joyous atmosphere on this happy occasion of the announcement of successful candidates for the examination, as the emperor was ill.
In the Duke Residence, the old duke had not expected Zhou Gu to win the first place together with Su Xingze. He had read the papers written by Zhou Gu and Su Xingze, and after pondering for a while, he felt that the two truly deserved this ranking, and it was indeed difficult to judge who was superior.
He was waiting for Zhou Gu to return home, but was informed by a messenger sent by Zhou Gu that he had gone to East-West Hutong to have a feast and would return in the evening.
The old duke laughingly scolded, "Stinking boy."
The duchess spoke privately to Princess Sheng An, "Mother, I have packed the luggage for Gu."
Princess Sheng An nodded, "Make sure to prepare more pills for him to carry, as well as more silver notes. One should have ample money while on the road, so don’t let him run short."
The duchess replied: "Everything is ready."
Sheng An princess asked: "Has he mentioned which day he will leave?"
"Gu said he won’t participate in the palace examination and will leave after the list is released." The duchess whispered, "Although the crown prince knows about this, the emperor does not. Should father go and inform the emperor?"
"Yes, we should inform the emperor. But in my opinion, he shouldn’t be so hasty, he should participate in the palace examination." Princess Sheng An said: "Now it’s just a ranking, who knows if he can achieve the number one scholar in the palace examination."
The duchess replied: "The emperor personally announced the ranking and will bestow official positions. But Gu wants to travel abroad, he said a ranking was enough and he won’t compete with the scholars. He doesn’t want to take up a space."
Princess Sheng An shook her head with a smile, "Alright, we should be satisfied that he has achieved this ranking. Let’s listen to him!"
She lowered her voice, "The Madam of the Su Family is very savvy. The words you said to her the other day, she probably understood as soon as she heard them. She will certainly tell Su Rong. Alas, I don’t know if this is good or bad for Gu."
After struggling, Zhou Gu decided to follow his heart and kept it a secret, isn’t it just because he didn’t want Su Rong to know?
The duchess whispered: "I’ve been thinking about it for many days, day and night, and I still think that we should let Su Rong know. If the Madam wants to persuade Su Rong to give Gu a chance, that’s fine. Anyway, Gu’s decision to give up the path he chose since childhood and pursue her to Nanchu is a big deal. She shouldn’t have to wait until he’s in Nanchu, see him there, and only then let her know."
She said softly: "Mother, I don’t know if you have the same feeling, but as a woman, I feel that Su Rong’s treatment of Gu is different. Her heart may not be as hard as her actions."
Princess Sheng An sighed, "So what? If a woman’s heart hardens, it has nothing to do with a man."
The duchess said, "I just...don’t want my son to be alone and miserable all his life. I’m always hoping for a perfect ending for him."
Princess Sheng An patted her hand, "As a mother, I understand your feelings. Just let it be, if Su Rong’s heart is hard, it won’t matter whether he goes to Nanchu or not. If she has even a little softness in her heart, she could be prepared in advance, and not be caught off guard by Gu."
"As long as you don’t regret that your son is leaving you too far, and I don’t regret that my grandson is too far from me, let him do as he wishes!" The princess said this, but in her heart, she really didn’t want to part with him. She wanted to see her grandson every day, but she didn’t want to see him unhappy every day.
The duchess nodded and whispered, "Father doesn’t yet know his plans."
"Don’t tell him, and don’t let Gu tell him. Otherwise, the old fool might have stopped him. In his mind, Zhou Gu should be on the way to becoming a famous historian." Said Princess Sheng An.
The duchess nodded in agreement. "I will listen to mother’s advice."
After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had a private conversation for a while, they considered whether there was anything missing from the things prepared for Zhou Gu and hurriedly added them.
Inside East Fourth Hutong, Zhou Gu looked at Su Rong, who was sitting next to Ye Guixue, with a calm face. Occasionally, he spoke a few words to Su Xingze and Xie Lin beside him. Anyhow, the whole feast was without incident, full of joy and celebration.
After the meal, Duanhua said to Su Rong in a whisper, "Is Zhou Gu a tortoise?"
Su Rong was puzzled, "What happened?"
"He’s too patient." Duanhua was somewhat intolerant and wanted to say a few good words for Zhou Gu, "Su Rong, I don’t like Zhou Gu anymore, you..."
"Stop." Su Rong interrupted her and pushed her away, "Go home after dinner. It’s getting late."
Duanhua glared at her, "Are you tired of me?"
Su Rong pointed to herself, "Did you forget? I couldn’t get out of bed yesterday. I’m exhausted from today’s activity, I’m going to rest."
Realizing this, Duanhua nodded, "Alright then, I’m leaving."
She called out to Zhou Gu, "Zhou Gu, shall we go together?"
Zhou Gu glanced at her, "Who’s going with you? I’m not."
Duanhua snorted and left on her own.
People gradually left one after another. Ye Guixue asked Zhou Gu, "Lord Thursday, shall we go together?"
Zhou Gu nodded in agreement, "Sure."
Ye Guixue then proposed to Su Rong, "Thanks to your medicine, it seems to work very effectively. I heard that the plum blossoms outside the city are about to bloom. Would you like to see them tomorrow? Although they have not fully bloomed, the budding plum blossoms are a sight to behold."
Su Rong agreed, "Sure."
Ye Guixue smiled and said goodbye to her, "Then I’ll pick you up tomorrow."
Su Rong nodded, "Alright."
Zhou Gu, who was standing by, didn’t say a word. After Ye Guixue and Su Rong finished their conversation, he left with Ye Guixue.
Su Xingze escorted the two men to the entrance of the residence, watching them leave. He turned back and walked into the inner court, saw that Su Rong had not returned to her own yard and was talking to the madam. He gave Su Rong a glance and then sighed, "Seventh sister, about Zhou Gu...."
Su Rong looked at him, "What does my elder brother want to say?"
Su Xingze rubbed his brow, "There is one thing, I’ve been hiding from you. Zhou Gu asked the crown prince for the records of Nanchu and has been studying them while he was recuperating at the Duke Residence."
Su Rong understood, "So you were not at the residence those days, but at the Duke Residence accompanying him and reading the records of Nanchu together?"
Su Xingze nodded, "He originally didn’t allow me to tell you, but..."
"I understand." Su Rong saw his troubled expression, "Brother, you should prepare for the palace examination! I will talk to him in detail."
"The sooner, the better, otherwise he might leave tomorrow. He is not preparing for the palace examination." Su Xingze said.
Su Rong nodded, "Okay, I got it."
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