Drunken Flower Room - Chapter 77

Zhou Gu didn’t know the exact prices of these fabrics, but considering they were from the imperial supply, they had to be exorbitantly expensive. Even a blind person could tell just by touching them that they were worth a fortune. 

Having stayed at the Lord’s household for some time now, he had gained some understanding of the household dynamics. The First Madam was lenient with Su Rong in most matters, except when it came to her monthly allowance, which she guarded strictly. She accused Su Rong of squandering money. Zhou Gu had never understood how a young lady could possibly spend money so extravagantly that it made the First Madam loathe it so much. Now, he understood. 

This was indeed extravagance. 

Even in the old Duke Protector’s household, where his grandmother and mother managed the finances, they only prepared a few sets of seasonal clothing for him. No one had ever gone so far as to order twenty sets at once. If an entire family indulged in such extravagance, they would be utterly ruined! 

The expression on Zhou Gu’s face made his thoughts obvious, and Su Rong immediately caught on. 

She pressed her fingers to her forehead and turned away slightly. She had forgotten, she had mentioned to Zhou Gu before that she lacked money, but she hadn’t clarified that it was in the past. Back then, she had too many people to support, and her income couldn’t keep up with expenses. But the last two years had been different. The people she once cared for had grown up and now earned money for her. She might not be wealthy enough to rival a nation, but in Jiangning, she was likely on par with the wealthiest merchant in town. And that merchant was over fifty, while she was only fifteen. In a few short years, she could claim the title of the richest person in Jiangzhou, perhaps even the entire Liang Dynasty. 

Even so, she was still perfectly happy to accept the dowry prepared by the First Madam. She enjoyed seeing the woman’s pained expression. 

But clearly, her fiancé had misunderstood something. 

She glanced at the twenty bolts of fabric she had selected. She couldn’t bear to part with any of them, each one had been carefully chosen. So, she made a decisive call: 

“I spent so much effort picking these out. How could I not take them all?” 

Finalizing her decision, she declared, “Listen to me. Take them all. You can wear them over time.” 

Before Zhou Gu could protest, she turned to the shopkeeper and ordered, “Make ten sets of clothing first. They should be ready for early autumn. The remaining fabric should be taken back with us and used to make outfits for late autumn. One bolt of fabric can yield two sets, which means they’ll last from deep autumn to next spring. If they don’t get worn next year, they’ll still be good the year after.” 

The shopkeeper grinned. “A rare batch of fine fabrics indeed. If we don’t stock up now, who knows when we’ll get another chance? You’re absolutely right, Seventh Miss.” 

Su Rong beamed at the praise. “Of course!” 

Zhou Gu watched as she and the shopkeeper worked in perfect harmony, selecting and ordering with practiced ease. He opened his mouth to object, but before he could, Su Rong grabbed his sleeve tightly and leaned in to whisper near his ear, “Prince Xie is watching. Would it be appropriate for us to argue in front of him?” 

Zhou Gu instantly shut his mouth. 

Su Rong caught Xie Lin’s dumbfounded expression out of the corner of her eye and found it amusing. Then, she glanced at Zhou Gu, whose expression kept shifting, and she found that amusing too. 

Her status might not be high, but people needed to see that she was capable of standing beside Zhou Gu, that she wasn’t some pitiful girl clinging desperately to the Duke Protector’s household. She could give him fine things, just as much as they could. 

The shopkeeper brought out a catalog, and Su Rong carefully selected styles. The shopkeeper then cheerfully called in a seamstress to take Zhou Gu’s measurements. 

Zhou Gu stood still, allowing himself to be measured, but his mind was racing. 

His fiancée was far more capable than he had imagined. 

In all of Jiangning, she seemed to have connections everywhere, from humble fishermen to high-ranking stewards of major establishments. And now, she had access to Jinxiu Pavilion, a place that could procure fabrics leaked from the imperial supply. She wasn’t just moving freely within the Lord’s household, she was practically dominating the entire Jiangning Prefecture. 

Once the seamstress finished taking measurements, the shopkeeper personally recorded everything and then asked Su Rong, “Shall we send the remaining ten bolts of fabric to the Lord’s household?” 

“Yes,” Su Rong instructed. “Tell the gatekeeper to give them to Zhou Xi.” 

The shopkeeper nodded. “Understood.” 

Then, he instructed an assistant to carefully package the selected fabrics and deliver them to the Lord’s household later. 

“Let’s go!” Su Rong turned to Xie Lin with a bright smile. “Apologies for keeping you waiting, Prince Xie. Join us for dinner at the manor tonight! Our chef specializes in preparing fish. You should try Jiangning’s fresh river fish, it’s absolutely delicious.” 

Xie Lin snapped out of his daze and glanced at Zhou Gu. “Would my sudden visit be an inconvenience for Lord Su?” 

Su Rong shook her head with a smile. “Not at all. My father and mother are both very hospitable.” 

