Yuewan had waited for a long while, and even as mealtime approached, Su Rong did not come out. The room door remained closed. Had her ladyship fallen into another poor mood? Each time she would retreat behind her closed doors when her mood was low.
She squatted near the door crack and called in a low voice, "Young lady, it’s time for meal!"
"Hmm," Su Rong responded, putting away her dagger and stepping out of the room.
Yuewan looked at Su Rong with a concerned expression, "Young lady, are you okay?"
"I’m fine." Su Rong waved her hand, her expression unusually calm.
Although Yuewan was not very bright, she was not stupid either. Having been with Su Rong since childhood, she could keenly sense that Su Rong wasn’t in a good mood. However, seeing Su Rong insisting that she was fine, she did not interrogate further. She knew well when to continue the conversation and when to hold her tongue.
Zhou Gu had not been with Su Rong for very long, but he had developed a few insights into her. Today, Su Rong seemed unusually quiet. She ate quietly, walked quietly, and even when they both sat together in the water pavilion, she did not engage in laughter like she used to.
It seemed as though something was weighing on her mind, but her expression remained impassive, concealing any hint of distress.
After some hesitation, Zhou Gu inquired, "Su Rong, you seem a bit off today. Did something happen?"
"My elder brother has hired a tutor for me to learn the rules. You know, right?" Su Rong sighed, resting her head on the table. "Alas, learning these rules is so difficult, I don’t want to do it anymore."
Zhou Gu had not expected that it was because of this. He wanted to say, "If you don’t want to learn, then don’t." However, he remembered that Su Rong was learning these rules in preparation for her future life in the Duke Residence, and he found himself unable to suggest she abandon the task.
Seeing Zhou Gu wrestling with this predicament, Su Rong suddenly smiled, "Zhou Gu, I’m learning these rules for you. What kind of reward do you have for me?"
Zhou Gu wanted to retort, "How is this for my sake?" But then he considered that if Su Rong was not planning to marry into the Duke Residence, her brother naturally would not have hired a tutor for her. So, he asked, "What sort of reward would you like?"
Taken aback by his acknowledgment, Su Rong felt a flutter of joy. Looking at his handsome demeanor, she asked with an infatuated expression, "I want you to hold me."
Zhou Gu stiffened.
Straightening up, she turned to face him directly and said, "When I was young, and whenever I was upset, my elder brother would always hold me."
Zhou Gu was somewhat stuck at this proposal. Stiffly, he replied, "I don’t know how to hold someone."
Since he could remember, he had never been held by someone nor had he held anyone.
Noticing his discomfort, Su Rong extended her hand to him. "You just stand still and I’ll hug you myself."
Zhou Gu remained frozen.
With a long sigh, Su Rong turned back around and propped her head on the table. In a low mumble, she conceded, "Nevermind, don’t force yourself."
Her fiancé was utterly unmoved by women. Not knowing whether it was a good or bad thing, she found it frustrating. A beautiful girl like herself was offering him a hug, but he wouldn’t accept it. He truly had no idea how to engage in romance.
Seeing that Su Rong had given up, Zhou Gu should’ve felt a sense of relief. However, he inexplicably felt a discomfort coiling around him. He wanted to walk up to her and say, "I’ll hug you then" but he restrained himself, awkwardly sitting down opposite of her, he said, "Choose something else."
However, Su Rong remained silent.
Zhou Gu’s voice instinctively softened, taking on a coaxing tone, "Apart from this, anything you ask, I’ll grant it."
Her eyes blinked, "Really?"
"Hmm," he confirmed.
Sitting up straight, Su Rong rested her chin in her palm in thought, "Then, you will no longer be angry with me about that day when I brought you to the third floor."
Zhou Gu paused, "Just that?"
"Hmm, just that." In reality, she couldn’t think of any other reward. All she desired was Zhou Gu, and of everything else, she had no lack.
"Alright, I won’t be angry anymore, change it." In truth, Zhou Gu was still quite angry but at the moment, he couldn’t muster any more.
"Then..." Su Rong felt relieved that he was no longer angry. In retrospect, she realized that she had crossed a line. Being Zhou Gu’s fiancée, taking him to Zuihua and Yanzi Buildings might have been fine, but she had also taken him to Fengyue Building. She now realized that Fengyue, the rogue, was digging a pit for her. Put oneself in another’s shoes, if their fiancée took them to see scantily clad young men, Zhou Gu had shown great restraint by simply pulling her away and not beating her out of anger.
After some pondering, she suddenly thought of something and asked him, "When are you planning to return to the Capital City?"
