Before evening came, in the afternoon, Gu Liyue witnessed the power of that Miss Jiang Yingyue.
Gu Liyue was engrossed in reading *Xu Gong's Case Collection*. This book was written by Xu Gong in his old age. Looking back on his life, he recorded every single case one by one.
Moreover, Gu Liyue originally thought Xu Gong would be a pedantic person. However, between the lines of the book, there were all sorts of witty and interesting details, and he even set up various mysteries, making it impossible for readers to put it down.
Gu Liyue didn't know many characters, so Lady Jiang specially had someone send the dictionary of the Great Zhou Dynasty for her to consult while reading.
That was when Jiang Yingyue came. She was dressed gorgeously, bedecked with jewels and pearls, and was supported by two maids as she walked over, a look of disgust on her face.
Then another maid came over, took out a handkerchief and wiped the chair in the middle of the outer room over and over again. After a careful inspection, she invited Jiang Yingyue to sit down.
Seeing their actions but no one saying a word, Gu Liyue had no choice but to put down the book. She walked over nervously, bowed to Jiang Yingyue and asked, "Miss, may I ask what brings you here?"
Jiang Yingyue waved her hand and pointed at Gu Liyue, shouting, "Go and slap her! A servant dares not to call herself a slave!"
The maid came over, but Gu Liyue immediately took a step back, dodging the maid's slap. She frowned slightly and said, "Miss, why do you want to beat someone for no reason? First of all, I'm an embroiderer hired by the mansion. I'm not a slave and definitely not a servant. Why should I call myself a slave? Secondly, according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, even slaves cannot be beaten or punished at will."
Jiang Yingyue sneered repeatedly. "Slick-tongued. Is this how you made my aunt show you a bit of favor?"
Gu Liyue stood upright, her eyes deep, and said calmly, "Since you know that the lady likes me now, why do you look for trouble and come here to bully me?"
"Bully you?" Jiang Yingyue stood up, walked up to Gu Liyue, and stared at her fiercely. "I'm the young miss of this mansion, while you're at most just an embroiderer who takes care of my aunt's cat. What right do you have to be on an equal footing with me? Today, even if I beat you, my aunt won't say a single word to me!"
Gu Liyue smiled faintly. "If that's really the case, you wouldn't have wasted so much time talking to me here. Speaking of which, I was invited here by Lady Jiang. Not just anyone can touch me."
"You! Who do you think you are? Look at you. Even your decent clothes were refashioned from mine. And only a temporary maid serves you. Do you know that as soon as I came, my aunt prepared six senior maids for me!"
Gu Liyue didn't care at all. Instead, she asked, "But you're a member of the Jiang family. Why do you compare yourself with a commoner like me?"
Jiang Yingyue was taken aback. Yes, she was a noble young lady of a duke's mansion. Why was she comparing herself with this bitch? But this bitch looked so arrogant and was living in the room that used to be hers. Her aunt was very strict about rules. Since she turned ten, she had been arranged to live in an independent courtyard. Occasionally when she wanted to come back to Fanghua Courtyard, her aunt always refused on the grounds of impropriety.
Now... The more Jiang Yingyue thought about it, the angrier she got. She simply raised her hand and was about to slap Gu Liyue.
"Yingyue!"
Lady Jiang's voice came from behind. Jiang Yingyue and Gu Liyue stopped and looked back. It turned out that when Tangyuan came back and sensed something was wrong, she immediately went to find Nanny Zhao.
The maids in the room all knelt on the ground, trembling in silence.
Tears welled up in Jiang Yingyue's eyes. She ran to Lady Jiang, hugged her arm and complained aggrievedly, "Aunt, look at her... She's so arrogant and disrespectful to me."
Gu Liyue just bowed and stood aside with her head down, saying nothing.
Lady Jiang looked at Gu Liyue. The graceful young girl standing there always gave people a feeling of tranquility and serenity. If her own daughter had grown up, she would probably be like Liyue.
Seeing Lady Jiang staring at Gu Liyue without moving, Jiang Yingyue's eyes welled up with tears again. She tugged at Lady Jiang's arm and shook it. "Aunt, you must stand up for me."
Yue'er...
Lady Jiang sighed. "Aren't you afraid of cats? What are you doing here for no reason?"
Jiang Yingyue choked. Her sobs stopped, and she looked at Lady Jiang in disbelief. Her hand also subconsciously loosened.
But Lady Jiang ignored her. She walked up to Gu Liyue and sized her up. "Are you hurt?"
Gu Liyue shook her head calmly. "Lady, I'm fine. But Lady, the young miss is right. This doesn't seem to be the place I should live in. How about moving me to the courtyard where Xiuqiu lives?"
Lady Jiang's face darkened. If it were another girl, she would have thought a lot, but Gu Liyue's eyes were so pure, and it was Gu Liyue.
She gently stroked Gu Liyue's hair. "Recently, I've been feeling unwell. I want you to accompany me more."
Gu Liyue didn't decline anymore. She just nodded and said, "Thank you, Lady."
Lady Jiang sighed and looked back at Jiang Yingyue. "By the way, you haven't met the Duke yet, have you? I'll take you to meet him at dinner tonight."
Jiang Yingyue's eyes widened a bit, and she said, "Aunt, you..."
Lady Jiang didn't allow any argument. She took Gu Liyue and walked out. Only after going out did she turn back and say, "You... Come with us too."
Jiang Yingyue was extremely unwilling, but she didn't dare to argue anymore. She wiped away her tears and obediently followed behind.
After waiting in the dining hall for a while, a man not yet fifty strode over. He had an air of authority even without getting angry.
"Yingyue is here too. Oh, who is this girl?"
Lady Jiang greeted him to sit down, then pulled Gu Liyue over with a smile and said, "My lord, do you know what this girl's name is?"
Duke Jiang gave a soft laugh and cooperatively asked, "What's her name?"
"Liyue."
Duke Jiang paused for a moment, then laughed. "A tree of pear blossoms and a stream of moonlight. I wonder to whom they belong tonight. Your parents were probably wandering away from home. They named you like this out of homesickness."
Gu Liyue didn't understand the meaning of her name. She just frowned and kept silent.
But Lady Jiang wasn't happy. She frowned and said, "Moreover, she was born on the Flower Festival of the Gengwu year."
Duke Jiang's expression changed several times. He sized up Gu Liyue with a probing look. He was completely different from his gentle self just now. The imposing manner of a superior rushed towards them, making Gu Liyue not even dare to breathe loudly.
But Lady Jiang lovingly stroked Gu Liyue's face and said, "You don't know. As soon as she came, Xiuqiu got better. My lord, this is a fate bestowed upon me by heaven. I was thinking of adopting her as my goddaughter. What do you think?"
Jiang Yingyue couldn't sit still anymore. Before Duke Jiang could say anything, she interrupted Lady Jiang's words and picked up a chopstick of eggplant and put it on Duke Jiang's plate. "Uncle, this is your favorite eggplant. Try it."
Duke Jiang put the eggplant in his mouth and looked at Jiang Yingyue with a smile. "In a blink of an eye, Yingyue has grown up so much... By the way, Yingyue's father left for me. I've always been thinking of putting Yingyue under my name. What do you think, Lady?"