Su Rong suddenly realized, no wonder, she had been wondering how her elder brother learned about this, it turns out Uncle Xie was back.
That she was able to purchase a share in the 3rd floor was due to her private plea to Xie Yuan, who served as her witness since she was still a child and lacked credibility. Such circumstances, however, meant that she could not hide anything from Xie Yuan.
Neither coming back earlier nor later, it’s just at this moment. This was almost intentional against her.
Her face fell, "I just took Zhou Gu out for a tour, listen to some music, have a drink."
"Isn’t that enough?" Su Xingze looked at her, "Su Rong, do you know what you’re doing? Who is Zhou Gu? He’s the jewel in the eye of the Duke Residence, having been thrown by the old Duke into the study since he was a child and then kicked off to the Eastern Palace. Although he was naughty as a child, it was limited to mischief and fun, and absolutely did not involve stepping into dirty places. Now you led him to such a place. If the Duke Residence finds out, what do you think will be the consequences?"
Su Rong felt guilty, "Elder brother, the third floor is not a dirty place. The people I call are artists, not courtesans, just for the sake of music and drinks."
"So what? In short, you took Zhou Gu to the Green Building." Su Xingze said.
Su Rong tactfully touched her nose, "I would have concealed this matter well, but Uncle Xie came back and told you, so only a few of us know now. As long as we don’t talk, Zhou Gu certainly won’t. The Duke Residence won’t find out."
Su Xingze was angry, "So, you don’t think you did anything wrong with this?"
Su Rong thought to herself, she had made many mistakes from childhood till now, but at the moment of doing it, she never thought of regret. Seeing Su Xingze getting angry, she immediately said: "Elder brother, this is Jiangning County, I dared to do this here. If it was in the Capital City, of course I would not dare to mess around with him. Isn’t Jiangning County our turf?"
"It used to be our turf, but it’s not now. The Crown Prince visited Jiangning a month ago, now Zhou Gu is here, and even the son of Marquis Nanping came to Jiangning. Now Jiangning is drawing attention from all quarters, and it’s not as easy to control as before."
Su Rong knew it too, "Elder brother, I still feel that marrying someone is a lifelong matter, and it should always be careful, right?"
Seeing that Su Xingze did not speak, she continued: "So, testing a man’s character is important, isn’t it? I need to know if my future husband really has a good character, right?"
"So, you were mischievous today, taking him to the third floor, to test his character?" Su Xingze disagreed, "Can you test it by leading him personally?"
"Yes." Su Rong felt she gained much today, but she did not need to go into specifics. She simply said, "It’s not all about testing. I just wanted him to relax and listen to some music. I’ve been learning to manage the household with mother these days and I’m tired. He’s been accompanying you and you’ve been testing him every day. Dealing with someone like you must be exhausting, but he just doesn’t say it."
Hearing this, Su Xingze said, "Do you feel sorry for him, and so you took him to that kind of place?"
"Not really, it’s just....." Su Rong thought about the words to use, "to praise him?"
"What’s there to praise?"
"You test him every day and he handles it smoothly without any impatience. Doesn’t he deserve praise?" Su Rong looked at him and counter-questioned: "Princess Qingping’s daughter, Duanhua Princess likes Zhou Gu and came chasing him to Jiangning. When Zhou Gu got the news, he sent Ziye to intercept them halfway. He was afraid that she would come to Jiangning and disrupt my Coming-of-age Ceremony. He took the initiative to handle things himself without causing me any trouble. Shouldn’t he be praised?"
Su Xingze was surprised when he heard this, "Is there such a thing?"
"Yes, after supper, I saw him handling the matter myself. You should know that Ziye has already left the residence with his men." Su Rong stated her case confidently, "I figured you wouldn’t take him to the third floor, so I took him to relax a bit."
"Nonsense! Going to that kind of place is called relaxing?"
"Men love to go there, how can it not be relaxing?" Su Rong argued back.
Su Xingze choked, "Whatever you do, don’t let the Duke Residence know. Any arrangements are possible as long as they don’t know. But if they come to know, forget about marrying Zhou Gu. The Duke Residence will not allow a daughter-in-law who leads Zhou Gu around to listen to music and drink wine in the Green Building."
Su Rong pouted and muttered, "Anyway, I’ve already done it.", not wishing to be lectured by him any longer. Taking a step forward, she tugged at Su Xingze’s sleeve softly and said, "Alright, elder brother, I promise not to take him there again. Please spare me, I’m tired!"
Even if she wanted to take Zhou Gu there later, he probably wouldn’t go.
Su Xingze glared at her.
Su Rong looked back at him.
After a moment, Su Xingze conceded helplessly with a stern face, "But, this is the last time!"
"Mm-hmm." Su Rong nodded repeatedly, letting go of his sleeve and gave him a smile, "You should rest early, elder brother!"
Having said that, she turned and dashed off. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Seeing her run faster than a rabbit after he gave in, Su Xingze was both angry and amused. He really couldn’t figure out what Su Rong was thinking now.
These days, he saw that Su Rong was treating Zhou Gu very differently. The two got along well, and Su Rong almost put away her sharp wits and claws in front of others, being somewhat gentle and considerate towards Zhou Gu. She had the air of a young maiden in the presence of someone dear to her. But today, she boldly took Zhou Gu to the third floor, which shocked even Xie Yuan who had just returned to the city. He sent someone to ask if he knew about this situation.
How would he know? He had no idea when she sneaked out of the Governor’s residence with Zhou Gu.
Probably she had been too settled down these days, causing him to let down his guard. And due to her interaction with Zhou Gu, she gave him a misconception and made him think that Su Rong changed her behavior for Zhou Gu’s sake. After all, he couldn’t find anything wrong with Zhou Gu even when he was testing him these days.
Although Zhou Gu was brought up in a privileged household, he wasn’t a spoiled child. He reads a lot, thinks quickly, and is extraordinarily intelligent and of good temperament. People who don’t know him would never guess that he comes from an influential household. His manners and sense of propriety are impeccable. Although not a genius, he has a broad and profound knowledge. Even if a bit arrogant at times, which privileged child isn’t? Even Jiang Xing privately admitted he didn’t expect Zhou Gu from the Duke residence to be such a person and felt inferior.
Therefore, if Su Rong has changed for Zhou Gu, he would not find it strange. She’s still a young girl, after all.
But today, Su Rong dared to take Zhou Gu to the third floor.
Su Xingze stood there for a while, massaging his brow, thinking that he should have a serious talk with her another day.
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