This family is no ordinary family, they have such schemes. How did Governor Su spend more than a decade here in Jiangning County? This is truly bizarre.
Su Rong felt helpless too, "I’ve always been a troublemaker since childhood. I was afraid to bring trouble to my family, so I wished long ago that they would just disown me, but they wouldn’t. Now, the situation has worsened; my follies have partly affected my sisters and I have to take responsibility for half of their future problems. I have no other choice."
Zhou Gu was at a loss for words.
Su Rong looked at Zhou Gu, bargaining with him, "So, if you really want to back out from our engagement, could you perhaps endure it a bit more? Considering how much I’ve struggled to please you, could you help me out this time? Until my sisters have settled their marital affairs..."
Zhou Gu dismissed her fantasy without any courtesy, "Even if your sisters get married, if our marriage falls through, without the back support of the Duke Residence, they would still not be able to live a pleasant life."
Su Rong thought for a moment, "Then, I can only rely on my elder brother."
Feeling disheartened, she sighed, "Let’s go. I’ll take you to see the Phoenix Tree."
This time she took the lead, walked decisively, Zhou Gu turned around and glanced at the wishing tree, then followed her.
It took another mountain trek from the Yuelao Temple to the Phoenix Tree, and there stood a towering Phoenix Tree in the serene mountain. There was no one there today; the birds were not disturbed, fluttering around the Phoenix Tree, cheeping in the mountains.
"Let’s stop here, so as not to startle them away", Zhou Gu looked at the Phoenix Tree. It was so huge that it took several people to put their arms around it. The blooming flowers were glorious, a spectacle filled with various kinds of birds displaying striking plumes and long, unique crests. They flew among the trees, in a beautiful avian display.
Su Rong nodded.
They stood for a moment when a bird with shiny green feathers suddenly flew over. Su Rong opened her palm and it landed in her hand, chirping at her.
Su Rong said with a smile, "You always find me every time I come."
The bird tilted its head, turned to Zhou Gu, and chirped twice.
Su Rong introduced it, "This is Zhou Gu, my..." She paused, "My fiancé."
He was still her fiancé before the termination of their engagement, that’s for sure.
Zhou Gu asked, "Does this bird know you? Can it understand human speech?"
"Yes, over a year ago, its wing was somehow broken. I saved it and it recognized me. Every time I come here, it always wants to follow me."
Zhou Gu found it curious, "Then why don’t you take it with you?"
"I don’t have the patience to raise tiny things", Su Rong didn’t have the patience for it. "I’m worried I won’t be able to take care of it properly."
The bird, as if it understood, started chirping at Su Rong.
Su Rong resignedly said, "If you were to follow me, what about your companions? You wouldn’t have any fun by my side. Wouldn’t you rather be free in the forest?"
The little bird kept chirping.
"Take it with you. I’ll help you raise it", Zhou Gu suddenly suggested.
Su Rong turned to look at him.
Zhou Gu immediately added, "I’ll help you raise it while I’m in Jiangning. If you are unwilling to care for it after I leave, you can return it here. It’s so close."
The little bird chirped, shifted from Su Rong’s hand to Zhou Gu’s shoulder, and when Zhou Gu reached out his hand, it jumped into his palm. Its cheery cries echoed around and it nipped playfully at his palm to curry favor.
Zhou Gu asked, "Does it have a name?"
Su Rong shook her head.
Looking at the bird’s clean green feathers, Zhou Gu suggested, "How about calling it Cuiyu?"
Su Rong nodded, "That works."
"Shall we take it then?", Zhou Gu asked.
Seeing Zhou Gu seemed to like the little creature very much, Su Rong consented, "Okay!"
The tiny creature chirped at him twice and Zhou Gu’s heart softened. If not for her, who would be the fortunate one with this man?
Zhou Gu was very fond of Cuiyu, playing with the bird, his face glowed with smiles, and he looked extremely charming.
Looking at Zhou Gu, a sense of joy crept slowly into Su Rong’s heart. She forcefully suppressed it, only for it to try and burst out again. She wondered what to do. Should she forcefully pursue him?
Zhou Gu, oblivious to Su Rong’s inner turmoil, was talking to Cuiyu with a smile, "Little guy, you have a name now, it’s Cuiyu, did you hear that?"
Cuiyu chirped delightfully, bouncing in his hand, spinning in circles. Then, flapping its wings, it flew back to Su Rong, chirping around her in circles.
Su Rong, amused, said, "Alright, I know you’re happy. Have some restraint."
Cuiyu flew back into Zhou Gu’s hand. It tilted its head and lay down quietly in his palm, not making a noise as if demonstrating restraint to Su Rong.
Su Rong thought, "......"
Who told it that restraint looked like this?
Zhou Gu burst into laughter, the humor was evident in his eyes. He praised Cuiyu, "Hmm, that’s right, you do look rather restrained."
Su Rong was speechless.
"Shall we go?" Zhou Gu, holding Cuiyu in his flat palm, turned and asked Su Rong with a smile.
"It’s almost noon now. Why don’t you rest over there? I’ll find us something to eat. We’ve only toured half of Phoenix Mountain, so if we were to go back now, we’d miss lunchtime. So let’s eat here!" Su Rong discussed with him. "Moreover, we’ll probably run into the Inspector of Jiangzhou if we go back now. Don’t you want to make him wait a bit? He’s expecting you to apologize. Meeting him shouldn’t be too easy, right?"
Zhou Gu nodded, agreeing with her. He scanned their surroundings, "But, this is in the mountains, where will you find something to eat?"
"You just wait and see", Su Rong waved her hands dismissively and headed off.
Having no other choice, Zhou Gu sat down on a rock, watching Su Rong disappearing into the forest. He whispered to Cuiyu, "Is she going to pick fruits for me? At this time of the year, any fruits would still be unripe, right? They would be sour and astringent, how can one eat them?"
Cuiyu flapped its wings, tilting its head, just as puzzled, staring at the place where Su Rong had disappeared.
Su Rong, of course, would not bring back green fruits for Zhou Gu. She went to catch wild chickens and rabbits. Circling around the forest, she didn’t catch a rabbit, but she did catch two wild chickens. Her hand was fast and she threw her needles accurately, hitting the chickens in the head. They fell to the ground together. She picked up the wild chickens and thought that two would be enough for Zhou Gu and herself. As for Zhou Gu’s guards, she figured they should take care of themselves.
She came back carrying two wild chickens with colorful feathers, which surprised Zhou Gu, "Did you go out to catch chickens?"
Su Rong corrected him with a slight delay, "I caught wild chickens."
Zhou Gu stood up, "I know they are wild chickens. These things are usually very fast runners, how did you catch them? And you caught two at once?"
Su Rong rolled up her sleeves, squatted on the ground, and started to pluck the chicken feathers, "Maybe I just got lucky?"
Zhou Gu did not believe her, "Who are you trying to fool?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Su Rong asked him, "Do you know how to pluck a chicken?"
Zhou Gu shook his head, "I’ve never done it."
He had never done such a thing before.
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