Chapter 297: 297. Thirst for knowledge

Translator: 549690339

The first day of February.

Su Liang was awakened on time by her biological clock, and the first thought that crossed her mind upon opening her eyes was: today she would definitely be summoned by the emperor, and perhaps the old eunuch carrying the imperial decree had already arrived at her doorstep.

She washed up, practiced martial arts, bathed, changed clothes, and had breakfast.

As the sunlight was cast upon the calm lake, scattering golden specks, Su Liang had already completed her morning routine that she had been adhering to since living in Su Family Village.

She had done many things, but the day had just begun.

The old eunuch hadn’t arrived yet, but he should be coming soon, at least before noon… With this thought in mind, Su Liang entered the lakeside pavilion. Qi Jun had already left with the list of medicinal herbs that she and Gu Ling had sorted out the night before, seeking Song Qi. Before Su Liang returned to the capital, Song Qi had come back from Xunyang City. He didn’t disappoint Su Liang; Ning Family’s business was growing steadily.

Old Bai’s gaze passed over Su Liang’s profile, and then over the lake surface he was always staring at, finally falling on a pile of boxes outside Yuanming Pavilion.

That was the first step Qi Jun and Ren Dong had taken to prepare for Su Liang’s wedding after consulting each other: the dowry boxes. Now they were all empty, but they should be filled up by sunset.

Old Bai withdrew his gaze from the boxes and returned it to Su Liang’s face, focusing on her brows and eyes. He always looked at her with a melancholic and nostalgic expression, occasionally tinged with a touch of incomprehensible remorse.

“February 15th? Why the haste? Are you pregnant?” Old Bai spoke, shocking everyone.

Although he had been dissatisfied with Gu Ling’s reluctance to be with Su Liang before, when they really decided to get married and did so in such a hurry, he suddenly had a new gripe.

It was the typical mindset of a person seeing their “daughter” getting married. Is that brat blind for not seeing how precious my girl is? He must be wanting to become a monk! Is that brat really going to take my girl away? She’s still young; why rush to get married!

Su Liang softly coughed, “I’m not pregnant, Master. Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Really not pregnant?” Old Bails eyes were filled with doubt, as if saying, “Since you like that guy so much, maybe you couldn’t resist being intimate with him.”

Su Liang raised her hand, not to swear, but to place it on the table in front of Old Bai, palm up, calmly saying, “Master, you’ll know the truth by taking my pulse.”

Old Bai really took Su Liang’s pulse, muttering, “If that guy dares to hurt you,

I’ll slaughter him.”

Su Liang could only smile. The image of Gu Ling’s consistently aloof demeanor appeared in her mind, imagining Gu Ling turning into a playboy, having that kind of desire for her, Su Liang couldn’t help but shake her head. It was too bizarre, simply terrifying, and utterly impossible.

“You’re not pregnant.” Old Bai let go of Su Liang’s wrist, “Why can’t you get married next year? Let’s see if that guy can hold on for that long. What if he falls for someone else within a month?”

“Master, he won’t,” Su Liang said earnestly, surprised by Old Bai’s anxiety. It must still be related to that “little junior sister,” Su Liang thought…

As Qi Jun returned after finishing the tasks Su Liang had assigned him, the sun had already risen high, and the golden specks on the lake had turned into a large golden foil, gently shimmering and glittering. Old Bai had put Gu Ling aside and was discussing poison techniques with Su Liang.

At noon, the Wan Family Restaurant delivered the food that Su Liang had pre-ordered.

She glanced in the direction of the gate; the old eunuch still hadn’t arrived…

In the afternoon, Qi Jun and Ren Dong were packing things into the boxes, moving them from the warehouse one trip at a time – porcelain, fabrics, gold, silver, and jewelry. Su Mansion’s warehouse was full of these items, some bestowed by the Qian Country’s Royal Family and Liang Country’s Royal Family, and some sent by relatives and friends. Many treasures were the same ones mentioned in the contract Su Liang and “Ning Jing” had made with Duanmu Chen back in Bei’an County; they had been kept in the warehouse since they moved in.

