In the afternoon, Tangyuan brought over a stack of books of all kinds. Most were storybooks, and there were also many detective case collections and historical records. There were even military books and medical books.
Gu Liyue was very delighted. Flipping through them, she found the military and historical books rather obscure and difficult to understand, while the detective case collections were very interesting. The two medical books also presented the key points of diseases, treatment methods, and prescriptions in the form of stories. Gu Liyue was immediately hooked.
Having something to do, she didn't feel bored. Gu Liyue read books in the morning, then played outside with Yuan'er and Xiuqiu. She embroidered in the afternoon and practiced calligraphy at night. Her days were quite fulfilling.
But she was always a bit nervous. She secretly said to Tangyuan, "I play all day long without rushing to do embroidery work, yet I can easily get six taels of silver every month. Moreover, the mistress often buys me clothes and jewelry, and there are so many books for me."
Influenced by Gu Liyue, Tangyuan had also been dividing threads and embroidering these days. As a maid, she had some basic skills, but her embroidery was not as exquisite and beautiful as Gu Liyue's.
"What's wrong if the mistress likes you? As maids, all we think about is how to please our masters. I was born into the household. When I grew a bit older, I was sent to the mistress's courtyard. Even doing rough work here is not tiring. Maids and servants in other courtyards have a much harder time. Even though the ladies in the embroidery room and the sewing room are not slaves, as long as they get praised by the masters, their monthly allowance will increase. If they catch the masters' eyes, they will be well-off. Aren't you the one who has caught the mistress's eye now?"
Gu Liyue paused in her embroidery. "What if the mistress doesn't like me anymore?"
Tangyuan laughed. "Miss, what are you always thinking about? Not to mention you, even the young lady in the mansion only lives such a prosperous life because she has caught the mistress's eye. Otherwise, she would just be a little orphan from a side branch of the family. How could she have such a good life now? Miss, don't think too much. The mistress is a kind person. As long as you don't do anything wrong, even if she doesn't like you in the future, at most she will just give you some silver and let you go back to your hometown."
When Gu Liyue heard Tangyuan call Miss Jiang Yingyue an orphan, her heart trembled. An orphan? Could someone living such a glamorous life be an orphan? But then she thought that probably Miss Jiang Yingyue felt the same as her. No matter how much the mistress doted on her, she was not her biological parents.
At that moment, she missed Yunniang even more.
These days, the mistress was busy. She went to bed late and couldn't get up early in the morning. She sent someone to say that there was no need to pay respects in the morning. Gu Liyue couldn't stay idle. She got up early and went to Xiuqiu's room to check on it.
Xiuqiu had recovered well and was in much better spirits. When it saw Gu Liyue, it meowed non - stop.
Gu Liyue told Yuan'er and carried Xiuqiu to the yard. She let it jump around the flowerbed and told it what kind of flowers these were.
It was a pity that Xiuqiu didn't understand human language. When it saw Gu Liyue talking, it stretched out its paw and scratched a pot of brightly blooming flowers.
Gu Liyue exclaimed, "Oh, Xiuqiu, do you know that this is not an ordinary rose? This one is very precious..."
Xiuqiu, of course, didn't know. It jumped to another pot of flowers and bit off a stem of a flower with its mouth.
Before Gu Liyue could save the flower in time, she wanted to reach out and pick up Xiuqiu.
Just then, there came a shout, "Why is it here?"
Gu Liyue looked back in surprise and saw Jiang Yingyue approaching angrily, pointing in this direction. She didn't understand whether Jiang Yingyue was referring to her or Xiuqiu.
Lingxing quickly came forward to explain to Jiang Yingyue, "Miss, Xiuqiu was seriously ill some time ago. The mistress felt sorry for it, so she let it stay in the west wing..."
Jiang Yingyue asked, "Don't you know that I dislike cats the most?"
Lingxing accompanied her with a smiling face and supported Jiang Yingyue. "Miss, the mistress knows that. So she specifically let Xiuqiu stay in the west wing. You always come to the east wing, so it's okay..."
"What's okay? I used to live in the west wing. Now can any cat or dog live there?"
Gu Liyue blushed with embarrassment. She picked up Xiuqiu and stood beside the flowerbed, not daring to go over.
Jiang Yingyue was still angry. "Even if the mistress felt sorry for Xiuqiu before, now that it's better, this irrelevant thing should be moved out, right?"
She flicked her sleeves and didn't even look at Gu Liyue. Then she turned around and entered the main house.
Gu Liyue felt guilty and quickly carried Xiuqiu back to her room.
Yuan'er had just cleaned the room. She looked at Gu Liyue curiously. "Miss, is Xiuqiu tired already?"
Gu Liyue shook her head and let Xiuqiu play in the room. After thinking for a while, she said, "Miss Yingyue..."
Yuan'er understood as soon as she heard it. She stood up angrily. "Did the young lady come? She's always like this. Every time she sees Xiuqiu, she gets unhappy and says that she knows she's afraid of cats but we still bring Xiuqiu in front of her. But Xiuqiu belongs to the mistress. The mistress likes to see Xiuqiu. In terms of precedence, she should give way to Xiuqiu."
Tangyuan, who had followed outside, was startled when she heard this. She quickly said, "Sister Yuan'er, don't talk nonsense. If someone with a malicious intention hears this, none of us will end up well."
Yuan'er was fuming. She washed her hands and squatted on the ground to play with Xiuqiu.
Gu Liyue moved in front of her. "I think... maybe the young lady wasn't targeting Xiuqiu. Maybe it's because of me..."
Yuan'er looked up at Gu Liyue. "Does the mistress need to ask her opinion before liking someone? The mistress believes that you are the reincarnation of the eldest young lady, so you are. She's just an imposter..."
Tangyuan rushed over and covered Yuan'er's mouth tightly. "Sister Yuan'er, do you want to get beaten? Even if you don't want to live a long life, think about our innocent miss."
Gu Liyue looked at Yuan'er. This Yuan'er seemed to be in her twenties. Maids of this age in the Jiang Mansion usually got married. She didn't know why Yuan'er was still a maid here. Her reckless personality didn't seem like that of a maid. It was really strange that her sharp tongue had allowed her to survive until now.
When Tangyuan saw that Yuan'er stopped talking nonsense, she let go. She said to Gu Liyue, "Miss, she's out of her mind. Don't pay attention to her. The young lady is in favor. The master and the mistress both dote on her. In the future, when you meet the young lady, try to avoid her. If you really can't, find a way to tell me. I'll find a way to save you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yuan'er actually sobbed.
Gu Liyue was at a loss. She took out a handkerchief to wipe Yuan'er's tears and whispered, "Sister Yuan'er, why do you have to be like this? If you provoke trouble, you'll only suffer yourself. How about... how about I talk to the mistress when I see her tonight and move back to the yard where Xiuqiu used to live?"
Yuan'er wiped away her tears and shook her head vigorously. "No, Miss, don't be silly. The mistress was in poor spirits before. If it weren't for Xiuqiu, she would have been in a bad state. Now that you're here, the mistress is happy. And Tangyuan is being too simplistic. As long as you're in this mansion, you'll provoke others and block their way. It doesn't matter whether you're in the Fanghua Courtyard or not. It's better to stay here, by the mistress's side. At least you won't be secretly harmed by others without anyone knowing."