Zhou Gu didn’t know the price of these fabrics, but if they were leaked from the Imperial Supply, wouldn’t that indicate their high worth? Even a blind man could tell that the fabrics Su Rong was selecting were exquisitely expensive.
During his stay at the Governor’s residence, he came to understand that the Lady Governor was quite indulgent towards Su Rong in most matters, except when it came to her monthly allowance, she was incredibly strict. Zhou Gu had always wondered how a woman could engage in high-spending on such a scale that it utterly irritated the Lady Governor. Seeing Su Rong’s extravagant selection of fabrics now, he finally understood.
Indeed, it was high-spending!
Even the Duke Residence, where his grandmother and mother lived, only prepared several new sets of clothes for him at the change of each season. Never had they spent extravagantly to prepare twenty sets of clothes at once. If everyone in the family was spending like this, wouldn’t they eventually ruin the family?
Zhou Gu’s expression was too obvious; Su Rong quickly grasped his concern.
She touched her forehead and turned her face, thinking that she had forgotten to clarify. She had indeed told Zhou Gu she was running out of money, but that was in the past. Back then, she had many dependents and her income couldn’t cover the expenditures. But things were different now; the people she used to support were grown-ups and could now earn money for her. She may not be as wealthy as the whole country, but in Jiangning, her wealth was probably on par with the richest person. Considering she was only fifteen and that richest person was over fifty, she figured it wouldn’t take many years before she could become the richest person in Jiangzhou, even in Daliang.
However, even so, she was more than happy to spend the dowry that the Lady Governor had prepared for her, delighting in seeing the pained expression on the Lady Governor’s face.
But it seemed, her fiancé had misunderstood.
Looking at the twenty rolls of cloth she had selected, she didn’t want to give any of them up. After all, she had taken great effort to choose them. So, she decisively told Zhou Gu: "I’ve chosen these with great care, I insist on taking all of them."
With that final word, "Just take my advice. We’ll buy all of these. You can wear them at your leisure."
After speaking, without waiting for his response, she rudely pointed at the cloth and commanded the shopkeeper, "We’ll take these for now. Make ten sets first, I need them ready by early autumn. I’ll take the rest of the fabric so we can make more clothes for him in late autumn. Each roll can make two sets of clothes, enough to wear from late autumn to next spring. If not for next year, then for the year after, it won’t go to waste anyway."
The shopkeeper nodded cheerfully, "That’s right, Lady Su Qi, this fine fabric is rare. We might not know when we’ll have it again. You’re absolutely right."
Lauded for her decision, Su Rong lightened up, "I know, right?."
Zhou Gu saw that Su Rong and the shopkeeper were working quite effectively, he wanted to interrupt, but Su Rong firmly pulled his hand, whispering in his ear, "Young Master Xie is watching, is it alright to argue in front of him?"
Zhou Gu immediately closed his mouth.
Su Rong saw Young Master Xie was in astonishment, she could not help but laugh a bit. She looked at Zhou Gu, his constantly changing face also made her laugh.
She might be of lower status, but she wanted people to understand she was not beneath matching the Duke Residence, and she could give Zhou Gu good things.
The shopkeeper brought out a catalog. Su Rong carefully chose the styles, then the shopkeeper cheerfully called an embroiderer to take Zhou Gu’s measurements.
Zhou Gu let her take the lead numbly, thinking that his fiancée might be more skillful than he had thought. She seemed to be well-respected wherever she went in the whole Jiangning County, from fishermen living by their catches to the manager of the third floor of the building, and now she found this Brocade Pavilion which was just as good as the top store, Qianjin Square in the capital city, to get her the fabrics leaked from the Imperial Supply. It seemed like she had more sway in Jiangning County than just at Su Residence.
Once the embroidered lady had taken the measurement, the shopkeeper carefully wrote down on his book and asked Su Rong with a smile, "Should we deliver the rest of the fabric to the Governor’s Residence?"
"Yes, when you deliver, tell the gatekeeper to look for Zhou Xi. You can give it to him," Su Rong instructed.
The shopkeeper nodded, "Alright."
Then he ordered the worker to carefully pack the fabric Su Rong had chosen, and to deliver them to the Governor’s residence later.
"Let’s go!" Su Rong smiled cheerily at Xie Lin, "I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Young Master Xie. Why don’t you join us for dinner at our residence tonight? Our chef is very good at preparing fish. You can have a taste of the fish from Jiangning, which are very delicious."
Xie Lin finally snapped back to reality and glanced at Zhou Gu, "Will I be imposing too much on Governor Su?"
"No, both my parents are very warm and hospitable," Su Rong shook her head with a smile. After all, if her father knew that Xie Lin was in Jiangning County, he would invite him over for a visit. If she didn’t extend the invitation now that she’d met him, her mother would surely rebuke her for disregarding etiquette.