At this moment, people on the streets of the capital were still discussing Su Liang and Gu Ling’s upcoming marriage.

Unlike their instinctive judgment of the goodness and badness of this marriage when they learned about it yesterday, new rumors had emerged overnight. One of them was similar to Old Bail s “concern”: the marriage was so rushed because Su Liang and Gu Ling had already consummated their relationship, and they were afraid it would be too late if she got pregnant—perhaps she was already pregnant…

Since ancient times, people have always had their own conjectures about things they deemed “abnormal.”

Nothing sparks gossip and rumors more than affairs between men and women: such high social status, even without parents and elders in the family, the marriage should have been conducted through three matchmakers and six formal visits, with all the rites and rituals in place. Why was it that from the time they were betrothed to their wedding ceremony, only half a month had passed? There must be something unspeakable going on.

When Su Liang found out about the criticism directed at her, she was a bit surprised, as her way of thinking wouldn’t lead her to those conjectures. But she didn’t care about it.

What Su Liang cared about was that the sun had set, a whole day had gone by, and there had been no eunuch to pass on Duanmu Yi’s decree for her to enter the palace for questioning?

“Ren Dong.”

Upon hearing Su Liang’s voice, Ren Dong put down the valuable blue porcelain vase in his hand and ran into the Yuanming Pavilion in haste.

“You go secretly to Marquis Chang Xin’s Mansion, see if Gu Ling is at home, and ask if he has been to the palace today.” Su Liang ordered.

Ren Dong nodded his head in agreement and turned around to leave.

Su Liang was a bit annoyed. She and Gu Ling thought that Duanmu Yi would intervene, and although they didn’t want that to happen, when the anticipated event didn’t occur, it made her uneasy.

Ren Dong came back quickly, “Master, Marquis Chang Xin is at home and didn’t go out today, only Old Master Qin went to see him.”

Su Liang frowned, “I see. You all stop tidying up, take a break, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

The day felt a bit long for Su Liang because the development of events was beyond her plan, and she didn’t like that feeling.

Not until Gu Ling appeared again in the Yuanming Pavilion at night did Su

Liang hear her own sigh of relief, “His Majesty didn’t come to us at all?”

“What are you worried about?” Gu Ling saw Su Liang’s slightly furrowed eyebrows and really wanted to reach out to smooth them, but he held back.

Su Liang sighed, “Isn’t it obvious? Would His Majesty really be happy about or indifferent to our marriage? It’s impossible. If he doesn’t confront us openly, then he must be planning to do something behind our backs.”

As a matter of habit, Gu Ling helped Su Liang tidy up her somewhat messy desk. She hadn’t read any books today but had picked up a few and put them back down. He asked, “What do you think His Majesty will do?”

Su Liang looked at Gu Ling, her expression difficult to read, “The most likely, kill you?”

Gu Ling blurted out, “Are you worried about my safety?” Realizing his words were somewhat ambiguous.

But Su Liang didn’t think too much about it, immediately nodding, “Of course. You are the son of a rebel, with half of the Liang Country’s royal blood flowing in your veins. Your top-notch abilities and mysterious actions make you hard to see through; His Majesty can’t possibly trust you. You’re about to marry me, and I might be what His Majesty thinks of as the Daughter of Fate or something similar. His Majesty probably doesn’t want to end up on bad terms with me, so the simplest solution is… to kill you.”

Gu Ling nodded lightly, “That makes sense.”

Su Liang frowned, “But if that’s the case, what can we do about it? His Majesty has an unknown number of assassins like Ren Dong at his disposal, and your martial arts prowess will be hard-pressed against them.”

However, the possibility of Gu Ling being assassinated by Duanmu Yi was only Su Liang’s conjecture, something that had not yet happened and perhaps would not happen, making it impossible to prevent, obstruct, or counterattack.

