The Zhou Residence had already received the news, and everyone in the residence was overjoyed.
The Grand Eldest Princess Shengan barely restrained herself from rushing into the Royal Palace. Knowing that her grandson had returned in the middle of the night after traveling day and night, she assumed he would certainly be tired and would not likely visit the residence so early, yet she still made early preparations.
Zhou Rui craned his neck to look at the entrance several times. It was almost noon, yet there was no sign of Zhou Gu. In a low voice, he asked the Lady of the Duke, "Grandmother, why hasn’t Fourth Uncle returned yet? He hasn’t had his Great Wedding with Fourth Aunt—does he live in the Royal Palace now?"
The Lady of the Duke nodded, "Don’t worry, your Fourth Uncle must be tired; he’ll certainly come today."
Zhou Rui sighed, "Ah, I really miss Fourth Uncle."
The Lady of the Duke smiled as she stroked his head.
Zhou Rui asked again, "Grandmother, will Fourth Uncle live in the Royal Palace from now on?"
"Yes," replied the Lady of the Duke.
Zhou Rui sighed again, "Then does that mean I won’t be able to see Fourth Uncle every day?"
The Lady of the Duke nodded in agreement.
Zhou Rui said in a low voice, "Then, could I also live in the Royal Palace?"
The Lady of the Duke laughed, "You’ll have to ask your Fourth Uncle. If he agrees, then it’s fine."
Zhou Rui blinked and with a mischievous tone said, "What if Fourth Uncle doesn’t agree, but Fourth Aunt does? Would Fourth Uncle listen to her?"
The Lady of the Duke chuckled, "You can certainly try."
In the afternoon, Zhou Gu finally arrived at the Zhou Residence. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
The Grand Princess Shengan received the news and personally welcomed him at the second gate. Upon seeing Zhou Gu, her eyes immediately reddened, and from a distance, she cried out, "Oh my, my dear grandson, how come you’ve become so thin?"
Zhou Gu strode forward with a smile in his eyes, "Grandmother."
The Grand Princess Shengan held his hand and examined him carefully, repeatedly saying, "You’ve lost weight, but you still look spirited. You’ve changed so much since you departed from Daliang last year."
Back then, Zhou Gu was still an uncarved jade and an unsheathed Treasure Sword, but now he had transformed completely after his experiences.
The Grand Princess Shengan held Zhou Gu’s hand firmly, examining him from left to right, feeling pained no matter how she looked. She turned to the Lady of the Duke and asked, "Has the soup in the kitchen been simmered?"
The Lady of the Duke nodded, "It’s ready."
The Grand Princess Shengan told Zhou Gu, "Now that you’re back, we’ll have to nourish you properly, you’re too skinny."
Zhou Gu, remembering the various soups he had consumed in the palace earlier that day, twitched at the corner of his eye but readily agreed, "Alright, as Grandmother wishes."
The Grand Princess Shengan beamed with joy.
A group escorted Zhou Gu inside with lively chatter.
The Old Duke of Protectorate stepped out from the study and upon seeing Zhou Gu, he teased, "You brat, what a grand entrance, even making people welcome you personally."
Zhou Gu responded with a feigned annoyance, "Grandfather, do you really think that sounds appropriate? If you didn’t stop Grandmother and the mothers, how can you blame me for this?"
The Old Duke of Protectorate huffed and glanced at the womenfolk, "How could I possibly stop them? Your Grandmother has been pining for you so much that she’s practically turning blue."
The Grand Princess Shengan playfully scolded him, "You old thing, nothing good ever comes out of a dog’s mouth."
She continued smiling, pulling Zhou Gu with one hand, and didn’t forget to draw Su Rong with the other, "Come on, let’s go inside quickly. It’s very cold, we’ll talk inside the room."
The group had just taken a few steps when Xiaoqi came running over, "Fourth Uncle!"
He charged over happily. Due to the cold weather and his heavy clothing, he looked like a ball as he dashed over, clinging to Zhou Gu’s leg.
Zhou Gu had to let go of Grand Princess Shengan’s hand and grabbed Xiaoqi by the collar, lifting him up, "Zhou Rui, what about manners? Why are you running?"
Zhou Rui yelled out, "Fourth Uncle, Fourth Uncle, it’s too tight!"
