When the three of them left the room, Su Rong grabbed the unopened jar of wine on the table.
Descending the stairs and reaching the entrance, they saw Su Xingze in his black attire standing tall in the night, with his hands behind his back. His lean figure and handsome appearance, both top of the range, would give anyone who didn’t know him the impression that he was a prince from some aristocratic family.
Carrying the jar of wine, Su Rong walked quickly up to Su Xingze. With a playful charm, she handed him the jar of wine, pretending to look both surprised and happy, "Big brother, when did you come back? Have this jar of Drunken Blossom drink to quench your thirst!"
Su Xingze looked at her without saying a word, or taking the wine she was offering. He glanced at her and then raised his head, looking past her to Zhou Gu and the emerging Ning Chi, and greeted them, "Lord Thursday, Prince Ning, nice to meet you."
Zhou Gu had been curious about what kind of person Su Xingze, who could keep Su Rong in check, would be. Now at first sight, given that their parents were Governor Su and Madam Su, he did not expect Su Xingze to turn out to be such a cool and collected person.
He brushed his sleeve and greeted back. Thinking that addressing him as Brother Su seemed a bit distant, he changed to: "Big Brother Su."
Ning Chi smiled and also greeted, "Brother Su, you have good intelligence, how did you know it was me?"
"I made some inquiries on my way here and heard that Prince Ning would be staying at this inn tonight," Su Xingze replied with a nonchalant smile. "I came to pick up Lord Four and Little Seventh Sister. Prince Ning, will you also stay at the Governor’s residence tonight?"
Ning Chi shook his head, "Thanks for your invitation, Brother Su. I will set off for Nanping tomorrow, so I won’t be going. I’ve heard a lot about you, Brother Su, and it’s a pleasure to meet you today. I wish you all the best in the Golden Autumn Exam."
"That works too, thank you," replied Su Xingze, not pressing further. He then said to Zhou Gu and Su Rong, "Let’s go!"
Zhou Gu nodded, waved goodbye to Ning Chi, and got on the horse that was brought up to him.
Seeing that Su Xingze hadn’t said a word to her, Su Rong knew he was angry. She lightly bit on her teeth, passed the Drunken Blossom to a guard behind Su Xingze, and then silently got on her horse.
The group left the inn and rode back to the city.
Ning Chi watched them leave, commenting, "That is indeed Su Xingze."
On the way back to the city, the journey was silent. They entered the city quickly and returned to the Governor’s residence.
After dismounting, Su Xingze ordered the housekeeper who came to greet him,"Uncle Li, please show Lord Thursday to the guest house for some rest and have someone serve him well."
"Yes, Young Master," responded Uncle Li. He smiled and said to Zhou Gu, "My Lord, please allow me to escort you."
Zhou Gu glanced at Su Rong, who looked dejected. He wanted to say something, but seeing the cold look on Su Xingze’s face, and realizing that he probably didn’t have much say in front of her older brother, he quietly turned around and followed Uncle Li.
Su Rong also wanted to leave, but she didn’t dare to given Su Xingze’s current demeanor. Plucking up the courage, she came closer and tugged on Su Xingze’s arm, complaining softly, "Big Brother, you scared my fiancé."
Su Xingze looked down at Su Rong without saying anything.
Su Rong, holding onto his sleeve, tried to explain, "It’s all Jiang Sheng’s fault. We had to hide from him, so we stayed at an inn outside. Also, Prince Ning Chi from Marquis Nanping’s residence had something to talk to Zhou Gu about. I didn’t intentionally stay out overnight."
Seeing that Su Xingze still remained silent, Su Rong opened her eyes wide, "Big brother, remember three years ago when Jiang Sheng bullied our father, Madam Jiang bullied our mother, and Jiang Yunying bullied me? I finally had a chance to get Zhou Gu to help me settle the score, why should I let them off lightly? Who said that if they came to apologize, we had to obediently wait at home for them? This isn’t my fault, and you can’t give Zhou Gu the cold shoulder just because we stayed at an inn. We didn’t even stay in the same room."
Finally, Su Xingze showed some expression on his face. Brushing off Su Rong’s hand, he looked disgusted, "You reek of alcohol. Mother said you should behave like a lady, but I see you didn’t take that to heart. All her worry was in vain."
Su Rong: "....."
Of course, she smelled of alcohol after drinking so much. She giggled and linked arms with Su Xingze again, "Big Brother, why did you come back so suddenly?"
There were still quite a few days until her coming-of-age ceremony. Wasn’t he back a bit too early? And having come back, he even went out looking for her. Doesn’t that show how much he worries about her? 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
"Why do you think?" Su Xingze glared at her and walked forward, "Follow me to the study room."
Su Rong knew she could not avoid a lecture tonight, so she reluctantly followed.
Upon entering the study room, Su Xingze sat down and let out a sigh, "I had no idea that Mother would send a letter to the Duke Residence to inquire about your marriage. If I had known, I would have stopped her and waited until after my exam to settle this matter with the Duke Residence. Now this unexpected situation has caused the Duke Residence to send Zhou Gu personally to congratulate you on your coming-of-age ceremony. Are you really going to marry into Duke Residence?"
Sitting across Su Xingze with her chin resting on the table, Su Rong blinked her eyes on hearing his words, "Big Brother, what’s wrong with marrying into Duke Residence? If one man becomes successful, even his dogs and chickens rise to heaven. Like Mother said, if I climb a high branch, everyone in our family can benefit from it."
"And you?" Su Xingze asked.
"Me?" Su Rong laughed, "Zhou Gu is great. He’s a rare good husband, so I won’t be at a disadvantage."
Su Xingze snorted, "Is it good to compete with others for a woman?"
Su Rong stalled for a moment, feeling that she needed to clear Zhou Gu’s misunderstood reputation, "He tried to help someone. It’s just that his method wasn’t quite right, and it ended up causing a widely known misunderstanding."
Su Xingze raised an eyebrow.
Su Rong immediately relayed Zhou Gu’s explanation to him.
Su Xingze’s face cleared slightly after listening to the details, "So by that account, he’s not as reckless as I thought."
"Of course not, he’s really a good person. Big Brother, now that you’re back, get to know him better," Su Rong said quite seriously, "I promise you, Zhou Gu is really good. If he wasn’t, Father and Mother wouldn’t have reluctantly let him stay in our residence, would they?"
After hearing her words, Su Xingze seemed begrudgingly convinced, "Tell me, what have you been doing with him since he arrived?"
"Nothing much, just keeping him company," Su Rong briefly mentioned their outings to Maple Leaf River, Phoenix Mountain, and Peach Blossom Creek.
Although what she said was rather succinct, after listening to her, Su Xingze commented, "Father and Mother were careless. They shouldn’t have let you accompany him alone, not even bringing Yuewan along. I heard from Mother that she had started teaching you household management. Starting tomorrow, I will be the one accompanying him, and you can focus on learning household management at home."
Su Rong’s eyes widened, "Big Brother, is that good? I need to develop my relationship with him."
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