There were many guests in the princess's mansion. As soon as Mrs. Jiang got out of the carriage, several ladies came forward and chattered with her.
Mrs. Jiang was worried about Gu Liyue. She turned back and instructed Jiang Yingyue, "Yingyue, Liyue is not familiar with this place. You take her to play with the other girls."
Tangyuan was a bit worried. She whispered to Gu Liyue, "Should we tell Nanny Zhao? Otherwise, let me go in with you?"
There were maids to attend to guests in the princess's mansion. Usually, noble young ladies would not bring their personal maids in. Naturally, Gu Liyue didn't dare to offend the rules. She just waved her hand and said, "There are so many people here. I'll just follow Miss Yingyue and won't go anywhere. Don't worry."
Tangyuan thought for a while and also felt that in front of others, even if Miss Yingyue was dissatisfied with Gu Liyue, she wouldn't do anything, because it concerned the reputation of the Duke's Mansion.
Gu Liyue followed behind Jiang Yingyue and went to the flower hall. They had to wait until the princess came out before they could go to offer birthday greetings.
As a newcomer, many noble young ladies curiously sized up Gu Liyue. A noble young lady who was familiar with Jiang Yingyue asked, "Yingyue, I've never seen this younger sister. Is she a new sister from your Jiang family?"
Jiang Yingyue raised her eyebrows and didn't even look at Gu Liyue. She just said, "No, she's an embroideress in our mansion."
An embroideress dressed like this? The noble young ladies became even more curious.
Jiang Yingyue immediately pulled two of her good friends and pointed to the pond, saying, "Come on. The weather is nice today. Let's go play arrow - throwing into the pot."
Although the noble young ladies were curious about Gu Liyue, they didn't dare to ask directly in front of others. So they all followed Jiang Yingyue to play arrow - throwing into the pot. Gu Liyue, being new to the place, could only follow them. She had never played this game before and just stood by to watch.
After playing twice, Jiang Yingyue said to Gu Liyue, "Liyue, you've never played this before, right?"
Gu Liyue nodded honestly, "No, I haven't."
Jiang Yingyue held the bamboo arrows and demonstrated for Gu Liyue, "Come on and have a try. Although you've never played it before, you used to do manual work in the countryside. You should have enough strength in your arms."
Under the mocking looks of a circle of noble young ladies, Gu Liyue took the arrow reluctantly and threw it. It just happened to hit the target.
Jiang Yingyue laughed, "I said so. People who've done rough work must be okay."
A young lady dressed a bit more simply asked, "This embroideress, did you use to do rough work?"
Jiang Yingyue turned her head to look at Gu Liyue and beckoned, "Just in time. We're usually bored. Liyue, come here and tell us what you used to do in the countryside. We've never seen such things before."
Gu Liyue's heart sank deeper and deeper. Jiang Yingyue certainly didn't really want her to tell interesting stories to the noble young ladies. She just wanted these noble young ladies to know that she was a country girl, someone who couldn't be put on the stage and wasn't worth others' attention.
But she was alone and helpless. In this place full of strangers, she really wanted to back off, go back to Yangxin Town, and go back to the foot of Qingcui Mountain. How wonderful it would be to live like that for a lifetime!
She had escaped from her aunt's family, but she couldn't escape from others. The capital city was never a place she should come to.
Jiang Yingyue bossed around and held her head high, "Gu Liyue, did you hear me? My aunt invited you here. It's not for you to stand here in a daze."
The young lady beside her immediately continued, "People from small families, of course, have never seen the world. Maybe they're stunned by the scenery of the princess's mansion."
"Hey, Sister Ru, you're wrong. Girls from the countryside may not even have a proper family. Can they be called from a small family?"
The noble young ladies covered their mouths and snickered. Some bold ones even laughed out loud.
Gu Liyue took a deep breath. No matter how scared she was, she had to move forward. If she just ran away crying like this, it would be okay for her to be a coward for a lifetime, but Mrs. Jiang would also be laughed at.
"There was nothing interesting in the past. After my parents passed away, I lived with my uncle and aunt. I did housework and embroidery to support the family. Later, I left my uncle and aunt and lived with my aunt. Although the life was poor, it was relaxed."
Maybe they didn't expect Gu Liyue to answer calmly. All the noble young ladies present were stunned.
A straightforward young lady asked, "Since it was relaxed, why did you come to the capital city?"
"For money." Gu Liyue still remained calm. She politely nodded to the young lady, "You are all the favorites of heaven. Naturally, you won't understand the sufferings of poor people running around for money. I want to live a more prosperous and comfortable life. Just in time, my employer said that a lady in the capital city took a fancy to my embroidery. So I came to the capital."
The young ladies who could come to the princess's mansion were both rich and noble. They always regarded money as something dirty. It was the first time they heard someone say that they came here to earn money. Although they didn't show it on their faces, in fact, many of them admired Gu Liyue's frankness.
The young lady asked again, "So, did you try so hard to get in touch with Mrs. Jiang?"
Gu Liyue shook her head slightly, "It's not that I tried so hard. It's just a coincidence. Originally, I just wanted to be an embroideress in the Jiang Mansion, earn more money with my own skills, and make my aunt and I live a better life."
Few people believed this.
Gu Liyue added, "Thanks to Mrs. Jiang's care, I can visit a place like the princess's mansion and meet all of you ladies. It's my great fortune."
"Smooth - talking." Jiang Yingyue scolded impatiently.
However, at this time, not many people stood on Jiang Yingyue's side. Anyway, since Mrs. Jiang brought this person here, no matter whether she was from the countryside or an embroideress, it meant that she was quite important in Mrs. Jiang's heart. It was not an exaggeration to say that she was Jiang Yingyue's younger sister.
All the noble young ladies present were smart. No matter how they fought in the inner courtyard, they should look amiable outside. Being so intolerant, weren't they afraid of being laughed at by others?
Jiang Yingyue also had some close friends. At this moment, she looked at Gu Liyue half - smiling and said, "It turns out that the young lady is very good at embroidery. In the future, our sisters will be really lucky. If we don't like ordinary things, we can ask the young lady to make some for us."
Gu Liyue understood the sarcasm. She nodded indifferently, "Sure. But Mrs. Jiang pities me. I won't take urgent orders. Besides, I'm the embroideress invited by Mrs. Jiang. If I take outside orders, the pricing and other things have to be decided by Mrs. Jiang."
"You..."
The young lady was very angry. This Gu Liyue was so bold. She must have calculated that they wouldn't go to Mrs. Jiang to make things difficult for her, so she found this excuse.
Jiang Yingyue held back her friend, "Liyue, what are you talking about? Since you've come here with me and want to make friends, how can you always talk about money? The young ladies here today all have special identities. You should have prepared a gift for each of us to show your respect. But you only came here after begging my aunt at the last minute. It's normal that you're not well - prepared. How about..."
Gu Liyue frowned. Jiang Yingyue almost said explicitly that she had pestered Mrs. Jiang to come here.
The disdain in the noble young ladies' eyes became even stronger. Just then, a childish voice came from the corridor not far away.
"Sister? Sister, it's really you!"