Zhou Gu put him down.
Zhou Rui continued to embrace his leg and said, looking up with his red-cheeked, panting little face, "Fourth Uncle, I’ve missed you so much since you left. Day and night I think of you, to the point that I..."
"You’ve gotten fatter," Zhou Gu finished for him. "Like a ball."
Zhou Rui: "..."
Could we even have a proper conversation today? He was my own nephew, after all.
He pouted and stamped his foot, "Fourth Uncle."
"Alright. I know you missed me, and I missed you too," Zhou Gu patted his head.
Zhou Rui let go, "Fourth Uncle, give me a hug," he looked up, "Fourth Aunt hugged me the first time she saw me."
Zhou Gu turned to look at Su Rong.
Su Rong blinked at him, "He’s not heavy."
Zhou Gu grimaced, "He’s like a ball, looks heavy to me, how is he not heavy?"
Despite saying so, and with the same look of disdain in his eyes, he still lifted Zhou Rui and hugged him in his arms.
Zhou Rui wrapped his arms around Zhou Gu’s neck, seizing the opportunity to say, "Fourth Uncle, I want to stay with you in Nanchu until I grow up."
Zhou Gu immediately said, "No way."
Zhou Rui turned and asked Su Rong, "Fourth Aunt, can I?"
Su Rong smiled, "Yes."
Zhou Rui was instantly overjoyed and turned to Zhou Gu, "Fourth Uncle, my Fourth Aunt said it’s okay, you can’t ignore her words, can you?"
Zhou Gu laughed in exasperation.
He pulled Zhou Rui down from his body and put him on the ground, saying gruffly, "Walk on your own."
Zhou Rui stuck out his tongue and ran over to Su Rong, taking her hand and said very obediently, "Fourth Aunt, does Fourth Uncle listen to you?"
Su Rong pretended to say, "Your Fourth Uncle has a temper, I have to listen to him."
Zhou Rui exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so?"
"Hmm," Su Rong said seriously.
Zhou Rui looked skeptically at Su Rong, then at Zhou Gu with a stern face. Scratching his head, he said, "If Fourth Uncle doesn’t behave, just let great-grandfather beat him up."
Su Rong: "..."
Ha!
Zhou Gu: "..."
Everyone laughed loudly.
Eldest Princess Shengan seemed to recall how Zhou Gu was always getting beaten up in the past, and glared hard at the Old Duke of Protectorate. The Old Duke coughed; he used to be able to beat him up because he was his grandson, but he can’t do that anymore. He is Nanchu’s Master of the Imperial, the future King’s husband. He, as a grandfather, can’t lay a hand on him anymore.
The crowd entered the Main Courtyard boisterously, and after everyone took their seats, Zhou Gu addressed the Eldest Lady Su, "Mother, did Eldest Uncle not come to the ceremony?"
The Eldest Lady Su shook her head with a smile, "He did want to come, but the Heavy Snow is just too severe; I’m afraid he won’t make it."
Zhou Gu sighed, "This snowstorm has been deadly, causing not a small number of casualties among the people and draining innumerable resources."
The Eldest Lady Su nodded, "Xiaoqi said the National Treasury is almost emptied because of the Heavy Snow. She also reduced the taxes for next year; this means next year, you all will have to work hard again. Let’s hope for a good year, may the heavens be more accommodating."
Eldest Princess Shengan said, "It definitely will be. Next year is bound to be a good one. Didn’t the Observatory Bureau predict that the weather will be favorable next year?"
Zhou Gu smiled, "I hope they’re reliable."
The group chatted for a while, asking about Zhou Gu’s experiences abroad, which he summarized briefly.
He said with a very cheerful smile, "By now, Nangong Zheng must have already received the news. But before I returned to the Royal Capital, I didn’t hear any stir from Dawei, that mute loss, he must have swallowed it."
The Old Duke of Protectorate praised, "Well done."
Zhou Gu, who would have been exuberant at his grandfather’s praise in the past, remained composed and simply smiled, "Thanks to Brother Guixue. I had deployed too few troops, if he hadn’t arrived timely with his forces, the battle wouldn’t have gone so smoothly."
The Old Duke of Protectorate felt pleased and thought to himself with relief, "My grandson has truly grown up in just a short year."
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