Zhou Gu held Su Rong for a good while before he let go of her.
He only kissed her lips, not daring to disturb her clothes. Therefore, apart from slightly dishevelled hair and somewhat swollen lips, Su Rong’s clothes were not disturbed at all, and her injuries were untouched.
Zhou Gu awkwardly smoothed Su Rong’s hair, then pulled her into the soft beddings. He himself lay down on his side next to her, asking, "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Could Su Rong speak her mind? She couldn’t move, just like a fish, entirely at his mercy, unable to retaliate. It felt so frustrating, okay?
But seeing his serious expression, she naturally couldn’t tell him that. She just shook her head, "I don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere."
Inside, she thought secretly, once her injury had healed, she must retaliate ruthlessly, making sure her acts far exceed what he has done.
Zhou Gu, oblivious to Su Rong’s thoughts, felt relieved when he heard that she was not uncomfortable. He opened a box revealing steaming small dumplings. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief and then picked one to feed her.
Looking at the dumpling, Su Rong said, "Just help me sit up. I can eat by myself!"
"No need, just lay there, it will help you heal faster." Having experienced recovery from injuries, Zhou Gu knew that even minor movements, despite utmost care, may cause discomfort to the injuries. "I’ll feed you."
Seeing his determination, Su Rong didn’t argue further. He fed her, and she nibbled on the small dumpling, bite by bite.
If it were before, Su Rong would have eaten the dumplings in two bites, and likely Zhou Gu and Fen Ling would finish them in one. But now, since she was lying down and being fed by Zhou Gu, it was a bit inconvenient. She could only eat slowly, finishing one dumpling after several bites.
Zhou Gu didn’t mind her slow eating and was very patient.
After having four or five dumplings, Su Rong shook her head at Zhou Gu, "I’m full."
Zhou Gu asked, "Really?"
"Yes, I can’t eat anymore."
Zhou Gu nodded and awkwardly wiped her mouth. Then he turned around and finished the remaining two and a half trays of dumplings. He ate quickly, but didn’t seem to be gobbling up greedily. It was quite graceful.
After he finished eating, he also wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. Seeing Su Rong watching him with open eyes, he raised an eyebrow, "Don’t you want to continue sleeping?"
"I’m not sleepy, and I don’t want to sleep." Su Rong shook her head.
Zhou Gu thought for a moment and lay down next to her, "Shall we talk, then?"
Su Rong nodded, "Okay."
Although Zhou Gu didn’t want to bring up the topic of Ye Guixue at this moment, he knew that without crossing over the page of Ye Guixue, neither now nor in the future in Nanchu, things would remain unresolved between him and Su Rong.
He asked Su Rong, "When Ye Guixue left the capital, you requested to call off your engagement, did he agree willingly?"
What he wanted to know was whether Ye Guixue was as reluctant as him, not willing to call off the engagement, but forced to do so.
"It was alright, I suppose!" Su Rong couldn’t describe how guilty and helpless she felt, seeing Ye Guixue at that time. Even the gentlest person would find it hard to let go when being abandoned. But the fact that Ye Guixue was able to handle the matter with her calmly and had that kind of self-restraint was indeed commendable.
"What do you mean by ’alright’?" Zhou Gu demanded further clarification.
Looking at him, Su Rong said, "That he didn’t have a falling out with me."
She remembered that Zhou Gu had had a falling out with her back then.
Apparently, Zhou Gu recalled too. When she had come to renounce their engagement, hadn’t he fallen out with her? But then he did nothing to her afterwards. He twirled a lock of Su Rong’s hair around his fingertips and asked lightly, "What did he say?"
It wasn’t that Zhou Gu was pressing for details, but he knew very little about Ye Guixue. He wanted to figure out a few things through this incident.
If it were him, he believed, he would never have agreed to call off the engagement. Anyone could see how wonderful Su Rong was. Having such an engagement, how could he not hold on tightly? But he gave it up willingly.
After all, Ye Guixue was not like him. Ye Guixue’s wisdom and experience should have been enough for him to hold on to the person he wanted.
Su Rong knew Zhou Gu wouldn’t dwell on her previous engagement with Ye Guixue. If he did, she wouldn’t have felt affectionate towards him. Perhaps he had some thoughts, that’s why he was asking these questions. After thinking for a moment, she told him about the incident when she proposed to cancel the engagement with Ye Guixue and return the Tiger Talisman of an army of a hundred thousand soldiers.
She had a good memory and told the details accurately. She still remembered clearly what Ye Guixue had said. As for what she had said, some things were better left unsaid to Zhou Gu.
But Zhou Gu was extremely intelligent, after listening to her explanation, he hugged her and murmured softly, "He didn’t want to."
Su Rong nodded. Naturally, Ye Guixue didn’t want to. But just like the time she broke off her engagement with Zhou Gu, she was firm and made it clear that she was soft towards Zhou Gu. She didn’t want to harm others or herself in the future. Now, taking a step back and speaking honestly, was the best for both of them.
The only thing she felt somewhat guilty about, but not too guilty, was that she was very honest with him, unlike when dealing with Zhou Gu before, hiding her identity and the real reason for cancelling the engagement.
"So, entrusting Ya Qiuying to you and placing her in the Eastern Palace before he left was his way of expressing his position." Zhou Gu let out a sigh of relief, "However, the Ye Xiang Residence is ultimately not his to control, so the stance of Ye Xiang cannot be predicted."
"Hmm."
Zhou Gu continued, "Nangong Yu is one of the four young masters of the Nangong Family. His actions in Nanchu must have drawn a lot of attention. The fact that he could leave Nanchu without being hindered suggests the Ye Xiang Residence did not interfere. Otherwise, he might not even have been able to cross the border of Nanchu. I suspect Ye Xiang was very annoyed with you due to cancelling the engagement with Ye Guixue."
"By extrapolating from Nangong Yu’s situation to Ye Guixue’s, Ye Guixue, who attracted even more attention, was able to seize the Tiger Talisman of the hundred thousand troops and come to see you in Daliang, which suggests he must have had a hard journey. The Nangong Family must have tried to stop him, but he managed to overcome their obstructions."
"The Ye Xiang Residence was already under immense pressure facing the Nangong Family, yet you received and returned the Tiger Talisman and agreed to the engagement with Ye Guixue then called it off, which meant all of their plans were in vain. Therefore, it was expected that Ye Xiang would be irritated, anyone in his place wouldn’t be magnanimous."
Su Rong nodded, "There’s nothing to do about it."
Zhou Gu sighed lightly and picked up her cue, "Yes, there’s nothing to do about it. Who asked me to come first, and him to arrive later."
He said, and smiled a bit, "Lady Su Qi, you’re so irrational, filling your mind with love and romance rather than matters of the country and world. These actions of yours must be a huge disappointment to the Nanchu King and Ye Xiang, right?"
"I don’t care about the disappointment of the Nanchu King. After all, who asked him to only have one child like me and not have any other sons or daughters? He deserves it." Su Rong didn’t care. After all, she had only found out a few months ago that she had a biological father in this world. "As for Ye Xiang, if he is disappointed, then so be it. I can’t depend on the Ye Xiang Residence all my life. Once the dependence starts, being constrained is inevitable. After all, some things come with gains and losses."
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