Chapter 1545
Chapter 744 - 724: Dreaming (Second Update)
1,508 words
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8 min read
Zhang Yun quickly wrote a letter, addressing it to the Princess and her husband, for the two of them.
After he finished writing, he let the hawk rest until it was fit, tied the letter on the hawk’s leg and let it fly.
Naturally the hawk flew faster than Cui Xingzhi and Ning Ze’s marathon journey. Two days later, it arrived in the Nanchu Capital, landing on Su Rong’s shoulder.
At that moment, Su Rong had just left the Council Hall, not because she had finished work for the day, but because she needed a break after consecutive days of intense deliberation with the ministers, wracking her brains to discuss important affairs. Tired as she was, she insisted on having a break midway, regardless of what anyone said. Just half an hour to get a breath of fresh air outside the Council Hall would suffice.
The hawk arrived just at this juncture.
Su Rong held the hawk in her hand, took one look, and recognised it as the one she had released to Zhang Yun in Xinqi City. She stroked its head, untied the letter from its leg, and handed it to Bi Qing who was standing nearby, "Get some meat for it, fresh, reward it well."
Bi Qing nodded, took the hawk and left.
Lan Zhi stayed behind, standing beside Su Rong, ready to attend to her at any moment.
Su Rong disliked having maids and eunuchs following her, not even Yuewan. She assigned Yuewan to assist the Queen in managing the Royal Palace. When the Nanchu King suggested that, as the Princess, she should get used to having a ceremonial guard around her, she didn’t disagree, but stipulated that she could select good people for the task. However, unless it was necessary, these people were not to follow her when she didn’t request their presence.
The Nanchu King knew Su Rong’s character and didn’t object. Therefore, only Lan Zhi and Bi Qing were with Su Rong daily.
After reading Zhang Yun’s letter, Su Rong was lost for words. Not that his letter was poorly written, but the part addressed to Zhou Gu left her speechless. Was her husband really regretting his decision and wanting to return to Dawei? Surely not?
He had insisted on coming to Nanchu in the first place, otherwise, she would not have broken her promise to Ye Guixue.
She folded the letter and tucked it in her bosom, deciding to ask Zhou Gu about it when he returned that night. Was he really regretting it? Someone who wasn’t afraid of fighting and risking his life now feared the heavy responsibilities of governing?
Perhaps there was some truth to that. She, herself, greatly desired to abandon everything and run away, but alas, she couldn’t.
Seeing that she still had time, she ran to the Imperial Study Room to find the Nanchu King, that was not far from the Council Hall. Just then, the Nanchu King was also taking a break. She seized the opportunity and asked him, "Father, are you certain, that apart from my mother, you never had sexual relations with any other woman?"
The Nanchu King jumped up, livid, "What nonsense are you talking about? Are you doubting your father’s integrity?"
Su Rong: "..."
Was there really a need for such an outburst?
The Nanchu King stared at her fiercely, "You insolent girl, you can accuse me of anything, but you cannot doubt my devotion to your mother. Apart from her, there was no one else."
Su Rong found it hard to believe, "Are you sure? When you met my mother, you weren’t young anymore. The late king never picked a knowledgeable palace maid for you from the palace?"
The Nanchu King’s face darkened instantly, "No."
Seeing the look of disbelief on Su Rong’s face, he retorted angrily, "Your father has maintained his chastity, would he allow a woman he disfavors to be close to him? Before meeting your mother, and especially after meeting your mother, there has been no one else."
Seeing him becoming increasingly agitated, Su Rong sighed, "Fine."
The Nanchu King watched her with an unwavering stare, "Why are you asking this, you actually dare to question me? Are you being fair to your mother? Do you know the sacrifices she made to bear you for ten months?"
Su Rong: "..."
She stepped forward, took the Nanchu King’s arm, and tried to calm him, "Alright, alright, I apologize. I shouldn’t question you. Your loyalty to my mother is clear to the world. I was wrong to doubt you."
The Nanchu King, seeing that his daughter was relenting, softened his expression and asked, "Why did you suddenly come and ask me this?"
Su Rong let go of him and said despondently, "There’s a chance you might have another child forgotton somewhere, right? Then I could wash my hands of this kingdom, wouldn’t that be wonderful?"
The Nanchu King scoffed at her, "Stop dreaming."
Su Rong glared at him.
The Nanchu King patted her head, and said with a serious expression of consolation, "Instead of dreaming, why don’t you consider what you want to have for dinner? I can get the Imperial Kitchen to prepare it for you. You’ve lost quite some weight since you returned to the capital."
Su Rong turned to leave abruptly, "This is all your fault."
Having said that, she swiftly left the Imperial Study Room without even stating her dinner preferences.
The Nanchu King rubbed his nose, sighed and mumbled to himself, "Ah, in a hundred years, when I go to the underworld, I’ll have to ask Zhenmin for forgiveness. She’ll definitely blame me for working our daughter so hard, but who could have foreseen..."
He looked wronged, "If I had known earlier that you’d given birth to a daughter for me, I would not have recklessly disregarded this kingdom for so many years."
Back then, he thought that worst case scenario, he could always adopt a member of the royal family. As long as he was of the Chu surname, whether he could keep the kingdom intact was no longer his concern. The fact that he had not promptly committed suicide to follow Zhenmin after hearing news of her death was already a great loyalty to his ancestors and royal lineage.
He had no choice. He was just not cut out to be a king, a fact he was well aware of. That’s why he never set high expectations for himself.
But his daughter, apparently had high standards. Look at her, freshly returned to the capital and already eager to revitalise Nanchu. In his opinion, as long as there were no natural disasters or man-made calamities, the people were not in dire straits as they were clothed and fed now... well, not having spring seeds to sow did seem like a dire situation. It was quite urgent indeed. He wondered if the Crown Prince of Dawei, Yan Huisheng, could manage to get the seeds from Dawei.
Su Rong returned to the Council Hall, just in time to continue the unfinished discussion with the ministers.
As for Zhou Gu, having been busy for several days, he was now accustomed to it. Ever since Su Rong pointed out in court that her husband was being overworked, the Minister of the Revenue realised that he might have been too impatient. If things continued in this way, not only would the newly appointed royal son-in-law be unable to bear it, but he, an old man, would not be able to keep up either.
If everyone fell ill, that would indeed be more harm than good.
All of this was due to him being too marginalized over the years. Now that the Princess had returned to court to revitalise the government, he was full of vigor. Moreover, the Ministry of Housing had a myriad of things to be done. That’s why he was somewhat rushed. But there were indeed some things that were urgent, yet the Princess was right - people were not made of iron. They needed to set aside enough time for rest.
So, for the past few days, they had stopped working by the latest of the late hours, regardless of whether they had finished their tasks for the day.
Zhou Gu finished earlier and looked more energetic compared to his first day of duty. After returning to the Royal Palace’s Feng Hall, he saw that Su Rong hadn’t gone to bed yet. She seemed to have just finished bathing and was now sitting under the lantern, looking at some patterns.
Zhou Gu looked at her with surprise, "What’s this? Who brought it? Shouldn’t this be in the Ministry of Rites?"
"Fen Ling brought it back. He chose it and wanted me to take a look." Su Rong smiled at him, put down the patterns and handed him a letter, "This is Zhang Yun’s letter, addressed to you."
— End of Chapter 1545 —