"After your coming-of-age ceremony."
"A few days later?"
"One or two days!" Zhou Gu thought that he had spent enough time in Jiangning. After the coming-of-age ceremony, he had no reason to linger.
Su Rong nodded. Her coming-of-age ceremony was not far off. If he were to leave after her ceremony, then it would be just a few days till his departure. She was somewhat reluctant to let him go. After all, he would be leaving, and there was no telling when she would see him again, especially considering the great distance from Jiangning to the Capital City.
Zhou Gu also had the same thought. Despite his weariness from his daily company with Su Xingze in Jiangning, he genuinely appreciated the simplicity of the place. It was free from cunning and deceit, no carrier of needless decorum that would not allow him to be himself. It was a comfortable place to be. The harmonious atmosphere of the Su family was equally comforting. He, too, felt a sense of reluctance to leave.
"I can’t think of any other rewards right now, I’ll decide when I come up with something else!" Su Rong stood up, "Let’s go, time to head back."
Zhou Gu paused, "Leaving so early?"
"Early to bed, early to rise."
Zhou Gu watched her leave, wanting to say something, but not knowing what. All he could do was follow her out of the Water Pavilion.
Back in his quarters, Zhou Gu couldn’t fall asleep. He picked up Cuiyu, who was sleeping soundly on his bed, and started playing with him.
Cuiyu woke up, gave Zhou Gu a glance, then closed its eyes again, continuing to sleep in his hand.
Zhou Gu was speechless, "You little thing, ever since you started following me, all you do is eat and sleep. Has living in the Governor’s residence made everyone, human or bird, lazy?"
He had observed that the people in the Governor’s residence, from top to bottom, were not diligent. Even when working, the servants were lackadaisical and inefficient. The entire residence was filled with a leisurely and comfortable aura.
Especially Su Rong’s dog that he heard about, which was incredibly lazy. It hardly ever barked throughout the month, all it did was eat and sleep, and was enormously fat.
Cuiyu had been with him for a few days now and was doing nothing but eating and sleeping. At this rate, he was starting to doubt whether its wings would rust and render it flightless.
After playing with Cuiyu for a while, Zhou Gu put it down and got into bed. He had not yet told Su Rong that he didn’t want to participate in this year’s imperial examinations, but instead wanted to travel the world.
If he left Jiangning now and his grandfather asked for his opinion about their engagement, all he had to do was nod, and he had no doubt that his grandfather would promptly send people to propose marriage in Jiangning. Once a marriage proposal was made, a wedding date would be set, and they would proceed with the six traditional marital rites. At the earliest, he would bring Su Rong home within a year.
But this plan contradicted his own intentions.
Unless he asked Su Rong to wait for him and delay their wedding, but would Su Rong wait? After all, she had said that the Duchess was waiting for her to marry into the Duke Residence, so they could arrange marriages for her sisters.
Zhou Gu closed his eyes, feeling restless.
Su Rong had a good night’s sleep and woke up the next day looking lively, her face rosy and tender.
Yuewan subtly glanced at her mistress, thinking happily that Su Rong was in a better mood, which was a great thing. Evidently, Young Master Zhou was better at cheering people up than her.
After eating, and with plenty of time before wet nurse Zhao would arrive, Su Rong picked up a painting book to read while lying on a lounge chair.
Cuiyu flew in through the window and landed on Su Rong’s shoulder. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
"Oh, such a beautiful little bird." Yuewan looked at it with curiosity and surprise, "Miss, why does it not seem afraid of people at all? It even flew into the room."
"It’s called Cuiyu, it’s Zhou Gu’s pet." Su Rong hadn’t seen this little creature since the day she brought it down from the mountain. Even when she met Zhou Gu, she had never seen it with him. She wondered how Zhou Gu had been taking care of it these past few days.
Seeing Su Rong touching its feathers, Cuiyu jumped into her palm, rolled over, and then nuzzled her hand with its head tilted.
Yuewan’s eyes widened in astonishment, seeing an expression of familiarity and longing from a bird as if it had missed someone greatly after a long absence.
Feeling cheerful, Su Rong said to Yuewan, "Go grab a handful of millet to feed it!"
Yuewan nodded and went to get the millet. On seeing it, Cuiyu turned its head away in disdain, which astonished Yuewan, "Miss, am I seeing things? Is it looking down on millet? It won’t eat it?"
"Yes, it won’t eat." Su Rong had never fed the little creature before and didn’t know what it would eat besides millet. "Why don’t you ask Zhou Gu what it usually eats?"
Yuewan nodded and left to find an answer.
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