Lan Nữ Merely tutted in dismay.
Since Yuewan wouldn’t go, she naturally decided not to as well. Rising, she said, "Fine then, if you’re not going, it’ll be no fun for me by myself. I’ll return as well."
Su Rong nodded.
The pair then left the Drunken Goose restaurant together.
Su Rong took away two drunken geese with her.
Zhou Gu, after having had lunch in Xie Yuan’s residence and spending half a day with Su Xingze, returned to the governor’s office. As he was finishing his meal, he asked upon not seeing Su Rong, "Where’s Su Rong?"
The mistress promptly replied, "She stepped out, said she had a meeting with a young lady, she’ll be back after dinner."
Zhuo Gu nodded, pondering who this young lady was. Didn’t he hear that Su Rong wasn’t very close with the other ladies of Jiangning County?
After dinner, though Su Rong hadn’t returned to the residence, Zhuo Gu went to the Water Pavilion to wait for her.
After boredly waiting for a half-hour, he suddenly realised that spending time with Su Rong, chatting and strolling after dinner, had somehow become a habit. This wasn’t great. With that, he decided to leave.
At that moment, Su Rong arrived at the Water Pavilion with a package wrapped in oil paper. Seeing Zhou Gu, she broke into a radiant smile. "Zhou Gu, you were waiting for me?"
Zhou Gu was about to shake his head when Su Rong ran over and handed him the package. "Here you go, it’s a drunken goose from Drunken Goose restaurant. Lan Nữ and I had some, but I had one specially packed for you."
After hearing from Yuewan that Zhou Gu had gone to the Water Pavilion, she hurried over without even changing her clothes.
Zhou Gu accepted the package, "Drunken Goose restaurant? Big Brother Su took me there."
"That’s right, that’s the place," replied Su Rong, smiling. "It’ll make a decent late-night snack for you; it’s not too heavy. Yuewan and Ahua love it."
Zhou Gu knew Yuewan, but asked, "Who’s Ahua?"
"The lazy dog I keep in my yard."
Zhou Gu only silence in response.
The two then sat down again in the Water Pavilion.
Su Rong asked Zhou Gu, "So, you’re not angry at me anymore, right?"
Zhou Gu suddenly realized, he should still be holding a grudge, so he quickly put on a straight face.
Su Rong moved closer, tugging at his sleeve, her tone gentle, "Brother Zhou, I was wrong. Can you please forgive me? I promise there won’t be a next time. I’ll never bring you to such a place again."
Zhou Gu wanted to ask her, ’What about you? Will you go again?’ but then realized that even with their engagement, since their relationship wasn’t official yet, it wasn’t his place to dictate her actions.
So, he remained silent.
Su Rong frowned, "My elder brother already disciplined me; chastised me soundly, actually. I deeply regret what I did. I had thought of showing you a good time, but I didn’t realize it would upset you. My regret was so deep today, I couldn’t concentrate on my manners lessons."
Zhou Gu didn’t believe for a second that she was regretful. Though he hadn’t known Su Rong for long, he had a sense of her true character. Despite her pitiful outward appearance and her honeyed words, he doubted she had any remorse, let alone regret.
While she might come across as soft, he guessed she had a backbone of steel. If he was fooled by her, then he would blame his own naivety.
He grunted, pulling his sleeve out of her grip, he called out ambiguously, "Su Rong!"
Su Rong immediately sat upright and answered, "Yes?"
Zhou Gu almost burst into laughter at her obedient conduct. Turning to face her, he stared at her for a while before saying, "You’ve been testing me for so long, did you find the answer you were hoping for?"
Su Rong instantly felt a chill run down her spine. Losing her words, her gaze shifted in a flustered manner, which displayed a sense of guilt.
Even though she had a thick skin, it didn’t extend to facing Zhuo Gu.
Seeing that she seemed to have been caught off guard, Zhuo Gu raised an eyebrow, "What’s the matter? Dare to do it but not admit it?"
He finally understood, his trip to Jiangning was tantamount to entering a dangerous situation. Everything about Su Rong, both openly and in secret, was a test, not only from her family, but also from the people in love with her; for instance, Jiang Xing, who wished to marry Su Rong.
Su Rong’s head drooped, her hands feeling fidgety; finally she started pulling at her own clothes, "Well, it’s not that I dare not admit it. "
Zhou Gu stared at the top of her head, "Su Rong, do you think I’m just a pushover?"
"No no no," replied Su Rong instantly, denying it.
Zhou Gu hummed; "Your words say no, but your actions say yes."
Su Rong was rendered speechless.
Zhou Gu looked at her and ground his teeth, "Fine, continue your tests. It’ll be three days until your hairpinning ceremony, and after that, I’ll head back to the capital. I hope you can make up your mind by then."
Having said his piece, he turned and left.
Su Rong raised her head, wanting to say, ’you forgot your goose’, but saw Zhou Gu, after walking a few steps, suddenly remember. He turned back around, snatched up the oil-paper parcel, and then strode out of the Water Pavilion.
Su Rong was left standing there in stunned silence.
It looks like he wasn’t angry after all, as he even remembered to take the goose with him.
Zhou Gu walked briskly, disappearing from view in the blink of an eye.
Su Rong sat alone in the Water Pavilion for a while, sighing heavily. Zhou Gu was someone she liked, felt a connection with, and admired. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine the man she’d eventually marry would be someone like Zhou Gu.
He’s smart, transparent, worldly yet unworldly, possessing all the best traits of a young man.
Su Rong placed a hand on her heart, her heart pounding clearly in her ears. She pinched her chest through her clothes till it ached, yet, it was unable to slow her racing heart. She let go and gave a bitter laugh.
She thought that the Old Duke was really clever, sending Zhou Gu to Jiangning alone. Perhaps he wasn’t looking for them to honor their engagement, but rather to allow them, his grandson, and the girl engaged to his grandson to have a chance to make their own decisions.
She had no idea what choice Zhou Gu would make but, just like he said, even though she had tested him over time, she still hadn’t made up her mind.
Zhou Gu was too good, which made her want to be closer to him, but at the same time, she was too scared to approach him.
She stood and left the Water Pavilion.
The cool midnight breeze blew across her face. As she walked back towards her yard, Ahua ran up to her, wagging its tail. It must have wanted more roasted goose.
Yuewan, not having her fill of the roasted goose, was sitting by the window, hugging half a chicken and eating it. Su Rong lightly twisted its head with her foot, "I have none, go ask Yuewan."
Ahua evidently saw that she returned empty-handed and promptly ignored her, running over to Yuewan while wagging its tail.
Left with no choice, Yuewan tore another chunk of roast goose for it. Then, with her mouth full, Yuewan said to Su Rong; "Miss, it’s delicious!"
Seeing the blissful expressions of Yuewan and Ahua, Su Rong immediately cheered up and rolled her eyes at the pair, "Gluttons!"
Yuewan had heard these words many times and it didn’t seem to bother her, she simply continued enjoying her meal.
"Aren’t you afraid of getting fat? Your face finally slimmed down and now it’s going to become round again!" warned Su Rong.
Yuewan stopped for a moment, however, she started to eat again, her words muffled by the food. "Once you’re full, you have the energy to exercise. It’s very difficult for me now. I get hungry in the middle of the night and can’t sleep. It can’t be that even eating once in a while would make me gain weight."
"As long as you’re happy," said Su Rong before entering the house.
After Yuewan and Ahua managed to finish off one whole goose, they were both quite satisfied. One had its mouth clean, the other wagged its tail. They each went off to rest.
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