Su Xingze disagreed.
He looked at Su Rong with a stern face, "At the moment, all we have is a marriage agreement on paper, nothing is definitive. Until the Duke Residence sends someone to formally request the marriage, to exchange the betrothal letters and make your engagement official, and once the six rituals are performed, then you can start to nurture your feelings with him."
Su Rong objected, "Big brother, isn’t this too customary? If we don’t develop feelings beforehand, wouldn’t it be equivalent to a blind-marriage?"
"He has been residing in the Governor’s Residence, so you both will meet anyway and have daily conversations which are more than enough. Having you constantly by his side would be far from conventional. The saying goes ’Marry a daughter off high, take a wife in low’. Our Governor’s Residence’s social status is inherently lower than the Duke Residence. If you have no restraint, word will get to the Duke Residence in the Capital City and how will The Great Princess Sheng An and the Duchess view you? They are said to be people who greatly respect traditions." Su Xingze had the final say, "If you think Zhou Gu is good, then don’t take this marriage matter too lightly. After all, you’re not only marrying him, but also marrying into the Duke Residence."
Su Rong struggled again, "But isn’t the request to nurture our feelings made by the old Duke?"
"So whatever the old Duke said is law? The Duke has an illustrious reputation, should our Governor’s Residence and you rush to comply? The Duke Residence hasn’t shown any concern for years and only now, after Mother sent a letter asking, did they make a move. Why should we go out of our way to comply?" Su Xingze raised an eyebrow, "Besides, the Master can’t leave and will return later. He instructed me when I was leaving the Yunshan Academy to handle your marriage issues once he returned. Therefore, it is only right that I accompany Zhou Gu."
"Alright then." As soon as Su Rong heard the mention of the "Master," she let her anger go.
Seeing that she complied, Su Xingze’s facial expression softened, "I will arrange for a wet nurse to educate you. You should start learning the rules while studying how to manage a household."
Su Rong showed a bitter expression, "Do I really have to learn this right away?"
She felt that she wouldn’t be getting married in just a year. After all, she and Zhou Gu are both still quite young. Even if everything goes smooth, shouldn’t her elder sisters get married first? With so many elder sisters, wouldn’t she have to queue?
"Your manners over these years have been disgraceful. Now, you are almost of age. If not now, when do you plan to learn?" Su Xingze didn’t allow her to retort and patted her head, "Go wash away the alcohol smell and rest. Leave Zhou Gu to me."
Su Rong stood up, gave Su Xingze a resentful look, "You should go to bed earlier too, brother."
Having said that, she trudged away.
Amused yet slightly irritated, Su Xingze stood up after Su Rong left. He opened the window to stare at the cool night for a moment before closing it and exiting the study.
On his way back to the guesthouse, Zhou Gu gave Ziye a glance. Ziye didn’t catch his meaning and blinked in confusion. Zhou Gu gave him a hard stare but didn’t speak.
It was only when they had returned to the guesthouse, entered the room, and shut the door that Zhou Gu lowered his voice, "I was hinting for you to see how Su Xingze was disciplining Su Rong. How could you have not understood my meaning?"
"Ah?" Ziye hesitated, "Young Master, isn’t it inappropriate to eavesdrop, particularly when Lady Su Qi is being reprimanded?"
"Just do as I told you, be careful not to be discovered." Zhou Gu had faith in Ziye’s capabilities, if it wasn’t for Su Rong sneaking out to buy alcohol that night and Ziye wasn’t with her, she certainly wouldn’t have slipped past his watchful eyes.
With no other choice, Ziye had to become the classic eavesdropper.
When Ziye made his way to Su Xingze’s study, he was shocked that there were many guards standing watch. Unsure of the situation, he didn’t dare to rashly move forward. As he was contemplating his next move, he noticed Su Rong exiting from Su Xingze’s study. He thought to himself, "Well, this saves me the trouble."
Ziye returned to Zhou Gu’s courtyard and entered the room. Zhou Gu was surprised, "Why did you come back so quickly?"
Ziye scratched his head, "The elder young master’s study is heavily guarded by many guards. I didn’t dare to barge in. Just as I was thinking of a solution, Miss Su Qi exited from the elder young master’s study, so I had to return."
Zhou Gu asked, puzzled, "How many guards are considered many?"
"About twenty or thirty!"
Zhou Gu was even more surprised, "That’s odd, even my grandfather’s study only has around a hundred and eighty guards, yet, a son of the Governor’s Residence has so many guards watching over his study?"
Ziye shook his head, "I have no idea."
Zhou Gu speculated, "Calculating the time, it can’t have been long. Could it be that Su Rong didn’t get reprimanded?"
"When Miss Su Qi was leaving Elder Brother Su’s study, her expression didn’t look too good, as if she wasn’t happy." Even though it was dark, Ziye could still clearly see. He guessed, "Probably she got reprimanded."
As for what she was reprimanded for, since he hadn’t heard, he had no idea.
Zhou Gu nodded, since they heard nothing, there was no other choice but to let it go. He waved at Ziye, "Alright, you can go now."
Ziye withdrew.
Zhou Gu poured himself a cup of tea, pondering over Su Xingze’s expression when he saw him today. It seemed that he didn’t quite like him which was quite different from the attitudes of Governor Su, Madam Su and Su Rong. Could it be that he didn’t agree with this marriage in his heart?
He clicked his tongue, he hadn’t expected that although he was initially resistant to marrying Su Rong due to her status, now it seemed he was the unwanted party.
When Su Rong returned to her courtyard, she saw Governor Su and the First Lady waiting in her room. She was speechless, "It’s so late. Why haven’t Father and Mother gone to sleep yet?"
Governor Su sighed, "Isn’t it because your big brother came back? You know his nature; he scolded us harshly. Your mother and I also felt that what he said made sense. It really is quite thoughtless for us to let you and Zhou Gu develop feelings."
The First Lady nodded, "Indeed, we hadn’t given it much thought before. It seemed like a good thing that Duke Residence was acknowledging this marriage. So, we insisted Zhou Gu stay here to allow both of you to cultivate feelings. But now that your elder brother speaks of it, it seems like our actions may have seemed rather desperate."
Su Rong placed her fingers on her forehead. She knew it, as long as Su Xingze is there, the entire family can be convinced by his words. She nodded, "Big brother lectured me too, and I think he also has a point."
Governor Su and the First Lady had thought that Su Rong would be reluctant, so they had specifically waited in her room to persuade her with reason. They hadn’t expected that she would agree so easily.
Both of them exchanged a glance, stood up in unison, "Since you also see his point, then it’s fine. You should rest early. We’re leaving."
With that said, they left without asking how well she got along with Zhou Gu these past two days. They walked past Su Rong and exited the room.
Su Rong: "..."
Once the First Lady got outside the door, she turned back to confirm once more with Su Rong, "Tomorrow, you’ll continue studying household management with me? Your big brother is to accompany Zhou Gu, right?"
Su Rong nodded.
The First Lady gave her a kind smile, "Then you should rest early to be energetic for tomorrow."
Su Rong nodded again.
With this, the First Lady left happily.
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