Xie Lin glanced at the sky, uncertain of whether he should go tonight or not, seeking Zhou Gu’s opinion with a look.
Zhou Gu had no opinion, his mind still filled with thoughts of the dazzling fabric. Seeing Xie Lin look at him, he couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Xie Lin coughed once, "Then, thanks to Lady Su Qi, I will visit Governor Su and his wife today."
Su Rong nodded, thought for a while, tugged Zhou Gu’s sleeve, and asked him, "Brother Zhou, why don’t I head back to the residence first? You and Young Master haven’t seen each other in a long time. You could chat and even show him around. I won’t accompany you guys."
The thing was, she was tired of visiting all the places in Jiangning and didn’t want to drag along with them all over the place. Moreover, Xie Lin and Zhou Gu might have some private matters to discuss, and her presence could be inconvenient.
Zhou Gu put aside the thoughts in his mind, thinking that he also needed to part ways with Su Rong to clear his mind without her interference. He nodded, "That sounds good!"
Then, Su Rong bade farewell to Zhou Gu and Xie Lin.
She had just walked a few steps when Zhou Gu suddenly remembered his ongoing intention and called her back. In front of Xie Lin, he pretended to be considerate and said, "I’ll have a guard escort you back."
Su Rong paused and turned back, not understanding the intent behind Zhou Gu’s thoughtfulness. She waved her hand, "No need, it’s broad daylight, I can go back by myself."
Zhou Gu took a couple of steps forward, looked at her, and insisted, "Let a guard take you home."
Su Rong was puzzled, "?"
Zhou Gu coughed once and explained, "Yuewan and Ahua love to snack, right? You can buy them some treats along the way and let the guard carry them for you so your hands don’t get tired."
Su Rong blinked, thinking maybe he was repaying her kindness for the clothes she had given him. Her hands hurting from carrying a few bags of snacks had never happened before. But she could accept his good intention and nodded, "Alright then!"
So, when Su Rong left again, she was followed by a guard from the Duke’s Residence.
After Su Rong left, Zhou Gu glanced at Xie Lin, suddenly hooked his arm around him, and said contentedly, "Brother, what do you think? Isn’t my fiancee exceptionally good?"
Xie Lin shook off his arm, his feelings complicated. At first, he was shocked by the fabrics, then he watched Su Rong carefully pick the color, material, and style of the finished clothes for Zhou Gu. Although Zhou Gu was usually an impatient person, he was compliant like a puppet on a string, and the two of them made their selections over half an hour, and he witnessed it all.
If he wasn’t sure that the person before him was Zhou Gu, he would almost suspect that Zhou Gu had been possessed. When had he ever been so patient and obedient with women?
Especially when they initially said they would choose ten sets of ready-made clothes, but in the end, they chose an extra ten bolts of cloth. These were not ordinary fabrics, several premium Yunjin fabrics were also selected. Even his mother had never been extravagant when making clothes.
If he didn’t know her identity, he would almost think Su Rong was a noble lady from a wealthy family. No, even noble women didn’t have such lavish spending. They would have to empty their personal savings just to make one piece from Yunjin. But she showed not a hint of reluctance, asking for what she wanted without batting an eye.
Xie Lin had never met a woman like her. Suppressing the complexity in his heart, he said to Zhou Gu, "I don’t know if Lady Su Qi is exceptionally good or not, but she doesn’t hesitate to spend money on you. And you, you’re shameless, letting her spend so much silver on you. Even if she has a thick purse, you can’t just take it without saying anything, right? You must return her money, right? But is your personal money enough to pay her back? I tell you, those things, they are worth more than ten thousand taels, I’m afraid it’s several tens of thousands of taels."
He was comparing Zhou Gu’s personal money to his own. He had about ten thousand taels of personal money, and he felt Zhou Gu should have roughly the same amount. After all, they haven’t yet served in court to earn official salaries or received their share of family property. Having this much personal money was due to their favoured status at home. Most sons from ordinary families only had a few hundred to a thousand taels as their personal savings.
Zhou Gu naturally intended to repay Su Rong. How could he accept such valuable items from her? But he couldn’t admit this in front of Xie Lin, "Return what? If my fiancée says she wants to give me something, then she will. And would you believe, if I tried to repay her, she would be upset with me?"
Xie Lin glared at him, "You won’t return it? So, you’re just going to accept it? Aren’t you embarrassed if people find out?"
Most people were vying to give their fiancées gifts, but Zhou Gu was the opposite, his fiancée was giving him gifts. He was not embarrassed to accept them without recompensation. How shameless could he be?
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