Seeing Lin Zhijie grimacing in pain, Gu Liyue was extremely worried. She quickly sent someone to fetch the doctor and was about to help Lin Zhijie up.
But Old Master Gu waved his hand grandly. "Hey, he's a young man. How can he be so weak? A Jie, get up quickly. When your Fourth Brother Gu was your age, he could not only lift this spear but also that bronze cauldron over there."
Lin Zhijie actually got up and sized up the bronze cauldron not far away.
Gu Liyue was afraid that Lin Zhijie would get overly enthusiastic and try to lift the cauldron, hurting his back in the process. She quickly grabbed his sleeve and said, "Hey, A Jie came to see me today and brought so many things. Can I have a look at what they are?"
Lin Zhijie was just a child and would do as he was told. He quickly nodded and said, "Sister Liyue, I brought you a lot of things. They're all newly paid tribute this year. There are also the most delicious oranges. I brought half a basket. Come on, let's go and eat them."
Gu Liyue asked in confusion, "Tribute items? You've moved them all here. What about the Princess Mansion?"
Lin Zhijie said with a beaming smile, "They're not from my family. Cousin Jin Chen did a great job on a mission before and was praised by the emperor. The emperor bestowed a lot of things on him, and he asked me to send them all here."
Gu Liyue paused for a moment. She looked up at her grandfather nervously and was slightly relieved to see that he had gone to wave other weapons and wasn't paying attention here. She asked in a low voice, "Well, he's sent them all here. What about... the Prince's Mansion?"
Lin Zhijie didn't think it was a big deal. "The Prince's Mansion? The Prince's Mansion is no good. They don't like him. Why should he send his rewards there?"
Gu Liyue was surprised. She more or less knew that Lu Jin Chen didn't get along well with his family. That's why he was so unrestrained back then and said he wanted to run away with her. But now it seemed that the situation was so serious that even a child like A Jie knew about it.
"A Jie, doesn't your cousin live in the Prince's Mansion?"
Lin Zhijie nodded. "Yes. He has his own home. He usually lives in his own place more often. Sometimes he stays at my place or in the country estate on the outskirts. Anyway, he doesn't live in the Prince's Mansion."
Gu Liyue pursed her lips and didn't ask any more questions. She went to look at the gifts with Lin Zhijie.
Lin Zhijie thought for a moment and said, "Originally, he wanted to come and see you with me, but the Emperor Uncle summoned him to the palace, so he couldn't come. He could only ask me to deliver these things."
He took out a jade hairpin from his bosom and handed it to Gu Liyue. "This. He asked me to give it to you personally. He said this was... um... oh, right, a token of love."
Gu Liyue's face instantly turned bright red. She reached out her hand cautiously, wanting to take the jade hairpin.
A pair of hands behind her took the hairpin away. It was Gu Chengzhi. He looked at the hairpin with great dissatisfaction and glared at Lin Zhijie. "What's this?"
Lin Zhijie was confused and continued, "A token of love. It's from Cousin Jin Chen for Sister Liyue."
Gu Chengzhi slapped Lin Zhijie on the head. "What do you know? A token of love can't be talked about casually. Is our Gu family's girl so easy to be taken away by just a hairpin? Humph!"
Lin Zhijie shook his head. "It's not just a hairpin. All these gifts are from Brother Jin Chen."
Gu Chengzhi got even angrier and almost gritted his teeth. "What! If he likes her, he should come to propose marriage. What is this..."
At this point, he stopped. If he wanted to propose marriage, it couldn't be himself who came. It had to be the elders of his family. People outside said that the Crown Prince of Liang Wang was unruly, but he was Lu Jin Chen's good friend and knew the inside story. How could he blame him for not following the rules?
But Liyue was his younger sister. This way, he always felt that she was being wronged.
For a moment, Gu Chengzhi was fuming. He stuffed the jade hairpin into Gu Liyue's hand and turned around to leave.
Lin Zhijie was completely at a loss. "What's Fourth Brother Gu doing? He always listens to Brother Jin Chen. Why does he seem so unhappy today?"
But Gu Liyue just smiled and carefully examined the jade hairpin. The jade hairpin was made of high - quality materials and was very exquisitely crafted, but it seemed a bit simple. The jade hairpins on the market were usually inlaid with gold, silver, and precious stones to look more gorgeous.
After stroking it for a while, Gu Liyue found that the end of the jade hairpin seemed a bit rough. She examined it carefully and found that there was actually a line of words engraved there: To My Beloved Liyue, Jin.
These few small words were hardly noticeable if one didn't look carefully. Gu Liyue was a bit touched but also more confused. Did he have it made or...
Lin Zhijie had a great time playing at the Gu family. He also invited Gu Liyue to the Princess Mansion. Gu Liyue was originally a bit scared, but it was a rare opportunity. Mrs. Jiang said that Gu Chengzhi was a frequent visitor to the Princess Mansion, so she asked Gu Chengzhi to take her there to pay a visit.
This was the fourth time Gu Liyue had met the Princess. She was still extremely nervous. But as always, the Princess was still lacking in enthusiasm and overly aloof.
Besides the Princess, there was also the Imperial Consort Lin in the hall.
The Imperial Consort Lin was in his early thirties, but he looked more solemn. However, his eyebrows were very gentle. He knew that Gu Liyue had saved Lin Zhijie when she was in Cangyun County, so he was especially amiable.
"You were from Yangxin Town before? I stayed in Cangyun County for two years. I'm going to be sent to another place after the New Year."
How could Gu Liyue not understand? The Imperial Consort Lin was demoted to be the county magistrate in the county town. He had done a very good job in Cangyun County for two years. Now being transferred to another place was equivalent to a promotion.
She secretly sized up the Imperial Consort Lin and the Princess and found that they were respectful to each other without any sign of strangeness. The Princess didn't bully or despise her consort when he was in a low - position, and the consort was also generous and didn't look inferior.
This was probably a truly harmonious couple. Gu Liyue thought to herself. Such two people must truly love each other and wouldn't have conflicts because of their status. What about her and Lu Jin Chen?
She couldn't be as open - minded as the Imperial Consort Lin. She cared about her past and the habits she brought from the countryside. How could she live a good life?
Seeing Gu Liyue in a daze, the Princess asked with a bit of amusement, "What's Miss Liyue thinking about?"
Gu Liyue frowned and said, "I was thinking that when I was in Yangxin Town before, I heard people say that the new county magistrate in the county town was very popular. At that time, I thought this matter was too far away from me. I didn't expect that I would be able to meet the county magistrate himself today. It shows that the world is unpredictable."
The Princess laughed. "Yes, the world is unpredictable. How could I have known before that the little girl who saved my son would be the granddaughter of General Gu?"
She waved her hand, and a maid came over with a tray. On it was the night pearl that Gu Liyue had received when she came here before.
The night pearl was a priceless treasure, but when Gu Liyue left the Jiang family, she didn't take anything with her. Later, Mrs. Jiang had someone send these things to the Gu family, but Gu Liyue didn't accept any of them.
The things those noble ladies gave her were all given out of respect for Mrs. Jiang. They weren't really hers.
After that, Mrs. Jiang simply returned all the things to their original owners according to the gift - giving list.