After soaking in the hot spring, Gu Liyue got up, and the maidservants helped her do her hair. Before long, Gu Chengzhi came.
"Sister, look what I've brought you!"
Gu Liyue turned around and saw Gu Chengzhi holding Yidianhong in his arms. Her heart skipped a beat. Subconsciously, she looked outside. There was only Gu Chengzhi; no one else.
Gu Chengzhi didn't notice Gu Liyue's strange behavior. He put Yidianhong on the ground and said with a beaming smile, "I remember you like cats. When I sent you back today, I went to Jin Chen's place and picked up Yidianhong."
Yidianhong had been away from Gu Liyue for three months, but it didn't seem the least bit shy. It rubbed against Gu Liyue's hand. Gu Liyue picked it up and stroked it. She looked up and smiled, showing two dimples.
Seeing her smile, Gu Chengzhi became even more pleased with himself. "Sister, if there's anything else you like, just tell me. I'll definitely get it for you."
Gu Liyue shook her head. "Thank you, Fourth Brother. It's very nice here. There's everything I need. I don't lack anything."
Gu Chengzhi looked at the headdresses on the table. She wasn't wearing any of them. He quickly asked, "Don't you like any of these? How about I ask the shopkeeper of Jinyuman Tang to send over all the latest gadgets later, so you can choose at your leisure?"
Gu Liyue quickly waved her hand. "No, I don't like these. I only wore them at the Jiang family to fit in. Mrs. Jiang liked me to wear them, so I did. Now that I'm in the courtyard, I don't have to wear them, right?"
Gu Chengzhi felt a bit melancholy. His sister didn't like these things either. "Of course you don't have to. If you don't like them, don't wear them. Well, in a few days, I'll take you shopping on the street. You can pick whatever you want, and I'll buy it for you."
Gu Liyue asked, "Aren't you on duty?"
Then she remembered that Aunt had told her that Fourth Brother was free. But he was on duty yesterday. How could he be free today?
Gu Chengzhi felt a bit guilty and touched his nose. "I... I just wanted to have some fun. I caused some trouble yesterday and got demoted."
Gu Liyue had always seen him as high-spirited. This was the first time she saw him looking so dejected. She couldn't help but laugh. "I see."
Seeing her laugh, Gu Chengzhi was even happier. "It's not a bad thing not to be on duty. They're all busy and don't have time to accompany you, but I do. I'll accompany you every day from now on."
Gu Liyue lowered her head and stroked Yidianhong one by one without saying a word.
Just then, the maid outside came in to report. "Fourth Young Master, Miss. The old master requests Miss to go to the front hall. There are visitors from the Jiang family."
Gu Liyue shivered. Gu Chengzhi immediately stood up and said angrily, "What are the Jiang family doing here? My sister isn't even pursuing the matter. Do they still want to seek justice? Do they really think my sister is still the orphan girl with no one to protect her?"
He pulled Gu Liyue up and said, "Sister, you don't have to be afraid of them anymore. You have us. We'll never let them bully you again. Come on, I'll go with you."
Gu Liyue followed Gu Chengzhi. It wasn't until they reached the outer courtyard that she found her voice. She whispered, "Fourth Brother, actually... I was treated well before. Mrs. Jiang has always been good to me. She's been kind to me."
Gu Chengzhi thought his sister was really too kind-hearted. She was forced to flee the capital, but she still spoke up for them everywhere. Since his sister had said so, he naturally wouldn't make her look bad. He nodded and replied, "Yes, I know. Don't worry. As long as they don't go too far, we'll treat them with courtesy."
In the front hall, Duke Jiang and Mrs. Jiang were standing awkwardly in the middle of the hall. Old Master Gu was sitting on the upper seat, and Marquis Gu was sipping tea on one side. They both seemed like nothing was wrong. They neither spoke nor replied. And Jiang Yingyue was kneeling on the ground, crying. But she didn't dare to cry loudly. She just sobbed softly.
Mrs. Jiang turned around and saw Lady Jiang leading Gu Chengzhi and Gu Liyue over. She liked festive things and always dressed Gu Liyue up beautifully. But today, Gu Liyue looked much thinner. Her long hair was simply tied up with a silver hairpin. There were no other ornaments, and there was not a trace of makeup on her face.
She couldn't help but look at Jiang Yingyue on the ground. Even if Yingyue was wearing plain clothes and had removed her hairpins and rings, she was still much more flamboyant than Gu Liyue.
She felt a bit annoyed and even more panicked.
When Duke Jiang saw Gu Liyue coming, his eyes lit up. He quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Liyue, you're finally back. Your mother has been worried sick since you left last night."
Marquis Gu forced a smile. "Duke Jiang, although you're my elder brother-in-law, don't call people casually. My third brother and sister-in-law have already passed away, but my niece has no reason to recognize someone else as her mother."
Duke Jiang looked embarrassed and quickly explained, "I didn't mean that. When Liyue was in our family, my wife always wanted to recognize her as her daughter. Many families outside know about it."
Gu Chengzhi immediately said, "But as far as I know, Liyue has never called her mother. She always called her Madam."
This was the truth. Although Mrs. Jiang told others that she wanted Gu Liyue to be her daughter, she didn't officially adopt her, and Gu Liyue was polite. She wouldn't be so ignorant as to call her mother.
Gu Liyue bowed and invited Duke Jiang and Mrs. Jiang to sit down before saying, "Thank you for your concern, Madam. I'm doing well. I've troubled you to worry about me."
Mrs. Jiang sized up Gu Liyue. Once a person had confidence, their entire demeanor would change. Gu Liyue was like this. Her former timidity and shrinking seemed to have disappeared overnight.
"It's good that you're okay, Liyue. We're here today to sincerely apologize to you. Yesterday, it was your sister... it was Yingyue who did something wrong. She did such a thing. We've already fined her half a year's monthly allowance and punished her to be confined to her room for half a month. We're here today to bring her here to apologize to you. Yingyue, hurry up and apologize to Liyue."
Before Gu Liyue could react, Gu Chengzhi had already shouted, "Half a year's monthly allowance? Half a year's monthly allowance might not even be worth a fraction of the white jade necklace around her neck, right? Madam makes it sound so easy. My sister suffered a great deal yesterday. If it weren't for me, who knows where she would be now. Jiang Yingyue is so vicious. How can half a year's monthly allowance make up for it?"
Jiang Yingyue was originally persuaded by Mrs. Jiang to come and apologize. She was very dissatisfied in her heart. She didn't know why Gu Liyue had suddenly become a real young lady overnight. But Aunt had forced her to come and apologize and even threatened to send her to the Supreme Court if she didn't.
She looked at Gu Chengzhi's face, and her resentment reached its peak. "It was clearly me who was injured yesterday. She took a dagger and tried to kill me. You saw it clearly. Just because she's your sister, you're partial to her? The scar on my neck still hasn't healed!"
Gu Chengzhi looked completely confused. "Did I show partiality to anyone yesterday? Yesterday, you were spouting nonsense, saying that Liyue framed you. If I hadn't been smart and hadn't believed you, wouldn't I have wronged my own sister? And why did she point the dagger at you? Why did she always carry a dagger with her? Don't you know? Duke Jiang, Mrs. Jiang, don't you know either?"