Last night, Su Liang thought that either she or he would be summoned by

Duanmu Yi to the palace to find a reason to prevent or delay their marriage. Today’s tranquility made Su Liang start to feel that Gu Ling was in danger.

Gu Ling continued to tidy up the desk without speaking. Although Su Liang’s conjecture made sense, he wasn’t afraid, only curious: how would Su Liang respond to the danger she perceived?

Su Liang was pondering over this matter. She paced back and forth in her room, her eyebrows sometimes relaxed and sometimes furrowed. In the middle, she said, “It was me who wanted to marry you to avoid future troubles.

I can’t let this bring you big trouble.”

Gu Ling picked up a book and knew it was the one Su Liang had just read. The corner of one page was folded. It wasn’t folded deliberately, as she used bookmarks to mark the pages she had read. The reason was that Su Liang had a habit. Before putting down a book, she would linger on the paused page for a while, quickly recalling the previous content, then insert the bookmark and close the book. During the recollection, her right thumb and index finger always pinched the upper right corner of the page.

As a result, the corner of the book was often bent and folded into the book when she closed it.

This was an unconscious small habit of Su Liang that Gu Ling had discovered long ago. But he never pointed it out, nor reminded Su Liang not to do this, or told her she could do it, but she had to smooth the folded corner.

Gu Ling liked these “little things” that belonged only to him and Su Liang. He always silently smoothed the folded corners of her books, imagining her expression while reading.

At this moment, when Gu Ling pressed Su Liang’s folded corner flat with his right thumb again, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and slapped the table. Because she had found a solution to the problem, she said excitedly, “I know! ”

Gu Ling nodded, his finger smoothing the corner of the book again, and was somewhat curious about how Su Liang would solve the issue of him possibly being assassinated.

“You can come and stay here at night!” Su Liang sat down and said to Gu Ling with a serious look.

Gu Ling closed the book in his hand, and the waves in his heart slowly surged. It was another unexpected joy, just like that night when Su Liang suddenly said she wanted to marry him.

“Okay,” Gu Ling nodded quietly. Very well, that was exactly what he wanted.

Su Liang snorted lightly, “If the emperor is going to send someone to kill you, he won’t do it in broad daylight. You can come at night, and even if the emperor thinks we’ve slept together before we got married, it doesn’t matter. If he sends someone to Su Mansion to kill you, just stand behind me and see if he would dare to kill me too.”

As Su Liang finished speaking, Gu Ling glanced out the window.

“Has he already come?” Su Liang’s expression changed, and she heard a familiar voice from outside, ‘Miss Su?”

Su Liang was surprised to see Chang’an.

After exchanging glances with Gu Ling, she opened the window and flew down.

Chang’an bowed with a smile on his face that always appeared when he saw Su Liang, “Miss Su hasn’t slept yet? That’s great.”

Su Liang’s expression was cold, “What does the crown prince have to say?” She wondered if Duanmu Chen knew about Duanmu Yi’s plans and came to warn her?

“My Master only asked me to come and congratulate Miss Su on her great joy,”

Chang’an said, taking out a long wooden box from his sleeve. “This is my

Master’s gift to Miss Su.”

Su Liang took it and said, “Please convey my gratitude.”

“I will. Goodbye.” Chang’an left as soon as he finished speaking.

Su Liang entered the Yuanming Pavilion and climbed the stairs while opening the box. Inside it was a jade hairpin. The jade was of good quality, but there was nothing special about it.

“Duanmu Chen gave me a hairpin.” Su Liang picked it up and showed it to Gu Ling, finding it quite baffling.

Putting down the hairpin, Su Liang tore off the silk lining inside the box and saw a folded paper hidden underneath.

She wasn’t surprised by this, finding it more normal.

Opening the paper and reading its content, Su Liang’s face relaxed, and she handed it to Gu Ling after reading it. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly, “So that’s it!”

It was a conversation between Duanmu Chen and Duanmu Yi about the marriage between Su Liang and Gu Ling. Although his true purpose wasn’t to defend Su Liang, it did achieve such an effect in the end.