After all, if her father knew that Xie Lin had arrived in Jiangning Prefecture, he would have invited him to the household anyway. Now that she had run into him, if she didn’t extend an invitation, her mother would surely lecture her for being impolite. 

Xie Lin glanced at the sky, hesitating about whether to accept. He turned to Zhou Gu, silently asking for his opinion. 

Zhou Gu, still preoccupied with the dazzlingly expensive fabrics, couldn’t be bothered to care. He ignored Xie Lin’s questioning gaze. 

Xie Lin coughed lightly and said, “Then I must thank you, Seventh Miss. I will visit Lord Su and Madam Su tonight.” 

Su Rong nodded and, after a moment of thought, tugged on Zhou Gu’s sleeve. “Brother Zhou, should I head back first? You and Prince Xie haven’t seen each other in a while, you can catch up and show him around. I won’t tag along.” 

The truth was, she was completely bored of Jiangning’s sights and had no interest in wandering around with them. Besides, if Xie Lin and Zhou Gu had things to discuss, her presence would only be inconvenient. 

Zhou Gu snapped out of his thoughts. He realized that he also needed some time apart from Su Rong, to clear his head without her constant distractions. So, he nodded. “That’s fine.” 

With that, Su Rong parted ways with Zhou Gu and Xie Lin. 

She had only taken a few steps when Zhou Gu suddenly remembered his original goal. He called out to her and, in a show of thoughtfulness, especially in front of Xie Lin, said, “I’ll have a guard escort you back.” 

Su Rong stopped and turned around, failing to grasp the meaning behind Zhou Gu’s ‘thoughtfulness.’ She waved her hand. “No need. It’s broad daylight. I can go back on my own.” 

Zhou Gu took two steps forward, looking at her firmly. “Take the guard with you.” 

Su Rong: “?” 

Zhou Gu coughed and explained, “Yue Wan and A’Le love snacks, don’t they? You can buy some along the way, and the guard can carry them for you, so your hands won’t get sore.” 

Su Rong blinked. Hands getting sore from carrying a few bags of snacks? That had never happened before. But since he was offering, she wouldn’t refuse his goodwill. She nodded. “Alright then.” 

And so, when Su Rong left again, a guard followed behind her. 

Once she was gone, Zhou Gu cast a glance at Xie Lin, suddenly slinging an arm around his shoulders and grinning. “Brother Xie, what do you think? Isn’t my fiancée amazing?” 

Xie Lin shoved his arm away, feeling deeply conflicted. 

First, he had been shocked by the extravagant fabrics. Then, he had watched as Su Rong meticulously picked out colors, materials, and clothing styles for Zhou Gu. And Zhou Gu, who was usually not a patient person, had simply followed along like a puppet, cooperating without a word of complaint. They had spent half an hour selecting fabrics, and Xie Lin had spent half an hour just watching. 

If he didn’t know for sure that this was Zhou Gu, he might have suspected that someone else had taken over his body. When has Zhou Gu ever been this obedient to a woman? 

And then, the ten ready-made outfits had turned into ten more bolts of fabric. These weren’t just any fabrics, just the top-quality Yun Jin (cloud brocade) alone accounted for several bolts. Even his own mother, a noble consort, had never been so extravagant when making clothes. 

If he didn’t know Su Rong’s background, he might have mistaken her for some high-ranking noble lady. No… even noble ladies wouldn’t spend money so freely. Most would hesitate before ordering a single dress made of Yun Jin, as it could cost them nearly their entire personal savings. Yet Su Rong had taken her pick without the slightest hesitation. 

Xie Lin had never met a woman like her before. Pressing down his complicated emotions, he turned to Zhou Gu. “I don’t know if Seventh Miss Su is amazing or not, but she does seem willing to spend money on you. And you, you have absolutely no shame, accepting all those gifts without a second thought.” 

He narrowed his eyes. “Even if she has plenty of money, you should at least think about repaying her. Do you even have enough silver to match what she spent? Let me tell you, those things weren’t just worth a few thousand taels. It’s in the tens of thousands at least.” 

Xie Lin compared it to his own savings. He had about ten thousand taels in his private stash, and he figured Zhou Gu’s personal funds were roughly the same. After all, they hadn’t yet taken up official positions with salaries, nor had they married and received their own property divisions. The only reason they even had this much was because their families indulged them. In most ordinary households, young masters were lucky to have a few hundred taels to themselves. 

Zhou Gu, of course, did intend to repay Su Rong. There was no way he could just accept such expensive gifts outright. But he couldn’t admit that in front of Xie Lin, so he said nonchalantly, “Repay her? What for? My fiancée said she’s giving them to me, so she’s giving them to me. If I tried to pay her back, she’d probably get mad.” 

Xie Lin glared at him. “So you’re just going to take them? If people hear about this, aren’t you embarrassed?” 

Most men went out of their way to shower gifts on their fiancées. But Zhou Gu? His fiancée was the one giving him extravagant presents! And he wasn’t even planning to return the favor? How big of a face does he think he has?!