Su Rong was delighted. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed herself against his back, and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"
"You’ll know when we get there."
Su Rong could only suppress her curiosity and let him carry her to his study.
When they reached the entrance to his study, Zhou Gu set Su Rong down, opened the door, and led her in.
Upon turning on the lamp, they instantly saw a painting laid out on the table. It was so wide and long that it almost covered the entire surface of the long pearwood table.
Approaching the painting, Su Rong looked at Zhou Gu in surprise and asked, "Is this your birthday present for me?"
"Mm-hmm."
Astonished, Su Rong stared at the painting. "When did you have time to do this?"
Zhou Gu scoffed, "I did it just today."
Su Rong’s eyes hadn’t left the painting. "Is it because your little cousin gave me two birthday gifts, that you’ve upped the ante?"
Zhou Gu grunted in response.
Su Rong turned to him, cuddling his neck, "You’ve worked so hard. You know, whatever you give me, I’ll be happy."
"You don’t like it?" Zhou Gu wrapped his arm around Su Rong’s waist.
Su Rong shook her head. "I love it."
She embraced Zhou Gu, rubbed her face against him, and then released him. "But this painting must have taken you quite a while, right?"
"Yes, it took me a whole unit-and-a-half of time. My hand is nearly worn out." Zhou Gu revealed a smile as she admitted she liked it.
"I really like it." Su Rong kissed him, then turned her attention back to the painting. "Is this a map of Nanchu? Including the cities given up by Dawei, they’re all in there."
"Yes."
Su Rong admired and respected, "Zhou Gu, your painting skills are really impressive."
Something occurred to her, and she said with a smile: "Once, when Ye Guixue and I went to the Mei Manor that the elder princess gave you, we saw a painting that you had done when you were ten. It’s said that you were unhappy because the elder princess had it mounted and hung on the wall, and you never painted again."
"No, I didn’t stop." Zhou Gu shook his head. "I just stopped showing it to my grandmother."
Su Rong smiled, thoroughly studying the painting. "So many places. You’ve tread each step with father. It was indeed dangerous."
"Indeed, there were several times when Zhang Yun and I almost thought that we and father-in-law were going to die in the mountains." Zhou Gu held her close. "There has been more than once when I regretted, thinking that I was too arrogant to believe that I could ask Ye Guixue for help to sneak my father-in-law out of the royal palace. If I couldn’t protect him, I would rather not live. After all, he’s your biological father, whom you haven’t met yet."
Su Rong turned and embraced him, "Anyway, thank goodness you and Zhang Yun were capable enough to turn danger into safety."
She kissed him again, then carefully rolled up the painting. "I’m going to hang this painting in council hall."
Zhou Gu paused, "No need, right?"
"No, I want all the ministers to see that we, Nanchu, have gained several cities. One day, when we swallow Dawei, it will not just be these few cities." Su Rong was quite serious. "I have to hang it in the council hall."
Briefly, Zhou Gu regretted. "If I had known earlier that you would hang it in the council hall, I would have taken more care in painting."
In fact, he thought, if he had known earlier, he shouldn’t have hastily chosen this as a birthday gift.
Su Rong laughed, "It’s perfect as it is, free-flowing as clouds and water, showing the artistic charm of your brush and ink. The mountains, rivers, cities, and towns under your brush, completed in one stroke without a spot of hesitation, demonstrate your deep foundation in painting. This painting is the best as it is."
Zhou Gu was persuaded by her. "Alright! As long as you like it."
After all, it was a gift for her. She could do whatever she liked with it.
Su Rong picked up the painting and started to leave. "Come on, let’s go to the council hall now and hang it on the main wall."
Seeing her in high spirits, Zhou Gu nodded. "All right!"
So, they took the painting to the council hall, ordered the palace maids and eunuchs to light the lamps, and Su Rong herself hung the painting on the main wall.
After hanging it, she looked at the painting with satisfaction and exclaimed, "My fiancé is truly amazing. Even the characters in the signature are impressive."
It was then that Zhou Gu recalled, the characters in his signature meant "presented to my beloved." His face flushed as he reached for the painting, intending to take it down and keep it safe.
Su Rong immediately blocked him. "Isn’t our affection deeper than sea and mountains? Surely, everyone in the court knows about us by now? There’s no need for you to be defensive."
After speaking, she whispered in his ear: "I’m going to display your painting to prevent any of those scheming ministers from plotting to match me with another prince."
Zhou Gu froze instantly, glaring at Su Rong with disapproval. "Don’t you dare."
"Yes, I won’t. But you, as my husband, should also act more protective." Su Rong embraced his neck. "Come on, you still have to carry me back."
Zhou Gu grumbled, "After hearing what you said, I don’t feel like carrying you back anymore."
Despite his words, he nonetheless carried Su Rong out of the Council Hall.
Meanwhile, the court ministers were leaving, each tipsy. Some were escorted by palace officials, while others were helped out of the imperial palace by family members.
Qin Ruo had also had quite a bit to drink and was walking towards the palace gate with Qin Luan. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Suddenly, Qin Luan stopped.
Qin Ruo turned to her. "What’s wrong? Why aren’t you moving?"
Qin Luan glanced into the distance and asked in a low voice: "Big brother, do you see those two people over there? The princess and..."
Following her gaze, Qin Ruo saw a man carrying another person on his back in the distance, seemingly coming out from the council hall. He nodded, "Yes, the princess and her spouse."
Qin Luan had never seen how Su Rong and Zhou Gu interacted with each other.
At the palace banquet that day, they sat high above her. She was too far away to see clearly. She only saw Zhou Gu seemed to have an argument with Cui Yanjin, and Su Rong coaxed him with a smile before taking the antidote from his hand and giving it to Cui Yanjin.
At that moment, she heard a woman murmur nearby, "The young master of the Qinghe Cui family, this young lord Cui, is really bold. The princess and the king are indeed very indulgent towards him since he saved the princess’s life."
And an older man was saying, "This young man has unlimited prospects."
Afterward, they left halfway through. The banquet was over when they finally saw them again, having been to the council hall.
On her birthday, the princess and her husband even went to the council hall. She didn’t know what official business they were dealing with.
Such a pair, indeed so compatible, and something she could not match.
Looking at Qin Luan, Qin Ruo was very worried and whispered, "Sister, you wouldn’t still be..."
"Big brother, no, it’s just my first time seeing them interact like this. I was just curious and wanted to watch a little longer." Qin Luan shook her head with a light laugh, then said in a low voice to Qin Ruo, "Don’t worry, big brother. I won’t think about the fourth prince anymore. Today, the princess was very kind to me. She said that if I can’t pass the examination this year, I can try again next year. The court will continue to grace us next year."
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