When Su Rong came with the medicine box, she saw the Nanchu King and Zhang Yun leaning against a stone that provided shelter from the wind. In front of them, a few secret guards were busy administering medicine and attending to the wounds of a few other guards who were severely injured but still alive.
Upon seeing Su Rong approaching, an excited look filled the Nanchu King’s eyes, nearly overflowing with tears.
Zhang Yun cried out "Princess" and tried to rise to his feet to greet her.
Su Rong gestured for him to stop, "Sit down, there’s no need for formalities."
She stood one step away from the Nanchu King, staring at him. When she had first saved him and Zhang Yun, she hadn’t really taken a close look at her biological father, glancing over him quickly because she was concerned about Zhou Gu. Having returned now, she was finally able to take a careful look at him.
The Nanchu King did not look old, in fact, he appeared quite young. Naturally, his appearance was handsome.
Ever since they were forced into the Death Valley of Wanren Mountain, knowing that disguising themselves was futile, the Nanchu King and Zhou Gu had stopped doing so. He was now appearing in his original form.
It was evident that the Nanchu King would have been incredibly handsome in his youth.
She felt that her own father, in his young days, must have been even more handsome than Xie Yuan. According to rumors, everyone praised Xie Yuan for his talent but very few spoke highly of his looks. However, the Nanchu King was different; he had been praised for both his talents and his looks, being described as an exceptionally handsome crown prince.
Su Rong stared at the Nanchu King and he stared back at her, full of excitement. In comparison, Su Rong, being the younger generation, was much calmer. In her calm gaze, the Nanchu King’s heart, filled with boiling passion, slowly cooled down.
He opened his mouth to speak but words failed him.
Su Rong looked at him and started to speak: "My name is Su Rong."
The Nanchu King’s voice was hoarse, "I... I know."
Su Rong smiled, "My surname is Su, and I don’t really wish to change it."
This time, the Nanchu King spoke fluently and resolutely: "Then don’t change it."
Su Rong continued: "I also wish not to change my name. I’ve used it my entire life and I’m used to it."
Immediately, the Nanchu King said: "Then don’t change it."
Su Rong satisfied, "In the future, one of Zhou Gu and my children can have the surname Chu."
The Nanchu King nodded, "Alright, as you wish."
Su Rong asked him, "Do you prefer that I call you ’Dad’, ’Father’, or ’Father King’?"
Excitedly, the Nanchu King responded, "You...whatever you want to call me, call me that."
Su Rong nodded, "Then when we’re alone, I’ll call you ’Dad’. In public, I’ll call you ’Father King’. Su Xu will forever be my father."
"Alright, alright." The Nanchu King nodded, he had not a single objection. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Su Rong looked at him and said: "When I was little, my mother once slipped and said, ’You’re just like your dad, very stubborn’. At that time, I quietly thought to myself that I’m nothing like my father, who’s always so indecisive and easily swayed. I’m not like that. After that comment, my mother was silent for a long time, and she never misspoke again. As a child, I didn’t understand but as I grew older, I began to understand that the ’father’ she spoke of was probably my biological father, not Su Xu."
Upon hearing this, the Nanchu King immediately burst into tears, covering his face with his sleeve. He felt overwhelmed but didn’t want to appear weak and cry in front of Su Rong.
Seeing him like this, Su Rong laughed, "My mother must have been thinking of you deep down. The character ’Rong’ in my name was probably chosen as an echo to yours."
The Nanchu King choked back tears.
With a tinge of contempt, Su Rong added, "I don’t even know what’s so good about you that my mother couldn’t let go, to the extend that Uncle Xie never got married."
The Nanchu King was at a loss for words.
Su Rong continued: "You better stay alive. I’ve grown up and you haven’t taken care of me for even a day. In the future, you should take care of me for a few more years. At the very least, you can’t take care of me for less time than my father, right? Otherwise, you would be quite a disappointing biological father, wouldn’t you? My father took care of me until I turned fifteen, that’s fifteen years. Start from today, you should aim for that too. Don’t rush to reunite with my mother. Who knows, maybe she has already been reincarnated. If you want to look for her after taking care of me for fifteen years, I won’t object."
The Nanchu King: "..."
Oh, isn’t he looking down on himself? Is it even possible for him to last another fifteen years?
"What?" Su Rong looked at him, "You don’t want to take care of me? Are you planning to dump this broken Nanchu at me and then jauntily stroll away?"
The Nanchu King dropped his sleeve; he could no longer cry. Embarrassed, he said, "No, that’s not it."
"Good," Su Rong said. "Remember what I said, or else I won’t let you share a tomb with my mother after you die."
The Nanchu King: "..."
Oh dear, what a disobedient daughter!
Although that was what he thought, he didn’t dare to voice it out. Instead, he looked at Su Rong helplessly, "I...I’ll do my best!"
It seems that he has no choice but to fulfil his responsibilities as a father.
Su Rong nodded. Seeing that the Nanchu King and Zhang Yun’s injuries were not as bad as Zhou Gu’s, she realized that the medicine box she brought along was unnecessary. It was evident that the two of them had been treated by the secret guards before her arrival.
"Let’s go, we can’t stay in this valley. The smell of blood is suffocating. We have set up a camp outside, go there to rest first," she instructed.
The Nanchu King nodded repeatedly.
Then, people brought over stretchers to carry the Nanchu King and Zhang Yun, who were unable to walk, to the camp outside the valley.
As she walked alongside Zhang Yun, Su Rong asked, "You and Zhou Gu took a huge risk. What made you think of sneaking into the Nanchu royal palace to rescue people?"
Zhang Yun’s lip twitched; he knew their act of rescuing people wasn’t exactly respectable. However, it seemed accurate. He said helplessly, "We didn’t expect the Nangong family to have such deep-rooted influence. What was even more unexpected was how formidable young Nangong Zheng is, despite his inconspicuous reputation. And Liu’an Prince, who would have thought he had privately trained an army of 50,000 soldiers? We’ve been in Nanchu for a while now and we never got wind of this."
Upon reflecting, Su Rong agreed, "You can’t really be blamed."
She continued, "I bet even Guixue didn’t anticipate how hard things would become after you two left the capital, or how his family and the entire Ye Xiang Residence would almost be annihilated by the combined forces of Han Yin and He Zhong. Luckily, after I led troops into Nanchu and sent out scouts to gather information, I found out that they were being ambushed by the troops of the Nangong family. I brought my troops to rescue them, thereby saving their family."
"You saved the entire Ye Xiang family?" Upon hearing their conversation, the Nanchu King asked.
"Yes. I saved them all. Ye Xiang is very grateful to me. After seeing me, he gave me a grand salute," Su Rong replied.
Nanchu King chuckled, "Well, you saved his entire family. Any dissatisfaction would be wiped out. As long as you impress him, he’ll respect and support you."
Su Rong nodded, "I figured as much. Ye Xiang really is a good man."
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