Under the warm hospitality of the Lord, Su Rong rested for half a day at his residence, had dinner, and then left.
Before she left, Mrs. Qin and Qin Zhen insisted on accompanying Qin Ruo to express their gratitude.
Upon seeing Su Rong, Mrs. Qin immediately knelt down, "Lady Su Qi, your kindness and favor..."
Su Rong hurriedly helped her up, saying seriously: "Mrs. Qin, there’s no need for such grand gestures of gratitude. The reason I took Qin Ruo away was because of his talent, which would be a waste if ignored. I pleaded with the Crown Prince for a favor. In theory, to ease your worries for Qin Ruo, I should have brought you along, but nowadays the situation in Nanchu is too chaotic. If a person shows vulnerability, they will easily be hindered, and it may even put you in danger. Therefore, only Qin Ruo can come with me. In the future, when I find my footing and when Qin Ruo is safe, I will bring you over and properly settle you down. For now, I hope you can be patient."
Mrs. Qin shed tears, shaking her head hastily, "Not at all, I’m not feeling aggrieved. As long as Ruo’er is well, I would be at ease even if I had to die a thousand deaths."
Su Rong smiled, "Rest assured, since Qin Ruo has pledged allegiance to me, I will certainly treat him well."
Mrs. Qin wiped away her tears, "Lady Su Qi, can Ruo’er write to me once he arrives in Nanchu?"
"Yes."
Mrs. Qin smiled, "Thank you, Lady Su Qi. I won’t delay you any longer."
Su Rong nodded, "Ma’am, please return quickly!"
But Mrs. Qin shook her head, insisting on watching Su Rong’s departure.
With the departure of Su Rong’s carriage, the thirty thousand soldiers waged their camp and left Nanhuai City in an imposing manner.
His lordship personally sent them off. After seeing them off, he breathed a sigh of relief, saying to a trusted aide: "Lady Su Qi is really impressive. Thirty thousand troops, where are they being taken? Are there any wars there?"
The aide didn’t know, as he didn’t dare to ask, so naturally, he couldn’t answer.
The Lord beckoned to Qin Zhen, "Did you ask where these thirty thousand troops led by Lady Su Qi are heading?"
Qin Zhen shook his head, "No, my lord."
Both Qin Zhen and Mrs. Qin were too busy saying their goodbyes to Qin Ruo, only knowing that Lady Su Qi was a princess of Nanchu who was returning back to Nanchu and made a detour just for Qin Ruo. However, they knew nothing else.
His lordship sighed and looked at Qin Zhen, "Your Qin family is quite fortunate to have Qin Ruo. I have been an official here for more than a decade, and I’ve never seen any family like yours where someone would come to pick you up when you fell so low."
Qin Zhen politely replied, "My lord is right, we owe it all to Lady Su Qi’s kindness."
"Indeed, she personally came here with the Crown Prince’s token, leading thirty thousand troops, grand and imposing. It’s far more majestic than when Lord Thursday secretly entrusted me to take care of the Qin family. From now on, as long as you don’t commit any life-threatening crimes, I will ensure that your livelihood is taken care of and your lives are safe. You should just live peacefully here for a few years since you have this good fortune!"
Qin Zhen agreed.
His lordship, looking at the retreating troops, muttered, "How astonishing! Lord Thursday of Duke Residence is going to be a prince-consort in Nanchu."
He found it hard to believe, "A prince-consort, it’s incredible to think about."
How could the youngest son of Duke Residence become Nanchu’s prince-consort? Doesn’t everyone know that he is an auxiliary politician being trained by the Crown Prince?
Thinking of the Crown Prince, he felt things were really unpredictable. A few years ago, it seemed like the Eastern Palace was in decline, and the position of the heir was likely to be replaced. But unexpectedly, within a few months this year, the situation changed dramatically. The Crown Prince and the second prince both failed and were granted death. The Crown Prince is now acting as the Regent, and it is said that the Emperor has fully delegated power to him.
The aide chimed in, "Indeed, from now on, Lord Thursday will be a prince-consort."
The lord looked at the aide and wanted to say being a prince-consort isn’t as good as being an auxiliary minister. Still, he remembered Su Rong’s words about Zhou Gu to Qin Ruo - being someone she adored dearly and refused to let go, and being her future partner in governing Nanchu. It seemed that being a prince-consort wasn’t any less than being an auxiliary minister.
He waved his hand, "Let’s go, we should all go back."
After boarding the carriage, Su Rong rested on Yuewan’s lap for a while. Suddenly, she thought of Qin Ruo’s hand. She took out a bottle of ointment from her arms and handed it to Yuewan, "This is for Qin Ruo, I want him to recover from his frostbite quickly."
Yuewan nodded, took the ointment, opened the curtain, and handed it to a guard riding next to the carriage, "This is the ointment from Lady Su Qi for Young Master Qin Ruo, get it to him quickly."
The guard complied and went to the carriage where Qin Ruo was.
In Qin Ruo’s carriage, Ning Ze was enthusiastically introducing Su Rong to him, hoping to help him better understand the person he had pledged allegiance to. Qin Ruo listened attentively.
Speaking of Su Rong, one could not avoid mentioning Zhou Gu and Ye Guixue. Ning Ze lowered his voice, "You haven’t met the second son of the Ye Xiang Residence in Nanchu, have you? He truly lives up to his name. His fame and talent are not for nothing. He is incredibly talented and handsome, and has the vast Ye Xiang Residence behind him. He also controls the hundred thousand troops of Nanchu. It’s only natural for Lady Su Qi to choose him as her prince-consort, right? After all, compared to Lord Thursday, his family background has a lot more advantages. But again, just for Lord Thursday, Lady Su Qi broke off the engagement. When she called off the engagement, you must know what the situation was like in Daliang? The Crown Prince hadn’t yet secured the throne, and Zhang Ping was still plotting a rebellion in secret. Who could have foreseen what would happen in the future? Lady Su Qi really has the courage, right? She really, truly likes Lord Thursday."
Qin Ruo slowly nodded, "I never realised there was so much going on. I was indeed ignorant and presumptuous when I spoke in front of Lady Su Qi."
"Sigh, there is no blame for the unknowing. When you defended Lord Thursday, whom you consider your friend and also her betrothed, I think Lady Su Qi was quite happy to hear it," said Ning Ze softly.
Qin Ruo suddenly laughed, "That’s true, unintentionally hit the mark."
Ning Ze continued, "Let me introduce the people around Lady Su Qi so that you can familiarize yourself."
"Thank you, Brother Ning." Qin Ruo nodded.
As Ning Ze was the first to pledge allegiance to Su Rong, he was quite familiar with everyone and their stories, so he started to talk about Zhang Mao, Jiang Zhu, Zhang Yun, Dr. Zhang, Shen Yi, and others.
Listening, Qin Ruo deepened his understanding of Su Rong. At the same time, he thought that with her ability to discern people, her talent for leadership, her willingness to govern, and her strategic insight, why would Nanchu not be strong?
At this time, a guard brought the ointment, knocking on the carriage from outside, "Young Master Qin Ruo, this is the ointment that Lady Su Qi instructed for you."
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