Zhou Gu also felt that his face was big, but feeling that way about himself was one thing; under no circumstance would he admit it in front of Xie Lin.
So, he glared back at Xie Lin again, boldly declaring, "Why would I be embarrassed about it? My fiancée willingly gives me these things because she enjoys doing so. She gifted me clothes, didn’t you notice her good mood? She spends money for her own happiness, and mine. Why shouldn’t I accept?"
Xie Lin: "..."
He was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he managed to say, "You really have guts."
Zhou Gu stared at him, "What do you mean?"
Xie Lin said: "I’m praising you, you’re a role model to us all."
Zhou Gu: "..."
Since he said he was praising him, Zhou Gu accepted the compliment without hesitation.
He casually hung his arm around Xie Lin’s shoulder, tilted his head and looked at him as if he were trying to see a beautiful flower blooming on his face, "Tell me, were you just envious and jealous of me?"
Xie Lin had never seen someone so shameless yet so confident. He pushed Zhou Gu away forcefully and said with a dark face, "Since when have we been so close that we can rest our arms on each other’s shoulders? Stay away from me." He glared, "What am I supposed to be envious and jealous of you for?"
Zhou Gu was full of self-satisfaction, "Envious and jealous because I have an amazing fiancée!"
Xie Lin clicked his tongue, "All I can see is that you have no shame."
Spending so much money from his fiancee made him look so proud? How shameless!
Zhou Gu firmly believed that Xie Lin was indeed envious and jealous of him, so he didn’t care about his sombre expression. On the contrary, he thought Xie Lin’s sullenness made him look better. He deliberately boasted, with a smug expression on his face, "Isn’t my fiancée exceptionally beautiful? I’m not wrong, am I? An exquisite beauty by nature, as gentle as water, and utterly gracious..."
Xie Lin was speechless, "She’s not as exaggerated as you describe."
Zhou Gu grunted, "Then tell me, which woman has ever been more beautiful than my fiancée that you’ve seen?"
Xie Lin wanted to say Qin Luan, but Qin Luan really wasn’t as beautiful as Su Rong, so he held back for a moment and said, "Imperial Concubine Zhen."
Zhou Gu: "..."
He looked at Xie Lin in surprise, "Does His Majesty know that you think Imperial Concubine Zhen is the prettiest?"
His insinuation: how audacious of you to think that Imperial Concubine Zhen is the most beautiful. Do you have enough heads to pay for such insolence?
Xie Lin got angry, "Everyone in the world thinks that Imperial Concubine Zhen is pretty, it’s not just me. Zhou Gu, are you sick?"
Zhou Gu quickly adjusted his expression, realizing that he couldn’t cross the line. If he really angered Xie Lin into another fight, they would bring shame to themselves even here in Jiangning, and that would not be good.
He immediately said, "What are you getting mad for? How can we speak of the ladies in the palace? What I mean is, excluding the Imperial ladies you’ve met, tell me the name of the prettiest woman you’ve seen?"
Xie Lin really couldn’t think of any. Su Rong’s appearance was like a hibiscus bud, tender and alluring. Because she was still young, she had not yet bloomed fully. Once she did, perhaps her radiant beauty would be capable of toppling a kingdom. In short, she was a beauty. Among all the people he had met from his childhood, apart from Imperial Concubine Zhen, she was the one.
He swallowed his words for a moment, then finally conceded, "Alright, alright, your fiancée is the most beautiful, are you happy now?"
He had been talking for so long, isn’t that what he wanted to hear? Just give it to him.
Zhou Gu was overjoyed, "As long as you admit it."
He walked ahead with relaxed steps, hands clasped behind his back, "Not only is my fiancée beautiful, but she’s also easy to get along with. Her temperament also suits me very well, and she’s willing to spend money on me..." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
Xie Lin: "..."
He didn’t want to talk anymore. What’s so great about having a fiancée?
But Zhou Gu was simply unbearable with his boasting, which Xie Lin didn’t want to witness. So, Xie Lin said spitefully, "She’s still just a commoner."
Zhou Gu frowned, "Heroes don’t ask for their origins."
Xie Lin snorted, "Then what do they ask for?"
Zhou Gu earnestly reminded him using the words of the old Duke, "My grandfather was a peasant once, wasn’t he? And didn’t my grandmother, Princess Sheng An, married him despite of it? So, if you look down on my fiancée because of her status, are you secretly looking down on our Duke Residence too?"
Xie Lin was taken aback, "What are you talking about?"
With the Duke Residence’s illustrious reputation, how dare he look down on it? No one in the world would dare to.
Zhou Gu snorted back, retorting sarcastically, "What’s wrong with my fiancée being a commoner? It’s not like she’s eating your family’s rice. Your ancestors were bandits, remember?"
Xie Lin: "..."
Bringing up old family secrets - that was crossing the line!
He glared at Zhou Gu, "You looking for a fight or what?"
