Su Rong changed her clothes quickly, taking no longer than a couple of tea breaks, before returning.
Zhou Gu had assumed that she would change into men’s attire. But to his surprise, she just swapped her elaborate dress for a simple one. She removed her vermillion hairpin, replacing it with a single hairpin that held up her long hair. This look seemed to give her an air of efficiency than the earlier graceful, maiden-like presentation.
He asked, "What’s the difference between your previous outfit and this one?"
"Of course, there’s a difference. This one is better suited for scaling walls. The previous one wasn’t as convenient for that," she replied.
Zhou Gu was speechless.
"Let’s go." Su Rong placed a finger over her lips, making a shushing gesture. She softly whispered, "From this moment on, don’t say a word, just follow me."
Zhou Gu: "..."
He really didn’t know what to say about this display of unease amid mischief.
He quickly grabbed her and whispered, "If your elder brother finds out, he’d be furious, right? If I participate in this tomfoolery, won’t he question my moral integrity?"
"Oh, come on! My elder brother is in the study. He wouldn’t even dream that I’d dare to drag you to the Green Building. If we get caught, we’ll just say we were strolling in the night market." Su Rong assured him with confidence, "Let’s go!"
Zhou Gu nodded in resignation, alright then!
And so, Su Rong led the way with Zhou Gu following behind. They discreetly avoided the guards within the Duke Residence and sneaked into the tiny, dilapidated courtyard where Su Rong used to live. Then, Su Rong familiarly guided Zhou Gu, and they smoothly arrived at the base of the wall. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Looking up at the towering wall, Zhou Gu felt dizzy and suddenly realized, "Why is your house’s wall so high?"
It should be about as high as the palace walls. The walls of the Duke Residence were considered tall already, but this city wall was much taller.
Su Rong touched her nose sheepishly, "I always escape over the walls, so my mother built them to resemble the solidity of the City Wall. They even raised the height thrice."
Zhou Gu: "..."
Su Rong produced a grappling hook, tossed it lightly, and the hook easily hooked onto the top of the wall. She turned to Zhou Gu and proposed, "I’ll go up first, and then pull you up?"
Zhou Gu nodded. Even with his martial skills, he couldn’t scale such a high wall without aid.
Swiftly and with ease, Su Rong climbed the wall in a matter of moments and then sat on top, throwing the grappling hook to Zhou Gu. He caught it, used it to climb up, and then the two of them descended from the wall to the ground with the aid of the grappling hook, effectively leaving the Duke Residence.
Standing on the ground outside the wall, Zhou Gu felt quite guilty. It wasn’t his first time scaling a wall, but sneaking out with his fiancée in the middle of the night to visit Green Building made him feel out of sorts and rather guilty.
"Let’s go." Su Rong folded up the grappling hook.
Zhou Gu nodded.
Su Rong led Zhou Gu through two streets, turned into a back alley, and then navigated him over the backyard wall of Zuihua Building. They then stood before a window and rapped it thrice.
After three knocks, the window was opened from the inside, revealing the head of a woman. She looked to be in her thirties and was shocked to see Su Rong, "Little master, isn’t your fiancé here? Why are you here now?"
The implication being, since the fiancé was already here, she should be keeping her mischief in check and not risking a confrontation.
Su Rong smiled at her, "Yunniang, I am here to listen to tunes with my fiancé." She turned around and pointed behind her, "Here, my fiancé, Zhou Gu. He hasn’t seen much of the world, so I brought him here for a glimpse."
Yunniang: "..."
Zhou Gu: "..."
Yunniang peered past Su Rong and noticed Zhou Gu for the first time. Her eyes widened in shock, her mind seemed to daze because of Su Rong’s strategy, and she started to speak incoherently, "You, you, you... You brought your fiancé here?"
Su Rong nodded in confirmation, "Hey, don’t make such a fuss! It’s just a fun evening to drink some wine, listen to some music, and have some good times. Is that such a big deal?"
Yunniang, who had seen her fair share of the world, was left speechless by Su Rong. After regaining her composure, she forced a smile and walked out of the room to greet Zhou Gu, "Greetings, young master Zhou."
Now, with such an unreliable fiancée, young master Zhou might consider calling off the engagement, right?
Zhou Gu nodded, keeping his opinions to himself, as he was at a loss of what to say.
Su Rong gave an affirmative hum, "Oh yes, this is Yunniang."
Zhou Gu followed Su Rong’s lead, bowing slightly in greeting," Yunniang."
Having exchanged pleasantries, Yunniang looked Zhou Gu over. She found him to be quite handsome. His standing next to Su Rong seemed to complement each other well. There was no other young master in Jiangning with such good looks. Although Su Xingze was also good-looking, his attractiveness differed from Zhou Gu’s. Su Xingze had always been serious since his childhood, whereas Zhou Gu, at first glance, seemed inexperienced and had an aura of being a rough gem in need of polishing.
She turned her head and glared at Su Rong before pulling her aside to whisper harshly, "Are you crazy? You can’t bring your fiancé to a place like this. Aren’t you scared of corrupting him?"
Zhou Gu appeared to be extremely innocent and untouched by the corruption of the world.
Su Rong thought to herself that the world was full of temptations, and young masters from noble families, despite strict upbringing, would be tempted by many things. If he could be corrupted, then he already lacked determination.
"Don’t worry about it. Just arrange the best private room for me and bring in your best girls. Also, get us two jars of wine," Su Rong reassured her. "Moreover, make sure the girls keep quiet about our visit here tonight. We don’t want any rumors flying around."
Su Rong wasn’t new to threatening people, so it didn’t take any effort on her part.
With no other choice, Yunniang conceded, "Alright!"
If the mistress insisted on mischief with her fiancé, there was really nothing she could do to stop them.
"Guide young master Zhou to Nuansheng Pavilion. I’ll get everything arranged, the ladies will arrive soon," Yunniang reluctantly instructed.
Su Rong nodded in response then beckoned Zhou Gu to follow her to the Nuansheng Pavilion.
Zhou Gu followed Su Rong in silence all the way up the stairs. The sounds of the bustling pleasure quarters filled his ears; echoed laughter and music from each room enlivened the ambiance. He felt uncomfortable. Although he’d seen women soliciting clients late at night in Capital City, he’d never set foot in such a place.
Because Su Rong and Zhou Gu had sneaked in through the back door and not the main entrance, and walked up via a separate staircase, they didn’t encounter anyone on their way up. Thus, they slipped into Nuansheng Pavilion without any hassles.
Nuansheng Pavilion was expansive, comparable to the Reception Room at Governor’s Residence. All the furnishings in the room were of the highest quality, elegant and luxurious.
Su Rong waved Zhou Gu over to sit near a window. Scanning the room, he silently joined her.
"Just relax! It’s just a matter of listening to music and drinking. What’s the big deal?" Su Rong gave Zhou Gu a friendly pat on his shoulder.
Zhou Gu glared back at her, "Troublemaker!"
Su Rong: "..."
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