Su Rong, confident and assertive, pointed at her forehead, "I always get into fights and get wounded, which costs a lot in medical treatment."
Seeing Zhou Gu looking at her, she added, "Before you came to Jiangning, didn’t I injure my forehead in a fight in Chen Zhou? I was afraid it would leave a scar, so I used a balm that was worth a thousand taels a bottle. That expense came out of my dowry."
Zhou Gu remembered that she had mentioned this before and was speechless, "Your mother really has it hard."
If his mother had a daughter as prodigal as her, he thought, she probably wouldn’t have maintained her demeanor as calmly as the lady of the house had. She would probably have disciplined her harshly very early on.
Su Rong sighed, but what she hadn’t told him was that there was a reason behind her medical expenses. It wasn’t as simple as getting into fights with people, in reality, she was frequently targeted for assassination. In order not to worry others, she would cover up her wounds by saying she got into fights over trivial matters. Saying "I got into a fight because of this and that," was much better than telling them "I almost got killed again today," right? At least it wouldn’t scare her mother to death, or lead to her being confined indoors.
"Is your dowry still sufficient?" Zhou Gu asked.
"I guess it’s sufficient?" Su Rong was not so sure, she patiently admitted, she is planning to go to the sedan chair alone.
"Then, how about fighting less in the future?" Zhou Gu was about to say "It doesn’t matter if your dowry isn’t enough", but then he felt that this wasn’t the right thing to say and changed it to, "Try not to cause your mother so much worry."
Su Rong nodded, "Okay."
Anyway, after her rigorous training throughout the year, she was now skilled enough that normal people wouldn’t be able to kill her, and those who wanted to kill her would only dare to do so if she stayed in Jiangning and didn’t send a large number of people to kill her directly. There was no need for her to keep injuring herself.
She asked, "Shall we go back to rest?"
Zhou Gu nodded.
As Su Rong headed towards her courtyard, Zhou Gu, going in the opposite direction, looked back at her after walking a few steps. He saw her slender silhouette in the moonlight, bathed in a gentle, warm aura. From this point of view, she seemed peaceful and elegant, which was quite at odds with her fiery personality. He laughed slightly, then turned back around.
After he turned back, Su Rong also looked back and caught sight of Zhou Gu’s tall, slender figure fading into the distance under the moonlight. His figure shone with a clear radiance under the moonlight, creating a captivating image. She found herself unable to look away. She thought to herself, Zhou Gu is really wonderful, I wonder if I am fortunate enough to marry him.
Two days later, Zhou Gu’s letter, carried by swift and tireless horses, was delivered to Crown Prince Yan Huisheng in the Eastern Palace.
It had only been a day since his last message, and Yan Huisheng had already arranged for people to thoroughly investigate the Marquis Nanping Residence and Jiangzhou Inspector’s Residence. Now, on receiving Zhou Gu’s letter, along with the letters and tokens from Ning Chi, the heir apparent of Marquis Nanping, Yan Huisheng was quite surprised.
"Your Highness, hurry and see what that boy has written in his letter," Grand Tutor Qin suggested.
Yan Huisheng nodded, opened Zhou Gu’s letter first, read it, then passed it to Grand Tutor Qin. He then opened Ning Chi’s letter, read it, and passed it to Grand Tutor Qin too. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
After reading both letters, along with Yan Huisheng, Grand Tutor Qin was quite pleased, "I previously thought this boy was unruly, but now it seems that after leaving Capital City and going to Jiangning, he’s become more disciplined and is now gathering talent for Your Highness."
Yan Huisheng chuckled, "Grand Tutor, you’ve always had high expectations for Zhou Gu. Over the years, he has complained that he never hears any praise from you."
Grand Tutor Qin stroked his beard, "I’m afraid that if I praise him once, he’ll become overconfident."
Yan Huisheng shook his head with a smile, picked up Ning Chi’s jade plate and after looking at it, set it down. He asked Grand Tutor Qin, "According to the Grand Tutor’s opinion, how should we handle this matter?"
"Since Ning Chi is sincere in his allegiance, naturally, Your Highness should accept him. But first, we need to help Ning Chi escape from Marquis Nanping’s control, so that he can freely make his own decisions and assist Your Highness," Grand Tutor Qin stroked his beard, "Last time, when you were attacked in Jiangning, the clues pointed to the Jiangzhou inspector. You didn’t make a move against Jiang Sheng, because you wanted to find the mastermind behind the scenes. Now that we have Zhou Gu’s letter, we don’t need to investigate anymore. It turns out, it was the Crown Prince. In this case, why not take action against Jiang Sheng first. This way, we can break Ning Chi’s unwanted marriage to Jiang Sheng’s daughter, first to resolve his predicament, and second to seize control of Jiangzhou."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "Removing Jiang Sheng is fairly easy. We just need to present the evidence pointing towards the assassination attempt on me. However, after Jiang Sheng is removed, who should assume the position of Jiangzhou’s Inspector?"
"Su Xu, the Governor of Jiangning, has been there for more than a decade. He should also be transferred, right? He can’t retire as the governor of Jiangning."
"As a person, Su Xu lacks ambition and seems content to stay in Jiangning until his death," Yan Huisheng pondered for a moment, "However, I am curious about why the old duke would arrange a betrothal for Zhou Gu with a common girl from his family. I wonder if there’s more to it."
"The Old Duke is quite tight-lipped, he didn’t even disclose the reason to Zhou Gu, so it’s likely to be significant. The news of Duke Residence’s marriage arrangement with Governor Su’s residence has already been leaked. Even the Emperor seems quite astonished," Grand Tutor Qin replied, "I have sent someone to investigate, but so far, we haven’t found anything."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "Although the Emperor represses me, he does not limit the Duke’s Residence’s communication with me."
Grand Tutor Qin sighed, "His Majesty is becoming increasingly..."
He wanted to say something, but considering the obvious, he didn’t see the need to elaborate further. Instead, he continued, "Regardless of the hidden story, the betrothal between the Duke’s Residence and the Governor’s Residence is a fact. If we take this opportunity to promote Su Xu, the Emperor will likely not object. Additionally, even though Su Xu would become the Inspector of Jiangzhou, he would still not be leaving Jiangning, the jurisdiction of which would still fall under his purview. Su Xu himself should have no objections to this. Besides, being a daughter of the Inspector’s Residence, although Su Qi wouldn’t be considered high-ranking, it’s still a step up from her status as the daughter of a Governor."
Yan Huisheng nodded, "Zhou Gu did not mention how he is getting along with Lady Su Qi in his letter, but since he is willing to recommend Ning Chi for me, they must be getting along well."
Grand Tutor Qin said, "If this marriage takes place, it would be good. With a family and a career, Zhou Gu’s temperament should stabilize. He would then be able to assist you diligently in court."
Yan Huisheng, recalling Zhou Gu’s expressed desire to skip the upcoming civil examinations, wondered whether Zhou Gu would change his mind after his trip to Jiangning. He decided to keep this concern to himself for the time being, without mentioning it to Grand Tutor Qin. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Send someone to Nanping, with my token, to deliver to Ning Chi."
"This is an important matter, we need to send a reliable person." Grand Tutor Qin’s thoughts turned back to Ning Chi, "We must ensure the Marquis of Nanping does not discover that Ning Chi has already joined our side."
Yan Huisheng nodded in agreement.
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