And for such a thing, it would be strange if Duanmu Chen didn’t “seek credit” from Su Liang. He didn’t allow Chang’an to come last night or today, because he was also watching to see if Duanmu Yi would do anything today. By tonight, it could be confirmed that his persuasion had worked last night.

“Only Duanmu Chen could say such words,” Su Liang sighed. “He is more clever and rational than I thought, and that’s good.”

It is good, as it greatly reduces the possibility of intervention from Duanmu Yi… Gu Ling thought. But at the moment, what he cared more about was whether Su Liang would let him stay the night.

“However,” Su Liang spoke again, “Duanmu Chen, like us, only knows that the emperor is not going to do anything openly, but he may still try to kill you in secret. Great God, you should stay here just in case.”

Gu Ling: I can listen to stories before going to bed again, perfect.

“If everything really goes smoothly, I’ll acknowledge Duanmu Chen’s favor,” Su Liang rolled up and burned the paper Gu Ling had finished reading.

Next door was Gu Ling’s room. Su Liang went to the warehouse and retrieved the bedding Gu Ling had used before.

As Gu Ling made the bed, Su Liang leaned against the door watching, feeling much more relaxed than during the day and began to joke, “Qi Jun and Ren Dong have been helping me prepare my dowry, isn’t it inappropriate for you, Great God, to not have any betrothal gifts?”

Gu Ling didn’t look back, “I’m marrying into your family, you should prepare the betrothal gifts. I can bring a tree as a dowry.”

Su Liang laughed, “Right. I like your dowry. But don’t you feel like this undermines your dignity as a man, Great God?”

“Is a man’s dignity about not being able to give birth, yet demanding that the child takes his surname? I don’t need that,” Gu Ling said indifferently.

Su Liang raised an eyebrow, “So, Great God, you’re willing to have our future children take their mother’s surname? Of course, if possible, you’d rather

experience giving birth yourself. Speaking of which, Xueqing even thought about arranging a marriage for our two families’ children. But of course, I refused. The funniest part is that Xueqing thinks I’m unwilling because I’m afraid their baby won’t be good-looking enough. She must be thinking that if the two of us have a child, it would be the most beautiful baby in the world.”

Gu Ling knew Su Liang was just joking, but he liked the assumption that “if the two of us have a child”. The important point was that Su Liang would think about such things.

These two days, Gu Ling had an uncertain feeling that Su Liang might like him, but she wasn’t aware of it yet.

At least, she felt that marrying Gu Ling, living together, and even talking casually about their children’s appearance was no big deal.

At least Gu Ling was sure about one thing; if the events that happened between them involved someone other than him, Su Liang would never accept it.

Getting married first, then falling in love, also sounds good… Gu Ling was thinking at the moment, even starting to look forward to it.

Tonight Su Liang was in a good mood, and she made another joke, “Great God, now some people outside actually suspect that I’m pregnant, and that’s why we’re in such a hurry to get married. Once we get married and don’t have a child for a long time, you might be suspected of having physical problems. Will you mind?”

Hearing this, Gu Ling put down the pillow, turned around to look at Su Liang, his beautiful eyebrows slightly furrowed, this was his most serious expression, “I’ve never thought about it, nor do I know if I have any problems in that aspect. You’re a doctor, do you have a way to confirm it?”

Su Liang was stunned, her gaze involuntarily moved downward, landing at Gu Ling’s waist area. Suddenly realizing, she coughed awkwardly, “Great God, you definitely have no problems! Let’s go to bed early!” After saying that, she closed the door and returned to her room.

The waves in Gu Ling’s heart spread to his eyes, gradually bringing out a smile. Was Su Liang shy just now? So cute. He wasn’t teasing her; he was just curious, as he always had been.

Although there were no stories to listen to tonight, Gu Ling’s mood was unprecedentedly joyful when he lay down. He counted the days—fourteen days from now, he could call Su Liang his wife with pride….