Heavy snow sealed the mountain, naturally cutting off communication between Su Rong and Zhou Gu; even the Flying Hawks couldn’t fly.
For half a month, due to being occupied with relief efforts and other matters, plus the absence of letters from Zhou Gu, Su Rong slept poorly every night and developed dark circles under her eyes.
The Lady of the Duke hadn’t seen her for half a month. Then one day, she finally saw her visiting the Zhou Residence.
When Su Rong arrived, the Grand Princess Shengan and The Lady of the Duke were napping. She didn’t want to disturb them, so she went directly to the Lady of the Duke’s quarters.
The Lady of the Duke was startled by her appearance, "How come you have such heavy bags under your eyes after not seeing you for half a month? Have you been so busy that you can’t sleep?"
Su Rong shook her head and clung to her arm, her face showing exhaustion, "It’s been busy, but not so much that I can’t sleep. It’s just that the sleep isn’t good."
The Lady of the Duke frowned, "Why can’t you sleep well? Didn’t you have Doctor Zhang prescribe you a Soothing Prescription?"
Su Rong sighed, "It’s not about the Soothing Prescription, I can prescribe that for myself."
She whispered, "I miss Zhou Gu."
The Lady of the Duke: "..."
She didn’t know whether to be angry, to laugh, or to say she felt pity; she silently looked at Su Rong, reached out and tapped on her forehead, "You little heartless thing, you finally grew a heart. There’s truth in the saying, ’for every force, there is a counterforce.’ Vinegar on tofu, not a single bit wrong."
Su Rong hummed.
The Lady of the Duke pushed her, "Go sleep for a while, I’ll keep you company."
Su Rong shook her head, "I can’t sleep."
"Then go to bed and rest for a while," the Lady of the Duke amended her suggestion.
Su Rong nodded and lay down on the bed with the Lady of the Duke.
Su Rong muttered softly, "I haven’t heard from Zhou Gu for half a month."
The Lady of the Duke casually said, "It’s only been half a month, it’s not a big deal."
Su Rong lay on her side, looking at the Lady of the Duke, "I used to think half a month was nothing. When he left the Daliang Capital City, I didn’t feel reluctant at all, I didn’t even go out of the city to see him off. Now, I don’t know what’s happened, I keep thinking about him, everyday."
The Lady of the Duke laughed, "You didn’t understand love before, now it seems you do, you’ve become enlightened."
Su Rong sighed, "Thinking about him so much that I can’t sleep well."
The Lady of the Duke covered her eyes, "Even if you think about him, it’s no use, he can’t come back any time soon; what is this short period of time compared to? You’ll have a lifetime to be together in the future, there will come a day when you’ll tire of him."
"I’ll never tire of looking at him, never," Su Rong argued.
The Lady of the Duke rolled her eyes.
Su Rong muttered, "With such heavy snow, the Yellow Spring Road is closed. Relying on the military to shovel the snow, from the Southern three states to the Capital City, I’m afraid even at the fastest, it will take a month before carriages and horses can pass through. The snow this year has been exceptionally heavy indeed."
The Lady of the Duke nodded, "I really didn’t expect Nanchu to experience such heavy snow this winter."
"It’s a rare occurrence in a century." Su Rong was dissatisfied with the Observatory Bureau, "Those people at the Observatory Bureau, saying they lack skills? They do have some, but they aren’t that great. They predicted too late, not in time. There was also the summer when they said there would be heavy rains. I made many preparations in advance, but it turned out, all the rain went to Dawei. I stopped believing in the Observatory Bureau then, and now the wolf has really come."
The Lady of the Duke said, "Since ancient times, through every dynasty, there has been an Observatory Bureau to observe celestial phenomena, calculate the solar terms, issue the calendar, and predict the weather. Their position is still very important, so don’t dismiss them so lightly."
"I’m not dismissing them entirely. It’s just that they bluffed in the summer, and I thought that even if there was snow in the winter, at most it would last three days. Who would have known it would snow for seven days and nights? And the Observatory Bureau only disclosed the true prediction two days in advance." Su Rong was annoyed, "I have instructed the Observatory Bureau to diligently refine their studies so that next time there is such an occurrence, they can at least make predictions half a month in advance to avoid delays due to lack of scholarly precision."
The Lady of the Duke defended the Observatory Bureau, "I did hear about this incident. It was precisely because they miscalculated in the summer, with the heavy rains falling in Dawei instead, that the Observatory Bureau became overly cautious. They feared making another inaccurate prediction that could lead you to dismiss them from their posts. All in all, it’s because you, the Princess, have gained too much prestige in such a short time."
"That’s right. I certainly don’t want officials who are ineffectual and useless to the court. I don’t support idlers," Su Rong said, stifling a yawn. "I wasn’t sleepy at all just now, but after lying down with you for a while, I’ve become drowsy."
"Then you should sleep right away," the Lady of the Duke wouldn’t let her talk any further.
Su Rong nodded and closed her eyes. Soon enough, she indeed fell asleep.
The Lady of the Duke lay on her side, watching Su Rong with a touch of heartache. People always say they want their sons to become dragons and their daughters phoenixes. She too had hoped that all her children, whether or not they had emerged from her womb, would be successful, as they all addressed her as ’mother’ and she naturally wanted to guide them properly. In the past, her son was both cultured and skilled in martial arts, and her daughters were all fine in appearance. Under her guidance, they excelled in zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and were virtuous and well-mannered. But Su Rong alone caused her to fret constantly. She always feared that Su Rong would be underachieving, causing trouble with her in-laws in the future. With Su Rong’s temperament, she wasn’t likely to be bullied, but rather she might turn her in-law’s house upside-down and wind up back at her parental home, causing much worry.
Who would have thought that she would become so accomplished now, so much so that it pained the heart to see her like this. Ah, this state of hers, it might have been better not to be so overachieving, at least then she wouldn’t have to worry about so many things. Now she had to make decisions for the whole of Nanchu, and she was exhausted.
When the Grand Princess Shengan awoke from her nap, she was informed that Su Rong had arrived and was immediately displeased, "Why didn’t you wake me up?"
The wet nurse said with a smile, "It was the Princess who insisted we not disturb you and the Lady of the Duke. The Princess went directly to the Lady of the Su Family’s courtyard. I’ve had people watching the situation the entire time, and it turns out the Princess and the Lady of the Su Family took a nap together."
The Grand Princess Shengan, upon hearing this, dropped her dissatisfaction, "Fine, let her rest. In these days, due to the disaster relief for the heavy snow, everyone in the court and country has been busy running around. As the Princess, she must be even more tired and not resting well."
She ordered, "Have the kitchen prepare some delicious food quickly. Since she has come today, she must have some free time, and she probably won’t leave tonight."
The wet nurse hurriedly replied, "The Lady of the Duke woke up earlier than you and has already instructed the kitchen personally."
The Grand Princess Shengan nodded, "That’s good."
Perhaps it was the presence of the Lady of the Duke, but Su Rong really had a sound sleep, sleeping for half a day. When she woke up, it was already dark.
She opened her eyes to find the room pitch-black. After adjusting for a while, she saw the Lady of the Duke still lying beside her, and she whispered, "Mother?"
"Mmm, I’m awake," the Lady of the Duke’s voice was very clear. As Su Rong woke up, she sat up and, while talking to her, reached under the bed to light the lamp, "Your grandmother and mother-in-law have sent people to check on you two or three times. They left without disturbing you after learning you were asleep, telling you to get enough rest. Now that you’re awake, let’s go have dinner. Everyone in the residence is waiting for you."
Upon hearing this, Su Rong immediately put on her shoes and got out of bed.
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