"Bring it on!" Zhou Gu met his glare with a side-eyed look, "You couldn’t beat me in Capital City, and now you’re here – you sure you can win?"
What he meant was, in Capital City, in our own territory, you couldn’t beat me with your poor skills. Now in Jiangning, my father-in-law and my fiancée’s territory, if you dare to pick a fight, see if I don’t beat you to a pulp.
Xie Lin glanced around, his guards were following him at a distance, about a dozen or more. Zhou Gu only had one or two guards by his side. Xie Lin knew on his way here that Zhou Gu’s men had been sent off to intercept Princess Duanhua. But even so, he wasn’t sure if he could beat Zhou Gu.
He was annoyed and said, "So what if your martial arts are great! If you have the guts, see you on the exam field in late autumn."
" Whether it’s on the exam field or not, you will lose." Zhou Gu said arrogantly, "As for mentors, yours is not as good as mine."
Xie Lin’s tutor was a scholar from the study, while the King of Rui’an had hired for him a Great Scholar as a mentor. However, neither was as renowned as Grand Tutor Qin, Zhou Gu’s tutor.
Indeed, Grand Tutor Qin was quite remarkable, very knowledgeable, his intellectual prowess towering over the scholars of the study. Otherwise, he would not have become the Crown Prince’s tutor.
Xie Lin was weary. No matter how he calculated it, he couldn’t outfight or outtalk this guy. He sighed resignedly, "You weren’t you supposed to show me around?"
Zhou Gu stood still, "You’ve upset me, I don’t want to show you around anymore."
Xie Lin: "..."
Really now? Who was it that was bragging in front of him earlier? He was just irked by Zhou Gu’s showing off and deliberately jabbed at his fiancée’s status.
Zhou Gu turned around and left.
Xie Lin saw him walk away. At first, he had the mindset to let him leave if he wished. But then thinking about why he came to Jiangning in the first place — wasn’t it because Zhou Gu came to Jiangning? He didn’t know anyone else in Jiangning, only Zhou Gu. If he got Zhou Gu upset, it wouldn’t be good for him.
So, he immediately ran to catch up, bent on making things right with him. He stopped Zhou Gu, and tried to reconcile with him, "Alright alright, Brother Zhou, I was wrong. You were right, a hero shouldn’t be judged by his origins. Even though Lady Su Qi comes from a humble background, being your fiancée has raised her status. No one dares to look down on her."
"What about you?" Zhou Gu gave him a sidelong glance.
"I definitely wouldn’t dare!" Xie Lin assured him, "I was just talking, that’s all."
As Zhou Gu remained silent, Xie Lin quickly added, "I think Lady Su Qi is quite good. If it weren’t for me..., " He started to say he was still hung up on Qin Luan, but realized it was inappropriate as Qin Luan had already entered the Eastern Palace, so he quickly swallowed his words.
Zhou Gu understood, and delved further, "You’re still hung up on Qin Luan?"
Xie Lin glared at him.
Zhou Gu laughed slyly. With his anger dissipated, he patted Xie Lin on the shoulder, "Alright, it was my fault. I’ll find you someone even more beautiful and better than Qin Luan."
From a family background as good as his fiancée’s.
Xie Lin was infuriated. Mention of Qin Luan brought up a host of frustrations. If it weren’t for this jerk, he would have already brought Qin Luan into his residence. Even if his family did not approve of him marrying Qin Luan, he could have caused enough of a ruckus to make them agree. At least then, Qin Luan wouldn’t have ended up in the Eastern Palace. But Zhou Gu had to interfere, and now was acting all nonchalant, mouthing off about his fiancée, while he got nothing. Worse, he still had to sit back and listen to him gloat, and dare not fall out with him again.
He was annoyed, "You said you would. If you don’t find someone better for me, I curse you to never marry Su Qi."
What’s a fiancée? They’re not even married yet!
Zhou Gu, furious, exclaimed, "Xie Lin!"
Xie Lin’s mood instantly improved, "It’s settled then, you’re going to help me find her."
Zhou Gu’s forehead throbbed intensely – he was planning to blind-side Xie Lin, but received a curse instead. He annoyedly pushed Xie Lin away and fumed, "Let’s go, I will take you to find her."
Didn’t Ziye say so? The only place to find women similar to Qin Luan was at the Green Building. Today, he would take Xie Lin to the Green Building. He didn’t really mean to be so cruel, Xie Lin had it coming for cursing him.
So, Zhou Gu, simmering with anger, took Xie Lin straight to the third floor.
Xie Lin, naturally, had no idea about Zhou Gu’s nefarious plans. He was new in Jiangning County and was not familiar with the territory.
Seeing Zhou Gu lead him through various twisting paths to a backstreet, Xie Lin was puzzled. "Where are you taking me?"
"Jiangning’s famous third floor." Zhou Gu said nonchalantly, "It’s a must-visit place for anyone who comes to Jiangning. You haven’t really experienced Jiangning if you don’t come here."
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