Drunken Flower Room - Chapter 70

Yue Wan had been waiting for a long time. It was already mealtime, yet Su Rong still hadn’t come out. The door remained closed. She wondered if her mistress was in a bad mood again. Every time Su Rong was upset, she would lock herself in her room. 

She crouched by the door and softly called, “Miss, it’s time to eat!” 

Su Rong responded with a simple “Mm,” put away her dagger, and stepped out. 

Yue Wan looked at her with concern. “Miss, are you alright?” 

Su Rong waved a hand, her expression calm. “I’m fine.” 

Yue Wan wasn’t the brightest, but she wasn’t foolish either. Having followed Su Rong since childhood, she could keenly sense when something was amiss. However, since Su Rong claimed she was fine, Yue Wan knew better than to press further. She understood when to speak and when to stay silent. 

Zhou Gu, though he hadn’t spent much time with Su Rong, had come to understand her a little. Today, he could tell that she was unusually quiet, silent during meals, silent during their walk, and even when they sat together in the waterside pavilion, she didn’t joke with him as she usually did. 

She seemed preoccupied, yet her expression remained perfectly composed, revealing nothing. 

After hesitating, Zhou Gu finally asked, “Su Rong, you seem different today. Did something happen?” 

“My older brother arranged for a teacher to teach me proper etiquette. You knew that, right?” Su Rong rested her chin on the table and sighed. “Ugh, learning etiquette is so difficult. I don’t want to do it anymore.” 

Zhou Gu hadn’t expected this to be the reason. He wanted to tell her, If you don’t want to learn, then don’t. But then he remembered that Su Xingze had arranged this so she could adapt to the strict rules of the Duke Protector’s Manor after marriage. He hesitated, unable to voice that thought. 

Su Rong watched his conflicted expression and suddenly smiled. “Zhou Gu, I’m doing this for you. Shouldn’t you reward me?” 

Zhou Gu was about to argue How is this for me? but after thinking about it, he realized she wasn’t entirely wrong. If she weren’t marrying into the Duke Protector’s Manor, Su Xingze wouldn’t have bothered hiring a teacher. So, instead, he asked, “What kind of reward do you want?” 

Su Rong hadn’t expected him to accept her reasoning so easily. Feeling a little playful, she looked at his tall, handsome figure and teasingly said, “I want you to hug me.” 

Zhou Gu froze. 

Su Rong sat up straight and turned to face him. “When I was little, whenever I was upset, my older brother would give me a hug.” 

Zhou Gu stiffened. “I… I don’t know how to hug people.” 

From the moment he could remember, he had neither been hugged nor hugged anyone himself. 

Su Rong held out her arms. “Just take two steps forward and stand still. I’ll do the hugging.” 

Zhou Gu found himself unable to move. 

Su Rong sighed, turned back, and slumped over the table again. In a small, dejected voice, she muttered, “You look so reluctant. Forget it.” 

Her fiancé was completely indifferent to women. She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Here she was, an adorable young lady practically offering him a hug, and he didn’t even react. He had no sense of romance whatsoever. 

Zhou Gu saw her give up. He should have felt relieved, but instead, an odd restlessness settled over him. He didn’t like seeing her so deflated. He even had the urge to step forward and say, Fine, you can hug me. 

But in the end, he held back. Instead, he awkwardly sat across from her and said, “Pick a different reward.” 

Su Rong remained silent. 

Zhou Gu softened his voice, coaxing her, “Anything else. Whatever you want, I’ll agree to it.” 

Su Rong blinked. “Really?” 

“Yes.” 

She sat up, propped her chin on her hand, and thought for a moment. Then she said, “You have to promise not to be mad at me for taking you to the third pavilion that day.” 

Zhou Gu’s expression shifted. “That’s all?” 

“Mm-hmm. Just that.” In truth, she couldn’t think of anything else. Aside from being tempted by Zhou Gu himself, she lacked for nothing. 

“I’m not mad anymore. Pick another one.” Zhou Gu was, in fact, still a little upset, but somehow, he couldn’t hold onto that anger now. 

“Then…” Su Rong figured it was enough that he wasn’t angry. In hindsight, she admitted she had been rather out of line. She was, after all, his fiancée, yet she had dragged him to Warm Melody Pavilion and Rouge Pavilion, fine, that might have been excusable. But then she had taken him to Moonlight Pavilion, and that was an entirely different matter. 

Thinking back, she realized just how much trouble she had caused. Feng Yue, that troublemaker, had set a trap for her, and she had walked straight into it. If she put herself in Zhou Gu’s shoes, she would have been furious, too. Having her fiancé take her to a place filled with scantily clad male entertainers would be unacceptable. The fact that Zhou Gu had merely pulled her away with a dark face, instead of scolding her outright, showed just how restrained he was. 

