Su Rong naturally wanted to talk with Zhou Gu, although she did not know if she could dissuade him from his current thoughts.
So, when Zhou Gu returned to his own residence called Frost Forest in the Duke Residence, pushed the door open and entered, he saw Su Rong sitting in his room. He immediately opened his eyes wide, doubting what he was seeing.
Why was Su Rong in his room?
When he had left, she was still at the Xie Residence. Right before Duanhua left, she had told Duanhua that she was tired and needed rest.
Standing at the doorway, he blinked several times. When he saw that Su Rong was still there and had not disappeared, he was thoroughly convinced that Su Rong had come to find him.
He closed the door, looked at her and asked softly, "Why are you here?"
Su Rong looked at him and said something irrelevant to his question, "It’s quite cold in this room."
Zhou Gu replied, "Because I was not here, the servants did not light the charcoal. I will ask someone to light it now." After saying this, he turned and gave an order to Ziye who was standing behind him, "Go and tell someone to light the charcoal."
Ziye was also surprised when he saw Su Rong, nevertheless, he quickly responded to the command. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Su Rong reminded him, "Don’t alarm anyone, when I came here, I didn’t alert anyone in your residence."
Zhou Gu glanced at Ziye, "Did you hear?"
Ziye immediately assured, "I heard it, Miss Su, young master, rest assured."
After finishing his words, he quickly left while instructing others to close the gate of Frost Forest, saying the young master got drunk and needed rest, and wouldn’t see anyone who came.
Soon, the servants brought a charcoal-burning stove. Ziye personally sent it in, then made chrysanthemum tea for Su Rong, quietly closed the door and left.
Zhou Gu said to Su Rong, "This chrysanthemum tea was picked by you and Duanhua from the Crown Prince’s wife’s courtyard. Someone from the Princess Residence delivered it to my grandmother, and my grandmother gave me a jar."
He commented, "It’s quite good."
Su Rong nodded.
Zhou Gu then asked, "Why did you come to find me?"
Su Rong looked at him, "What do you think?"
Zhou Gu bit his lip, wanting to say ’how would I know if you don’t tell me?’ But ironically, due to his clever instinct, even when she didn’t say, he could almost guess what her purpose was. He lowered his gaze and said softly, "Did you find out about my plan?"
So, when she met him at the tea house today, that’s why she was angry and not giving him a good face, killing him off mercilessly on the chessboard? And now she came here secretly, wanting to confront him?
What he feared most was that she confronted him.
"Why don’t you tell me what you are planning? Let me see if what I know matches what you plan." Su Rong looked at him.
Zhou Gu could not speak out. He pursed his lips and kept silent, afraid that if he opened his mouth, Su Rong would turn her face and speak coldly to him, just like the merciless defeat on the chessboard.
Looking at Zhou Gu’s appearance, Su Rong was a bit angry, "Speak up. What’s wrong? Can’t you speak? Or dare not to?"
Zhou Gu looked up and finally said two words, "Dare not."
Su Rong sneered coldly, "You dare not to speak, but you dare to act."
Zhou Gu remained silent.
Su Rong became furious, "Zhou Gu, are you deaf? Or are you just stupid? The affection between us is minimal and negligible, so how can you not move on? How many times do I need to say this before you can understand?"
Zhou Gu bowed his head, "You don’t need to repeat it, I do understand."
He said softly, "It’s not just a little." He paused, and emphasized again, "My feelings for you, they are not just a little."
Su Rong raised an eyebrow, "So what?"
Zhou Gu’s eyes reddened, "To you, it might be trivial, but to me, I can’t let it go."
He lifted his eyes to meet Su Rong, his entire eye sockets to the corners of his eyes were somewhat red, "Perhaps, I can’t let it go until the day I die."
Su Rong squinted her eyes, pulled out a handkerchief and threw it on his face, instantly blocking his red eyes. She scoffed, "You are really quite admirable."
Zhou Gu moved his hand to hold the handkerchief, understanding that Su Rong didn’t want to see his current state. He silently covered his eyes with the handkerchief for a while, then slowly pulled it down, begging softly, "Su Rong, I’m just going to Nanchu, you can be assured, I won’t disturb you and Ye Guixue, and I won’t actively ruin your engagement. I just want to be closer to you, to help you. I deeply regret that during our engagement, I didn’t take the time to truly understand you. Back then, in Jiangning County, I didn’t know that in the seemingly peaceful county, you were always on guard against assassinations. I know the situation in Nanchu is more complex, the Nangong Family and the Royal Family are both tough opponents. Your status as the princess of Nanchu alone is not enough, you need Ye Guixue, you need the support of the Ye Family. So, I won’t disrupt or ruin your plans. I just wish to go and see if I can help you in any way, otherwise, I might find it hard to sleep peacefully... After three years, if you... if you fall in love with Ye Guixue, I will come back."
These words were hard for him to say.
Su Rong was silent for a while before she finally spoke in a light tone, "How do you know that I haven’t fallen in love with Ye Guixue now?"
Zhou Gu insisted on looking at her, "You haven’t."
Although he could see that she was trying hard to love Ye Guixue, he was certain that she definitely hadn’t fallen in love yet. Zhou Gu was very sure that, in Jiangning County, Su Rong had feelings for him, even if it was only a little.
Su Rong was annoyed, "What if I disagree with you going to Nanchu?"
Zhou Gu stubbornly looked at her, "You can’t stop me."
"So you’re saying, even if I disagree, you have already made up your mind?" Su Rong looked at him, "Zhou Gu, you should know, I don’t need you in Nanchu. Maybe your presence will cause me troubles."
"I won’t." Zhou Gu shook his head, "I can stay out of your sight."
Su Rong sneered, "So, do you really want me or just want to accompany me to Nanchu, and stay with me in Nanchu for three years? To see me secure the position of crown prince?"
Zhou Gu was stumped by the question.
Su Rong put the tea cup on the table heavily, "Think clearly before you answer."
Zhou Gu tightened his grip and looked straight at her, "Of course I want you."
Su Rong watched him with amusement, "On one hand, you say you don’t want to interfere with me and Ye Guixue, and on the other, you say you want me. These contradictions seem to align very well with the upbringing you’ve had since childhood, knowing decency, righteousness, integrity and honor, and trying your best to control yourself. But have you ever thought, the closer and longer you are to me, the more you can’t control yourself. If one day you lose all your decency, righteousness, integrity and honor, you won’t be able to resist disrupting, then are you still you? You like me, that’s correct, but how can you guarantee that I can like that version of you?"
Zhou Gu turned pale, he could not speak a single word.
Su Rong looked at him, her expression icy-cold. "Zhou Gu, give it up! Ye Guixue built the ladder to the sky for me. If I don’t climb up to secure my position, then I would be the fool. For the sake of love, you’re refusing to take the path of glory that you’re supposed to, that also makes you a fool. If we’re both foolish together, we won’t be too far from death."
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