Su Xingze took Zhou Gu out of the Residence to meet friends through literature, one of whom happened to be Jiang Xing.
On seeing Zhou Gu, Jiang Xing was reminded of his previous day’s outing at the Peach Blossom Creek with Su Rong. Today, accompanied by Su Xingze, he felt a bitter sweetness in his heart. Zhou Gu’s family background was something he could never hope to match. If it were not for the siblings Su Rong bringing him along here, he would probably be too intimidated to utter a single word in Zhou Gu’s presence in the Capital City.
Su Xingze intentionally tested Zhou Gu, claiming this meeting was about meeting friends through literature, but he was also assessing Zhou Gu.
Every talented young man has some arrogance, and those who befriended Su Xingze were no ordinary individuals. Thus, on this day’s gathering of intellectuals, they covered topics from poetry and historical records, to astronomical geography and biographies of the past and present. Not only did Zhou Gu gain insight into their profound talents, but to uphold the reputation of the Duke Residence and himself, resulting from years of accompanying the Crown Prince in his studies at the Eastern Palace, he did reveal some of his own brilliance.
Everyone was astonished. Zhou Gu, a man of military lineage, displayed such literary grace in his speech, well-versed in history and had a wide range of knowledge. Clearly, his extensive reading and years spent accompanying the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace had fostered a scholarly aura around him.
If they were previously impressed by Zhou Gu solely because of his status, they were now genuinely captivated by his intellect.
The pampered young master from a noble family was not an empty vessel after all. The rumors about his childhood mischief in the study which provoked the tutor into complaining to the emperor now seemed rather unbelievable. His erudition was eye-opening indeed.
Su Xingze was also surprised to find that Zhou Gu actually had substance. He reasoned that if Zhou Gu were indeed a reckless waste, how could he have spent several years accompanying the Crown Prince in his studies at the Eastern Palace without being expelled by the teachers? Evidently, Zhou Gu had redeeming qualities contrary to popular rumors.
These people, including Su Xingze, mistook Zhou Gu for a man of shallow wit mainly due to his notorious impression after the scandal of fighting with the young lord Xie Lin of Rui’an King Residence over a woman. As Su Rong once said, that incident indeed tarnished Zhou Gu’s reputation.
No wonder they say good news never leaves the house, while bad news spreads far and wide. This was certainly the case here.
In the afternoon, Su Xingze took Zhou Gu out for lunch. They only returned home in the evening, just as night was about to fall.
Zhou Gu thought to himself, no wonder he was able to control Su Rong. During the day, Su Xingze seemed to have exhausted all Zhou Gu’s knowledge. Zhou Gu had no opportunity to hide anything.
When they returned to the Residence, it was near dinner time. They both took a bath and changed clothes before heading to the front hall.
Having been kept busy by the Madam for the whole day, Su Rong felt dazed due to exhaustion. In order to escape from the voluminous account books, she arrived early in the front hall, using the opportunity to kick-start her senses.
Therefore, when Zhou Gu and Su Xingze arrived at the front hall one after the other, they saw Su Rong sitting listlessly by the window. She looked utterly exhausted, with an aura of "I’m so tired, I just want to drop dead, can someone please save me?" emanating from herself.
Su Xingze paused briefly and asked her, "Why are you sitting here?"
Feeling listless, Su Rong replied, "Tired. Just catching a breath."
Su Xingze remained silent. Had he not known better about Su Rong’s temperament, he would certainly be fooled by her act. When she was little, she used to follow Zhenwei Escort Agency to the Savanna in Jibei and would only return after several months, full of vigor and verve. She never once complained about being tired. Now, after only looking at account books for a day, how tired could she possibly be?
Zhou Gu, on the other hand, was fooled by Su Rong’s act. Seeing her listless and wilted appearance that screamed exhaustion, he felt a pang of pity for her, "Is Madam Su very strict? Is it difficult for you to learn?"
Su Rong nodded, "Mother is very strict."
Not only did she insist Su Rong finish all the account books prepared for her, but she also ordered for all the account books of the entire Residence to be fetched. Su Rong couldn’t finish them even in three days! She felt like she was dealing with a wicked mother-in-law!
Zhou Gu also felt somewhat tired. Accompanying him for a day, Su Xingze exhausted him more than the three-day leisurely outing with Su Rong. However, the day was fruitful. Truth be told, those who were close to Su Xingze indeed had substance, and their character seemed satisfactory, worth befriending. Among them, Jiang Xing was the most talented.
Zhou Gu tentatively asked Su Xingze, "Actually, Madam doesn’t need to be so strict, isn’t it, Big Brother Su?"
Su Xingze replied with a light smile, "Being stricter now is good for her future. It’ll avoid her making a mess when managing the household."
Zhou Gu looked at Su Rong, looking pitiful, and almost blurted, "I will help her in the future." Luckily, he caught himself in time and thought it was a close call. Instead, he said to her, "Bear with it then, there’s no other way."
Su Rong: "..."
The main reason for her sitting here pitifully was to make Zhou Gu sympathise with her. What did he mean by "bear with it, there’s no other way"?
She looked at Zhou Gu with a sorrowful expression and asked him, "Zhou Gu, did you have a great time today?"
In the presence of Su Xingze, Zhou Gu obviously couldn’t deny having a good time, so he nodded, "Yes, it was fun."
Su Rong sighed, slowly getting up, "As long as you were happy."
Her unspoken words were, "I’m not happy, but that doesn’t matter, does it?"
Zhou Gu caught her meaning, touched his nose and thought, maybe he could subtly mention to the Madam during dinner to give Su Rong some slack and not be so severe. He was the fourth son, with a grandmother, a mother, as well as an elder sister-in-law and a second sister-in-law at home, and in the future, a third sister-in-law would be married into the family. Su Rong, being the smallest, only needed to manage her own small courtyard, and there was no need for her to take on unnecessary worries.
At this moment, Zhou Gu didn’t realize that he had transitioned from obstinately refusing to marry Su Rong in front of the old Duke just a few days ago to having absolutely no objection to marrying Su Rong now.
Everyone at the front hall had taken their seats, and they were waiting only for Zhou Gu and Su Xingze.
Su Rong still sat next to Zhou Gu, looking so worn out that it seemed as though she didn’t even have the energy to eat. This prompted Zhou Gu to check on her after eating a few bites, "Why aren’t you eating?"
"Tired." Su Rong was indeed somewhat tired, but not to the extent that she couldn’t lift her chopsticks.
Zhou Gu fell silent, then turned to the Madam who had entered and gently suggested, "Madam, mastering the household is not achieved in a day. Perhaps it would be better to be a bit more relaxed?"
The Madam thought to herself; Was Su Rong learning how to manage the household or simply correcting errors in these account books? Within a single day, she had detected faults from four to five managers, ranging from shopkeepers to the stewards of the properties and the Residence. This had led to a tremendous outpouring of the Madam’s wrath, and now all the remaining managers who hadn’t been audited yet were shivering in fear. Su Rong seemed to have an innate knack for dealing with accounts, was she having a hard time learning anything from the Madam? The Madam was merely pressing her to work.
But, of course, she couldn’t say this out loud. In the Residence, except for her, Yuewan and the housekeeper, no one knew what Su Rong was doing all day. Even those managers who were punished didn’t know how she spotted so many problems at once. They assumed the Madam had been observing them all the while and used these instances to teach the seventh young lady, Su Rong, how to manage the household and assert her authority.
The Madam coughed lightly, "Nephew Zhou is right. Excess of anything is bad. From tomorrow, she will learn only half a day."
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