After pondering for a while, she suddenly thought of something and asked, “When do you plan on returning to the capital?” 

“A day or two after your coming-of-age ceremony,” Zhou Gu replied, thinking that he had stayed in Jiangning long enough. Once Su Rong’s coming-of-age ceremony was over, he had no reason to linger. 

Su Rong nodded. Her ceremony was only a few days away, which meant he would leave soon after. She felt reluctant to see him go. Once he left, who knew when they would meet again? Jiangning and the capital were separated by a vast distance. 

Zhou Gu thought about this as well. Though his days in Jiangning had been tiring with Su Xingze constantly watching over him, he had to admit this place was wonderful. The people were simple and kind, there were no constant schemes or political intrigues, and the rules weren’t suffocating. Life here was peaceful and comfortable. The warm and harmonious atmosphere of the Su family also made it hard to leave. 

“I can’t think of a reward right now. I’ll save it for later when I come up with something,” Su Rong said, standing up. “Let’s go back.” 

Zhou Gu hesitated. “So early?” 

“Early to bed, early to rise.” 

He looked at her, wanting to say something, but in the end, he just followed her out of the waterside pavilion. 

Back at the guest courtyard, Zhou Gu found himself unable to sleep. He picked up Emerald Feather, the little bird sleeping soundly on his bed, and played with it. 

Disturbed, Emerald Feather opened its eyes, glanced at Zhou Gu, then closed them again and continued napping in his palm. 

Zhou Gu was speechless. “You little thing… Ever since you followed me, all you do is eat and sleep. Have you become lazy from staying in the lord’s manor? It seems like everyone here, humans and birds alike, gets lazy over time.” 

Over the past few days, he had noticed how relaxed and slow-paced life was in the lord’s manor. Even the servants, when they worked, moved at an unhurried, leisurely pace. The whole place exuded an air of laid-back comfort. 

He had even heard that Su Rong’s dog was the laziest of all. It almost never barked and spent its days eating and sleeping, growing round and plump. 

Now, even this bird was showing the same behavior. If it continued like this, he would start doubting whether its wings still worked. 

After playing with Emerald Feather for a while, Zhou Gu let it go and lay down on his bed. His mind drifted to something he had yet to tell Su Rong, he didn’t want to take this year’s imperial exam. He wanted to travel instead. 

If he returned to the capital and his grandfather asked about his engagement, all he had to do was nod, and he had no doubt his grandfather would immediately send people to Jiangning to finalize the marriage arrangements. Once the marriage was set, the wedding date would follow, the six ceremonial rites would proceed, and within a year at most, Su Rong would become his wife. 

But that went completely against his plans. 

Unless… she was willing to wait for him. They could delay the wedding. But would she wait? She had mentioned before that her stepmother was eager for her to marry into the Duke Protector’s Manor so she could arrange good matches for her own daughters. 

Zhou Gu closed his eyes, feeling restless. 

Su Rong, on the other hand, slept soundly. When she woke up, her face was rosy and glowing, her mood refreshed. 

Yue Wan peeked at her and thought, Miss is in a good mood again. That’s great. Seems like Young Master Zhou knows how to cheer her up better than I do. 

After breakfast, since there was still time before Madam Zhao arrived for lessons, Su Rong grabbed a picture book and lounged on a recliner, flipping through it. 

Emerald Feather suddenly flew in through the window and landed on her shoulder. 

“Oh! What a beautiful little bird!” Yue Wan exclaimed in surprise. “Miss, why isn’t it afraid of people at all? It just flew straight in!” 

“Its name is Emerald Feather. Zhou Gu raises it,” Su Rong explained. She hadn’t seen this little thing since the day she brought it down the mountain. Even when she met Zhou Gu, the bird wasn’t with him. She wondered how he had been taking care of it. 

Emerald Feather, feeling Su Rong’s touch, hopped onto her palm, rolled around, then tilted its head and nuzzled against her hand. 

Yue Wan’s eyes widened. She could actually sense affection from a bird, as if it had missed Su Rong terribly and was acting clingy after reuniting with her. 

Su Rong, amused, said, “Go grab some millet to feed it.” 

Yue Wan nodded and brought back a handful of millet. She held it out, expecting Emerald Feather to eagerly eat, but the bird merely glanced at it before turning its head away with clear disdain. 

“Miss, am I seeing things? Did it just reject the millet? It won’t eat it?” Yue Wan was astonished. 

“Mm, it doesn’t eat that,” Su Rong admitted. She had never fed this little thing before, so she didn’t know what it preferred. “Go ask Zhou Gu what it usually eats.” 

Yue Wan nodded and left to find out.