Zhou Gu had never lost a horse race. He had even competed in races whilst simultaneously engaging in a duel, trotting towards the finish line whilst trading blows. He invariably emerged as the victor.
He never considered employing underhanded tactics when racing against Su Rong, a girl. Nor did he imagine that she would resort to tricks.
He felt he had underestimated Su Rong, which led to his first-ever loss in a horse race.
He wound the silk ribbon around his wrist, sneering coldly as he watched her stumble for words, "I’m not giving this back to you. It’ll serve as evidence. If our grandfather asks, I’ll say, ’Such a cunning little girl, I dare not marry her’."
Su Rong: "..."
She made a mistake! She shouldn’t have been mischievous, shouldn’t have used tricks, and shouldn’t have plotted to see his reaction after losing.
She wore a pathetic expression, her gaze on him pleading, "Um, Zhou Gu, big brother Zhou, I was wrong."
Zhou Gu’s movement stilled, and he nearly lost his balance and fell off his horse. He hastily dismounted, let go of the reins, and raised his hand to stop her, "I’m telling you, there’s no use saying anything."
Su Rong also alighted from her horse, let go of the reins, and approached him. "Are you serious?"
Zhou Gu turned around and snorted, "Of course. Do you think I’m that easy to bully?"
Su Rong naturally knew that he wasn’t easy to bully. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have drawn his sword against Jiang Yunying upon hearing a single line from her the day before. She touched her nose, "Even if you keep this as evidence and show it to your grandfather, he probably won’t take your side. After all, military strategy says that the key to victory lies in deceit, unpredictability, attacking weakness, leveraging momentum, and taking the initiative. I just took you by surprise. You underestimated me, thinking that as a girl, I wouldn’t dare to confront you, and you didn’t guard against me. You have your own mistakes. Now, blaming me for bullying you isn’t justified."
Zhou Gu was even more amused. He turned to her, his eyebrows raised, "You’re pretty good at arguing, and even using military strategies for it."
"It’s about convincing people with reason." Su Rong corrected him.
Zhou Gu snorted coldly, "So what? I say it is, and you’re going to dispute it?"
"Ah, so unreasonable." Su Rong feigned a sigh, "Is the young master of the Duke’s Residence so unreasonable? Even if you want to marry me, I still have to consider whether I want to marry you."
Zhou Gu glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "What did you say?"
Su Rong giggled at him. She was able to adapt to circumstances, stepped forward to grasp his wrist and tug at the silk ribbon, "Brother Zhou, I said I was wrong."
Zhou Gu immediately seized her wrist, jabbed her a few times, and her wrist went numb. Forced to release her grip, Zhou Gu yanked the silk ribbon back and stuffed it into his sleeve, raising an eyebrow at her, "You want to snatch it back? Dream on!"
Su Rong failed, but she wasn’t disappointed. She tilted her head and smiled at him, "Zhou Gu, do you know what it means for a boy to keep a memento from a girl? We’re not there yet, are we?"
Zhou Gu jolted, nearly throwing the silk ribbon back to her from his sleeve. But he held back, glowering at her, "Stop trying to provoke me. It won’t work."
Su Rong touched her nose, paused for a moment, then purposely said: "It wasn’t so long ago that someone promised me that if I actually put in effort, he wouldn’t run away. Now he goes back on his word, it’s quite heartbreaking."
Zhou Gu was speechless, "I’m not scared by you, I’m just mad at you."
Su Rong grinned, "Then I apologize."
"I don’t accept."
Su Rong: "..."
She sighed in resignation, "What can I do then, to make you stop being upset?"
Zhou Gu threw her a "you can’t pacify me" look and walked towards the mountain.
Su Rong could only follow him, thinking that if she had known earlier, she wouldn’t have provoked him. She wasn’t very good at appeasing people. Ever since she was young, she found joy in bullying people.
Following close behind Zhou Gu, she took a few steps and started describing Phoenix Mountain in a cheerful tone, "This Phoenix Mountain has five characteristics: strangeness, steepness, danger, seclusion, and beauty. The strangeness comes from a thousand-year-old Phoenix Tree at the peak which attracts hundreds of birds. The steepness is due to the numerous strange peaks and boulders. The danger comes from the cliffy chasms and places difficult to walk through. As for seclusion, it’s due to the tranquility of the mountain. Let me talk about the beauty that is always present throughout the four seasons. In spring, the whole mountain is filled with blooming Rhododendrons. They paint the mountain red. Peaches and apricots also compete for attention. Now it’s summer, the pines and cypresses are lush and the peaks and ridges are stained green. The green ravines blanketed by mountain fog create a celestial realm. In autumn, the fruits on the mountains ripen, filling the air with their tantalizing scent. As you walk, you can pick fresh fruits to munch on. Red leaves cover the mountain, creating another splendid scene. In winter, the white snow and dappled green pines again present a beautiful sight."
Zhou Gu didn’t respond but he was listening.
With a smile, Su Rong continued: "There are the Guanyin Temple, Yuelao Temple, and Buddha Temple, each situated on a different peak. If we take this path, we’ll reach Yuelao Temple..."
Zhou Gu stopped in his tracks and turned to stare at her, "What am I going to do at Yuelao Temple?"
"Even if you don’t intend to marry me, you still need to visit the Yuelao Temple, right? You can pray for a wife that best fits your mind and heart." Su Rong met his gaze with a smile, "The tree in front of the Yuelao Temple is also several hundred years old. It’s covered in countless blessing ribbons. It’s said to be very efficacious."
"Have you been there?" Zhou Gu raised an eyebrow.
Su Rong shook her head, "No, as you know, I’m already engaged. I don’t need to pray."
This made Zhou Gu laugh in spite of himself, "I’m also engaged, so how come I have to go and pray?"
"You’re not fully satisfied with me, right?"
Zhou Gu was left speechless.
He finally realized that Su Rong was quite good at provoking people. He had always been the one to infuriate others. Today, he got a taste of his own medicine. He continued to climb the hill with a huff, "You better shut up, don’t say anything."
He should’ve known from the start that her overly sharp tongue had nothing to do with being mild and obedient.
Su Rong kept her mouth shut.
The mountain was quiet with the sound of chirping birds. After climbing up several flights of stairs, Zhou Gu turned back to look at Su Rong, who was obediently trailing him. Upon meeting his gaze, she innocently blinked at him.
Zhou Gu suddenly felt that his tolerance was small, to be fussing about with a girl. He covered his mouth to cough lightly, "When I tell you not to speak, do you really stop speaking?"
Looking at him, Su Rong replied, "When you tell me not to speak, should I force myself to speak?"
Zhou Gu thought about it and concluded she had a point. He asked her, "Are you tired?"
"No."
"You have good stamina."
Su Rong thought to herself, ’That’s just a small amount of physical exertion.’ She could climb Phoenix Mountain two times a day. She had a question for him, "Are you thirsty?"
"A little." He looked at his guards who were lagging behind with a considerable distance between them.
"In a little while, not too far from here, there’s a mountain spring. We can drink the spring water." Seeing that he was not angry anymore, Su Rong thought that he just got over his anger by himself and there was actually no need to pacify him. If she had known this earlier, she wouldn’t have wasted so much mental energy worrying about it.
Zhou Gu nodded.
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