Gu Liyue paused. Opening her eyes, she saw Lu Jinchen standing at the door, looking calm and composed. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears. She was already so pitiful, yet he hadn't come quickly. She had been so scared.
Qi Manyan had been glaring at Gu Liyue fiercely. But when she saw Lu Jinchen, she immediately changed her demeanor and stepped forward coquettishly, saying, "Brother Lu."
Lu Jinchen didn't even glance at Qi Manyan. He walked over to Gu Liyue unhurriedly, bent down, and helped her up.
Princess Jing frowned and said, "Jinchen, what are you doing?"
Lu Jinchen raised his eyebrows and replied, "Princess Jing is truly at leisure. She hasn't sorted out the matters of the Xia family yet, but insists on meddling in the Jiang family's affairs?"
Princess Jing's face turned deathly pale. "You..."
But Lu Jinchen wasn't afraid of causing more trouble. "Princess Jing, the emperor thinks highly of Marquis Gu. Miss Gu is new here, so it's natural that she's not well - versed in the rules. Since neither the emperor nor the empress dowager minds, why should Princess Jing?"
Princess Jing bit her lower lip, glared at Gu Liyue, then turned and left.
Lu Jinchen led Gu Liyue out. When they passed by Qi Manyan, he stopped, gave her a sidelong glance, and the warning in his eyes was self - evident.
Qi Manyan clenched her fists tightly. Knowing she was in the palace hall, she almost lost control. It took the other young ladies calling her for a long time for her to finally regain her senses. "I'm not feeling well. I'll leave first."
Lu Jinchen walked out of the side hall all the way and stopped under a tree in front of the flowerbed.
Gu Liyue kept her head down. He walked so fast that she had to trot to keep up. She didn't expect him to suddenly stop. She bumped right into his back.
It wouldn't have been a big deal, but the impact hit her nose. The pain made tears stream down Gu Liyue's face.
Lu Jinchen turned around, paused, and whispered, "Sorry, I'm late."
Gu Liyue's tears flowed freely. She felt for her sleeve and found that her embroidered handkerchief was gone. She just grabbed her sleeve and wiped her tears messily.
Lu Jinchen wanted to reach out and support her, but due to the large number of people around and all the prying eyes, he had to hold back. "Liyue, are you okay?"
Gu Liyue shook her head and sobbed, "I... I'm okay."
Seeing this, Lu Jinchen breathed a slight sigh of relief and explained, "Don't be afraid of Princess Jing. She was ill when she was young, and the emperor doted on her too much, spoiling her. Actually, she's not a bad person. She's just a bit gullible. If you're stronger, she won't dare to do anything to you."
Gu Liyue said in a muffled voice, "I... I wish I could be stronger."
Lu Jinchen remembered the first time he saw this girl. She was sharp - tongued and clearly bold and assertive. But later, he realized that behind her assertiveness was how timid and scared she really was.
He said in a low voice, "Don't worry. From now on, I'll protect you."
Gu Liyue hung her head and didn't say a word. The two stood quietly beside the flowerbed, a few feet apart, polite and distant.
She actually wanted to ask him if the words he said that night still counted, but she didn't know how to say it. It seemed that he had forgotten everything from that night.
"You..."
"You..."
They both spoke at the same time and felt embarrassed. Lu Jinchen quickly said, "You go first."
Gu Liyue asked, "Why did you go to the side hall just now?"
"Because I went to find him," Lu Yunxi jumped out from beside the flowerbed and put her hand on Lu Jinchen's shoulder. "I saw Princess Jing making things difficult for you, so I wanted to tell Gu Chengzhi. But I couldn't find him, so I told my cousin."
Lu Jinchen took a half - step back to avoid Lu Yunxi's hand.
Lu Yunxi fell off the flowerbed and said irritably, "Hey, are you still my older brother? What's wrong with leaning on you for a bit?"
Lu Jinchen looked calm. "Men and women should keep a proper distance."
"How boring." Lu Yunxi pouted, then took Gu Liyue's arm. "He's just like this, cold and boring. Let's ignore him. Come on, I'll take you to have fun."
Gu Liyue looked up at Lu Jinchen shyly. Lu Jinchen just shook his head helplessly.
Lu Yunxi pulled Gu Liyue and said, "He's actually in a good mood today. Usually, he never bothers with girls' affairs. I guess it's because you're Gu Chengzhi's younger sister that he's willing to come this time."
Gu Liyue looked at Lu Jinchen's back, pursed her lips, and didn't say a word.
Lu Yunxi chattered on, "By the way, did Princess Jing do anything to you?"
Gu Liyue shook her head. "No. His... Highness the heir arrived in time. Princess Jing left without saying much."
Lu Yunxi frowned and said, "Princess Jing is just like that. I originally wanted to help you just now, but then I thought that Princess Jing likes to compete. If I went, I might not be able to help you and would just make her even angrier."
Gu Liyue nodded. "Thank you."
Lu Yunxi patted her on the shoulder. "Why are you being so polite with me? Anyway, I'm like brothers with your fourth brother. Your business is my business."
Gu Liyue thought silently that perhaps her fourth brother didn't really consider Lu Yunxi as a brother.
"Don't worry. The empress dowager likes me. In this palace, I can pretty much do as I please." Lu Yunxi was bold and unrestrained. She even reached out and pushed Gu Liyue's head.
Just then, Gu Chengzhi ran over and pushed Lu Yunxi's head. "Lu Yunxi, if you bother my sister again, I won't be polite to you!"
Lu Yunxi put her hands on her hips. "Hey, are you ashamed? Where were you when your sister was in trouble just now? Now you come out and act like a hero! If you're so capable, let's have a match!"
Gu Chengzhi gritted his teeth, extremely angry. He pulled Gu Liyue and walked away. "Sister, ignore this crazy woman. Hurry up. Grandmother and aunt heard that you were bullied by Princess Jing. They're really worried and are waiting for you."
Gu Liyue quickly said goodbye to Lu Yunxi and then followed Gu Chengzhi towards the main hall. As they walked, she said, "Fourth brother, I'm okay. And Princess Yunxi meant well. She didn't do anything to me. She went to look for you to help me but couldn't find you, so..."
Gu Chengzhi nodded. "I know."
"You know? Then why do you always pick on her?"
Gu Chengzhi looked embarrassed and didn't answer.
Gu Liyue added, "It seems that she always wants to have a match with you. Is her martial arts very good? Why don't you have a match with her?"
Gu Chengzhi's face darkened. "I'm a man. How can I argue with her? Moreover, she's a girl. In a match, punches have no eyes. What if she gets hurt? Or... In any case, it's inappropriate to have a match with a girl."
Gu Liyue didn't say much more. She just said, "I think she's a straightforward girl. Maybe she just likes to play around with her words. Since fourth brother is a man, don't argue with her and don't scold her every time you meet."
Gu Chengzhi quickened his steps. "I know. You're so wordy. Hurry up. Grandmother is very worried."
Gu Liyue didn't say anything more. When they reached the main hall, she quickly went to explain to her grandmother.