Su Rong didn’t speak immediately but carefully eyed Qin Ruo up and down.
It had been seven or eight months since the Qin family fell from grace. She had never seen what the young master of the Qin family looked like before, but one could imagine. The son of the former imperial censor, possessing both looks and talent, must have had the demeanor of an elegant young master from a noble household.
The man before her still managed to stand straight, but he was extremely thin, not yet emaciated due to the relatively short length of time. If more time passed, even if Zhou Gu were to come before him, he might not be recognizable.
They say that time is a slaughter knife, but in reality, hardship and toil are, particularly the kind that comes with no visible hope.
As Su Rong was observing Qin Ruo, he was also looking at her. Apart from his emaciated appearance, his eyes retained some of their original clear color, not yet completely dyed with the dark, ash-grey tint of despair. This, too, was due to the short length of time.
Hearing the official’s words, he greeted Su Rong with a bow, "Lady Su Qi."
He wasn’t ashamed to display his frost-bitten hands, and he didn’t attempt to hide them or shy away. There was no tension in his demeanor. After the initial surprise, he seemed to calmly wait for Su Rong to explain the purpose of his visit.
Su Rong nodded, "Young Master Qin."
She casually pointed with her hand, "Sit."
The seat she pointed to was not far from her, in the middle there was not much space. It should have been Fen Ling’s seat, but Fen Ling and Ning Ze had gone to study the stove in the middle of the warm tent. Therefore, the seat beside her was vacant.
Qin Ruo glanced at it but didn’t sit. "It’s fine, I will stand. Please speak, Lady Su Qi."
He was aware of his own appearance. Though not particularly dirty, he couldn’t get too close to people. After all, her white fox fur cloak was spotless, even in such a simple warm tent, she maintained impeccable cleanliness. His closeness may mar the elegance.
Su Rong thought to herself that even in such dire straits, he still retained a certain pride, and at any time, he did not wish to be discourteous.
Su Rong didn’t insist. She personally poured a bowl of hot water and offered it to him, "First, have a drink of water. We’ll talk afterward."
Qin Ruo paused, curled his fingers, slowly stepped forward, and accepted the hot water. "Thank you, Miss Qi."
This time he omitted her surname.
Su Rong smiled slightly. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
The official observed from the side. Noting that Su Rong treated Qin Ruo with respect rather than picking a fight, he immediately shifted his own chair over, signaling for him to sit. "Qin Ruo, sit and drink!"
Having the provincial lord personally move a seat for him was a first, and not many people have enjoyed such a treatment. After all, in Nanhuai City, the official was akin to a god.
Qin Ruo paused again, "My lord..."
"Ah, sit, please sit." The Lord hastily said, finishing his sentence, as if remembering something, he asked Su Rong, "Miss Su Qi, in this case, should I excuse myself?"
Su Rong replied with a light smile, "No need."
The Lord nodded, stepped aside, and someone considerate brought the Lord a chair, and he sat down smiling.
Qin Ruo, holding a bowl of water, slowly sat in the chair brought by the Lord, quickly drank the water, and then someone took the empty bowl away as he looked at Su Rong.
Su Rong said to him, "When I was in the Eastern Palace, I had a few encounters with the young lady within your family, she learned that I was going to Nanchu, pleaded with the Crown Prince and expressed her desire to accompany me to Nanchu. Upon hearing this from the Crown Prince, I recalled the documents I had read about the Qin Family and your talents, unfortunate to be exiled due to charges against your father, suffering in this harsh condition, perhaps risking life and limb as days pass, I thought it was a great pity. Thus, I suggested to the Crown Prince that since the young lady of the Qin family is living well in the Eastern Palace, why not give this opportunity to Qin Ruo. The Crown Prince, who appreciates your talent, agreed. Therefore, I made a detour to Nanhuai City to ask you personally whether you would like to join me in going to Nanchu?"
Qin Ruo, surprised, stared at Su Rong, speechless.
Su Rong said to him: "In theory, I should have agreed to your sister’s request. She is a person who knows how to assess the situation and has plans in mind, of course, she is also ambitious. She knows that staying in the Eastern Palace, she will only be an officials’ daughter burdened with a crime, even though Daliang is not harsh to women, there aren’t many opportunities for women to shine, nor are there many environments where they can compete with men. Therefore, she wanted to go with me to Nanchu and make a brave leap. Because I am a woman, I am the princess of Nanchu, and I am going to inherit Nanchu in the future. She follows me, she might be able to achieve her ambitions, one day, she might even become a high-ranking official. I, being the same gender as her, do admire her ambition and strategy to break free from constraints, but I simply do not want her."
Su Rong added, "She has been by the Crown Prince’s side for seven or eight months, as long as the Qin family has been in trouble. The Crown Prince has not treated her harshly, even more, because of I, Zhou Gu, under your trust, have taken care of her. Otherwise, how could a daughter of a criminal just entering the Eastern Palace take up the position of an official-girl? Even if she looks down on the official-girl position, she should know that not everyone can sit in the position of an official-girl. In the Eastern Palace, except for the housekeeper and the two young eunuchs serving the Crown Prince, no one can surpass her. Even so, she is still not satisfied and wants to use the Crown Prince to jump out of the Eastern Palace and aim for a higher place. I can’t help but wonder, if she comes to my side, what kind of position should I give her to satisfy her, and will there be a day when she hopes to jump out of my hand, like now, and fly to a higher place."
Seeing that Qin Ruo was listening quietly, Su Rong smiled again, "I employ talented people regardless of their background, but I don’t want to win over people who have abandoned their master to seek my protection. For instance, she was originally the Crown Prince’s person, but asked the Crown Prince to follow me. Or, for example, the Crown Prince voluntarily offered Yun An, who is by his side, to me. How could I snatch what he loves? I rejected them all."
Qin Ruo knows Yun An, the Crown Prince’s chief bodyguard, was shocked again.
Su Rong casually said, "I’m not high-minded or principled, I just simply think that there are some people I want to accept, and some people I don’t. After I rejected your sister’s request, her future prospects may not be promising, but as long as she doesn’t create trouble, she won’t suffer much, and she won’t have to worry about food and clothing. The Crown Prince has always been generous to his people."
"I asked your sister to choose between staying with you and coming with me, she was silent for a long time, and finally chose to be with you. No matter how much I wouldn’t have accepted her, that she chose you without knowing, suggests that there is some sibling affection between you." Su Rong took out a letter from her chest, held it in her hand, didn’t hand it to Qin Ruo, just let him see the words ’Addressed by younger sister’, "This is a letter from your sister entrusted to me to give you. Before you see her letter, I will give you an incense stick’s time to decide whether to go with me to Nanchu or stay here."
Looking at Su Rong, Qin Ruo’s voice finally became a little dry, "If I leave, what about my mother..."
"I only asked the Crown Prince for you, but the Lord is right here, if you follow me and leave, wouldn’t you ask the Lord to take care of her?" Su Rong turned to the Lord.
The Lord, already astonished, hurriedly replied: "Yes, I will take good care of her."
In his heart, there was a great uproar. He was thinking about being able to fetch a person from the land of exile, breaking an unwritten rule. But Miss Su Qi, with the token of the Crown Prince, could make exceptions for the first time ever.
Looking at Qin Ruo, he thought to himself, some people just have good fortunes that you can’t block.
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