Gu Liyue was stunned. Lust after what?
Seeing her in a daze, Madam Feng couldn't hold back her anger. She reached out and slapped the armrest of the chair. "Gu Liyue, did you hear what I said?"
Gu Liyue came to her senses and looked up at her. "Madam Feng, I've always respected you because you've been kind to me and taken good care of me everywhere. I'm also extremely grateful. But even so, it's not a reason for you to insult people at will. I, Gu Liyue, may not have any other great skills, but I always do things uprightly. There's absolutely no way I'd lust after anyone. Madam, if you have something to say, just come out with it."
Madam Feng paused. Gu Liyue was always timid and gentle, and rarely talked back like this. Could it be that she had really misunderstood?
However, Hongyu's words still lingered in her ears.
"You've been getting quite close to the eldest young master, haven't you?"
Gu Liyue's gaze towards Madam Feng turned into a half - smile. These people were so strange. It was clearly her son who had been pestering her, and she had already tried to avoid suspicion. Instead of blaming her own son, she came to blame her?
Madam Feng felt a bit embarrassed under Gu Liyue's gaze, and her anger grew even stronger. "Previously, you deliberately got close to the eldest young master, gave him a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, embroidered a handkerchief for him, and also..."
"Madam."
Gu Liyue interrupted her. "I'm already fifteen years old, and I know how to avoid suspicion. But Madam, it's easy to frame someone. I can't agree with this. I'm on perfectly innocent terms with the eldest young master, and I have absolutely no other thoughts. Moreover, if I, Gu Liyue, were to get married, I would marry in a grand and glorious way. I would never be a concubine!"
Madam Feng was extremely surprised. When she was angry, she had also thought that if Gu Liyue had a good time in the Jiang family this time, it wouldn't be a bad idea for her to stay and be a concubine for Sui'er.
But this Gu Liyue had such big ideas.
Gu Liyue frowned and said again, "The Feng family is wealthy, while I'm just a poor and orphaned girl from the countryside. I came here with Madam for the future of Yunniang and me. But I'll earn my own good life. I won't beg or rely on others."
It was a rejection.
Madam Feng looked at Gu Liyue seriously. Yes, no wonder she always felt that this girl was different. Although she was just an ordinary village girl, she always had an invisible tenacity.
Yes, there was absolutely no possibility between her and Sui'er.
"However, you... gave a handkerchief to Sui'er. What was your intention?"
Gu Liyue said, "The first handkerchief was from the inn. The eldest young master got caught in the rain and happened to pass by my window. Madam, I've received kindness from the Feng family. I couldn't just ignore the eldest young master when he was all wet, could I? The second time, the eldest young master asked me to embroider a handkerchief. But I hurt my hand those days and couldn't use a needle. So I asked the two girls in the same carriage to help me embroider it."
Madam Feng was stunned for a moment. When she discovered her son's feelings yesterday, she immediately sent Ziyu and Hongyu over. Anyway, these two maids were originally prepared for her son. But unexpectedly, her son had made them hold paintings for a whole night, and early this morning, he had gone to the lotus pond and asked someone to pick two early - summer lotuses just to please Gu Liyue.
So, after hearing what Ziyu and Hongyu said, she had become so excited. The maids didn't matter. They could just be concubines, and they could be sent away when the new bride came. But Gu Liyue wasn't a servant. She was a proper girl. What could she do?
Now it seemed that her son was interested, but Gu Liyue wasn't willing?
A strange feeling rose in Madam Feng's heart. Why? Her son shouldn't be picked on by this village girl!
Gu Liyue looked up and said, "Madam, I've stayed in your noble mansion for so many days. I'm really grateful for the kindness of the master and madam. But I have no relatives here, and I really feel embarrassed to keep staying here. Please see when I can start working?"
Madam Feng paused, waved her hand, and let Gu Liyue go out first.
Three or four days later, Master Feng sent Gu Liyue away.
It was only then that Gu Liyue understood why Master Feng had kept her in the capital for more than half a month after they arrived, teaching her etiquette carefully before allowing her to come here. This family was actually the Duke's Mansion of the Jiang family in the capital.
Gu Liyue didn't know much about the Jiang family, but just from the name of the Duke's Mansion, she could tell what kind of noble family it was. The Duke's Mansion was probably just one step away from the imperial power.
The carriage carrying Gu Liyue circled around the Duke's Mansion for about an incense - burning time before arriving at the side gate. The leading old woman took Gu Liyue in. She didn't need to meet the master. She was just settled down.
The old woman introduced herself. "Just call me Granny Rui. I'm the supervisor of the embroidery room. If you have anything in the future, just come to me."
Gu Liyue nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Granny Rui."
Granny Rui smiled and pointed to the large bunk beds. "All the girls here are in charge of embroidery. But you're different. You'll do special work. Someone will bring the embroidery patterns later. You just follow them and embroider. If you do well, you'll be moved to a better place to live."
Gu Liyue understood. She had to prove her skills to catch the master's eye. If she could, she could stay. If not, she would have to go back where she came from.
The little round - faced maid who brought the embroidery patterns didn't rush her. She just told Gu Liyue to rest first and embroider when she was free tomorrow.
Gu Liyue sat in a daze in front of the corridor. There were two embroidery patterns. One was simple. As long as one had good embroidery skills, they could finish it. The other one wasn't so simple. It only had a frame, and what to embroider was up to oneself.
It could be difficult or easy. But this one was the real test of skills.
Gu Liyue hadn't decided what to embroider yet. She had just left Yunniang and wasn't used to it at all. She was unfamiliar with the people and things here. And she wasn't a person who liked changes. She just wanted to live a peaceful life.
Was Yunniang okay in the Feng family? She had had an unpleasant quarrel with Madam Feng a few days ago, and the madam hadn't seen her since then. The people in that family were all sycophants. Now that she wasn't in the madam's favor, would those old women and maids treat Yunniang badly?
Gu Liyue was worried. When she was doing the embroidery, she couldn't help but be filled with a sad mood.
After finishing the first embroidery, for the second one... she would embroider a picture about missing her family.
The loving mother's thread in her hand was just like the clothes Yunniang had made for her before she left. But when she arrived at the Jiang Mansion, she found that those clothes couldn't be worn. Although she wasn't a servant, she still had to follow the rules here and wear the same clothes and shoes.
Gu Liyue embroidered a kind - looking mother sitting in front of the lamp, embroidering. Her daughter was leaning on her mother, holding her face in her hands and reading a book. There was also a tortoiseshell cat playing with a ball of thread beside them.
She had seen this tortoiseshell cat on the day she entered the mansion. Although it was just a cat, it was held carefully in the arms of a very delicately - dressed maid. It was obvious that this cat was very much favored by the master.
Gu Liyue liked cats. There had been a cat in her family when she was a child, but Liu Qinting didn't like it and later threw it away. She had long forgotten what color that cat was.