Su Rong returned to the inn without encountering anyone who wanted to kill her again. The inn was quite quiet so she tiptoed to her room. As she walked past Zhou Gu’s room, his door suddenly swung open. Dressed in his casual clothes and with his arms crossed, Zhou Gu peered at her, "Where have you been?"
Su Rong was startled. Looking up at him, she thought to herself that sneaking out really was easier than sneaking back in. If she had managed to slip in and out unnoticed, implying Zhou Gu didn’t have a clue, it would make all his years of martial arts training pointless.
She touched her nose and stopped, offering the wine she was holding to him, "I went to buy some wine."
"Drunk Flower Brew?" Zhou Gu raised an eyebrow, "You can handle such strong wine?"
Su Rong blinked her eyes in response.
Zhou Gu leaned in, "You smell of alcohol. How much did you drink?"
Su Rong tells the truth, "One jar."
In reality, it was one and a half. She offered the first half to the Land God during her encounter with the assassin.
"Not bad. You drank a full jar and managed to return without a change of expression. I’ve underestimated you." Zhou Gu raised his eyebrow, "Are you planning to keep drinking this wine you brought back?"
Su Rong shook her head, "I bought it for you."
"At least you are conscientious." Zhou Gu took the jars of wine, but reminded her, "As a young lady, you shouldn’t run around at night. Just because you’re capable, doesn’t mean you should be arrogant. Or is it that the situation in Jiangning County is so good that you feel safe even at night?"
"We are not quite there yet." Listening to Zhou Gu’s serious lecture, Su Rong felt touched and shook her head, "I won’t do it again. I slept too much during the daytime, couldn’t sleep at night, and just went out for a stroll."
Zhou Gu grunted, reminding him of something he was curious about, "I’ve been meaning to ask, why are there no beggars in Jiangning County? I haven’t seen a single person in ragged clothes."
"Oh, that’s because of my father’s effective administration. Anyone who enters Jiangning without a penny, can go to the government’s relief station. After working there for ten days they can get some wages. With this money, they can start a small business and settle down. The government support and the related policies also help them. As a result, there are no beggars here."
"How does the Government get the money for this relief station? It must cost a lot of silver." Zhou Gu was puzzled, "Also, a number of policies would need financial support to keep running, right?"
Su Rong thought Zhou Gu really wasn’t clueless. She nodded, "Government taxes, donations from local wealthy people and the former beggars, who also contribute a part of their earnings every year as settlement fees. If you’re interested, you can ask my father when we get back. He’d be more than happy to explain it to you in more detail."
Zhou Gu got a rough idea, "So this is why despite its wealth, Jiangning just breaks even and doesn’t contribute much in taxes to the Imperial Court."
He wondered, "I heard that His Majesty sent someone to investigate Uncle Su but found no evidence of corruption, not even a single tael, which left everyone laughing. I assume they knew about these beneficial policies in Jiangning, but why weren’t they implemented in Daliang or anywhere on the way between the Capital City and Jiangning? I’ve seen many beggars on that route and many people seem unaware of the good conditions in Jiangning."
"The situation in Jiangning cannot be replicated." Su Rong laughed, "That’s because Jiangning has a person, the Number One Scholar of the third year of Zhengde. He’s very talented but doesn’t like court affairs. After travelling around the world for many years, he arrived in Jiangning, got along with my father, and decided to stay. He formulated a series of policies benefiting the people, which my father admired a great deal. Despite the initial difficulties in implementing these policies, after over a decade you can see the prosperous Jiangning County. His name is Xie Yuan."
Zhou Gu looked enlightened, "I know of Xie Yuan, he’s been residing in Jiangning all this time. Back when I was studying in the Eastern Palace, Grand Tutor Qin spoke highly of Xie Yuan. He said Xie Yuan was extremely talented and it was a pity that he didn’t serve in the Imperial Court or accept any noble titles."
"Isn’t it good to benefit the local people? Isn’t that worth it?" Su Rong asked.
"Of course it is," Zhou Gu affirmed and shook his head, "Where is he now? Can you take me to visit him tomorrow?"
"He was invited by Yunshan Academy to teach last month. He should be back by my hairpin ceremony." Su Rong shook her head, "If you stay until my hairpin ceremony, you will be able to meet him."
"He’s making a special trip back for your hairpin ceremony?" Zhou Gu asked, "He’s really nice to you!"
"Yes, Uncle Xie has never married. He treats me as his own daughter." Su Rong yawned.
Seeing her begin to show signs of fatigue, Zhou Gu refrained from speaking further and waved his hand at her, "It’s late. Go back and rest."
Su Rong responded with a grunt, then returned to her room.
Zhou Gu watched as Su Rong retreated to her room before he too, with the wine in hand, shut his door. After setting the wine down, he lit a lamp and stared at the two jars of wine on the table. He wondered how he, living just next door to Su Rong, hadn’t heard her leave or arrive. If his window hadn’t been open and wafts of the strong wine scent hadn’t filled his room, he wouldn’t have heard the subtle footsteps and wouldn’t have gone out and caught her sneaking back in.
The guards of the Duke Residence, although not top-notch masters, were all capable of holding their own against ten opponents. None of them had noticed Su Rong leaving or reported it to him. What worthless bunch!
He also thought to himself, if his fiancee moved into the Duke Residence, it seemed it would be quite easy for her to escape over the wall. Her skills weren’t bad, he wondered where she’d learned them.
Also, this Drunk Flower Brew, costing a hundred taels of silver per jar. Besides drinking it herself, she had brought two extra jars for him. Did she have a lot of money to spare?
Feeling wide awake, Zhou Gu decided to open a jar of wine and drank it by the window. After finishing that jar, he couldn’t help but open the other and drank that one too.
Following two jars of wine, Zhou Gu was slightly tipsy, so he returned to his bed and fell asleep again.
After taking a bath, Su Rong smelt the aroma of wine wafting from next door. Suppressing her laughter, she restrained her amusement after a few quiet chuckles. She adjusted the wick of the lamp, casting flickering shadows as she pulled out the dagger intending to examine it closely under the light. Under the glow of the firelight, an obscure engraving became faintly visible. She immediately paused, squinting to get a better look.
There was a mark, only visible under the light of the candle?
Feedback?
What did it mean?
After pondering for a moment without an answer, she decided to put away the dagger, extinguish the lamp, and went back to bed.
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