The father-in-law and son-in-law drank together, and before they knew it, they’d both had a bit too much.
After he’d drunk too much, the Nanchu King didn’t leave. Instead, he squinted at Zhou Gu and said, "Oh, my good son-in-law, I heard that while you were in the army, you and Xiaoqi always stayed in the same royal tent. Now that you’re back in the royal capital, why have you separated from her? Did you two have a fight?"
Zhou Gu shook his head, "No, it’s just that in the army things are simple. Life and death are at stake every day, so nobody cares about protocols. Now that we are back in the royal capital, things are naturally different."
Fearing that the Nanchu King would misunderstand, he blushed as he spoke, "Xiaoqi and I are still untainted. Father-in-law, don’t misunderstand."
The Nanchu King clicked his tongue, "You’ve been living together so long and you’re still pure? You two are actually playing by the rules."
Zhou Gu naturally wouldn’t admit that he also found it hard to resist temptation and simply asked, "Father-in-law, has the Ministry of Rites prepared our wedding?"
The Nanchu King both shook and nodded his head, "I gave the Minister of Rites ten months to prepare your wedding. He agreed."
"Ten months seem a bit too long?" Zhou Gu mumbled.
The Nanchu King sighed, "The Minister of Rites is old now, I nearly drove him to retirement..."
Zhou Gu fell silent.
The drunk Nanchu King gently clapped his shoulder, "You two have the marriage contract, and Xiaoqi wrote it for you. I recognize it, so you two don’t have to be so stiff. When I married your mother-in-law, we also had our marriage certificate on hand..."
"Father-in-law." Zhou Gu hastily cut him off mid-sentence, "You’re drunk."
He didn’t wish to hear about how his mother-in-law and father-in-law had defied convention to make Su Rong.
The drunken Nanchu King looked at Zhou Gu, "Such youthful exuberance, brimming with energy and vitality, I can understand it. Why are you so old-fashioned?"
Feeling embarrassed, Zhou Gu emphasized, "Father-in-law, don’t disrespect your age or try to deceive me. I won’t be slighted, I want the wedding night."
The Nanchu King scoffed, "Ignorant fool, do you think I did not want a wedding night? Or that I didn’t want to stay for the wedding ceremony? Do you think I slighted your mother-in-law? At that time, I was afraid of unexpected changes taking too long, only what’s held in my own hands, only what’s eaten, can truly be mine. If not for my wisdom, could your mother-in-law bear me a daughter? Back when our nations married each other, if it hadn’t been discovered she was carrying Xiaoqi, she would’ve already died. How could she then fake her death and escape, giving me Xiaoqi and live for many more years?"
When he finished speaking, he patted Zhou Gu’s shoulder, "Young people, don’t be so inflexible. The Duke Residence taught you to have upright character, and Daliang’s Eastern Palace taught you the way to be a good official. But didn’t anyone tell you, life is like a lightning bolt, enjoy it when you have it, take pleasure from it. If you can’t bear to hold back, why strain yourself to endure? If Xiaoqi had been killed in the battle at Heiya Pass, would you not regret it?"
Zhou Gu paused.
The Nanchu King let go of his hand and held his forehead, "Ah, I am really confused, I almost forgot, I am Xiaoqi’s biological father, how can I teach you this... Alright, alright, just pretend I didn’t say anything."
"You are also my father." Zhou Gu reached out and embraced the Nanchu King, mumbling, "But I want a wedding night..."
"Yes, yes, you will have it. Alright, I’m leaving." The Nanchu King peeled off his hand and stood up swaying.
An eunuch immediately came forward to help the Nanchu King.
After the Nanchu King left, Zhou Gu lay down on the table, staring blankly, his eyes blurred with drunkenness.
Little Fuzi carefully approached, "Young Master, I have ordered someone to prepare an antidote, would you like to take it and rest?"
Zhou Gu nodded slowly.
After a short while, a young eunuch brought the antidote. Little Fuzi helped Zhou Gu drink it, then helped him into his room.
Zhou Gu lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Little Fuzi was about to draw the curtains, and seeing him staring wide awake and not sleeping, he softly asked, "Young Master, aren’t you tired? Do you feel discomfort? Should I call the imperial doctor for you?"
"No need." Zhou Gu waved his hand, "You can go now!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
"If you feel uncomfortable, just call me. I’ll be outside." Little Fuzi said.
Zhou Gu uttered an "Mm" in response.
Little Fuzi drew the curtain and left the room, and quietly closed the door.
Zhou Gu stayed awake for a while longer before closing his eyes. After lying down for a while, he turned around and stretched his hand out to touch the cold quilt. He turned around again to feel his surroundings, but found nothing. He opened his eyes again, looking left and right. He was the only one lying on the big bed. He sighed, closed his eyes, and after a while, he tossed and turned restlessly, and finally woke up frustrated.
After he woke up, he sat up, pushed open the curtains, put on his shoes, grabbed his outer robe, got dressed, and went outside.
Just as he opened the door, Little Fuzi was indeed waiting outside. Upon seeing Zhou Gu, he immediately asked, "Young Master, do you need anything?"
Zhou Gu shook his head, "I’m going to Feng Hall."
"You’re going to see the princess?" Little Fuzi immediately said, "I’ll accompany you."
Zhou Gu waved his hand, "No need, I’ll go by myself." And with that, he walked off.
Little Fuzi naturally couldn’t disobey, so he stayed put.
Zhou Gu went straight out of Huang Hall, remembering clearly when he entered the Royal Palace, that the wet nurse Zhao directed him, showing that the two Halls were adjacent. Upon leaving the door, he turned left. Along the way, he met several palace maids and eunuchs, who greeted him with a salute. He nodded in response without engaging in much conversation and went straight to Feng Hall.
Yuewan was in the courtyard instructing little palace maids and eunuchs to work, looking quite impressive. As per what the wet nurse Zhao had said, now that the princess was back, the rules of Feng Hall could not be as relaxed as before, so she had to enforce tighter control. So, after Su Rong went to sleep, she started to get busy.
When she heard someone whispering that Lord Thursday was here, she was taken aback for a moment then immediately dropped what she was doing and hurried out to greet him. Upon seeing Zhou Gu, she asked quietly, "Lord Thursday, what brings you here...?"
Zhou Gu glanced at Yuewan, "I’m here to see Su Rong."
Yuewan blinked, "Miss is asleep."
"No bother, I’ll find her on my own, you don’t need to worry." Zhou Gu walked in.
Yuewan: "..."
She naturally wouldn’t stop him and followed Zhou Gu, whispering, "Miss is in the inner room of the main hall."
Zhou Gu softly hummed in response.
Arriving at the entrance of the main hall, someone opened the door for him. Zhou Gu stepped inside, passed through the drawing room, entered two small side rooms,came to the innermost room. Quietly pushing open the door and lifting the beaded curtain, he caught sight of the sleeping figure inside. The dim outline filled his empty heart.
He came to the bed, lifted the curtain and looked at the person sleeping all splayed out inside.
Su Rong’s sleeping position wasn’t great, but he had already grown accustomed to it over these past few days. He watched her for a while, then took off his outer robe and boots, and climbed onto the bed. He unceremoniously shoved Su Rong further into the big bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and lay down.
Su Rong slowly opened her eyes and mumbled drowsily, "Zhou Gu? What are you doing?"
Weren’t they supposed to live separately after returning to the royal capital?
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