Drunken Flower Room - Chapter 27

Su Rong followed Zhou Gu to the bow of the boat.

She rolled up her sleeves, grabbed an unused bamboo pole from the boat, and set up three poles, two for support and one to hold a fishing net. After throwing some bait into the water, a group of fish eagerly swam to the surface. Su Rong waited for the right moment and gave the water a strong stir. Several large fish immediately swam into the net.

Next, she picked up another bamboo pole and swiftly stabbed it into the water with precision and force. In a flurry of strikes, she skewered several more large fish, leaving only the small ones untouched.

Within minutes, Su Rong had caught five or six big fish with her net, while another five or six dangled from the pole she used to spear them.

Zhou Gu stood there, stunned, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape, unable to speak for a long time.

Su Rong calmly removed the fish from the net, dumping them into a wooden bucket. Then she pulled the fish off the bamboo pole one by one and added them to the bucket as well. She turned and looked at Zhou Gu, waiting for his reaction.

Zhou Gu raised a trembling finger to point at her. “You… you… you…”

He stammered, but no other words came out. He was utterly floored.

Su Rong sighed. “If I made a living fishing, I’d probably put all the fishermen out of work. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

Zhou Gu had wanted to say something entirely different, along the lines of: “Who was thinking that? I’m just wondering how a seemingly delicate young woman like you can have such astonishing skills?” But the words wouldn’t come out.

At that moment, he truly understood the meaning of “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. His initial impression of Su Rong as frail and gentle had been completely overturned.

She wasn’t weak at all. It was his own bias and poor judgment that had misled him.

He rubbed his chin, relieved that it was firmly attached to his face and hadn’t dropped to the ground. Shaking off his earlier dumbfounded expression, he gave her a complicated look and nodded. “Exactly. So, you’d better not compete with others for this kind of work in the future.”

With her method, an entire river’s fish population might just flee out of fear.

Seeing that he hadn’t been scared off, Su Rong decided that this fiancé of hers might actually be worth keeping. She smiled, her lips curving sweetly, and said, “Alright.”

Feeling pleased, she added cheerfully, “Let’s head back. I’ll ask the cooks at home to prepare a full fish banquet for you tonight. Freshly caught fish are the most delicious.”

Zhou Gu, having seen enough of the scenery along Maple Leaf River, nodded. “Let’s go.”

On the way back to the city, a large bucket of fish was tied to the back of the carriage. Zhou Gu occasionally glanced at it, his thoughts growing ever more complicated.

When they arrived at the Lord’s Manor, it was still early evening, just in time for the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

Su Rong instructed the steward, “Uncle Li, have someone take this bucket of fish to the kitchen. Tonight, we’ll have a full fish banquet.”

Uncle Li was taken aback. “Se-Seventh Miss, did you… buy these fish?”

Su Rong paused, catching a glimpse of Zhou Gu out of the corner of her eye. His expression had returned to normal. With a straight face and not a hint of guilt, she lied smoothly, “Yes, I bought them.”

Relieved, Uncle Li had the fish taken to the kitchen. He then turned to Zhou Gu and tentatively asked, “Young Master, would you like this old servant to escort you to your courtyard to rest for a while?”

“Alright. Thank you, Uncle Li.” Zhou Gu nodded, showing no resistance this time.

With great enthusiasm, Uncle Li led Zhou Gu away.

Su Rong and Yue Wan walked toward their own courtyard.

Yue Wan muttered quietly, “Miss, we’re in trouble. You’ve exposed yourself. Just wait for Madam to scold you.”

“Deceiving someone into marriage is unethical,” Su Rong replied with an air of seriousness. “We’re an upright family. How could we possibly do something like that? Don’t you agree?”

Yue Wan: “…”

“Clearly, you couldn’t keep up the act for even a single day, yet you’re spouting nonsense about what’s proper or improper. If you’re ‘proper,’ then there’s no such thing as improper in this world.”

Su Rong glanced at Yue Wan. “Don’t forget, you played a part in this. You were half-asleep and ended up getting me into trouble. Remember that?”

Yue Wan pulled a long face but quickly adjusted her tone, responding with righteous conviction, “Miss, it’s entirely the boatman’s fault, not yours. You’re absolutely right, tricking someone into marriage is wrong. How could the Master and Madam hide your true nature just to marry you off? You should sternly lecture them later, set them straight on their misguided path. After all, we’re an upright family.”

Su Rong was pleased. “Exactly.”

And so, the two returned to the west wing with no trace of guilt, behaving like sneaky thieves. They hurried to bathe and scrub away the lingering smell of fish.

Just as Su Rong finished her bath, the Madam burst in. Without warning, she unleashed a barrage of questions: “You went fishing again, didn’t you?”

“No!”

“You answered too quickly. You definitely went fishing.” The Madam raised her voice and called Su Rong by her full name. “Su Rong! You even took Young Master Zhou fishing? Do you have any idea how much effort I put into building your image?!”

She didn’t give Su Rong a chance to explain and began scolding her, “Couldn’t you at least pretend for a few more days? It’s not even been a full day, and your true colors are already showing. What man would want to marry a wild girl? Your pretty face is wasted. If he decides not to marry you, I’ll have you wed an old fisherman so you can spend your days catching fish!”

Su Rong: “…”

She rubbed her nose awkwardly. “Mother, this isn’t my fault.”

“How is it not your fault? Explain yourself!” The Madam’s fury was palpable.

Calmly, Su Rong recounted how the boatman had mentioned her fishing skills to Zhou Gu, who became curious and insisted on seeing her in action. Left with no choice, she demonstrated her skills.

The Madam, remembering how she had worked so hard to hush up rumors within the Lord’s Manor, realized she couldn’t suppress all the traces Su Rong had left in Jiangning over the years. She pointed a trembling finger at Su Rong, too angry to speak.

“Mother, Zhou Gu didn’t say he wanted to break off the engagement.” Afraid her mother might collapse from the stress, Su Rong quickly added, “Actually, he even praised me for being impressive.”

The Madam clutched her chest in frustration. “Praised you for being impressive? Is that supposed to be a compliment? You’re a young lady from the Lord’s Manor, fishing skills like yours will make you the laughingstock of society!”

Su Rong gently reminded her, “Mother, I’m just the Lord’s Manor’s illegitimate daughter.”

The Madam snapped, “So what? That doesn’t mean you’re not a young lady!”

Realizing her mistake, Su Rong clammed up.

The Madam pressed a hand to her chest. “He didn’t immediately call off the engagement because he has good manners. For all we know, he’s already reconsidering in his heart.”

Su Rong thought back to Zhou Gu’s stunned and complicated expressions after her fishing display. She wasn’t entirely sure either and sighed, “Mother, deception is always wrong. Besides, marriage is a matter of fate. We should just let things happen naturally, okay?”

Seeing how upset her mother was, Su Rong stepped forward to help soothe her. “And even if I managed to act the part for a few more days, it wouldn’t change anything. The truth would come out eventually.”

The Madam was exasperated. “At least wait until he’s fallen for you before revealing your true self!”

“That wouldn’t work either. He’d feel even more deceived, and if he got angry, what would we do? He doesn’t seem to have the best temper,” Su Rong replied, shaking her head.

The Madam rolled her eyes. “I think his temper’s just fine. Even after we forced him to stay at the manor, he didn’t lose his cool.”