Gu Liyue looked on indifferently and smiled faintly. "You have so many maids. Ask them to shell the walnuts. I won't do it."
"I'm the only young lady in this mansion. I've given you an order, yet you dare to refuse?"
Gu Liyue reached out her hand, picked up a walnut, then shook her head and laughed. "I would never decline a young lady's request. But I'm an embroidery maid. I rely on these hands of mine. If you insist that I shell walnuts with my bare hands, I'm afraid I'll hurt them... Of course, the young lady needn't worry about my hands. But I'm afraid the madam won't be happy if she sees them. If she blames someone, it'll be hard for the young lady to explain, right?"
Jiang Yingyue said resentfully, "You're threatening me?"
"It's not a threat." Gu Liyue still shook her head and sighed softly. "Young lady, you should know that the problem between you and the madam has nothing to do with me. I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity. I respect the madam, the master, and you very much. I never want to cause trouble for the madam. But if the young lady keeps pushing me and making the family restless, that's not right."
"You..."
"Such a glib tongue!" a male voice came from behind.
Jiang Yingyue had already rushed down and ran to the man, calling out, "Third brother, you're finally back. Yue'er has really suffered these days."
Gu Liyue was originally a timid person. She still had some ways to deal with the outwardly fierce but inwardly timid Jiang Yingyue. But when facing the young master of the mansion, she lost all her wits.
Jiang Sanlang, Jiang Che, reached out and stroked Jiang Yingyue's head. Then he looked at Gu Liyue. "I've long heard that mother has got an embroidery maid who looks exactly like my early - deceased elder sister. She was just a village girl. Once she climbed up, she should be gentle and obedient. But unexpectedly, she's such a smooth - talking person, making mother's courtyard in a mess!"
Gu Liyue knew that anything she said at this moment would only be regarded as a pretext. So she just took a deep breath, suppressing the fear in her heart, and lowered her head without saying a word.
Jiang Che still sneered. "Come on, how did you bully my sister just now? Relying on mother's favor, you're running wild. Now, why don't you say a word?"
Gu Liyue had no choice but to speak. "What the third young master said is right. Liyue will surely watch her words and deeds carefully and never make such mistakes again."
Jiang Che laughed loudly, his contemptuous look hard to hide. This woman was really scheming, saying one thing to your face and doing another behind your back. "Come on, where has all your eloquence gone?"
Gu Liyue bent down and bowed. "It's my fault."
"Yue? You deliberately took such a name to win my mother's favor? You're not worthy! From now on, you're not allowed to use this name."
Gu Liyue gritted her teeth tightly. "My name was given by my parents. Please forgive me, third young master. I'm afraid I can't comply."
Jiang Yingyue immediately complained. "Third brother, did you hear that? She's always like this. In front of mother, she's as obedient as can be. But behind her back, she always acts arrogantly and doesn't put me in her eyes."
Gu Liyue had to defend herself. "I usually stay in the courtyard and rarely go out..."
Jiang Yingyue interrupted her. "Look, third brother. She's always like this. Auntie let her live in Fanghua Courtyard, and she thinks it's a great favor. She always acts weak, making Auntie think I can't tolerate her."
Jiang Che was completely angry. But his upbringing didn't allow him to argue with a woman. He walked coldly to the chair in the pavilion and sat down, pointing at the walnuts on the table. "Yue'er told you to shell them, so you have to. If you refuse, pack your things and get out of the Jiang family!"
For a moment, Gu Liyue really wanted to shake her sleeves and leave with Yunniang. But then she thought, if she left the Jiang family, what could she do? How could she make a living in this capital city? If she offended the Jiang family, the Feng family surely wouldn't care about them anymore.
More importantly, on many nights, she could feel Madam Jiang secretly coming into her room, crying and softly calling "Yue'er". That was a mother's longing for her daughter.
For that bit of longing, she was willing to pretend to be someone else.
Gu Liyue reached out and picked up the walnuts. Then she took a nutcracker and cracked them one by one, slowly shelling out the walnut kernels. There was a whole basket of walnuts, and shelling them was extremely time - consuming and laborious. Moreover, her hands had become much more delicate in the past few months.
But it was still better than shelling them with her bare hands.
Gu Liyue spent a full one and a half hours shelling all the walnuts. In the middle, Jiang Che and Jiang Yingyue had lunch there, not giving her any chance to rest.
Perhaps feeling that the punishment was enough, Jiang Che put away the book in his hand and said coldly, "Today is just a small warning. You should remember your own status. Even if you're favored, you have no right to override the young lady. You may leave."
When Gu Liyue bowed, she felt that her legs were numb and she was a bit unsteady. She supported the table. Her hands were also so sore that she almost fell.
With difficulty, she steadied herself. Without saying much, she quickly left the pavilion and walked away.
Jiang Che frowned as he watched Gu Liyue's back. His eyes darkened. She was really patient. What a scheming woman.
Jiang Yingyue picked up a walnut and said unhappily, "I originally wanted her to shell them with her bare hands. She got off lightly."
Jiang Che was stunned. Shell with bare hands? Shelling so many walnuts with bare hands would probably ruin her hands, right?
Jiang Yingyue then ordered the maids, "Auntie likes walnuts. You should put these away properly. When Auntie comes back tonight, I'll send them to her."
"Yue'er."
Jiang Yingyue turned her head and looked at Jiang Che, smiling sweetly. "Does third brother want some too? Then I'll save some for third brother. These walnuts are really good. When I came today, I saved most of them just to shell them for Auntie."
Jiang Che didn't know why, but he felt a bit blocked in his heart. Finally, he just shook his head. "I don't like these. You can keep them. I've made an appointment this afternoon, so I have to go out first."
Gu Liyue returned to her own wing - room and collapsed onto the chair. She was covered in cold sweat.
Tangyuan was startled. As soon as she saw the wounds on Gu Liyue's hands, she quickly stepped forward and held her hands. "What happened to you, miss? Didn't you go to see your aunt? How did you get your hands so hurt? This servant thought your aunt had asked you to stay and have lunch with her."
Gu Liyue shook her head. "Do we still have the ointment the madam gave last time?"
Tangyuan quickly fetched water. She cleaned Gu Liyue's hands with rose juice, then carefully dried them and applied the wound - healing ointment. "No, this servant should still go and call a doctor."
Gu Liyue stopped her. "No need. It's just a minor injury. I just can't do embroidery for a few days. If we call a doctor, the madam will worry later. It's not good."
Tangyuan held Gu Liyue's hands and mumbled, "You're always like this, miss. You always think about others. But now you're the madam's favorite. The madam will surely miss you. How did this happen exactly?"
Gu Liyue said indifferently, "I got these from shelling walnuts. It's nothing serious."