The second day, early in the morning, after having breakfast, Su Rong took Yuewan to the guest house to find Zhou Gu.
Yawning all the way, Yuewan looked at Su Rong, who had eaten and slept well, and complained resentfully, "Miss, you are exhausting me. I’m so sleepy."
"Then you don’t have to come."
"No, I have to accompany you when you’re going out with Young Master Zhou." Yuewan shook her head, "The Lady said she would give me a monthly allowance starting from next month."
She perked up again and said cheerfully, "Now I’m going to get the same allowance as Mrs. Wang’s."
"Congratulations then." Su Rong patted her head, "Make sure to study the accounting books well. If you do, when I get married and manage my own house, I’ll give you the highest monthly allowance in the Residence."
Yuewan became instantly alert, "Great, I’ll definitely study hard."
When the two of them arrived at the guest house, Su Rong stopped at the entrance and waved to a servant inside, "Can you ask if Zhou Gu is ready? We’re going to Phoenix Mountain for fun."
The servant agreed and went to ask.
Zhou Xi came out from inside and greeted Su Rong, "Seventh Miss, this humble one is the steward of Duke Residence, Zhou Xi."
"Hello, Steward Zhou."
Zhou Xi thought that with Su Rong’s beauty, she would be considered top tier even in Capital City, and she did make a good match with Young Master Zhou. On top of that, she was unassumingly outgoing and open-hearted. Upon such contemplation, he found no room for fault.
With a warm smile, he said, "Young Master Zhou has just finished his breakfast and got ready. Would you like to come in and wait a bit?"
"No, thanks. I’ll wait for him here!" Su Rong asked, "Steward Zhou, do you want to join us for fun?"
Zhou Xi shook his head, "I can’t. Somebody from Jiangzhou Inspector Residence should come today. I’ll stay in the Residence to assist Mr. Su and his wife."
Su Rong nodded in agreement.
Zhou Gu didn’t keep Su Rong waiting long and came out swiftly. Upon seeing her, he casually asked, "You mentioned yesterday about going horse riding today, right?"
"Yes, indeed."
"Ziye got a stomachache from eating fish yesterday and is resting in the Residence today. Yuewan doesn’t have to come either. I’ll just bring a few guards." Zhou Gu casually suggested, noticing Yuewan’s tired face.
Su Rong naturally didn’t object and turned to Yuewan, "Alright, you can go back and get some rest."
Yuewan seemed worried, pulling on Su Rong’s sleeve, "Miss, is this really okay?"
"Yes, mom won’t blame you for it. We have guards with us," Su Rong pushed her, "Go back."
"Alright!" Yuewan nodded and turned to leave.
Zhou Gu and Su Rong walked out of the gate together. Zhou Gu rode his red-haired horse that he came in on, whilst Su Rong’s was a gleaming dark horse, tall enough to match Zhou Gu’s.
Zhou Gu looked at her, "You’re riding such a big and sturdy horse?"
Su Rong smiled at him, "I’m pretty good at riding."
Zhou Gu looked at her up and down, recalling her amazing fish catching skill from yesterday that had left him shocked. He said nothing, prised off the reins, mounted his horse, and once he was seated, noticed that Su Rong didn’t need any help to get onto her horse. She nimbly seized the mane with her delicate wrist, clasped the horse’s neck and neatly mounted her horse. He was quite impressed, it seemed he had underestimated his future wife.
He was curious to test her, "Do you know how to race?"
Su Rong paused a bit, "A little."
"We’ll have a horse race after we leave the city," Zhou Gu treated Su Rong with renewed respect.
Su Rong agreed, "Sure."
Early morning in Jiangning County, it was the time of the day with the least crowd. There was hardly anyone on the street, and the guards followed a little behind. The two successfully left the city.
Once they were outside the city, Su Rong pointed the way, "Follow this Official Road for about ten miles, then there’s a forked road on the left that leads directly to the foot of Phoenix Mountain. There’s a stone monument at the junction, it’s easy to find, a total of about twenty miles."
"Alright!" Zhou Gu remembered this, and looked at Su Rong, "Are you really good at horse racing?"
Su Rong was contemplating if she should take it easy on him like when they played chess, or be ruthless like when they were fishing. It would be a bit too much if she caught him off guard again and again, and what if he got scared and ran away? That certainly wouldn’t do, even if she wasn’t hoodwinking him into marriage, wouldn’t it be better to let him get to know and accept her bit by bit?
"Put your skills in chess and fishing to use," Zhou Gu astutely picked up on her internal dilemma and laughed, "I grew up on horseback and I don’t believe I can lose to you in horse racing. Don’t hold back."
Su Rong immediately discarded her thoughts, "If I really put my skills to use, will you be scared off?"
Zhou Gu sneered, "Who are you belittling?"
Comforted by his words, Su Rong gave him a brilliant smile, "Alright then, Zhou Gu, you asked for it. I won’t be polite."
"OK, don’t be polite," Zhou Gu added another sentence, "You look so frail, you’re not going to be thrown off when the horse starts running, are you?"
"Who are you looking down on?" Su Rong used his words against him, "I’m light, and that can lighten the horse’s load, making it run faster."
"Alright, let’s start!" Zhou Gu’s competitive spirit was ignited.
Consequently, the two of them spurred their horses and charged forward in unison.
Zhou Gu has been catching fish from an early age, so naturally he’s good at riding. For Su Rong, it came a bit later, but when other kids were playing with mud, Su Rong had already become a little menace. She loves to play and aims to excel at everything, so naturally, she’s good at riding. At the very least, she believes she is the best rider in the whole of Jiangning County.
However, Zhou Gu was born in the Duke Residence. The Duke Residence earned its reputation through military merits. When Zhou Gu was born, the world was already peaceful, and while the old Duke did not want him to join the army, due to his family background, he grew up among the guards of the Duke Residence, practicing horse riding and archery. Inherited from his family, he was a natural at it.
Therefore, when Zhou Gu raced Su Rong, it never crossed his mind that he could lose. And he was sure he wouldn’t lose.
He had lost face while playing chess, and now in this horse race, he certainly could not lose face again. He decided that he wouldn’t give in no matter what. but when the horses really started running, he was surprised to find Su Rong was just a horse’s length behind him.
The two horses kept moving forward with one slightly ahead of the other. As they neared the foot of Phoenix Mountain, Su Rong made a sudden move. She threw out the silk ribbon tied around her arm, suddenly lassoing Zhou Gu’s horse’s hind leg. Zhou Gu’s horse stalled for a moment, and Su Rong slapped the horse’s buttock. Her black horse leaped forward, rushing ahead.
Zhou Gu was astonished, he hadn’t anticipated Su Rong’s move at all.
Su Rong reached first, turned her horse around, and laughed at Zhou Gu, "Zhou Gu, you lost!"
Her laughter was as melodious as a silver bell.
Zhou Gu: "..."
He glared at her, "You played dirty."
Su Rong was very candid, her face was full of smiles, "There was no rule against playing dirty."
Zhou Gu gritted his teeth. Was he too upright? He laughed despite his annoyance, and pulled the silk ribbon attached to the horse’s hind leg, "With such cunning, who dares to marry you?"
Su Rong: "..."
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