Facing Lady Jiang's disappointed gaze, Gu Liyue found herself unable to defend herself no matter how hard she tried. She attempted to explain to Lady Jiang that she had never pushed Jiang Yingyue, but Lady Jiang simply refused to believe her.
The noble young ladies around were still chattering.
"Yingyue has been so kind to Gu Liyue. She always takes her along whenever we go out for fun."
"We never thought that after they agreed to perform on stage together, Gu Liyue would walk over and push Yingyue off. She thought we couldn't see from that spot, but I saw it clearly."
"I thought she was really caring about Yingyue. How wrong I was!"
"She's not even a real sister. She's just a usurper."
It was as if a basin of cold water had been poured over Gu Liyue's head. She knelt on the ground blankly, utterly confused. She was from the countryside, but she had never schemed against anyone, let alone tried to harm others. Why were they treating her like this?
Gu Liyue looked at Lady Jiang, who never once turned back but kept holding the grief - stricken Jiang Yingyue in her arms. She knew that Lady Jiang didn't believe her. In fact, Lady Jiang even thought that she was the one who had harmed Jiang Yingyue.
"Let's go back first."
After an unknown amount of time, Lady Jiang said hoarsely as she slowly supported Jiang Yingyue and walked out. From start to finish, she never glanced at Gu Liyue.
Gu Liyue sat in the carriage in a daze. She wanted to escape from this place.
Her stomach growled. She was hungry. She gently lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw that it was already dark outside. A light drizzle was falling. It wasn't heavy, but it was bone - chilling because it was late autumn.
Gu Liyue let the curtain fall and curled up into a ball.
She remembered Mrs. Feng's teachings. Mrs. Feng had once said that there were the most intrigues in wealthy and noble families. If she didn't take precautions, she would only end up getting hurt.
She had never experienced such things and had never thought so much about them. Now that it had happened, she realized that she was completely defenseless.
When they returned to the courtyard, Lady Jiang had a sedan chair carried over and personally supported Jiang Yingyue back - not to Jiang Yingyue's own courtyard, but to the Fanghua Courtyard.
When Gu Liyue got back, Nanny Zhao was waiting outside.
"Nanny, is the young lady... all right?"
Nanny Zhao looked at Gu Liyue seriously for a long time before saying, "There are imperial physicians from the palace. You don't need to worry, miss."
Gu Liyue hung her head and didn't defend herself anymore. She just asked, "Am I... not allowed to live here anymore?"
Nanny Zhao sighed softly. "The lady is very angry, miss... The lady asks you to kneel in the courtyard."
Disappointment flashed across Gu Liyue's eyes. She didn't say a word and walked straight to the steps and knelt down obediently.
Tangyuan rushed over with an umbrella, wanting to hold it for Gu Liyue, but was stopped by Yuanxiao.
"She's being punished. How can you hold an umbrella for her?"
Tangyuan didn't understand. "But it's raining. If the young lady gets soaked like this, she'll get sick."
Yuanxiao looked at Gu Liyue and gave a faint smile. "The lady will be angry."
The rainwater flowed down Gu Liyue's hair, wetting her forehead, nose bridge, and finally sliding down to her chin.
It was her fault, the fault of her lack of caution. She couldn't blame anyone else. She should have known earlier that Jiang Yingyue would never really accept her. She just didn't expect that Jiang Yingyue would use such a method to frame her.
She was outmatched. She shouldn't resent. She should think about how to regain Lady Jiang's trust. It wasn't because she wanted to continue living this comfortable life. Even if she had to leave, she should leave with dignity, not in a sorry state.
The rain got heavier. Gu Liyue's face was covered with water. She didn't know if it was rain or tears.
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Liyue no longer felt the rain on her. She looked up in surprise and found that there was an umbrella above her head.
She turned around and saw it was Yunniang.
"Yunniang, why are you here?" Gu Liyue exclaimed excitedly.
Yunniang shook her head, knelt down beside Gu Liyue, and pulled her into her arms.
Gu Liyue couldn't hold back anymore. She buried her head in Yunniang's arms and sobbed.
Inside the house, Lady Jiang finally managed to coax Jiang Yingyue to sleep. It was already past midnight. She rubbed her temples wearily, told the maids to take good care of Jiang Yingyue, and then got up and prepared to go to her own bedroom.
Before she reached the door, she paused and turned back. "Where's Gu Liyue?"
Nanny Zhao answered in a low voice, "My lady, you said she should kneel in the courtyard to reflect on her mistakes."
Lady Jiang frowned. "I remember it was raining when we came back."
Nanny Zhao nodded. "It was raining. Miss Liyue has been kneeling for about three hours."
Lady Jiang was shocked. "Nanny Zhao, why didn't you remind me?"
But she also knew that with Yingyue crying and making such a fuss just now, how could Nanny Zhao mention Liyue in front of Yingyue?
Lady Jiang quickly walked outside. As soon as she left the hall, she saw two figures under an umbrella in the courtyard. The young girl was so thin. Soaked through by the rain, she looked extremely pitiful under the lamp. She was nestled beside the woman like a young animal snuggling up to its mother.
Lady Jiang remembered Gu Liyue's embroidery. In it, a woman was sewing clothes under the lamp while a young girl was lying beside her reading a book. The two people in the embroidery were clearly not her and Yue'er, but the mother - daughter - like pair in front of her.
Nanny Zhao asked, "Shall I summon them in?"
Lady Jiang shook her head. "No need. Let them go and rest."
The next day, Gu Liyue felt unwell as soon as she got up in the morning. Her body was burning hot. She calmly applied a cold compress to her face and put on a little powder to cover the redness on her cheeks before getting up to pay her respects to Lady Jiang.
Kneeling in front of Lady Jiang, Gu Liyue knelt straight.
Lady Jiang glanced at her and asked slowly, "Do you know your mistake?"
Gu Liyue nodded. "I know my mistake."
"Tell me."
Gu Liyue replied, "I should have taken precautions."
"You..." Lady Jiang was extremely angry. "Do you mean that you were wronged by Yingyue? Do you mean that she would hurt herself just to frame you?"
Gu Liyue looked at Lady Jiang calmly and smiled faintly. "I can understand if you don't believe me, my lady."
Lady Jiang sat on the chair with a straight face and didn't say a word. She sized up Gu Liyue. She was so calm, showing no sadness or fear. Such a Gu Liyue made her think of the phrase "rather break than bend".
She used to admire such a girl, but this girl had hurt her Yingyue.
Lady Jiang was a bit confused for a moment. She always thought that Liyue was more to her liking. But Yingyue, who had been raised under her knees for more than ten years, the affection between them didn't seem to be fake.
After a long time, Lady Jiang waved her hand. "You may go back... Stay in and recuperate these days."
It meant house arrest. Gu Liyue didn't say much. She bowed deeply, turned around, went back to her room, and closed the door.
Yuanxiao left, and only Tangyuan was left to take care of her. But she didn't care. Yuanxiao had disliked her for a long time, and she wouldn't care about such a person.
As for Tangyuan, perhaps feeling guilty for not helping her that day, she took even better care of Gu Liyue.