Upon hearing his words, Su Rong also gave up hope on him. It was usual for young Master Zhou not to do such work.
She replied to his previous question, "Didn’t you see me fishing? Catching a wild hen is quite similar, as long as they see me, they can’t escape from my palm."
Zhou Gu recalled Su Rong fishing, it was indeed quick, ruthless, and accurate, leaving him speechless. He stood aside for a while, then squatted down too, saying, "Plucking chicken feathers doesn’t seem to be difficult, shall I join you?"
"Sure."
So, Zhou Gu rolled up his sleeves, imitated the way Su Rong worked, and the two of them squatted together to pluck chicken feathers. In a little while, he had plucked the hen’s rear end clean.
The guards from the Duke Residence who had followed Zhou Gu today watched the two people from afar, their eyes wide open with surprise.
Who would tell them that their young master was actually doing this? Their young master, who had been learning the six arts of a gentleman since childhood, and indulged in refined pastimes, who would think, who would believe, he was plucking chicken feathers squatting on the ground; hadn’t they seen it with their own eyes?
Su Rong suddenly remembered something and spoke to Zhou Gu, "You should tell the guards following us to find their own food."
Zhou Gu glanced back, met their stunned faces, paused his hands for a moment, waved his hand, "All of you go and find your own food, these two chickens are not for you."
The guards awoke in surprise, nodded unanimously, they didn’t dare to claim their share of these two chickens.
Seeing that the guards had arranged a few people to find food, and the rest were staying in place, Su Rong asked Zhou Gu in a low voice, "Are these people yours, or from the Duke Residence?"
"Does it make a difference?"
"Yes, it does." Su Rong was quite serious, "If these people are yours, can they keep what I have done with you secret? If they are from the Duke Residence, wouldn’t they expose me when you return?"
When marrying into a high-ranking family, naturally, a gentle and courteous maiden from a reputable family is preferred. She already lacks advantages in terms of identity, and doesn’t behave like a lady from a notable family, which inevitably makes people dislike her. Even if the old duke wanted to honor the marriage agreement, would the eldest Princess of Sheng An and the duchess agree?
Zhou Gu paused his movements upon hearing this, "They belong to the Duke Residence."
Su Rong sighed, it seemed like her chances were slim.
"Didn’t you think you didn’t stand a chance? Why are you still bothering?" Zhou Gu raised an eyebrow.
Su Rong took a breath. She did think that she was not suitable for marrying into the Duke Residence, pretending in front of the eldest Princess of Sheng An and the Duchess for the rest of her life seemed difficult. But isn’t he so likable? She couldn’t suppress this flicker of hope.
Seeing her silent, Zhou Gu didn’t know what she was thinking, he only felt that her mind was fickle. She seemed to be indifferent, yet somewhat concerned. He made a tutting sound in his heart and didn’t bother about her anymore.
Su Rong, with her swift movements, finished plucking the feathers, reached for the dagger on her body, but suddenly paused her movement and asked Zhou Gu, "Do you have a dagger?"
"No."
"Then, how about using your sword?" Su Rong suggested.
Zhou Gu stared, "You want to use my treasured sword to kill the chicken?"
"It’s to gut the chicken."
Zhou Gu disagreed, "No, my treasure sword is a top-grade frost cold sword, ranked on the list of the world’s weapons, capable of cutting iron like mud, how can it be used to kill chickens?"
He firmly refused with a determined face, "Looking at your skilled movements, you must have eaten chicken many times before, how did you manage then?"
Su Rong used to carry a small knife with her, ever since she saved a person who gave her a dagger, she stopped carrying the knife. But that dagger is so good that she is reluctant to use it to kill chickens.
She innocently looked at Zhou Gu, "I usually carry a small knife with me but I didn’t bring it today. I never thought we would need to catch and roast a wild chicken." She mumbled, "This is all Chen Zhou’s fault. He made my mess public, so I might as well make us some game to eat. After all, it’s not a big deal compared to everything else that’s going on. You’ve come all the way to Jiangning and to Phoenix Mountain, you can’t just leave halfway, can you?"
Zhou Gu was obstinate, "In any case, I can’t use my Treasure Sword."
"Alright, then let me find something else!" Su Rong pulled a leaf and put the plucked chicken on it before turning around to search for something else to use.
Zhou Gu was protective of his sword. He didn’t feel any embarrassment. His sword was certainly not meant for such misuse. So, he continued plucking the chicken feathers.
Cuiyu stood on a rock, looking at the featherless chicken in his hand and the fallen feathers scattered on the ground, a pitiful expression on its face.
Zhou Gu turned his head and caught the sight. Thinking of the small bird, and the sympathy pitying look in its eyes, he teased, "Lucky you’re so small with hardly any meat on you. Otherwise, I bet she wouldn’t have saved you and you’d have been roasted and eaten."
Cuiyu flapped its wings, chirping angrily at Zhou Gu. Apparently, annoyed by his words, it turned its back, showing him its bird butt, and ignoring him.
Zhou Gu chuckled, "Well, you’ve got quite a temper!"
Su Rong returned with a sharp stone flake. Seeing Zhou Gu still in a good mood, she sighed, "Why are you so happy?"
Zhou Gu turned to her, "Why didn’t you roast that little creature?"
"I wanted to roast it, but when I weighed it, it had less than two taels of meat. Nowhere near as plump as the wild chicken. So, I just bandaged it up simply and let it go." Su Rong started to gut the chicken with the stone flake.
Zhou Gu was speechless. He hadn’t expected her to seriously contemplate roasting that tiny creature. Watching her gut the chicken with her slender wrists, he admired, "You’re so skilled. How many wild chickens in these mountains have you eaten?"
"Not many. When I’m alone, I don’t often come up the mountain."
Seeing her swiftly finish preparing the chicken while he was still plucking, Zhou Gu looked at her helplessly. Su Rong didn’t tease him. She took the chicken from him and in a few swift moves, she had it cleaned and ready to gut.
Zhou Gu felt a mix of emotions, thinking that even if Su Rong wasn’t a maiden, she wouldn’t starve to death.
"Zhou Gu, can you gather some dry firewood?" Su Rong asked Zhou Gu as she picked up the chickens and took them to the stream by the cliff to wash them.
Zhou Gu washed his hands, nodded, and went off to do the easy task.
When Zhou Gu returned with the firewood, Su Rong had already wrapped the chickens in leaves, started a fire and found some herbs to marinate the chickens. After her series of preparations, Su Rong finally sat on a rock to wait.
For the first time, Zhou Gu was waiting for a meal in the wilderness, he was quite expectant, "You can also identify herbs?"
"Hmm, I learnt from the doctors at Huichun Hall for a while."
"Can you use medical skills?"
"I know a little."
Zhou Gu was suspicious of Su Rong’s modesty, "How come you know everything?"
"Because when I was a kid, I used to get into fights and get hurt. Sometimes, when I went home after a fight, I didn’t dare let people know I’d been fighting again because I was afraid of being scolded. So, I had to learn to treat myself. To learn herb identification, I did a lot of odd jobs for the doctors at Huichun Hall." Su Rong scratched her nose, "Unless I’m seriously injured that can’t be concealed like a wound on my face, and I don’t have the money to buy expensive medicine to treat it myself, I’ll disturb my family. It’s a last resort."
Zhou Gu was speechless, "Why did you always fight with others?"
Su Rong was adamant, "People always provoke me, and there’s nothing I can do."
Zhou Gu: "..."
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